So sorry 
. It’s got to be a little nerve wracking when that happens.
One thing I wonder about is bias of app reader, especially at large public’s. I know your kid is trans (mine too). I have considered that there is a chance reader bias might have an effect when outside readers are used. I think lots of public’s hire readers to get through the apps. Not sure how they handle this- if they have multiple readers on each app? If the first reader puts you in a certain pile will it limit your chances? The current climate validates this concern I think. We can’t dwell on it b/c you just don’t know anything for sure but if a true safety is turning you down it could be a reason.
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Does that mean that technically the only safeties are schools that auto admit on grades? And a say 90% admit school is really only “highly likely” if they don’t? (I don’t know anything about UConn, general question).
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It frustrates me when schools yield protect. A lot of people need that financial safety and would probably actually go to that state school.
I thought U Tulsa was supposed to come out yesterday, but I guess it’s the 15th so more waiting for that. Oh well.
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Our list of safeties were auto admits or schools that had 90% acceptance rate and our D was above the 75th percentile for stats. One of the safeties also was rolling admission so she was able to let another safety go in early October because she had that early acceptance.
UConn’s acceptance rate is 54%. IMO, that makes it at best a likely for a high stats kid, not a safety. A toss up for a student who’s stats align with the school’s 50th percentile.
IMO, the safety lists should be where students are the most conservative with their estimates.
(For historical perspective for newer users, I joined CC back in the day when a close friend of my D’s way overshot his list and only got into the safety the GC made him apply to at the last minute, which he hated. As such, I’m a big and vocal advocate of building the list from the safeties up (and finding safeties to be excited about), having rolling admission schools on the list, and being realistic about expectations.)
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The person who initially mentioned their kid was rejected from a safety did not say the school btw, so we don’t know the acceptance rate.
Congrats! Can I ask when he submitted? VERY eagerly awaiting over here for same …I know people have started hearing but curious if there is an order to it..
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This is my worry, too. It’s a rejection from a big state school when a few smaller private schools with lower admissions rates have already accepted them. Their stats aren’t tippy top, but they were certainly within the admissions range for this school that rejected them, and their ECs and essays are stellar. We will see. I am just super grateful for rolling admissions now and having one solid in-state school (trans friendly) and those few smaller privates as acceptances.
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So while this process can stink and the most recent result surely stings, look at the good job you and your child did planning their list! They are in somewhere (several somewheres?) already and would be happy to attend those! You and they did well! Weird sh1t happens, but you’ve done a good job to manage that and have good alternatives. If the school rejected your child because they are trans, or because your child’s interests weren’t those that the school values highly than it’s actually good that they aren’t going there. They want to be at the school that wants them and where they are valued, and for whatever reason, big state school wasn’t feeling them. Life is hard enough for any student heading off to college, I can only imagine being trans adds to the complexities of making that big life transition. So it’s totally reasonable to try to mitigate things that could cause stress or complications. So try to put that school out of your mind, they are a mistake avoided. The other schools are all better because they see your child for the amazing person they are and they are eager to have your child join their community. That’s a winning school, regardless of anything else.
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I want to double heart this. 
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He applied 10/25 as a film major, following a campus visit. Good luck to your student!
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I just wanted to address the comment about the UC’s and yield protection. Especially since your comment is based on another applicant’s experience not your own kids experience. How do you know the particular’s of this student’s application?
- UC’s do not consider an applicant’s level of interest in the admission process.
- UC’s make admissions decisions independently from one another.
- Each university has institutional priorities when admitting a new First year class and these priorities can change from year to year so there is no way to predict how an applicant will fare in the admissions process.
- 6 of the 10 most applied Universities in the country are part of the UC system so just based on application numbers alone, there are far more qualified applicants than spots available.
- In the situation you listed, this applicant based on your post was a student athlete, so was the student being actively recruited for these UC’s? If not, then there should not be an expectation for an acceptance.
- UC Berkeley and UCLA are of course the most competitive of the UC’s but they also have the highest enrollment yield rates so there is no reason these schools need to be yield protecting their admissions.
- Even if all other factors are exactly the same (high school, gender, ECs, major, etc.), you will have a different set of readers evaluate each student’s PIQs, EC’s and academic record. Holistic review is not that precise, particularly when there are 10-20 qualified applicants for each available spot.
Finally, only the AO’s can determine why an applicant is admitted or denied so speculating about the How and Why does not offer anything positive to help the applicant.
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THANKS! Good luck to your kid for future acceptances too:)
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Fellow in-state Virginia parent here. Imo VT has no business practicing yield protection as a public. W&M says they don’t do it but that’s because they use ED only - no EA. I happen to think that having only ED is completely inappropriate for a public university to do - especially if you’re filling half your incoming seats with it. If you’re going to accept early apps at all, and you’re a public, you should have EA and add on ED if desired. I’ve been so annoyed by it I’m just about ready to write my state representative and state senator. Between that and the mismanagement of VA 529 prepaid funds and exceedingly poor returns on VA Invest 529 funds (reported by JLARC), I have a lot to say!! 
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Yeah, I mean obviously I can’t “prove” that’s what happened, but his essays didn’t suck, so that’s what makes sense to me. When you add in his friend - who got into so many objectively more competitive engineering programs and got WL at VT and it makes us assume yield protection. Maybe if he had written to them and said “this is my top choice, please keep me under consideration” he would’ve come off the list, but if we had really been banking on instate tuition, that would’ve been really upsetting. Being cynical, we know it’s harder to get into the VT engineering school than the rest of VT - we assume part of that is because that’s where the school can attract out of state applicants and make more money, so it feels like an area where they might be more likely to yield protect with in state students that they think could be looking at it as a backup when they’d rather give that slot to a higher pay OOS student.
Sigh. Guess I’m still annoyed, three years later.
My current S25 is applying to VT as a building construction major - which is in the School of Construction which is, of course, nested under the College of Engineering. While I think S25 has the stats to get in, I’m fully expecting another WL. Which really will be a bummer this time, because I think VT is actually the best fit for what S25 wants of all his schools, whereas I didn’t really feel that way for S22.
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I noted that Oregon State has a good-looking program in this area. It’s all the way across the country but…Construction Engineering Management | College of Engineering | Oregon State University
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That’s SO awesome!!! And ED from Grinnell comes with wonderful merit, too! I’m so happy for your family! I could see my daughter doing ED2 if Carletonn doesn’t work out…will keep you posted! Congrats again!! 
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Yeah, distance became our issue. He really only wants something in driving distance. Which meant there were only three building construction / construction management schools that he was willing to apply to. So for his other schools he’s applying as either urban planning or geography with an urban planning focus. He thinks he wants construction management, but part of why I like VT is because they are one of two schools that offer both choices, so if he decides he doesn’t like one, he can switch to the other. I just want him to have options. Oh well, we’ll see.
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I think we all try to come up with reasons as to why our kids might have gotten rejected- bias, yield etc etc. As you said earlier to the other parent, it’s good to love the schools that want you and move on from the schools that don’t. Sometimes it’s hard to take our own advice though. I think we’re all guilty of that 
Good luck to your son!
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Fwiw, our guidance counselor said UConn cannot be considered a safety for anyone.
To me, a safety is a rolling school that you are already admitted to, and can afford!
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