D25 submitted a 2 minute introduction video to two of her schools. One of them had the option of using Glimpse, the other didn’t so she edited her own video to submit to both. Her take on the video submissions was a little cynical, thinking that it’s a way for universities to identify applicants of color without asking an applicant’s race. I really don’t know. She herself looks racially ambiguous and has spent her whole life fielding the " what are you?" questions so, there’s some sensitivity that may be unwarranted.
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Seems to me to be a fair and reasonable question to wonder about, though my personal guess would be that this is not intended for that purpose from a systematic perspective.
Thank you! I’ll ask my son if he has any questions. Right now, I’m basking in the completion of this stage of the process.
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Oh my god, just release all the decisions, please. Like, where will my child be living in 9 months? Who knows? :
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I hear you. I am using my impatient and anxious energy to look up admitted students days and orientation days etc for different colleges, including ones he probably won’t even get into (reaches-for-all type schools). Not really productive, but I am a planner. Killing me that so much is up in the air. I do not do well with uncertainty in general.
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This is an excellent idea. I was patient during the holidays, but now that everything is back to business with work and school, I’m like, let’s get this sorted.
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Yes, ditto @kirroyalemum - excellent idea! We will definitely need to visit two schools, and hopefully as many as four. They are, weirdly, in a giant loop. Like you must drive past school 1 to get to school 2, then if you go across to school 3, you will pass school 4 on the way home. Except of course I don’t think they will all conveniently happen to have admitted students events adjacent to each other and in order. So I suspect we’ll be doing a LOT of long driving onesie-twosie trips.
Yep - that was already pointed out and noted further up thread 
One of my son’s schools had an optional video/glimpse. He chose not to do it. He didn’t think it would add to his application in a positive way, as he had no energy left to make it interesting. I kind of resent the schools for asking the kids to jump through that hoop tbh. It already feels like a circus and this makes it feel like they have to audition for a part.
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One of the schools that S25 applied to had an optional video “elevator pitch.” He didn’t do it and was accepted.
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Alternatively, you could have the school’s admissions offices help with setting up a day for your kid on a non-admitted student day. So sitting in on a class of interest, meeting with a professor in the interested department, lunch with a student or some students, etc. So it might not have all of the hoopla of an admitted student day, but it might give a better sense of what the school is like and end up being one big loop rather than
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Feeling a little sad. Son was rejected from Tulane over the break (no surprise to be honest), and has just been waitlisted at SMU Cox Business School. Don’t think it is worth the money without Cox, and he doesn’t want to major in Economics. I am bummed for him and have lost any glimmer of hope that he will get into the remaining schools , UT Austin and UMiami. He has no idea how I feel. I have kept everything positive at home, but just needed to say it here. Wondering if he should be considering any schools for RD, but I don’t think he has it in him to do any more apps.
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I’m really sorry. That stinks and it’s so hard when we hurt for our kids! Are there maybe some schools he would consider that take the common app and don’t require anything additional? If I remember there was a search function in the CA for schools that did not have an additional essay.
I know of a family in a similar situation who found a last minute school that way and it ended up being their daughter’s first choice after visiting. She just graduated and is now in their masters program.
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I can see if he is interested, but he was at breaking point by the Xmas break!
He does have acceptances in hand, which is why he is not too interested in RD (Auburn, Rollins, Trinity), but I selfishly wanted him to get some love from a reach school - dumb I know! Honestly, he is so chill about the whole thing, and I am taking everything too personally 
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Those are some great options to have in hand! Although it’s understandable to be sad for our kids’ disappointments, I totally understand his not wanting to do additional apps when he already has acceptances to some terrific schools. I’d have the family focus be on enjoying senior year and, when thinking about colleges, about how the experiences at his accepted schools would differ and what he would end up preferring.
Also, I totally understand this. Just think about every email, letter, merit dollar, etc, coming from his accepted schools as more love for your son.
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Totally agree!
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It is totally normal to take it personally, this process leaves those applying as feeling judged and being found wanting. I read somewhere that even the best and brightest feel as if they suck during this process, that’s why this process is utterly broken and why I want to rage when people tell me to “trust the process”. That’s just a ridiculous statement to claim some AO who has never met my child can somehow discern their uni is the riight fit for him? Come on. Guess what? I know enough kids who transferred because they hated their first uni to know they don’t.
If any of my son’s apps had glimpse I missed it and I’m glad I did. He’s a great public speaker and does it all the time but it’s one more level of judgement I don’t want to subject him to, worrying he’ll get denied because he wears glasses or he presents nerdy.
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My student was asked if they want to switch to ED2 instead of RD for a school that doesn’t do EA. It’s not Ivy, but it is a reach for this major. The school claims there’s a better chance of admission with ED2. But my student did not ED anywhere, only EA. Frankly, 80k a YEAR is too much to commit to ED for any school without knowing merit or aid. They’re in at other schools with a lower price and full to decent merit scholarships. This one is a top 3 choice but there is no #1 school because of cost. Income not low enough for grants but not high enough to spend 80k a year even with modest 529 savings.
Just stay RD? Switch? It’s binding but what if we can’t afford it without merit and no merit comes?
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I’m thinking that may be the way we go. The challenge I think I’m going to be facing is that ideally I’d like to only miss two days of school - which would mean doing School 1 on Friday, School 2 on Saturday, School 3 on Sunday, School 4 on Monday and driving at night each night. That’s not realistic. We might get an accepted student day on a Saturday, but no one does stuff on a Sunday. So do we miss three days of school? Do two trips that are Fri/Sat each? Who knows. Need to play with the calendar.
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It’s so hard. Sending hugs. I am bracing myself for a possible rejection at my son’s first choice school in two weeks. He applied to 15 and has a few acceptances that would be a good second choice, but they really don’t check as many boxes for him as this school he is hoping for. He will be okay, but I will feel so sad (and likely so pissed at the school 
) if they reject him. I know it’s not personal, they couldn’t possibly know how great this kid is, but my anxiety is through the roof!
My D23 never had a first choice school (she liked two equally and got into one in EA December the year she applied), so this feels different and so stressful.
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