That appears to be an AI generated summary. I don’t think we’ll know for sure without a specific announcement (and maybe we won’t know for sure until they start to process actual apps in the fall).
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S23 is at University of Pittsburgh! He was so set to apply to Game Design schools only until he did some research and decided he wants to major in Computer Science instead. Pitt was the one school that offered not just CS, but also Digital Narrative & Interactive Design (DNID), Information Sciences (UX/UI). Within his DNID major, he’s concentrating on Game Design Track. He wanted to have that CS foundation just in case he decides that Game Design is not for him (job-wise). Game design is a hobby for him, but he’s not 100% sure that’s what he wants to do outside of school. He’s learning how the skills he’s gained from his game design (DNID) classes can be applied to other needs, so it’s been a good fit school for him!
Oh, Kenyon is just magical! He’s loving it so far! We will see if he can see himself there for 4 years and during their winters! lol!
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I feel this so hard. D26 hit that wall in April and declared she was done.
She only has a handful on her list, all are reaches. 
I am forcing her to apply to ONE in state auto admit school just because.
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D26 also only has 3 on her list!!
All others that have been added are because I have insisted that she has some backups and safeties.
She is looking into adding in another 1-2 international options.
I also gave her a list to look into and consider.
She did decide to add RIT to her list (as a back-up)- and though she really liked the school- it does not surpass her top 3. With the hefty price tag- I am kinda happy that it did not make the top choice - 
.
She will most likely get into 2-3 of her top three. But I want to really push for her to have more options (geographical and school size/type) just in case she decides to change up things last minute!
But if left on her own- she would only apply to her top 3 and nowhere else!
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THIS!!!
She’s got her ED1, ED2 and EA at in state flagship. 
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Kenyon was my crush school with D22, and she liked it enough to keep it in her final 3. We went to Gambier for an admitted students tour and it was so lovely in a way that almost felt unreal. Students talking about having dinner at professors’ homes, interning at the Kenyon Review, walking middle path — for a certain kind of kid, it seems idyllic. My D22 chose UCLA instead—the lure of that big campus energy and all the possibilities it offered drew her in. She has been super happy there, has found her people and her communities. And she has learned how to hustle and compete in that environment, skills I know will serve her well. But as she dances around a future writing career, I think Kenyon would have been truly special place to develop her voice (this spoken like a middle-aged professional writer who wishes she’d had a Kenyon experience in her own life) 
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She could add another likely school, just to ensure she’ll have a choice at the end. But as long as her in-state flagship is very likely admission for her, affordable, and she’d be genuinely happy there, there’s nothing wrong with her plan… it sounds like she knows what she wants!
Her in state flagship option as an 18% acceptance rate
There’s no reasoning with her at the moment. I’ll try again in a month or so.
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Ah, I see! She does need something more likely, then 
I found ONE thing online about it.
Local news here in AZ hasn’t reported on it lately. U of A’s website still has info for fall entering class of 2025. I expect that some time in July, they’ll update it to class of 2026 info.
If the change is true, I don’t see it as any big deal. I still expect that D26 will be admitted and she’ll get some sort of merit tuition scholarship.
Their honors college website says that they’re reevaluating their admissions process and will publish updates by 7/1 for fall 2026 applicants. It would be kind of nice if they gave some preference to in-state students, but hope springs eternal. 
The dean of the honors college was interviewed recently on the “Your College Bound Kid” podcast and he said that they get some applicants whose GPA is lower than the average honors student, but it’s often because the student is attending a really rigorous high school and has taken a lot of very rigorous classes…and they know which schools those are, so they do take that into account when making honors college admissions decisions. Anecdotally from our HS’s college counselor, that appears to be true based on prior students who applied to the honors college.
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My D won’t consider U of A because it’s “too far south.” Same thing with everything in the LA area… she agreed to apply to the southern UCs and CPSLO, but only because she doesn’t have to write anything extra for them. In fact, I was just looking at a US map, and it looks like she is pretty consistent about not wanting to go anywhere south of the 37th parallel.
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Interesting to see kids with smaller lists, depending on how you count it S26 either has 7-8 schools on his lists or just two since UC and CSUs are just two applications but you can pick multiple schools. We looked at private schools and unfortunately we are in the bracket that won’t get financial aid but also can’t afford 70-80k out of pocket without pushing back retirement. S26 wants to check out some east coast schools and we’ll probably fly there for a visit at some point this summer.
But he’s realistic he doesn’t have a perfect GPA and even with high SAT/GPA it would be unlikely for him to get into a Ivy, from the current class of 550+ students the handful that were accepted to Ivy/T10 were all athletes. So attending a UC or doing two years at a local CC and then transferring is far more affordable/realistic.
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We’re in good company, then! lol! I’ve done the same! I gave S26 a list, but he feels more connected and more comfortable if we visit in person, but it’s been a very busy junior year and now summer is busy that we may not have time to visit the rest on the list!
S26 will also likely get into 2 out of his 3, and yes, the slightly reachy school is the most expensive option, but academically is the most fit for him for what he wants to study.
Oh, S26 told me after signing up for a Common App account if he could just apply to the 3 on his list!! I just about died, I mean what if none of them worked out? He doesn’t seem to get it LOL!
@2026SwimMom One of S26’s 3 is a state flagship but whose history of admit rates in our area is unpredictable and competitive! Thankfully one of the 3 is a sure safety, but it may not be an academic fit for him - rigor-wise, but their program sounds fabulous. The other one may be a target, may be a slight reach.
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I think I’ve said before, C26’s list would comprise exactly one college if I left it totally up to them. Even though it should be a likely I’m full of anxiety about admissions in the current environment and the effect of C26’s freshman year, even with counselor explanation.
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We just started really delving into the schools on my daughter’s preliminary list . Basically looking at them in depth and trying to figure out if they should make the final list. She is realizing that she doesn’t have a really well defined major/career path. And while I think she’d love the small class sizes at a LAC -she was really happy with the large number of major options she saw at University of Rhode Island. She knows she wants Biology related OR Health related fields -but she wants more options than JUST Biology. She saw Animal Behavior at one place and that really appealed (but again not set on any particular path.) So we aren’t exactly back to the drawing board -but I need to see what other coastal or great lakes schools might work for her.
I have Miami University (Ohio not Florida), Loyola (Chicago), DePaul, University of Rhode Island (with hope for Honors college) - all of these require her to get a good scholarship to attend - and while possible, it isn’t guaranteed.
Thinking maybe I should add Syracuse? Michigan Tech might actually work but SO isolated -and I’m not sure that appeals at all, maybe some SUNY schools because they are generous with OOS scholarships?
I looked at Oregon State at one point but we have a limited budget and the calculator wasn’t friendly 
Question for the group: Anyone know schools that have a lot of medical and bio related majors that maybe ALSO have small class sizes? Or other schools we should look at that I missed above? She basically wants Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, or West Coast. Ohio does NOT appeal but Ohio (Miami) has some really great pre-health programs --and the campus itself is nice. (Also VERY generous out of state) -but generally we are avoiding red states.
Do I need to make another match me post
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U of A was going to be a school I forced down D26’s throat if her approach doesn’t work… but if it’s no longer rolling, that might throw a wrench in my plan.
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Sometimes it works to update a previous match me post, or if a lot of things have changed, you could make a new one and include links to previous. (It can be good for people to see context of what has already been discussed for your D.)
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Both the As were going to be safeties (though C26 is very reluctant to go to AZ, I wanted a sure thing 4 year option at least). Let’s see how this pans out. If they start requiring college specific essays I can see them saying no. If it’s just holistic based on all the other common app stuff that’s ok. They’ll have common app ready by the EA deadlines.
I can see that being a rate limiting step in our house too.
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Well this ACT is definitely NOT a charm 
She did worse in English and reading and the same in math and science. She seems ok about it and is glad that whole thing is done now. She says she has accepted the scores and is moving on.
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