Parents of the HS Class of 2026

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
4131

Ah this is our life right now --with ED. We are not wealthy but ED at a Reach might mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.
I know we NEED to visit the EDs but also we have a limited budget for trips so we are trying to decide which ED potentials to visit and that can be very hard. It’s just so hard to determine if a school might be a good fit for someone based on paper.

Right now we are looking at NEU and Wellesley for ED --both could be done in one trip. But maybe neither is a good fit or maybe both are. They both have elements she really likes. And one of her lab mates this summer (whom she supervised) goes to Wellesley and said my kid would be a great fit. To me -a student perspective on fit is a pretty good endorsement.
You could say just apply to everywhere but both have a substantial benefit for ED. For NEU it almost takes it into Target territory (38% acceptance vs 5%). For Wellesley it moves it from an almots lotto win reach to a solid territory reach.

If anyone has any thoughts on either -let me know. The match thread told my daughter she should go to community college or state school -so I’m a little frustrated right now. She has 700+ hours in a research lab, and 300+ hours of volunteering and she’s already taking CC classes in high school. I have NO qualms with CC or state - my son goes to a state school and is prospering --but this kid needs something different.

ETA: These ED choices also save us substantially versus state -so there is a big advantage financially as well.

ETA2: NEU is supposed to be Northeastern! Sorry

4132

I often wonder about ED admit rates vs the RD pool as not many schools share that info in their CDS. If a student doesn’t meet a “institutional priority”, how much of an advantage do they have over the RD pool? Clear as mud. I wish there was more transparency.

Making me feel really old and even more out of touch…

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4133

There’s a thread on this on CC…somewhere. The advantage definitely differs across schools. Some schools it’s a distinct advantage, others not so much once you account for athletes , legacy etc.

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4134

Exactly. Especially if CDS says that “demonstrated interest” is only a consideration and not “Very Important” or “Important”.

4135

This one is hard!!!
I really hope that y’all can work in a visit before the decision has to be made.

On the surface- if both schools end up being liked and a good fit and they decide to ED- I would ED1 NEU and then have everything locked and loaded to ED2 Wellesley if not admitted. Mainly because from your assessment-NEU would more likely yield an acceptance- so throw what you can at it.

From 1st glance- the dates seem to line up to where this would be possible.

But the biggest question- should your student ED at all?
Especially if you do not get a chance to visit the schools.
I am a gambler :person_shrugging: :smiling_face_with_horns:- so I would probably recommend going with your and your child’s gut feeling (after doing as much online research that can be done if visits are not possible).
At this point- you know where they don’t want to go, so an unknown may be better than an already known ‘No’.

Probably not the standard or correct advise- just my opinion and what I would do.

4136

I don’t know what “NEU” stands for, but I can speak to visiting Wellesley. We visited Wellesley with D26 and thought pretty much everything about the place was great. In fact, my daughter went into that visit not particularly interested in women’s colleges as it was her first visit to one. She left incredibly impressed and now has three women’s colleges in her top 5 (though Wellesley is at the bottom of that list largely due to location). D26 was already primarily interested in small liberal arts colleges prior to the visit.

Things we liked. In terms of you mentioning not being wealthy, Wellesley is an incredibly wealthy school with a sizable endowment. One thing we loved on our visit, is that there was a lot of discussion about how they use that wealth to ensure that all students - not just the well off ones - have a top notch experience at Wellesley. I don’t remember all of the details, but things like paying students for unpaid internships and including housing allowances where necessary, career services with clothing for folks to borrow, fees getting waived or costs covered for certain activities where needed. While I haven’t retained specifics, the sense I got was that they spend more time, energy and money than many of their peer schools thinking about how to have the experience for all students be incredible regardless of family resources.

Another small thing we liked was that the meal plan, if I remember correctly, was not swipes based it was just eat the food that you need to/want to eat. For a place focused on developing young women, we felt that this approach of not making them think about food and money every time they went to eat was very well aligned.

In terms of the academic side of things, we got the strong impression that the student body is very engaged, good relationships with professors, students very much care about learning and are collaborative with each other generally. We liked the core curriculum balance of having some structure but not being too much we don’t think (I think it it was something like 3 broad areas where one must do 3 courses each or something like that). There’s opportunity to do classes with MIT for those that would benefit. There is an ambitious thread about the studetns that may be a bit stronger than some of the other women’s colleges and may lead to a higher level of stress vibes, but our sense is it’s not an overwhelming issue in terms of the culture and it comes with upsides too.

The campus is absolutely gorgeous.

And, big picture, it was clear that it is a really supportive and close knit community. They also talked about the tight alumni network. We have a relative by marrage who went there, and they rave about their time there and also about how good the alumni network is. They mentioned when they were looking to change jobs they sent something to the alumni group (a listserve, or app, or something) and got so much incredibly helpful response and connections.

If a women’s college in suburban boston area is generally a fit for what a kid is looking for, Wellesley seems phenomenal in my opinion.

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4137

I think I must have trust issues because I assume that if they list demonstrated interest as “considered” then in reality it must be important!

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4138

Both have ED2, so could she maybe plan on one ED1 and the other ED2 if she likes both? If you’re visiting both on the same trip, I would expect her to have a clear preference between them—they’re very different schools/places. Another thought is if she really likes Wellesley, maybe you could squeeze in a visit to Smith while you’re in the state, assuming it’s affordable? It’s under a two-hour drive from Wellesley. If she’s seeking urban it might not do it for her, but Northampton is a cute town and it’s an easier (though still tough) admit, which may make an ED app more impactful.

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4139

I must have even more trust issues than you do cuz I’m so far into the weeds with CDS that I’ve actually dug up this info!

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4140

One other note on Wellesley. If you are unable to visit in person, they have a bunch of virtual events including “student-to-student chats” that can help you get a sense of the people and ask questions beyond just the virtual information sessions. We attended one last month and found it very useful. Wellesley Online

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4141

And riddle me this, why do Test Optional schools list test scores as “Important”?!?!

This is a sign that D26 just needs to get her apps in and I should be placed in a medically induced coma until March 2026.

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4142

I think we HAVE to visit honestly - I mean its too big a life choice to just completely wing it. Haha!
I just want to make the most out of the limited travel funds.

BTW your advice makes 100% sense to me -if you are going to gamble - gamble with the more likely win option! That being said my daughter would be more willing to make a gamble on Wellesley “no visit” ED ONLY because she seems more comfortable with that option. She’s met a student that goes there and spent a lot of time with her -so she feels like she could make friends there. It’s a far LESS likely admit and it basically means tossing Northeastern on the ‘no’ pile (Because 5% acceptance rate for RD).

But we’ve decided to just worry now about getting the applications done and then deciding later to ED or not to ED. :slight_smile: She does have some time before November 1st.

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4143

I also wondered that (a number of schools have this) and decided they mean that if you submit them they will be significant in your decision.

4144

I wish they would just be honest about their thoughts on scores. Some say --we REALLY don’t care on their webpages -and I’m just going to take that at face value. But it does make you concerned. There seems to be a lot of sentiment that no test scores =unlikely admit --but I don’t think that’s true all the time.

The ability to take multiple choice tests does not mean the student also has excellent analytic or problem solving skills. We know that kids from lower economic status simply don’t do as well on them (on the whole -not individually). On the flip side, we do know that certain scores = ability to succeed in college.

I have a kid who excels at analysis and does not excel at multiple choice -so I’m happy that some schools still claim to be test optional.

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4145

Yes! We’ve already attended one overview session and plan to attend the student to student chats. I think it would be challenging for her but also really really wonderful for her.

4146

Haha – I told her if she didn’t like either Wellesley or Northeastern, we could simply keep driving west and visit Brandeis, Mount Holyoke and Smith. :slight_smile:

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4147

IMO your daughter will know pretty quickly after visiting if she prefers Wellesley or NEU as they are very very different. I’d honestly be surprised if she chooses to ED1 at one of them, and then picks the other for ED2.

If she prefers Wellesley after visiting, maybe an ED2 to Mount Holyoke if she wants a single gender experience. If single gender isn’t important, Vassar and Swat also have ED2 and typically are linked to having similar vibes as Wellesley.

If NEU wins for ED1, and she needs and ED2, schools like RPI or Case Western may feel like better fits. Or if the co-op program is the draw - U of Cincinnati or Drexel where your D would be a likely (and wouldn’t need ED2 at all).

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4148

Everything you write seems like a perfect fit for her…but I’m sure there are so many women who would benefit and so few spaces :slight_smile: I forgot that I have a cousin who went there! I’ll try to give her a call.

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4149

Re: test optional

This is why we like test-blind! Even if you submit the score, they won’t even look at it.

For test-optional, no concrete facts, but S23 did not submit test scores (didn’t take either SAT or ACT) and was admitted into 9 out of 12 schools with mostly generous merit aid. He also received tuition exchange at 4 of them.

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4150

An update on Common App situation- I posted D26 was very frustrated b/c she submitted them all on 8/1 and as of this morning, none had been downloaded. Well, as of 3 pm this afternoon, ALL 8 of them have been downloaded by the schools and a few have emailed her to set up portals. She is so relieved! I think she truly wondered if there was some sort of glitch with her applications.

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