Retroactive WAMC for DS (Unique Case)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello CC,

This thread is a rather unique one. I have a DS that graduated from Uni some time ago and when he applied in 2007, these were his stats (listed below).

He didn’t enjoy his undergraduate experience due to it not being his first choice school, and as we were going through a dire period financially at the time he applied, we encouraged him to attend the most financially viable option (which was not his first choice)

When in college, he always felt out of place and constantly second guessed himself, and simply didn’t fit in with the overall crowd. He also had trouble finding professors to do research with and found the overall atmosphere of the school to be diametrically opposed to his personality.

He always regrets going to the school he attended, and we were having a discussion recently about where he would have gotten in had he applied broadly (without taking our finances into account).

I suppose he is seeking closure for his undergraduate experience, to reassure himself that he was capable of getting into a more rigorous and prestigious school, and one that was more importantly, a better fit for him.

The reason I am posting this thread is to see which schools he would have gotten accepted to had he applied to them, back in the 2007 cycle (he graduated in 2008)

I know things have changed dramatically since then (and admissions has become a lot more competitive) but I would greatly appreciate it if some of you that have experience and knowledge of the admissions pattern back then could chime in and offer your feedback.

Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student: US Citizen
  • State/Location of residency: MD
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Public
  • Other special factors: (first generation to college, legacy, recruitable athlete, etc.): First Generation

Cost Constraints / Budget NA

Intended Major(s) BIO

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: (calculate it yourself if your high school does not calculate it) 3.65
  • Weighted HS GPA: *4.5
  • College GPA: (for transfer applicants)
  • Class Rank: Top 25%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT I Superscore: 2150
  • SAT IIs: 720 Math 1/2

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: AP Lang/AP Lit

  • Math: (including highest level course(s) completed) AP Calc AB

  • Science: (including which ones, such as biology, chemistry, physics) AP Bio/AP Chem/AP Psych/Honors Physics/Honors Chem/Honors Bio

  • History and social studies: AP Gov/AP World/Honors US History

  • Language other than English: (including highest level completed) Honors French

  • Visual or performing arts: Photography

  • Other academic courses: Honors Research Seminar

  • (AP Lit and AP Calc were taken senior year)

  • General education course work: All Reqs completed

  • Major preparation course work: All Honors Courses/Rigorous Course Load

Awards AP National Scholar (Senior Year) National Honors Society, French Honors Society, Various miscellaneous awards

Extracurriculars
NIH research
Volunteering/Shadowing
Community Service
Science Olympiad (Senior Year)

Essays/LORs/Other
Strong LORs and Essays

Schools

Rice U
Emory U
Vanderbilt U
U of Notre Dame
U of California, Berkeley
Carnegie Mellon U
U of Virginia
Georgetown U
U of California, Los Angeles
U of Michigan, Ann Arbor
U of Southern California
U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Tufts U
Wake Forest U
Brandeis U
College of William and Mary
New York U
U of Rochester
Georgia Institute of Technology
Boston College
U of Wisconsin, Madison
U of California, San Diego
Case Western Reserve U
U of Washington
U of California, Davis

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely:
  • Likely:
  • Toss-up:
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability:

I should probably add that he was waitlisted at UChicago (and didn’t send them a follow-up, but showed promise/waitlist movement) and at Georgetown (also interviewed here, but wasn’t accepted in the end).

I would really appreciate it if someone with expertise could really just tell me what his chances were like at these schools above. There might be some information I’ve missed above, feel free to let me know what else is needed for his profile. Thank you very much.

2

I honestly don’t understand what the point of this exercise is. I was an alumni interviewer for Cornell for over 20 years and I can tell you that the high achievers getting into those types of schools then still had the crazy high stats we are seeing now, and most students were still getting rejected. Rank and GPA still needed to be very high. And being out of state still mattered back for the state flagships as well.

Most families have to worry about finances when making college decisions. I’m sorry your child was unhappy where they landed but I’d be working with them on letting go of the past and focusing on the fact that they obtained a college degree. If they’d like to add to their education, there is always grad school.

Also hope that you as a parent aren’t feeling badly about this. We all do the best we can!

2 Likes
4

Thanks boilermom, I completely understand what you’re saying; I honestly needed to do this as an exercise to absolve my conscience of any guilt and responsibility we feel for putting our son in the situation he was in.

I understand that college admissions have always been competitive, but my son had rather impressive statistics for his application year (based on the class admissions profiles I’ve managed to look up for some schools for the entering class of 2008) so I always felt that our financial situation was to blame for his predicament.

I really would appreciate your input (and those of others) as far as what schools in the list above he would have been a good match for/accepted to, given his profile. If anything, it would validate my son’s (and my belief) that he was a good fit at some of the schools listed above. Thank you.

5

Closing thread. For many reasons, not least of which is privacy, users are allowed to ask questions for themselves and their dependents only. Your ~35 year old son doesn’t qualify, and really needs to look forward, not back.