Help! All decisions are in;
6 acceptances, 1 waitlist, 4 rejections
Geology/ Env Eng Major- instate MD
UVM- 42k per yr
Pitt- 62k per yr
RPI- 52k per yr
SMCM- MD- 27k per yr (bio/marine bio major)
Bennington College- 54k per yr
UMBC- MD- 25k per yr (eng)
Tell us a little more about what you’re looking for in a school and your general financial concerns. It is easier for people to help you evaluate the options when we know what aspects of the college experience you prioritize . Major, ranking, size, location, social vibe, campus facilities or aesthetics, your overall gut feeling and of course, money concerns. Are you hoping to get off of the W&M waitlist?
Congratulations! Six VERY different and interesting schools!
Yes, how do we get off the W+M waitlist?
I really don’t know the answer to that! My daughter is a happy senior at W&M but I don’t have info on the waitlist process at the school. Generally speaking, though I think it’s customary to write a LOCI ( letter of continued interest ) in an email addressed to your admissions officer. Reiterate what you love about the school, say that if admitted that you WOULD attend ( only if that’s true, but it’s an important point ) and update with any new grades, activities, rewards, interests, projects or any other relevant thing about yourself that might help your application. It doesn’t have to be impressive, just a line or two about what you’re up to that shows a little more of who you are. Knowing what I know about the school, I’d say that showing enthusiasm and warmth is more important than formality in such a letter, though of course, you’d want your writing to be clear and grammatically correct!
Have you been able to visit campus? If it’s not too far, a visit might be fun ( of course, campus is gorgeous in spring ) and would show additional interest ( but not necessary to do at all ).
I ‘m going to try to call on someone here who might know a little more about the waitlist. @3SailAway , are you around ? 
Meanwhile, if W&M doesn’t come through, what are some qualities in a school that is most important to you in deciding between the others?
I am a William and Mary parent as well. I would just add that all waitlisted students are offered a spring transfer pathway by either doing a fall semester study abroad through Verto or attending a community college. It’s something to consider if William and Mary is the top choice. I’m also going to add that I’m kind of not understanding why it would be a top choice for someone looking to major in environmental engineering or geology.
OK, so, I just checked with my D (she is a campus tour guide so she does get a lot of different questions) and the immediately said, do a LOCI. I asked, email, email with attachment, or printed and mailed and she really didn’t know the answer to that. Maybe the admissions office could tell you? You don’t want to call incessantly but one quick call won’t hurt at all. Or maybe that info is on the admissions website.
Agreed on environmental engineering, but I knew some very enthusiastic and friendly geologists at W&M!
I’d say don’t do UVM. Huge drug/homeless population in Burlington, VT is out of control and is literally right next the UVM campus. It’s truly an out-of-control, and frankly very sad, situation.
Correct, W+ M for geology, not env eng! Any other inputs for other schools? Its a very diverse set of schools but leaning torwards SMCM, RPI & UVM
Anyone?
I think we need more information.
My first question is does your student want to seriously consider engineering? If so, I would recommend starting in a first-year engineering program, because it is typically a lot easier to start in engineering then switch to something else as opposed to doing it the opposite way. And it is not clear to me where first-year engineering would be an option.
My next question would be what would those cost differences actually mean to your family? Sometimes it is not a big deal as the family could easily pay the difference out of some combination of cash flow and dedicated college savings. Other times it would mean taking on a lot more debt. I generally think taking on a lot more debt is a bad idea, but in the other scenario it is really just a personal decision.
Also, it might not be the first priority, but the environments are totally different! A person could be ecstatic at one but miserable at another, depending on your personality and degree of adaptability.
Saint Mary’s is on an idyllic (to some) location right on the Chesapeake, where students can check out campus sailboats after they pass a swimming test. But it’s remote. Campus is very small and students are close-knit, which can feel family-like and cozy or constraining. Pitt is a large, bustling urban campus with high-rise buildings. You will never run out of new people to meet. The other schools have a lot of variability too.
Absolutely.
I think you want to start with colleges that have the sorts of academic programs you might be interested in, and that you can comfortably afford. But then if you have multiple such choices, you can, and I think should, pivot to thinking about the overall four-year college experience. What do you want those years to be like, academically and non-academically? Where do you think you as an individual are most likely to thrive?
I think people sometimes see these as “soft” questions, but to me that is a mistake. So much that happens after college can be influenced by how you actually do in college. Of course not every college experience is perfect, and most people have things that don’t go well that they need to learn from. One might even suggest that is an important part of the experience.
But overall, I’d suggest you want to at least set yourself up at a place where you think you will do well, and take it from there. Because that is really important!
Anyway, point being if the OP’s kid does have multiple affordable options with the programs she wants to consider, that is definitely not the end of the process in making a decision. There would be more questions, by nature personal questions, to answer.
Thanks for your input! They are definitely leaning towards
SMCM
RPI or
UVM
We have seen SMCM 2x now, RPI we know well, and UVM we are going to see in a few weeks, mid April.
RPI & UVM have env eng/ geo which is their primary interest. SMCM has bio/ marine bio…
Budget wise they are all ok, no loans should be needed. Distance for UVM/ RPI is far.
I know kids at all of these schools, and all are happy. They are definitely all different- St. Mary’s is in a beautiful, but in a quite remote location and is smaller. The kid I know at RPI struggled at first- it’s definitely kind of a nerd school and skews pretty male. He also found the location and campus pretty drab at first but it has grown on him. UVM skews more female, but it’s a bigger school so plenty of all types. Burlington has really struggled in the last couple of years for sure, but I think the UVM kids are somewhat insulated from it and it’s still just a lovely place to be- the lake is gorgeous and so much great outdoorsy stuff to do right there. Plenty of kids from the DMV area at UVM, but no denying it’s kind of a pain- no direct flight from BWI sadly. I wouldn’t let that be too much of a deterrent though.
Why would you go to W&M or Saint Mary’s with an interest in engineering?
You really have to decide Geology or engineering. If you’re looking for better career outcomes, go to engineering. You have solid schools on the list for that - and there’s other solid you can still apply to and get in if those aren’t right or you want to spend less.
Last year W&M offered 4232 WL spots. They accepted only 6K kids so it’s a high #. And far higher than the less than 1600 who enrolled. So they WL a ton of kids. 2063 stayed on and 207 were accepted. My daughter was WL but was not offered a Spring path so I don’t know about that. She did not join the WL however and maybe that’s why.
The year b4 136 or 1918 got in…so the odds aren’t great. That year, 3833 were offered.
Hopefully one of the current schools work but if not there’s still time to find others that might have easier transport (i.e since bwi - a southwest connection).
Good luck.
Thank you both!
Yes, DCA and IAD have direct Burlinton, VT flights. Engineering is def a more lucrative major, but if they are planning on getting a masters maybe not as important? Esp env eng?
My feeling is W+M geo may be a dream, since the waitlist us so big!
We will def pick a school from the 6 we have, in lieu of applying elsewhere.
It sounds like W&M is liked for the ranking?
For engineering, one doesn’t need a Masters and most will not. Or they’ll end up in another field - like an MBA to diversify them. Some do get though.
WL in general should always be seen as a dream. A WL is saying - we’ve not accepted you. Your decision is no. But we are going to use you as an insurance policy in case our yield is not high enough.
Even if they go to it, you don’t know who wins - is it a certain major or gender or payment $$ amount.
So yes, to quote the W&M admissions person when my daughter was WL, you were rejected but there’s an option for us in case it’s needed. People get mad here when I say - a WL is a rejection - but that verbiage came from W&M. What I personally don’t like about WL are the sheer #s they put on - but again, that’s for them, not you. WL likely have low yields because if you’re on a WL, you’ve committed and hopefully fallen in love elsewhere - so when they come back and you’ve got a roomie and more, it’s more likely a no to them and they have to dig deeper, etc.
Unfortunately, W&M doesn’t have a by major database so you cannot see Geology. But yes my guess is grad school which means more cost and less income.
If I use UNC as a sub, they’re not showing salary for some reason - too few- but over the last 3 years, 13 responded (likely a small major) - The jobs with more than one were |Research Assistant|3|
There was grad school listed to as SD School of Mines, Arizona, Clemson, Maryland, Chapel Hill and Oregon.
If I use UVA as a sub, and env sciences - they don’t have Geology or earth science in their list - then you have an average salary of $48K in 2023. with 48% working, 24% in school and 18% still looking (at what time that was captured I don’t know). But in science, it’s definitely a harder job get.
If you look at Environmental Engineering, RPI is showing a $76K average.
In the end, it depends on what the student wants - but outcome wise, one will do better with engineering (on the averages, every kid is different of course). And if one wants to go to grad school, it’s always an option - in fact, some RPI kids go from engineering to law based on the school names.
Best of luck whatever you decide - at least you have options and you can always add more (there’s still time) if none are satisfactory.
| — | — |
|Geologist|2|
|Laboratory Assistant|2|
Thank you! I will def relay this info to my kid.
I agree, going the masters/ phd route will be more $$$ esp given the current political environment.
Why is UMBC eliminated? It is great for engineering.