<p>One envelope today, full merit ride to safety which loves him. Waiting for one by mail, two by server…but it’s the on in the mail that matters most here.</p>
<p>Owlice: we make a similar salad. Spinach leaves, feta cheese, chopped glazed pecans or walnuts, mandarin orange slices. Caroline’s orange poppyseed dressing (available at Safeway) optional. Yum!</p>
<p>mountains your son has some nice accepts under his belt. I know the rejects still sting, but I try to tell myself that 100% accepts would mean you’re aiming too low… glad to hear the freezer thing did the trick.</p>
<p>owlice, right now I only have one spreadsheet - the big MONEY spreadsheet. I’ll start on the reams of lists in a bit.</p>
<p>jude_36 - He knew rejections were coming - he aimed high and also because of the lottery-nature of college admissions. I have been telling him how courageous he is for willing to take risks because I know rejections sting, no matter what. He is definitely learning some of life’s lessons, and I am pleased on how he’s been handling them. And thanks for the freezer trick - I could not believe my H believed me when I suggested it!</p>
<p>my D is really disappointed by the Bowdoin rejection, I think she’s getting worried about being so far from home, but I think that in a day or two she’ll be fine and will be back to analyzing her accepts for the best fit. We’re talking about trying to make second visits and see if we can fit that in.</p>
<p>Thanks for tea, Owlice! Chocolates are wonderful!
Back in your company. I just realized that we have less than 48 hours till all the final decisions come (hopefully all servers will work, and DD has all the passwords). Looks like we have the highest number of colleges with March 31 reply date - five. I hoped that the certainty of reply date (clearly no news till 5 PM Monday) will keep my thoughts off colleges. But this is not happening. What’s for dinner?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the company and refreshments this week, gang!</p>
<p>6 nice acceptances, 1 (Georgetown) waitlist…was that the favorite?
Georgetown did include the statistics from past years for acceptances off the waitlist - the chances are literally slim and none. But I really do appreciate knowing the facts. Are they enough to keep us in limbo a little longer?</p>
<p>My older son felt the disappointment of rejections ending as he attended the accepted students receptions in our area or at the college. They really make you feel wanted.</p>
<p>Oh look - someone has planted a lovely Zen garden for quiet meditative walks…</p>
<p>Now I’m laughing! I had assumed this was a thread about an anti-war protest vigil, and was wondering how it got to be so long. So I finally checked on it.</p>
<p>Good luck to EVERYONE’s children.</p>
<p>Soon I can stop obsessing about what I can’t know until next week, and then I’ll be able to return to my previous obsessions, such as jewelry making. My contribution to the May 1 party will be bracelets for everyone - sterling silver, swarovski crystal and gemstones. They come in heavenly colors, such as sapphire, acquamarine, crystal copper, emerald and fuchsia. There is a choice of sterling focal beads, too - hearts, shells, fish, stars, greek key, kokopelli. Some of the gemstones that I use are malachite, lapis lazuli, turquoise, tiger eye, red coral and picture jasper. I am almost tempted enough to tear myself away from cc. But not yet!</p>
<p>gladmom: do you make broaches as well? My d’s prospective prom dress needs a gemstone broach…See, I’ll get you to focus on something else!!</p>
<p>Ooh, can’t wait for the beautiful bracelet! Thanks, gladmom. After all, it looks like we won’t be doing much jewelry shopping for the next four years. </p>
<p>Our watched mailbox finally boiled this afternoon. One of the FA packets arrived and an acceptance came in a thin envelope. We thought for sure it would be a rejection. </p>
<p>dmd77, I’m so glad you decided to check out CC’s peace activist thread! I enjoyed your post. Thanks for the laugh.</p>
<p>Hugs to parents of kids dealing the stings of waitlists or rejections. mountains, I really like what you told your son.</p>
<p>dmd77,
I thought the same thing! Kept thinking, “Oh, I bet it’s political, and I don’t want to go there…” I love politics, but this college stuff has me riled up enough already!</p>
<p>DS just received his 4th waitlist decision and it is so painful to see his pain. He has 3 early admissions that we thought were safeties (apparently they are matches) so he has a place to go next year and we have always been positive about them. For his early applications (the 3 admits) he did not reveal a minor learning disability and some personal information (father had a stroke during 10th grade, etc) but he ultimately did for the RD round. The counselor felt he should include this information so ultimately he did although he did not really want to. I can’t help but notice that he was not admitted to those schools where he revealed this information and accepted to those where he did not. I am feeling guilty because I was on the fence about revealing this information - as he has managed to do reasonably well despite the problems he has faced - but I was convinced by the counselor that it could only help him so I lobbied with the counselor. I am not so sure now. I know it’s a challenging year but at least 2 of his waitlists should have been “safeties”, if there is such a thing, and they waitlisted him as well.</p>
<p>Rileydog - I am so sorry to hear this. I would not have known what to do either if I were in your shoes. You did the best you could knowing what you knew then, and that’s really all we, as parents, could do for our children. There’s been an illness in our family and because of this, we could no longer visit colleges starting in November. S disclosed this in a college we could not visit, and he was rejected. In reading posts of accepted students on that college forum, students with lower stats were accepted. Demonstrated interest is very important in this college, so I have no idea if that disclosure played a role in this college’s decision. Did they think it was an excuse? We would never know; we can only second-guess but I am comforted by the thought that the colleges that reject my son are doing him a favor. While they may not be 100% accurate (or fair) in their evaluation, they know their college better than we ever would, and if they sense my S would not be a good fit for their college, then I thank them for sparing my child any future unhappiness. I have read enough cc posts from parents who have survived this difficult process to know this to be true, and their children are thriving and happy where they are now, first choice or not. Hang in there, I am rooting for you and your DS. It’s going to be okay.</p>
<p>Oh, Rileydog, I’m so sorry. mountains put it perfectly. As parents we’ve all been down that painful road of second-guessing whether we should have made the decisions we did. ((Hugs)) to you. If there’s one word that comes to my mind reading the board right now, it’s “bloodbath.” There have been so many totally unexpected waitlists and rejections. If your son’s information was a tipping point, which it may not have been, those schools weren’t worth attending, but yeah, I really understand how you’re feeling.</p>
<p>Rileydog: I am so sorry about what you and your son are going through. However, I am certain that the revelations your son made were not the reason for the wait listing.</p>
<p>This is just such a challenging year. I thought last year was bad.</p>
<p>Both of my kids were out right rejected at schools that should have been safeties! Certainly at matches. I know this was because we needed financial aid.</p>
<p>It is impossible to know what went into these decisions. The adcoms were so swamped this year I’m not sure they didn’t use the time honored “through the papers down the stairs.”</p>
<p>Read the thread about crazy results.</p>
<p>So many kids have nowhere to go this year. Congratulations! on the three acceptances! And with four wait lists there is certainly a possibility he will get off one of them.</p>
<p>You can remedy your approach (not that I think it was wrong) by updating those colleges with positive achievements since the applications. This may take some creative marketing, but you guys can do it.</p>
<p>These schools are looking for reasons to let kids off the wait list. Give them one or two or three.</p>
<p>I suspect, though it’s too early to know for sure, that when all the kids send back those cards there’s going to be a lot of wait list activity.</p>
<p>And mountains is so correct. In retrospect I see that the colleges that rejected my son were places he wouldn’t have been happy, though we didn’t see it at the time.</p>
<p>I can’t say the same for my daughter. Girls just get rejected willy-nilly.</p>
<p>Hang in there. Next year when he comes home for Thanksgiving he is not going to care at all (though we parents do seem to hold on to these things.)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’ve been amazed at the number of kids reporting no acceptances. It’s heartbreaking.</p>
<p>[Bagels, cream cheese and coffee for everyone]
Thanks to all for your words of wisdom. I have learned more the past month about the college process than I ever thought possible. At this rate I’ll be a pro(and very well-fed) by the time 14yr-old daughter starts the journey. Another week, another chance for mail. The vigil continues here…</p>
<p>Thanks for breakfast, zfam. I’ve learned a lot that I’ll be putting to use for my youngest also.</p>
<p>mountains and 2blue - thank you both - both very kind and thoughtful posts. How nice to be able to come here this morning and read them. I was literally not able to sleep last night. I am sure part of it is a let down for the years of time he has invested, we as a family have invested, etc. </p>
<p>mountains - we had a similar situation and were unable to get back to touring schools. We actually received a phone call from one school a flight away asking why we had cancelled our son’s visit if he was “really” interested in the school. I explained that my BIL was dying and we had to change plans, then it was tough to get back because we both work in hospitals and have to find coverage, etc. The caller asked several more pointed questions - how does he know he wants to go here, etc. My son was out so I did the best I could - this was just a couple of weeks ago so clearly demonstrated interest and yield are important for at least some of these schools. </p>
<p>This morning I sat with DS and started to make plans for the admitted students days where he has been accepted. There are a few more pending decisions but now they are in the “reaching for the moon” category and I want to see all of us moving off in a positive direction. Thanks again dear CC companions. Who else could appreciate the angst?</p>
<p>mythmom - thanks to you as well, and for the breakfast, zfam! I am sorry for the rejections - and I do believe girls are rejected willy-nilly some places. My son is an engineering applicant so he is also in the overrepresented gender applicant pool. </p>
<p>This is my second time around. However, DS1 applied ED and was in as of November. Life sailed on. I surely would recommend ED to those who can deal with the financial concerns - but pick your ED carefully.</p>