SAT 2200, subject SAT chemistry 800, USHistory 800 Math 740, AP bio 5 AP US history 5. Top 5% of class, 11 varsity letters, captain of cross country, wrestling and outdoor track, many athletic awards including state champion in 4x800 , national merit commended scholar, volunteer tutor, peer leader
We are really surprised by rejection. Both my husband and I are alumni and my son fell in love with the school and was really hoping to get in. He was accepted at Lafayette, Washington and Lee, wait listed at Williams. Any thoughts?
If they accepted every perfect candidate that applies to their college they would have to build two-three new colleges just to fit those applicants alone. Your son a very high status in my book and I’m surprised as well, but you’ve got to look at the college process holistically and understand why they chose their decision.
If you’re really agonized by the decision, you can call them up and they will tell you the specific reasons to why they didn’t pick your son.
This was probably just one of those situations where a very qualified, high-stats kid gets rejected from a place where he would “seem” in. College admissions is a funny thing sometimes, and this is one of those times. Congratulations about the other acceptances.
@mprothero, With both parents being alumni, I think you have a great reason to call and politely inquire about your son’s denial. Even though Bucknell is a super selective school, your son’s stats and EC’s make him a very qualified candidate, and being a double legacy would only add to his application. If nothing else, having some sense of the reason may make you feel better about your alma mater. I am not familiar with Bucknell’s financial aid policies, but perhaps they are not need blind, and perhaps you have need? IDK!
Technically, @dfin2013‌ is correct. Bucknell says in their Common Data Set (CDS) that they consider alumni relation and consider level of interest important. A possible phone call may provide some clarification about the situation.
That is a surprising result. One question comes to me, does Bucknell consider legacy during RD? The only reason I ask is I know Penn only considers legacy for ED applications, so if a legacy child, even with double legacy, applies in RD, there is no bump.
Was your son recruited for track and did he go on an Official Visit? It doesn’t sound like it because Bucknell has a slot system and athletes not needing an admissions slot apply ED.
Bucknell has become Early Decision heavy these days.
I agree with Dfin that a phone call is in order. even if W&L were the young man’s first choice, that should not have affected the consideration that much. For athletic recruitment, to get an athletic preference, yes, first choice is essential, but this student should have gotten heavy consideration without the athletic card. Is he truly legacy by Bucknell definition? I see cases where people think that a given student has legacy, but it’s either not by definition (some schools only count legacy if the parent graduated from the exact school to which the student is applying; grad school or other branch doesn’t count) or it is a weaker form of legacy (sibling, non parent).
Without the legacy, however, it is not all that surprising for a denial. Yes, I’ve seen kids with those numbers denied from schools at Bucknell on a RD basis. Maybe things have gotten even tighter for RD. The kids I know who were accepted there were all ED this year and for the last few, from what I can remember. My one son was accepted to Bucknell years ago as a non ED,non legacy, not as well endowed academically, but as an athletic recruit who stated that Bucknell was first choice
I would call to find out. BUT if it is true that another college where he was admitted is his first choice, maybe you should let it go. It doesn’t matter. (and maybe they knew)
I’ve seen some overqualified applicants get rejected from schools that they would normally get into. Colleges don’t want to accept someone who isn’t really going to attend, so if he didn’t make his interest abundantly clear, I could see them passing on him figuring he wouldn’t attend anyway. That being said, it’s still strange that they would turn down a qualified legacy, but you never know maybe something in his essays was off-putting to one particular admissions employee.
I might ask your son’s guidance counselor to call and find out what the story is. Especially with the legacy, it is surprising. (PS My D is at Lafayette and loves it so you have any questions on the school I can help you with feel free to PM me).
I sent you a private message. A call won’t provide any definition. No admissions office will tell you why you got rejected. Just that there are many qualified applicants.
As it stands now would he go? Or are you just annoyed given the legacy status and do you have younger children? I would only call if he would go or you have younger children or it is really bothering you because you have been a big supporter. If he will not go but you have younger children that is a different conversation than if he would go. Having your GC call is best