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<p>Yeah. I guess I don’t see what changes between April 1 and May 1 to make that question any more answerable than it was between March 1 and April 1. IOW – to some extent, it’s all unanswerable and at one point you have to just trust your gut that you fit better in Environment X than Environment Y and go from there.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl,
S1 got into MIT and Chicago EA two years ago. Dropped several schools from the list at that point, but was mainly waiting on Mudd RD (which was his #1/2, pretty much tied with Chicago). In retrospect, he could have dropped a couple more, but he went from 10 to 7 and we wanted to see how $$ would play out.</p>
<p>April of that year was the time when he was finally able to compare apples to apples and get down to brass tacks about placement. He learned that at some of his schools, to get the placement he needed meant he would be spending a lot of time doing independent research one-on-one with a prof. He realized that while he wanted to do research, he also wanted an interactive learning environment with peers. Other school options were more flexible about early graduate work. He also realized that he wanted a school with real focus on the humanities, even though he is a math/CS guy through and through. He knew this would be his one chance to immerse himself in such an environment, and this became more important to him as April progressed. </p>
<p>And frankly, he had an attitude about MIT for a long, long time because of the folks from his HS who attended there. Wasn’t til he “found his people” at MIT that it started moving up his list. Had the deadline been 5/31, he may have chosen MIT instead of Chicago (though he loves Chicago and has had a fabulous experience).</p>
<p>Ok, ok, I give :-). You all can yell at me this time next year if either one of my kids are still dithering :-)</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I think the GPA for your kids is also dependent on where they fit within their HS. Even if your school doesn’t rank, the profile should give a picture for you. At my kids’ HS, those GPAs would be near the top of the class! I understand your angst about the types of schools to apply to. For my S, we didn’t have to put together a balanced list because of his EA acceptance, but my D’s list was all over the place.</p>
<p>They do rank, based on weighted GPA. D is about 7%-8%; S is like one or two people outside the magic top 10%. I don’t know how to evaluate that, though. It is a public high school in a middle to upper middle class suburban area in which most kids go on to college, but not necessarily highly competitive ones.</p>
<p>hmmm, my suspicion is that rank matters more for the students who come from schools that publish this, because this is a stat that colleges also publish. My kids were not in top 10%, but it’s also a very competitive high school where many kids go to top schools. Their SATs were at or above the 75th %ile, though, for every school they applied to. I do think giving the schools something that looks good in their published stats helps. I know you’re looking at schools not in your geographic area, so that will help. I would really pick out a range of schools that fit your kids personalities and interest and be sure you have at least two at every selectivity level, particularly with the LACs because they are about filling slots for a diverse student body. definitely throw in some “reach for the stars,” though!!</p>
<p>PG, I’m an INTJ who was accepted EDII, but I always had a ranked list by preference (some with ties). I was looking for a very specific confluence of academic majors in an LAC, and consequently applied to some schools that satisfied one academic interest but not another. I can see myself taking a week to decide between those schools, trying to prioritize interests… but I can’t imagine not having a ranked list before applying, even if that list later changes. It’s simply impossible for me to have “ten #1” choices… I HAVE to have some preferences, even if I don’t want to acknowledge them.</p>
<p>For instance, I can understand waiting for visits to make a final decision; but you should be talking to friends, doing extensive internet research, etc. before you even decide to apply. JMHO.</p>
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<p>This has been our experience. I wish my son could have zeroed in on the ‘perfect’ school and had been admitted EA. It would have been nice to have been done with it. Honestly don’t know many kids who fall into this category. </p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I admire you for all the time you are spending planning ahead for your twins while they’re in their junior year. I think it’s great you’re doing it. I wish I had been able to get my son more interested in his junior year. We’ve been taking him to look at college since 9th grade but, really, he just wasn’t ready to think seriously about it until Sr year.</p>
<p>Just don’t be surprised if it turns out not to be as black and white as you would like it. Once you get into the thick of things, it’s a lot messier and grayer than you ever imagined. I thought it would be a pretty simple process, FA isn’t an issue for us but when it comes right down to it, you have to look at every factor of each school in relation each other and then you realize maybe college A is a pretty good fit socially but college B has a particular program your child is interested in and College C is a great school but far away and your child really isn’t sure about only getting to come home at Christmas and during the summer. And your kid really loves College D but you don’t personally think it’s worth the money. And to top it off, your adolescent is changing his or her mind weekly, if not daily.</p>
<p>This could drive a TJ over the edge. :)</p>
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<p>Yep, same here. I was warned by parents who had been through the process that what your child thinks about particular colleges in Sept is vastly different from how they feel in April. That has been the case here to a large degree. I worried that son would be crushed that he didn’t get into some of his reaches but he’s really not. </p>
<p>Also, I’ve noted that a lot of kids feel they must ‘reach’ high because a lot of their classmates are but at the end of the day most do not get into their reaches and a lot of kids end up staying closer to home anyway. So son’s perspective - that everyone is going away to college has changed now that he realizes that most of his friends will be within a 2 hour drive of home.</p>
<p>I’m glad the process is almost over and I don’t have to do this again. OTOH, I’m sooo much more experienced that I sort of wish I could do it again. This time I would be so much more laid back and calm about the whole thing. I think. :D</p>
<p>Could drive a TJ over the edge? You underestimate me. It will drive me over the edge :-).</p>
<p>^Well, I’m an INFP or J, depending upon my mood and it’s driven me over the edge numerous times this school year. I’m still dithering but I really do think things turn out for the best, even when it turns out differently than you had planned.</p>
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<p>Join the club! My son ended up being much more complex than I ever imagined. He wants a LAC but not a small one. Wants to be at a DIV 1 school (he was a varsity football player). Wants to be at a school with a lot of socioeconomic diversity (he’s been in a expensive, small college prep school since 2nd grade - is tired of all the ‘rich’ kids although technically he is one 
). Wants to be at a school that does major research. And that’s only part of his requirements. UGH!</p>
<p>Turns out the honors college at our flagship was probably the right place for him all along (although both my H and I graduated from said flagship and always thought it would be nice if he went somewhere else). It meets most of his requirements. AND he was darn lucky to get into the honor college there. It was just as much of a reach for him as his other reaches.</p>
<p>It will all work out and it’s all good. Take lots of deep breathes and have lots of wine handy, just in case.</p>
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<p>Thanks for asking, PCP. I doubt he’ll go on to the waitlist. I think he’s pretty happy with the SC honors college. I don’t think, at this point, that Michigan will change his mind.</p>
<p>Congrats to your son. Do you think Caltech will be his choice over Chicago? FWIW, I read some posts on the Ivies forum where at least one kid got into MIT but was rejected at Calech. That’s when you realize there’s so much subjectivity to this whole process. Your son did very well for himself. I’m sure he’ll do great no matter where he ends up.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any insight into how Pomona regards these kinds of students? D1 and I toured Pitzer and Pomona this week. She’s certainly competitive for Pitzer, which was already on her list, but was bowled over by Pomona. I have the vague impression that Pomona isn’t going to be interested in an unhooked kid with this range of (unweighted) GPA, even if she writes a totally killer essay. </p>
<p>Having something of a shot is one thing, but having a snowball’s chance is another. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>^From an observer’s POV, it seems to me that Pomona is not particularly friendly toward lower-end GPAs. Your chances will be better with some sort of hook, such as underrepresented geography; they are also kinder to males, because IIRC their charter requires them to maintain a 50/50 gender ratio. If she still loves Pomona at the end of her search, apply ED1 and maximize that “snowball’s chance.”</p>
<p>MomLive, S1 was accepted at MIT and waitlisted at Caltech two years ago, and Caltech had been recruiting him. Strange things happen.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, wasn’t meaning to rag on you…just that S1 had some fairly involved selection criteria.</p>
<p>Neither S1’s nor S2’s school ranked. S1 was one or two outside of top 10% and S2 was in the 20-25% range. Both were in very selective programs within a larger public school, and the chart of GPA and of kids with said GPA range included the kids in these programs as well as those who took no APs. Both had SATs at/above 75%tile for every school to which they applied.</p>
<p>I’m an ISFJ. Must do research, endlessly nurture and worry!</p>
<p>Okay, a word of advice from a 3.5 candidate that was accepted into a ton of LACs and Columbia (and will be attending): It is definitely possible, but you have to do far more to show that you should be accepted. Let your personality shine through and good things will become of it!</p>
<p>Obstinate - for full disclosure purpose, you are an URM. Not to say you didn’t have good qualifications, but a white/Asian with your stats may not have the same outcome. Congratulations, nevertheless.</p>
<p>For the lucky who have the hard decision of making a choice, one teacher outlined a methodology which may be of use. Remember the expediency of choice may help a friend – or just another worthy candidate – and should be implemented. To help, spend a day or two as though you chose a particular school. Then spend a day o two as though you chose the other school. In the end, you will feel more comfort for one over the other. Good luck to all with the fortunate/unfortunate task of having to make a choice of two great offers.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and ECs and other subjective matters don’t count whatsoever right? There’s white/Asian kids that get in with less than 4.0s.</p>
<p>MomLive, Caltech is at the top of his list now. It came in with better FA than UChicago. I don’t know how we missed it before, but we just discovered that Dr. David Baltimore, 1975 Nobel laureate and ex-president of Caltech, has a bio lab there and is still on the teaching staff. Dr. Baltimore’s work matches perfectly with what S1 wants to do! I, however, still feel he will have a better well-rounded education at UChicago and that it is a better environment for him. Tough choice here, but S1 gets to decide.</p>
<p>Many parents and their kids on this thread have achieved what they set out to do – acceptance from a top school. It has been a long journey and I thank everyone for staying strong together. I hope the FA works out for all the families here.</p>
<p>Even though he didn’t have much success with the Ivies in the RD round, we feel very fortunate and extremely happy that with a 3.5+ GPA, S1 was accepted at Notre Dame, UChicago, Caltech and waitlisted at MIT. His application has its share of strengths and weaknesses. </p>
<p>Strengths:
<p>Weaknesses:
<p>Notice I did not put “Essay” in either list because although I think his common app essay is an excellent piece of writing, the setting – Charles River – may have led adcoms to infer a preference on his part…I’m of course second guessing here.</p>
<p>It is interesting to note that he did much better in the EA round than the RD round. My guess is that the 3.2+ mid-year grades really hurt him. I believe his 20-30 hour weekly lab research work played a role here, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.</p>
<p>FOB, this is why we’ve suggested to both our kids that they make a decision about ten days before the deadline – so they can try it on, wear it around, let it sink into their psyche – and see if anything changes their minds.</p>
<p>S1 also made a matrix, assigned weights to each criterion and ranked each school on each quality.</p>