@tmeg01 You are so kind to respond and provide insight. But the funny thing is… she did apply to business school, so their statement about wanting more girls makes it even more confusing lol. So I know she’s our daughter, but she has some very unique and impressive ECs and kind of has a lot going for her besides her stats. Your friends deferrals do sound surprising for sure! But again, it is a smaller school so maybe they have something really specific in mind that is hard to pinpoint?
At the end of the day, I think she’s leaning toward South Carolina with their offer being too good to refuse and she fell in love during their admitted students day. Tulane was and probably still is her top choice, but with SC a close 2nd, the 120k differential over 4 years may tip the scales.
As far as Tulane - I personally know of 2 people that were deferred that were 10x more qualified than our daughter. I’m sure you read about some crazy deferrals here on CC. As said before, I think they will all land where they are meant to be in the end. I LOVED LOVED what @BigHerms said (post #1994) about making your school your dream school! It really hit home.
@SlimJim005 - sending all good karma your way. You’ve worked hard, and somehow, some way, this crazy college process will work out. I don’t know all the schools you’ve applied to, but I am sure any school will be lucky to have you. I honestly hate the feedback provided by the counselor you mention. This world needs folks with all different perspectives, and there shouldn’t be assumptions based on the political leanings of your home state. Will be thinking of you. Remember deferred is not rejected!
@SlimJim005 please know you are not alone. I am a white female from a blue state and have similar stats, and have only 1 acceptance so far at one of my “likely” schools. I have had a private college counselor since fall of Jr year and completely followed their advice as to which schools were realistic for me to apply. I was denied from my ED1 (4th gen legacy) and ED2 schools, deferred by UM, and am waiting on 12 more schools. Please know that there were students in my class, male and female, and of varied races, with perfect SAT scores, SAT2 scores, GPA’s, etc, that were rejected by their ED1 schools and have no acceptances so far. I do not know if I agree with your counselors assessment. After getting the deferral from UM my counselor said it was most likely due to UM using yield protection this year for the first time, and going forward they would not recommend UM as a “likely school” for students with stats on the higher end. Many or most of us out here are on edge for the next 30 days waiting to hear from the majority of our schools.
@SlimJim005 I agree as well, college admissions it appears will rely more on the subjective as the student pool becomes increasingly competitive. I was admitted to UM (not awarded aid, and declined offer of admission) with similar GPA, slightly lower test scores, and similar ECs. I genuinely think it may have been because of more subjective things because a lot of this year’s EA apps to UM so homogeneous. BTW I did make note on my applications that I am first gen American, first gen college, Jewish, and an LGBT student so although diversity may not be a HUGE factor it unfortunately affects a lot of VERY qualified people like yourself.
@doglover2001 thank you for the mention. My daughter will be attending her number 3 school on her likely list. Everything happens for a reason, get back up dust yourself off. That is how I raised both my kids! Good luck! And SC seems to be a pretty good one. Daughter got Capstone at SC but will be going to Texas Tech. One of the assistant deans at Tech’s engineering is the first woman to get her PhD in Environmental Engineering and that is what made my daughter chose her 3rd choice over UM SC and even Colorado School of Mines. Sorry for the long post! Good luck
@UGG2023 I did hear something similar regarding UM that I might be seen as “over-qualified”. Therefore, they might not have accepted me and felt like they “wasted” an acceptance. However, it’s a bummer that I may not get in, as I was really interested in UM. I was also declined my ED1 and ED2 schools. On ED2, I was a legacy, so that was also a shocker.
@doglover2001 One of my S’s best friends was heartbroken after being deferred then denied by UGA, so he went to SC. He loves it and can’t imagine himself anywhere else. They also have the best International Business programs in the country, if that interests your D. I hear that Tulane requires a ton of demonstrated interest before it will admit, and it is working on it’s yield to get up it’s ranking. I think UM is doing the same. Personally, I don’t think Tulane is $120k better than SC, especially for undergrad. I bet your D will love SC.
@SlimJim005 I’m shocked at your situation. Gob-smacked. My S had a friend with a similar situation to yours (35 ACT, 4.0 uw, 4.7w, tons of great ECs) and only got into his safety (AZ State). It shocked all of us. He’s really happy there, btw, but still. He thinks his situation was because he only applied to tippy top schools (Duke, Vandy, Northwestern) and one safety, and he is an Indian male. Top 25 schools can be fickle, but I would consider UM a match school for you. I would suggest that you send a card or email the UM admission counselor and let them know your interest. You also may want to take a gap year and do something amazing during that time and reapply next year. I know a couple of kids who were not happy with their choices and did much better the next time around, but they both raised their ACT scores - yours is already considered perfect. You can also start college then transfer after your first year if that appeals to you. A lot of colleges still give scholarships to transfers.
My S is a W M and got into UM with a 28 ACT and 4.2W, all state tennis, state champs every year, 200 hrs of community service (that seems to be a big deal to colleges). He showed tons of interest and visited. We are full pay, so that may have helped. He probably wouldn’t get in now.
I kind of think that UM is turning down top stat kids if they think they won’t go there. Tulane does that. They are trying to improve their yield (UM’s is awful). FWIW my son knows of several really smart kids that transferred from UM after first year leaving almost full scholarships behind. They hated the douchey, entitled kids and how superficial the student body is. My S has found a good group of friends, but he is okay with not being in the supercool group (who drive Lambos and have access to yachts and beach condos). It is beautiful there, but it certainly isn’t perfect. Good luck to you. Your successes are impressive and no doubt you will continue to be successful no matter where you attend.
@tmeg01 I don’t have an enormous number of volunteer hours, as I spent a lot of those hours on a tennis court. I may end up at a State school, which is what I am now expecting. I didn’t ask for Financial Aid, but my suspicion is that they assumed I wouldn’t go, so they didn’t offer me a spot. I will shoot the AO an email, but they have probably made up their mind.
hi guys, had a question. is the financial aid information that was part of our application final? because i didn’t receive any gift aid just a loan for 12,000…
How many students that applied ED this year received merit-based aid? I am wondering whether UM foregoes offering merit aid to ED students since they are committed anyway regardless of the aid package.
@CollegeDad1972 I am not sure of the actual stats but UM offers merit aid to ED students. I did not apply for financial aid and received 23k after applying ED. My scholarship came with my acceptance.