I have split off your discussion started on the UC Santa Barbara Freshman Waitlist thread since it does not specifically relate to the current topic at hand anymore by fault of myself and other posters whom are trying to give your daughter options other than a CC.
I just do not want to derail the UCSB Freshman waitlist discussion to a College option/decision discussion.
I’m just hopping in here to vent and commiserate a bit. My high-stats daughter got waitlisted to every UC she applied to 
UCSB, UCSD, UCI, UCLA, UCB. And rejected to SLO. It has been a tough couple of weeks for her (and myself) in terms of dealing with the excitement of her peers choosing colleges and in the prep phase of seeking roommates, etc. This was definitely not the plan for her. With finances the way they are, privates or OOS were realistic not an option (she got into UW, but the ~$55k takes it out of the running). I’m feeling like I failed in helping her choose what schools to apply to. I’m mad at her HS counselor for not having the oversight to also include actual “safety” schools and overhyping her application/PIQs, giving her false hope that she will definitely get acceptances (I know it’s not her fault, but it’s one of the emotions that came through). So now we’re signing up for community college. And as I’m well aware of the benefits of a CC, I just feel sad that she won’t experience that college life and stepping into adulthood along with her friends. We are convincing ourselves that waitlists won’t come through just so we minimize the feeling of more rejection. I honestly never thought this is where we would be.I have no clue where we went wrong. She’s worked her butt off for more than 4 years. Now she doesn’t even have the motivation to finish off this school year strong… because “what’s the point”? I just needed to vent a little to a group of people who might understand what we’re going through.
oh my gosh, my heart goes out to you and your daughter. there is no rhyme or reason sometimes for UC and some Cal State admissions. It’s not fair and I 100% understand the sadness and her lack of motivation right now.
What was the major she applied under? Maybe that was impacted?
I don’t have a crystal ball, but my gut tells me that she will get off one of those waitlists.
There is always Community College for 2 years and then she’ll get into whatever school she wants in CA, but I can understand for someone who has worked as hard as she has to not want to do that.
Another option would be a gap year and reapply.
But honestly, she was not outright rejected from all those UCs so that is positive. I really think she’ll get off one of those lists.
Sending you and your girl the biggest hug.
Thanks for the much-needed hug and support. I was telling her the same about the high chance of getting off one of those WLs. She just shut me down with the high chances not siding with us in the 1st acceptance round. But I shall remain hopeful (and change my username to manifest a positive outcome lol)
Would she be open to applying to some additional out-of-state schools with rolling admission? There are still some available, and with high stats she might get a great deal.
It’s possible. That’s a great suggestion. She did get apply and receive a nice merit aid offer from UofArizona. But it’s just not her vibe.
If she is ELC then UC Merced just got the referrals so she should have that option if she is interested???
My only comment is that neither you or her did nothing wrong other than not identifying a couple of solid safety schools to apply as a backup. The expectations that a high stats student will have multiple UC acceptances unfortunately is no longer the reality and if she applied to one of the many impacted/selective/capped majors, then chances are even more unpredictable.
Wishing her the best and she will thrive wherever she ends up. Good luck to her and fingers crossed 
she hears from the waitlist.
What is her area of academic interest? Has she visited UofA? Did she get into the honors program? We were very surprised by how much we liked it. Obviously if she got off a waitlist for a UC then she would go there, but UofA is a great school and would probably be more interesting and definitely feel more like a regular college expereince than a CC. Does she have any other options? Iowa State and the University of Iowa have rolling admissions and are surprisingly strong schools.
Her intended area of study is Political Science.
The major negatives against UofA are the climate and the strong sorority/fraternity culture (at least that is the perception). I was just on their Classof2028 IG page where people post to find roommates. 95% of them mention they plan to rush in the fall. It makes it seem like if you’re not Greek, there isn’t much for you. I may be wrong
I know what you mean, but I think since it is a big school her own personal mileage will likely vary. Its official greek life percentage is only 6% - very low. There is for sure, however, a certain “party all the time, appearance is everything” demographic, but there are also a lot of smart, hard-working kids who go there because it has good academics and is a very good value. The instagram feed (yikes!) and greek life people can be avoided. I had the exact same reaction to the school at first, but we went and visited and were very surprised by how much we liked it. We were interested in STEM programs, which attract super smart kids, but the same is probably true for PolySci.
The instagram feeds of many schools give me the heebie geebies - and to be totally honest UCSB also has a “party hard, looks are everything” stereotype which we were surprised to find not as prevalent as we feared when we visited.
It would be one thing if the comparison were between UofA and UCSD, but UCSB is more similar then different in that regard.
I think it is worth strong consideration. @tsbna44 can chime in with more details.
Just and FYI: There was a similar, but not exact, scenario in this thread related to SDSU Alternatives. Solid discussion of potential OOS alternatives if that works for you.
Hope I got the link right…
Good luck!
If you want to follow another “Venting” discussion also started on the UCSB discussion thread, here is the link: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/should-the-uc-system-adopt-a-college-admission-model-similar-to-the-texas-college-system/
Sorry to hear about this, but if it is any consolation, at least the past 2 years there a lot of movements off the WL at these UC campuses. Could be worse, she could have been rejected then there is zero chance.
From what I see, the same bunch of kids get accepted into multiple UCs and since they can only attend one, they will need to give up spots elsewhere and that will/can get to the WL.
Sucks that you may not know until 5/16, but there is hope.
Could any of the CSUs that are still taking apps for Fall 2024 work?
Could it be her vibe more than CC? USNWR says that only 8% of women join a sorority (you could verify via other sources): https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-arizona-1083/student-life
I knew a gal sort of in your daughters situation but maybe not as strong - rejected/WL from all UCs and 2 CSUs and admitted to several privates that were too pricy and would require a lot of loans. She had good but not great stats so some of the rejections weren’t totally surprising but others were. Her saving grace was she had a ton of AP credits. She went to CC for only 1 year (for free) because of her AP credits and transferred to UCLA to study political science. She did have to take a heavy CC load for one of the semesters to satisfy some gen eds in order to transfer.
Last I heard she’s now a senior about to complete a double major with a great gpa and is applying to law schools. If anything, she was able to get several gen ed classes at a CC that UCLA freshman are struggled to enroll in.
No matter what our logical brains tell us right now that it’s not that bad, I know the disappointment is deep and real. There is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it seems very far away at the moment. Best of wishes to you and your daughter!
Did she get into Honors at UofAz? That would change the social group she’s in.
She never really planned to attend (even though she applied) so she didn’t go the extra mile with applying to Honors. #lessonlearned
Re:AP credits. Yesss that is the tentative plan. I have a meeting set up with her counselor to identify exactly how many credits she will have after completing this year’s AP’s, so that we can forge a path forward.
In the meantime, I am guaging if any part of her wants to entertain the idea of UofA.
If intending to start a community college and transfer to UC, check the following on how UC accepts AP credit: AP credits | UC Admissions . Also, check each campus for subject credit. For UCB L&S majors, check the major’s web site and ASSIST.org pages for more details.
AP credit at CSUs is given at Advanced Placement (AP) | CSU , but check each campus for specifics on subject credit at that campus.
The community college’s use of AP credit can matter for the purpose of IGETC certification, but may not necessarily be the same as at UC, CSU, or other four year college. Except for IGETC, the AP credit policies of the college being transferred to are what matter.