Why avoiding highly competitive schools is a winning applications strategy

Karabu
Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:21:03 +0000

I could’ve written your post, the first paragraph word-for-word, except my second child already wrapping up his college search having approached it drastically differently, and, as you note, not just strategically, but also psychologically.

Besides insuring admission, we also wanted to be awarded maximum merit, as we don’t think full-tuition OOS or private college is worth in the investment for an undergraduate degree. This was heartbreaking with my firstborn who wanted so badly to go to UNC Chapel Hill.

My second child faced some rejections/waitlist this year, but also got acceptances combined with solid offers from non-top-20s out of state. On paper, he’s top performer who is worthy of ivies, but the chances of getting into them were minuscule, we knew, and prepared mentally for this scenario (still waiting for those results).

I wish we didn’t learn all these lessons with so much anguish and disappointment (my firstborn is thriving in our flagship uni and applying to grad school one year early), but ultimately I’m so grateful to be smarter and more realistic now.