thanks for providing that information, and i really do hope me and your son both get in. it’s nice having legacy but at the end of the day only 20% of legacy applicants get in so while its still a major boost those legacy applicants tend to be extremely competitive which worries me because that inflates that %. I wish there was more transparency with the interviewing process.
1 Like
Hello! Is an AO contacting a teacher/counselor generally a good sign of acceptance? Should others worry if theirs didn’t get contacted?
1 Like
Agreed. Not enough transparency in the entire process imho. And if students have been denied somewhere along the process–at any school–I don’t see why they don’t just go ahead and let students know that. Why add to the stress and agony of waiting? Go ahead and let them know so they can completely turn their mind to other schools and opportunities. I understand schools cannot do that if a student has made it to the committee and they get denied there, but if a student is essentially denied prior to that, just let them know. That is psychologically healthier for the student. They can stay off social media the day the final decisions come out, and they can emotionally prepare to be happy for their friends or schoolmates who may get in. I know Wake Forest gives ED and/or ED2 acceptances on a rolling basis. Not sure if they do denials the same way, but that would be ideal. If this were a relationship, and one party knew that they were definitely going to break up with the other party, but they waited a few weeks or a couple of months to let the other party know because it was just easier or more convenient for them, we would call that insensitive at best and cruel at worst. These schools have the $ and the capability to do this. They could enact this system with some restructuring and planning. They could just add a date, based on their processes, when they would let students know if they have already been eliminated. If you get a denial email on that date, then you can go ahead and make other plans. If you do not, then you know you are still in the running. In any case, all the best to you. Come back and let us know your result, and I will let you know about my son’s. If I were a betting man, I would bet he is rejected, but my predictions aren’t always correct.
According to some Reddit threads, it is a very good sign, with a number of accepted students commenting that this happened to them. This happened to a student at our school last year and he is now a freshman at Yale. Logically, AOs do not spend extra time on applications they aren’t very interested in. That’s not to say that everyone that gets accepted was verified. I wonder if it’s less common at feeder schools where the AOs know the people better. Our school is an average public school so maybe they want more context.
1 Like
Here is the link to the thread I referenced
yeah they should really do this, december 17th could not come any faster
1 Like
I just looked at my portal because I tend to check it once a day to just confirm nothing is missing, and two new aid documents appeared in my checklist – eekk! Also a the date it says my CSS was received changed. I think this is likely unrelated to admission, so I’m not trying to get my hopes up. However, I am wondering if anyone is having similar experiences or has seen something like this in the past. I just hope this in no way would affect my ability to get aid or delay any decision.
Well a bit off topic but my son just received his rejection letter from FSU film. If you don’t know anything about film schools, you would never think of FSU when thinking about film schools. You think USC, UCLA, NYU, etc., but FSU is comparable to these schools and just as competitive to get in. Acceptance rate is below 10 percent. Applications are due Nov. 1st (this is not EA, this is RD just to be clear) because you first have to be invited to an interview, which takes place in January, and then they accept a certain number from those they interview. Maybe 30 to 40 out of 500 or so get interviews from what I understand. Even so, we thought he had a better chance at getting an FSU interview than getting into Yale, so now we are very likely looking at yet another rejection from Yale in just a few days after this one. And both of these come after a CC season where he missed qualifying for state by 1 place—1!—at sectionals. As a parent, I have now had to see that excruciating look of disappointment on his face twice now and more are coming most likely. So I guess what I’m saying is that it’s tough out there, brutal even, so take care of yourselves, don’t be too hard on yourselves, remember your many blessings, and take care of each other in this process.
3 Likes
Honestly, FSU for film is super competitive. We went into it knowing it was unlikely to happen for our student and tried to manage her expectations.
She was ultimately selected for the FSU interview. It was a grueling five hour in-person interview process. She came out stuffed food into her mouth and climbed into bed at the hotel. One boy came out shaking. Another girl broke done in the bathroom. I feel for these kids reaching so high.
I told her the interview was worth it even if she didn’t get picked. I encouraged her to reframe the whole experience as a master class, and it would help her build group and individual interview skills.
She was accepted but ended up going elsewhere.
The process of applying to selective film programs is just hard. I have two kids who both selected film as their major. The first is completing her senior year at NYU (film and tv) and the youngest is at USC (film production).
We are not a film industry family. I found the process as mysterious with my second as I had the first.
Thanks so much for the reply. That is really interesting about the interview process. I didn’t know it was so seemingly brutal. If you don’t mid me asking (or if you don’t want this share on here, maybe we can connect elsewhere), could you provide more insight into what made the interview process so intense as to provoke the reactions you are describing? When we visited, the interview process was not described like that at all, but I guess they don’t want to scare off potential applicants at that point I guess. My son is OOS, so he will find out about his general FSU acceptance in February, and he will probably switch the major he is applying in to Digital Media Production. If he gets in, he may attend and then try to transfer into the film school from there, but knowing what he could be facing if he gets an interview the next time around would be very helpful. I am also just very interested. That’s incredible that your daughter was accepted and that she was then also accepted to NYU! And that your son got into USC! Those film schools are just as tough or even tougher to get into than FSU from what I understand. Now that FSU Film is out and Yale is almost certainly out, I think he will take a shot at NYU since the app is not due until January 5th. By the end of this, he is going to be a pro at getting over rejection. He’ll be ready for a career in sales, I guess. Any advice from your son or daughter or you about applying to NYU or other film schools would be very helpful and welcome! Also, have they/are they enjoying their respective experiences at NYU and USC?
Oh I have two girls. Only one applied to FSU for some reason.
The interview I believe is deliberately kept mysterious because they don’t want overly prepped kids. My kid prepped hard. We found questions all over the place by looking at Reddit and then she practiced.
There were two parts - individual interviews with a panel of three faculty members. Then a group interview where kids try to work as a team to complete the assignment.
They had one break and she said they were given a couple pieces of cheese and a couple crackers then back to it.
And they seem to value creativity, thoughtfulness, collaborative spirit and maturity.
And mine was OOS. FSU Film does not care about in state or OOS as far as I can tell.
I don’t think that students have much luck transferring into film from other majors. They seem to value major film honors and awards.
Did yours interview at Yale?
Thank you for the information about the interview experience. I can see how that would be nerve wracking for 17 and 18 year olds, especially if they did not have much experience with that before. No, he did not get an interview with Yale either. You don’t have to get one to get in or be deferred, but that seems to be the norm with those who get accepted, so that’s why we don’t have much hope for Yale. It’s been a rough run for him lately relationally, athletically, and now applicationally (not a real word I don’t think). There has to be a Win for him eventually. He really is a hardworking and kind kid. If either of your daughters wouldn’t mind sharing personal statements, scripts, etc. from their apps so he can see what really good ones that got accepted look like, that would be super helpful. I know they may not want to and that’s fine. I do promise there will be no plagiarism if they decide to.
Mine applied to Yale and did get an interview which shocked me but then was denied. I was surprised she even got an interview. Her SAT didn’t break 1500.
Feel free to PM me here.
Was this rea or rd?
Mine did not apply REA. She applied regular decision.
1 Like
And to be clear this was last year.
1 Like
My child applied Yale REA, has all the stats (grades, scores), ECs (2 varsity sports, musician) and legacy (father attended). No interview. Would not think she is an auto reject but all this string is making us nervous.
I’m in the same position, I have the stats, EC and compelling narrative and I’m a legacy applicant without an interview. I wonder how this will go.
We did not know why the youngest was even applying to Yale. She did not apply to any other ivy schools so that was clearly not the appeal.
She did do the Yale Young Global Scholars Program and really liked it.
She was not legacy. I never thought she would get an interview.
Her other schools were all selected for top programs in film. She had an excellent college application result overall Northwestern, NYU USC etc. getting into all the top film programs.
The one thing she had that made her stand out was crazy good ECs and multiple national Awards. That is the thing that I think made them consider her at all.