eadad makes a good point...my d is excited at the idea of attending an out of state school because it brings her into contact with someone other than Texans. Not that she doesn't love her fellow Texans...lol! She's just an adventurous soul who likes new experiences. So I guess it is the perspective from which you view the situation.
Also...I am STILL not convinced that beatduke's daughter won't find an acceptance letter from UNC in that mailbox!
I certainly didn't detect "outrage" in jack's post or anyone else's for that matter, so I'm not sure where you're getting that. She does point out that as far as diversity that one can "see", GT has a high percentage of males. She also references about the same percentage that you give for the oos students at GT (~30%). The other type of diversity that one can "see" would be racial diversity, and GT and UNC are fairly similar here, though GT enrolls more Asians and UNC more blacks as a percentage. If it's important to you that your daughter attend a school with a larger percentage of oos students, that's fine. We all place greater importance on different factors when choosing a college. Thankfully there are lots of great schools to choose from.
beatduke: Hi; thanks for the reply. Your post did not "outrage" me at all. Wow. I'm sorry if you read it that way.
I'm sure your daughter will love Georgia Tech. I would hope that most people choose schools based on the best fit for them. For my daughter, UNC also stood head and shoulders above the rest--in absolutely every aspect--and it was the perfect choice for her. If your daughter is equally happy with Georgia Tech next year, then she will certainly have made the right decision, and you can rest easy.
But, obviously, any state university will naturally have a larger percentage of students from its own state. That's true for every state in the country, I believe. That was really my earlier point. And I don't think anyone has ever hidden the fact that an out-of-state admittance to UNC is highly competitive. Nevertheless, I'm sorry that your daughter didn't feel strongly enough about UNC to wait another 2 weeks for the reply. Although some schools send out early "likely letters," most RD decisions really don't come out until April 1. At least that was our experience. UNC has early action, not binding, so she could have applied earlier and known her decision back in January.
Clearly, though, she has chosen another terrific school and one that is obviously a happy fit for her, and that's very exciting! I wish her all the best.
I know it's hard to wait for a response after submitting your application to UNC, but I truly can't understand why someone would apply and then be annoyed at not getting a response before the posted dates. UNC has had the same time schedule year after year, and everyone should have known those dates before they even decided to apply.
"I'm an OOS parent and can tell you that while the seeming lack of geographic diversity certainly exists, most often it seems to turn off more in-state students while in the application process than OOS students."
So true. A lot of my friends (and myself) chose to go out-of-state to expand our horizons, unlike the 50% (okay, maybe only 40%) of my high school graduating class who went to UNC. That and I wanted to be an engineer and UNC is known mostly for its premed and business programs, not engineering. Not that UNC isn't a great school, but if you're from NC and want to experience something totally different (especially if CH is only a 25 min drive from home) you would feel inclined to go OOS.
"My D would have loved to go to UNC but simply felt that GT's efforts to stay in touch, their wonderful website, and their prompt response to her app made us feel like we mattered and we not just a number. I am sure UNC does that for some kids but they didn't for us."
UNC did a lot to keep in touch with me. They called 5 or 6 times to see if I had questions about UNC and matriculation, and to ask how my decision process was going. I am sorry to hear they did not communicate with your daughter as much.
GT did send e-mails every week or so, but I had quite a different experience with them. It was very very very difficult for me to decide which college to go to. So in late April I was still visiting colleges and after coming home from visiting UMich-Ann Arbor, I received a letter from GT saying that they hadn't heard from me yet, and if they did not receive my new student information form, they would have to revoke my acceptance... am I the only person who finds that offensive? And when I visited, all the students there acted as if Georgia Tech was the best engineering school on the face of the earth. Not that it isn't good, but when I went to admitted student weekends for Stanford and MIT, the students weren't arrogant at all... and those are both more prestigious engineering schools with higher rankings. So needless to say I didn't matriculate to GT.
'what do u think? should college admissions be revamped? here is the thing. they already know if you are accepted or denied or waitlisted....
and instead of putting everyone through the agony, why not tell us.
do you/they realize how many kids commit elsewhere just cause they are sick of waiting. and for you that say if they really wanted it they would wait, well dont alot of you think that you are denied since you havent heard? so it is hard when all of your friends have commited and you are still undecided.'
Chill out. So what if you haven't heard from your number 1 choice yet? You have until May 1 to decide where you want to go (it's May 1 right?). Don't be so anxious to know which college you'll be attending next year that you pass up the opportunity to go to a college that might be a better fit for you. This is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your entire life. Don't make a wrong decision because you were tired of waiting. Patience is a virtue.
this is really ok. i am so glad that everyone feels so strongly about things and feels that they can say them without being insulted. I know what you mean killdeerfly but with all of the info about what a big decision it is, there really is a lot of pressure from friends to "go" with them and "let's go ahead and room together", etc. and of course it should be each person's decision but when you are 17 and no one you know is going to a school...unc...and everyone you know is going to a few others it is hard to not want to have things settled. but of course you wait.
Replies to: waiting it out? is it really worth it?
Also...I am STILL not convinced that beatduke's daughter won't find an acceptance letter from UNC in that mailbox!
I certainly didn't detect "outrage" in jack's post or anyone else's for that matter, so I'm not sure where you're getting that. She does point out that as far as diversity that one can "see", GT has a high percentage of males. She also references about the same percentage that you give for the oos students at GT (~30%). The other type of diversity that one can "see" would be racial diversity, and GT and UNC are fairly similar here, though GT enrolls more Asians and UNC more blacks as a percentage. If it's important to you that your daughter attend a school with a larger percentage of oos students, that's fine. We all place greater importance on different factors when choosing a college. Thankfully there are lots of great schools to choose from.
I'm sure your daughter will love Georgia Tech. I would hope that most people choose schools based on the best fit for them. For my daughter, UNC also stood head and shoulders above the rest--in absolutely every aspect--and it was the perfect choice for her. If your daughter is equally happy with Georgia Tech next year, then she will certainly have made the right decision, and you can rest easy.
But, obviously, any state university will naturally have a larger percentage of students from its own state. That's true for every state in the country, I believe. That was really my earlier point. And I don't think anyone has ever hidden the fact that an out-of-state admittance to UNC is highly competitive. Nevertheless, I'm sorry that your daughter didn't feel strongly enough about UNC to wait another 2 weeks for the reply. Although some schools send out early "likely letters," most RD decisions really don't come out until April 1. At least that was our experience. UNC has early action, not binding, so she could have applied earlier and known her decision back in January.
Clearly, though, she has chosen another terrific school and one that is obviously a happy fit for her, and that's very exciting! I wish her all the best.
So true. A lot of my friends (and myself) chose to go out-of-state to expand our horizons, unlike the 50% (okay, maybe only 40%) of my high school graduating class who went to UNC. That and I wanted to be an engineer and UNC is known mostly for its premed and business programs, not engineering. Not that UNC isn't a great school, but if you're from NC and want to experience something totally different (especially if CH is only a 25 min drive from home) you would feel inclined to go OOS.
"My D would have loved to go to UNC but simply felt that GT's efforts to stay in touch, their wonderful website, and their prompt response to her app made us feel like we mattered and we not just a number. I am sure UNC does that for some kids but they didn't for us."
UNC did a lot to keep in touch with me. They called 5 or 6 times to see if I had questions about UNC and matriculation, and to ask how my decision process was going. I am sorry to hear they did not communicate with your daughter as much.
GT did send e-mails every week or so, but I had quite a different experience with them. It was very very very difficult for me to decide which college to go to. So in late April I was still visiting colleges and after coming home from visiting UMich-Ann Arbor, I received a letter from GT saying that they hadn't heard from me yet, and if they did not receive my new student information form, they would have to revoke my acceptance... am I the only person who finds that offensive? And when I visited, all the students there acted as if Georgia Tech was the best engineering school on the face of the earth. Not that it isn't good, but when I went to admitted student weekends for Stanford and MIT, the students weren't arrogant at all... and those are both more prestigious engineering schools with higher rankings. So needless to say I didn't matriculate to GT.
and instead of putting everyone through the agony, why not tell us.
do you/they realize how many kids commit elsewhere just cause they are sick of waiting. and for you that say if they really wanted it they would wait, well dont alot of you think that you are denied since you havent heard? so it is hard when all of your friends have commited and you are still undecided.'
Chill out. So what if you haven't heard from your number 1 choice yet? You have until May 1 to decide where you want to go (it's May 1 right?). Don't be so anxious to know which college you'll be attending next year that you pass up the opportunity to go to a college that might be a better fit for you. This is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your entire life. Don't make a wrong decision because you were tired of waiting. Patience is a virtue.