Our Current Situation - Not thrilled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am not a troll i am just an upset parent with a son (sorry for the typo my finger hit the s but good lord everyone jumped on it).
My son is a very passionate caring normal kid who is naturally smart and comes by his stats honestly through both hard work and encouraging involved but not up in his business at every moment parents. I care about my son and his future and push him when it’s necessary but allow him to fall on his own and work his way out of problems. He is well liked at his school and has been innately into computers, coding and creating things related to such things since I can remember. He was the kid begging for Lego mindstorms as soon as I could trust him not to swallow the pieces.

His school choices are well thought out (for him). He wants a strong cs program in a school with a strong STEM reputation but he also wants to have fun and not necessarily attend a top 20 pressure-cooker. He wants ideally to get out of va for many reasons and I respect his reasons. He does not mesh at all with VT and doesn’t relish the atmosphere at UVA but did apply to UVA bc he felt he needed it in his quiver due to cost in state vs reputation vs he could possibly see himself there. Did not apply to VT. GMU is an option bc the program is decent and it’s near DC (he loves cities). Plus it’s dirt cheap and although we are full pay and said we will pay for wherever he will consider cost in his ultimate decision. VCU is also in a city with a tolerable program for him and he knew he needed safety schools. Pitt is a very very good option and he really likes the school.

Boulder actually was a top pick. We as a family have a goal of moving west and love Colorado, the mountains, etc… it’s a great program in a great location for him and he loved it when we toured. I think that decision hit the hardest bc he really wanted to go there. Even got 25,000 merit but not in CS direct admit and despite what people think starting in exploratory studies is NOT a guarantee you will eventually land in CS. If you do you can bet on taking 5 yrs to finish bc there’s no way you’re getting your first year cs courses unless you’re actually a first year cs student. We have talked with MANY friends and people in and around Boulder that verified this. Why pay all that money and just gamble (no matter how high the odds) when you know your true passion is CS (which he does). There are little details like your AP credits not counting towards your exp studies courses etc that make me think it’s a money grab to ensure some kids stay more than 4 yrs.

Purdue is incredible for CS and the school spirit and size made up for the lack of a nearby city when he toured.

We are proud and express openly our pride about his current admissions but I feel like I am allowed to vent about the deferral and Boulder situation bc we thought he would have a better outcome at those 2 schools and it makes us leery of the ones to come (which are all statistically harder admits for CS). Just reading the tea leaves and upset that he worked so hard, honestly and truly loves and is gifted in CS and is realistically looking at more deferrals and denials. It sucks for ALL our hardworking kids; a lot of us are in this high stat, high demand major admission crap shoot.

That’s what I was trying to get across but there are some bitter mean people on this forum.

Did he apply to Mines? Admission to the major is direct.

Is it possible that CU is reserving CS seats for in-state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Facts:
Son UW GPA 4.0. NEVER made below an A (even middle school). WGA 4.5 (only classes that are weighted are AP level) Top 1% class (everyone with a 4.0 gets rank of 1 so % rank based on WGPA)
9 APs total after Senior year including good mix of science (AP Physics 1,2 and C), math (Calc BC), computer science, humanities (history, government)....
1550 SAT one sitting May of junior year (balanced math/verbal score)
Attends specialized engineering courses through CC and Magnet program
Eagle Scout with lots of leadership positions and projects through the scouting program
Lots of EC focused on computer science that he does because he loves them and does totally on his own (has website blog with details of all projects that is very well written)
Community service since 9th grade (even through covid) at same organization - has many hours
Awesome LOR from computer science teacher and AP physics teacher and community leader
Coherent, funny, on topic essays

Deferred Purdue CS
Offered Exploratory Studies CU Boulder
Admitted to Pitt CS and GMU CS with honors
Admitted to VCU CS

Waiting to hear from GT, UT Austin, Wisconsin Madison, U Washington, Rice and not expecting good results based on the deferral and exploratory studies garbage can offer.

If choices end up being Pitt, GMU or VCU so be it but that seems ridiculous. She has so much potential. Pitt seems to be the winner so far

1. Stop borrowing trouble.
2. He’ll do great at any of these schools.
3. You should realize there are LOTS of applications that look like his.

#3 x1000. There are 188 kids in my son's classs; at least 8 classmates have perfect unweighted 4.0s that are even higher when you add AP classes, and while I don't know their SAT scores I suspect they're all in the 1550ish range. Everything else is sort of "expected" and Eagle Scout is not the big deal that many parents think it is (there are more than 50,000 every year.)

He has a lot of wonderful choices.

You suspect do you? There you go, case closed. Looking at Naviance at my kids MCPS HS, I see about 4-5 kids (total) in the last few years with SAT scores that high. Lots of kids with 4.0s and a lot of APs though.

One can walk around Langley HS in McLean or Churchill HS in Potomac and very likely run into one with a perfect GPA and 1550+ SAT. There are many of them out there.

[Anonymous]

If CU isn't considering test scores for merit scholarships, perhaps they're not considering them for other aspects of their decision-making process?

[Anonymous]

This balanced college list is missing WPI and RPI. For a strong CS applicant who is willing to be in a non-city town where Purdue is, RPI should always be considered. It has an excellent CS program w great industry reputation. The admission rate isn’t as stingy as Purdue or UIUC.

Also another great CS option for a city kid (who is willing to go to VCU is Stevens in NJ).

DS graduated 2 years ago as a CS applicant. His lists included the likes of MIT, CMU as well as RPI, Stevens and of course GMU. I felt DS’ counselor did a great job in helping DS achieve a balanced approach. Of course things have changed in the last 2 years.

OP, remain proud and make sure your son continues to believe in himself and maintain the passion for CS. He sounds like a go getter. That is the one driver that will make him a success in college and later in life. Where he lands colleges wise is not that important. What he makes of the experience is the key. Good luck w the rest of the process. It will all turn out great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Facts:
Son UW GPA 4.0. NEVER made below an A (even middle school). WGA 4.5 (only classes that are weighted are AP level) Top 1% class (everyone with a 4.0 gets rank of 1 so % rank based on WGPA)
9 APs total after Senior year including good mix of science (AP Physics 1,2 and C), math (Calc BC), computer science, humanities (history, government)....
1550 SAT one sitting May of junior year (balanced math/verbal score)
Attends specialized engineering courses through CC and Magnet program
Eagle Scout with lots of leadership positions and projects through the scouting program
Lots of EC focused on computer science that he does because he loves them and does totally on his own (has website blog with details of all projects that is very well written)
Community service since 9th grade (even through covid) at same organization - has many hours
Awesome LOR from computer science teacher and AP physics teacher and community leader
Coherent, funny, on topic essays

Deferred Purdue CS
Offered Exploratory Studies CU Boulder
Admitted to Pitt CS and GMU CS with honors
Admitted to VCU CS

Waiting to hear from GT, UT Austin, Wisconsin Madison, U Washington, Rice and not expecting good results based on the deferral and exploratory studies garbage can offer.

If choices end up being Pitt, GMU or VCU so be it but that seems ridiculous. She has so much potential. Pitt seems to be the winner so far

1. Stop borrowing trouble.
2. He’ll do great at any of these schools.
3. You should realize there are LOTS of applications that look like his.

#3 x1000. There are 188 kids in my son's classs; at least 8 classmates have perfect unweighted 4.0s that are even higher when you add AP classes, and while I don't know their SAT scores I suspect they're all in the 1550ish range. Everything else is sort of "expected" and Eagle Scout is not the big deal that many parents think it is (there are more than 50,000 every year.)

He has a lot of wonderful choices.

You suspect do you? There you go, case closed. Looking at Naviance at my kids MCPS HS, I see about 4-5 kids (total) in the last few years with SAT scores that high. Lots of kids with 4.0s and a lot of APs though.

One can walk around Langley HS in McLean or Churchill HS in Potomac and very likely run into one with a perfect GPA and 1550+ SAT. There are many of them out there.

Sure they’re out there. Are they getting deferred to Purdue? The one kid I know with similar stats is at CMU for computer science.

[Anonymous]

UW Madison EA decisions should come out this Friday. Odds are really good with those stats for OOS, essay of why UW Madison will be a factor. They do like Eagle Scouts. Perhaps a bit premature with only one deferral at this point to be less than happy considering there are already four acceptances of the schools CHOSEN to apply to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speculating: the Purdue deferral and CU Boulder exploration studies may be the result of funky yield algorithms.

Assuming that the student is in state for GMU, it would be a little odd for the student to go anywhere else on the list other than Rice for CS.

Rice might offer a truly different experience that might be worth the extra cost.

Colorado and Texas would probably offer the same educational experience in a slightly different setting, for $160,000 more cash. And GMU really has the best location for a CS student in the world. If the admissions people are giving any live-human attention to borderline applicants, maybe they’ll favor kids with weak in-state options over the kids with wonderful in-state options.

[Anonymous]

Learn to spell P U R D U E. You have made this mistake multiple times on this board and it's making you identifiable!

Anonymous wrote:You people crapping on the OP are off base IMO. Let’s be honest; this kid had top 1% GPA, top 1% SAT scores and all the rest of the package. Schools like Perdue and CU aren’t swimming in kids like this. It’s completely reasonable to be upset that someone with a resume like this isn’t being immediately accepted into the schools mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Learn to spell P U R D U E. You have made this mistake multiple times on this board and it's making you identifiable!

Anonymous wrote:You people crapping on the OP are off base IMO. Let’s be honest; this kid had top 1% GPA, top 1% SAT scores and all the rest of the package. Schools like Perdue and CU aren’t swimming in kids like this. It’s completely reasonable to be upset that someone with a resume like this isn’t being immediately accepted into the schools mentioned.

Lol. Noted. Purdue. Not the chicken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am not a troll i am just an upset parent with a son (sorry for the typo my finger hit the s but good lord everyone jumped on it).
My son is a very passionate caring normal kid who is naturally smart and comes by his stats honestly through both hard work and encouraging involved but not up in his business at every moment parents. I care about my son and his future and push him when it’s necessary but allow him to fall on his own and work his way out of problems. He is well liked at his school and has been innately into computers, coding and creating things related to such things since I can remember. He was the kid begging for Lego mindstorms as soon as I could trust him not to swallow the pieces.

His school choices are well thought out (for him). He wants a strong cs program in a school with a strong STEM reputation but he also wants to have fun and not necessarily attend a top 20 pressure-cooker. He wants ideally to get out of va for many reasons and I respect his reasons. He does not mesh at all with VT and doesn’t relish the atmosphere at UVA but did apply to UVA bc he felt he needed it in his quiver due to cost in state vs reputation vs he could possibly see himself there. Did not apply to VT. GMU is an option bc the program is decent and it’s near DC (he loves cities). Plus it’s dirt cheap and although we are full pay and said we will pay for wherever he will consider cost in his ultimate decision. VCU is also in a city with a tolerable program for him and he knew he needed safety schools. Pitt is a very very good option and he really likes the school.

Boulder actually was a top pick. We as a family have a goal of moving west and love Colorado, the mountains, etc… it’s a great program in a great location for him and he loved it when we toured. I think that decision hit the hardest bc he really wanted to go there. Even got 25,000 merit but not in CS direct admit and despite what people think starting in exploratory studies is NOT a guarantee you will eventually land in CS. If you do you can bet on taking 5 yrs to finish bc there’s no way you’re getting your first year cs courses unless you’re actually a first year cs student. We have talked with MANY friends and people in and around Boulder that verified this. Why pay all that money and just gamble (no matter how high the odds) when you know your true passion is CS (which he does). There are little details like your AP credits not counting towards your exp studies courses etc that make me think it’s a money grab to ensure some kids stay more than 4 yrs.

Purdue is incredible for CS and the school spirit and size made up for the lack of a nearby city when he toured.

We are proud and express openly our pride about his current admissions but I feel like I am allowed to vent about the deferral and Boulder situation bc we thought he would have a better outcome at those 2 schools and it makes us leery of the ones to come (which are all statistically harder admits for CS). Just reading the tea leaves and upset that he worked so hard, honestly and truly loves and is gifted in CS and is realistically looking at more deferrals and denials. It sucks for ALL our hardworking kids; a lot of us are in this high stat, high demand major admission crap shoot.

That’s what I was trying to get across but there are some bitter mean people on this forum.

Not bitter and mean so much as frustrated and tired of troll posts. Something like my son and then typing she can be a giveaway. Good you came back to clarify. I hope everything works out for your DS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FOUR acceptances

Sorry you're sad, but this is awesome and you should be patting your kid on the back.

Fixed. It's only January and your kid already has four schools saying they can come. That's more than many students will have at the very end of this. I really hope you haven't let on to your kid that you are disappointed. That's really going to mess with their head. Celebrate success.

They applied to the wrong set of schools, then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You say son and then she later on.

Big difference if girl or boy in that major.

Eagle scout=boy.

Agree. DUH!!!

As of 2021, there were 1000 female Eagle Scouts. There are more now.

https://www.backpacker.com/stories/people/profiles/the-first-ever-female-eagle-scouts-are-hikers-mentors-and-so-much-more/

[Anonymous]

Should have applied to Minny. Still could …

[Anonymous]

CS is an incredibly competitive major and for a prestige hunter, it was a mistake to apply to so many public schools without also adding more private schools in the mix. State schools are going to prioritize in-state kids and the competition for the limited out of state slots will be fierce.

[Anonymous]

I would be surprised and disappointed too. Boulder is a surprise to me. I’m really sorry. I hope the others come through. And the deferrals may come through later as well. Perhaps it’s yield protection??