Mainly just a venting post so bear with me but this is getting pretty ridiculous with the waitlists after the deferrals.. seems like so many of our kids are getting strung along. I, like many, have a kid hoping to major in CS. CS is his innate gift and he is truly gifted at it but these schools don’t seem to see that. He is accepted somewhere (definitely not top 50) so he is probably heading there but what on Earth is going on with all these deferrals and waitlists??? Who is getting in to these places?? He is a white male, 1580 SAT, UMC, straight A, multiple AP, highest rigor, multiple award winning, dedicated volunteer hours, write ups in magazines, articles in Wired… What else to they want? |
First I’m sorry it has been a tough go. I am sure he will succeed and really, he will be fine.
Curious though - did he submit test scores everywhere or strategically go test optional at lower ranked targets? He might have been yield protected…. |
It’s awful. It really is. So sorry. He sounds terrific. |
My impression is that the kids who are high achievers like your kid often end up at the same college as the ones who didn't put in as much effort. So what's the moral here? Kick up your heels and still end up at State U? |
The high achievers are the ones who actually survive the CS major (or premed etc). |
White UMC is the deal breaker. Read the news. That’s not what’s in right now. |
CS has been extremely tough this year. But those are some stellar stats. Please have him get into the waitlist by submitting any additional info he has. He certainly deserves multiple t20 offers. I am speaking from experience. My own son had very similar stats (1560, uw 4.0, 12 APs) and he has gotten into a few t20s for CS after being deferred from multiple schools during EA. Just curious, which schools did he apply? |
There are so many kids applying for CS right now. It doesn't make your son less gifted, but he's competing with a big, talented pool. |
Your son is not unique in his situation of having a tough go, but nonetheless sorry to hear OP. There was a super popular post a few months back where a UMC Asian with perfect stats and incredible awards and extracurriculars applied ED to Duke and didn't get in. It's happening to lots of kids now, but it doesn't make it any easier. There's still some schools coming up for your son I imagine so don't give up hope! |
Pretty much the same situation here. I feel your pain. It’s ridiculous. Completely no clue who is actually getting in.
Had no idea that CS would be so popular and make things so hard. |
Unfortunately, none of those attributes are as unique as you think. |
The problem is that there are a ton of kids applying to that major, and at the top programs, they all are exceptional children, just like yours. The good news is that he will bloom where he’s planted, and although it may look a little bleak now, he will probably get into a program where he is waitlisted or deferred. |
Kids like OP’s will do very well wherever they go. |
I feel like maybe part of this is admissions committees don’t understand some of the CS technology so can’t evaluate the applications well? I know my kid included maybe too many technical terms in describing their achievements. |
OP, I sympathize. My family member, an Asian female with a perfect SAT score and very similar achievements to your son, is in the same boat. |