Lessons Learned- College Admissions- If you had to do it all again.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get it.

If you don't get it...you don't get IT...

[Anonymous]

Always send supplemental letters of recommendation, if allowed.

Make sure you listen to the "donut-hole" Cassandras on DCUM. Don't bother applying for financial aid. There isn't a truly "need-blind" policy at the schools your kid is interested in.

After taking COVID-19 financial hits, many schools will take full-pay US citizen internationals over your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get it.

If you don't get it...you don't get IT...

Sounds like maybe it’s good that I don’t get it

[Anonymous]

Ours would have applied to Toronto. It has a really good CS program and has rolling admissions. Plus, tuition is in line with other out of state colleges

[Anonymous]

UBC or Waterloo for CS are very good up there too

[Anonymous]

perhaps a little more focus on places we might get a scholarship. tuition is daunting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh yes I forgot to add in, visit as many colleges as you can, either within driving distance of home, or hey if you're on vacation somewhere, is there a school there of interest? Go check it out, just driving through the area and walking the campus is enough to help the kids figure out what environment they like. Doesn't even have to be a school they can realistically attend, just seeing alot of college towns and campuses will help them picture themselves there, get excited and help with motivation to apply to college.

I love this thread and my kids are in middle school.

This was my husband's idea and we already started. He's got an academic soul and I have no idea why he's not an English professor... well, he probably wanted a job.

Anyway, when we are on road trips (or trips where we rent a car), we drive through local college campuses, try to eat lunch on it if possible, or at least take a self-guided walking tour. Right now, my kids are leaning to smaller campuses and have no idea what they want to study. They especially love when they find students "in the wild" and can talk to them. Students love talking to little kids apparently. Not sure this will work when they are actual teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you realize that acceptance rates are not a measure of educational quality or outcomes, it makes the process a lot easier.

here here!

I was a low stat kid who went to a uni that accepted most people for undergrad but was competitive for grad school. Therefore, as an undergrad, I had ample opportunities to do research. I did research in 5 labs i think; published twice before graduating and got a fancy research award. The result: FREE GRAD SCHOOL at a top 10 public.

I was too poor to be a high stat kid in high school and in college my grades were on the bottom cusp of what the grad schools accepted. I got into two full-pay and went to the "better" one. The differentiator, of course, research and publications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I focused my kid on schools that had "name recognition" among my set. Places like Williams and Swarthmore. The real name recognition -- as a brand and at a national level -- are those big football schools my snobby self prevented my kid from exploring. Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, etc. He would have had a wonderful college experience at any one of these places, and no doubt landed a cush job with the fanatical alum network. Instead, he's in at a barely Top 50 SLAC and hoping and praying for wait list movement with a lower NESCAC school that most of America has never heard of.

NP and I'm falling into this trap with my Junior! If we're going to take out loans I want it to be for a "top" college with good ROI but then what if she doesn't get into those places? Regarding big, less prestigious schools like Wisconsin or Clemson -- I could get on board with those BUT my daughter is shy and really wants to go to a small school!

Not sure what to do!? A non-top SLAC might be a great fit for her but not for our budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NPC numbers don't mean that's what you'll actually get.

But then you are released from the ED commitment without penalty to you or your HS. So no risk.

Can someone explain the above two comments for us novices? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NPC numbers don't mean that's what you'll actually get.

But then you are released from the ED commitment without penalty to you or your HS. So no risk.

Can someone explain the above two comments for us novices? Thanks!

NPC is “net price calculator” and it is just an estimate. You can apply early decision and if the financial dollars are not affordable then you can decline without penalty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I focused my kid on schools that had "name recognition" among my set. Places like Williams and Swarthmore. The real name recognition -- as a brand and at a national level -- are those big football schools my snobby self prevented my kid from exploring. Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, etc. He would have had a wonderful college experience at any one of these places, and no doubt landed a cush job with the fanatical alum network. Instead, he's in at a barely Top 50 SLAC and hoping and praying for wait list movement with a lower NESCAC school that most of America has never heard of.

NP and I'm falling into this trap with my Junior! If we're going to take out loans I want it to be for a "top" college with good ROI but then what if she doesn't get into those places? Regarding big, less prestigious schools like Wisconsin or Clemson -- I could get on board with those BUT my daughter is shy and really wants to go to a small school!

Not sure what to do!? A non-top SLAC might be a great fit for her but not for our budget.

Luckily it's the non-top SLACs that often give a good amount of merit aid. If you find specific schools that would be a great fit, you can find out a lot about potential funding (either here or elsewhere).

[Anonymous]

If you're hunting for merit, College Confidential has good information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours would have applied to Toronto. It has a really good CS program and has rolling admissions. Plus, tuition is in line with other out of state colleges

Toronto has a large list of Turing Prizing winners. Two graduated from UT (including this year's). Two are long time faculty (Cook and Hinton), and two did post-doctoral fellowships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you realize that acceptance rates are not a measure of educational quality or outcomes, it makes the process a lot easier.

here here!

I was a low stat kid who went to a uni that accepted most people for undergrad but was competitive for grad school. Therefore, as an undergrad, I had ample opportunities to do research. I did research in 5 labs i think; published twice before graduating and got a fancy research award. The result: FREE GRAD SCHOOL at a top 10 public.

I was too poor to be a high stat kid in high school and in college my grades were on the bottom cusp of what the grad schools accepted. I got into two full-pay and went to the "better" one. The differentiator, of course, research and publications.

BS. I was a low-income high stats kid. Income has nothing to do with academic performance. Quit making excuses.