College application regrets

[Anonymous]

Staying too close to home (he ended up at a school ~1 hour away)

[Anonymous]

Wish that I had not bothered filling out the CSS and FAFSA. We have too many assets that we would have been expected to drain. Zero FA, only merit aid from Santa Clara and USC, plus a few others.

Wasting $85 on the UNC-Chapel Hill app. My kid was very high stats but they prefer certain high schools and/or legacies. My kid was in neither of those categories.

Wish we would have spent the ED chip more strategically. Kid was deferred, then rejected in RD round. It was one school which doesn’t have much difference in acceptance rates between ED and RD.

Wish I had researched more re: UVA’s A&S Gen Ed changeover to “Engagements.” Fortunately, my kid was able to switch to Disciplines pathway last year so more APs could be used up and course listings would be more palatable to employers. I don’t think that changing pathways is option for current classes and beyond. Kid is very happy there, so it doesn’t really matter, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wish that I had not bothered filling out the CSS and FAFSA. We have too many assets that we would have been expected to drain. Zero FA, only merit aid from Santa Clara and USC, plus a few others.

Wasting $85 on the UNC-Chapel Hill app. My kid was very high stats but they prefer certain high schools and/or legacies. My kid was in neither of those categories.

Wish we would have spent the ED chip more strategically. Kid was deferred, then rejected in RD round. It was one school which doesn’t have much difference in acceptance rates between ED and RD.

Wish I had researched more re: UVA’s A&S Gen Ed changeover to “Engagements.” Fortunately, my kid was able to switch to Disciplines pathway last year so more APs could be used up and course listings would be more palatable to employers. I don’t think that changing pathways is option for current classes and beyond. Kid is very happy there, so it doesn’t really matter, I guess.

If your kid wasn't in engagements why are you concerned about it? I have two at UVA, my DS did the engagements pathway and he enjoyed it, it was fine and he's still on track to graduate a least one semester early, possibly more, so long as he doesn't add a double major. Not sure why people freak out about it, especially those who didn't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

My kid ended up at a school with ~2000 students and felt very isolated and bored

+1

Lots of cliques; lots of gossip; everyone knows each other's business; lack of a variety of courses and majors; repeat of high school; social divide between athletes/non-athletes; kind of like living in a small town--there is a reason why rural population has shrunk & cities have grown.

Most important is the lack of on-campus recruiting for jobs and internships at small colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wish that I had not bothered filling out the CSS and FAFSA. We have too many assets that we would have been expected to drain. Zero FA, only merit aid from Santa Clara and USC, plus a few others.

Wasting $85 on the UNC-Chapel Hill app. My kid was very high stats but they prefer certain high schools and/or legacies. My kid was in neither of those categories.

Wish we would have spent the ED chip more strategically. Kid was deferred, then rejected in RD round. It was one school which doesn’t have much difference in acceptance rates between ED and RD.

Wish I had researched more re: UVA’s A&S Gen Ed changeover to “Engagements.” Fortunately, my kid was able to switch to Disciplines pathway last year so more APs could be used up and course listings would be more palatable to employers. I don’t think that changing pathways is option for current classes and beyond. Kid is very happy there, so it doesn’t really matter, I guess.

If your kid wasn't in engagements why are you concerned about it? I have two at UVA, my DS did the engagements pathway and he enjoyed it, it was fine and he's still on track to graduate a least one semester early, possibly more, so long as he doesn't add a double major. Not sure why people freak out about it, especially those who didn't do it.

Um, kid was assigned to Engagements originally and had to request the change. Many students weren’t aware that they were able to appeal at all or they were denied. My kid is double-majoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

I am not the PP, but, if your kid wants to go to a selective SLAC, they should pick one to apply to ED and then apply EA to any others that offer it. These schools are small and getting so many applications that it is a numbers game and it is not in your favor. They take most of their class ED, so you are at a real disadvantage if you don't have an ED school.

I think that you misunderstand the prior posters. They attended SLACs and regretted it.

[Anonymous]

Family member regrets not applying to one of H,Y,P,S,M where that family member had very close,positive relationships with faculty & administrators & was encouraged to apply.

Ended up applying ED top a top 10 National University & was accepted. Loved the experience, but sometimes wonders "what if".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wish that I had not bothered filling out the CSS and FAFSA. We have too many assets that we would have been expected to drain. Zero FA, only merit aid from Santa Clara and USC, plus a few others.

Wasting $85 on the UNC-Chapel Hill app. My kid was very high stats but they prefer certain high schools and/or legacies. My kid was in neither of those categories.

Wish we would have spent the ED chip more strategically. Kid was deferred, then rejected in RD round. It was one school which doesn’t have much difference in acceptance rates between ED and RD.

Wish I had researched more re: UVA’s A&S Gen Ed changeover to “Engagements.” Fortunately, my kid was able to switch to Disciplines pathway last year so more APs could be used up and course listings would be more palatable to employers. I don’t think that changing pathways is option for current classes and beyond. Kid is very happy there, so it doesn’t really matter, I guess.

If your kid wasn't in engagements why are you concerned about it? I have two at UVA, my DS did the engagements pathway and he enjoyed it, it was fine and he's still on track to graduate a least one semester early, possibly more, so long as he doesn't add a double major. Not sure why people freak out about it, especially those who didn't do it.

Um, kid was assigned to Engagements originally and had to request the change. Many students weren’t aware that they were able to appeal at all or they were denied. My kid is double-majoring.

And my point is what are you arguing is so bad about it? Your kid didn’t do it, mine did and he’ll be 100% fine even with a double major. You shouldn’t badmouth something you did not experience. They end up with different requirements to meet. It’s just 8 credits, easy A, and all small, interesting classes which are actually quite nice for first years in a large school like UVA.

[Anonymous]

Our eldest didn’t apply to any safeties, and virtually all of her matches were highly selective, though two of those were the SLACs we attended so we felt she had a decent chance. Wasted a SCEA on Stanford, which we told her was never going to happen—she had perfect stats and some interesting ECs but nothing extraordinary at all. I was extremely anxious until she got her first acceptance. Our youngest will absolutely be applying to a few true safeties.

I’m still not sure whether I have regrets about our middle child’s path. He was an athletic recruit and got an offer for a top academic school with a top team though the coach was rumored to be difficult, and the rumors were entirely accurate. He’s gotten a great education and had a good time outside of the sports arena, but there has been a lot of misery too. He was heavily recruited by a top 25 school with a fantastic coach who everyone loves playing for, and I think he would have been so much happier there. I’m ambivalent about the sacrifices required by D1 sports generally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

I am not the PP, but, if your kid wants to go to a selective SLAC, they should pick one to apply to ED and then apply EA to any others that offer it. These schools are small and getting so many applications that it is a numbers game and it is not in your favor. They take most of their class ED, so you are at a real disadvantage if you don't have an ED school.

I think that you misunderstand the prior posters. They attended SLACs and regretted it.

And this poster didn't, do I think you misunderstood them.

Especially with covid events, thank my lucky stars my kid chose a NESCAC college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

My kid ended up at a school with ~2000 students and felt very isolated and bored

Did they initially like the small school, but it turned boring after a couple years? My DC figured out they would be isolated and bored at a rural SLAC during a one hour tour. We also looked a few urban SLAC and decided it felt too small. Refused to apply to any. Very happy at an out of state flagship. There are tons of kids like this and tons of kids that love the small, intimate setting of a SLAC. Your DC should be able to figure out which category they fall into before applying!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No regret.

In retrospect, we had the perfect strategy.

We looked beyond college. The kid wants to work for big tech, one of the FANGs. He applied for those schools that could maximize his chance of getting into those big tech companies given his ability and budget constraint.

Now he is happily working for one of the FANGs, the good one.

We believe colleges are like hotels. In a vacation, say, you want to go to a place. Well, you won't tell friends that you want to visit a hotel or have a vacation in a hotel. Your destination is not a hotel even though you need to stay in a hotel during a trip.

You want to have a good experience in a hotel. You meet people in any kinds of hotels. You do not want to have a bad experience. Still, they are hotels. They are not the purpose of your trip.

We also had no regrets tho kid is still in college. And we approached the project like you did.

The college got him to the city where he wants to be, where he is making contacts and already working and also having a blast (it’s a distinctive city)

I actually feel the same puzzlement over people who obsess over distinction between the Ritz blah blah blah VS the Four Seasons blah blah in Hawaii or Vegas or Grand Cayman. Did you travel that far for the towels?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

My kid ended up at a school with ~2000 students and felt very isolated and bored

Did they initially like the small school, but it turned boring after a couple years? My DC figured out they would be isolated and bored at a rural SLAC during a one hour tour. We also looked a few urban SLAC and decided it felt too small. Refused to apply to any. Very happy at an out of state flagship. There are tons of kids like this and tons of kids that love the small, intimate setting of a SLAC. Your DC should be able to figure out which category they fall into before applying!!

There weren’t a lot of activities and classes to choose from and he didn’t like seeing the same faces at all hours of the day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

My kid ended up at a school with ~2000 students and felt very isolated and bored

Did they initially like the small school, but it turned boring after a couple years? My DC figured out they would be isolated and bored at a rural SLAC during a one hour tour. We also looked a few urban SLAC and decided it felt too small. Refused to apply to any. Very happy at an out of state flagship. There are tons of kids like this and tons of kids that love the small, intimate setting of a SLAC. Your DC should be able to figure out which category they fall into before applying!!

NP- my kid said the SLACs felt claustrophobic and chose a large state university. I still think two years at an LAC would have been much more engaging, followed by transferring to a large state university. The first two years at big state, not in a special smaller program, were lots of large classes and memorizing for tests (biology, chemistry; the calc and physics were more problem solving). I thought an LAC would at least have been more discussion and context in an LAC. Can anyone disabuse me of this?
Big state did offer research opportunities, huge selection of clubs and classes, travel opportunities, kind, smart, encouraging professors and more interesting research around than any one person even has the time to become aware of, lots of on campus recruiting, though more regional than national. Kid has no regrets. I still wonder .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not applying to larger schools

Can you expound on that? Thanks

My kid ended up at a school with ~2000 students and felt very isolated and bored

Did they initially like the small school, but it turned boring after a couple years? My DC figured out they would be isolated and bored at a rural SLAC during a one hour tour. We also looked a few urban SLAC and decided it felt too small. Refused to apply to any. Very happy at an out of state flagship. There are tons of kids like this and tons of kids that love the small, intimate setting of a SLAC. Your DC should be able to figure out which category they fall into before applying!!

NP- my kid said the SLACs felt claustrophobic and chose a large state university. I still think two years at an LAC would have been much more engaging, followed by transferring to a large state university. The first two years at big state, not in a special smaller program, were lots of large classes and memorizing for tests (biology, chemistry; the calc and physics were more problem solving). I thought an LAC would at least have been more discussion and context in an LAC. Can anyone disabuse me of this?
Big state did offer research opportunities, huge selection of clubs and classes, travel opportunities, kind, smart, encouraging professors and more interesting research around than any one person even has the time to become aware of, lots of on campus recruiting, though more regional than national. Kid has no regrets. I still wonder .

Transferring after two years can be a social challenge for anyone. Friendship networks have been formed. If a kid transfers and isn’t happy they won’t excel.