If I could start the process over .. this is what I'd do differently.

[Anonymous]

Not me! It seems we are directly opposite in our opinions.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn’t have applied to so many targets and likelies!

Applied to:
5 likelies (admitted to all);
5 targets (admitted to 2 EA; waiting on 3) and 12 reaches (deferred ED; deferred 1; admitted to 1 OOS flagship and waiting on rest).

Applies to mostly privates and a few SLACs in these numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We scared by people saying how horrible the process had been, so we kept the reaches to a minimum. Maybe that was a mistake. We could have eliminated at least 2 safeties. There were too many.

I personally don’t regret a lot of safeties. It feels good to get an acceptance in the midst of rejections and deferrals and provides peace of mind for what in the long run isn’t a lot of money to pay in application fees.

[Anonymous]

Not retake the SAT if already at 1500+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not me! It seems we are directly opposite in our opinions.

No one knows which prior opinion you are referring to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best money I spent on college search was this DIY Rankings spreadsheet ($24). It has all that data from common data sets/NCES in one place

My kids were pretty clear on major, school size, region. So this made it easy to filter and sort schools by what they were looking for plus filter for factors like higher retention rate, average net cost. Quickly gave a reasonable list for further research.

https://diycollegerankings.com/diy-college-rankings-spreadsheet-lp-2/

With this sort of product, be aware that there may be an issue of time lag. Third party aggregations of college data are often out of date because links don't get updated and because the Common Data Set, while often the best data we have, has its own lag.

The currently available Common Data Set is 2023-24. Some schools have already posted 2024-25, though many won't be posted until late spring or early summer. The IPEDS database will roll over to the new data set in mid June. The 2024-25 data set will have admissions data for high school class of 2024, college class of 2028, so it won't include data from the current admission season.

If you want more up to date acceptance rates and costs, the CDS isn't the place.

Also, average net cost doesn't tell you what you would pay. You need to use Net Price Calculators yourself.

I make my own spreadsheet specific to our needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scared by people saying how horrible the process had been, so we kept the reaches to a minimum. Maybe that was a mistake. We could have eliminated at least 2 safeties. There were too many.

I personally don’t regret a lot of safeties. It feels good to get an acceptance in the midst of rejections and deferrals and provides peace of mind for what in the long run isn’t a lot of money to pay in application fees.

+1. Hindsight is 20/20. Someone in this forum once likened it to insurance and that seems appropriate, a hedge against risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scared by people saying how horrible the process had been, so we kept the reaches to a minimum. Maybe that was a mistake. We could have eliminated at least 2 safeties. There were too many.

I personally don’t regret a lot of safeties. It feels good to get an acceptance in the midst of rejections and deferrals and provides peace of mind for what in the long run isn’t a lot of money to pay in application fees.

+1. Hindsight is 20/20. Someone in this forum once likened it to insurance and that seems appropriate, a hedge against risk.

To add, for my kid's particular situation, high stats with a wrinkle, there is a great deal of uncertainty. His friends wonder why he is applying to so many reaches. He might do really well and get into several or might totally strike out. There is uncertainty of his low target where he doesn't have a ton of demonstrated interest. Has safeties, but like many high stats kids, has high hopes, a go-big-or-go-home scenario, so he is going for it. Whatever happens, I'm proud of him for trying, and will not regret the long list. If he has many options to wade through in April, that would be a good problem to have. Finished his last app last night and I'm almost sad it's over. He really got on a roll with the supplements.

[Anonymous]

I agree that it should all depend on who your kid is.

Understand that what your kid likes in Oct/Nov may be very different in Apr/May so apply accordingly. You don't need more than 2-3 likelies. Some friends will make poorly informed decisions and will be disappointed in their outcomes. Remind your kid to tune out the drama and focus on their own journey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scared by people saying how horrible the process had been, so we kept the reaches to a minimum. Maybe that was a mistake. We could have eliminated at least 2 safeties. There were too many.

I personally don’t regret a lot of safeties. It feels good to get an acceptance in the midst of rejections and deferrals and provides peace of mind for what in the long run isn’t a lot of money to pay in application fees.

+1. Hindsight is 20/20. Someone in this forum once likened it to insurance and that seems appropriate, a hedge against risk.

Yeah, I was really pushing DS to eliminate all but one safety and then an older friend said, if you don't get into any of your reaches, you'll appreciate having options - even if you kind of know which one you'll choose, you'll feel better just having a choice. I was convinced by that perspective so he added a few more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For us, not waste time thinking too far outside the box. U of Edinburgh? Some dual degree program? Some underrated gem? So many hours researching things I should have known were not really who my kid is.

We should have looked at where the class of '24 matriculated (from our HS), easily cut the half that weren't of interest, used Naviance to cull from there, and ended up with a long list of 20 schools in January of junior year.

Where did you find this info? Our Naviance (large FCPS public HS) has data from several years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apply to more private and fewer big state schools. Be realistic — DC’s profile is not ideal for OOS. Visit more places junior year.

Be realistic. I think that sums it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scared by people saying how horrible the process had been, so we kept the reaches to a minimum. Maybe that was a mistake. We could have eliminated at least 2 safeties. There were too many.

I personally don’t regret a lot of safeties. It feels good to get an acceptance in the midst of rejections and deferrals and provides peace of mind for what in the long run isn’t a lot of money to pay in application fees.

+1. Hindsight is 20/20. Someone in this forum once likened it to insurance and that seems appropriate, a hedge against risk.

To add, for my kid's particular situation, high stats with a wrinkle, there is a great deal of uncertainty. His friends wonder why he is applying to so many reaches. He might do really well and get into several or might totally strike out. There is uncertainty of his low target where he doesn't have a ton of demonstrated interest. Has safeties, but like many high stats kids, has high hopes, a go-big-or-go-home scenario, so he is going for it. Whatever happens, I'm proud of him for trying, and will not regret the long list. If he has many options to wade through in April, that would be a good problem to have. Finished his last app last night and I'm almost sad it's over. He really got on a roll with the supplements.

May I ask, what is his wrinkle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not retake the SAT if already at 1500+

I was going to say the opposite. My daughter took it once and got 1510 and thought that was enough. Now everyone around her is telling her she needed at least 1550 and she’s kicking herself for not trying again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is unique to my kids preferences knowing how things evolved.

1 - less oos flagships, more private/lac
2 - more reaches, no ED

This is me, exactly. DS is a senior and in at a few oos flagships and I wish we had spent more time looking at more privates and lac. Which was my preference at the start and I should have pressed that, but he insisted on rah rah schools. That are now all seeming too remote and party centered to him.

If you're going to apply to a lot of OOS schools ( and the OOS tuition that goes with it), you might as well throw in some solid privates too. The overall cost isn't going to be much different.