Disappointment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else facing a lot of disappointment during this cycle? DD got into a couple target schools + most of her safeties... Rejected or WL from the rest. She was (imo and told to us by many others) a great applicant - High stats, great ECs + essays, LORs... Her interviews all went very well, especially JHU. She applied to JHU EA and the rest RD, and we're from NOVA. Intended major is BME (biomed engineering).

Stats:
4.0 UW/4.7 W GPA
1570 SAT (800 M, 770 R&W)
14 APs, all 5s

ECs:
- A few regional awards (STEM)
- 200+ volunteer hours @ local hospital
- Founder of non-profit
- Research w/ prof at T30
- Competitive summer program for BME
- Lots of community service

Results:
JHU EA - Deferred -> Rejected
Princeton - Rejected
Brown - Rejected
Dartmouth - Rejected
Columbia - Rejected
Duke - Rejected
UVA - WL
Cornell - WL
CMU - WL
UNC CH - WL
VT - Accepted
W&M - Accepted
Lehigh - Accepted
UPitt - Accepted

DD is incredibly upset and so are we... JHU was her dream school but she relied on UVA + CMU as well. Anyone here confused and facing a similar situation?We all were convinced that DD had it in the bag - Worst of all is that many of her classmates w/ lower stats and worse ECs have gotten into a few of these schools.

A couple of thoughts. RD vs EA was probably not a great idea. But with her stats, I am very surprised. Is she Asian and a student at TJHSST? If so, I hear a lot of kids get boxed out in admissions by other kids getting in (even if they do not attend) during the EA process.

[Anonymous]

I smell a 🧌

[Anonymous]

Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

[Anonymous]

I’m sure it’s very frustrating and disappointing for all of you, but you, as her parent, are in the best position to model “moving forward” behaviors. Acknowledge her disappointment and allow her to feel sad/frustrated - but not too long. And then start planning trips to accepted student days, if possible, and do deeper research into the opportunities offered at the places where she has been accepted. Show her how excited you are about her options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry.
Agree that it’s the major. My kid experienced this last year except did get in one of your kid’s WL schools. I’m surprised about the UVA WL with her stats. Did your daughter apply EA to UVA? What kind of high school does she attend?

VT, Pitt, Lehigh all were in the running for engineering for our kid. VT would be fantastic, Pitt too. Lehigh was in the running until the very end. Hopefully she can get excited at the admitted student days. Tough process for sure.

Yes, we were honestly shocked that she didn't get in - She applied RD. Many classmates with far lower stats + less impressive ECs got in. She attends a mid-sized public high school, pretty competitive. I know the cycle was very tough this year, but we definitely didn't see this coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:talk to her honestly, as a (soon to be) adult.

- sorry this happened.
- I think we should revisit all acceptances
- these are great options
- but this is not a prison sentence.
a. you could pick best option with the plan of transferring - that would mean planning a full summer (not just senior summer goof off) and researching transfer options. (I bet she'd get into Vandy as a transfer). you end up loving where you are and not applying, so much the better
b. you could take a gap year and reapply. that would mean taking a good look at your application and list. rewriting essays. and planning a meaningful year.
c. you could look at what's open now. some UK schools will open in clearing that are quite good.

I bet she'll end up picking one of her good options, but make it a choice. college is a huge investment. nobody should feel pushed in.

Kings has a great program and sometimes has spots in clearing

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/cou...cal-engineering-beng

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's tough, and I can see why you're upset. Having said that, Pitt is the clear choice. It's an amazing school, and your daughter would thrive there in the biomed program.

Yeah, she's definitely leaning towards Pitt right now - Friends have told us that their BME program is great. We're planning to make a visit soon to get more of a feel (and we've never been to the city itself).

Also be sure to learn about the option for Pitt students to take classes at CMU. They are right next door to each other in Pittsburgh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's tough, and I can see why you're upset. Having said that, Pitt is the clear choice. It's an amazing school, and your daughter would thrive there in the biomed program.

Come on. This kid realistically is much better than those who get into Pitt. Schools should stop taking so many international students so there’s room for kids like this DD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry.
Agree that it’s the major. My kid experienced this last year except did get in one of your kid’s WL schools. I’m surprised about the UVA WL with her stats. Did your daughter apply EA to UVA? What kind of high school does she attend?

VT, Pitt, Lehigh all were in the running for engineering for our kid. VT would be fantastic, Pitt too. Lehigh was in the running until the very end. Hopefully she can get excited at the admitted student days. Tough process for sure.

Yes, we were honestly shocked that she didn't get in - She applied RD. Many classmates with far lower stats + less impressive ECs got in. She attends a mid-sized public high school, pretty competitive. I know the cycle was very tough this year, but we definitely didn't see this coming.

ask her school counselor if appealing makes sense. you never know if your HS counselor messed up somehow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I smell a 🧌

Do you think her profile is too "basic"? She says she regrets not picking more creative ECs, although I think her ECs were perfectly suited for her major + demonstrated her passion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

Hmm, this does make quite a bit of sense. I actually thought that all her APs would give her a boost, especially with her scores.

[Anonymous]

Yes, daughter with very similar resume and very similar results, down to the Cornell and CMU waitlists. Really tough year to be a high stats girl. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

This happens every year. Every other kid has 1550+, 4.9 GPA, amazing EC’s, excellent essays.. etc.
There are only so many seats for the thousands of applicants with similar stats.. .

I don’t think there was anything wrong with her application. It just a crapshoot.. luck wasn’t on her side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, daughter with very similar resume and very similar results, down to the Cornell and CMU waitlists. Really tough year to be a high stats girl. Hang in there.

Same as last year for these types of kids and schools. So tired of hearing 2007 parents thinking it’s so much worse. It’s not.

[Anonymous]

Above a certain level of stats, admissions comes down to other factors, which is why sometimes kids with lower stats get in. Who knows exactly how that works. It may feel unfair but what matters is doing well at the school your kid will attend more than going to the highest ranked school.