Success stories/fairy tale endings please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

You have an out if they can’t meet EFC.

And no out if they don’t offer the merit aid you need to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

You have an out if they can’t meet EFC.

And no out if they don’t offer the merit aid you need to attend.

Wait. Si you want a reach AND merit aid?!?! Come on! If it’s a reach, you are not getting merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

If you are accepted ED but cannot afford it, you can decline. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

[Anonymous]

“It all worked out fine” doesn’t need to be preceded by your kid getting into their reach school.

You and your kid need to disabuse yourselves of the notion that happy endings only come in one flavor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

If you are accepted ED but cannot afford it, you can decline. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

You can decline if they don’t meet your EFC. But you can’t compare offers which is what people need to do.

[Anonymous]

DC got into a very nice reach, but they gave us no FA, so DC went to an in-state option that turned out VERY well. It was a great fit, and DC thrived. That was such a surprise, because the school DC ended up at was DC's last choice (out of 8 schools DC was accepted to).

Fairy tale? Kinda. Very happy result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - To the PP I never mentioned how high they were reaching - why do you assume I am talking about reaching for the stars? No need to be unkind. JMU is a good school and a reach for some kids. I'd love to hear about when kids applied for schools they thought were target/reach (doesn't matter if it was JMU or Harvard) and they got in. My kid has heard about friends at all different academic and achievement levels not getting into anything but last choice or even nowhere.. He has curated his list carefully and hopefully likes all his schools. We'd just love to hear- yes- sometimes you are happily surprised.

Well it doesn’t help to call it their “last choice!”

The kid makes the list, so should be happy with schools THEY put on the list.

(Think if it as being in their top 7 or 10, get it?)

[Anonymous]

What are you calling a bloodbath? I assume all these kids ended up somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are you calling a bloodbath? I assume all these kids ended up somewhere.

It's the entitlement culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

No ED at the school where my kid would use it. It’s not universal.

[Anonymous]

To the OP: No fairy tale ending but also no bloodbath our kid knew going in they didn't want a protracted application decision process. Applied to three good schools including one rolling that were all on paper matches. Caveat was one was a match for our older kid which resulted in him being waitlisted and never admitted. In at all three.
4.3 weighted. 1400 SATs. Decent academic rigor and good AP scores. Varsity athlete but not not D-1. Unhooked.
Know what your kid can handle both during the application process and in the transition to college. I have seen a lot of kids really struggle after the college drop off. Have your kid be honest about where they think they can really thrive, not where they think every expects them to go.

[Anonymous]

Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Yep. You have to show them love. I had a high stats kid who did not want T20. She showed the lower ranked schools the love and got into all of them.

What to do though with like a JMU which I don’t think looks at demonstrates interest? It should be a safety for my kid but I worry about yield protection. He actually is interested in the school and while he has the stats for higher ranked schools he’d be happy to go there.

Yes, JMU does demonstrated interest. You should have a JMYou account - different from the my Madison login for applicants - which tracks demonstrated interest. I think my DS has an 88% - won’t get much higher b/c he doesn’t want to make public comments on the account. The more you watch their videos, visit the school and click on links in their emails to you, the more the % goes up. Just FYI.

Good to know. DS is a jr so not in the weeds on this yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

If you are accepted ED but cannot afford it, you can decline. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

You can decline if they don’t meet your EFC. But you can’t compare offers which is what people need to do.

EFC gives you very good idea. To get more offer, you normally go a level or two down.
That's the down side of being too choosy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.