If you had to do it all over again, what would you do different?

[Anonymous]

As an admissions readers, essays rarely are the make or break for getting someone in. Don't obsess over them, just write genuinely (doesn't have to be over-engineered or overly polished). We like a raw teenage voice better than a product of a private consultant or parent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No real regrets. But I truly hate ED and SCEA. Both of my kids go to top 20 schools that they're happy with, so all good.

But they never got the chance to apply to MIT or Stanford bc they got in ED.

they did get the chance. they made other decisions because they thought it would benefit them (it likely did). but they had total agency in this.

This. They chose to apply ED. No one is twisting their arms. ED exists to help schools get good yield scores. We are in a seller’s market. Don’t like it? Then don’t apply ED. But don’t later “hate ED” because your child made the choice to take advantage of it and got in! Just wait until EA and RD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Opt out of the admissions rat race, enjoy your teen years, and go to an SEC school.

It’s a rat race to get into the SEC schools now.

exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
ED is the way to go, IMO. My biggest regret is making our youngest daughter apply to many national and local scholarships. The national ones were too hard with her stats to ever get, and the local ones are won by the same three kids from her class. Complete waste of time for her.

The only scholarships she was successful in receiving were the ones from colleges like Syracuse and Kenyon, but unfortunately, even with $30K off they are still $60k.

+1

Scholarship apps were a complete waste of time. DC would have been better off spending that time working, or anything else. Kid #2 will not be applying to any random scholarships.

Learned this lesson as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be more cautious of parents who seem obsessed with other kids stats and choices.

!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an admissions readers, essays rarely are the make or break for getting someone in. Don't obsess over them, just write genuinely (doesn't have to be over-engineered or overly polished). We like a raw teenage voice better than a product of a private consultant or parent!

Most contract readers never read the essays. Their job is to screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be more cautious of parents who seem obsessed with other kids stats and choices.

!!!!

I always caution my kids to not make their data public. Once you tell a friend, then everyone knows (usually). Once you post about it, it's out there/fair game for others to ponder.

[Anonymous]

Take essays very seriously and major selection...dont apply ed1 to a place where many ppl from school apply even if high stats!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take essays very seriously and major selection...dont apply ed1 to a place where many ppl from school apply even if high stats!!!

What about major selection?

[Anonymous]

I would have considered would have encouraged a SLAC for my private school kid instead of letting her shotgun ivy. They got into Cornell and got a little lost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
ED is the way to go, IMO. My biggest regret is making our youngest daughter apply to many national and local scholarships. The national ones were too hard with her stats to ever get, and the local ones are won by the same three kids from her class. Complete waste of time for her.

The only scholarships she was successful in receiving were the ones from colleges like Syracuse and Kenyon, but unfortunately, even with $30K off they are still $60k.

+1

Scholarship apps were a complete waste of time. DC would have been better off spending that time working, or anything else. Kid #2 will not be applying to any random scholarships.

Phew! Thanks for sharing this. We're donut hole and have just started encouraging D to search for apply to scholarships. They're a lot of work and I can already sense that most are a very long shot. Maybe I'll let her off the hook and encourage her to take on more work shifts instead. She will be thrilled : ).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
ED is the way to go, IMO. My biggest regret is making our youngest daughter apply to many national and local scholarships. The national ones were too hard with her stats to ever get, and the local ones are won by the same three kids from her class. Complete waste of time for her.

The only scholarships she was successful in receiving were the ones from colleges like Syracuse and Kenyon, but unfortunately, even with $30K off they are still $60k.

+1

Scholarship apps were a complete waste of time. DC would have been better off spending that time working, or anything else. Kid #2 will not be applying to any random scholarships.

Learned this lesson as well.

Yup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not force my kid to work so hard during HS and live on a treadmill. College entry is overrated and college is over in 4 yrs and I wish we'd spent more time on building out some resilience, social and emotional coping skills instead.

Very true. Thank you for the reminder. This board gets crazy sometimes; we could all do with a reminder.

[Anonymous]

Social connections made in college are very important and possibly life changing, but no more real than the social connections that can be made in grade school, or preschool, or high school, or soccer.

in the end, I think the neighborhood we bought in and the high school we choose were more consequential than their expensive colleges (which are both T10). I'd tell my own kids to stretch when buying the house where they raise their kids. Neighborhood matters (for parent relationships too).

[Anonymous]

Make my kids apply to in-state universities