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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a rough point in the admission season.  Let her mourn.  I would try not to talk about the decisions yet to come.  If the subject of college is going to be discussed, I'd be comparing the current excellent options, which would be her preference, looking at admitted student groups, housing options, etc.

Keep in mind (perhaps without discussing with her) that experts predict extensive waitlist use this year, so while it's hard to judge from where you sit now, a waitlist acceptance is possible, especially if you are full pay.

As has been explained above, [b]the "safeties" she's fortunate to be accepted to were actually targets due to low acceptance rates.[/b]  Move them to the target category.

You are not the only one to notice that this is a crazy year for college admission - it has been in the press, see e.g. Melissa Korn at WSJ - and there will be many a college counselor with unfortunate egg on their faces for inaccurate predictions.[/quote]

This! Best piece of advice I ever picked up on DCUM was, when figuring out safeties vs. matches for my kid, if the acceptance rate is 30 percent or less, it’s not a safety. Even if your kid’s stats are over the 75th percentile for test scores and above the average GPA. Consider it a strong match, but not a safety.

Grinnell’s acceptance rate is 23 percent, Skidmore’s is 30. Even though W&M is in the upper 30s, everyone knows it’s harder for girls to get accepted.[/quote]

This.  W&M is a reach for almost all students with OP's kid's states.  Dear OP - yes, you are correct, it has been a bloodbath this year due to the surge in applications because of test-optional.  It was an especially tough year for all of the top-tier publics because some families' finances were slaughtered by COVID and they suddenly realized that $80 a year for a private slac is absurd. But your counselor knew that was coming and didn't counsel you or your daughter correctly.

Look at the stats. for W&M in a normal year.  Your daughter is only at the 75th percentile for a normal year of entering students. Last fall 75th had a 34, meaning that 25% of the class had an ACT higher than a 34.  The 75th percentile ACT was a 1490.  The 75th percentile GPA was a 4.46.  I realize you are probably at a school that doesn't weight, so the 3.8 looks impressive, but she's competing against kids 25% of whom have a higher GPA than a weighted 4.46! PLUS these are the stats of the kids that showed up last fall and enrolled at W&M.  https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp.   To get accepted, the stats are even higher because some of the kids who get in to W&M peel off for UVA or Ivies or SLACs that offer money.  Now compound all of this by the fact that colleges last MARCH went test-optional (Harvard was the first and the other schools followed).  So everyone knew that there would be a surge of Hail Marys at the very top schools and even more at the more reasonably priced publics.  Your child was always a reach for W&M.  She never was a safety - even in a normal year.  So I would blame it on the counselor.  Even if I'm wrong, it's better for your child to direct her anger at the counselor, the system, covid, anything but herself.

Have you considered a gap year?  If she's this devastated (and Grinnell is also a fabulous, albeit expensive, school), can you work up a virtual internship for her and she can reapply in the fall.  In fact, she could go SCEA, REA, ED, etc. for the top school she really wants.  And my advice is to hire a private counselor next time around.  I didn't do it for undergrad and learned my lesson.  I am now using one for grad school applications.[/quote]

This, Ivys and to SLACs are crapshoots. Most kids would be happy to have W&M as a fall back. [/quote]

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