Anonymous wrote:My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!

This is not true at our local public schools.

My neighbors all had a great showing for acceptance.

My DS is happy - he is into all 6 schools he applied EA. He has 2 reaches that he hasn't heard from yet but even if he gets rejected from both, he likes and wants to go to the others that already want him.

If you are looking for good news, it's about setting reasonable expectations and meeting them.

^^Same PP. But, I agree with others that a well chosen list w/ targets and good likelies is important. My kid really liked her safety which was pretty much all she had until 2nd Christmas came in late March for her! She got into 3 ultra reaches and 2 great targets, but she would have been happy at safeties too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worked out for my kid. Disappointing early round and then several great options RD. Met a kid at Northwestern's admitted students day who was rejected ED 1 & Ed2 at less competitive colleges but then got into NU RD. Make sure those RD apps are great and keep working to add accomplishments to the app portfolio. Good luck!

Nice story, but would love to know the ED1 & ED2 schools. Not really believable as shared.

I can't remember both. One was Wesleyan. I only met the mom briefly at the NU admit day. They were thrilled. It does happen.

Sure, mine was accepted at a school that is currently a reach for everyone. My telling you which one will hardly help as the chances are so low for everyone and that is not going to change this cycle. Agree with PPs who are basically advising that you create a balanced list of reaches, targets and true safeties. The well crafted list based on the best data (CDS, actual school admissions website) is your daughter's best chance for success. That plus stellar grades, test scores, LORs, EC's etc - will give you the opportunity to purchase the lottery ticket if a reach is what she wants the most - but to win that lottery is low odds. This is not to make her feel worse - it is good information to help her make informed choices. Visit and show a lot of interest towards the targets and safeties, as they are not, well "safe". One step at a time, gather the info, do some visits, and I bet she will start to feel better and more empowered as time goes on. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Why is your definition of good news being accepted to a reach?

My kid was accepted to all of the schools she applied to, except her reaches. That is absolutely what statistics would have predicted. She had 7 schools to choose from: almost too many. They were all schools she had selected, after careful research and multiple visits.

Why is that not good news?

+1 My DD is still waiting on a response from a reach school. I think she's unlikely to get in, which is to be expected. But her good news is that she has acceptances to 5 safety and match schools and absolutely loves one of them. She also got their top merit award so it fits our budget. She's happily preparing for an audition for an additional non-major music scholarship and looking forward to attending an admitted students event in February. If she gets into the reach she'll have to figure out which she likes better but may still end up at the safety.

She did her research and all the schools are a good fit for her desired major and she showed interest for all of them, including interviewing where possible.

Anonymous wrote:Worked out for my kid. Disappointing early round and then several great options RD. Met a kid at Northwestern's admitted students day who was rejected ED 1 & Ed2 at less competitive colleges but then got into NU RD. Make sure those RD apps are great and keep working to add accomplishments to the app portfolio. Good luck!

Nice story, but would love to know the ED1 & ED2 schools. Not really believable as shared.

Worked out for my kid. Disappointing early round and then several great options RD. Met a kid at Northwestern's admitted students day who was rejected ED 1 & Ed2 at less competitive colleges but then got into NU RD. Make sure those RD apps are great and keep working to add accomplishments to the app portfolio. Good luck!

Why is your definition of good news being accepted to a reach?

My kid was accepted to all of the schools she applied to, except her reaches. That is absolutely what statistics would have predicted. She had 7 schools to choose from: almost too many. They were all schools she had selected, after careful research and multiple visits.

Why is that not good news?

Perhaps your daughter and her peers are feeling overwhelmed because society tells them that anything below winning the college lottery doesn't count as good news.

Good news is accurately identifying schools where they are likely to get in, and where they would be happy to attend, and then getting in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your definition of good news ("being accepted to an option that they considered a reach") is a big part of the problem.

Why?

Because you should not be disappointed or discouraged about getting turned down from a reach, as it was always unlikely. The top schools reject 95% of their applicants, so no surprise to get a rejection....even if your kid is awesome.

But what I am seeing is that kids get rejected even from their ''safe options''.... the Reach would be to look for a different narrative!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your definition of good news ("being accepted to an option that they considered a reach") is a big part of the problem.

Why?

Because you should not be disappointed or discouraged about getting turned down from a reach, as it was always unlikely. The top schools reject 95% of their applicants, so no surprise to get a rejection....even if your kid is awesome.

Anonymous wrote:I think your definition of good news ("being accepted to an option that they considered a reach") is a big part of the problem.

Why?

I think your definition of good news ("being accepted to an option that they considered a reach") is a big part of the problem.

My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!