Anonymous
01/13/2022 18:20
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Make sure he applies to a safety school. He may get into all those deferrals.
One thing my DS's counselor stressed at a meeting in early September: there are no more safety schools.
He said a safety school is a thing of the past due to the number of kids applying to every school and also the overall caliber of kids applying.
The way he explained it is...
If a rockstar student applies to ODU or VCU, which used to be two great VA safety schools, the school knows that they are that kid's safety and therefore they are more apt to defer or deny them. Why? Because they don't want to give a spot to a kid they know will not accept admittance for the fall. It makes their numbers look bad.
Another counselor agreed and said that if your kid really wants to go to one of those schools and the kid's stats are above average, they need to express their desire to attend that college/university to them so they know it's not a safety application.
Other schools that were mentioned that used to be solid safeties for good students but no longer are: Kent State, Gonzaga, Elon, MSU, Texas A&M, and either FAU or FIU (can't remember which).
All of the counselors agreed that 10 used to be the magic number for applications but but now say that 20!!! is the minimum they believe each kid should submit.
Heck, by the time my freshman is a senior, it'll probably be up to 30 apps!
No, must be willing to move up (down?) in the USNWR rankings, problem solved.
See: "yield protection"
Too many applicants.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 18:19
Subject: Re:Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Auburn EA averages 4.21? fml
Remember grades are REALLY inflated.
My kid is in DCPS and for 18 months the entire school district did not give a grade lower than a B. (all C's and below were converted to "P"s which are not calculated into GPAs).
Then, if you signed your name on the papers, you got an A. The standards for As were ridiculously low. In quarters 3 and 4 of 20-21 all work was considered extra-credit. My son
and all his friends ended up with 300% in most classes.
This graduating class is screwed because so many kids have unusually high GPAs. The pool of high GPAs is much higher than usual.
Don't forget the deferrals from the class of 2020 are still having an effect.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 17:44
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Any updates for kids with deferrals and rejections? Looking for good news!
None at my house yet. Sigh. One deferral and one rejection. About 10 other apps in so far, and aiming for some more on Jan 15 deadline.
We haven't even heard from Pitt yet, which is concerning. DC applied in early November and application still says "pending." What is up with that?
Anonymous
01/13/2022 17:41
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We're rooting for your son OP!
Yes!!!
Awww so kind! He did hear from a few more schools. Two safeties admitted to, and two targets admitted. He’s happy about the schools so whatever now happens with deferrals he’s in a much better place, for sure. So relieved.
That is great news, congratulations! And it proves that you can still identify safeties/targets, and that you guys did a good job putting together your list.
It is nice to have options (though I can understand why you got nervous when your first five responses were deferrals!)
Anonymous
01/13/2022 17:38
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Make sure he applies to a safety school. He may get into all those deferrals.
One thing my DS's counselor stressed at a meeting in early September: there are no more safety schools.
He said a safety school is a thing of the past due to the number of kids applying to every school and also the overall caliber of kids applying.
The way he explained it is...
If a rockstar student applies to ODU or VCU, which used to be two great VA safety schools, the school knows that they are that kid's safety and therefore they are more apt to defer or deny them. Why? Because they don't want to give a spot to a kid they know will not accept admittance for the fall. It makes their numbers look bad.
Another counselor agreed and said that if your kid really wants to go to one of those schools and the kid's stats are above average, they need to express their desire to attend that college/university to them so they know it's not a safety application.
Other schools that were mentioned that used to be solid safeties for good students but no longer are: Kent State, Gonzaga, Elon, MSU, Texas A&M, and either FAU or FIU (can't remember which).
All of the counselors agreed that 10 used to be the magic number for applications but but now say that 20!!! is the minimum they believe each kid should submit.
Heck, by the time my freshman is a senior, it'll probably be up to 30 apps!
No, must be willing to move up (down?) in the USNWR rankings, problem solved.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 12:23
Subject: Re:Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
OP, would you be willing to share the names of the schools that eventually admitted him? Asking because there are still two days to apply for many/most schools.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 12:22
Subject: Re:Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Why would you say this?
"If you have to worry about getting into a college with 70% 80% 90% acceptance rate, college is probably not the right place."
There are plenty of kids who for one reason or another have lower grades or a lower SAT score than the scores found on the Common Data Set. Lots of these kids will be just as successful as the kids who "played the game" right and got better grades or scores. In a time when so many (is it half?) of kids have an A average, kids who are more than capable of doing college level work won't meet the minimum stats at lots of schools.
"If you have to worry about getting into a college with 70% 80% 90% acceptance rate, college is probably not the right place."
There are plenty of kids who for one reason or another have lower grades or a lower SAT score than the scores found on the Common Data Set. Lots of these kids will be just as successful as the kids who "played the game" right and got better grades or scores. In a time when so many (is it half?) of kids have an A average, kids who are more than capable of doing college level work won't meet the minimum stats at lots of schools.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 12:15
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Make sure he applies to a safety school. He may get into all those deferrals.
There are no safeties anymore for most average students
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:43
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We're rooting for your son OP!
Yes!!!
Awww so kind! He did hear from a few more schools. Two safeties admitted to, and two targets admitted. He’s happy about the schools so whatever now happens with deferrals he’s in a much better place, for sure. So relieved.
I'm so glad you came back and told us this. It shows how quickly things can take shape. It's a tough process and it's great he has choices now.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:35
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Where are the idiots telling people to apply to less than 10?
Some private schools only allow 10 applications
Don’t attend those private schools then. They’re out of touch. College application landscapes have changed a lot.
+1. The counselors aren’t God. They don’t know and can’t predict. The ten only rule was to help them precovid. It’s now harming their own students.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:18
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Make sure he applies to a safety school. He may get into all those deferrals.
One thing my DS's counselor stressed at a meeting in early September: there are no more safety schools.
He said a safety school is a thing of the past due to the number of kids applying to every school and also the overall caliber of kids applying.
The way he explained it is...
If a rockstar student applies to ODU or VCU, which used to be two great VA safety schools, the school knows that they are that kid's safety and therefore they are more apt to defer or deny them. Why? Because they don't want to give a spot to a kid they know will not accept admittance for the fall. It makes their numbers look bad.
Another counselor agreed and said that if your kid really wants to go to one of those schools and the kid's stats are above average, they need to express their desire to attend that college/university to them so they know it's not a safety application.
Other schools that were mentioned that used to be solid safeties for good students but no longer are: Kent State, Gonzaga, Elon, MSU, Texas A&M, and either FAU or FIU (can't remember which).
All of the counselors agreed that 10 used to be the magic number for applications but but now say that 20!!! is the minimum they believe each kid should submit.
Heck, by the time my freshman is a senior, it'll probably be up to 30 apps!
If you have to worry about getting into a college with 70% 80% 90% acceptance rate, college is probably not the right place.
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:14
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Congratulations! That is great news. Thanks for letting us know.....
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:10
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We're rooting for your son OP!
Yes!!!
Awww so kind! He did hear from a few more schools. Two safeties admitted to, and two targets admitted. He’s happy about the schools so whatever now happens with deferrals he’s in a much better place, for sure. So relieved.
Yay! So happy for you guys. Congrats on the acceptances!
Anonymous
01/13/2022 10:10
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:Make sure he applies to a safety school. He may get into all those deferrals.
One thing my DS's counselor stressed at a meeting in early September: there are no more safety schools.
He said a safety school is a thing of the past due to the number of kids applying to every school and also the overall caliber of kids applying.
The way he explained it is...
If a rockstar student applies to ODU or VCU, which used to be two great VA safety schools, the school knows that they are that kid's safety and therefore they are more apt to defer or deny them. Why? Because they don't want to give a spot to a kid they know will not accept admittance for the fall. It makes their numbers look bad.
Another counselor agreed and said that if your kid really wants to go to one of those schools and the kid's stats are above average, they need to express their desire to attend that college/university to them so they know it's not a safety application.
Other schools that were mentioned that used to be solid safeties for good students but no longer are: Kent State, Gonzaga, Elon, MSU, Texas A&M, and either FAU or FIU (can't remember which).
All of the counselors agreed that 10 used to be the magic number for applications but but now say that 20!!! is the minimum they believe each kid should submit.
Heck, by the time my freshman is a senior, it'll probably be up to 30 apps!
Anonymous
01/13/2022 09:55
Subject: Son having a hard time deferred everywhere so far
Anonymous wrote:OP, you can go on The College Board's -- Big Future-- site and filter by application deadline. Search by latest deadlines. Do this to calm nerves. There may be other schools to add, just to be safe. Also, in May a survey comes out of all schools that still have space. There are always some fine schools on the list.
These are just in case ideas, if back-up plans make you/your son feel better.
Not OP, but thank you.