[psusue]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

Wow, I was a slacker, I guess. I only graduated from HS 6 years ago (hmmm that's suddenly sounding like a long time ago!) and I applied to 3 schools. I was going to apply to 5, but then I got into Illinois so I stopped applying!

I graduated only 5 years ago and I applied to 4 schools. I would say that I was pretty typical of my graduating class, most of us applied to 5 or less schools and out of our top 10 the only "prestigious" schools any of us went to were 1 to Georgetown and 1 to Penn. Everyone else did state schools, mostly. But we're not from a wealthy area and a lot of my friends wanted to save money for grad school.

Originally Posted by southbymidwest

Not that I am aware of anymore- they will publish 25%-75% ACT/SAT spreads, GPA averages for the current freshman class, etc., but you can never be sure until you get the notification that you are in. In this day and age, especially with the larger, nationally recognized state universities, there are more kids with the right numbers than there are seats for them at the schools. Schools also want a diversified student body, so that also is taken into account. That can mean ethnicity/demographics/sex, but also where the kids reside within/outside the state, and niche interests (i.e.," I have a passion for studying jellyfish, and have done so since I was in 4th grade").

Some schools also consider legacy status when admitting students. I know Penn State is huge on this and although my scores were well within the accepted ranges, I know the fact that I'm a PSU mega-leg did not hurt me.

Originally Posted by AGDee

hypo just stopped by and we chatted. She said she didn't even cry about NU and she's ok. She realizes that Brown and Columbia are extremely unlikely. We discussed financial aid packages and looked at the offer from DePaul again. She doesn't think the amount of loans required for either American or DePaul are worth it. For Barnard, she'd be willing to take on that debt, but not for American or DePaul. She did say she'll be upset if Barnard can't happen, but she's sounding like she's leaning toward Michigan now.

Michigan is a great school, internationally recognized as a leader in education and research, and they have school spirit for miles. She'll find her niche in the RC I think and I think soon enough she'll also appreciate not being so far away from home. It sounds all well and good when you're 18, but having a place to come back to when you are tired of dorm food and don't feel like paying for laundry or just want a hug from someone who cares and isn't going to leave you in a year or two is something that cannot exactly be put into words. It's kind of like recruitment in that you end up where you're meant to be. And Michigan has so much diversity in its offerings, she'll find plenty of cultural events, educational programs, and creative outlets that her schedule will be packed and she won't have time to think about much else.

And besides, she can come home for every break and see her friends, she won't miss any family events, and she will graduate with far less debt than if she went further away. And while that may not seem salient now, just tell her that if she graduates with fewer loans she may be able to move full time out to Chicago or D.C. or NYC post-graduation and she can always get internships there for the summers. I don't know, I have a good feeling about her at Michigan. I feel like she'll fit in there, it won't be a pressure cooker like at some schools. I wish her the best luck about Barnard, and I really hope her dream comes true there, but she should know that her second choice is still a really, really great pick. And coming from a rival school, I don't really have a lot of reason to talk it up if it weren't true, now do I?