Girlie AGDee's College Search Thread

[PeppyGPhiB]

The 35,000 applications doesn't surprise me since kids are applying to so many schools now. UCLA supposedly had more than 90,000, and my alma mater (Pepperdine) had nearly 10,000 for just 800 spots.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

The 35,000 applications doesn't surprise me since kids are applying to so many schools now. UCLA supposedly had more than 90,000, and my alma mater (Pepperdine) had nearly 10,000 for just 800 spots.

This makes it so hard to get in. They have far, far more kids who are qualified than they can accept. An applicant just has to hope that there is something in his/her application that catches the interest of the admissions committee. It's often something really random.

[alum]

6 years ago, Duke had the same admissions access problem as Northwestern did this year. It was a long 48 hours.....I think the hardcopy decisions actually arrived by the time access was available. My class of '06 kid applied to 7 schools, my current senior applied to 8.

Our suburban Boston high school in the 80s told us to apply to at least 5 or 6. I applied to 6.

I interview prospectives for Carnegie Mellon. They truly all have amazing resumes. My fellow alums and I always joke that we would never be accepted nowadays.

[barbino]

I am so sorry about Northwestern and praying for the ones hypoallergenic has left to hear from. Love this thread.

[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?

[GammaGirl1908]

Originally Posted by KDCat

This makes it so hard to get in. They have far, far more kids who are qualified than they can accept. An applicant just has to hope that there is something in his/her application that catches the interest of the admissions committee. It's often something really random.

Funny story about this: I have a group of friends who attended an excellent small liberal arts school with very competitive admissions (think Wesleyan, Lehigh, Bryn Mawr, etc). At orientation, the admissions director told the freshman class members that they all belonged there and would succeed, and if they ever doubted that, to come to her and she would remind them of why the school was the place for them.

Well, one of my friends was having a very rough time her sophomore year, so she did exactly that. The AD said, "Actually, you were an interesting case. We like to have a lot of breadth in our class, and we thought you would bring a unique perspective because you aren't afraid to be original, and you are someone who will steer your own course and take people with you if necessary."

My friend was dumbfounded. "Are you telling me," she said, "that I got into one of the best schools in the country because instead of playing a team sport, I was the high school mascot?"

True story.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

My daughter finally got through this morning, only to get a rejection from Northwestern. I am actually surprised at this, because she has been going to their programs for 6 years. Even though she had already decided that it wasn't where she wanted to go, I think the rejection feels more personal, because she has had so much contact with the school.

The fact that so many kids are applying to so many schools now is probably what burned your daughter as well as Dee's with NU. My ex graduated from NU and well, to put it nicely, didn't have anywhere near the credentials that Dee's daughter has.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

The 35,000 applications doesn't surprise me since kids are applying to so many schools now. UCLA supposedly had more than 90,000, and my alma mater (Pepperdine) had nearly 10,000 for just 800 spots.

That's just insane but count me among the generation where applying to more than 4 schools was considered a lot.

[Sciencewoman]

My daughter finally got through this morning, only to get a rejection from Northwestern. I am actually surprised at this, because she has been going to their programs for 6 years. Even though she had already decided that it wasn't where she wanted to go, I think the rejection feels more personal, because she has had so much contact with the school.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

My daughter finally got through this morning, only to get a rejection from Northwestern. I am actually surprised at this, because she has been going to their programs for 6 years. Even though she had already decided that it wasn't where she wanted to go, I think the rejection feels more personal, because she has had so much contact with the school.

Yes, I can understand that. Then I went to CC and was reading stats of kids who were rejected and it is absolutely incredible.

[AGDee]

We had a lot of time to talk today because the state solo & ensemble festival was today and she had performances at 11 am and 4:30 pm. It was an hour away from home so we had a lot of time to kill. Although we supported other kids from her school who were also performing today and watched their performances, there was a lot of down time. One of her friends was also there and they talked a lot about college. Hypo asked if it would be wise to join to the Peace Corps and go to college later and I let know that most positions require a college degree. We talked about the downsides to doing something like that or City Year (Americorps). Her friends were all comparing financial aid packages and how much in debt they'll be in when they graduate and were all in the same boat, for the most part. They were all looking at $15K-$20K a year in loans. I pointed out that college isn't getting any cheaper and those would still be facing her even if she delayed for a year or two. She thought she'd be old enough to qualify as an independent then and get more in grants but I corrected that notion too. Then she came up with the idea of finding a boy in the same position and getting married (only legally, not actually 'being married') so they would qualify for more aid. She's creative if nothing else...lol.

Deep talks, reality hits, growing up isn't always rosy.. all lessons to be learned. Bottom line, we live in a solidly middle class area where people don't qualify for much based on "need" but their parents don't make enough to pay for everything.

She'll be ok. We'll be ok. She feels much better when she looks at the stats of some of the people being rejected from these schools. She read one off to us where the candidate had an SAT of 2350, SATII's of 770 and 780, a 4.0 unweighted in an IB program. He had founded an Interact (teen Rotary) Club at his highschool, was Vice President of the student council for 3 years.. it went on and on and on. We decided that someone who was VP for 3 years and never made it to President must not be Northwestern material! Who is VP for 3 years??? Anyway, she was cracking jokes and laughing about this stuff, so she's doing alright.

I know in my heart that if she goes to Michigan she'll have a great experience there. And, um, maybe she'd be an Alpha Gam or SAI there. Or both

ETA: She totally messed up on her first performance. She couldn't hold her air to get through the long sections where she couldn't find time to take a breath. The judge was really harsh in his delivery of feedback. She's ok though. She's a strong kid

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She read one off to us where the candidate had an SAT of 2350, SATII's of 770 and 780, a 4.0 unweighted in an IB program. He had founded an Interact (teen Rotary) Club at his highschool, was Vice President of the student council for 3 years.. it went on and on and on. We decided that someone who was VP for 3 years and never made it to President must not be Northwestern material! Who is VP for 3 years??? Anyway, she was cracking jokes and laughing about this stuff, so she's doing alright.

My daughter and I had a good laugh about that one!

[DubaiSis]

I would also strongly recommend a semester abroad program. I didn't do that, but lived with a family in Paris for a week while in high school. I learned so much in that 1 week, I can't imagine what 3 months would have done. Not just in language immersion but in cultural immersion as well.

[AGDee]

Some people got their Barnard letters today, but primarily people in NYC and NJ. Tomorrow should be the day. I can barely stand it.

[Tulip86]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Some people got their Barnard letters today, but primarily people in NYC and NJ. Tomorrow should be the day. I can barely stand it.

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

[Sciencewoman]

Good Luck!!!