Yale or No Yale – Final, Definitive Results

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Time for the long-awaited decisions of three "embarrassment of riches" kids I know.  All received acceptances to Yale as well as to Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Brown, Williams, Duke, etc. etc. 

I know I promised to post these results on May 1st and feel terrible that my curious readers have had to wait an extra day, but I have some excellent excuses for my tardiness:

- Day job obligations took me to far-away meetings with low-battery Blackberry.

- Volunteered to help at time-consuming and emotionally-draining kindergarten reunion assembly

- Just when I thought it was all over, soccer mom stress escalated to a new high.  Look for a future post about the National Cup quarter finals, CJ's debilitating illness, the intrepid juniors who had to take their SAT IIs in Temecula (or race there from Calabasas), our teams' amazing PKs, and the urgent care doctor who proclaimed CJ free of all strains of influenza, including Swine. 

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Now, back to the Yale results:

STUDENT A – East coast science genius/language prize winner/tennis captain/future Nobel winner accepted at Yale (EA), Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Duke, Williams, Amherst & Swarthmore.  FINAL DECISION: YALE!

STUDENT B – West coast superhuman musical genius/class president/basketball hero/future U.S. president accepted at Yale (EA), Harvard & Stanford.  FINAL DECISION: YALE! (Received gracious phone call from Harvard admissions office wishing him luck.)

STUDENT C – West coast out-of-the-box genius/three-sport athlete/next Steve Jobs/double Yale legacy deferred EA, then accepted RD at Yale, Brown, Penn, Wash U, Rice &Tufts.  Visited all six on his own last week. FINAL DECISION:  BROWN!

So it's two Yales, one Brown.  Imagine the feeling of the click that turns down Harvard, Stanford, Princeton…or Yale.  It's a good thing that the offspring of the Neurotic Parent did not have such a decision to make - CJ would probably not ever have glanced back at the roads not taken, but certainly I would have agonized about his missed opportunities for years.

Will keep you updated about the progress of these decisive young men, who are not only talented students, but know themselves well enough to select a school that's the right fit.

TOMORROW: Oberlin or No Oberlin (First in a series of Strange-But-True college admissions tales.)

Rejection Letters from the Heart

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Lately everyone is too depressed to read news about financial matters, so the Wall Street Journal is reinventing itself as the ultimate source of information about college admissions.  Their latest piece is about rejection letters…both really mean and really nice.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB124096471555766239-lMyQjAxMDI5NDIwOTkyNjk0Wj.html

1.THE CRUELEST – BATES

Surprising, the cruelest rejection comes from sweet little Bates in Maine:

"The deans were obliged to select from among candidates who clearly could do sound work at Bates."

2.  THE MOST FINAL – STANFORD

The Stanford deans were afraid that kids would try to beg for a second chance, the way you can for the UC's.

"We are humbled by your talents and achievements…and although you are…a fine student…we are not able to consider appeals."

3. THE MOST HUMANE – DUKE

Duke hired a team of Buddhists to pen their rejection letter:

"I know you will find an institution at which you will be happy; I know, too, that the school you choose will benefit from your presence."

4. THE MOST EXISTENTIAL – HARVARD

Of all places, Harvard lets the rejectees know the truth – After you've wasted your youth on AP's and SAT IIs, it turns out that it really doesn't matter where you go to college.

"Past experience suggests that the particular college a student attends is far less important than what the student does to develop his or her strengths and talents over the next four years."

And…not in the WSJ, here's a quote from The Neurotic Parent's favorite rejection letter.  It arrived in the mail of a friend on April 1st:

5.  THE MOST SHOCKING - POMONA

"As you know, your daughter Olivia was denied admission to Pomona College.  We feel compelled to inform you that this was due to information that her guidance counselor provided to our admissions department.  We are concerned about Olivia's recent vandalism spree in a place of worship, and therefore cannot offer her a place in the class of 2013."

This turned out to be April Fools joke written by Olivia herself on "Pomona" stationery which she had created by scanning the font from her real rejection letter.  After her poor parents recovered, they framed the letter and came to the realization that the kind Harvard admissions guy was right: Their daughter will go on to be a superstar, even though she didn't get into Pomona.

Bragging Rights

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A one-way ticket three time zones away for my sweet little child, who is suddenly a buff, hairy man -My depression was relieved only by the satisfacton that I had booked on a Tuesday, and therefore had found a fabulous deal on all our flights.  Yes, those of us in the know are aware that if you wait until Tuesday to purchase, you can snap up a ticket that would have cost twice as much on a Thursday or a Monday.

I was feeling good, okay…almost smug, about the series of tickets I had reserved - for parents weekend, Thanksgiving (changeable because I used mileage) and now move-in. 

But then my friend MOWCG/M (Mom of World Class Goalie/Musician) called and told me about her friend, whose son is currently in Boston for the Harvard admitted students weekend.  Not only did this smart mother book her son's flight on a Tuesday, but she brilliantly spent the entire day checking the fluctuation of the fare, refreshing the page over and over until the price of a round trip from LAX to BOS had gone down from $438 to $156! 

Yes, she should be proud that her son got into Harvard.  But that pales next to her internet ticket-booking skills.

Yale or No Yale – The Regular Decision Edition

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A few months ago I posted the stats of three kids we know who applied Early Action to Yale.  Some details were disguised (i.e. Varsity Cross Country could be Varsity Tennis; Varsity Baseball could be Varsity Basketball; a double legacy could actually be a multi-generational legacy), but basically the thumbnail descriptions were accurate.

If you remember, Students A and B, profiled below, were both accepted to Yale in the Early Action round.  (Early Action, unlike Early Decision, means you can still apply to other schools…so if accepted, Yale can be your safety!)  Student C was deferred, but took it in stride.

So…is it Yale or No Yale for these kids?  Did Students A & B find an even better school in Regular Decision?  Did Student C get accepted, waitlisted or rejected?  Scroll down for the answer.  Look for the CAPS after each boy's profile.

Student A:

Caucasion male.  Attends top public school in a mid-Atlantic state.  Ranked #1 in his school.  2380 SAT, no prep, one sitting.  Captain, Varsity Cross Country.  Won a language prize and scholarship to spend a semester abroad as an exchange student.  Selected to do research in prestigous summer program - his evaluator said the student has the one of the greatest scientific minds he has ever encountered.

RESULT: ACCEPTED AT YALE, EARLY ACTION.  ALSO ACCEPTED REGULAR DECISION AT HARVARD, PRINCETON, PENN, DUKE, WILLIAMS, AMHERST AND SWARTHMORE. In the last two weeks he has overnighted at Harvard and Penn and attended an accepted student event at Princeton (where his mom reports there was a fabulous spread for the parents.)  Now he is headed to New Haven on Saturday where he will decide – Yale or No Yale.

Student B:

Caucasion male.  Attends top private school in a western state.  2380 SAT, no prep, one sitting.  4.0 unweighed.  School president.  Varsity Baseball.  Star of every school play – Performed at European arts festival.  Winner of national competitions for two musical instruments. 

RESULT: ACCEPTED, EARLY ACTION.  ALSO ACCEPTED REGULAR DECISION AT HARVARD AND STANFORD. Headed to New Haven on Saturday, then to Cambridge next Saturday. (Has already attended a summer program at Stanford so he's not planning a visit there.)

Student C:

Caucasion male.  Double legacy at Yale.  Attends small private school in a western state.  Three-sport athelete. 2310 SAT, superscore.  A bona fide genius - 3.9 unweighted without studying.  Several computer science awards.  Started his own internet business – has many customers in Asia.

RESULT: DEFERRED AT YALE EARLY ACTION, BUT…ACCEPTED REGULAR DECISION!!!!  ALSO ACCEPTED AT BROWN, PENN, WASH U, TUFTS AND BERKELEY.  Headed to New Haven this weekend and to Providence shortly thereafter.

Coming on May 1- Yale or No Yale: The Definitive Results