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My son found out 2 days ago he didn't get accepted to his in-state land grant public university. The University of Minnesota. This was his fall back plan. No

My son found out 2 days ago he didn't get accepted to his in-state land grant public university. The University of Minnesota. This was his fall back plan. Now he's screwed and may not be able to start college in fall. His sins: - a 35 ACT score (legit with no studying or ACT prep classes) - a 3.8 weighted GPA (because he took multiple AP classes and actually was in college for his junior and senior years through Minnesota's PSEO program) - leader on robotics team - lettered in 2 extra curriculars - etc etc Why? Because U of MN doesn't consider weighted grades nor do they accept test scores anymore. So why even try hard? The only upside is that we weren't stupid enough to put his college savings in a 529 tied to MN. We would be superscrewed if we'd done that. 35,000 applicants. 7,000 freshman admissions. My kid not even in top 1/5 of applicaents? Complete BS. EDITs: 2021 UMN Twin Cities admission stats: https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/competitive-admission-rate https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/competitive-admission-rate (20%) MN 529 plan 20 years ago was MN-only from what I remember. Honestly don't care. [redacted] is "okay" school for CSci. However they have a 120MM budget and are facing 15MM shortfall for the college that hosts it. Out of state tuition for this school is 20k per year with max scholarships.

saagarjha 5y ago
I’m not too familiar with UMN admissions stats are, but a 3.8 weighted GPA might have hurt your son considering a lot of people applying for computer science will have an unweighted GPA that is around that or higher. You haven’t shared the unweighted GPA here but if it’s substantially lower colleges will not like that, especially state ones, since they think it shows you just take classes beyond your level.
kizer 5y ago
35 ACT and he was rejected to University of Minnesota? Tell your kid that he’s perfectly fine and that their admissions are FUBAR. Try UIUC (my alma). Though I was in-state. It’s gotten more selective but a top one for CS. They admitted me into CE but it was easy to transfer after doing well in my first few CS classes.
ffggvv 5y ago
gourabmi 5y ago
I'm curious. How many universities did he apply to ? How many accepts/ rejects from that pool?
- lightup 5y ago
  He applied to [redacted] State, Rice, UNC, Duke, and U of MN - Twin Cities. Accepted at [redacted] State (they have a formula for everyone). He also got their highest out of state "scholarship" - which is more like a break on out of state tuition - no reciprocity with MN. No word from Duke yet but that probably won't happen either. Complete disaster for his future and really a shot to his otherwise happy and optimistic life. He's really upset as are we all.
  - imron 5y ago
    > Complete disaster for his future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse#Translation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse#Tra...
  - adamhp 5y ago
    He could consider a year of community college and reapply? I went straight from community college to a top 10 public university and it was the best decision I ever made. Some might even have guaranteed admission? Good way to save money too.
  - muh_gradle 5y ago
    Your son and I had really similar stats in high school. I also didn't do well in college admissions, but that was mostly due to my poor strategic decisions and affirmative action (I'm Asian). I would really emphasize that transfers are 100% legitimate avenues for him to take. It just requires immediate planning and dedication now.
    - lightup 5y ago
      Thank you
  - 5y ago
js2 5y ago
> If you’re worried about having the account in one state and attending school in another, don’t be. With most plans, your school choice is not affected by the state of your savings plan. You can be a resident of Minnesota and send your student to college in North Carolina. https://www.mnsaves.org/plan/details.shtml https://www.mnsaves.org/plan/details.shtml (This is generally the case for most 529 plans.)
- lightup 5y ago
  Off topic. Doesn't apply. However, yes, when we started saving it was MN schools only. I don't know what the rules are now. Remember, we're talking about something from 20 years ago.
spoonjim 5y ago
Asian?
- lightup 5y ago
  No, but I'm sure some of the kids on his math team will be in the same boat even through they're mainly South Asian and Chinese. Backlash against them too it seems.
  - mplewis 5y ago
    You are claiming that the University of Minnesota is systemically discriminating against South Asian and Chinese students? Can you back this claim up in any way?
    - spoonjim 5y ago
      Every university that is admitting for “diversity” is systematically discriminating against Asian students. This is not even an open secret, it’s just stated policy.
    - lightup 5y ago
      I have no idea why you're replying this with a question like this. You should read the MIT blog at the top of this forum and then return without the trolling. If you're saying I should prove that my son is on a math team and has asian friends who are going to the University of Minnesota with similar test scores and GPA? Yeah, I'll get right on that.
lightup 5y ago
And young people on here imagine having 2 children 2 years apart. One of them doesn't get to go to college because of covid and the other doesn't get to go because ability didn't matter for a year. EDIT: I hope this never happens to your kids. Beware of being penalized for trying. Is that a lesson you will teach your kids? I'm not "bummed". Read my post with anger. U of MN was not his first choice. It was _fallback_. Try on some shoes.... Imagine putting 30 years of high taxes into a state as a high earner and business owner (that's me). Then imagine that your almamater doesn't accept your kid when your kid is, in fact, a lot smarter than you and has accomplished a lot more than you did by his age. Then imagine being that kid and being taught by the State that, while you are in the top 95th (99th) percentile nationally on test scores there's just something not right about you. Is it your GPA? It can't be. You're on the A honor roll every time. In the end you'll never know and that is fine because the school you might have attended has changed into something it was never intended to be. Land grant university or something else? The Great Emancipator rolls in his grave. On the plus side the U of MN gets billions of dollars in state funding and keeps the washout money too. Win-win.
- johnnyanmac 5y ago
  >Beware of being penalized for trying. Is that a lesson you will teach your kids? Life is going to teach it one way or another, and Picard's words stand even more true as I enter my 30's as they were back when I was an angsty 14YO just trying to stay with my friends before Mom's job forces her out of state... again. Took me a while to realize I wasn't being punished for not studying enough and that this was simply a factor of life I had no control over.
  - lightup 5y ago
    Make it so! Those words?!
    - johnnyanmac 5y ago
      sorry for the late response. These words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCX90yALsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCX90yALsI Or rather in text form: >"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life" But it sounds so much better coming from the captain's mouth.
lr4444lr 5y ago
Wait, your state 529 plans penalize you for applying the funds to out of state schools? That sounds like a highly unusual setup. Not all states do this.
ausbah 5y ago
definitely not over. kicking ass in community college for a year or two and transferring to a much better school with scholarship is a great option for anyone
- lightup 5y ago
  Yes, I agree 100%. Have hired several people from hands on CC here in MN.
hardtke 5y ago
It's important in relating these horror stories to include whether or not he was applying to Computer Science and/or Engineering. The growth in demand for CS has outpaced any schools ability to handle the students. My daughter's college counselor had different sets of target schools depending on the major (in her case she was thinking about biomedical engineering, one of the most sought after).
- lightup 5y ago
  Testify.
strikelaserclaw 5y ago
It is crazy how competitive even state schools are now a days. Back in my day, it would be pretty easy to go to UVA or University of Minnesota...
- lightup 5y ago
  ...and it was $16k for a 4-year degree. How long does it take to make $16k now? For a mid-range programmer? Only several months.
hs_parent 5y ago
I'm sorry this happened to your son. It can be really disheartening for kids who work so hard. Similar thing happened to my kid at University of California this year where test scores are also not even considered. Wasn't as bad - they got into a 2nd tier UC so we are at least thankful for that.
- lightup 5y ago
  Thanks for the kind words. Usually it works out in the end or to some sort of state where you can look back without regret. Lessons in grit for sure.
crackercrews 5y ago
> Why? Because U of MN doesn't consider weighted grades nor do they accept test scores anymore. This is the worst. Do they do this for equity reasons or something else?
- lightup 5y ago
  I have no idea. And the weird thing in MN is that a lot of kids go to U of MN. There are probably 5 topish districts in Twin Cities. The one my son is in sends dozens of kids to U of MN. His high school pushes AP, IB, and another special program aimed at business education. They also don't frown on PSEO (FT college while in high school). That's like 4 programs you take to get ahead on college credits. They're all weighted and all aimed at kids wanting to go to college. Lots of districts do this and weight the grades to make it fair for the kids trying the hard stuff. The "poorer" district I grew up in even has IB and they weighted grades 35 years ago. Very common here. How many kids are getting a 4.0 GPA? Lots. How many valedictorians are there in a class? 1 or 50? I think 50. Maybe it's grade inflation. So maybe if you are in a good school with lots of programs make sure you just phone it in for 4 years if you want to make sure you get in.

saagarjha 5y ago

I’m not too familiar with UMN admissions stats are, but a 3.8 weighted GPA might have hurt your son considering a lot of people applying for computer science will have an unweighted GPA that is around that or higher. You haven’t shared the unweighted GPA here but if it’s substantially lower colleges will not like that, especially state ones, since they think it shows you just take classes beyond your level.

kizer 5y ago

35 ACT and he was rejected to University of Minnesota? Tell your kid that he’s perfectly fine and that their admissions are FUBAR. Try UIUC (my alma). Though I was in-state. It’s gotten more selective but a top one for CS. They admitted me into CE but it was easy to transfer after doing well in my first few CS classes.

ffggvv 5y ago

gourabmi 5y ago

I'm curious. How many universities did he apply to ? How many accepts/ rejects from that pool?

lightup 5y ago
He applied to [redacted] State, Rice, UNC, Duke, and U of MN - Twin Cities. Accepted at [redacted] State (they have a formula for everyone). He also got their highest out of state "scholarship" - which is more like a break on out of state tuition - no reciprocity with MN. No word from Duke yet but that probably won't happen either. Complete disaster for his future and really a shot to his otherwise happy and optimistic life. He's really upset as are we all.
- imron 5y ago
  > Complete disaster for his future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse#Translation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse#Tra...
- adamhp 5y ago
  He could consider a year of community college and reapply? I went straight from community college to a top 10 public university and it was the best decision I ever made. Some might even have guaranteed admission? Good way to save money too.
- muh_gradle 5y ago
  Your son and I had really similar stats in high school. I also didn't do well in college admissions, but that was mostly due to my poor strategic decisions and affirmative action (I'm Asian). I would really emphasize that transfers are 100% legitimate avenues for him to take. It just requires immediate planning and dedication now.
  - lightup 5y ago
    Thank you
- 5y ago

js2 5y ago

> If you’re worried about having the account in one state and attending school in another, don’t be. With most plans, your school choice is not affected by the state of your savings plan. You can be a resident of Minnesota and send your student to college in North Carolina. https://www.mnsaves.org/plan/details.shtml https://www.mnsaves.org/plan/details.shtml (This is generally the case for most 529 plans.)

lightup 5y ago
Off topic. Doesn't apply. However, yes, when we started saving it was MN schools only. I don't know what the rules are now. Remember, we're talking about something from 20 years ago.

spoonjim 5y ago

Asian?

lightup 5y ago
No, but I'm sure some of the kids on his math team will be in the same boat even through they're mainly South Asian and Chinese. Backlash against them too it seems.
- mplewis 5y ago
  You are claiming that the University of Minnesota is systemically discriminating against South Asian and Chinese students? Can you back this claim up in any way?
  - spoonjim 5y ago
    Every university that is admitting for “diversity” is systematically discriminating against Asian students. This is not even an open secret, it’s just stated policy.
  - lightup 5y ago
    I have no idea why you're replying this with a question like this. You should read the MIT blog at the top of this forum and then return without the trolling. If you're saying I should prove that my son is on a math team and has asian friends who are going to the University of Minnesota with similar test scores and GPA? Yeah, I'll get right on that.

lightup 5y ago

And young people on here imagine having 2 children 2 years apart. One of them doesn't get to go to college because of covid and the other doesn't get to go because ability didn't matter for a year. EDIT: I hope this never happens to your kids. Beware of being penalized for trying. Is that a lesson you will teach your kids? I'm not "bummed". Read my post with anger. U of MN was not his first choice. It was _fallback_. Try on some shoes.... Imagine putting 30 years of high taxes into a state as a high earner and business owner (that's me). Then imagine that your almamater doesn't accept your kid when your kid is, in fact, a lot smarter than you and has accomplished a lot more than you did by his age. Then imagine being that kid and being taught by the State that, while you are in the top 95th (99th) percentile nationally on test scores there's just something not right about you. Is it your GPA? It can't be. You're on the A honor roll every time. In the end you'll never know and that is fine because the school you might have attended has changed into something it was never intended to be. Land grant university or something else? The Great Emancipator rolls in his grave. On the plus side the U of MN gets billions of dollars in state funding and keeps the washout money too. Win-win.

johnnyanmac 5y ago
>Beware of being penalized for trying. Is that a lesson you will teach your kids? Life is going to teach it one way or another, and Picard's words stand even more true as I enter my 30's as they were back when I was an angsty 14YO just trying to stay with my friends before Mom's job forces her out of state... again. Took me a while to realize I wasn't being punished for not studying enough and that this was simply a factor of life I had no control over.
- lightup 5y ago
  Make it so! Those words?!
  - johnnyanmac 5y ago
    sorry for the late response. These words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCX90yALsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCX90yALsI Or rather in text form: >"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life" But it sounds so much better coming from the captain's mouth.

lr4444lr 5y ago

Wait, your state 529 plans penalize you for applying the funds to out of state schools? That sounds like a highly unusual setup. Not all states do this.

ausbah 5y ago

definitely not over. kicking ass in community college for a year or two and transferring to a much better school with scholarship is a great option for anyone

lightup 5y ago
Yes, I agree 100%. Have hired several people from hands on CC here in MN.

hardtke 5y ago

It's important in relating these horror stories to include whether or not he was applying to Computer Science and/or Engineering. The growth in demand for CS has outpaced any schools ability to handle the students. My daughter's college counselor had different sets of target schools depending on the major (in her case she was thinking about biomedical engineering, one of the most sought after).

lightup 5y ago
Testify.

strikelaserclaw 5y ago

It is crazy how competitive even state schools are now a days. Back in my day, it would be pretty easy to go to UVA or University of Minnesota...

lightup 5y ago
...and it was $16k for a 4-year degree. How long does it take to make $16k now? For a mid-range programmer? Only several months.

hs_parent 5y ago

I'm sorry this happened to your son. It can be really disheartening for kids who work so hard. Similar thing happened to my kid at University of California this year where test scores are also not even considered. Wasn't as bad - they got into a 2nd tier UC so we are at least thankful for that.

lightup 5y ago
Thanks for the kind words. Usually it works out in the end or to some sort of state where you can look back without regret. Lessons in grit for sure.

crackercrews 5y ago

> Why? Because U of MN doesn't consider weighted grades nor do they accept test scores anymore. This is the worst. Do they do this for equity reasons or something else?

lightup 5y ago
I have no idea. And the weird thing in MN is that a lot of kids go to U of MN. There are probably 5 topish districts in Twin Cities. The one my son is in sends dozens of kids to U of MN. His high school pushes AP, IB, and another special program aimed at business education. They also don't frown on PSEO (FT college while in high school). That's like 4 programs you take to get ahead on college credits. They're all weighted and all aimed at kids wanting to go to college. Lots of districts do this and weight the grades to make it fair for the kids trying the hard stuff. The "poorer" district I grew up in even has IB and they weighted grades 35 years ago. Very common here. How many kids are getting a 4.0 GPA? Lots. How many valedictorians are there in a class? 1 or 50? I think 50. Maybe it's grade inflation. So maybe if you are in a good school with lots of programs make sure you just phone it in for 4 years if you want to make sure you get in.