Thanks for clarifying that (I didn't read the PP's link) - but I certainly know one of the 30! They were NOT in on their own merits, no way. |
Agreed. |
Exactly! My DD was rejected at 7 of the 10 schools he applied. One of the schools he did get in was a difficult admit and not really safety. We made a big deal and talked it up even though it was at least 5th and maybe even lower on his list. Well, he is 2/3 through freshman year and loves it, is doing well in all areas. That’s really the important thing, move quickly past the rejections for everyone’s sake. |
Yes this! Top 10% student without hooks can be leap-frogged by top 50% student with hooks. ED1 to Chicago is best bet if rankings matter. |
It was not accurate for my kid because some of the universities admit by college/major and you can’t really account for that. He got into a super reach that was a sub 10% admit rate. WL from all other reaches. Believe he had a strong app it was just a crazy tough year |
^^^ Enough students succeed each year that the rising seniors want to take their shot at a T10-T20 school. Honestly, I don't blame them. These students have worked their tails off for four years and probably made a lot of sacrifices along the way. Of course no one is entitled to get into a top school and it's important to have target and likely schools on the list, but it seems strange to me to discourage a top student with great ECs from applying to ivy/ivy equivalent places. You miss 100% of shots you don't take. Maybe it's better to apply to those places and not get in than wonder what might have been. And FWIW, my unhooked, UMC, private school student applied to plenty of reaches this admissions cycle. |
Understand that they might want to "take chances". However, by using their ED on a t10/20, they might be giving up access to a high target that accepts a significant percentage thru ED. So sometimes it is better to think what is the best fit/best school that you might actually get into. Some kids would rather ED1 to a 20-40 school that gives them a chance at a high target school (which they wouldn't have in RD wihich might be single digits vs 35%) than "wasting" their ED on a school that is really a lottery. It is definately a game. But kids should understand how it's played and make the choice accordingly. My own kid ED1 to a T10, got deferred, so wanted "to wait and see" and didn't ED2 to their likely best fit. Well they got in in RD, but missed out on a few perks that are given to those who ED1/ED2. However, they also knew they were at 80% for stats at a school with 35% acceptance rate in RD and were truly a "great fit" for the unique students at this school. But we did wonder for a few months if they missed out on ED2 (got rejected ultimately from ED1 school). They are at this school now and thriving, but might have missed out. |
The Princeton report makes it clear that 30 kids were given an explicit legacy benefit (meaning they were underqualified). Overall 30 percent of legacies who apply get in. Which is crazy. |