Good alternatives to UVA/WM with merit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

Oh My Lord. It’s the crazy SCHEV poster who continues to insist that VA public high school counselors direct/force kids to go to certain schools so they can keep their jobs. This is such bullshit. VA public high school counselors are far too busy and stretched with far too many students to provide that kind of individual attention even if they wanted to. Besides, even if they were doing that they would be doing a terrible job at it, considering that only 27% of the students that they are “directing“ to UVA are actually getting in.

UVA is not “self-selecting” in the slightest. It’s a large state school with a national reputation where many students simply throw their hats into the admissions ring to see what happens. No school with 53,000 applicants is “self selecting.”

Grinnell, on the other hand, is the very definition of “self-selecting.” Given its isolated location and quirky reputation, many excellent students don’t even consider throwing in an application. If the school were located in the Northeast, it would be on the same selectivity level as Williams or Amherst.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

Oh My Lord. It’s the crazy SCHEV poster who continues to insist that VA public high school counselors direct/force kids to go to certain schools so they can keep their jobs. This is such bullshit. VA public high school counselors are far too busy and stretched with far too many students to provide that kind of individual attention even if they wanted to. Besides, even if they were doing that they would be doing a terrible job at it, considering that only 27% of the students that they are “directing“ to UVA are actually getting in.

UVA is not “self-selecting” in the slightest. It’s a large state school with a national reputation where many students simply throw their hats into the admissions ring to see what happens. No school with 53,000 applicants is “self selecting.”

Grinnell, on the other hand, is the very definition of “self-selecting.” Given its isolated location and quirky reputation, many excellent students don’t even consider throwing in an application. If the school were located in the Northeast, it would be on the same selectivity level as Williams or Amherst.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Not with that heartbeat law passing! Good luck with your pay-per-posts for Grinnell.

+1. Lol.
↕️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

Oh My Lord. It’s the crazy SCHEV poster who continues to insist that VA public high school counselors direct/force kids to go to certain schools so they can keep their jobs. This is such bullshit. VA public high school counselors are far too busy and stretched with far too many students to provide that kind of individual attention even if they wanted to. Besides, even if they were doing that they would be doing a terrible job at it, considering that only 27% of the students that they are “directing“ to UVA are actually getting in.

UVA is not “self-selecting” in the slightest. It’s a large state school with a national reputation where many students simply throw their hats into the admissions ring to see what happens. No school with 53,000 applicants is “self selecting.”

Grinnell, on the other hand, is the very definition of “self-selecting.” Given its isolated location and quirky reputation, many excellent students don’t even consider throwing in an application. If the school were located in the Northeast, it would be on the same selectivity level as Williams or Amherst.

+100

Agreed. No state school is self-selecting for in-state students. In-state tuition is quite the built in selection mechanism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

NP. What's your damage, Heather? Rather than criticize PP, just make your own suggestion or move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

Oh My Lord. It’s the crazy SCHEV poster who continues to insist that VA public high school counselors direct/force kids to go to certain schools so they can keep their jobs. This is such bullshit. VA public high school counselors are far too busy and stretched with far too many students to provide that kind of individual attention even if they wanted to. Besides, even if they were doing that they would be doing a terrible job at it, considering that only 27% of the students that they are “directing“ to UVA are actually getting in.

UVA is not “self-selecting” in the slightest. It’s a large state school with a national reputation where many students simply throw their hats into the admissions ring to see what happens. No school with 53,000 applicants is “self selecting.”

Grinnell, on the other hand, is the very definition of “self-selecting.” Given its isolated location and quirky reputation, many excellent students don’t even consider throwing in an application. If the school were located in the Northeast, it would be on the same selectivity level as Williams or Amherst.

Not with that heartbeat law passing! Good luck with your pay-per-posts for Grinnell.

So everyone that suggests schools other than uva gets accused of pay per posts. Try harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. The theory has never been debunked. Parents just don’t want to hear it. When my own DS sweetly asked about UVA for his during our college counseling session, the public counselor very on the fly (as in experienced) responded with a show of the SCHEV charts and more importantly Naviance to indicate to DS in a kind way tgst there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was getting into UVA. He then asked about Swarthmore (??? Where did that come from? You know kids … and how they talk) and again she showed him the stats . She suggested High point, Gettysburg , Drexel and, Davidson and GMU and she went to GMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. The theory has never been debunked. Parents just don’t want to hear it. When my own DS sweetly asked about UVA for his during our college counseling session, the public counselor very on the fly (as in experienced) responded with a show of the SCHEV charts and more importantly Naviance to indicate to DS in a kind way tgst there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was getting into UVA. He then asked about Swarthmore (??? Where did that come from? You know kids … and how they talk) and again she showed him the stats . She suggested High point, Gettysburg , Drexel and, Davidson and GMU and she went to GMU

Um, these top SLACs — including Grinnell — are also more selective than out-of-state admission is to Virginia. Anyhow, you are using a guidance counselor who recommends Swarthmore over in-state UVA as “proof” this theory has not been debunked. The only thing this proves is that your counselor needs to get their head examined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. The theory has never been debunked. Parents just don’t want to hear it. When my own DS sweetly asked about UVA for his during our college counseling session, the public counselor very on the fly (as in experienced) responded with a show of the SCHEV charts and more importantly Naviance to indicate to DS in a kind way tgst there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was getting into UVA. He then asked about Swarthmore (??? Where did that come from? You know kids … and how they talk) and again she showed him the stats . She suggested High point, Gettysburg , Drexel and, Davidson and GMU and she went to GMU

Yet your kid could still apply to uva. The counselor was not a “gatekeeper” as the debunked poster claims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. The theory has never been debunked. Parents just don’t want to hear it. When my own DS sweetly asked about UVA for his during our college counseling session, the public counselor very on the fly (as in experienced) responded with a show of the SCHEV charts and more importantly Naviance to indicate to DS in a kind way tgst there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was getting into UVA. He then asked about Swarthmore (??? Where did that come from? You know kids … and how they talk) and again she showed him the stats . She suggested High point, Gettysburg , Drexel and, Davidson and GMU and she went to GMU

Yet your kid could still apply to uva. The counselor was not a “gatekeeper” as the debunked poster claims.

Pp never said gatekeeper. She sad the counselor guide the students and parents to more appropriate schools using SCHEV and Naviance. Of course you can waste your money and apply

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. The theory has never been debunked. Parents just don’t want to hear it. When my own DS sweetly asked about UVA for his during our college counseling session, the public counselor very on the fly (as in experienced) responded with a show of the SCHEV charts and more importantly Naviance to indicate to DS in a kind way tgst there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was getting into UVA. He then asked about Swarthmore (??? Where did that come from? You know kids … and how they talk) and again she showed him the stats . She suggested High point, Gettysburg , Drexel and, Davidson and GMU and she went to GMU

Yet your kid could still apply to uva. The counselor was not a “gatekeeper” as the debunked poster claims.

Pp never said gatekeeper. She sad the counselor guide the students and parents to more appropriate schools using SCHEV and Naviance. Of course you can waste your money and apply

My DD's LCPS counselor told my DD she was somewhere in the rank of 60 something out of 400 kids and no way would she get into UVA. This was junior year I believe. When the rank was finally published on her report card at end of junior year, she was actually 26th and top 7% and she did get in, ED. High school counselors do not know all that much honestly.

[Anonymous]

Gotta apply ED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gotta apply ED

Yep. Fortunately ED isn't a "requirement" at stronger publics like Cal, UCLA, Michigan and UNC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. To clarify, I’m looking at options for students with high stats and an in-state budget who still may get rejected from W&M/UVA, but the student is not that excited about Tech/JMU as alternative schools. I understand to get merit they won’t be as highly ranked at WM/UVA. Where else should we look? Thanks to those who already answered.

OP here. Should add that we want DC to be within a 6-8 hour drive. Don’t want to deal with airfare and such. So probably places like Grinnell are out, although I’m sure it’s lovely.

Ha ha. If you’re kid doesn’t get into UVA or William and Mary in state they sure as hell aren’t getting into Grinnell either - especially with merit. Grinnell had a 10 percent acceptance rate last year. So you needn’t worry about it.

Ick. Drugs, isolated, freezing cold weather, lack of diverse viewpoints—- and, where the heck is the nearest emergency room?!?

Glad you love it, good for you!

Gosh. And it is a way tougher admit than in-state UVA. What must applicants be thinking?

I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into UVA

UVA: 27% overall in-state admissions rate. “I don’t think you know how difficult it is to get into [Grinnell].”

Apples and oranges. No way anyone could think Grinnell is more competitive than UVA.

+1. The 53,000 who applied to UVA are a more self-selecting group than the few thousand who apply to Grinnell.. This is because of the availability of the SCHEV statistics, Naviance and public high school college counselors whose job it is to route the public students to the most appropriate in-state institution. No Langley counselor is going to help my B student DD get in to UVA when she is clearly GMU material (and that’s exactly what happened). So only the high fliers with a 4.53, 1520 SAT or 34 ACT apply to UVA. These are the top 5% and …. those who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at the high school. And tge counselor indicates all of this is his recommendation and in the high school profile. If a kid wants to shoot an application to Grinnell on the way, sure hope for it , the public high school doesn’t care but it does care when it’s top 5 percent if students are competing against one another for the same coveted slots at UVA. The same happens for the UCLA schools, which is why you can’t compare selectivity numbers if a top public to that if a small SLAC

This theory has been debunked on here time and time again

Maybe you’re from a lower tier school in FCPS? The PP‘s comment is absolutely the case for schools like Langley and Mclean and a few other high-performing of FCPS schools.

+1. It is what it is.