Do great students sometimes get shut out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, but students do get rejected from safeties who rejected 90%+.

If a school rejects 90%, they aren't a safety for anyone.

Typo! I meant accepted, obviously.

A university with a 90% acceptance rate is not going to reject someone with higher than average stats - those schools have zero reason to yield protect.

DP: No, but they don't want to be overenrolled either. My DC was left on the WL at some high acceptance rate schools where stats were way above the 75th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it did, it would be due to an unrealistic admissions strategy.

Yes- Our Public school tells a cautionary tale of a student back about 8 or 9 years ago that only applied to ivies and 3 other top schools and did not apply to UMD. She was a top student with good ECs and test scores and ended up with no acceptances. It happens, I think now people are a little more realistic and have a least one or two likely/safety schools.

+1

My kid threw in a few safeties.

But, if worse came to worse and he had no options--only schools he didn't like---GAP YEAR.

[Anonymous]

None of the southern schools other than Ole Miss are a safety now. The president at University of Alabama said this was the year they were going to get tough in admissions, and I expect we’re going to see their admissions rate drop like a stone for OOS.

I agree that if any parent was looking at Tennessee as a safety, they have not been plugged into the admission cycle for at least the last two years. The last time Tennessee was liberal with their admissions was for the class of 22.

The only successful EDs we have seen this round, have been students who are legacies, hooked, or students who treated their ED as a target instead of a reach.

The college admissions landscape has drastically changed in a very short period of time. There are very few true safety schools out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“But I do think there are some very strong applicants who applied to an appropriate range of reach/target/likely schools who never dreamed they would only get into likelies and are (understandably, in my opionion) so disappointed in their choices that it feels like a shutout.”

This may be my senior this year. In at several safeties but not excited about them. Worried that the targets will yield protect. And of course the reaches are a 5% possibility, 95% chance of rejection. We feel like we should come up with more targets but it’s hard to find ones that check all the boxes in terms of size, location, offerings, etc.

This is the biggest problem. You need to spend just as much time finding safeties you are reasonably excited about, as your targets and reaches.

Feels like people just pick random, high acceptance in-state schools for their safeties, even though there is no real interest in attending.

This 1000%! It is not a "safety" if your kid is not excited about attending. The entire purpose of picking good safeties is so you can actually pick places that are good fits for your kid and a place they want to be.

And stop with the "but there are no safeties for my high stats kid". There are....plenty of them. Your high stats kid can find plenty of like minded students at many schools. Sure one ranked 50-75 might not be 99% filled with kids with 1550+/3.99UW/15APs/etc, but there will be a large group of extremely smart, highly motivated, like minded students.
Now is the time to select your safeties, otherwise you may not like what is remaining come may of senior year.

OP again. Again, my medium-high stats kid was deferred from his top choice safety and accepted to a school with a historical 15% acceptance rate. He does need to find a few more safeties in case his acceptance falls through, and this has made it that much more difficult. We don't even know where to start looking anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“But I do think there are some very strong applicants who applied to an appropriate range of reach/target/likely schools who never dreamed they would only get into likelies and are (understandably, in my opionion) so disappointed in their choices that it feels like a shutout.”

This may be my senior this year. In at several safeties but not excited about them. Worried that the targets will yield protect. And of course the reaches are a 5% possibility, 95% chance of rejection. We feel like we should come up with more targets but it’s hard to find ones that check all the boxes in terms of size, location, offerings, etc.

This is the biggest problem. You need to spend just as much time finding safeties you are reasonably excited about, as your targets and reaches.

Feels like people just pick random, high acceptance in-state schools for their safeties, even though there is no real interest in attending.

This 1000%! It is not a "safety" if your kid is not excited about attending. The entire purpose of picking good safeties is so you can actually pick places that are good fits for your kid and a place they want to be.

And stop with the "but there are no safeties for my high stats kid". There are....plenty of them. Your high stats kid can find plenty of like minded students at many schools. Sure one ranked 50-75 might not be 99% filled with kids with 1550+/3.99UW/15APs/etc, but there will be a large group of extremely smart, highly motivated, like minded students.
Now is the time to select your safeties, otherwise you may not like what is remaining come may of senior year.

OP again. Again, my medium-high stats kid was deferred from his top choice safety and accepted to a school with a historical 15% acceptance rate. He does need to find a few more safeties in case his acceptance falls through, and this has made it that much more difficult. We don't even know where to start looking anymore.

Why would his acceptance fall through?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of the southern schools other than Ole Miss are a safety now. The president at University of Alabama said this was the year they were going to get tough in admissions, and I expect we’re going to see their admissions rate drop like a stone for OOS.

We learned this the hard way.

- OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“But I do think there are some very strong applicants who applied to an appropriate range of reach/target/likely schools who never dreamed they would only get into likelies and are (understandably, in my opionion) so disappointed in their choices that it feels like a shutout.”

This may be my senior this year. In at several safeties but not excited about them. Worried that the targets will yield protect. And of course the reaches are a 5% possibility, 95% chance of rejection. We feel like we should come up with more targets but it’s hard to find ones that check all the boxes in terms of size, location, offerings, etc.

This is the biggest problem. You need to spend just as much time finding safeties you are reasonably excited about, as your targets and reaches.

Feels like people just pick random, high acceptance in-state schools for their safeties, even though there is no real interest in attending.

This 1000%! It is not a "safety" if your kid is not excited about attending. The entire purpose of picking good safeties is so you can actually pick places that are good fits for your kid and a place they want to be.

And stop with the "but there are no safeties for my high stats kid". There are....plenty of them. Your high stats kid can find plenty of like minded students at many schools. Sure one ranked 50-75 might not be 99% filled with kids with 1550+/3.99UW/15APs/etc, but there will be a large group of extremely smart, highly motivated, like minded students.
Now is the time to select your safeties, otherwise you may not like what is remaining come may of senior year.

OP again. Again, my medium-high stats kid was deferred from his top choice safety and accepted to a school with a historical 15% acceptance rate. He does need to find a few more safeties in case his acceptance falls through, and this has made it that much more difficult. We don't even know where to start looking anymore.

Why would his acceptance fall through?

Service academy. He's an athlete and worried about injuries this semester.

[Anonymous]

Could fall through because senior grades aren’t high enough. I think people focus too much on acceptance rates to lane has game. The system and their acceptance rate is low, but it just contrived. A few other schools are guilty of that as well. Tennessee is hovering around a 25% acceptance rate at least for out of state students and that school is not even close to being a 25% acceptance rate school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it did, it would be due to an unrealistic admissions strategy.

Yes- Our Public school tells a cautionary tale of a student back about 8 or 9 years ago that only applied to ivies and 3 other top schools and did not apply to UMD. She was a top student with good ECs and test scores and ended up with no acceptances. It happens, I think now people are a little more realistic and have a least one or two likely/safety schools.

+1

My kid threw in a few safeties.

But, if worse came to worse and he had no options--only schools he didn't like---GAP YEAR.

These kids did not get shut out of schools. They're arrogant and think too highly of themselves and didn't get into the schools they wanted and refused to apply to more reasonable schools they could get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it did, it would be due to an unrealistic admissions strategy.

Yes- Our Public school tells a cautionary tale of a student back about 8 or 9 years ago that only applied to ivies and 3 other top schools and did not apply to UMD. She was a top student with good ECs and test scores and ended up with no acceptances. It happens, I think now people are a little more realistic and have a least one or two likely/safety schools.

+1

My kid threw in a few safeties.

But, if worse came to worse and he had no options--only schools he didn't like---GAP YEAR.

I've always framed this entire process for my kid as 'it's not personal, nor is anything the end of the world'. He has the stats to buy a lottery ticket anywhere--and the odds are low and its unpredictable everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could fall through because senior grades aren’t high enough. I think people focus too much on acceptance rates to lane has game. The system and their acceptance rate is low, but it just contrived. A few other schools are guilty of that as well. Tennessee is hovering around a 25% acceptance rate at least for out of state students and that school is not even close to being a 25% acceptance rate school.

25%? Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could fall through because senior grades aren’t high enough. I think people focus too much on acceptance rates to lane has game. The system and their acceptance rate is low, but it just contrived. A few other schools are guilty of that as well. Tennessee is hovering around a 25% acceptance rate at least for out of state students and that school is not even close to being a 25% acceptance rate school.

25%? Yikes.

I don’t know what to think of all of these numbers. I think they are all sort of false. More applicants does not mean all are qualified. More kids are reaching high and applying to 10-20+ schools around the country. These low numbers are panic inducing—but I don’t think they accurately represent admittance for “qualified” applicants- just a lot more below the 50%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My DS had perfect test scores, 11 APs all 5s, work experience, etc.... went to his school safety. It was devastating at the time but he is happy and now just snarky about the whole thing. It really is a lottery. The success is earning the ticket. Keep that view and anywhere you end up will be ok. Transferring is an option if necessary, but it a lot to do and very disruptive if you are happy where you are.

This happened to one of DD's friends in grade ahead - HS '21. DD and friends now refer to it as "getting [friend's name]-ed!" Made many of DD's friends probably tweak their EDs, probably even DD. Nearly happened to two of her friends who did not tweak - one a double URM legacy @ an HYPSM (ended up with 2 RD offers from T10s in RD so worked out - kid probably in top 5 of class [the two white male legacies admitted - one also top five, one less rigor but novel EC]) and her BFF got into a T25 EA but wiped out everywhere else - also one of top females in class. In both instances, school college counselors were in shock.

Interesting that the kid, who pretty much got shut out across the board in '21, then getting off WL @ a Big 10 (not Michigan), now has 2 siblings @ Ivies with the fourth admitted for next fall.

Not getting in ED/SCEA is not getting shut out. Getting shut out is not getting in RD too--or only one safety out of many applications. Your DD's friend was shut out---the others were not. They had what happens to the majority of candidates--have to wait until RD round.

The first student was denied everywhere save a Big 10 WL that turned into an admit after May 1 passed. I didn't say her other friends were shut out, I said they nearly were - or felt that way to the first one until RD (yes, it was 2 T10s, but nothing else came through- still don't get how a double URM legacy highest stats girl gets shut out at an HYPSM and two white boys get in, but whatever). And the second one, shut out everywhere save that EA. These are high stats students getting rejected at targets/safeties - and they were legit targets/safeties.

[Anonymous]

two white boys get in? The fact that pp feels comfortable saying this is a symptom of what is wrong with the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never known a single person who wanted to go to college not go somewhere in September. I’m 50. Never heard of it happening. Maybe a couple of raised eyebrows when you hear someone going to a school much lower than I figured they’d land, but I typically attribute that to finances.

Are you a counsellor? Im literally unaware of where any kids in my neighborhood go to college.

Random inquiry. No, I’m not a counselor, but we had 10 seniors graduate from my neighborhood last spring and I know where they are all attending (as far away as Trinity/wisconsin/Spain/northeastern/BU/Connecticut…. When you live a friendly lifestyle you get asked to social events and people talk about their kids. I also have kids and similarly speak with the parents of their friends. Every single one who has wanted to go somewhere has gone somewhere.