Andover matriculation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I wish our private would do this. Every year they give the nomination to a kid who either EDs or SCEAs an Ivy with no intention of going to UVA. And it's always a kid with no financial need. And so nobody actually takes (or even wins) the Jefferson. It's a giant waste.

There is no connection between the UVA admissions office and the Jefferson, and Jefferson nominees from some high schools sometimes don’t even get into the school.

Try again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I think this is right. After MA, the most popular places for kids to be from were CA, NY/NJ/CT and the DC area.

If kids are going to go to college anywhere close to where they’re from, UVA or Georgetown are good options for DC area kids.

The tri state area kids are usually looking at Columbia or Princeton.

The CA kids from Andover are usually competitive for Stanford as opposed to Berkeley or UCLA.

I also think there’s just more of a prestige perception when it comes to UVA vs some of the other public schools. Not saying it’s fair (I think Michigan is just as good), but I do think it’s there.

Bingo. Was that so hard? I know haters are going to hate, but this is the truth. There is no other reason why nearly 30 graduates of Andover have chosen to attend UVA in the last three years.

Exactlly. At least through the lens of Andover type students, and their guidance counselors (don't forget how important they are in the process!), UVA has more prestige than other publics. It also doesn't hurt that UVA is smaller, too.

I think it is just that the type of OOS Andover student who can get into Berkeley, can get into even better colleges. The UVA type is likely choosing between that and another mid like UNC.

And you’d think wrong. UNC out of state is an even harder admit than UVA.

It just kills UVA haters that UVA has an elite reputation even among top private schools. It even does admissions tours with them:

https://apps.admissions.yale.edu/share/view?id=53dfa1a0-9c09-43a9-81e1-f8d08252e6da

As per usual, UVA grads being weirdly defensive. Get over yourselves oml. UVA is not the best public university, it's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I think this is right. After MA, the most popular places for kids to be from were CA, NY/NJ/CT and the DC area.

If kids are going to go to college anywhere close to where they’re from, UVA or Georgetown are good options for DC area kids.

The tri state area kids are usually looking at Columbia or Princeton.

The CA kids from Andover are usually competitive for Stanford as opposed to Berkeley or UCLA.

I also think there’s just more of a prestige perception when it comes to UVA vs some of the other public schools. Not saying it’s fair (I think Michigan is just as good), but I do think it’s there.

Bingo. Was that so hard? I know haters are going to hate, but this is the truth. There is no other reason why nearly 30 graduates of Andover have chosen to attend UVA in the last three years.

Exactlly. At least through the lens of Andover type students, and their guidance counselors (don't forget how important they are in the process!), UVA has more prestige than other publics. It also doesn't hurt that UVA is smaller, too.

not to repeat a PP, but also because UVA is their in-state option. Even if they're going to boarding school. they're not going for prestige.. they're going bcs it's their instate option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I wish our private would do this. Every year they give the nomination to a kid who either EDs or SCEAs an Ivy with no intention of going to UVA. And it's always a kid with no financial need. And so nobody actually takes (or even wins) the Jefferson. It's a giant waste.

There is no connection between the UVA admissions office and the Jefferson, and Jefferson nominees from some high schools sometimes don’t even get into the school.

Try again.

totally missed her point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech and UMD are more regional than people here think. It's like saying, "Why no Bing?" on that list.

Bing is on that list. But to your point, Andover is much closer to Bing than to VT.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why it rubs people wrong, but the fact is UVA is more prestigious in the eyes of Andover graduates than a UNC or Michigan or UCLA.

You can debate why they might be misguided, but it is a fact that the graduates do think that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech and UMD are more regional than people here think. It's like saying, "Why no Bing?" on that list.

Bing is on that list. But to your point, Andover is much closer to Bing than to VT.

nobody cares about the distance from a boarding school to college. they care about home to college. or future ideal home to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it rubs people wrong, but the fact is UVA is more prestigious in the eyes of Andover graduates than a UNC or Michigan or UCLA.

You can debate why they might be misguided, but it is a fact that the graduates do think that.

also, 3x as many Virginians at Andover than Michiganers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it rubs people wrong, but the fact is UVA is more prestigious in the eyes of Andover graduates than a UNC or Michigan or UCLA.

You can debate why they might be misguided, but it is a fact that the graduates do think that.

Sure. Of maybe there is just a well-worn pathway to UVA. My twins attend two different privates. At one, UVA is doable with a 3.8. At the other you really need a 3.9. Michigan is the reverse. The second school will take kids down to about a 3.7 while Michigan routinely requires a 3.9 from the first high school.

Who knows why this is the case. Personal relationships between the local admissions rep and the high school(s) college counseling office? Experience with past grads (both positive and negative) from these high schools?

In the world of private high schools relationships with colleges is a BIG factor that determines where kids apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

That's a great idea. Give the nomination to a top student who really wants to go to UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:27 postgrads???

And every single one will be an athletic recruit to a selective school. Andover will take credit for those admissions despite fact that those kids didn’t spend a minute on campus 9-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I wish our private would do this. Every year they give the nomination to a kid who either EDs or SCEAs an Ivy with no intention of going to UVA. And it's always a kid with no financial need. And so nobody actually takes (or even wins) the Jefferson. It's a giant waste.

I could have written that about my kids’ private. They nominate the “wrong” kids — great students but who have no interest in UVA. So frustrating, especially to the families of kids who are also great AND want UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surpised University of Virginia is the number one destination for Andover students who go to a public school. It is pretty surprising no one wanted to go to Virginia Tech.

That is not surprising at all.

It’s not a “hot” destination at any private HS outside the DMV.

Blacksburg is just extremely out of the way. VT is probably the highest-ranked school that’s basically unreachable if you don’t live within driving distance. People complain about Wisconsin, but Blacksburg’s regional airport is much smaller than Madison’s, and Madison is closer to Milwaukee and Chicago than Blacksburg is to anything.

DP. Plenty of OOS students at VT who either fly out of Roanoake, Charlotte, or Dulles. Buses to all three. My DC’s two roommates are from NYC and Colorado and both use these airports all the time. Yes, it is “out of the way,” but that’s a draw for the students who choose it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech and UMD are more regional than people here think. It's like saying, "Why no Bing?" on that list.

No one outside the DC area thinks about UMD or VA Tech.

It’s basically Georgetown, UVA, and maybe William and Mary for a kid looking for a small school.

I agree. The University of Maryland's undergraduate population is drawn 70% from Maryland, and almost 20% from NY, Penn, VA and New Jersey.

When you have almost 90% of your students from such a tightly configured region, you are a regional school. Same thing with Virginia Tech. For whatever reasons they aren't in the kids want to go to it from all over the United States tier. Schools like UVA are in that tier.

I have no dog in this fight, but a simple google search tells me that VT is 2/3 Virginians (about 60%) and 1/3 OOS. Certainly not “90%” in state.
https://news.vt.edu/articles/2023/10/CM-fall-census-2023.html#:~:text=In%2Dstate%20students,:%20965%20(out%20of%201%2C102)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a NYer with kids in boarding school (but not Andover), I can explain part of the UVA, I think.

- More kids from VA than, say, MI. Just because you're going to school in MA or NH or whatever, doesn't mean you still dont have a state school.

- We have either a Jefferson or Walentas winner most years. And from our school, you don't get the Jefferson nomination unless you're going to accept it (over ivy etc). So they matriculate.

Many kids in boarding schools are hooked. Either by legacy, sports, FGLI (better FA at our school than many colleges) plus they have the added proof that they can live independently and do the work. It makes saying Yes to these kids pretty easy from a college pov.

I wish our private would do this. Every year they give the nomination to a kid who either EDs or SCEAs an Ivy with no intention of going to UVA. And it's always a kid with no financial need. And so nobody actually takes (or even wins) the Jefferson. It's a giant waste.

I could have written that about my kids’ private. They nominate the “wrong” kids — great students but who have no interest in UVA. So frustrating, especially to the families of kids who are also great AND want UVA.

Yep. They always give the nomination to the kid with no financial need and no intention of going to UVA unless it's a last resort. The kid always trots off full pay to an Ivy.

I have a smart kid who is within our school's stats for UVA. We receive high school aid and need college aid. My kid would have taken the Jefferson nomination and signed whatever paperwork the high school would want us to sign saying that we will 100% attend UVA if admitted and given the scholarship. But again, the nomination went to a kid who will end up full pay at HYP and has no interest in UVA.

Frankly, the college counseling office at our school lacks brain cells. I'm glad that Andover and other privates have thought this through.