Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

If I had a nickel for every time someone claims a recruited athlete would have gotten in anyhow…

At least one of the athletes is also a legacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

If I had a nickel for every time someone claims a recruited athlete would have gotten in anyhow…

At least one of the athletes is also a legacy.

I am sure the kid would have gotten in without legacy or athlete status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.

Half the class or more may have legacy preference somewhere, but legacy doesn’t account for most of the kids, because many kids choose different schools than the ones their parents went to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

If I had a nickel for every time someone claims a recruited athlete would have gotten in anyhow…

My colleague's kid does a fairly obscure sport. Goes to a very elite HS. If anything, I was surprised at the school the kid went to for their sport as they likely could have gone somewhere more competitive. Kid was good enough to be at least close to Ivy, and went to somewhere fine but significantly below Ivy.

The more obscure the sport and the lower level of competition at the school, the more likely the kid was pretty well qualified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.

Half the class or more may have legacy preference somewhere, but legacy doesn’t account for most of the kids, because many kids choose different schools than the ones their parents went to.

I repeatedly argue that if you look at the alma maters of the parents then look at where the students end up, at many of these schools, the average exmission is lower than the average alma mater.

There are plenty of kids with Harvard/Yale parents who are super smart but not good enough to take advantage of the legacy, so are actually hurt by where their parents went - they would have been better off if their parents went to Cornell or Emory and they could ride off that legacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.

Omg just stop

My kids unhooked from public got into Stanford, MIT, etc..

If you paid for private because of this you are fiscally irresponsible.

No way unhooked for S and M unless athlete, URM or big competition winners which are all hooks

A hook is something that allows an applicant to get accepted with perhaps just average or below average stats for the school and average ECs (other than for the athletes).

Winning a competition isn’t a hook in that sense…I doubt anyone is accepted that also doesn’t have a stellar application and also won Regeneron…or won some writing contest.

+1. Being a top athlete or winning competitions, especially if you were able to maintain strong grades at a strong HS speak to who you are as a person - hard working, organized, committed, passionate - and not who your parents are and how you were born - legacy, privileged or URM. I and many others have no problems with the former (merit) and a lot of problems with the latter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

If I had a nickel for every time someone claims a recruited athlete would have gotten in anyhow…

At least one of the athletes is also a legacy.

I am sure the kid would have gotten in without legacy or athlete status.

He's the valedictorian while taking the most difficult classes the school offers in all subjects, a national merit finalist, presidential scholar, 4:09 miler, accomplished violinist, elected student government rep, head of all volunteer work at the school, etc.
He would have received the same offer without legacy status. He's one of the top students in years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Think this differs a little bit among the TTs. The smaller classes of Brearley and Collegiate, for example, sometimes lead to a larger percentage of kids going to top schools. This year, there are at least 30 kids from B going to the ivy league, plus one to Stanford and 5 to Chicago. Last year it was mid-20s to ivies, a couple to Chicago, plus a Stanford, MIT and Caltech (though MIT and Caltech are not common there). With a class size of 60-65, it can be a large percentage to top 20 schools.

Brearley kids are especially connected! Not what this thread is about.

Some of them are, but not all of them. And if you are an academic superstar from Brearley but are unconnected, you're still going to a top 10 school. And that's what the thread is about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.

Sounds like stem (robotics)? If so, that will make it harder - but aim for an ED to a Northwestern/JHU/Brown/Cornell level school.
ED2 UChicago or top SLAC?

Apply where others aren’t.
Highlight that part-time job if long term.
Assume some volunteering? If not, do something robotic/volunteering with peers/younger kids this summer (good for essays too).
Outside hobbies/interests?

Hobbies are basic teen stuff like knitting, painting, writing. Has won a couple small (state level) writing competitions. Has done long term volunteering at again basic places like meals on wheels and an urban farm. Cares about food insecurity and the climate. Wants to major in chemistry to do research on renewable plastics

What is the issue, OP? Your DD sounds like a perfect kid, with good grades, great ECs, well-liked. If she can draft amazing essays, there is a high chance that she can get into top 10 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25;

we imagine t

[b]hey are mostly legacy.

Imagine is not fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is she at all interested in SLACs? They would seem likely a good option if she were.

The very top SLACs are almost impossible without a hook. Once they fill sports, legacies, minorities, geographic diversity, etc. there are very few seats left for smart upper middle class white kids with college educated parents from major metro areas on the east coast (assuming that is what you are). It is the law of small numbers.

Not true. My kid and her closest hs friends, are attending top SLACs unhooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.

Omg just stop

My kids unhooked from public got into Stanford, MIT, etc..

If you paid for private because of this you are fiscally irresponsible.

No way unhooked for S and M unless athlete, URM or big competition winners which are all hooks

A hook is something that allows an applicant to get accepted with perhaps just average or below average stats for the school and average ECs (other than for the athletes).

Winning a competition isn’t a hook in that sense…I doubt anyone is accepted that also doesn’t have a stellar application and also won Regeneron…or won some writing contest.

+1. Being a top athlete or winning competitions, especially if you were able to maintain strong grades at a strong HS speak to who you are as a person - hard working, organized, committed, passionate - and not who your parents are and how you were born - legacy, privileged or URM. I and many others have no problems with the former (merit) and a lot of problems with the latter.

However, athletes at top academic Power 4 schools (Stanford, Duke, Vandy, UVA, Mich, UCLA, etc) are accepted in revenue sports with minimum stats that are far below the average for the schools

You won’t see anything close to that for competition winners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

If I had a nickel for every time someone claims a recruited athlete would have gotten in anyhow…

My colleague's kid does a fairly obscure sport. Goes to a very elite HS. If anything, I was surprised at the school the kid went to for their sport as they likely could have gone somewhere more competitive. Kid was good enough to be at least close to Ivy, and went to somewhere fine but significantly below Ivy.

The more obscure the sport and the lower level of competition at the school, the more likely the kid was pretty well qualified.

Hint: the vast majority of "well-qualified" kids get rejected from Ivies. Ergo...

[Anonymous]

Social divide is just going to grow between hooked kids and unhooked UMC kids. Ivies for hooked kids, and everywhere else for most unhooked kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kids are at a tt nyc private. they very top (top 5) academic kids can write their ticket, even if unconnected. these kids also usually have some national level award in debate or some stem competition, etc.

kids who are not 10% of class but are in top 30%, ED to Chicago or end up at Georgetown, MI, USC, Cornell (not Dyson), Penn (not Wharton), a bunch of LACs

Honestly, the top 5 kids at NCS, STA can write their ticket too.
NCS top 3 this year are Wharton, Yale and Princeton
Top 5 at STA are Princeton, MIT, Yale, Brown and Harvard.

these are not all unconnected kids.

The NCS ones are unhooked to my knowledge. Two STA ones are also athletes but one is the valedictorian and the other is top5 academically.--both took the very top classes the school offers. They would 100% have had the same results without any athletics involved.

The NCS admits do include hooks. IYKYK