College Acceptance/Matriculation Stats: NCS/STA, Holton/Landon

[Anonymous]

14:55, I'm confused. My kids are not at age where they'd apply to college yet, so maybe the process is different from what I remember. Doesn't your child actually send the application and check to the college? It's your stamp, isn't it? On recommendations, when I went through the process (admittedly a while ago), the student could just hand the recommendation forms to whoever she wants (usually teachers), and the college counselor would have zero control, if you don't want the counselor to. How is it different now?

[Anonymous]

PP -- 14:55 -- Maybe things are different at public schools -- but at the private schools -- the application process is very tightly controlled. That's important for the schools to control to keep up the best rankings they can. The college counsellors write recommendations as well as the teachers. They don't want to enrage the Ivy Admissions people by having 50 kids from a school applyh -- so they control the application process. The worst part is they don't even meet the kids until they are seniors....so they are making decisions on kids they barely know (if at all.)

We had to hold our breath when we went in for our meeting. (Each family has a meeting.) Then, they plug your kids PSAT and grades into this "scattergram" thing and try to show they don't have a chance of getting in....they really try to scare people. We were infuriated!
Our college counselor kept asking my daughter why she thought she was being recruited...had the coach seen her? Why did they pick her, did she know she could never quit the sport? Did she really want to do it? My husband & I will never give a bloody penny to that school.

[Anonymous]

15:00 here. I just looked at the common application form that the Ivies now use, and I can see your point. It explicitly seeks input and judgment from the college counselor (not just teacher evaluations). I can see how a college counselor could tank a student's application now.

I'm still not quite as cynical/suspicious as you about high schools discouraging applications, and I don't understand how any high school would lose "ranking" by having lots of students apply to strong colleges. But as I mentioned before, my kids are not at that stage yet, so maybe I'm completely wrong.

Thanks for the education.

[Anonymous]

PP -- 15:12 -- Unless one's kids are at an exclusive private school -- one couldn't imagine what the "college selection" process is like. It's too hard to explain in one posting and I'm not saying the system or thinking is logical -- but the college counsellors are trying to "save spots" for their preferred students. Ivies will only take 2-4 kids max from most any private high school (those would actually be great numbers). So, if a "non-preferred" student gets a spot -- the counsellors and parents of the "preferred kids" think their spot has been stolen by this "non-preferred" kid. Trust me, you'll get it if your children do attend upscall private schools. If they go public -- you'll have other worries!

[Anonymous]

What are the worries if they go public?

[Anonymous]

PP -- The worries if they go public -- there are so many kids that it is hard to stand out...you have to make sure your kid does something very, very special besides getting great SAT scores and grades. It's harder to make a varsity sports team because there are more kids...it's tough to get needed recognition.

[Anonymous]

Wow, 14:18, a little bitter, maybe? Some athlete or nonwhite kid took your daughter's space in the Ivy League???? Don't worry, I'm sure my brown-skinned, athletic, high test score legacy kid will give her a job!

[Anonymous]

Great reply, 14:18, or better yet, a public school kid might take their spot. God forbid.

[Anonymous]

Oops, meant great reply, 16:58.

[Anonymous]

Somebody has to say it, then maybe we can move on. Exmissions are partly about the quality of a school's education being recognized by the Ivie's, but also in some measure the consequence of having legacy kids.

OK, back to what you were doing....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, 14:18, a little bitter, maybe? Some athlete or nonwhite kid took your daughter's space in the Ivy League???? Don't worry, I'm sure my brown-skinned, athletic, high test score legacy kid will give her a job!

Well she was just laying out how things work today - what's the point of rubbing her nose in it?

14:31 was also correct about historical racism. A better response than yours.

[Anonymous]

She was not laying out anything but she laid sour grapes.

[Anonymous]

The lady assumes that because she paid for her daughter to go to some "elite" private school that she is automatically entitled to entry into the Ivy League. Wake up and smell the roses. The sun has set on the days of automatic preferential entry into the Ivy League from private schools. She may take solace in knowing that even George W. Bush would have a tough time getting into the Ivy League today without a building in his name.

[Anonymous]

So tell me, why is it OK to dump on somebody who is already on the losing end of the stick? Why does acknowledging that certain preferences exist in admissions make one a "loser" or racist or both? Personally I found the gloating offer of a job to the "loser" kid to be pretty offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lady assumes that because she paid for her daughter to go to some "elite" private school that she is automatically entitled to entry into the Ivy League. Wake up and smell the roses. The sun has set on the days of automatic preferential entry into the Ivy League from private schools. She may take solace in knowing that even George W. Bush would have a tough time getting into the Ivy League today without a building in his name.[/quote

I didn't see a sense of entitlement in her post at all. I think you're reading into it something that's not there.