Stats it takes for a student to get into Stanford, Harvard, Princeton & Yale (2018)

[Anonymous]

but USA is not a merit based society... like, at all.

Check out the West Wing of the White House and the US cabinet...one's personal physician can become the Head of the Veterans Administration! Even a son or daughter can gain great powers ... reminds one of the British empire and King Henry VIII. Meritocracy indeed!

[Anonymous]

Psst we’re a capitalist society which explains why affluent families are over-represented in elite universities, why private schools get a lot of discretion wrt their admissions criteria, and why people with more $ get pissed off when they see others with less $ getting things they thought only they were entitled to.

Meritocracy is a fairy tale that only affluent white males (and those who identify with them) can believe in in this society.

And if we did want a truly meritocratic system, we’d start by radically restructuring pre-collegiate education.

Our US House of representatives and the Senate: what is the average wealth of each meritorious participant? I understand they are all millionaires!!! No SES diversity in our leaders! Thank God for Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

[Anonymous]

The black kid with the 1540 was probably one of the top 10 AA kids in the country stats wise. He's going to get in anywhere he applies.

Absolutely not true based on personal experience. Acceptance is not based solely on SAT scores. If you believe this you are more ignorant than I thought. This applies to all students.

[Anonymous]

She applied to the college of engineering with a major in chemical engineering (at least that is what it states on rejection from UCSB) and hasn't taken AP chemistry or AP physics yet. Her only other AP classes taken besides AP Calculus are AP European History and AP US History. It is harder to enter into any UC college of engineering than liberal arts college. And she doesn't list rejections from UC Merced or Riverside or Santa Cruz.

My prestigious boarding school in NE had very few AP courses and our students took very few AP tests yet got into top colleges and universities.

A brilliant friend of mine from an inner city high school had no AP courses in her school curriculum and therefore did not take any AP tests. She got into a top university.


Give me a break. Take challenging courses in your own educational environment. If you have big bucks take online AP courses go to summer school and self study for 25 AP tests to "prove" your worth! You may impress some adults...but not all...if this is the true measure of intellect and worth.

[Anonymous]

Nice story but not every Asian kid is "prepping" for the SATs for years or even for months. My kid scored over 1500 the first time he tried a timed, full length SAT on the Khan academy website without any prep. He wants a higher score so we will buy him a Kaplan book for $14 and he will spend a few weeks reviewing it before the actual test.
He enjoys school and works hard but also goofs off, spends time with friends, plays a sport for fun (in a low key rec. league), plays an instrument for fun (no high level competitions), loves to read, loves going to plays and museums, enjoys travel. I don't think he will be a "mover" of "shaker" but he is definitely not a scantron bubble filler and neither are most of his friends.
fwiw any kid from any socioeconomic class who is motivated enough to apply to an Ivy league university would probably be smart enough to buy a second hand SAT prep book or prep for free online at the Khan academy website. Here in Montgomery County there are local organizations that offer heavily subsidized SAT prep ($40 for an entire year of academic tutoring and SAT prep) in several high schools (so transportation isn't a problem either).

Bubble away. Not sure I would bet the farm on someone that specializes in bubbling for mediocre low bar intellectual activity-like exams.

Granted the SAT and ACt bubble coloring exercise is still a screening test/tool (not sure for how long though!) but to spend years and money trying to improve scores from 690 to 710 to 160 to 780.... tells me about someone's true smarts (or lack thereof)!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Almost every kid, no ALL kids, at a school like TJ will score higher than this kid on ALL fronts. But only a handful get these kind of offers. Shame! We are supposed to be a merit-based society. Wonder when that changed..

So you believe Harvard should simply reserve every seat they have in their freshman class for each TJ graduate (about 450/year)? On what basis.. SAT/ACT scores? Ole southern Virginia ladies and gentlemen? These students will double Harvard endowment in 10 years? Dominate the Nobel Prizes awarded over the next 50 years?

Only a childish fool would subscribe to this recommendation. Tj is a great school ... like many others around the globe.

I never said ALL TJ kids should go to Harvard. But definitely ALL TJ kids can score better than this kid. Learn to read first..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nice story but not every Asian kid is "prepping" for the SATs for years or even for months. My kid scored over 1500 the first time he tried a timed, full length SAT on the Khan academy website without any prep. He wants a higher score so we will buy him a Kaplan book for $14 and he will spend a few weeks reviewing it before the actual test.
He enjoys school and works hard but also goofs off, spends time with friends, plays a sport for fun (in a low key rec. league), plays an instrument for fun (no high level competitions), loves to read, loves going to plays and museums, enjoys travel. I don't think he will be a "mover" of "shaker" but he is definitely not a scantron bubble filler and neither are most of his friends.
fwiw any kid from any socioeconomic class who is motivated enough to apply to an Ivy league university would probably be smart enough to buy a second hand SAT prep book or prep for free online at the Khan academy website. Here in Montgomery County there are local organizations that offer heavily subsidized SAT prep ($40 for an entire year of academic tutoring and SAT prep) in several high schools (so transportation isn't a problem either).

Bubble away. Not sure I would bet the farm on someone that specializes in bubbling for mediocre low bar intellectual activity-like exams.

Granted the SAT and ACt bubble coloring exercise is still a screening test/tool (not sure for how long though!) but to spend years and money trying to improve scores from 690 to 710 to 160 to 780.... tells me about someone's true smarts (or lack thereof)!!

You have a reading comprehension problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

It's absolutely denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids when less qualified black and Hispanic students are selected instead in the name of "diversity." In essence, they are penalized for the alleged sins of others, while less qualified black and Hsipanic students (often those who are higher SES, not the poor) receive an undeserved boost.

If you think the only kids disadvantaged in any way are black youths, due to police violence, the answer is to reform the police departments, not give black kids an advantage they don't deserve when applying to elite universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

It's absolutely denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids when less qualified black and Hispanic students are selected instead in the name of "diversity." In essence, they are penalized for the alleged sins of others, while less qualified black and Hsipanic students (often those who are higher SES, not the poor) receive an undeserved boost.

If you think the only kids disadvantaged in any way are black youths, due to police violence, the answer is to reform the police departments, not give black kids an advantage they don't deserve when applying to elite universities.

You, my friend, are an arrogant jerk. You declare these students to be less qualified and have no idea about their entire application, situation, struggles, etc. Based on what, SAT scores? A multiple choice test of algebra and geometry that you can take as many times as you want and prep for is how you define superiority? You and your ilk put way too much value on these scores. The schools may use them as a blunt instrument, but they are by no means indicative of success by themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Micheal Brown, 17, got into all 20 highly selective colleges he applied to, all of which offered him a full ride through a combination of merit- and financial-based scholarships and grants. Mr. Brown got into elite private schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Stanford and Georgetown — his top picks. He was also admitted to small but highly selective liberal arts schools like Pomona College and large public universities like the University of Michigan.

Mr. Brown, a senior at Lamar High School in Houston, said that in addition to the money pledged by the schools, he was awarded about $260,000 through scholarships he sought outside of the college application process.

What did it take? Mr. Brown had a 4.68 grade point average when he applied to college, an SAT score of 1540 out of 1600 and an ACT score of 34 out of 36. He was on the school debate team, had done internships and was part of school activities like Key Club. His academic accomplishments aside, Mr. Brown credited his involvement in guidance programs such as the University of Southern California’s Bovard Scholars program and the Emerge Fellowship.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/us/college-acceptance-micheal-brown.html

Here’s his reaction video when he found out he got into Stanford, which apparently had been his first choice for years. Love it, happy for him!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=60NyFcDHvO4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

It's absolutely denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids when less qualified black and Hispanic students are selected instead in the name of "diversity." In essence, they are penalized for the alleged sins of others, while less qualified black and Hsipanic students (often those who are higher SES, not the poor) receive an undeserved boost.

If you think the only kids disadvantaged in any way are black youths, due to police violence, the answer is to reform the police departments, not give black kids an advantage they don't deserve when applying to elite universities.

You, my friend, are an arrogant jerk. You declare these students to be less qualified and have no idea about their entire application, situation, struggles, etc. Based on what, SAT scores? A multiple choice test of algebra and geometry that you can take as many times as you want and prep for is how you define superiority? You and your ilk put way too much value on these scores. The schools may use them as a blunt instrument, but they are by no means indicative of success by themselves.

SAT scores, IB and AP exams, GPAs, academic competitions - take your pick. The elite schools have just become an affirmative action program for minorities, while also continuing to favor legacies and kids from the “right” privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

It's absolutely denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids when less qualified black and Hispanic students are selected instead in the name of "diversity." In essence, they are penalized for the alleged sins of others, while less qualified black and Hsipanic students (often those who are higher SES, not the poor) receive an undeserved boost.

If you think the only kids disadvantaged in any way are black youths, due to police violence, the answer is to reform the police departments, not give black kids an advantage they don't deserve when applying to elite universities.

You, my friend, are an arrogant jerk. You declare these students to be less qualified and have no idea about their entire application, situation, struggles, etc. Based on what, SAT scores? A multiple choice test of algebra and geometry that you can take as many times as you want and prep for is how you define superiority? You and your ilk put way too much value on these scores. The schools may use them as a blunt instrument, but they are by no means indicative of success by themselves.

Not the pp. But please take your BS elsewhere where you can find more idiots to feed your propaganda to.
Talking about other qualities than scores, I dare you to name one quality that a Harvard admitted black student has but some Harvard rejected whites or asians didn't do better.
Talking about struggles, how do you explain most of the so-called URM students who got admitted are from rich families while poor white and asian students are denied the chances? How do you explain this except the skin color criterion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Systematically denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids who work their butts off in order to benefit black and Hispanic kids from relatively privileged backgrounds elevates politics over merit.

Who is denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids???

The only kids that are denigrated in the US are Blacks. They are murdered and slaughtered shot to death by our leaders and police at a horrendous rate...the ultimate denigration and the police (all white) go scott free with their pensions and salaries.

It's absolutely denigrating the achievements of white and Asian kids when less qualified black and Hispanic students are selected instead in the name of "diversity." In essence, they are penalized for the alleged sins of others, while less qualified black and Hsipanic students (often those who are higher SES, not the poor) receive an undeserved boost.

If you think the only kids disadvantaged in any way are black youths, due to police violence, the answer is to reform the police departments, not give black kids an advantage they don't deserve when applying to elite universities.

You, my friend, are an arrogant jerk. You declare these students to be less qualified and have no idea about their entire application, situation, struggles, etc. Based on what, SAT scores? A multiple choice test of algebra and geometry that you can take as many times as you want and prep for is how you define superiority? You and your ilk put way too much value on these scores. The schools may use them as a blunt instrument, but they are by no means indicative of success by themselves.

SAT scores, IB and AP exams, GPAs, academic competitions - take your pick. The elite schools have just become an affirmative action program for minorities, while also continuing to favor legacies and kids from the “right” privates.

+ 1. Yup. Admit the "Masters". Let in some Poors so the Masters feel good about themselves. Only way to keep them funds coming.

[Anonymous]

TRUTH: HYP and other elite schools will lose their prestige and value if they start admitting students by merit AND they cease to be majority white.