What have been your biggest surprises with this year's admission cycle?

[Anonymous]

I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

[Anonymous]

Being deferred and rejected by 2 targets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being deferred and rejected by 2 targets

Though if it is a target, then rejection was at least 50% possible. The real surprise is when someone gets rejected by a safety. I wonder if that has happened (although if it has, the school probably wasn't a safety to begin with).

[Anonymous]

OOS applicants with lower grades and test scores getting fall admission to in state flagship while DC got spring admission offer and many friends with comparable qualifications were outright rejected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

How do you know essays and ECs played an unusually important role? Did people in admissions offices tell you this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

Yeah, this is a BS observation meant just to get others to respond.

Do you have anything legit to offer OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

Yeah, this is a BS observation meant just to get others to respond.

Do you have anything legit to offer OP?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

How do you know essays and ECs played an unusually important role? Did people in admissions offices tell you this?

Just anecdotal - for example my kid got into a top 20 schools with grades and scores in the bottom quarter. She has no hooks - so the only thing that makes sense is would be the importance of essays and EC's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

How do you know essays and ECs played an unusually important role? Did people in admissions offices tell you this?

Just anecdotal - for example my kid got into a top 20 schools with grades and scores in the bottom quarter. She has no hooks - so the only thing that makes sense is would be the importance of essays and EC's.

You’re really not being useful with the thread…unless you can point to something specific, none of this is helpful. You continue to fish for something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how much weight essays and EC's played in the process. Did anyone have any huge surprises in admits or rejects so far?

How do you know essays and ECs played an unusually important role? Did people in admissions offices tell you this?

Just anecdotal - for example my kid got into a top 20 schools with grades and scores in the bottom quarter. She has no hooks - so the only thing that makes sense is would be the importance of essays and EC's.

You’re really not being useful with the thread…unless you can point to something specific, none of this is helpful. You continue to fish for something.

I just stated something that I surprised about and was curious to see what others found surprising.

[Anonymous]

I agree about ECs and Essay importance, probably LORs too.

My daughter applied test optional, does have 4.0 UW, but not as many IB/AP/ honors classes as others at her school. Not an IB candidate.

She applied to 13 schools-so far accepted to 8 and waitlisted at UVA. Also got honors college at NCSU (10,000 applicants only 550 slots) waitlist at UofSC honors too. Waiting on last 4.

Waiting on her reach reach schools-but accepted at all targets and safeties.

[Anonymous]

There is no pattern I can see in DC's admittances. They got rejected or waitlisted from schools where their GPA is in the top half of acceptances, then got into a school EA where they are in the bottom quartile. Does that mean ECs and essays only mattered for one? Who knows. For my next kid, I will recommend they submit 10+ applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OOS applicants with lower grades and test scores getting fall admission to in state flagship while DC got spring admission offer and many friends with comparable qualifications were outright rejected.

I feel like the state flagships are getting harder to figure out. You will see a good student (maybe one or two Bs rest As in honors classes) rejected from their own in-state option or get spring but will get into an equally as hard, or harder admit as an OOS student elsewhere. At the same time many of the popular OOS schools for DMV students are getting harder to get into for OOS like Wisconsin or Clemson of U of SC.

It’s a reminder to apply broadly and don’t count on your own flagship as a safety. I also wonder if as costs of private colleges continue to skyrocket if competition for public colleges will get worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being deferred and rejected by 2 targets

Though if it is a target, then rejection was at least 50% possible. The real surprise is when someone gets rejected by a safety. I wonder if that has happened (although if it has, the school probably wasn't a safety to begin with).

Getting rejected by a safety means the school figured out you are just using them as a safety, and have very little intent or realistic chance of attending.

[Anonymous]

I have heard advice to apply early to a school that has rolling admission so as to get an early acceptance as a safety. I do wonder how these schools view such applications when it’s pretty obvious they are a safety.