Things are not harder - it’s the same as it always was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot more students are applying to more (and higher ranking) colleges and universities. And the tuition is so high that parents want name recognition for the money.

There are plenty of SLACs out there who could use applicants. Same with community colleges, which have been hit hard by their typical students going back to work full time.right now.

I do mean this when I say that Nova CC is better than the vast majority of community colleges out there and if your child is motivated, they could do guaranteed admission to a good state school. The low grad rates do not take into account students who don't have to worry about their immediate health and safety.

+1NVCC also offers an honors program which can help to provide an academically focused peer group and help keep on the path to transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Let me guess.. white male?

Being male is a huge admissions boost at most schools because so many more females apply. It’s much easier to get in as a male.

Sorry to burst your little grievance bubble.

+1

Acceptance rates by gender are published in the Common Data Sets. Most top schools tend to have little difference between rates for genders.

Schools like MIT, Caltech, Georgia Tech have significantly higher admit rates for women. This is also often true for engineering schools within larger universities. Liberal arts colleges without engineering schools tend to be the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check SCHEV

WM last year: median GPA 4.3/ 75% ACT 34
Ten years ago: 4.1/32

UVA: was 4.24/ 32 ten years
Now: 4.39/34

To get around the SAT argument.

Yes. In-state is getting harder.

Average high school GPAs have been going up. Rampant grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Let me guess.. white male?

Being male is a huge admissions boost at most schools because so many more females apply. It’s much easier to get in as a male.

Sorry to burst your little grievance bubble.

+1

Acceptance rates by gender are published in the Common Data Sets. Most top schools tend to have little difference between rates for genders.

Schools like MIT, Caltech, Georgia Tech have significantly higher admit rates for women. This is also often true for engineering schools within larger
universities. Liberal arts colleges without engineering schools tend to be the opposite.

My son’s high school counselor said my son had a better chance at admissions because he is a male in humanities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check SCHEV

WM last year: median GPA 4.3/ 75% ACT 34
Ten years ago: 4.1/32

UVA: was 4.24/ 32 ten years
Now: 4.39/34

To get around the SAT argument.

Yes. In-state is getting harder.

Average high school GPAs have been going up. Rampant grade inflation.

Source?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Let me guess.. white male?

Being male is a huge admissions boost at most schools because so many more females apply. It’s much easier to get in as a male.

Sorry to burst your little grievance bubble.

+1

Acceptance rates by gender are published in the Common Data Sets. Most top schools tend to have little difference between rates for genders.

Schools like MIT, Caltech, Georgia Tech have significantly higher admit rates for women. This is also often true for engineering schools within larger
universities. Liberal arts colleges without engineering schools tend to be the opposite.

My son’s high school counselor said my son had a better chance at admissions because he is a male in humanities.

True. Except for engineering and business, males are in a big minority. Male:female ratio in all colleges across the country is 41:59.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in this area a long time and am a UVA grad. I have been harping on this awhile. The top unis simply have not expanded to keep pace with the skyrocketing population. Also, there is more of a concerted effort to recruit minority applicants (as there should be). There is a mentality of UVA or bust. Meanwhile, we get inundated with mail from hundreds of perfectly good unis who would love to have our children, even giving them scholarships. Stop being such snobs. Also, kudos to VT for building a campus in Northern Virginia.

DCUM does seem to have a UVA or bust, but I've always thought UVA, VT Engineering, W&M, and art at VCU are all top tier options, and the number of top tier spots compared to the state population are actually pretty good compared to other states.

agreed except for VCU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Which college specifically rejected this kid outright? Name the school.

UVA, VT, also UNC and UMI (we live in VA). Thought all of these were targets. Waitlisted at Vanderbilt, rejected at Ivys

Wait, who has UNC and Michigan out of state as “targets?” Those are lottery schools for anyone.

This. This is the problem. People seem to think if they are aiming for Ivies but know they are very unlikely to get it, then these other universities must be the real targets. In reality these were the reach schools.

I think both sides of this thread are onto something. On the one hand, by sheer numbers admissions to top universities seems hopeless. But OTOH this is caused by peoples outsized expectations coming off a generation of rampant grade inflation and watered down SAT scores. A 1450-1550 SAT score today would scale 80-100 points lower a generation ago. So parents are looking at scores that they thought would be shoe ins for these schools based on their own experience and bringing that forward to now.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in this area a long time and am a UVA grad. I have been harping on this awhile. The top unis simply have not expanded to keep pace with the skyrocketing population. Also, there is more of a concerted effort to recruit minority applicants (as there should be). There is a mentality of UVA or bust. Meanwhile, we get inundated with mail from hundreds of perfectly good unis who would love to have our children, even giving them scholarships. Stop being such snobs. Also, kudos to VT for building a campus in Northern Virginia.

DCUM does seem to have a UVA or bust, but I've always thought UVA, VT Engineering, W&M, and art at VCU are all top tier options, and the number of top tier spots compared to the state population are actually pretty good compared to other states.

agreed except for VCU

Specifically for areas of art.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in this area a long time and am a UVA grad. I have been harping on this awhile. The top unis simply have not expanded to keep pace with the skyrocketing population. Also, there is more of a concerted effort to recruit minority applicants (as there should be). There is a mentality of UVA or bust. Meanwhile, we get inundated with mail from hundreds of perfectly good unis who would love to have our children, even giving them scholarships. Stop being such snobs. Also, kudos to VT for building a campus in Northern Virginia.

DCUM does seem to have a UVA or bust, but I've always thought UVA, VT Engineering, W&M, and art at VCU are all top tier options, and the number of top tier spots compared to the state population are actually pretty good compared to other states.

agreed except for VCU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Which college specifically rejected this kid outright? Name the school.

UVA, VT, also UNC and UMI (we live in VA). Thought all of these were targets. Waitlisted at Vanderbilt, rejected at Ivys

Wait, who has UNC and Michigan out of state as “targets?” Those are lottery schools for anyone.

This. This is the problem. People seem to think if they are aiming for Ivies but know they are very unlikely to get it, then these other universities must be the real targets. In reality these were the reach schools.

I think both sides of this thread are onto something. On the one hand, by sheer numbers admissions to top universities seems hopeless. But OTOH this is caused by peoples outsized expectations coming off a generation of rampant grade inflation and watered down SAT scores. A 1450-1550 SAT score today would scale 80-100 points lower a generation ago. So parents are looking at scores that they thought would be shoe ins for these schools based on their own experience and bringing that forward to now.

100%

Yes. Forget the actual test score and grade numbers. The same few too students head off to the same few top schools. I don't know the exacts stats but these are the kids that are gifted in academics or music or ballet or something above and beyond the other very strong and excellent students.

[Anonymous]

I have been reading this website since 2017, although I haven't been on here much in the past year. My kids were in the high school classes of '16 and '20. When I would visit this site (sparingly) from 2017-2019, there were CONSTANT posts about what a bloodbath admission is now, how it's harder than ever before, how it's at a crazy tipping point, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is missing from these posts is that there was significant grade inflation for the class of 2022 with their junior year online. Junior year is where the rubber meets the road and kids can do well in 5-6 APs or they don't. If everyone did well there is nothing to distinguish someone who got a 4.0 because of online and cheating vs. hard work and intelligence. Now put all these kids with similar GPAs together, with or without tests, and the highest applicant numbers in history and this is what happens. I hope it works itself out for next year!

YES!

I don't even have a dog in this fight but am a teacher. Let's say in a normal year 10% of kids got straight As. Last year it was like 70% at our school. We were told to be super lenient. The district I teach in (DCPS) did not even give out grades lower than a B. So kids who did the work (in any way, shape or form) got As. The rest (who did nothing) got Bs.
Extrapolate this to an entire district of kids and you have a lot of A students. Thousands.

I wonder if universities looked more closely at AP scores if students submitted them. If you got an A in an AP course but a 2 on related the AP exam, maybe that said something?

Having a kid in process, I think you should have to submit AP scores if you take AP classes. Only feels fair to get credit for taking a rigorous class you should have to do well on the exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been reading this website since 2017, although I haven't been on here much in the past year. My kids were in the high school classes of '16 and '20. When I would visit this site (sparingly) from 2017-2019, there were CONSTANT posts about what a bloodbath admission is now, how it's harder than ever before, how it's at a crazy tipping point, etc.

To be honest I think it was true then, and people weren't expecting it to get even worse. People who bemoaned schools' admissions rates were an expecting so many of them to then go into the single digits.

So I think it was a bloodbath. And then covid and test optional happened and it completely went off a cliff. Both things Are true. Things are not as they always were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check SCHEV

WM last year: median GPA 4.3/ 75% ACT 34
Ten years ago: 4.1/32

UVA: was 4.24/ 32 ten years
Now: 4.39/34

To get around the SAT argument.

Yes. In-state is getting harder.

Average high school GPAs have been going up. Rampant grade inflation.

Source?

You can look at the sources in this article. Average high school GPA was 2.68 in 1990, rising to 3.38 in 2016. I believe it has continued to rise since then. Grade inflation is most significant in more affluent areas. Most common grade in high school is now an A.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/08/24/class-grade-inflation-high-school-teacher/8185250002/