How Much Do a Kid's Looks Factor Into Admissions Decisions?

[Anonymous]

Not sure how much I think looks matter but a friend believes it is the reason her child was accepted to multiple schools. She said it very matter of factly. "So and so got in because s/he is very good looking."

Love the kid but kid is "nice looking" as my mother would say.

And 13:38 you are wrong. There are quite a few drop dead gorgeous girls at Bullis.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]OMG. If I get my DD rhinoplasty next week, will it fully heal before her Big 3 play dates in December???[/quote]


I used to work in a same day surgery OR. The most common time parents pay for their DC/DS to have rhinoplasty in the summer before they send them off to college.
"deviated septums" all.

[Anonymous]

How much do shadow visits count? My son shadowed at a "Big 3" upper school last week - can it help or hurt? Wasn't sure if teachers were asked for feedback or if they took a "good look"[list] at your child.

[Anonymous]

Don't you think a photo request is really just a tool to help keep track of who is who i the flood of applications? If I were in admissions, with a menopausal terrible short-term memory I might demand a picture with the app!

[Anonymous]

Maybe that's how they can tell what race you are?

[Anonymous]

That's a scary thought, 08:21!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know.

But I can tell you that after we toured St. Albans School, we deliberatly did not apply because I did not want my son to be surrounded by those preppy, cookie-cutter, mop headed, blazer wearing STA boys.

Proving that many people do judge a book by its cover, as the title of this thread would indicate. Too bad your tour gave you a superficial view of the place, because there are many intelligent, conscientious kids there (I don't have a kid there, FWIW). But maybe you're just superficial....

You are a useful object lesson for the subject of this thread.

As noted in the Is STA Too Rigid thread, what's wrong with thinking that this traditional look might not be the right fit for one's DS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless a guy tells me he runs a 7.5 minute mile, or a woman divulges tennis ranking with me, I would have no idea if they're truly "athletic."

And wearing Patagonia and Mountain Hardware head to toe isn't actually a good way to gauge who is truly "athletic" and who is fronting. I've seen this time and again during school camping trips and family sporty-type activities -- Lululemon doesn't make mom good at sports, it turns out.

So I want to know too: how do you know a "family" is "athletic"?

U nless a guy tells me he runs a 7.5 minute mile "????? A 7:30 mile sucks.I would certainly hope that each and every one of us could run a mile in 7 1/2 minutes. If you can't you are either morbidly obese or in seriously poor cardiovascular health. 7:30 /mile is the average pace of a "just ok" female marathon runner. As in she runs all 26 miles at 7 min or so a mile. That may be just good enough to qualify to run Boston. The women who win run 5 minute miles for 26 miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless a guy tells me he runs a 7.5 minute mile, or a woman divulges tennis ranking with me, I would have no idea if they're truly "athletic."

And wearing Patagonia and Mountain Hardware head to toe isn't actually a good way to gauge who is truly "athletic" and who is fronting. I've seen this time and again during school camping trips and family sporty-type activities -- Lululemon doesn't make mom good at sports, it turns out.

So I want to know too: how do you know a "family" is "athletic"?

U nless a guy tells me he runs a 7.5 minute mile "????? A 7:30 mile sucks.I would certainly hope that each and every one of us could run a mile in 7 1/2 minutes. If you can't you are either morbidly obese or in seriously poor cardiovascular health. 7:30 /mile is the average pace of a "just ok" female marathon runner. As in she runs all 26 miles at 7 min or so a mile. That may be just good enough to qualify to run Boston. The women who win run 5 minute miles for 26 miles.

I hope this is a joke. Otherwise you need to branch out a bit. You can be quite fit and not be able to run a 7:30 min mile. You are correct that you couldn't win a marathon or likely many other organized races. But, you can still be fit without running the race. Slow down and notice those around you.

[Anonymous]

O would not call someone who runs a 7:30 mile "athletic."

[Anonymous]

Well, I can only go by my treadmill experience, but I would have trouble running 8 miles and hour (which is a 7.5 minute mile). I generally run 6-7 miles and hour, but 8 would really be a stretch for me (I could do it, but I'm not sure I could do it a whole mile).

[Anonymous]

What kind of tennis ranking would count as athletic?

[Anonymous]

Is a polo shirt and khakis okay for DS to wear for a school visit?

[Anonymous]

Which schools ask for photographs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe that's how they can tell what race you are?

That's what I always assumed too. We know a number of kids who have claimed minority (AA or hispanic) status on school and college applications, based on having 1 grandparent out of the 4 being a minority. If you look at the kid, you don't see it either. I think some schools are trying to get the kids who aren't 3/4 white....