Is GPA the most important?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't counselor give some hint early on?

In a public school? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't counselor give some hint early on?

In a public school? No.

Then you must hire someone who knows your school well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t there a cheating scandal at TJ? That lingers on for years.

There cheating scandals everywhere. What are you trying to say? Idiot.

This forum becomes more unhinged every day.

And mean. Pretty sure it is one tj booster (bo current kids at tj, just a tj grad) who insults any poster who says anything negative about tj. Living in the past, in la la land.

It's wild that you think that there is only 1 person that disagrees with you on things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have about 15 applying to Penn this year. DC didn't get in with top gpa and score. Among the five who are accepted, there is one unhooked kid whose gpa is at the lower end of the range, but I guess Penn likes her narrative better. No national award. Scattergram shows acceptance from 3.7 to 4.0.

My kids school (not in DC) has 8 kids going to Penn this year, four are URM (none had top gpa). One has a well known spike but is not in top 20% of class. Only two of the 8 kids are in top 10%. So for Penn its not GPA or rigor that matters the most. Only two of the kids had top rigor.

How do people speak so confidently about other people's children on this forum? Are you their college counselor? If so, shame on you for divulging their personal info. If not, shame on you for speculating about things you do not know.

Because their schools don't have toxic people like you! It's common for kids sharing their information among their classmates, nobody takes it that seriously. I don't see any identifying information being disclosed. It's completely anonymous. WTF are you talking about.

It's toxic to point out that sharing information about other people's children is a bad thing? Wild. Sharing your own/your kids' experiences here is great. Speaking confidently about the experience of multiple kids whose transcripts you have not seen, and are none of your business, is toxic. You have it backward.

Why is it a bad thing in this case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

Colleges calculate their own GPAs and those calculations include their own perceived rigor of the high school. But GPA is not the only factor, it never has been.

NP do colleges look at senior year (1st semester), junior then sophomore and freshman year transcripts in that order? Asking bc my DC has straight As in 11th and 10th but a couple B+ in 9th. Wondering about chances at T20. Other top kids (classmates) who had straight As in 9th now typically have 1-2 A- in 11th, but their GPA is still higher than my DC who is doing better in 11th in most rigorous course load. Who will be viewed as the stronger applicant academically?

Bs are bad. Some colleges claim they don't weigh freshman grades as heavily but they still see the B.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

LOL. No matter how many people tell you that academic performance is not a ranked system at Ivies, you refuse to believe them. Claim "racism" and move on. ACADEMICS IS A QUALIFIER it is not the determining factor. Listen to the Yale podcast. Listen to the Darmouth Podcast. Listen to the Columbia AO interview. They all say the same thing. Academics and test scores demonstrate you can do the work, after you are qualified you need to have a lot more. The qualifier is ROUGHLY an SAT of 1450 and a GPA (with max rigor) of 3.7ish. Yale, Dartmouth and Columbia all said the same thing, practically verbatim. And no, it isn't about keeping Asians out, or Italians, or Russians. It is about having kids who align with institutional priorities and enhance the community and the long-term standing of the institution.

So, having 100% math robot test takers isn't something they want. They want a certain number of actors/musicians, supreme court litigators, federal judges, olympic gold medalists, NHL superstars, senators, governors, hedge fund managers, high school english teachers, social workers, world bank heads, UN delegates, presidential candidates, novelists, artists, engineers, and tech people. It's just sad to see people tell you how the world is, and you go back to talking about stats stats stats, ranking rankings rankings, discrimination discrimination discrimination, SAT SAT SAT.

It is completely bonkers to me. These parents are ignorant with a chip on their shoulder. Yale isn't the India Institute of Technology. It's not a statistics focused institution, it never has been, and it will never be. If you don't like it, then don't apply there or the other ivies.

Your anger seems misplaced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are TJ and Richard Montgomery comparable? RM’s exmissions are incredible, whereas I hear lots of complaints from TJ parents.

Following up:

Richard Montgomery: https://www.instagram.com/rmcommits26?igsh=MTl2OHV2NmZ0Z211Ng==

TJ: https://www.instagram.com/tj2026destinations?igsh=ZzZtNzBpeXRvc3po

I don't mean anything by it, but every kid to a T20 is asian, every one. Just an observation, good for them!

TJ jas a lot of non-asians going to iv+ and RM has at least 2 non-asians going to ivy+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

I’d be curious to know where they applied early to?

This is the kind of kid that should’ve ED1/ED2 to WashU or Emory or Tufts.

ED1/2 to WashU would have been a smart strategy. I’m surprised that the parents were so surprised by the Ivy rejections! I think their kid got into a couple of schools in the Emory/Tufts range.

I would have ED1 Dartmouth or Cornell or Vanderbilt.
ED2 WashU or Rice.

What was the major?
Family probably thought the 1600 carried more weight than it did.

All those schools get a billion apps from students with perfect grades and test scores from everywhere in the US and much of the world. Once you hit a baseline for stats, the rest of the app is what matters - ECs, leadership, LOCs, community service, awards, etc. And that baseline is significantly lower than 4.4 and 1600. It's the what else you got part that matters at this level.

there are between 800-1500 perfect 1600s about 300 1590s and about 500 1590s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

I’d be curious to know where they applied early to?

This is the kind of kid that should’ve ED1/ED2 to WashU or Emory or Tufts.

ED1/2 to WashU would have been a smart strategy. I’m surprised that the parents were so surprised by the Ivy rejections! I think their kid got into a couple of schools in the Emory/Tufts range.

I would have ED1 Dartmouth or Cornell or Vanderbilt.
ED2 WashU or Rice.

What was the major?
Family probably thought the 1600 carried more weight than it did.

All those schools get a billion apps from students with perfect grades and test scores from everywhere in the US and much of the world. Once you hit a baseline for stats, the rest of the app is what matters - ECs, leadership, LOCs, community service, awards, etc. And that baseline is significantly lower than 4.4 and 1600. It's the what else you got part that matters at this level.

also people don't apply for "majors" at ivies. people are clueless

Your application makes your intended area of study obvious.

[Anonymous]

3.7 in at Harvard here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

It's always a balance. Bright students between 14-18 still need a peer group and good teachers to really succeed. Dropping some brainiac into the worst high school in East St. Louis isn't doing them any favors, both in life and for college admissions.

That being said, the TJ catchment area encompasses some perfectly good non-magnet public schools. So choices are being made. At the T20 level, you are always competing against classmates for those spots. And you have to distinguish yourself in some way. But I'm surprised this student was waitlisted at UVA. What are they doing in Charlottesville? I know they need to take students from all over the state and not just NOVA, but c'mon. A 4.4 and and a near 1600 from TJ? Really?

The most conspicuous college admissions penalty from TJ is at UVA.

Bc they can’t admit half the school. This is not news.

I am not sure why not.
Someone asked Dean J if the reason they were limiting their offers to TJ so they wouldn't end up with 100 TJ kids in their entering class and she pointed out there have been years when they made over 100 offers to TJ students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

It's always a balance. Bright students between 14-18 still need a peer group and good teachers to really succeed. Dropping some brainiac into the worst high school in East St. Louis isn't doing them any favors, both in life and for college admissions.

That being said, the TJ catchment area encompasses some perfectly good non-magnet public schools. So choices are being made. At the T20 level, you are always competing against classmates for those spots. And you have to distinguish yourself in some way. But I'm surprised this student was waitlisted at UVA. What are they doing in Charlottesville? I know they need to take students from all over the state and not just NOVA, but c'mon. A 4.4 and and a near 1600 from TJ? Really?

UVA likes to see rigor in all five subject areas. Did this student focus only on STEM courses? Did this student show leadership in ECs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

I’d be curious to know where they applied early to?

This is the kind of kid that should’ve ED1/ED2 to WashU or Emory or Tufts.

ED1/2 to WashU would have been a smart strategy. I’m surprised that the parents were so surprised by the Ivy rejections! I think their kid got into a couple of schools in the Emory/Tufts range.

I would have ED1 Dartmouth or Cornell or Vanderbilt.
ED2 WashU or Rice.

What was the major?
Family probably thought the 1600 carried more weight than it did.

All those schools get a billion apps from students with perfect grades and test scores from everywhere in the US and much of the world. Once you hit a baseline for stats, the rest of the app is what matters - ECs, leadership, LOCs, community service, awards, etc. And that baseline is significantly lower than 4.4 and 1600. It's the what else you got part that matters at this level.

also people don't apply for "majors" at ivies. people are clueless

Your application makes your intended area of study obvious.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

I’d be curious to know where they applied early to?

This is the kind of kid that should’ve ED1/ED2 to WashU or Emory or Tufts.

ED1/2 to WashU would have been a smart strategy. I’m surprised that the parents were so surprised by the Ivy rejections! I think their kid got into a couple of schools in the Emory/Tufts range.

I would have ED1 Dartmouth or Cornell or Vanderbilt.
ED2 WashU or Rice.

What was the major?
Family probably thought the 1600 carried more weight than it did.

All those schools get a billion apps from students with perfect grades and test scores from everywhere in the US and much of the world. Once you hit a baseline for stats, the rest of the app is what matters - ECs, leadership, LOCs, community service, awards, etc. And that baseline is significantly lower than 4.4 and 1600. It's the what else you got part that matters at this level.

also people don't apply for "majors" at ivies. people are clueless

Your application makes your intended area of study obvious.

Yes. But you are held to the standards of the entire pool, not to the sub-pool of the applicants for your intended study. So you may have a better or worse chance year to year if you are a STEM kid. But the STEM kids aren't ranked seperately from the music and acting kids. Each applicant stands on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the “letter quality vs academic performance” argument applies to the OP’s case. Her kid likely had a GPA lower than 4.4 at the end of his junior year, which translated into somewhere between top 30% to top 40% of their class at TJ? Unless their letters and/or ECs are spectacular, not getting into an Ivy or T20 is actually not surprising.

I’d be curious to know where they applied early to?

This is the kind of kid that should’ve ED1/ED2 to WashU or Emory or Tufts.

ED1/2 to WashU would have been a smart strategy. I’m surprised that the parents were so surprised by the Ivy rejections! I think their kid got into a couple of schools in the Emory/Tufts range.

I would have ED1 Dartmouth or Cornell or Vanderbilt.
ED2 WashU or Rice.

What was the major?
Family probably thought the 1600 carried more weight than it did.

All those schools get a billion apps from students with perfect grades and test scores from everywhere in the US and much of the world. Once you hit a baseline for stats, the rest of the app is what matters - ECs, leadership, LOCs, community service, awards, etc. And that baseline is significantly lower than 4.4 and 1600. It's the what else you got part that matters at this level.

there are between 800-1500 perfect 1600s about 300 1590s and about 500 1590s

More like 300-500 1600 perfect 1600 scorers.

20k 1530+ scorers (1% 2 million test takers)
Score BandApprox. % of all takersEstimated # of students
1530–1539~0.30%~6,000
1540–1549~0.22%~4,400
1550–1559~0.17%~3,400
1560–1569~0.12%~2,400
1570–1579~0.08%~1,600
1580–1589~0.05%~1,000
1590–1600~0.06%~1,200

Even with superscoring the tail end won't see that large of an increase (solely due to the difficult of superscoring eg a 1560, regression to the mean, variance squeeze, diminishing superscoring lift, etc)