s/o this brutal admissions year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In terms of the elite schools like HPYSM, do they really have the best people? If they are taking mostly athletes, legacy, first gen and URM, are they really getting the TOP students?

Not meant to be a snarky question.

Also, those top students are going somewhere. Do you think there will emerge a middle of the road college that will eventually become elite as a result of getting these top students?

I think schools like Wash. U. and Johns Hopkins have traditionally pursued this strategy.

I went to Hopkins. It’s moved a few slots up and down over the years, but has been ranked somewhere between 10 and 15 for the past three decades. There has been no significant movement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IQ is nothing without EQ

You don't seem to have EQ either judging by your posting style.

LOL. Plus it’s a very ignorant statement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IQ is nothing without EQ

You don't seem to have EQ either judging by your posting style.

LOL. Plus it’s a very ignorant statement

-signed, low EQ poster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The uncertainty is worse this year because of the heavy use of waitlists. We're going to have to wait through the summer for this all to play out. Even then many DCs will end up at safety schools.

It will be even worse next year. Maybe the waitlists and chaos will be lessened if the colleges somehow manage to adjust their yield calculations, but I doubt it. The same factors that gave rise to the chaos and uncertainty will be joined by another factor: the inconsistent application of lockdowns and virtual learning meant that some schools and some parts of the US had more opportunities for classes, sports and ECAs which the kids in this area didn't. That is yet another disadvantage that the class of 2022 will have to deal with.

Why would it be worse for class of 2022? Things should be much better by then.

Applications for 2022 are due in October. What will be so much better by then? They will have spent 3 out of the 6 semesters that count for ED under COVID conditions (and two of non Covid semesters were Freshman year, which is awful for a lot of kids). Huge numbers of them didn't take the PSAT, most have not yet been able to take the SAT, in trying to figure out where to apply they look to the two years before them and see unprecedented admits from WL for 2020, and a total mess from 2021, so they cannot predict what will happen for them. They have not been able to visit schools, so they will be applying ED blind. Those with some ability to visit schools in the Fall might see the schools they apply RD before they apply, but mostly it will be the same blind application process as 2021. Basically, they have very little idea how to gauge safety and match, and for a lot of kids, the picture they will present to the schools is far from their best or who they would have been but for COVID, while others will present a rosy picture that may not match their actual abilities, while others managed to stay on track or weren't affected by COVID much at all -- but admissions won't be able to really tell who is who -- and neither can their teachers or counselors, who really have only known them in COVID times.

[Anonymous]

That’s why this is going to come down to class rigor, teacher recommendations, whether your school was in-person or not, and full pay or not.

[Anonymous]

Kids really do not understand the impact of things. They don’t get what being $120K in debt means fir their future. They don’t get that “work hard, grade deflation” applies to them just like the other smart kids at their college. Parents really need to take a role in these decisions and not believe the BS that colleges peddle. And the stupid rankings. Many schools are equal in rankings. Also the department / area of study is really important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The uncertainty is worse this year because of the heavy use of waitlists. We're going to have to wait through the summer for this all to play out. Even then many DCs will end up at safety schools.

It will be even worse next year. Maybe the waitlists and chaos will be lessened if the colleges somehow manage to adjust their yield calculations, but I doubt it. The same factors that gave rise to the chaos and uncertainty will be joined by another factor: the inconsistent application of lockdowns and virtual learning meant that some schools and some parts of the US had more opportunities for classes, sports and ECAs which the kids in this area didn't. That is yet another disadvantage that the class of 2022 will have to deal with.

Why would it be worse for class of 2022? Things should be much better by then.

Applications for 2022 are due in October. What will be so much better by then? They will have spent 3 out of the 6 semesters that count for ED under COVID conditions (and two of non Covid semesters were Freshman year, which is awful for a lot of kids). Huge numbers of them didn't take the PSAT, most have not yet been able to take the SAT, in trying to figure out where to apply they look to the two years before them and see unprecedented admits from WL for 2020, and a total mess from 2021, so they cannot predict what will happen for them. They have not been able to visit schools, so they will be applying ED blind. Those with some ability to visit schools in the Fall might see the schools they apply RD before they apply, but mostly it will be the same blind application process as 2021. Basically, they have very little idea how to gauge safety and match, and for a lot of kids, the picture they will present to the schools is far from their best or who they would have been but for COVID, while others will present a rosy picture that may not match their actual abilities, while others managed to stay on track or weren't affected by COVID much at all -- but admissions won't be able to really tell who is who -- and neither can their teachers or counselors, who really have only known them in COVID times.

+1000

It's even worse than what PP has described, which describes only the situation in the DMV area.

Remember that a large portion of America's schools didn't close down at all, and that some privates also maintained higher levels of EC and sports activities. For example, there were widely reported instances of CA recruited athletes who transferred to GA or FL to play their sports. These kids are going to have stronger looking applications; the colleges will say that they will adjust for these conditions, but I doubt that they will do so properly.

The class of 2022 will thus be affected by the uneven operations of schools this year.

[Anonymous]

My Junior will be applying EA/ED to colleges the whole of Oct and Nov.

In the next 6 months, there are only few strategic things he can do to make up for the impact on ECs mostly due to pandemic. From middle school onwards, he has worked hard for course rigor, GPA, SAT, APs, various clubs, service projects, ECs, building relationship with teachers and counselors. Now he needs to just keep up with maintaining some of this stuff, an internship or two, reach out to schools, and then get cracking on his essays. We plan to send out 8 applications for EA/ED. And then 8 more.

Rest...I am leaving in the hands of fate. There is nothing much more that we can do. Brutal or not, fair or not - we just have to make the best of whatever happens. Do your best, then accept what happens and carry on. Learn to adapt to life's small and big disappointments and move forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The uncertainty is worse this year because of the heavy use of waitlists. We're going to have to wait through the summer for this all to play out. Even then many DCs will end up at safety schools.

It will be even worse next year. Maybe the waitlists and chaos will be lessened if the colleges somehow manage to adjust their yield calculations, but I doubt it. The same factors that gave rise to the chaos and uncertainty will be joined by another factor: the inconsistent application of lockdowns and virtual learning meant that some schools and some parts of the US had more opportunities for classes, sports and ECAs which the kids in this area didn't. That is yet another disadvantage that the class of 2022 will have to deal with.

Why would it be worse for class of 2022? Things should be much better by then.

Applications for 2022 are due in October. What will be so much better by then? They will have spent 3 out of the 6 semesters that count for ED under COVID conditions (and two of non Covid semesters were Freshman year, which is awful for a lot of kids). Huge numbers of them didn't take the PSAT, most have not yet been able to take the SAT, in trying to figure out where to apply they look to the two years before them and see unprecedented admits from WL for 2020, and a total mess from 2021, so they cannot predict what will happen for them. They have not been able to visit schools, so they will be applying ED blind. Those with some ability to visit schools in the Fall might see the schools they apply RD before they apply, but mostly it will be the same blind application process as 2021. Basically, they have very little idea how to gauge safety and match, and for a lot of kids, the picture they will present to the schools is far from their best or who they would have been but for COVID, while others will present a rosy picture that may not match their actual abilities, while others managed to stay on track or weren't affected by COVID much at all -- but admissions won't be able to really tell who is who -- and neither can their teachers or counselors, who really have only known them in COVID times.

+1000

It's even worse than what PP has described, which describes only the situation in the DMV area.

Remember that a large portion of America's schools didn't close down at all, and that some privates also maintained higher levels of EC and sports activities. For example, there were widely reported instances of CA recruited athletes who transferred to GA or FL to play their sports. These kids are going to have stronger looking applications; the colleges will say that they will adjust for these conditions, but I doubt that they will do so properly.

The class of 2022 will thus be affected by the uneven operations of schools this year.

We live in the South, and my 2022 grad DC’s Junior year has been almost normal. They’ve been full time in person all year — a few EC’s have been limited somewhat, but they’ve all been active and sports teams have played a normal schedule.

[Anonymous]

My (sophomore) kid wanted to play varsity sports in college and now after being at home for so long with no sports, she’s about decided that’s she is so far behind that it’s almost not worth it anymore. I’m so sad... yes. She could have trained on her own if she were super motivated but Covid was hard and the team part is what gave her energy. Covid will impact college applications for the next several years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My (sophomore) kid wanted to play varsity sports in college and now after being at home for so long with no sports, she’s about decided that’s she is so far behind that it’s almost not worth it anymore. I’m so sad... yes. She could have trained on her own if she were super motivated but Covid was hard and the team part is what gave her energy. Covid will impact college applications for the next several years.

Yeah I totally understand how she feels. I'm sorry. That's a bummer.

[Anonymous]

Really? Travel lacrosse in this area never stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do schools know whether you’re full pay or not? I thought financial information went to a different office/area and that adcoms weren’t privy to this info?

They can look up your address on google maps and make a pretty good guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do schools know whether you’re full pay or not? I thought financial information went to a different office/area and that adcoms weren’t privy to this info?

They can look up your address on google maps and make a pretty good guess.

Or, they can look at the checkbox on the common app, which is a lot less work. Assuming they are need-aware.

Need blind schools don't do either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Junior will be applying EA/ED to colleges the whole of Oct and Nov.

In the next 6 months, there are only few strategic things he can do to make up for the impact on ECs mostly due to pandemic. From middle school onwards, he has worked hard for course rigor, GPA, SAT, APs, various clubs, service projects, ECs, building relationship with teachers and counselors. Now he needs to just keep up with maintaining some of this stuff, an internship or two, reach out to schools, and then get cracking on his essays. We plan to send out 8 applications for EA/ED. And then 8 more.

Rest...I am leaving in the hands of fate. There is nothing much more that we can do. Brutal or not, fair or not - we just have to make the best of whatever happens. Do your best, then accept what happens and carry on. Learn to adapt to life's small and big disappointments and move forward.

He’ll be fine. You have the right attitude, and it will all flow from there.