Rest In Peace Meritocracy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you keep insisting that high test scores are enough?

because they are the closest thing there is to a national objective statistic. Of course the people disappointed when their high scorer gets rejected are the same people who think it's about earning a spot based on merit (never has been and never will be)

You should open the college where high test scores are all a kid needs then. Why are they spending 4 years in high school if all they need are a high test score. You should fix that nonsense.

For sure. Why are these kids taking IB this and AP that if all they need is to prep for the SAT? I mean we can just give the college board corporation total control and they will take care of everything.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine said her son is a valedictorian in a magnet program in NJ which normally sent 20+ to Ivies. This year, the best school her son can get into in is Georgia Tech.

BTW, her son is Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine said her son is a valedictorian in a magnet program in NJ which normally sent 20+ to Ivies. This year, the best school her son can get into in is Georgia Tech.

BTW, her son is Asian.

Georgia tech is great option. Same happened at my friend's kid's school and her kid is not Asian. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

If that was High Tech in NJ, I’m sorry to hear that. My son has met some amazing kids from there at some regional competitions. They will succeed and strengthen already great schools like GA Tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has never been a meritocracy. The Jews knew this in the last century when the Ivies imposed limits on their numbers. The Asians have known this for the last few decades, too, with the limits put on them.

This leads to various forms of corruption, major (donors buying a building), minor (Varsity Blues), and moral (athletics), etc.

It stinks to high heaven.

This is one of the most accurate posts on DCUM. Maybe ever.

Add to that, parents (mostly mothers) just don't want to accept that there are only so many seats in the ivy colleges, and your kid has to stand out to get in - but not in the ways that these moms think. There is no "code to crack" because honestly, all the top applicants that are not legacy or athlete are by nothing but lottery.

Let me say it again , for the cheap seats: L-O-T-T-E-R-Y.

Here is the "secret key" you have been looking for: stop setting your kid up for failure by your "ivy or bust" attitude. There are only so many seats for the kid that looks JUST like yours (that is x number for white, x number for Asian, Middle Eastern, AA, whatever). Stop inadvertently telling your kid they are a failure if they do not get into an ivy school.

Why? You know the answer. There are ONLY so many seats in the ivy league colleges. Period.

One more time: There is x number of seats for each kind of applicant. No school can be one type of person. Remember what happened to TJ, just last year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine said her son is a valedictorian in a magnet program in NJ which normally sent 20+ to Ivies. This year, the best school her son can get into in is Georgia Tech.

BTW, her son is Asian.

There are now more and more applicants, and it will only get worse if "test optional" becomes a thing. The colleges can and will do exactly as they wish. Best to apply to schools you like that you can actually get into. That was the best advice we were given, and I am giving it to you for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't agree that there are a million other kids with 800 Math SAT and 800 Physics Subject test. College is about academics. Or it should be. And he should have gotten into one of these schools. There are not that many more qualified applicants. The college have chosen to make bullshit excuses for some other agenda to select less qualified kids. I don't even know what that agenda is. But come on people, college IS about the ability to score 800 on a Physics test!!!Yes, there are some discrepancies they have to sort out being different grades and should put a little weight on recommendations or ECs but only when comparing kids in the same bucket. I have no dog in this fight. My kids at 1250 and 1450 -- not Ivy. But people actually think this is fair -- I don't get it. Maybe he worked to get so smart or maybe he was born that way ---- doesn't even matter to me. This isn't a job interview. It is selection into an academic program - why should it be based on this. I am disgusted but wish him well.

How many times must it be pointed out that there are way more qualified applicants than available seats? It’s not hard to understand. As a PP pointed out, there are 50,000 students who were top of their class (valedictorians and salutatorians) but only 20,000 Ivy League spots.

BS that there are 50,000 kids with 800 on Math SAT and 800 on Physics.

Reading comprehension fail. I never said 50,000 got those sat scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the real question should be why are so many people so completely, irrationally OBSESSED with HYP? It’s insane.

Agree. 💯 There are plenty of other good schools and this kid should have applied to a few. His college counselor really messed up! No one should apply only to reaches and safeties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the real question should be why are so many people so completely, irrationally OBSESSED with HYP? It’s insane.

Agree. 💯 There are plenty of other good schools and this kid should have applied to a few. His college counselor really messed up! No one should apply only to reaches and safeties.

He had some bad advice. Completely underestimated the competition or misunderstood that applying to a dozen reach schools does not increase your odds at any one of them.

[Anonymous]

I have t read the whole thread but ultimately I feel it comes down to score inflation, especially compared to when we were applying to colleges 20-30 years ago. I had friends below 1000 on the SAT who went to college and were very successful. Even Ivies would take ordinary people with a 1200. I had a 1350 and people thought I was a genius.

Now the tests are much easier to get a high score. My kid got a 1540 with just one practice test taken, no prep. Kids now are taking so many standardized tests and prepped for them from ES through HS that many of them know how to do very well.

When they do very well, they think the sky’s the limit and their parents think so too. There just aren’t enough spots for all the kids who can crush the SAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have t read the whole thread but ultimately I feel it comes down to score inflation, especially compared to when we were applying to colleges 20-30 years ago. I had friends below 1000 on the SAT who went to college and were very successful. Even Ivies would take ordinary people with a 1200. I had a 1350 and people thought I was a genius.

Now the tests are much easier to get a high score. My kid got a 1540 with just one practice test taken, no prep. Kids now are taking so many standardized tests and prepped for them from ES through HS that many of them know how to do very well.

When they do very well, they think the sky’s the limit and their parents think so too. There just aren’t enough spots for all the kids who can crush the SAT.

1540 is an excellent score. Only around 9000 students out of 2 million sat test takers get 1540+
The student in question got 1590 and only around 1400 students out of 2 million get a 1590+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have t read the whole thread but ultimately I feel it comes down to score inflation, especially compared to when we were applying to colleges 20-30 years ago. I had friends below 1000 on the SAT who went to college and were very successful. Even Ivies would take ordinary people with a 1200. I had a 1350 and people thought I was a genius.

Now the tests are much easier to get a high score. My kid got a 1540 with just one practice test taken, no prep. Kids now are taking so many standardized tests and prepped for them from ES through HS that many of them know how to do very well.

When they do very well, they think the sky’s the limit and their parents think so too. There just aren’t enough spots for all the kids who can crush the SAT.

1540 is an excellent score. Only around 9000 students out of 2 million sat test takers get 1540+
The student in question got 1590 and only around 1400 students out of 2 million get a 1590+

Bit even so, a large number of that 1400 is going to get rejected form Harvard as are most of the 9000 that managed a 1540.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have t read the whole thread but ultimately I feel it comes down to score inflation, especially compared to when we were applying to colleges 20-30 years ago. I had friends below 1000 on the SAT who went to college and were very successful. Even Ivies would take ordinary people with a 1200. I had a 1350 and people thought I was a genius.

Now the tests are much easier to get a high score. My kid got a 1540 with just one practice test taken, no prep. Kids now are taking so many standardized tests and prepped for them from ES through HS that many of them know how to do very well.

When they do very well, they think the sky’s the limit and their parents think so too. There just aren’t enough spots for all the kids who can crush the SAT.

1540 is an excellent score. Only around 9000 students out of 2 million sat test takers get 1540+
The student in question got 1590 and only around 1400 students out of 2 million get a 1590+

Bit even so, a large number of that 1400 is going to get rejected form Harvard as are most of the 9000 that managed a 1540.

Most of the 1590 will get rejected. A school like princeton less than 2000 spots per year and they need to attract students interested in all the different departments, majors, teams, groups, activities, etc. A 1590 is only one piece of the puzzle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He applied to schools with single-digit acceptance rates. Those schools have thousands of flawless applications.

No one is owed an acceptance in a competitive admissions process.

B.S. Flawless, no, hooks, yes. Kid with slightly lower stats in our family got into 2 Ivy's and two top 10, had to end up making the very difficult choice of selecting between two Ivy's, all the while not breaking a sweat. Parents got hooks into both. But they say he is brilliant and merit based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have t read the whole thread but ultimately I feel it comes down to score inflation, especially compared to when we were applying to colleges 20-30 years ago. I had friends below 1000 on the SAT who went to college and were very successful. Even Ivies would take ordinary people with a 1200. I had a 1350 and people thought I was a genius.

Now the tests are much easier to get a high score. My kid got a 1540 with just one practice test taken, no prep. Kids now are taking so many standardized tests and prepped for them from ES through HS that many of them know how to do very well.

When they do very well, they think the sky’s the limit and their parents think so too. There just aren’t enough spots for all the kids who can crush the SAT.

1540 is an excellent score. Only around 9000 students out of 2 million sat test takers get 1540+
The student in question got 1590 and only around 1400 students out of 2 million get a 1590+

Bit even so, a large number of that 1400 is going to get rejected form Harvard as are most of the 9000 that managed a 1540.

Most of the 1590 will get rejected. A school like princeton less than 2000 spots per year and they need to attract students interested in all the different departments, majors, teams, groups, activities, etc. A 1590 is only one piece of the puzzle.

PP here. 1590 kid without any other significant EC got into top Ivy, no sweat. Hooks always better than stats. Hooks with stats even better. Stats will get you into UVA and UMD these days.