Tone at the Top

[Anonymous]

Through this admissions season, the tone at the top has been, "TO is fine; MIT is a weird outlier." Next admissions season--following the announcements from Harvard, Yale, and now Stanford--the tone at the top will be, "TO is actually kinda sketchy." The TO schools still will vastly outnumber the test-required schools (and even Stanford still technically will be TO), but they'll all be looking more askance at TO applicants. UMC+ applicants would be wise to submit at 25%+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Through this admissions season, the tone at the top has been, "TO is fine; MIT is a weird outlier." Next admissions season--following the announcements from Harvard, Yale, and now Stanford--the tone at the top will be, "TO is actually kinda sketchy." The TO schools still will vastly outnumber the test-required schools (and even Stanford still technically will be TO), but they'll all be looking more askance at TO applicants. UMC+ applicants would be wise to submit at 25%+.

Brown and Dartmouth went to test required next year too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Through this admissions season, the tone at the top has been, "TO is fine; MIT is a weird outlier." Next admissions season--following the announcements from Harvard, Yale, and now Stanford--the tone at the top will be, "TO is actually kinda sketchy." The TO schools still will vastly outnumber the test-required schools (and even Stanford still technically will be TO), but they'll all be looking more askance at TO applicants. UMC+ applicants would be wise to submit at 25%+.

Brown and Dartmouth went to test required next year too.

Yes. And Georgetown has always been.

I think, at least for T10s, it’s going to look bad to be the only “elite school” not requiring scores.

[Anonymous]

Agree tests best for most T25, other than:

Chicago
UCLA
Cal
Vanderbilt
WashU

[Anonymous]

Just because presidents reinstate testing doesn’t mean the AOs will go back to an older way of doing things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just because presidents reinstate testing doesn’t mean the AOs will go back to an older way of doing things.

Oh, honey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree tests best for most T25, other than:

Chicago
UCLA
Cal
Vanderbilt
WashU

Add rice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Through this admissions season, the tone at the top has been, "TO is fine; MIT is a weird outlier." Next admissions season--following the announcements from Harvard, Yale, and now Stanford--the tone at the top will be, "TO is actually kinda sketchy." The TO schools still will vastly outnumber the test-required schools (and even Stanford still technically will be TO), but they'll all be looking more askance at TO applicants. UMC+ applicants would be wise to submit at 25%+.

Counselors at well-known private and boarding schools have been saying TO is risky (for unhooked UMC/wealthy)at least 2 cycles, based on what they saw with their own applicants and based on what AOs were “hinting” in communications but unable to say directly. The quiet change back to tests preferred happened in 2022

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree tests best for most T25, other than:

Chicago
UCLA
Cal
Vanderbilt
WashU

I think Chicago, Vandy, and WashU prefer scores too. They'll all go back to TEST required by 2027, except the UCs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree tests best for most T25, other than:

Chicago
UCLA
Cal
Vanderbilt
WashU

I think Chicago, Vandy, and WashU prefer scores too. They'll all go back to TEST required by 2027, except the UCs.

I thought Chicago became TO even before the pandemic?

[Anonymous]

All the 1600SAT kids I know were still rejected from HYPSM so don’t assume this is going to help your high scoring kid.

[Anonymous]

I think what OP is saying is that elite privates that stay TO after this will become like Bates, schools that everyone understands have to compromise on test scores to land the kids they want (whether that means athletes, full-pay students, geographic diversity, French majors, or whatever). But a lot of those schools are already taking that reputational hit by offering ED2. I don’t think any ED2 schools have gone back to test-required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Through this admissions season, the tone at the top has been, "TO is fine; MIT is a weird outlier." Next admissions season--following the announcements from Harvard, Yale, and now Stanford--the tone at the top will be, "TO is actually kinda sketchy." The TO schools still will vastly outnumber the test-required schools (and even Stanford still technically will be TO), but they'll all be looking more askance at TO applicants. UMC+ applicants would be wise to submit at 25%+.

Counselors at well-known private and boarding schools have been saying TO is risky (for unhooked UMC/wealthy)at least 2 cycles, based on what they saw with their own applicants and based on what AOs were “hinting” in communications but unable to say directly. The quiet change back to tests preferred happened in 2022

yes, +1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree tests best for most T25, other than:

Chicago
UCLA
Cal
Vanderbilt
WashU

I think Chicago, Vandy, and WashU prefer scores too. They'll all go back to TEST required by 2027, except the UCs.

Chicago won’t. It’s never required scores.

Vandy AO really likes the # of apps and the fact that their 25% is higher than MIT. I see them making it permanent like Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the 1600SAT kids I know were still rejected from HYPSM so don’t assume this is going to help your high scoring kid.

True. But it may mean a 1490 is now ok to submit?