My child is super intelligent and won't get into any good schools? What?!

[Anonymous]

My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

[Anonymous]

he should apply and let the chips fall where they will

also, GaTech and the UC schools are great options, if that is what he is looking for

[Anonymous]

He’s anxious and you are feeding it. Look at Naviance or SCOIR (whichever your school has) together. Check Instagram and see where last year’s seniors went. It’s a challenging climate but it’s not like kids aren’t getting into colleges.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of excellent schools that simply aren’t prestigious. Sounds like he has those two things confused, so set him straight.

[Anonymous]

Well my kid who got a 1580, had a 4.4 weighted gpa and has a 145 IQ didn’t get into VT or UVA. But he got in elsewhere and is loving it. Apply wisely with good safeties and a range of targets. Reaches are unlikely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well my kid who got a 1580, had a 4.4 weighted gpa and has a 145 IQ didn’t get into VT or UVA. But he got in elsewhere and is loving it. Apply wisely with good safeties and a range of targets. Reaches are unlikely.

That’s insane. I assume he was in-state? I’m hoping my child might get into William and Mary when the time comes, but I suspect he’ll be a smidge lower on the scale than your child. The current process is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

These schools were built for a smaller population and have not expanded to meet the needs of a growing population. They also recruit from all over the world. There are more 99th percentile kids applying than there are spots at "top" schools. Fortunately, there are many, MANY excellent options besides the ones that get the most hype.

Your kid will be fine. He needs to find 4-5 schools where he matches the profile, 2 safety schools where he far exceeds the profile, and 2-3 reach schools that are hard for him to get into, but that he would love to attend.

[Anonymous]

What your son tells you is true. And it's OK. My 99th percentile kids are happy and doing well at a school ranked in the 80s and a LAC in the 30s. There are surrounded by smart, motivated kids, and they are living their best lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What your son tells you is true. And it's OK. My 99th percentile kids are happy and doing well at a school ranked in the 80s and a LAC in the 30s. There are surrounded by smart, motivated kids, and they are living their best lives.

Sorry I want to clarify: the part where he is wrong is the 'good school' part: there are hundreds of good schools. But he is correct that the shot at Top 25 is less than 10%. Then again, this seems to change every few years these days so who knows?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well my kid who got a 1580, had a 4.4 weighted gpa and has a 145 IQ didn’t get into VT or UVA. But he got in elsewhere and is loving it. Apply wisely with good safeties and a range of targets. Reaches are unlikely.

Wow. Thea’s crazy.

If you don’t mind me asking, where did your kid end up getting in and where did your kid end up going?

[Anonymous]

That’s crazy.

(Sorry for the typo - cannot type on my phone).

[Anonymous]

Re your last sentence, OP: your child will absolutely be accepted to schools that do not have insanely low acceptance rates. A couple of pointers from recent experience:
- there are tons of students with your child’s stats.
- as terrific as he undoubtedly is, he is one of tens of similar thousands
- he is wise to make a plan. Create a brutally honest and balanced list of reaches, targets, and safeties that he would be happy to attend
- acceptance rates are such that reaches for all means just that - reach for ALL regardless of stats
- he should thoughtfully prepare a strategy for ED, EA, RD and rolling
- he should identify the teachers likely to write the best LORs and ask them early
- he should provide his guidance counselor with information to include in the very influential guidance counselor letter
- he should be prepared to create applications that not only reflect his achievements and ECs but that also convey to AOs who he is as a human being and why his presence on a campus will add to the campus as a community
-he should take comfort that the dream school and top 25 concepts are a fallacy. There are tons of schools in this country where he can be happy and thrive. But he’s got to do the work to find them, and not be influenced too much by rankings or the perception of others
- he should be humble and realize that hard work is everything, no one is entitled to anything, and positivity is infectious, vs the understandably negative feelings he sounds like he is experiencing. Get energized, chin up!
-also remind him that this too shall pass.

[Anonymous]

WHAT?? How would we know? Does he have any ECs??? Bookworm? We are not on the selection committees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well my kid who got a 1580, had a 4.4 weighted gpa and has a 145 IQ didn’t get into VT or UVA. But he got in elsewhere and is loving it. Apply wisely with good safeties and a range of targets. Reaches are unlikely.

No ECs?? Just books?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of excellent schools that simply aren’t prestigious. Sounds like he has those two things confused, so set him straight.

This is perhaps the wisest thing ever said on this forum. Parents listen to this!!

I wish I had this when my DC were applying to schools. We didn't know any better so we were all mixing up "good" with "prestige".