university admissions feel like they're either super easy or impossible

[Anonymous]

I feel like every place my kid applied to as a "high stats" kid has either quite easy admissions (and hands out generous aid) or is a total lottery crap shot, snow-balls chance in hell kind of reach. Anyone else free this way?
It's unnerving. I wish there was more of a middle ground.

[Anonymous]

Not really. There’s a ton of schools in the 20-40% acceptance range which are neither easy admission or impossible. Just apply to schools like SMU, URochester, Lehigh, etc.

[Anonymous]

Yes, 100%. We spent a lot of time and effort making a list and could only come up with three targets to six safeties and six reaches. Targets are hard to come by with very high stats. And she already got into one of the targets with a big merit award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really. There’s a ton of schools in the 20-40% acceptance range which are neither easy admission or impossible. Just apply to schools like SMU, URochester, Lehigh, etc.

SMU has like a 60 or 70 percent acceptance rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like every place my kid applied to as a "high stats" kid has either quite easy admissions (and hands out generous aid) or is a total lottery crap shot, snow-balls chance in hell kind of reach. Anyone else free this way?
It's unnerving. I wish there was more of a middle ground.

It depends on the type of schools one applies to.

The CDS pretty much provides the insight.

It's not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, 100%. We spent a lot of time and effort making a list and could only come up with three targets to six safeties and six reaches. Targets are hard to come by with very high stats. And she already got into one of the targets with a big merit award.

Can you share the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, 100%. We spent a lot of time and effort making a list and could only come up with three targets to six safeties and six reaches. Targets are hard to come by with very high stats. And she already got into one of the targets with a big merit award.

Can you share the school?

Case Western - $40,500 per year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really. There’s a ton of schools in the 20-40% acceptance range which are neither easy admission or impossible. Just apply to schools like SMU, URochester, Lehigh, etc.

-1
One noticeable change is most of the 20% acceptance rate schools have dropped fast under 20% to keep up their reputations: Bates, Colby, Davidson, Boston College, Colgate, Holy Cross, etc. this has made it difficult to find the appropriate institution for high stats students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not really. There’s a ton of schools in the 20-40% acceptance range which are neither easy admission or impossible. Just apply to schools like SMU, URochester, Lehigh, etc.

-1
One noticeable change is most of the 20% acceptance rate schools have dropped fast under 20% to keep up their reputations: Bates, Colby, Davidson, Boston College, Colgate, Holy Cross, etc. this has made it difficult to find the appropriate institution for high stats students.

Agreed! Back in the day, it was rare a top student would get rejected from these schools. Now I know Ivy leaguers who were hit with rejections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really. There’s a ton of schools in the 20-40% acceptance range which are neither easy admission or impossible. Just apply to schools like SMU, URochester, Lehigh, etc.

Or maybe Bucknell

[Anonymous]

It’s hard with high stats to have targets because the target (as well as safeties) may yield protect and the applicant’s stats are in top range for any school but still exceedingly unlikely to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, 100%. We spent a lot of time and effort making a list and could only come up with three targets to six safeties and six reaches. Targets are hard to come by with very high stats. And she already got into one of the targets with a big merit award.

Can you share the school?

Case Western - $40,500 per year

Same for my kid!

[Anonymous]

If you're in VA, go to Virginia Tech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s hard with high stats to have targets because the target (as well as safeties) may yield protect and the applicant’s stats are in top range for any school but still exceedingly unlikely to get in.

+1

[Anonymous]

It’s not just you. Typically there are fewer selective schools and more nonselective schools. But if you use Niche to sort by selectivity, there are fewer “very selective” schools (15-30% admissions rates) than there are “extremely selective” schools (under 15%).

The problem is particularly acute if you’re seeking a school with at least 3,000 undergrads. There are only 16 schools with 3,000 or more students and admissions rates of 15-30%. One of those 16 is the Air Force Academy. Another nine are state schools that favor state residents (Michigan, UVA, UNC, Ga. Tech, Florida, FSU, UCSD, UCSB, and UC Irvine). Two are private schools in Florida, the Universities of Miami and Tampa. That leaves BC, Wake, Case, and Villanova. And all four seem to take a lot of their students ED.

That’s why it feels like if you don’t get into an extremely selective school (under 15%), you’ll wind up at a much less selective school (over 30%). There is, in fact, almost nothing in between.