How high or low should this student reach for in ED or EA?
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Anonymous
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3.9 GPA at a top private where no one gets 4.0, 1580 SAT, loved by teachers so assuming great rec letters but otherwise not a standout candidate: not athlete, part time job, research internship, a couple club membership (not leadership). Full pay, white girl, science major (not engineering or CS).
How high or low should this applicant aim for ED or EA? I'm looking for feedback like don't EA/ED anything above USNWR 1-10 or no ivies except Cornell or Swarthmore but not Williams. We don't want her to aim too low but also don't want to aim too high and throw away the ED/EA. |
Anonymous
Is she a junior? Because ED and EA applications were due last weekend. If she's a junior, see how junior year plays out. Maybe she can standout through her ECs this year. If she really likes UChicago, have her apply to a Chicago summer program, which would give her an option to apply ED0. |
Anonymous
| The problem is, results are going to vary and you really want to check your school’s historic results on Scoir or Naviance. Is the HS NCS? If so, don’t they have a pretty good college office? |
Anonymous
No one here knows. You have to look at your OWN school data. Varies a lot from school to school. Make an appointment with counselor to look at Naviance data. FWIW, kids with this profile at our private would apply to T5, and would not settle for ED an non-HYP ivy. |
Anonymous
| The rules you are looking for don’t exist. What does she want? Does she have a strong inner drive and won’t be satisfied unless she tries for a super reach? If she’s content to ED a SLAC with good odds, great. If she has a school she loves, that should be her ED. Your HS school is going to be the most important factor and data source. |
Anonymous
| Is this kid a junior or a senior. At our private school this kid would likely ED to a place like Northwestern or JHU or U Chicago or Brown. |
Anonymous
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If they are at NCS then they are realistic HYP material based on grades and score alone. Chicago is a way undershoot.
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Anonymous
| I assume top privates have experienced college counselors who are familiar with the school-specific experience. Is there a reason you are asking anonymous internet strangers rather than relying on those counselors? |
Anonymous
Agree. The Chicago booster is very annoying. |
Anonymous
OP: yes this is a junior. We don't want her to consider Chicago due to their financial troubles |
Anonymous
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What year in high school is she in right now - junior or senior?
If junior, she needs to work very hard to maintain that GPA. For girls, grade 9/10 are much easier to get a 3.9 since their brain/exec function is way ahead of boys at that stage but the curriculum is not yet that rigorous. Grade 11/12 is more of a leveler. Boys start to begin to come into their maturity brain-wise, although they still lag girls, but the coursework is far more rigorous if they are taking top rigor. If she's a junior, find one EC to go deeper in based on what she's authentically interested in, but know that deep involvement or leadership will take away from her time devoted to academics. So it's a balancing act. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn’t worry about Chicago's financials, but also think she has a realistic chance at HYP depending on HS. Needs a “story” |
Anonymous
| Weak ECs are problematic. Have her aim for a leadership position or two. That should help complete her narrative. |
Anonymous
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HYPS is possible but very low odds.
If you are the top stem female in the class, maybe MIT. Odds are MUCH better for females. (Same with Caltech.) Personally, I would ED to one of the following schools. (Ask counselor which schools like your HS): Cornell Columbia Dartmouth Penn Northwestern Or for slightly better odds: Chicago JHU Avoid Brown. Females applicants at a disadvantage. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn’t tempt fate by trying to figure this out now. It’s too early. Just have her concentrate on doing well junior year. |