Is there an official T10 list?

[Anonymous]

Hi all, my DD is a sophmore in HS so we're just starting to truly think about this college application process (but no, we are not only now starting to think about having a well-rounded kid with a variety of interests, that's been her whole life).

But I'm new to reading this sub, and I see lots of people talk about T10 and T5. Are these the top 10 schools according to US News & World Report? Or where is the "official" list of T10 colleges and universities for undergrad?

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by “official?” Like the Ten Commandments?

[Anonymous]

People are usually referring to the US News list. But it’s worth keeping in mind that there is no definitive list. The best school for you is not necessarily the school ranked highest by someone on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are usually referring to the US News list. But it’s worth keeping in mind that there is no definitive list. The best school for you is not necessarily the school ranked highest by someone on the internet.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by “official?” Like the Ten Commandments?

God whispered the list of T10 schools into my ear, now I spread it like the gospel on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

T10~=USN T15

[Anonymous]

Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, UChicago, Duke, Penn, Northwestern, JHU. Columbia and Caltech can arguably be squeezed in there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, my DD is a sophmore in HS so we're just starting to truly think about this college application process (but no, we are not only now starting to think about having a well-rounded kid with a variety of interests, that's been her whole life).

But I'm new to reading this sub, and I see lots of people talk about T10 and T5. Are these the top 10 schools according to US News & World Report? Or where is the "official" list of T10 colleges and universities for undergrad?

Note that U.S. News does not provide a general T10 ranking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, UChicago, Duke, Penn, Northwestern, JHU. Columbia and Caltech can arguably be squeezed in there too.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, my DD is a sophmore in HS so we're just starting to truly think about this college application process (but no, we are not only now starting to think about having a well-rounded kid with a variety of interests, that's been her whole life).

But I'm new to reading this sub, and I see lots of people talk about T10 and T5. Are these the top 10 schools according to US News & World Report? Or where is the "official" list of T10 colleges and universities for undergrad?

Depends on people.

DCUM posters: US News.

High school kids committing to colleges: Eight ivies, MIT, Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Nothing is official.

[Anonymous]

It depends on major and what they want to do. But there are about 20 schools in the top 10.

A STEM kid is going to have a very different list than a finance kid, which will again be a very different list than a humanities kid, and so on.

Now that I think about it, there are about 30 schools that make the top 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, my DD is a sophmore in HS so we're just starting to truly think about this college application process (but no, we are not only now starting to think about having a well-rounded kid with a variety of interests, that's been her whole life).

But I'm new to reading this sub, and I see lots of people talk about T10 and T5. Are these the top 10 schools according to US News & World Report? Or where is the "official" list of T10 colleges and universities for undergrad?

That would not the recipe for T10 or even T15-T20 or T4 SLACs
The recipe, for unhooked, to be in serious contention is to first have the academic tablestakes: all As and in the top 5-15% of the high school depending on if it is an above average public or a good private, SAT 740+ on each section, ideally 770+ on math if any stem interest exists, top rigor in all core areas of subjects(math science history english foreign language) which may already be off the table for a sophomore not on a path to do it. If AP's are a part of top rigor at the school they need to have taken the hardest ones and gotten mostly 5s. The AP score distribution has been changed such that 5s are often 15-20% of scores and 4s make up another large chunk. Getting almost all 5 is expected since 2024 when the shift happened.

In addition to that, LOR's that indicate intellectual vitality and that they are one of the top students that year.

In addition to that, deep longstanding interest conveyed by at least one EC that started before high school, plus at least one EC that shows impact in the wider community, and 1 that confirms the intellectual curiosity outside the classroom. That is a minimum, but would be viewed much better than 1-2 year commitments to 10 different ECs and without much depth or impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on major and what they want to do. But there are about 20 schools in the top 10.

A STEM kid is going to have a very different list than a finance kid, which will again be a very different list than a humanities kid, and so on.

Now that I think about it, there are about 30 schools that make the top 10.

No, there is a lot of overlap. All Top 10 ish (whether it is the exact T10 or includes Columbia/Caltech/Brown/Cornell/Dartmouth, ie T15) are target schools for top finance(not basic banking at a regional company), top consulting, top tech and engineering jobs(not basic cs/engineering jobs), top phd in stem or humanities, top MD and Law feeders. Add Williams/Amherst/Swat for good measure as they are tops for most of that as well.

That is why being at one of the 8 ivies or one of the non-ivy T10 (MIT Stanford Duke Chicago Northwestern JHU) is such a bonus. You can do anything from them, all doors are open, and if you change your interests as most undergraduates do, you are in a top place for all other top careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, UChicago, Duke, Penn, Northwestern, JHU. Columbia and Caltech can arguably be squeezed in there too.

Can't forget those posters that die by SLACs.