What regrets to you have to the 2023 college cycle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s just not true. A 4.0w is not the same student as one with a 4.5w. Why would you think colleges don’t know this and can’t see it clearly in the school report that is sent in by the counselor as well as by reviewing the kids transcript. Of course they are distinguishable.

Colleges receive a profile report from each high school with the transcript. It clearly outlines everything the college needs to know in order to make a decision: how high do the GPAs go, how many APs does the school offer, what percentage of the senior class is taking APs. It’s all there. It takes the college reader about ten seconds to figure out rank even if tge high school “doesn’t rank”

Not true. Not all schools include this info on profile, including Whitman which recently removed this info

[Anonymous]

No regrets:

DD is a strong public school student with no hooks, and we did our research on our own. She applied to 3 safety schools (1 rolling admission), 3 target schools, and 3 reach schools (T50 state flagships). DD was accepted to the rolling admission school last fall with a nice scholarship, which took the pressure off. She got into her other safety and target schools with merit aid — and was thrilled to get into 2 of her 3 reach schools. She didn’t get merit aid to her reaches but, fortunately, her AP credits make them doable. My best advice is to set a budget early, use the Net Price Calculators, and apply Early Action whenever possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s just not true. A 4.0w is not the same student as one with a 4.5w. Why would you think colleges don’t know this and can’t see it clearly in the school report that is sent in by the counselor as well as by reviewing the kids transcript. Of course they are distinguishable.

Colleges receive a profile report from each high school with the transcript. It clearly outlines everything the college needs to know in order to make a decision: how high do the GPAs go, how many APs does the school offer, what percentage of the senior class is taking APs. It’s all there. It takes the college reader about ten seconds to figure out rank even if tge high school “doesn’t rank”

Not true. Not all schools include this info on profile, including Whitman which recently removed this info

College admins specialize in regions; they still know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have encouraged DC to play the "intended major" game more strategically - pick a major in the college you want that isn't as popular (e.g. for a girl, choose chem or physics instead of bio) and then just do what you want once you're there. Obviously doesn't work for schools that direct admit to a major.

I've read applications. Readers look for classes and extracurriculars that support the proposed major.

Of course they do. This only makes sense if your actions back it up.

but I have heard that you should show you have varied interests, so if you are a CS major, they want to see that you also were in some arts club, or something like that. Now, you are saying that they want to see if you joined the CS club?

Sure, varied interests are nice, and they can show involvement and dedication. Some schools, but not all, may specifically be looking for those well-rounded kids. But there's a sense in college admissions that many schools are now looking for "spiky" kids, who have deep interests in one area and put time and dedication into it.

For schools that admit by major, and particularly for "impacted" majors (with limited enrollment) such as CS, I'm guessing they'd prefer seeing students who have spent additional time on CS activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s just not true. A 4.0w is not the same student as one with a 4.5w. Why would you think colleges don’t know this and can’t see it clearly in the school report that is sent in by the counselor as well as by reviewing the kids transcript. Of course they are distinguishable.

Colleges receive a profile report from each high school with the transcript. It clearly outlines everything the college needs to know in order to make a decision: how high do the GPAs go, how many APs does the school offer, what percentage of the senior class is taking APs. It’s all there. It takes the college reader about ten seconds to figure out rank even if tge high school “doesn’t rank”

Not true. There is functionally little difference between kids with a 4.5 and a 4.2. And you see that in admissions at these schools with large populations of kids with over 4.0. Admissions appears to be a lottery.

Right . . . then why such detail in SCHEV as to GPAs of the incoming class, say, at UVA last year? Look at the numbers on this page! UVA incoming class last year had a 75th percentile GPA of 4.53, meaning 25% above had higher; median was a 4.40 and bottom 25th percentile was a 4.24. There is a HUGE difference between a 4.5 and a 4.2. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

That doesn’t show what you seem to think it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No ragrets.

One of the funniest movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We reached on ED1, got the memo, and played it safer for ED2, which worked out. I think DC is in at the best possible school and most importantly a great fit. If we had reached again for ED2, it probably wouldn’t have worked and DC would be obliterated in RD, just looking at all these kids with 35s and 4.0s getting rejected. Nothing wrong with playing it safe sometimes when you can lock in a very good outcome with high probability! If you’ve got a school that you really like and it’s a target, don’t hesitate to pull the ED trigger

we did same but i am feeling threw in towel. was your dc deferred or rejected ed 1?

Rejected. Actually think DC will be better off and happier at ED2 school, notwithstanding a few slots down in USNWR

Please stop feeding into the USNWR list as if it meant anything.

USNWR does matter no matter how much you cry about it.

no, it really doesn't. Just to those who are obsessed with it. Smart people do their own research and use facts to decide what is the best school for their kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s just not true. A 4.0w is not the same student as one with a 4.5w. Why would you think colleges don’t know this and can’t see it clearly in the school report that is sent in by the counselor as well as by reviewing the kids transcript. Of course they are distinguishable.

Colleges receive a profile report from each high school with the transcript. It clearly outlines everything the college needs to know in order to make a decision: how high do the GPAs go, how many APs does the school offer, what percentage of the senior class is taking APs. It’s all there. It takes the college reader about ten seconds to figure out rank even if tge high school “doesn’t rank”

Not true. There is functionally little difference between kids with a 4.5 and a 4.2. And you see that in admissions at these schools with large populations of kids with over 4.0. Admissions appears to be a lottery.

Because 99% of those kids would be excellent candidates at most of the T25 schools. However, 95% of them will not get in. Simple numbers. At that point, yes it's a lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s just not true. A 4.0w is not the same student as one with a 4.5w. Why would you think colleges don’t know this and can’t see it clearly in the school report that is sent in by the counselor as well as by reviewing the kids transcript. Of course they are distinguishable.

Colleges receive a profile report from each high school with the transcript. It clearly outlines everything the college needs to know in order to make a decision: how high do the GPAs go, how many APs does the school offer, what percentage of the senior class is taking APs. It’s all there. It takes the college reader about ten seconds to figure out rank even if tge high school “doesn’t rank”

Not true. Not all schools include this info on profile, including Whitman which recently removed this info

Agree,out private use to provide median, highest and lowest gpa for the class, and removed that information this year. Since grades were somewhat deflated, I think it was a mistake.

[Anonymous]

My kid had a school they loved that did not do ED. So they stretched massively for SCEA. That failed.

The RD only school was a reject as well.

So don’t do this.

Use your EDs wisely. It’s really the only advantage an unhooked kid has. And don’t ignore the SLACs who know the DMV privates well. My kid hated the idea of being in small town New England at a tiny school with no research. So they lost that as well

Luckily kid has one of their targets locked in.

But other than that target and 3 safeties, all reject and WL everywhere.

Feel kid could have hit one of his high target : low reaches ( the nyu : bc type) if ED1 and ED2 had been strategically used.

[Anonymous]

I regret that I'm reading this thread even though my kids have graduated university. It's like the pleasure of picking a scab - you don't know why you do it and it leaves scars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None within my control, or perhaps even my son's control.

His extra-curriculars were impacted by Covid. He was not mature enough to think through what he wanted to say in his essays before September of senior year, and he took a LONG time to write them, so it burdened his fall semester significantly. After giving his all to ACT testing and working for high grades, he's now burned out and his grades are lower - I hope none of his colleges rescind admissions.

My second child's college admissions journey will be different, because she won't be impacted by Covid, and she has a pointy EC that she spends many hours on.

So, what is the point of commenting (or are you OP, starting this thread?)? Are these your regrets? It sounds like your kids just did their thing and are now living with the results of doing so. I'm sure those results are not horrible.

My regret is pushing my kid to take Honors Alg 2 as a freshman. It ruined their GPA for Freshman year (B-, D, B-, B-). Could never get around that. And to what end? They are not going to be a STEM major. They could've easily just taken regular Alg 2 and have worked out a B or higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Focus on extra curriculars and not necessarily grades. What I'm seeing is that perfect grades/scores won't cut it, but less than perfect scores with great e.c. will get you in.

It's ridiculous that this is what colleges, academic institutions, look for, but you have to play the stupid game if college is what you want.

The challenge for parents of younger kids is that the trend of the day will probably change by the time those kids are seniors. When we started thinking about this, kids had to be well-rounded. Then they needed to be pointy, then they needed to be first generation or have great ecs or be able to tell their unique story. Who knows what they'll need to have in 5-7 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None within my control, or perhaps even my son's control.

His extra-curriculars were impacted by Covid. He was not mature enough to think through what he wanted to say in his essays before September of senior year, and he took a LONG time to write them, so it burdened his fall semester significantly. After giving his all to ACT testing and working for high grades, he's now burned out and his grades are lower - I hope none of his colleges rescind admissions.

My second child's college admissions journey will be different, because she won't be impacted by Covid, and she has a pointy EC that she spends many hours on.

So, what is the point of commenting (or are you OP, starting this thread?)? Are these your regrets? It sounds like your kids just did their thing and are now living with the results of doing so. I'm sure those results are not horrible.

My regret is pushing my kid to take Honors Alg 2 as a freshman. It ruined their GPA for Freshman year (B-, D, B-, B-). Could never get around that. And to what end? They are not going to be a STEM major. They could've easily just taken regular Alg 2 and have worked out a B or higher.

This is an important lesson many parents could learn. Do NOT push your kid to take a higher level of a class they struggle with/don't have interest in. The stress of that one class can bring down many class grades and kill your kid's self esteem and GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None within my control, or perhaps even my son's control.

His extra-curriculars were impacted by Covid. He was not mature enough to think through what he wanted to say in his essays before September of senior year, and he took a LONG time to write them, so it burdened his fall semester significantly. After giving his all to ACT testing and working for high grades, he's now burned out and his grades are lower - I hope none of his colleges rescind admissions.

My second child's college admissions journey will be different, because she won't be impacted by Covid, and she has a pointy EC that she spends many hours on.

So, what is the point of commenting (or are you OP, starting this thread?)? Are these your regrets? It sounds like your kids just did their thing and are now living with the results of doing so. I'm sure those results are not horrible.

My regret is pushing my kid to take Honors Alg 2 as a freshman. It ruined their GPA for Freshman year (B-, D, B-, B-). Could never get around that. And to what end? They are not going to be a STEM major. They could've easily just taken regular Alg 2 and have worked out a B or higher.

This is an important lesson many parents could learn. Do NOT push your kid to take a higher level of a class they struggle with/don't have interest in. The stress of that one class can bring down many class grades and kill your kid's self esteem and GPA.

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