Stop the Speculations :)

[Anonymous]

But will my DS with 6 APs, 1540 SAT and no ECs get into Yale? That's the real question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores are just that. If a student scores 1350 and their school reports that score is the top of the class, that would likely be a “5”. If the students scores a 1450 and that is in the 2nd quintile of his school’s reported scores, then that student may be rated a 4 or lower.

This was the most interesting comment by OP and I apologize if it was asked about in prior threads.

This would imply that your absolute score should not determine if you apply TO or not, but rather how it compares to others from your school.

That is an interesting take that I have not seen discussed before.

I’d be surprised if this is accurate? Because it would require a nuance in interpreting the scores.

DP: I listened to a podcast with the Dartmouth AO, and although he didn't mention a scoring rubric, but he clearly stated that scores are considered within the context of the reported high school scores via the school profile, counselor's rec and/or Landscape/College Board. I also remember a Yale AO saying something similar in why scores were important to their institution.

Yes, they mention this all the time on the YCBK (Your College Bound Kid) podcast. AOs are very interested in scores given in context with a student's school/area. A 1350 from a high school in western Kentucky that rarely sees a score above 1100 is very different from a 1350 from Chantilly HS in Fairfax, VA where many, many students score in the 1300-1500 range.

All good to know. Just wondering why nobody has every posted on the multiple ""should I submit by X score to Top 10 school" any of this information.

Seems the person wondering if they should submit their 1500 to Duke should 100% do it if their HS median SAT score is 1000 and they are the highest score in the school.

Most privates don’t disclose their avg test scores on school profile…ours doesn’t.

NP. In our area (not in DC), all the high schools I've looked at include this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?

Np.

Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.

Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.

Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…

NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?

Depending on their last name, maybe?

? most African Americans have white sounding last names because of the legacy slavery.

My guess is that the earlier poster was referring to kids with names that sound Italian or Polish or Korean, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But will my DS with 6 APs, 1540 SAT and no ECs get into Yale? That's the real question.

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores are just that. If a student scores 1350 and their school reports that score is the top of the class, that would likely be a “5”. If the students scores a 1450 and that is in the 2nd quintile of his school’s reported scores, then that student may be rated a 4 or lower.

This was the most interesting comment by OP and I apologize if it was asked about in prior threads.

This would imply that your absolute score should not determine if you apply TO or not, but rather how it compares to others from your school.

That is an interesting take that I have not seen discussed before.

I’d be surprised if this is accurate? Because it would require a nuance in interpreting the scores.

DP: I listened to a podcast with the Dartmouth AO, and although he didn't mention a scoring rubric, but he clearly stated that scores are considered within the context of the reported high school scores via the school profile, counselor's rec and/or Landscape/College Board. I also remember a Yale AO saying something similar in why scores were important to their institution.

Yes, they mention this all the time on the YCBK (Your College Bound Kid) podcast. AOs are very interested in scores given in context with a student's school/area. A 1350 from a high school in western Kentucky that rarely sees a score above 1100 is very different from a 1350 from Chantilly HS in Fairfax, VA where many, many students score in the 1300-1500 range.

All good to know. Just wondering why nobody has every posted on the multiple ""should I submit by X score to Top 10 school" any of this information.

Seems the person wondering if they should submit their 1500 to Duke should 100% do it if their HS median SAT score is 1000 and they are the highest score in the school.

Most privates don’t disclose their avg test scores on school profile…ours doesn’t.

Doesn’t matter because the College Board provides the data via Landscape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores are just that. If a student scores 1350 and their school reports that score is the top of the class, that would likely be a “5”. If the students scores a 1450 and that is in the 2nd quintile of his school’s reported scores, then that student may be rated a 4 or lower.

This was the most interesting comment by OP and I apologize if it was asked about in prior threads.

This would imply that your absolute score should not determine if you apply TO or not, but rather how it compares to others from your school.

That is an interesting take that I have not seen discussed before.

I’d be surprised if this is accurate? Because it would require a nuance in interpreting the scores.

DP: I listened to a podcast with the Dartmouth AO, and although he didn't mention a scoring rubric, but he clearly stated that scores are considered within the context of the reported high school scores via the school profile, counselor's rec and/or Landscape/College Board. I also remember a Yale AO saying something similar in why scores were important to their institution.

Yes, they mention this all the time on the YCBK (Your College Bound Kid) podcast. AOs are very interested in scores given in context with a student's school/area. A 1350 from a high school in western Kentucky that rarely sees a score above 1100 is very different from a 1350 from Chantilly HS in Fairfax, VA where many, many students score in the 1300-1500 range.

All good to know. Just wondering why nobody has every posted on the multiple ""should I submit by X score to Top 10 school" any of this information.

Seems the person wondering if they should submit their 1500 to Duke should 100% do it if their HS median SAT score is 1000 and they are the highest score in the school.

Most privates don’t disclose their avg test scores on school profile…ours doesn’t.

So, where do the median test scores for Sidwell, STA, GDS, etc. come from? I can't remember where I saw the list, but every school had one. Maybe Niche? Maybe some official DC government database?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores are just that. If a student scores 1350 and their school reports that score is the top of the class, that would likely be a “5”. If the students scores a 1450 and that is in the 2nd quintile of his school’s reported scores, then that student may be rated a 4 or lower.

This was the most interesting comment by OP and I apologize if it was asked about in prior threads.

This would imply that your absolute score should not determine if you apply TO or not, but rather how it compares to others from your school.

That is an interesting take that I have not seen discussed before.

I’d be surprised if this is accurate? Because it would require a nuance in interpreting the scores.

DP: I listened to a podcast with the Dartmouth AO, and although he didn't mention a scoring rubric, but he clearly stated that scores are considered within the context of the reported high school scores via the school profile, counselor's rec and/or Landscape/College Board. I also remember a Yale AO saying something similar in why scores were important to their institution.

Yes, they mention this all the time on the YCBK (Your College Bound Kid) podcast. AOs are very interested in scores given in context with a student's school/area. A 1350 from a high school in western Kentucky that rarely sees a score above 1100 is very different from a 1350 from Chantilly HS in Fairfax, VA where many, many students score in the 1300-1500 range.

All good to know. Just wondering why nobody has every posted on the multiple ""should I submit by X score to Top 10 school" any of this information.

Seems the person wondering if they should submit their 1500 to Duke should 100% do it if their HS median SAT score is 1000 and they are the highest score in the school.

Most privates don’t disclose their avg test scores on school profile…ours doesn’t.

Doesn’t matter because the College Board provides the data via Landscape.

What’s landscape?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores are just that. If a student scores 1350 and their school reports that score is the top of the class, that would likely be a “5”. If the students scores a 1450 and that is in the 2nd quintile of his school’s reported scores, then that student may be rated a 4 or lower.

This was the most interesting comment by OP and I apologize if it was asked about in prior threads.

This would imply that your absolute score should not determine if you apply TO or not, but rather how it compares to others from your school.

That is an interesting take that I have not seen discussed before.

I’d be surprised if this is accurate? Because it would require a nuance in interpreting the scores.

DP: I listened to a podcast with the Dartmouth AO, and although he didn't mention a scoring rubric, but he clearly stated that scores are considered within the context of the reported high school scores via the school profile, counselor's rec and/or Landscape/College Board. I also remember a Yale AO saying something similar in why scores were important to their institution.

Yes, they mention this all the time on the YCBK (Your College Bound Kid) podcast. AOs are very interested in scores given in context with a student's school/area. A 1350 from a high school in western Kentucky that rarely sees a score above 1100 is very different from a 1350 from Chantilly HS in Fairfax, VA where many, many students score in the 1300-1500 range.

All good to know. Just wondering why nobody has every posted on the multiple ""should I submit by X score to Top 10 school" any of this information.

Seems the person wondering if they should submit their 1500 to Duke should 100% do it if their HS median SAT score is 1000 and they are the highest score in the school.

Most privates don’t disclose their avg test scores on school profile…ours doesn’t.

Doesn’t matter because the College Board provides the data via Landscape.

What’s landscape?

https://highered.collegeboard.org/recruitment-admissions/management/landscape

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yup and it was concerning because a box could be checked and it could be subjective depending on if the counselor wanted to push a candidate or not. One was rank how a candidate is respected hey teacher? Exactly what is the criteria?

This information on counselor weight solidifies my belief on how my child was selected to Top 20 school. I believe the counselors relationship with certain colleges help them identify what those schools want in a student. So they know when a kid would be a good fit or not. Counselors see transcripts but students also have a reputation from faculty that circles back to a counselor. They know when a stand out student has the drive and passion to make a difference (not being pushed by parents planning out their academic transcript since 8th grade or kids who just check 20 boxes for the sake of putting more on paper) Counselors can make or break that admission. 100%

Same for mine but in a different context. She went to a large public magnet school where few students know their counselor, but my kid knew her counselor very well. Because of this, counselor could write a passionate, personal rec about her when others were essentially regurgitating brag sheets. I encourage second kid (with similar caliber stats, ECs, honors to older sis) to connect with her counselor early on. We'll see come December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yup and it was concerning because a box could be checked and it could be subjective depending on if the counselor wanted to push a candidate or not. One was rank how a candidate is respected hey teacher? Exactly what is the criteria?

This information on counselor weight solidifies my belief on how my child was selected to Top 20 school. I believe the counselors relationship with certain colleges help them identify what those schools want in a student. So they know when a kid would be a good fit or not. Counselors see transcripts but students also have a reputation from faculty that circles back to a counselor. They know when a stand out student has the drive and passion to make a difference (not being pushed by parents planning out their academic transcript since 8th grade or kids who just check 20 boxes for the sake of putting more on paper) Counselors can make or break that admission. 100%

Same for mine but in a different context. She went to a large public magnet school where few students know their counselor, but my kid knew her counselor very well. Because of this, counselor could write a passionate, personal rec about her when others were essentially regurgitating brag sheets. I encourage second kid (with similar caliber stats, ECs, honors to older sis) to connect with her counselor early on. We'll see come December.

I’ve encouraged my sophomore to do the same, but her counselor is too busy and very short with the students. They have no time niceties and can be abrupt, bordering on rude. The college counselor at our high school is different. She is obviously busy as well, but much more friendly and into relationship-building. I wonder if the college counselors fill out those forms or their regular advisement counselors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yup and it was concerning because a box could be checked and it could be subjective depending on if the counselor wanted to push a candidate or not. One was rank how a candidate is respected hey teacher? Exactly what is the criteria?

This information on counselor weight solidifies my belief on how my child was selected to Top 20 school. I believe the counselors relationship with certain colleges help them identify what those schools want in a student. So they know when a kid would be a good fit or not. Counselors see transcripts but students also have a reputation from faculty that circles back to a counselor. They know when a stand out student has the drive and passion to make a difference (not being pushed by parents planning out their academic transcript since 8th grade or kids who just check 20 boxes for the sake of putting more on paper) Counselors can make or break that admission. 100%

Same for mine but in a different context. She went to a large public magnet school where few students know their counselor, but my kid knew her counselor very well. Because of this, counselor could write a passionate, personal rec about her when others were essentially regurgitating brag sheets. I encourage second kid (with similar caliber stats, ECs, honors to older sis) to connect with her counselor early on. We'll see come December.

Yeah, what is interesting in private schools is that for some reason parents and students can't take a hint that when the counselor says little Jimmy is not an ideal candidate for Brown = my counselor letter is going to sink their application because it will be neutral at best and probably slightly negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What AOs keep saying, but no one wants to hear, is that they aren't ranking the students and taking the "best" by any metric. They are filling departments and filling the sports teams and the bands and they cannot and don't care about assigning some precise "quality score" to each student. The AOs care about their class. They don't care about any of your specific kids.
You can't game it by min-maxing your efforts to fit their metrics, because they don't have metrics. You can only game it by being different among equivalent options (bassoon not violin) and cheating to boost your scores and lying or uying fake achievements.

Or working hard and earning some standout honors or generating an interesting narrative between essays and ECs. It's not just cheating or instrument choice, though choice of activities can really help make a student stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^Well, many on here are paying THOUSANDS of dollars to basically have someone else write their kids’ essays. Where is the detector for that?

The whole college admissions is a scam. People with money can hire college counselors to cultivate the app; URM, first gen, legacies, athletes have a hook. Meanwhile, the leftovers fight for that .05% spot which is basically a lottery for a million dollars.

Goodness. Why participate at all? There are literally hundreds of hooks. Why does this same list keep getting posted?

Grievance Politics.

Not much mileage in pointing out the "bassoon player" hook

Bassoon player is not a hook. At all.
That’s just filling an institutional need.

DP...and that would function as a hook for that institution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yup and it was concerning because a box could be checked and it could be subjective depending on if the counselor wanted to push a candidate or not. One was rank how a candidate is respected hey teacher? Exactly what is the criteria?

This information on counselor weight solidifies my belief on how my child was selected to Top 20 school. I believe the counselors relationship with certain colleges help them identify what those schools want in a student. So they know when a kid would be a good fit or not. Counselors see transcripts but students also have a reputation from faculty that circles back to a counselor. They know when a stand out student has the drive and passion to make a difference (not being pushed by parents planning out their academic transcript since 8th grade or kids who just check 20 boxes for the sake of putting more on paper) Counselors can make or break that admission. 100%

Same for mine but in a different context. She went to a large public magnet school where few students know their counselor, but my kid knew her counselor very well. Because of this, counselor could write a passionate, personal rec about her when others were essentially regurgitating brag sheets. I encourage second kid (with similar caliber stats, ECs, honors to older sis) to connect with her counselor early on. We'll see come December.

Yeah, what is interesting in private schools is that for some reason parents and students can't take a hint that when the counselor says little Jimmy is not an ideal candidate for Brown = my counselor letter is going to sink their application because it will be neutral at best and probably slightly negative.

It shouldn’t require taking hints-these college counselors at private schools need to start doing their jobs at a bare minimum. Giving NO advice on where to apply except “choose a safety” is not college counseling in my book. The counselors are also not directing people well when they shoot way too high-like applying to UVA with a 3.85 GPA and maybe one honors class Junior year. As a parent, I would have welcomed some precise info but we got crickets…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?

Np.

Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.

Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.

Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…

NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?

Depending on their last name, maybe?

? most African Americans have white sounding last names because of the legacy slavery.

My guess is that the earlier poster was referring to kids with names that sound Italian or Polish or Korean, etc.

? No, the PP was specifically referring to assuming the AO would think the white sounding name was a Black person.