Getting shut out of selective/competitive private schools

[Anonymous]

Consider Kalamazoo College. It has a higher acceptance rate, yet tons of very bright students attend. They have a high percentage go on to medical school and ivy grad school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colgate, Bucknell, Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Wake are High Matches. The rest reaches. You need a safety.

Not in RD, maybe for ED2.

[Anonymous]

This is fun. Find the college. It's sport, right? Wouldn't actually pressure the kid to apply ED just to assure attendance to a SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think I would ED 2 with a Northwestern referral if that is in fact, the first choice??

The likelihood of 3.82/33 getting into NU RD is miniscule. RD acceptance rate 5.5%

The only kid I know who got in RD after ED deferral was from an extended family that has the funds to contribute to buildings, even having them named after them, and has done so at other universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider Kalamazoo College. It has a higher acceptance rate, yet tons of very bright students attend. They have a high percentage go on to medical school and ivy grad school

I am one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid with similar stats and interests who just went through this process. From that vantage, I think your DS is wasting his time on Williams and Brown. Rice, Vanderbilt, Emory, and Wash U are very unlikely; so are Middlebury, Colgate, and Wake unless he's applying ED. Most of the schools on your list fill 60-70 percent of their entering class via ED, which means in RD your DS will be competing for very few remaining seats among a much larger pool.

Pick one school - not one of the super reachy ones - and apply ED. Check their scores to decide whether he goes TO (I know that sounds crazy, but every school's scores have been pushed higher by TO.) And think about adding some other mid-pack LACs : in addition to Vassar, Kenyon, Conn College, I'd look at Denison, Oberlin, Macalester, Bates, Lafayette, Gettysburg etc etc.

You sound like a paid college counselor. Pretty spot on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider Kalamazoo College. It has a higher acceptance rate, yet tons of very bright students attend. They have a high percentage go on to medical school and ivy grad school

Underrated school for sure.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Also, 33 ACT is weak for this list.
I’d apply TO to most of these schools

+1

Ridiculous, the score is respectable and a better score wouldn’t turn any heads.

The issue isn’t simply competing with classmates but that he’s not top of his class (probably not even very close to). Even if the HS is very well regarded, this isn’t the sort of list that says ‘we must have someone from that HS every year.’ These are schools who will take note of a valedictorian from a prestigious HS.

Second the rec of Kenyon. That’s the sort of school that will take a mid-pack candidate from a known private, simply to maintain the relationship. DS may bring more to the table, but it’s not relevant with the schools listed for the most part. These are schools that will get applications from your HS next year even if they reject everyone who applies this year.

State schools will be more of a lottery. They take more kids, they’re more about meeting a threshold, but they spend much less time on each application, spend no time cultivating a solitary, out-of-state, private.

OP here. Great points. Appreciate the detailed and thoughtful candor. Will re-look at Kenyon.

Yes, his school told him to submit - one and done test score. CCO has also indicated which of the aforementioned colleges are “seeking students” from our private, to help really focus and improve supplemental essays. Schools like Vandy have way too many applicants from our svhool so almost certainly a ding.

Less so on LACs - our selective private is so small that kids generally don’t want to go small again but usually a few get into to the top 4-5 LACs easily each year. Likely greatest chances at LACs or random one off.

Anecdotally, have been told brokering by CCO will happen after April 1 with waitlists/deferrals as in past years. We just don’t want to have to rely on that (e.g, story of the 29 ACT admitted off Vandy waitlist in May last year after student had accepted at U-Miami ….so many stories like that abound it’s almost an urban legend).

Thx again for the helpful advice. Hope it’s helpful to others too.

Marginal private high school candidates are the largest beneficiaries of waitlists.

If you can wait that long it all might work out.

+100000

Why is that? I'd like to understand what that means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, 3.82/33 is marginally better than 3.82/test optional.

The list is far too reachy. Add several more realistic schools. Look for schools where it makes sense to submit 33.

Colgate - acceptance rate probably too low
Bucknell - maybe ED2
Middlebury - acceptance rate probably too low
Wesleyan - maybe ED2
Williams - no chance
Wake - maybe ED2
Emory - maybe ED2
Vanderbilt - no chance
Wash U - no chance
Rice - no chance
Brown - no chance

Colgate is one of the easier of this list. I would ED2 there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, 3.82/33 is marginally better than 3.82/test optional.

The list is far too reachy. Add several more realistic schools. Look for schools where it makes sense to submit 33.

Colgate - acceptance rate probably too low
Bucknell - maybe ED2
Middlebury - acceptance rate probably too low
Wesleyan - maybe ED2
Williams - no chance
Wake - maybe ED2
Emory - maybe ED2
Vanderbilt - no chance
Wash U - no chance
Rice - no chance
Brown - no chance

Colgate is one of the easier of this list. I would ED2 there.

Colgate is 12% acceptance, Bucknell is 34% - that is the clear winner for ED2 .

[Anonymous]

No ED is much easier and RD that is not a ton of applicants kind of like smaller LAC-you see a small acceptance rate but not that many people applying so it is deceiving. Anyway Colgate would be a target for OP’s child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He could easily get shut out of that whole list. It's pretty reachy.

Or he could get into a bunch. What does his college counselor say?

If he wants those kinds of schools, why isn't he looking at targets and safeties that are similar? Why those schools and then big state flagships?

Agree full list is reach and stats are upper middle class.
Hope he applied to safeties.
Its sucks - the whole college admission world is like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, 33 ACT is weak for this list.
I’d apply TO to most of these schools

no

[Anonymous]

OP-any updates on where your son was accepted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, 33 ACT is weak for this list.
I’d apply TO to most of these schools

no

Why not?