DD wants top SLACs But Doesn't Have Grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop worrying about which college she'll attend and get her junior year grades up. Transcript and coarse load are the most important factors in the application.

Not true. Race and sex are.

[Anonymous]

Smaller classes, and more attention/accomodations for kids with learning differences. That part is true about privates, the other is debatable.

Public schools often offer a wider range of classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People.

Stop saying "top" school. It doesn't matter.

The difficultly inherent in judging the caliber of a school is WHY things like ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests have been implemented.

If you're not doing well on those measures, it doesn't matter what high school you graduate from.

I agree. Some people need to rationalize spending $160,000 for high school by hoping that their private school will give them a leg up in getting their kid into college. Unfortunately it won't. If they don't have the grades, the dream school isn't going to happen.

What my kids DID get for that extra money was a better curriculum and smaller classes. And better teachers.

Sure. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to college admissions.

So saying my kid has a B average and mediocre SATs scores "BUT comes from a top private" means nothing. It's not going to help you get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop worrying about which college she'll attend and get her junior year grades up. Transcript and coarse load are the most important factors in the application.

Not true. Race and sex are.

Not sure where you get your information or what institution ranks race and sex as the most important admission factors. While each college ranks differently, many will rank the following way:

VERY IMPORTANT
Rigor of secondary school record
Academic GPA
Extracurricular
Talent/ability
Character

IMPORTANT
Standardized test scores
Application essay
Recommendations
Racial/ethnic status

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People.

Stop saying "top" school. It doesn't matter.

The difficultly inherent in judging the caliber of a school is WHY things like ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests have been implemented.

If you're not doing well on those measures, it doesn't matter what high school you graduate from.

I agree. Some people need to rationalize spending $160,000 for high school by hoping that their private school will give them a leg up in getting their kid into college. Unfortunately it won't. If they don't have the grades, the dream school isn't going to happen.

What my kids DID get for that extra money was a better curriculum and smaller classes. And better teachers.

We moved from a private to a public and found the curriculum better (many more class offerings) and much better teachers. But whatever works for your family....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People.

Stop saying "top" school. It doesn't matter.

The difficultly inherent in judging the caliber of a school is WHY things like ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests have been implemented.

If you're not doing well on those measures, it doesn't matter what high school you graduate from.

I agree. Some people need to rationalize spending $160,000 for high school by hoping that their private school will give them a leg up in getting their kid into college. Unfortunately it won't. If they don't have the grades, the dream school isn't going to happen.

What my kids DID get for that extra money was a better curriculum and smaller classes. And better teachers.

Sure. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to college admissions.

So saying my kid has a B average and mediocre SATs scores "BUT comes from a top private" means nothing. It's not going to help you get in.

I’d rather have my kids learn than have them respond like puppets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop worrying about which college she'll attend and get her junior year grades up. Transcript and coarse load are the most important factors in the application.

Not true. Race and sex are.

Not sure where you get your information or what institution ranks race and sex as the most important admission factors. While each college ranks differently, many will rank the following way:

VERY IMPORTANT
Rigor of secondary school record
Academic GPA
Extracurricular
Talent/ability
Character

IMPORTANT
Standardized test scores
Application essay
Recommendations
Racial/ethnic status

You think they admit it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People.

Stop saying "top" school. It doesn't matter.

The difficultly inherent in judging the caliber of a school is WHY things like ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests have been implemented.

If you're not doing well on those measures, it doesn't matter what high school you graduate from.

I agree. Some people need to rationalize spending $160,000 for high school by hoping that their private school will give them a leg up in getting their kid into college. Unfortunately it won't. If they don't have the grades, the dream school isn't going to happen.

What my kids DID get for that extra money was a better curriculum and smaller classes. And better teachers.

Sure. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to college admissions.

So saying my kid has a B average and mediocre SATs scores "BUT comes from a top private" means nothing. It's not going to help you get in.

I’d rather have my kids learn than have them respond like puppets

What does this even mean? That getting good grades and high scores equals "respond like puppets?" Or that all kids who go to public schools "respond like puppets? Some kids who go to private schools learn a lot. Some kids that go to public schools learn a lot. Some kids from both memorize the material and promptly forget it. There's a range in both places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't think she has the grades. Junior. She thinks SLACs are easier with 40 Plus ED rate. She has mostly Bs and some As (three B's to every two As). Courses are somewhat rigorous but not as much as it could be. Top local private. Excellent EC. ACT not taken but getting 31-32 on practices. Foreign background that would be considered Asian but not traditional Asian countries you would think of i.e. not Chinese or Korean.

Visited Middlebury but thought it to be isolated. Likes Amherst because less isolated. External adviser said aiming high. Wants to visit Haverford. Thoughts on other schools that might be similar to these. She wants to be a SLACer.

Sounds to me like this is the perfect chance to let life play out and accept the consequences. You should just make sure she has a variety of options when she makes her applications so there are some sure-things and let the rest happen as it will. If she is not accepted she will have had her first taste of misplaced overconfidence/arrogance and learn to deal with that accordingly. Better to do it now than when she is 40!! If she is accepted she will get there and see that she needs to royally work her butt off to keep up. Nothing like peer pressure to get a young adult moving!

So I say let her go ahead and try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People.

Stop saying "top" school. It doesn't matter.

The difficultly inherent in judging the caliber of a school is WHY things like ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests have been implemented.

If you're not doing well on those measures, it doesn't matter what high school you graduate from.

I agree. Some people need to rationalize spending $160,000 for high school by hoping that their private school will give them a leg up in getting their kid into college. Unfortunately it won't. If they don't have the grades, the dream school isn't going to happen.

What my kids DID get for that extra money was a better curriculum and smaller classes. And better teachers.

We moved from a private to a public and found the curriculum better (many more class offerings) and much better teachers. But whatever works for your family....

But, statistically, you are better off applying to Ivies from a public school. 63% of Harvard's class came from non-charter public schools. https://features.thecrimson.com/2015/freshman-survey/makeup-narrative/

[Anonymous]

PP that is faulty logic. 37% were private school by your definition, right? How many private school kids are there? And they represent 37% of the class. The number of public school kids vastly outweighs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't think she has the grades. Junior. She thinks SLACs are easier with 40 Plus ED rate. She has mostly Bs and some As (three B's to every two As). Courses are somewhat rigorous but not as much as it could be. Top local private. Excellent EC. ACT not taken but getting 31-32 on practices. Foreign background that would be considered Asian but not traditional Asian countries you would think of i.e. not Chinese or Korean.

Visited Middlebury but thought it to be isolated. Likes Amherst because less isolated. External adviser said aiming high. Wants to visit Haverford. Thoughts on other schools that might be similar to these. She wants to be a SLACer.

Sounds to me like this is the perfect chance to let life play out and accept the consequences. You should just make sure she has a variety of options when she makes her applications so there are some sure-things and let the rest happen as it will. If she is not accepted she will have had her first taste of misplaced overconfidence/arrogance and learn to deal with that accordingly. Better to do it now than when she is 40!! If she is accepted she will get there and see that she needs to royally work her butt off to keep up. Nothing like peer pressure to get a young adult moving!

So I say let her go ahead and try!

Sure but Amherst, Haverford, and Middlebury with more B’s than A’s and not-so-rigorous?. Time to help her get real unless you just hate the hundreds of dollars those apps (and presumably others in that league) will cost you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP that is faulty logic. 37% were private school by your definition, right? How many private school kids are there? And they represent 37% of the class. The number of public school kids vastly outweighs.

Yes, that's what I said. 67% of Harvard's class says they were public school kids. Considering the advantages that private school kids have in terms of special services, involved parents and xlnt college counseling services, I'd say that figure says a lot. Ivies don't want all private school kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP that is faulty logic. 37% were private school by your definition, right? How many private school kids are there? And they represent 37% of the class. The number of public school kids vastly outweighs.

Yes, that's what I said. 67% of Harvard's class says they were public school kids. Considering the advantages that private school kids have in terms of special services, involved parents and xlnt college counseling services, I'd say that figure says a lot. Ivies don't want all private school kids.

You are missing that poster's point. So many kids in public school will apply to Harvard so when private schools have 33 percent of a class, they are over represented i.e. on a percentage basis more private school kids get in because there are less of them.

[Anonymous]

Updating. OP. In at Colby. Rejected Middlebury. In William and Mary. Those were the slacish schools she applied to. Have other acceptances.