Georgia Tech EA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deferred DS for CS

4.0 GPA /4.9 wGPA. 1600 SAT. Excellent ECs but not recruited athlete. No other hooks.

Does GT make him feel like the prettiest girl at the party who does not get asked to dance?

Yield protection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deferred DS for CS

4.0 GPA /4.9 wGPA. 1600 SAT. Excellent ECs but not recruited athlete. No other hooks.

Does GT make him feel like the prettiest girl at the party who does not get asked to dance?

Yield protection

Yes. Thank you. We understand it well and we are not bitter or anxious. Truly. My kid has done ok with acceptances till now. We are set. It is just that we were mildly surprised with GT but understood immediately that it was yield protection.

Here is the thing. This child of mine has done every single thing right. There was nothing else that could have been improved in his candidacy. I know often time parents agonize about that one C in 9th grade that they think impacted their child's admission, or the low ACT/SAT or that one deadline they missed or that one essay that could have been stronger or that one AP score that was not a 5 or the one recommendation that was not strong enough. But, I know 100% that it is not about my child or his candidacy because it is damn near perfect - yes, even the essays and recommendations. It is entirely the calculus that the college are following. And I hope other parents who are agonizing about could-haves, should-haves take heart from looking at my kid's excellent stats and realize that these decisions have nothing to do with the student but it has to do with what the college wants and what the ad comm was feeling collectively. It truly is a scratch off lottery ticket. In the end, there are many colleges and if your kid wants to go to college and you as parents are willing to support them then they will get to a college that will be happy to have them.

Lets break it down - my kid is not hooked in terms of legacy, but that is something that is not in his control as he can't change his and his parents history. He is not an URM or female, but he can't change his race or his gender. He is not a recruited athlete but he has made it up in stellar ECs, leadership, community service, academic accolades, scholastic wins, state and national recognitions. He is not first gen or a poor student, but, I do not see this as a drawback in life to be full pay, do you? Would my DS want a do-over of his 17 years as a first gen or poor kid? For a seat at GA or any other school? I think not. And should that amazing privilege/good fortune just disappear for the purpose of college application? That would truly be ass-backwards.

I was also told by some well-meaning people in the know that my kid was "too perfect" and it would have been better if he did not have straight As or perfect SATs because the admission committee is not made up of people who ever had straight As and perfect SATs and they think that all of this "came too easy" to the candidate and they will thus not think of my kid as a sympathetic or likeable candidate. OMFG. I cannot keep up with the recommendations that tell you to figure out the mind-set of ad comm folks. Are they having their PMS? Did they breakup with their SO? Did they eat protein for their breakfast the day they were reading my child's application? Should I be sending them edible arrangements or just edibles? Is bad skin a problem for them? Do they like what they do? Is their work environment toxic?

So to circle back - maybe the colleges think that my kid will do pretty well in whatever "better or less better than GT" college he goes to? Or they want to really know for sure that when they make him the offer, he will accept and not go with other better ranked schools? OK, I get their thought process. And it reminds me of several things
- Education is a business of buyers and sellers - like Jeff Selingo wrote in his book "Who gets in and why". We all are sitting at the poker table and bluffing
- If the colleges can see the privileges that my DS has, then I need to also recognize it and acknowledge it. Privilege can be leveraged for the good of many, so there is no downside to it if your eyes remain open.
- There is very little difference in the education that most top US universities provide and the universities know it too, else they would not care to do yield protection. The student can go to any university they want to. They are just being the DeBeers for a gem that is commonly available on the Earth's crust.
- 17 years of being invested in my child's education, his physical, mental, social and emotional well being, creating a home environment that allowed him to succeed, the enrichment that we provided, the community we created - have implications for the rest of his life and that is a tremendous asset to him. The end goal of all of this could not have been as mundane as college admission.

And also while I am not bitter and all - FU Georgia Tech!!!

[Anonymous]

Your kid is amazing. Can you share where he got in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deferred DS for CS

4.0 GPA /4.9 wGPA. 1600 SAT. Excellent ECs but not recruited athlete. No other hooks.

Does GT make him feel like the prettiest girl at the party who does not get asked to dance?

Yield protection

Yes. Thank you. We understand it well and we are not bitter or anxious. Truly. My kid has done ok with acceptances till now. We are set. It is just that we were mildly surprised with GT but understood immediately that it was yield protection.

Here is the thing. This child of mine has done every single thing right. There was nothing else that could have been improved in his candidacy. I know often time parents agonize about that one C in 9th grade that they think impacted their child's admission, or the low ACT/SAT or that one deadline they missed or that one essay that could have been stronger or that one AP score that was not a 5 or the one recommendation that was not strong enough. But, I know 100% that it is not about my child or his candidacy because it is damn near perfect - yes, even the essays and recommendations. It is entirely the calculus that the college are following. And I hope other parents who are agonizing about could-haves, should-haves take heart from looking at my kid's excellent stats and realize that these decisions have nothing to do with the student but it has to do with what the college wants and what the ad comm was feeling collectively. It truly is a scratch off lottery ticket. In the end, there are many colleges and if your kid wants to go to college and you as parents are willing to support them then they will get to a college that will be happy to have them.

Lets break it down - my kid is not hooked in terms of legacy, but that is something that is not in his control as he can't change his and his parents history. He is not an URM or female, but he can't change his race or his gender. He is not a recruited athlete but he has made it up in stellar ECs, leadership, community service, academic accolades, scholastic wins, state and national recognitions. He is not first gen or a poor student, but, I do not see this as a drawback in life to be full pay, do you? Would my DS want a do-over of his 17 years as a first gen or poor kid? For a seat at GA or any other school? I think not. And should that amazing privilege/good fortune just disappear for the purpose of college application? That would truly be ass-backwards.

I was also told by some well-meaning people in the know that my kid was "too perfect" and it would have been better if he did not have straight As or perfect SATs because the admission committee is not made up of people who ever had straight As and perfect SATs and they think that all of this "came too easy" to the candidate and they will thus not think of my kid as a sympathetic or likeable candidate. OMFG. I cannot keep up with the recommendations that tell you to figure out the mind-set of ad comm folks. Are they having their PMS? Did they breakup with their SO? Did they eat protein for their breakfast the day they were reading my child's application? Should I be sending them edible arrangements or just edibles? Is bad skin a problem for them? Do they like what they do? Is their work environment toxic?

So to circle back - maybe the colleges think that my kid will do pretty well in whatever "better or less better than GT" college he goes to? Or they want to really know for sure that when they make him the offer, he will accept and not go with other better ranked schools? OK, I get their thought process. And it reminds me of several things
- Education is a business of buyers and sellers - like Jeff Selingo wrote in his book "Who gets in and why". We all are sitting at the poker table and bluffing
- If the colleges can see the privileges that my DS has, then I need to also recognize it and acknowledge it. Privilege can be leveraged for the good of many, so there is no downside to it if your eyes remain open.
- There is very little difference in the education that most top US universities provide and the universities know it too, else they would not care to do yield protection. The student can go to any university they want to. They are just being the DeBeers for a gem that is commonly available on the Earth's crust.
- 17 years of being invested in my child's education, his physical, mental, social and emotional well being, creating a home environment that allowed him to succeed, the enrichment that we provided, the community we created - have implications for the rest of his life and that is a tremendous asset to him. The end goal of all of this could not have been as mundane as college admission.

And also while I am not bitter and all - FU Georgia Tech!!!

So confused by this post. Are you saying that DC would go to Ga Tech if accepted or is the preferred choice a different school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deferred DS for CS

4.0 GPA /4.9 wGPA. 1600 SAT. Excellent ECs but not recruited athlete. No other hooks.

Does GT make him feel like the prettiest girl at the party who does not get asked to dance?

Yield protection

Yes. Thank you. We understand it well and we are not bitter or anxious. Truly. My kid has done ok with acceptances till now. We are set. It is just that we were mildly surprised with GT but understood immediately that it was yield protection.

Here is the thing. This child of mine has done every single thing right. There was nothing else that could have been improved in his candidacy. I know often time parents agonize about that one C in 9th grade that they think impacted their child's admission, or the low ACT/SAT or that one deadline they missed or that one essay that could have been stronger or that one AP score that was not a 5 or the one recommendation that was not strong enough. But, I know 100% that it is not about my child or his candidacy because it is damn near perfect - yes, even the essays and recommendations. It is entirely the calculus that the college are following. And I hope other parents who are agonizing about could-haves, should-haves take heart from looking at my kid's excellent stats and realize that these decisions have nothing to do with the student but it has to do with what the college wants and what the ad comm was feeling collectively. It truly is a scratch off lottery ticket. In the end, there are many colleges and if your kid wants to go to college and you as parents are willing to support them then they will get to a college that will be happy to have them.

Lets break it down - my kid is not hooked in terms of legacy, but that is something that is not in his control as he can't change his and his parents history. He is not an URM or female, but he can't change his race or his gender. He is not a recruited athlete but he has made it up in stellar ECs, leadership, community service, academic accolades, scholastic wins, state and national recognitions. He is not first gen or a poor student, but, I do not see this as a drawback in life to be full pay, do you? Would my DS want a do-over of his 17 years as a first gen or poor kid? For a seat at GA or any other school? I think not. And should that amazing privilege/good fortune just disappear for the purpose of college application? That would truly be ass-backwards.

I was also told by some well-meaning people in the know that my kid was "too perfect" and it would have been better if he did not have straight As or perfect SATs because the admission committee is not made up of people who ever had straight As and perfect SATs and they think that all of this "came too easy" to the candidate and they will thus not think of my kid as a sympathetic or likeable candidate. OMFG. I cannot keep up with the recommendations that tell you to figure out the mind-set of ad comm folks. Are they having their PMS? Did they breakup with their SO? Did they eat protein for their breakfast the day they were reading my child's application? Should I be sending them edible arrangements or just edibles? Is bad skin a problem for them? Do they like what they do? Is their work environment toxic?

So to circle back - maybe the colleges think that my kid will do pretty well in whatever "better or less better than GT" college he goes to? Or they want to really know for sure that when they make him the offer, he will accept and not go with other better ranked schools? OK, I get their thought process. And it reminds me of several things
- Education is a business of buyers and sellers - like Jeff Selingo wrote in his book "Who gets in and why". We all are sitting at the poker table and bluffing
- If the colleges can see the privileges that my DS has, then I need to also recognize it and acknowledge it. Privilege can be leveraged for the good of many, so there is no downside to it if your eyes remain open.
- There is very little difference in the education that most top US universities provide and the universities know it too, else they would not care to do yield protection. The student can go to any university they want to. They are just being the DeBeers for a gem that is commonly available on the Earth's crust.
- 17 years of being invested in my child's education, his physical, mental, social and emotional well being, creating a home environment that allowed him to succeed, the enrichment that we provided, the community we created - have implications for the rest of his life and that is a tremendous asset to him. The end goal of all of this could not have been as mundane as college admission.

And also while I am not bitter and all - FU Georgia Tech!!!

So confused by this post. Are you saying that DC would go to Ga Tech if accepted or is the preferred choice a different school?

Don't be confused. I am just making fun of the whole process.

Is GA the top most ranked school in his list? Not by a long shot. But a preferred choice is an individual matter and does not necessarily go by ranking. For some students - a college that defers you and rejects ceases to be attractive. And by and large most colleges offer the same education. There are no satellite research center on the moon, ffs!

Unless my kid was an orphan who had to endure subhuman life conditions and also cured cancer, his admission to even places like Ga Tech is not assured. Great scores can be a red flag for insecure schools ...hmmm...this kid is too good for us, why would he want to come to us... we are too ugly and maybe he is a player??... So why not have a admission criteria that says CS Ga Tech is only taking SAT scores between 1550 - 1569? ( And yes, Ga Tech insisted on SAT scores despite most other schools going test optional. )

On DCUM, I can still vent and say FU to the whole process (and Ga Tech as a proxy) because it is all a big joke. Maybe we are in the moment of utter chaos due to the pandemic and whatever worked before does not work anymore, but I suspect that it was already completely a sham. My sister in Canada cannot understand why this insanity exists. Well, sis, you win for picking Canada over US! What can I say??

While I am extremely proud of my son's stats and want to brag about it IRL, wear a t-shirt with these stats and crow about it to everyone...I feel very sad that his scores have now actually contributed to the insane college arms race. All this nonsense about colleges wanting to create a community (hello, my kid and my family are already part of the community in this country, what nonsense is this? Are we made of vapor?) and then they are still cowering in a corner because of ... great stats. If Ga Tech was a person, I would bltch slap Ga Tech and say - Grow a spine and reject him if he is too good for you and maybe accept some one else, you Drama Llama!! He did spend the application fee and applied so obviously he is not completely uninterested, no? What do you want from him, Rumpelstiltskin?

I have a great idea. Instead of filling the common app and applying every where...why not students fill out one application and their campus preference - small/big, rural/urban, has a starbucks or not, cold/hot, red state/blue state....and then wait. All interested colleges can come, take a look and then make an offer. Students pick from the offers. Done. It is just an algorithm.

If I have to draw an analogy - US college admissions is like the broken and bad dating system. You have to date good, bad, ugly. Have sex with frogs on the third date, and you will still end up with a 50% divorce rate, which can be terrible for your wallet. I am proposing going the arranged marriage route. Suitable colleges, come and make an offer!! He is a suitable boy for the right confident college without emotional baggage, for sure!!

Short version - Maybe ditch Common App for college application and instead apply using EBay.

[Anonymous]

There's big randomness and luck factor in the system.

My kid got into 1st choice T20 school, but deferred by 2nd choice and another school
rejected by Georgia Tech LOL. Careless.

Same thing happend to my other kid last year.

[Anonymous]

To the parent of the deferred 4.0 UW kid, if he wants to go there don’t give up. Know a similarly stat kid who was deferred last year and later got in. He is there now and loves it.
There is some essay he had to do to express continued interest.

[Anonymous]

I just can't wade through the toooooooo looooooong post above but if this is the school your DC wants...communicated it now to the school.

They obviously see that this student is overqualified and will be enrolling elsewhere even if given a spot so they offer the spot to a student that is more likely to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deferred DS for CS

4.0 GPA /4.9 wGPA. 1600 SAT. Excellent ECs but not recruited athlete. No other hooks.

Does GT make him feel like the prettiest girl at the party who does not get asked to dance?

Yield protection

Yes. Thank you. We understand it well and we are not bitter or anxious. Truly. My kid has done ok with acceptances till now. We are set. It is just that we were mildly surprised with GT but understood immediately that it was yield protection.

Here is the thing. This child of mine has done every single thing right. There was nothing else that could have been improved in his candidacy. I know often time parents agonize about that one C in 9th grade that they think impacted their child's admission, or the low ACT/SAT or that one deadline they missed or that one essay that could have been stronger or that one AP score that was not a 5 or the one recommendation that was not strong enough. But, I know 100% that it is not about my child or his candidacy because it is damn near perfect - yes, even the essays and recommendations. It is entirely the calculus that the college are following. And I hope other parents who are agonizing about could-haves, should-haves take heart from looking at my kid's excellent stats and realize that these decisions have nothing to do with the student but it has to do with what the college wants and what the ad comm was feeling collectively. It truly is a scratch off lottery ticket. In the end, there are many colleges and if your kid wants to go to college and you as parents are willing to support them then they will get to a college that will be happy to have them.

Lets break it down - my kid is not hooked in terms of legacy, but that is something that is not in his control as he can't change his and his parents history. He is not an URM or female, but he can't change his race or his gender. He is not a recruited athlete but he has made it up in stellar ECs, leadership, community service, academic accolades, scholastic wins, state and national recognitions. He is not first gen or a poor student, but, I do not see this as a drawback in life to be full pay, do you? Would my DS want a do-over of his 17 years as a first gen or poor kid? For a seat at GA or any other school? I think not. And should that amazing privilege/good fortune just disappear for the purpose of college application? That would truly be ass-backwards.

I was also told by some well-meaning people in the know that my kid was "too perfect" and it would have been better if he did not have straight As or perfect SATs because the admission committee is not made up of people who ever had straight As and perfect SATs and they think that all of this "came too easy" to the candidate and they will thus not think of my kid as a sympathetic or likeable candidate. OMFG. I cannot keep up with the recommendations that tell you to figure out the mind-set of ad comm folks. Are they having their PMS? Did they breakup with their SO? Did they eat protein for their breakfast the day they were reading my child's application? Should I be sending them edible arrangements or just edibles? Is bad skin a problem for them? Do they like what they do? Is their work environment toxic?

So to circle back - maybe the colleges think that my kid will do pretty well in whatever "better or less better than GT" college he goes to? Or they want to really know for sure that when they make him the offer, he will accept and not go with other better ranked schools? OK, I get their thought process. And it reminds me of several things
- Education is a business of buyers and sellers - like Jeff Selingo wrote in his book "Who gets in and why". We all are sitting at the poker table and bluffing
- If the colleges can see the privileges that my DS has, then I need to also recognize it and acknowledge it. Privilege can be leveraged for the good of many, so there is no downside to it if your eyes remain open.
- There is very little difference in the education that most top US universities provide and the universities know it too, else they would not care to do yield protection. The student can go to any university they want to. They are just being the DeBeers for a gem that is commonly available on the Earth's crust.
- 17 years of being invested in my child's education, his physical, mental, social and emotional well being, creating a home environment that allowed him to succeed, the enrichment that we provided, the community we created - have implications for the rest of his life and that is a tremendous asset to him. The end goal of all of this could not have been as mundane as college admission.

And also while I am not bitter and all - FU Georgia Tech!!!

When people say stellar ECs (which I see many times across multiple postings throughout the college boards)...what are you trying to communicate? As far as I know, the EC doesn't really matter as much as the depth with which you pursued the EC.

Is the Banjo Club (if that existed...probably somewhere) not as "stellar' as Model UN? I assume the captain of the Banjo Club that initiates an instrument drive for disadvantaged kids is looked at more favorably then just someone who is part of Model UN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just can't wade through the toooooooo looooooong post above but if this is the school your DC wants...communicated it now to the school.

They obviously see that this student is overqualified and will be enrolling elsewhere even if given a spot so they offer the spot to a student that is more likely to attend.

Apparently much more qualified than our accepted 1580 child, NMSF with multiple international awards, etc. Of course it makes PP feel better thinking that it’s yield protection but there are also so many qualified and talented students that there is just not enough space for all of them. It also doesn’t help that we are not of the preferred race and income level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
When people say stellar ECs (which I see many times across multiple postings throughout the college boards)...what are you trying to communicate? As far as I know, the EC doesn't really matter as much as the depth with which you pursued the EC.

Is the Banjo Club (if that existed...probably somewhere) not as "stellar' as Model UN? I assume the captain of the Banjo Club that initiates an instrument drive for disadvantaged kids is looked at more favorably then just someone who is part of Model UN.

Uff...yes, yes, yes to all of that! Yes, we all understood the depth and breath of the EC and the formula of it. Win state and national level championships, create multi-school and multi-city organization for the disadvantaged kids to make ECs available to them - on zoom and in-person during the pandemic. Even have a website created and social media presence.

God bless these disadvantaged kids. They are such a feeder population to "enhance" the ECs. You would think 90% of the DMV population would drop on their knees and pray that the tribe of the poor disadvantaged kids increased many fold!! It seems we are in danger of running out of disadvantaged kids with free time rapidly. Most are enrolled in free programming, robotics, banjo, piano, debate, math, model UN, science bowl, spelling bee, basket weaving, test prep, basketball clubs, run by the high achieving students. In a few years there will not remain any achievement gap also if this continues.

I think the only thing that has been not utilized for college admissions is fostering these disadvantaged kids. Maybe in a year or two, we will have high stat and excellent EC students also acting like foster parents to disadvantaged kids? It is a novel and interesting concept. Why not use your privilege a bit more??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't wade through the toooooooo looooooong post above but if this is the school your DC wants...communicated it now to the school.

They obviously see that this student is overqualified and will be enrolling elsewhere even if given a spot so they offer the spot to a student that is more likely to attend.

Apparently much more qualified than our accepted 1580 child, NMSF with multiple international awards, etc. Of course it makes PP feel better thinking that it’s yield protection but there are also so many qualified and talented students that there is just not enough space for all of them. It also doesn’t help that we are not of the preferred race and income level.

I think that's it. 1600 is actually "too perfect". Stick to between 1550 - 1580 range. I remember the college cheating scandal had an instructor taking SAT for many students (Felicity Huffman's kid or Lori Loughlin kid?) and that person deliberately got a question or two wrong to not get a perfect 1600. Yes, to NMSF because everyone in his class got it with that level of SAT performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't wade through the toooooooo looooooong post above but if this is the school your DC wants...communicated it now to the school.

They obviously see that this student is overqualified and will be enrolling elsewhere even if given a spot so they offer the spot to a student that is more likely to attend.

Apparently much more qualified than our accepted 1580 child, NMSF with multiple international awards, etc. Of course it makes PP feel better thinking that it’s yield protection but there are also so many qualified and talented students that there is just not enough space for all of them. It also doesn’t help that we are not of the preferred race and income level.

I think that's it. 1600 is actually "too perfect". Stick to between 1550 - 1580 range. I remember the college cheating scandal had an instructor taking SAT for many students (Felicity Huffman's kid or Lori Loughlin kid?) and that person deliberately got a question or two wrong to not get a perfect 1600. Yes, to NMSF because everyone in his class got it with that level of SAT performance.

Then why didn’t your child retake the SAT to score 1550-1580?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When people say stellar ECs (which I see many times across multiple postings throughout the college boards)...what are you trying to communicate? As far as I know, the EC doesn't really matter as much as the depth with which you pursued the EC.

Is the Banjo Club (if that existed...probably somewhere) not as "stellar' as Model UN? I assume the captain of the Banjo Club that initiates an instrument drive for disadvantaged kids is looked at more favorably then just someone who is part of Model UN.

Uff...yes, yes, yes to all of that! Yes, we all understood the depth and breath of the EC and the formula of it. Win state and national level championships, create multi-school and multi-city organization for the disadvantaged kids to make ECs available to them - on zoom and in-person during the pandemic. Even have a website created and social media presence.

God bless these disadvantaged kids. They are such a feeder population to "enhance" the ECs. You would think 90% of the DMV population would drop on their knees and pray that the tribe of the poor disadvantaged kids increased many fold!! It seems we are in danger of running out of disadvantaged kids with free time rapidly. Most are enrolled in free programming, robotics, banjo, piano, debate, math, model UN, science bowl, spelling bee, basket weaving, test prep, basketball clubs, run by the high achieving students. In a few years there will not remain any achievement gap also if this continues.

I think the only thing that has been not utilized for college admissions is fostering these disadvantaged kids. Maybe in a year or two, we will have high stat and excellent EC students also acting like foster parents to disadvantaged kids? It is a novel and interesting concept. Why not use your privilege a bit more??

You missed the point of the question…what is a “stellar” EC. To me, all ECs are equivalent…none are stellar or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't wade through the toooooooo looooooong post above but if this is the school your DC wants...communicated it now to the school.

They obviously see that this student is overqualified and will be enrolling elsewhere even if given a spot so they offer the spot to a student that is more likely to attend.

Apparently much more qualified than our accepted 1580 child, NMSF with multiple international awards, etc. Of course it makes PP feel better thinking that it’s yield protection but there are also so many qualified and talented students that there is just not enough space for all of them. It also doesn’t help that we are not of the preferred race and income level.

Curious for an example of an international award (of any recognition).