What does the future hold for kids applying in the next 5 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read who gets in and why too, and while very insightful, I’m not sure it gives a magic formula.

What I took away from WGIAW it was:

Be very smart and get an A and 5 on BC Calc junior year (especially if female as this illustrates high quant IQ.)
Take the other hardest courses at your school and get As
Apply ED and EA
Be full pay
Be recruited for a sport
Most importantly, admission officers are human and make many seemingly random decisions

Anyway, this “recipe” is not possible for most kids. For my kids, we are going to do a lot of rolling and EA schools and be happy with those schools. We are not getting attached to any one perfect school. I am encouraging my kid to apply to schools they fit their areas of interest but have admission rates above 50%. Maybe they will try for one harder to get into school for ED but that will be balanced with others that are more likely.

And the fact that the recipe is not possible for most kids, yet so many keep trying to make it work anyway is why we have the stress epidemic we have today. You can't force yourself to get a 5 in Calc BC. You can't force yourself to get all A's in the toughest courses your school offers. You can't will your way to being a Division 1 athlete. And that's okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think, as the cost of those so-called top-tier colleges keeps increasing, More and more parents of really strong students are just not willing to pay these outrageous prices, or we are unwilling to pay them. People are unwilling to take on debt to pay 40, 50, 60, $70,000 a year. A lot of parents right here on DC urban mounts managed to save a full tuition for their kids, but in the rest of the world most of us have not. As a result we are steering our kids to more reasonably priced state colleges. This makes state schools more competitive.

This sums up most of the issue.

[Anonymous]

I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read who gets in and why too, and while very insightful, I’m not sure it gives a magic formula.

What I took away from WGIAW it was:

Be very smart and get an A and 5 on BC Calc junior year (especially if female as this illustrates high quant IQ.)
Take the other hardest courses at your school and get As
Apply ED and EA
Be full pay
Be recruited for a sport
Most importantly, admission officers are human and make many seemingly random decisions

Anyway, this “recipe” is not possible for most kids. For my kids, we are going to do a lot of rolling and EA schools and be happy with those schools. We are not getting attached to any one perfect school. I am encouraging my kid to apply to schools they fit their areas of interest but have admission rates above 50%. Maybe they will try for one harder to get into school for ED but that will be balanced with others that are more likely.

My kid is a male and has done all of this except for recruited athlete (4 year varsity sport and captain senior year) and still didn't get in to any of the "T20" schools. Also scored well above 1500 on the SAT in a test optional environment.

What do you mean "except for recruited athlete". That is on the list and is important. How is the kid that is not the recruited athlete going to compete with the recruited athlete? They have to replace it with some other standout accomplishment that is "recruitable"......published work, national recognition in another discipline like science or writing or music, etc. These T10 schools are choosing among all the dancers, and scientists and writers etc. Kid has to be the best one of those to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

in

And if your student has not already directed a prize winning film on high school or it's equivalent that is fine. There are many excellent colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a formula. People say it’s random, and that’s true on the margins. But there is a way to play it if you know the formula. The absolute best thing you can do for your 8-10the grader now is to buy Who Gets In and Why. I read it 2 years ago and was able glean a logic to it. Wish it weren’t the case, but given that I can’t change it, we played the game. We broke out the admissions criteria into 4 parts, and focused on each of those in turn. That worked a charm for DD. She’s into a top 10 college, no hooks other than good luck and knowing the game.

Posts like this contribute to the severe increase in anxiety we're seeing in teenagers today. It basically says "If you don't get into an elite college, it's because you didn't do your homework on what's necessary to make it". This sends everyone into a frenzy trying to get a leg up on everyone else, with no end to the 'I should always be doing more, more, more' mentality.

Encourage your kids to work hard, but also to recognize when their stress levels are getting high enough that they should take a rest. Take the most challenging courses they can get As and Bs in without harming themselves mentally or physically, and be willing to admit when it's not working. If they're doing this, they'll have plenty of options for colleges that will provide them with the opportunity to build themselves a bright future. Maybe it will be a T20 school, maybe it won't. If it is, celebrate. If it's not, celebrate. They're going to be fine either way.

+1
All of this. We have a college junior and a high school sophomore. DS is in a perfectly fine public university that we can afford. He’s happy. Our sophomore has much more in terms of academic ability and has the potential to go to a top tier school. But there’s no way in hell we’re ever going to push her in a way that impacts her mental health. I’m confident she will land in a great school that meets her needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

Did your DC submit SAT score(s) to this top 25 school? If so what was the range? 25th percentile?

[Anonymous]

It's possible, though far from a sure thing, that the supremes will restrict affirmative action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

Did your DC submit SAT score(s) to this top 25 school? If so what was the range? 25th percentile?

Yes, they were right on the median

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read who gets in and why too, and while very insightful, I’m not sure it gives a magic formula.

What I took away from WGIAW it was:

Be very smart and get an A and 5 on BC Calc junior year (especially if female as this illustrates high quant IQ.)
Take the other hardest courses at your school and get As
Apply ED and EA
Be full pay
Be recruited for a sport
Most importantly, admission officers are human and make many seemingly random decisions

Anyway, this “recipe” is not possible for most kids. For my kids, we are going to do a lot of rolling and EA schools and be happy with those schools. We are not getting attached to any one perfect school. I am encouraging my kid to apply to schools they fit their areas of interest but have admission rates above 50%. Maybe they will try for one harder to get into school for ED but that will be balanced with others that are more likely.

Funny thing is that in your list there's really only one hook: recruited athlete. As college admissions to selective colleges are bearing out, you need a hook. It doesn't have to be a recruited athlete, but it has to be something that distinguishes you from the pack, aside from high stats and great ECs.

[Anonymous]

Selectivity ≠ quality

How many kids whose dream school is Michigan really will hit the academic (or social or whatever) ceiling at Kansas (admit rate >90%)? 1%? 5%? Surely not 10%. Same is true for Williams rejects at St. Lawrence (admit rate almost 50%) or Whitman (admit rate >50%). Or Vandy rejects at Miami of Ohio (admit rate >90%). Or Carleton rejects at Wooster (admit rate >60%). Etc., etc., etc.

Kids (and especially their parents!) just need to recognize that they can be admitted to a school that will fit them and offer a great education--and get over that it might not appear on the first page of some ridiculous "ranking" list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

Thanks. Glad everything worked out for your DC!

Did your DC submit SAT score(s) to this top 25 school? If so what was the range? 25th percentile?

Yes, they were right on the median

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Selectivity ≠ quality

How many kids whose dream school is Michigan really will hit the academic (or social or whatever) ceiling at Kansas (admit rate >90%)? 1%? 5%? Surely not 10%. Same is true for Williams rejects at St. Lawrence (admit rate almost 50%) or Whitman (admit rate >50%). Or Vandy rejects at Miami of Ohio (admit rate >90%). Or Carleton rejects at Wooster (admit rate >60%). Etc., etc., etc.

Kids (and especially their parents!) just need to recognize that they can be admitted to a school that will fit them and offer a great education--and get over that it might not appear on the first page of some ridiculous "ranking" list.

This post really should be a header on DCUM.

There are very smart and driven kids at every single institution. My husband and I went to third tier schools. We had MANY very smart and driven peers. Some went on to top graduate/medical schools, some did not and entered the workforce out of undergrad.
If you look at them on paper now, they are indistinguishable from our peers/friends who went to top20 schools. My husband and I (with our third tier degrees) are sitting here this morning in upper NW DC, in a multi-million dollar home with kids at a top DC private.
You can't tell the difference between us and our Ivy league neighbors, friends, fellow school parents and colleagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno it couldn’t have been less stressful for my DC. They did well in school, didn’t win any national awards, didn’t solve world hunger, got average grades on the SAT, applied ED to a target and got into a top 25 school in December. Game over. I think it has to start with setting expectations. DC knew from the start they were not looking at Ivys, mostly because their score was too low. If they had gotten a much higher score I am sure that would have entered into the equation but thankfully it level set them.

Kids have to be realistic and understand the top schools are literally a lottery at this point. DC also had an EA acceptance with a ton of money from a mid tier SLAC in pocket when got the ED acceptance. Just was not hard.

Thanks. Glad everything worked out for your DC!

Did your DC submit SAT score(s) to this top 25 school? If so what was the range? 25th percentile?

Yes, they were right on the median

Thanks. Glad everything worked out for your DC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Selectivity ≠ quality

How many kids whose dream school is Michigan really will hit the academic (or social or whatever) ceiling at Kansas (admit rate >90%)? 1%? 5%? Surely not 10%. Same is true for Williams rejects at St. Lawrence (admit rate almost 50%) or Whitman (admit rate >50%). Or Vandy rejects at Miami of Ohio (admit rate >90%). Or Carleton rejects at Wooster (admit rate >60%). Etc., etc., etc.

Kids (and especially their parents!) just need to recognize that they can be admitted to a school that will fit them and offer a great education--and get over that it might not appear on the first page of some ridiculous "ranking" list.

+1m

My kids had acceptances from two of those lower ranked schools you listed with huge $ and would’ve been happy to go. Ended up getting into their top choice so didn’t but you can’t have an attitude about the rankings. Those are all solid schools you listed.