Tell me good news

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your definition of good news ("being accepted to an option that they considered a reach") is a big part of the problem.

Why?

Because you should not be disappointed or discouraged about getting turned down from a reach, as it was always unlikely. The top schools reject 95% of their applicants, so no surprise to get a rejection....even if your kid is awesome.

But what I am seeing is that kids get rejected even from their ''safe options''.... the Reach would be to look for a different narrative!

what are the “safeties” these kids are getting rejected at? Is it GW or Fordham type level? I’ve seen some surprising rejections at Pitt and Penn State

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!

How does this information from an anonymous forum help your child? Personally I’d be focusing on relaxation techniques and asking for strategies that help reduce anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!

This is not true at our local public schools.

My neighbors all had a great showing for acceptance.

In my son's broader circle of friends at his FCPS HS, there have been acceptances to VT, Clemson, W&M, UVA, Northwestern and MIT. Some of those were obviously reaches for anyone and I don't know what "did it" for them, but none of them have accomplished anything truly remarkable as far as I can tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worked out for my kid. Disappointing early round and then several great options RD. Met a kid at Northwestern's admitted students day who was rejected ED 1 & Ed2 at less competitive colleges but then got into NU RD. Make sure those RD apps are great and keep working to add accomplishments to the app portfolio. Good luck!

Nice story, but would love to know the ED1 & ED2 schools. Not really believable as shared.

I can't remember both. One was Wesleyan. I only met the mom briefly at the NU admit day. They were thrilled. It does happen.

Wesleyan's ED 1 admit rate was 62% for the class of 2025; ED 2 was 43%.

Wesleyan's ED 1 admit rate was 41% Class of 2026; ED 2 was 31%.

So, hard to believe as NU's RD admit rate was probably around 7% with much higher standards than Wesleyan. But, highly unlikely is not the same as impossible.

[Anonymous]

Here you go:

Genes and family are biggest predictor of academic success, study suggests

The researchers found that children with a high genetic propensity for education who were also from wealthy and well-educated family backgrounds had the greatest advantage with 77% going to University. Meanwhile, only 21% of children from families with low socioeconomic status and low genetic propensity carried on into higher education.

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-genes-family-biggest-predictor-academic.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!

This is not true at our local public schools.

My neighbors all had a great showing for acceptance.

In my son's broader circle of friends at his FCPS HS, there have been acceptances to VT, Clemson, W&M, UVA, Northwestern and MIT. Some of those were obviously reaches for anyone and I don't know what "did it" for them, but none of them have accomplished anything truly remarkable as far as I can tell.

Kids didn't have anything truly remarkable? I can believe it for all the schools listed except MIT. I don't think anyone gets into MIT without seriously being extraordinary. It's the one school that doesn't have a back door in. Even their athletes needs to have top academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this whole college application process; so many good students are being referred or rejected even at schools that they considered safe. I was wondering if anyone can share some recent experiences of being accepted to an option that they considered a reach for them. Can you share which school and why you think your child got accepted there? THANKS!

This is not true at our local public schools.

My neighbors all had a great showing for acceptance.

In my son's broader circle of friends at his FCPS HS, there have been acceptances to VT, Clemson, W&M, UVA, Northwestern and MIT. Some of those were obviously reaches for anyone and I don't know what "did it" for them, but none of them have accomplished anything truly remarkable as far as I can tell.

Kids didn't have anything truly remarkable? I can believe it for all the schools listed except MIT. I don't think anyone gets into MIT without seriously being extraordinary. It's the one school that doesn't have a back door in. Even their athletes needs to have top academics.

The kid accepted to MIT, in addition to being a tippy top student, is also a terrific athlete in a particular sport. I'm sure that was a factor (i.e., that MIT wanted them on the school team), but I don't think he was formally recruited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is your definition of good news being accepted to a reach?

My kid was accepted to all of the schools she applied to, except her reaches. That is absolutely what statistics would have predicted. She had 7 schools to choose from: almost too many. They were all schools she had selected, after careful research and multiple visits.

Why is that not good news?

DC1 had a 3.3 GPA and 1230 SAT and did not apply to any reaches. Got accepted at the 5 schools they applied to. That's good news.
DC2 had a 4.2 GPA and 1430 SAT and only applied to 3 schools. Accepted ED to a DCUM-respected (but not a lottery) school. That's good news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worked out for my kid. Disappointing early round and then several great options RD. Met a kid at Northwestern's admitted students day who was rejected ED 1 & Ed2 at less competitive colleges but then got into NU RD. Make sure those RD apps are great and keep working to add accomplishments to the app portfolio. Good luck!

Nice story, but would love to know the ED1 & ED2 schools. Not really believable as shared.

I can't remember both. One was Wesleyan. I only met the mom briefly at the NU admit day. They were thrilled. It does happen.

Wesleyan's ED 1 admit rate was 62% for the class of 2025; ED 2 was 43%.

Wesleyan's ED 1 admit rate was 41% Class of 2026; ED 2 was 31%.

So, hard to believe as NU's RD admit rate was probably around 7% with much higher standards than Wesleyan. But, highly unlikely is not the same as impossible.

PP here. It was class '26, and I think Wes was the ED2. But, they were over the moon as it did seem like such an unlikely surprise to them.