Help me figure out which schools are realistic

[Anonymous]

Public school grades have become so inflated it’s really hard to say. A target would be UVa, VaTech, William &Mary or Maryland CP, depending what state you are in. I think T20 will be unrealistic, but there is no harm applying if your dd understands it is an extreme long shot. It’s very hard for girls in particular right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build a balanced list of schools: reach, targets and safeties/likelies. That means recognizing that any school with less than 20% acceptance rate is a Reach for ANYONE. So NU/Duke/HYPSM etc are a major reach for everyone---think of them as highly rejective. So pick a few and apply and give it your all, but do not let your kid fall in love with them and make sure they know it's not likely to happen.

Pick targets where your kids scores are 50%+ and acceptance rates are 20-25%+.
Safeties are 50%+ acceptance rates and your kid's scores at/above 75%+
Likelies are 75%+ acceptance rates and kid's scores at/above 75+.

remember your kid must like all the schools and you must be able to afford them in order for them to be real and on your list. A safety your kid doesn't want to attend is NOT a safety.

Pick at least 3-4 in each category and your kid will be fine come March/April senior year. They will likely be in at 50% of their Targets and 50%+ of their safeties. Reaches who knows, they might win the lottery.

Based on the other post, no public university is a true safety for anyone because they do yield protection.

You have really oversimplified this. I will say that MOST public universities are "safeties" for OP's kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading through the northwestern thread where multiple people said no one gets in…I’m just not sure where to encourage my kid to look. What would you all suggest for a white female, good public school, 3.95 UW with high rigor, 1550 SAT, several extracurriculars including leadership roles, volunteerism and awards — but nothing knock your socks off like those famous awards or started a non-profit or wrote a published book or whatever.

I’m assuming Harvard, Yale, Princeton and places like Amherst are unrealistic. What would be realistic? Kid does not want to go to the Sputh and isn’t super interested in California so we are primarily looking Northeast, mid Atlantic, or upper Midwest.

Thanks for any ideas.

With that profile, no school is out, but top schools are enough of a crap shoot that they shouldn't expect to get in either. There is nothing wrong with shooting their shot at ivy league schools- they have the same odds that any other unhooked kids would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Realistic targets: SLACs like Grinnell, Carleton, Kenyon, Hamilton probably?
For larger universities: NYU, Georgetown, Michigan

I'd think she'd have a shot at Penn/Cornell/etc. too but obviously those are more of a crapshoot/reach

Hamilton, Georgetown, Michigan and NUu would all be reaches, not targets.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good advice here. I agree
Rising senior? Have her help you choose where to visit this summer if you can. Interview with AO's if available. Have her develop a feel for the basics (size, location etc)
Rookie mistake many of us make is the dream school thing
One of mine got into dream school, but it was a nail biter - another applied ED to a target bc that was their top choice bc of surroundings, vibe, size, majors offered, internships support - so many factors.
It's those factors that I encourage your daughter to identify
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public school grades have become so inflated it’s really hard to say. A target would be UVa, VaTech, William &Mary or Maryland CP, depending what state you are in. I think T20 will be unrealistic, but there is no harm applying if your dd understands it is an extreme long shot. It’s very hard for girls in particular right now.

A 3.95 UW gpa is near perfect. They have great SATs and ECs with leadership. If T20 is out of reach for this kid, then it's out of reach for any kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build a balanced list of schools: reach, targets and safeties/likelies. That means recognizing that any school with less than 20% acceptance rate is a Reach for ANYONE. So NU/Duke/HYPSM etc are a major reach for everyone---think of them as highly rejective. So pick a few and apply and give it your all, but do not let your kid fall in love with them and make sure they know it's not likely to happen.

Pick targets where your kids scores are 50%+ and acceptance rates are 20-25%+.
Safeties are 50%+ acceptance rates and your kid's scores at/above 75%+
Likelies are 75%+ acceptance rates and kid's scores at/above 75+.

remember your kid must like all the schools and you must be able to afford them in order for them to be real and on your list. A safety your kid doesn't want to attend is NOT a safety.

Pick at least 3-4 in each category and your kid will be fine come March/April senior year. They will likely be in at 50% of their Targets and 50%+ of their safeties. Reaches who knows, they might win the lottery.

Based on the other post, no public university is a true safety for anyone because they do yield protection.

You have really oversimplified this. I will say that MOST public universities are "safeties" for OP's kid.

Having just gone the application cycle, a big nope to that. Targets at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading through the northwestern thread where multiple people said no one gets in…I’m just not sure where to encourage my kid to look. What would you all suggest for a white female, good public school, 3.95 UW with high rigor, 1550 SAT, several extracurriculars including leadership roles, volunteerism and awards — but nothing knock your socks off like those famous awards or started a non-profit or wrote a published book or whatever.

I’m assuming Harvard, Yale, Princeton and places like Amherst are unrealistic. What would be realistic? Kid does not want to go to the Sputh and isn’t super interested in California so we are primarily looking Northeast, mid Atlantic, or upper Midwest.

Thanks for any ideas.

I didn't read the other thread. But this describes my DD's friend who got in from a Tysons Corner (Vienna/Falls Church) HS in 2020. OF course this is just 1 person I know of personally. She applied ED to their music program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school grades have become so inflated it’s really hard to say. A target would be UVa, VaTech, William &Mary or Maryland CP, depending what state you are in. I think T20 will be unrealistic, but there is no harm applying if your dd understands it is an extreme long shot. It’s very hard for girls in particular right now.

A 3.95 UW gpa is near perfect. They have great SATs and ECs with leadership. If T20 is out of reach for this kid, then it's out of reach for any kid.

You have no clue how common these grades are these days. More than 20 percent of the class will have similar grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading through the northwestern thread where multiple people said no one gets in…I’m just not sure where to encourage my kid to look. What would you all suggest for a white female, good public school, 3.95 UW with high rigor, 1550 SAT, several extracurriculars including leadership roles, volunteerism and awards — but nothing knock your socks off like those famous awards or started a non-profit or wrote a published book or whatever.

I’m assuming Harvard, Yale, Princeton and places like Amherst are unrealistic. What would be realistic? Kid does not want to go to the Sputh and isn’t super interested in California so we are primarily looking Northeast, mid Atlantic, or upper Midwest.

Thanks for any ideas.

I didn't read the other thread. But this describes my DD's friend who got in from a Tysons Corner (Vienna/Falls Church) HS in 2020. OF course this is just 1 person I know of personally. She applied ED to their music program.

Pre test optional and Covid inflated grades is completely irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what would she like to study? Despite what people usually discuss an applicant's intended major is a huge part of it. Especially if the ECs support that.

If she is interested in CS then, frankly, there are a LOT of good CS programs and the school almost doesn't matter (almost). But if she is interested in something that isn't offered everywhere then that is a great reason to apply!

Yes! Not sure how everyone can just rattle off schools without knowing academic interests of the student. Silly.

[Anonymous]

NO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school grades have become so inflated it’s really hard to say. A target would be UVa, VaTech, William &Mary or Maryland CP, depending what state you are in. I think T20 will be unrealistic, but there is no harm applying if your dd understands it is an extreme long shot. It’s very hard for girls in particular right now.

A 3.95 UW gpa is near perfect. They have great SATs and ECs with leadership. If T20 is out of reach for this kid, then it's out of reach for any kid.

You have no clue how common these grades are these days. More than 20 percent of the class will have similar grades.

Do you have any data to back up that claim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistic targets: SLACs like Grinnell, Carleton, Kenyon, Hamilton probably?
For larger universities: NYU, Georgetown, Michigan

I'd think she'd have a shot at Penn/Cornell/etc. too but obviously those are more of a crapshoot/reach

Hamilton, Georgetown, Michigan and NUu would all be reaches, not targets.

Is Hamilton a reach for this student if she applies ED 1 ? (Hamilton's ED 1 admit rate was 41% two years ago. Not sure about the most recent admissions cycle, however.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what would she like to study? Despite what people usually discuss an applicant's intended major is a huge part of it. Especially if the ECs support that.

If she is interested in CS then, frankly, there are a LOT of good CS programs and the school almost doesn't matter (almost). But if she is interested in something that isn't offered everywhere then that is a great reason to apply!

Yes! Not sure how everyone can just rattle off schools without knowing academic interests of the student. Silly.

I asked the same question about intended major. Folks responding--including me--just assume that the OP's daughter is undecided.