Test optional success stories

[Anonymous]

DD got into CU Boulder with merit (TO; 3.95 uw gpa)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of success stories from our private last year.

This year appears somewhat different.

Will have to see how RD shakes out.

High school name matters A LOT. So does ED.

[Anonymous]

This is almost impossible to answer without someone specifying exactly what "success" means. Tons of times people mention a school name and people dump on the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of success stories from our private last year.

This year appears somewhat different.

Will have to see how RD shakes out.

High school name matters A LOT. So does ED.

Higb school matters a ton. Take a look at where kids in the class went the last two or so years to give you an idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is almost impossible to answer without someone specifying exactly what "success" means. Tons of times people mention a school name and people dump on the school.

Good point. Maybe admit rate is better than ranking or name? FWIW, here's my DC's TO results for EAs, rolling and 1 ED.

DC stats - 3.9 UW, no AP/IB, 6 college credits from 2 summer courses, very small indep endent HS, well-balanced ECs, URM, has LD
School preference - medium to large, urban setting, diverse, good for social sciences/pre-law
List was 11 schools from single-digit% to 60%+/T150, 2 public flagship and 1 public regional
Admitted to 10, deferred EA by Michigan
Northeastern Boston was ED, but admitted via non-binding N.U.in first semester abroad (still deciding)
Received $20K+ first-year merit aid from 8 of 10 ($0 from Northeastern, the other $0 was public)

DC is very organized, incredibly hard-working, and had a great pre-college counselor at HS. Tests were never going to be impressive due to LD. DC strategized on everything else from day 1 of 9th grade and did a lot of research, visits, virtual tours, etc.

Northeastern was a Hail Mary. We assumed deferral for Boston at best. No connections or contact with admissions. Applied ED because we heard admit was 40% and DC really wanted Boston and co-op.

My child is an outstanding person , but there are a ton of URMs whose academics are much closer to Northeastern's student profile. Only thing we can think of that might have made a difference in NEU AI enrollment system is DC does not need any aid. I hope financial privilege was not the tipping point. But it kind of feels that way.

[Anonymous]

Bumping up

[Anonymous]

Bump for the person who was looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump for the person who was looking.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Duke RD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got into UVA yesterday OOS TO. And prior to that info Binghamton and UVM honors. The rest of her apps are RD.

She goes to a private school but I wouldn’t say most people submit bc our college office only lets you submit if your scores are at the 50th percentile for the school. And they also encouraged her to leave her scores out when hoping for honors.

I don’t understand when people say their high school only lets them submit certain test scores. I understand the school may provide advice, but ultimately, isn’t it up to the student?

[Anonymous]

TO rejected Vanderbilt (ED1) and Cornell RD, accepted UCSB, UC Irvine, Cal Poly Slo, SMU, Tulane, UGA, UIUC, USD, UCSC, UMiami (FL), and Wisconsin. Waitlisted Michigan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TO rejected Vanderbilt (ED1) and Cornell RD, accepted UCSB, UC Irvine, Cal Poly Slo, SMU, Tulane, UGA, UIUC, USD, UCSC, UMiami (FL), and Wisconsin. Waitlisted Michigan.

Uw gpa?
Private or public high school?

[Anonymous]

I hate to overstate the obvious but….why on earth would one want their student to be at a college where their SAT is below the 25th percentile? This presumes no one in their right mind applies TO if they have median+ scores. Truly though, why try for a school where around 3/4 of admitted students are above the student’s score? That seems a recipe for disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to overstate the obvious but….why on earth would one want their student to be at a college where their SAT is below the 25th percentile? This presumes no one in their right mind applies TO if they have median+ scores. Truly though, why try for a school where around 3/4 of admitted students are above the student’s score? That seems a recipe for disaster.

Not always below the 25%….
My kid didn’t submit a 33.
Which is many schools’ 25%.
He got into an Ivy.

Things will return back to earth in 2 years once more people report scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to overstate the obvious but….why on earth would one want their student to be at a college where their SAT is below the 25th percentile? This presumes no one in their right mind applies TO if they have median+ scores. Truly though, why try for a school where around 3/4 of admitted students are above the student’s score? That seems a recipe for disaster.

Because the scores that are posted are inflated. For example only about half of applicants to UVA send their scores. It’s hard to know what the real range would have been but one idea is to look at scores for the HS Class of 2020.