My child is super intelligent and won't get into any good schools? What?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

He is exaggerating. Plenty of truly smart 140IQ kids get in. He needs to take the highest level of classes possible—99th percentile yet avoiding hardest classes is a fast track to rejection. He should be able to get all As unless he is in one of the few high schools where As in hard classes are only for the top 1/4 of students and a large portion of the class is 98-99th percentile kids. In 11th gr he still has time to find some leadership or so some volunteering in his community: show he is a human who cares about something besides himself and school. Involvement in Arts/music of any kind is extremely common among kids who attend ivy/t20 schools. If he already does this it will help. If he is not a jerk and he participates in class/loves learning he will have great LORs. These are important: he needs to get to know teachers well. Have him aim high and also have a lot of T25-50 schoos or lower LACs(below 15th are a lot easier). Read MIT applying sideways.

[Anonymous]

Have him look at University of Minnesota Twin Cities - ranked 54 in a tie with William & Mary

They didn’t require a ton of essays in Common App and my kid got accepted within a week

There are so many schools beyond the T10/20

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well my kid who got a 1580, had a 4.4 weighted gpa and has a 145 IQ didn’t get into VT or UVA. But he got in elsewhere and is loving it. Apply wisely with good safeties and a range of targets. Reaches are unlikely.

4.4 Weighted is only a little above average at multiple schools we know. Which would be why your kid did not get in: they either did not take enough AP/DE(A is 5 and A+ can be 5.3-5.5 points) so their rigor was a red flag, or they did not put the time in and had a bunch of Bs in those hardest classes. Or, they had bad LOR. 1580 should easily be able to have near 5.0 or above—ie in the top 20% of the grade —even at a competitive school like Governors .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What your son tells you is true. And it's OK. My 99th percentile kids are happy and doing well at a school ranked in the 80s and a LAC in the 30s. There are surrounded by smart, motivated kids, and they are living their best lives.

+1 my "gifted" kid is at a state flagship with merit. Doing well. Big fig in a big pond. But, there are definitely other high achieving kids in the program.

Grades and test scores alone won't get your kid into a T15. You need amazing extra curriculars, stellar essays and LoR. It's how the game is played.

My kid didn't want to play that game, so even with their super high stats, they ended up at the state flagship . But, all's well that ends well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They would rather take foreigners at 3x the price than your kid. He should apply anyway. The rejections will help him to build resilience for the job market which is this but worse.

Please ignore this xenophobic piece of disinformation. I'm a foreigner, I know other foreigners, and it's just as hard if not harder for our kids to get in. Thank you.

Sorry about the stupid racist above. Foreign students are a net benefit for our universities.

They are not a net benefit to American students though. And American universities should serve American students first and foremost, rather than existing to milk rich foreigners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

He is exaggerating. Plenty of truly smart 140IQ kids get in. He needs to take the highest level of classes possible—99th percentile yet avoiding hardest classes is a fast track to rejection. He should be able to get all As unless he is in one of the few high schools where As in hard classes are only for the top 1/4 of students and a large portion of the class is 98-99th percentile kids. In 11th gr he still has time to find some leadership or so some volunteering in his community: show he is a human who cares about something besides himself and school. Involvement in Arts/music of any kind is extremely common among kids who attend ivy/t20 schools. If he already does this it will help. If he is not a jerk and he participates in class/loves learning he will have great LORs. These are important: he needs to get to know teachers well. Have him aim high and also have a lot of T25-50 schoos or lower LACs(below 15th are a lot easier). Read MIT applying sideways.

lol. Your entire post after the boded shows he probably won't get in with just the high stats. That's the point - high stats alone won't get you in.

btdt with a kid with higher stats than OP's kid.

[Anonymous]

You need to calm down.
He has the stats to go for T20 if he wants along with a bunch of schools T75.
Class rank? ECs? Do two teachers love him?

[Anonymous]

There are lot of very good schools that aren’t ivy!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re your last sentence, OP: your child will absolutely be accepted to schools that do not have insanely low acceptance rates. A couple of pointers from recent experience:
- there are tons of students with your child’s stats.
- as terrific as he undoubtedly is, he is one of tens of similar thousands
- he is wise to make a plan. Create a brutally honest and balanced list of reaches, targets, and safeties that he would be happy to attend
- acceptance rates are such that reaches for all means just that - reach for ALL regardless of stats
- he should thoughtfully prepare a strategy for ED, EA, RD and rolling
- he should identify the teachers likely to write the best LORs and ask them early
- he should provide his guidance counselor with information to include in the very influential guidance counselor letter
- he should be prepared to create applications that not only reflect his achievements and ECs but that also convey to AOs who he is as a human being and why his presence on a campus will add to the campus as a community
-he should take comfort that the dream school and top 25 concepts are a fallacy. There are tons of schools in this country where he can be happy and thrive. But he’s got to do the work to find them, and not be influenced too much by rankings or the perception of others
- he should be humble and realize that hard work is everything, no one is entitled to anything, and positivity is infectious, vs the understandably negative feelings he sounds like he is experiencing. Get energized, chin up!
-also remind him that this too shall pass.

there are no "tens of thousands" 4.0 10+AP 1500+ applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

how many students at his own school does he think are better than him? who he thinks has the shot, if he doesn't?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

No it’s not true

Unless he’s at a religious private then yes could be.

If he’s in a public magnet might not get his first choice but will get in
Same with any other public

Georgia tech is very competitive however have him apply

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They would rather take foreigners at 3x the price than your kid. He should apply anyway. The rejections will help him to build resilience for the job market which is this but worse.

Please ignore this xenophobic piece of disinformation. I'm a foreigner, I know other foreigners, and it's just as hard if not harder for our kids to get in. Thank you.

absolutely! international students raise the game for all students: they are so incredibly talented at my kid's elite school--they have enjoyed having them as friends and class peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They would rather take foreigners at 3x the price than your kid. He should apply anyway. The rejections will help him to build resilience for the job market which is this but worse.

Please ignore this xenophobic piece of disinformation. I'm a foreigner, I know other foreigners, and it's just as hard if not harder for our kids to get in. Thank you.

absolutely! international students raise the game for all students: they are so incredibly talented at my kid's elite school--they have enjoyed having them as friends and class peers.

They cheat to get in and then cheat to stay in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They would rather take foreigners at 3x the price than your kid. He should apply anyway. The rejections will help him to build resilience for the job market which is this but worse.

Please ignore this xenophobic piece of disinformation. I'm a foreigner, I know other foreigners, and it's just as hard if not harder for our kids to get in. Thank you.

Sorry about the stupid racist above. Foreign students are a net benefit for our universities.

They are not a net benefit to American students though. And American universities should serve American students first and foremost, rather than existing to milk rich foreigners.

What about private universities?

Also, your kid is free to attend most international universities as well. It's nice to live in a world where we have choices and can explore the globe if we wish. If you wish to remain in your state and be isolated, dont' be shocked when the world passes you by

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (11th grade) is smart. Like, super smart. Not genius level, but he has maintained his 4.0 with ease and sails through AP and DE classes. His IQ is somewhere around 140. He hasn't taken the SAT yet, but I'm sure he'll do super well.

Despite all this, he keeps telling me he has "no shot" at good colleges (not Ivies, but schools like UC Davis, Georgia Tech, etc). I really don't understand how college admissions have become so competitive that a child in the 99th percentile will have trouble being admitted to schools without insanely low acceptance rates.

Is he exaggerating, or is this true?

He is exaggerating. Plenty of truly smart 140IQ kids get in. He needs to take the highest level of classes possible—99th percentile yet avoiding hardest classes is a fast track to rejection. He should be able to get all As unless he is in one of the few high schools where As in hard classes are only for the top 1/4 of students and a large portion of the class is 98-99th percentile kids. In 11th gr he still has time to find some leadership or so some volunteering in his community: show he is a human who cares about something besides himself and school. Involvement in Arts/music of any kind is extremely common among kids who attend ivy/t20 schools. If he already does this it will help. If he is not a jerk and he participates in class/loves learning he will have great LORs. These are important: he needs to get to know teachers well. Have him aim high and also have a lot of T25-50 schoos or lower LACs(below 15th are a lot easier). Read MIT applying sideways.

lol. Your entire post after the boded shows he probably won't get in with just the high stats. That's the point - high stats alone won't get you in.

btdt with a kid with higher stats than OP's kid.

DP.
The post says PLENTY get in. Not all. OP said kid said "NO shot" . There is a shot, and plenty get in. Some don't. The advice helps the OP be more likely to GET IN. Agree with the apply sideways blog.