It really is SUCH a huge disadvantage to be applying to college from the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try living in NJ if you think the DMV is bad.

+1. Or suburban NY.

Or suburban Boston.

Op, this is the issue everyone had who lives in competitive, wealthy areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I couldn't sleep last night and was watching 2025 "watch me as I open my acceptances" videos on youtube.
Many kids getting in to a half dozen top20 schools with a 3.9/1400/33/10 APs from schools in underrepresented states. I'm not even talking about Mississippi but places like Oregon, Arizona, etc.
It's the same on Reddit. Kids have these INSANE results (like they're choosing between Princeton, Duke and Penn) and then you read their stats and they have a 33 and no AP exams (despite taking 10 AP classes) and they're ASIAN or white as can be.
It's freaking night and day.

a friend of mine who has worked in admissions for 20 years at a couple T5 schools says this area is like North Shore of Chicago. It's a full tier down from NYC, suburban NYC, NJ, Palo Alto, some LA, and Boston. IOW we're not very special. And this area isn't even uniquely competitive.

I think we suffer from kinda boring kids with good teeth. Well off, hard working, great stats, kinda diverse in the same ways and .. pretty cookie cutter. It's tough for this one little moment in an otherwise super nice life. Our kids have had a more plush childhood that the Queen of England did. And if this little chapter is tricky -- oh no, they might have to go to Emory! -- really, we should thank our lucky stars

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of diverse and lower overall performing schools your kids could go to in this area as well, you just refuse to live in those areas.

My parents stupidly sent me to private school, which was super competitive, rather than send me to my decent but diverse local public school. I could have been in the top of my class there, and participated in lots of cool ECs too.

You too can send your kids to decent schools with lots of poorer local people and have your kids excell. But, like my parents, you choose not to.

[Anonymous]

Why are you as an adult watching college acceptance videos??!!

Honestly, it sounds like you need to move to a more rural area where you live have more opportunities to literally touch grass. The benefits of moving will be enormous for both you and your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I couldn't sleep last night and was watching 2025 "watch me as I open my acceptances" videos on youtube.
Many kids getting in to a half dozen top20 schools with a 3.9/1400/33/10 APs from schools in underrepresented states. I'm not even talking about Mississippi but places like Oregon, Arizona, etc.
It's the same on Reddit. Kids have these INSANE results (like they're choosing between Princeton, Duke and Penn) and then you read their stats and they have a 33 and no AP exams (despite taking 10 AP classes) and they're ASIAN or white as can be.
It's freaking night and day.

Everything is competitive here including research like RSI, National Merit Scholarships, Competitions like Science Fairs. Kids got into RSI with a 3.5 GPA, who just read research paper and 1450 SAT from mid west. Kid with 4.3 GPA 1570+ SAT and with real university research experience rejected

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of diverse and lower overall performing schools your kids could go to in this area as well, you just refuse to live in those areas.

My parents stupidly sent me to private school, which was super competitive, rather than send me to my decent but diverse local public school. I could have been in the top of my class there, and participated in lots of cool ECs too.

You too can send your kids to decent schools with lots of poorer local people and have your kids excell. But, like my parents, you choose not to.

Why do you assume that you’d be top of the class at your local public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I couldn't sleep last night and was watching 2025 "watch me as I open my acceptances" videos on youtube.
Many kids getting in to a half dozen top20 schools with a 3.9/1400/33/10 APs from schools in underrepresented states. I'm not even talking about Mississippi but places like Oregon, Arizona, etc.
It's the same on Reddit. Kids have these INSANE results (like they're choosing between Princeton, Duke and Penn) and then you read their stats and they have a 33 and no AP exams (despite taking 10 AP classes) and they're ASIAN or white as can be.
It's freaking night and day.

a friend of mine who has worked in admissions for 20 years at a couple T5 schools says this area is like North Shore of Chicago. It's a full tier down from NYC, suburban NYC, NJ, Palo Alto, some LA, and Boston. IOW we're not very special. And this area isn't even uniquely competitive.

I think we suffer from kinda boring kids with good teeth. Well off, hard working, great stats, kinda diverse in the same ways and .. pretty cookie cutter. It's tough for this one little moment in an otherwise super nice life. Our kids have had a more plush childhood that the Queen of England did. And if this little chapter is tricky -- oh no, they might have to go to Emory! -- really, we should thank our lucky stars

+1

[Anonymous]

Apply to schools in Texas, California and Illlinois as your geography adds to diversity there.

[Anonymous]

OP— why didn’t you move to an underrepresented state when your kids were young? I know you knew that they’d have a better chance at getting into a top college if you did.

[Anonymous]

Well, depends if you are in D, M or V. Same caliber student's odds from struggling inner DC school would be very different than a student from a competitive public school from Fairfax. You need to stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, depends if you are in D, M or V. Same caliber student's odds from struggling inner DC school would be very different than a student from a competitive public school from Fairfax. You need to stand out.

Not this year. DCPS is not doing well. Many disappointed kids and parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of diverse and lower overall performing schools your kids could go to in this area as well, you just refuse to live in those areas.

My parents stupidly sent me to private school, which was super competitive, rather than send me to my decent but diverse local public school. I could have been in the top of my class there, and participated in lots of cool ECs too.

You too can send your kids to decent schools with lots of poorer local people and have your kids excell. But, like my parents, you choose not to.

Are you sending your kids to schools with poorer local people now? What has been your experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of diverse and lower overall performing schools your kids could go to in this area as well, you just refuse to live in those areas.

My parents stupidly sent me to private school, which was super competitive, rather than send me to my decent but diverse local public school. I could have been in the top of my class there, and participated in lots of cool ECs too.

You too can send your kids to decent schools with lots of poorer local people and have your kids excell. But, like my parents, you choose not to.

Why do you assume that you’d be top of the class at your local public?

They would not have been at the top of their local public, that is what they like to think.

[Anonymous]

Did you know people can just...make up whatever they want and post it on the internet?

Look at facts, not social media posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try living in NJ if you think the DMV is bad.

+1. Or suburban NY.

or suburban Boston