Do unhooked ever get into to 20 schools?
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Anonymous
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I have two unhooked MCPS students that went on to top 20 schools. These were the schools we found to be possible for unhooked applicants -
MIT Northwestern Cornell Vanderbilt Rice Chicago CalTech Columbia Johns Hopkins Notre Dame Berkeley |
Anonymous
I'd add Michigan; and WashU and Emory (depending on ED use). |
Anonymous
Unless he compares very favorably with the “rest of the class” applying to Vanderbilt, an ED there is a big mistake. The only top 20 kid has a decent chance for (and then still not probable) is Chicago. Duke is a wasted application. History at JHU is possible, at least, with an ED1 (but smaller chances than Chicago). WashU ED, Michigan ED might work. UVA ED. That’s all I got… |
Anonymous
| UCLA |
Anonymous
NP MIT and Caltech mostly accept kids with competitions and national awards so aren’t those essentially hooks? Chicago only take kids who can pay for ED0 form their expensive summer camps or ED1, so that’s a hook. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
No, I said he wants to ED to Duke -- meaning his plan is to apply to Duke ED. He is a junior. |
Anonymous
Do you think these programs help? I have a kid interested in history and I am just not sure they do. |
Anonymous
It helps to show alignment with major and gives you good concrete, niche and specific sub-time period material for a Why Major essay. However, if the kid has a ton of other evidence for major, no it won't make it difference. Imo it helps if your kid's ECs are simple a few common schools clubs. Try and get an internship at a museum too. That helps with a good story for a history boy. |
Anonymous
| Yes, my unhooked public school DC was just accepted to Northwestern ED. But as pointed out by another poster, it’s important to know where your student stands as compared with the rest of the class. Applying to Vanderbilt with all of the other top students is a huge risk absent a major differentiating factor (EC’s). |
Anonymous
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Yes, it's possible. It also depends what you mean by "hooked."
There are the usual hooks like FGLI, donor, or athlete. But each school also has institutional priorities. Cornell takes more kids from NY, UPenn prioritizes kids from Philly or LGBTQ, Notre Dame takes a lot of kids from Catholic schools, etc. Do you consider being the HS valedictorian a hook, or merely having the stats to get in? How about having pointy ECs? Is that a hook or just what it takes to be considered? If your kid has the stats and ECs, then they have a chance - even if it's a slim one. |
Anonymous
| Use Naviance op, no one here knows how your school does at Vandy. |
Anonymous
Definitely from our NJ private |
Anonymous
| How can you tell your ranking from MCPS they don’t do it do they? My son said they absolutely don’t give them class ranking information. |
Anonymous
| My DC got into 2, T20 schools last year (c/o 2025). He was unhooked at one (legacy at the other in a school that considers legacy). |