"My observation is that the kids in my son's high school landed where they should."

[Anonymous]

Not sure why you leave out athletes since they worked the hardest, have accomplished something in the top 1% and have great leadership skills.

Otherwise most kids that I know ended up where their parents could afford to send them and all the hard work and late nights seem to be a waste of 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

This is not necessarily true. Grades, GPA, even standardized tests are being manipulated, especially for small cohorts of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this in another thread and it's *so* true. Outside of maybe 0-3 per year -- legacies, affirmative action, athletic recruits -- the other 99% of kids ended up exactly where they should have based on sustained involvement, leadership, stats and personality. Cream rises to the top. In my experience, the most anxious and bitter parents are just ticked off their good not great kids aren't as motivated as mom/dad are. If your kid doesn't have the internal motor to strive for a top school, you're gonna have a bad time forcing the issue.

LOL. So does fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this in another thread and it's *so* true. Outside of maybe 0-3 per year -- legacies, affirmative action, athletic recruits -- the other 99% of kids ended up exactly where they should have based on sustained involvement, leadership, stats and personality. Cream rises to the top. In my experience, the most anxious and bitter parents are just ticked off their good not great kids aren't as motivated as mom/dad are. If your kid doesn't have the internal motor to strive for a top school, you're gonna have a bad time forcing the issue.

LOL. So does fat.

And sh*t....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't have enough information about high school children other than my own to make such a determination. It all seems like BS to me. Maybe you have a broad sense of a few kids but how would you know about an entire class worth?

Of course. And half the parents are probably BS’ing about junior’s SAT score anyway. I’ve heard the “almost perfect SAT” story. Uh huh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't have enough information about high school children other than my own to make such a determination. It all seems like BS to me. Maybe you have a broad sense of a few kids but how would you know about an entire class worth?

Seriously. How do people know this shit?!

If you've had 3-4 children in the same high school plus you're involved (if not working) at the school, there's not much you don't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

Nope. I've seen Northwestern and Vandy admits end up at UVA, but never an Ivy end up at UVA. I'm sure it happens but infrequent. The cross-admit data out there proves this. Super smart driven kids from upper middle class families (donut hole) don't have their kids randomly fire off $100 apps to Ivies without knowing if they can swing it if admitted.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you a public school parent. Are you NoVa, FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

Nope. I've seen Northwestern and Vandy admits end up at UVA, but never an Ivy end up at UVA. I'm sure it happens but infrequent. The cross-admit data out there proves this. Super smart driven kids from upper middle class families (donut hole) don't have their kids randomly fire off $100 apps to Ivies without knowing if they can swing it if admitted.

Then you must not live in Virginia.

Loads of high stats kids at our 2 high schools have kids admitted to UVA and at least one Ivy. We know several who decided against paying the $70K/year for the Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

Nope. I've seen Northwestern and Vandy admits end up at UVA, but never an Ivy end up at UVA. I'm sure it happens but infrequent. The cross-admit data out there proves this. Super smart driven kids from upper middle class families (donut hole) don't have their kids randomly fire off $100 apps to Ivies without knowing if they can swing it if admitted.

I know many that over estimated how much money an Ivy would give them and ended up at a state school.

[Anonymous]

My super stat DD is at our state flagship honors college. There's no doubt that if we had been full pay she would be somewhere else - first she could have applied ED at her top choice and we also could have applied some places we didn't - think top 20-30 - and some of the rejections and waitlists likely would have fallen the other way. I can tell by the admits from the public HS she attended - there's no doubt. Frankly, the data shows that she would have been much better off being a star athlete that a star academic.

It breaks my heart a little bit as she earned it I just couldn't afford it. And in the life the social connections of those schools to which she was not admitted will matter but I also believe in my daughter and that she will bloom where she is planted. And I think she will be alot less cuddled so in early 20's when she is starting her career she will be formidable and I believe hiring managers will see that. It's a matter of getting those first interviews but as they say persistence beats resistance. And if she decides on med school well then we be grateful we didn't take out the undergraduate loans.

That said, perhaps sour grapes, but there is a certain sense of entitlement/privilege that I sense in the original poster. Full pay is a hook and ED is the filter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

DP. I know of U Penn admitted students instead having gone to UMDCP and UMBC on substantial to full ride scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

Nope. I've seen Northwestern and Vandy admits end up at UVA, but never an Ivy end up at UVA. I'm sure it happens but infrequent. The cross-admit data out there proves this. Super smart driven kids from upper middle class families (donut hole) don't have their kids randomly fire off $100 apps to Ivies without knowing if they can swing it if admitted.

Then you must not live in Virginia.

Loads of high stats kids at our 2 high schools have kids admitted to UVA and at least one Ivy. We know several who decided against paying the $70K/year for the Ivy.

Loads huh? People lie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never seen a rockstar kid who busted their butt all 4 years shut out from an elite college. The biggest "drop" I've seen are like rockstar kids obsessed with Harvard who end up at Cornell or Chicago.

You never saw a Ivy caliber kid end up at the state school, like the honors colleges?

Or an Ivy admitted kid go for a cheaper college?

Lots of these from the Blair magnet at UMD-CP.