Do you just shoot your shot everywhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

+100
Especially the bolded. So many kids - and their parents - insist they know what kind of student everyone else is. They don’t. Not only do they not know the grades and scores of anyone else, they also don’t know what the other kids are doing outside of school. It is the height of arrogance, and obvious sour grapes, when I hear kids and parents make these comments.

[Anonymous]

Just want to second that. Our DC got into a very competitive Ivy a couple of years ago although I'm confident their GPA wasn't as high as some other applicants and the guidance counselor clearly didn't think they had a shot. But we put together a really compelling, unusual narrative because of a sustained extracurricular plus academic interest that converged (think study in an unusual foreign language coupled with intensive immersion language study, a highly competitive exchange program in the country, volunteering with an organization with a connection to the language), plus they applied early decision, needed no financial aid, had legacy status, and told a compelling story about why they wanted to go into one of the less competitive programs at the school. From the outside, and to parents who didn't know about the extracurriculars, I'm sure people were surprised, but the fact of the matter is that you don't necessarily know what other peoples' kids are doing and just looking at grades/scores is woefully incomplete. Otherwise indistinguishable kids with perfect grades and high scores and nothing else to distinguish them personally are a dime a dozen in DMV.

[Anonymous]

My kid is going high match and closer but still high match ED1 and ED2. Possibly Carleton, then Vassar. Loves both. We’d prefer not to go into RD next year. It’s going to be a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD who is a junior with a 35 and 4.5W (and all the “right” ECs and leadership roles but no hook) has been watching this year very closely. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. Kids who seemed perfect got completely shut out. Kids who didn’t appear to have anything “magic” are in at Harvard, Yale, etc. so many great kids didn’t get into reaches but of course, some did. Is the best strategy for top tier admissions to ED/REA to your #1 and then cast a really wide net for RD? I used to make fun of the kids applying to 20+ schools but they seem to be the ones for whom something works out.

Oh my goodness OP, no. This is not a lottery, despite what you might think from the majority of the posts on DCUM. There is absolutely an appropriate strategy for college applications for high ranked students, and it does not involve applying to so many schools.

The first and most important thing is for your daughter to figure out what she is interested in studying, what she wants for a school environment, and what you can afford as a family. This is where you and your daughter spend time exploring different types of schools - geography, size, rural/urban, campus life, programs, etc. At this stage you initially cast a wide net to figure out what your DD does and does not like. Just because it is a highly ranked school or all her friends are applying, doesn't mean she would like being there. This is a spring/summer stage - visit some places that are nearby or seem especially interesting. Make sure you include your typical in-state public schools on her list.

Once your DD has a general idea of types of schools, she should look more closely at the programs of study she is interested in. What schools on her list have good programs of study for her? What good programs (check rankings) are not currently on her list and should they be added? This should be done by September. Your DD should also have some relative rankings among her list, or at least some clear pros & cons for each. At this point, my high ranked DS had 18-22 schools of interest.

First round of applications:
1. Apply EA to your best fit, in-state public school. This should be a school that your DD would enjoy being at for 4 years. (Note - many public schools have strong honors programs and good merit scholarships. Many top students turn down higher ranked schools to go in-state and save money for graduate school.)

2. If there is a rolling admissions school that is a good fit for your DD, it may be worth applying to just to relieve stress.

3. Look at your list of top ranked schools and decide if there is one that your DD is absolutely sure she wants to go to and wouldn't look at any other schools if she got in. If so, then apply ED/SCEA/REA. If not, then don't. (My DS did not because there were several interesting programs/schools and he wasn't ready to decide between them.) The only reason % admit is higher out of ED than RD is because the schools are forcing the pool of top candidates to divide themselves among 10+ schools. You are competing against a smaller group of top candidates, and many of them are just gambling on a high ranked school rather than identifying the one that is a good fit and selling themselves.

4. Apply to anything else EA that is equivalent interest or higher on your DDs list compared to the in-state public school.

At this point my DS applied to 4 schools, out of the 14-18 that were under consideration. 1 state flagship university and 3 high ranked (top 20), non-ivy schools that had EA. December acceptances brought 1 admit and 2 deferred to RD from the top schools, and 1 admit in January to flagship. DS was thrilled with the top 20 admit, and it really whittled down his remaining list to 3 ivies, which he applied to RD.

If your DD has done her homework correctly, you should now have at least one admit to compare your other schools against. Your DD probably also has clearer ideas of preferences on what is left on her list. If she has a ranking of all 8 Ivies in order of preference and fit, she should only apply to the top 3. Same for comparing 10 SLACs. The schools aren't interchangeable. The same kid isn't a good fit at all of them. If your DD can't distinguish them and make a case for why she is a good fit for a specific school, then the admissions committee won't choose her.

My DS was accepted into 2 of the 3 Ivies, declined for the 3rd. One deferral was declined, the other still WL. He ended up choosing the EA top 20 school. So 7 applications netted 3 top 20 acceptances, 1 state university, 1 WL, and 2 declines. There are other similar stories from previous years on DCUM and out on other forums. Do your research, be realistic about your DD's good fit public, and be strategic about which top schools to apply to. She'll land in the right place for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

+1000

You posted while I was typing too long. It really is all about the research, finding a good fit, and not getting hung up on rankings and where everyone else is applying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

+1000

You posted while I was typing too long. It really is all about the research, finding a good fit, and not getting hung up on rankings and where everyone else is applying.

True story and ultimately my kid picked the "lesser" school because of the research and can't wait to go. The stress of rankings is ridiculous, students will learn and succeed everywhere if they work hard, full stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

+1000

You posted while I was typing too long. It really is all about the research, finding a good fit, and not getting hung up on rankings and where everyone else is applying.

True story and ultimately my kid picked the "lesser" school because of the research and can't wait to go. The stress of rankings is ridiculous, students will learn and succeed everywhere if they work hard, full stop.

All of this. My kid was accepted at 11/12 schools ranging from two T25 reaches to a couple of safeties outside of the T100, all chosen because they were the "right" schools rather than the "highest ranked" ones. And in the end, the kid has deposited at school not even on the US News national university list since it's classified as a regional university. It's a perfect fit and I think DC is going to do really well there.

There's a school for everyone. A lot just depends on being ok that some arbitrary ranking is not the most important thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to second that. Our DC got into a very competitive Ivy a couple of years ago although I'm confident their GPA wasn't as high as some other applicants and the guidance counselor clearly didn't think they had a shot. But we put together a really compelling, unusual narrative because of a sustained extracurricular plus academic interest that converged (think study in an unusual foreign language coupled with intensive immersion language study, a highly competitive exchange program in the country, volunteering with an organization with a connection to the language), plus they applied early decision, needed no financial aid, had legacy status, and told a compelling story about why they wanted to go into one of the less competitive programs at the school. From the outside, and to parents who didn't know about the extracurriculars, I'm sure people were surprised, but the fact of the matter is that you don't necessarily know what other peoples' kids are doing and just looking at grades/scores is woefully incomplete. Otherwise indistinguishable kids with perfect grades and high scores and nothing else to distinguish them personally are a dime a dozen in DMV.

Not that your kid didn't deserve to be admitted, but that's what put him across the finish line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD who is a junior with a 35 and 4.5W (and all the “right” ECs and leadership roles but no hook) has been watching this year very closely. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. Kids who seemed perfect got completely shut out. Kids who didn’t appear to have anything “magic” are in at Harvard, Yale, etc. so many great kids didn’t get into reaches but of course, some did. Is the best strategy for top tier admissions to ED/REA to your #1 and then cast a really wide net for RD? I used to make fun of the kids applying to 20+ schools but they seem to be the ones for whom something works out.

Oh my goodness OP, no. This is not a lottery, despite what you might think from the majority of the posts on DCUM. There is absolutely an appropriate strategy for college applications for high ranked students, and it does not involve applying to so many schools.

The first and most important thing is for your daughter to figure out what she is interested in studying, what she wants for a school environment, and what you can afford as a family. This is where you and your daughter spend time exploring different types of schools - geography, size, rural/urban, campus life, programs, etc. At this stage you initially cast a wide net to figure out what your DD does and does not like. Just because it is a highly ranked school or all her friends are applying, doesn't mean she would like being there. This is a spring/summer stage - visit some places that are nearby or seem especially interesting. Make sure you include your typical in-state public schools on her list.

Once your DD has a general idea of types of schools, she should look more closely at the programs of study she is interested in. What schools on her list have good programs of study for her? What good programs (check rankings) are not currently on her list and should they be added? This should be done by September. Your DD should also have some relative rankings among her list, or at least some clear pros & cons for each. At this point, my high ranked DS had 18-22 schools of interest.

First round of applications:
1. Apply EA to your best fit, in-state public school. This should be a school that your DD would enjoy being at for 4 years. (Note - many public schools have strong honors programs and good merit scholarships. Many top students turn down higher ranked schools to go in-state and save money for graduate school.)

2. If there is a rolling admissions school that is a good fit for your DD, it may be worth applying to just to relieve stress.

3. Look at your list of top ranked schools and decide if there is one that your DD is absolutely sure she wants to go to and wouldn't look at any other schools if she got in. If so, then apply ED/SCEA/REA. If not, then don't. (My DS did not because there were several interesting programs/schools and he wasn't ready to decide between them.) The only reason % admit is higher out of ED than RD is because the schools are forcing the pool of top candidates to divide themselves among 10+ schools. You are competing against a smaller group of top candidates, and many of them are just gambling on a high ranked school rather than identifying the one that is a good fit and selling themselves.

4. Apply to anything else EA that is equivalent interest or higher on your DDs list compared to the in-state public school.

At this point my DS applied to 4 schools, out of the 14-18 that were under consideration. 1 state flagship university and 3 high ranked (top 20), non-ivy schools that had EA. December acceptances brought 1 admit and 2 deferred to RD from the top schools, and 1 admit in January to flagship. DS was thrilled with the top 20 admit, and it really whittled down his remaining list to 3 ivies, which he applied to RD.

If your DD has done her homework correctly, you should now have at least one admit to compare your other schools against. Your DD probably also has clearer ideas of preferences on what is left on her list. If she has a ranking of all 8 Ivies in order of preference and fit, she should only apply to the top 3. Same for comparing 10 SLACs. The schools aren't interchangeable. The same kid isn't a good fit at all of them. If your DD can't distinguish them and make a case for why she is a good fit for a specific school, then the admissions committee won't choose her.

My DS was accepted into 2 of the 3 Ivies, declined for the 3rd. One deferral was declined, the other still WL. He ended up choosing the EA top 20 school. So 7 applications netted 3 top 20 acceptances, 1 state university, 1 WL, and 2 declines. There are other similar stories from previous years on DCUM and out on other forums. Do your research, be realistic about your DD's good fit public, and be strategic about which top schools to apply to. She'll land in the right place for her.

So he's going to Notre Dame over Cornell and Dartmouth. BFD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has similar stats, cast a wide net and still got nothing. Waitlisted a couple of places.

Ugh! Sorry, PP. Do any of the waitlists look promising?

If your kid had a 35 and "still got nothing," he/you clearly did something wrong and didn't apply to the right schools. Tons of schools would salivate over a kid with those stats.

Not if you’re white and from this area. No top 20. Will be going to a state school which is ok, but certainly disappointing.

[Anonymous]

So he's going to Notre Dame over Cornell and Dartmouth. BFD

You're a D-bag.

[Anonymous]

I think it makes a difference to have a reason to apply to schools. Don’t go by rank, go by fit. And, make sure the application tells a story about why the student would be a good fit. My DS did ED at a reach (not high reach) but great fit and that’s where he’ll be going. He also had safety/ EA schools that he liked and was admitted. Made this year much more manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So he's going to Notre Dame over Cornell and Dartmouth. BFD

You're a D-bag.

Also just stupid. That was my DS. He turned down Princeton and U Penn and WL at U Chicago. But you go on making yourself feel better by being a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid applied to a huge reach for ED1 (rejected) and a huge reach for ED2 (rejected), a couple of reaches for RD, a couple of matches for RD, and three safeties. He was accepted at his matches and his safeties and rejected everywhere else. He had 5 acceptances and 4 rejections, which hurt his feelings a little but seemed about right to me. If you don't have any rejections, you didn't reach high enough.

BS...if you didn't have any rejections, that means you found a good fit or several good fits and didn't look back.

+1. It's a great feeling to get in each place you applied.