High stats kid with disappointing end results?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I spent four years telling my kid that he should do his best and if he got top grades, good ECs, high scores that it would prepare him to succeed and get a lottery ticket. He got straight As with the exception of an honors science class sophomore year, 88.87. Our school district doesn’t round up and he had the bad luck to get a teacher who didn’t allow retakes or extra credit. I assured him that two semesters of Bs would not ruin his future. The only kids who got As in that class were three cheaters which really annoyed him. He had excellent ECs which were his authentically. He took a bunch of dual enrollment units and as many APs as the school would allow. His essays were great and not written by someone else. I told him how proud we were but to prepared for things to go differently. His older cousin was valedictorian, perfect SATs and was shut out from all but one of his safeties. My son’s guidance counselor was overly encouraging telling him he had an excellent shot at his dream school.

My son did not get into his dream school or his targets but got into a few safeties. He’s crushed. To make matters worst, the two kids in his school that got in lied on their apps, cheated their way through school, and paid someone else to write their essays. He tutored them in several subjects and always went out of his way to help other students. He’s really struggling with reality that being ethical and helping others doesn’t pay off but lying and cheating does.

That's a tough lesson, and I could see teens falling into that trap. Why play by the rules when you don't get rewarded in the end?

There will always be someone who is gaining an "unfair advantage".

My college kid chose to take "Freshman Organic Chem" and place out of Chem 101/102 because it was allowed with a 5 on AP. What they didn't know is that puts them in class with other freshman who actually had already taken Organic Chemistry in HS (either in USA or internationally) but had to retake it to get credit (no AP Orgo available). Oh, and most of the kids in the direct admit to Med school (4+4) were in that class. So while Organic Chem typically has a low curve (40-50% is typical at many schools), the curve in this class was set at 86-88% for most midterms and final. My kid was happy to get a B/B+. As they had never had Organic Chem before. Had they waited and taken regular Orgo, they'd have easily gotten an A.
But you know what, it doesn't matter, they are an engineering major, not premed, so the grade doesn't matter, they learned the material did decent in class and are now in their more advanced more interesting Engineering courses

This is precisely why this thread is insufferable. Humblebrag. Who in the heck takes orgo when they are an engineering major? But you had to throw that out there— the inexperience, the tall hill to climb, and then the hero rescue. With the cherry on top—not even his much harder major.

It’s just hard to empathize when I come to this site.

Chemical Engineering Majors do. It's a requirement to take the full year of Orgo (lower ranked schools sometime only require 1 semester, but most in the T50 require full year).

So why not NOT comment on something you know nothing about.

It has nothing to do with ranking but rather compliance with ABET requirements.

CWRU is ABET compliant, yet only requires Orgo 1. Orgo 2 is an option along with several other advanced Chemistry courses. So I think only Orgo 1 is part of compliance. In our experience, the "higher ranked" the school, the more likely they "require" orgo 2. My kid's school was the same as Case until 4 years ago, now it's "required", but previously it was an option as "advanced chemistry course pick from these 5".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If 70% of the graduating classes at Princeton head for careers in consulting, corporate finance, and investment banking; that tells one all one needs to know about the goals of the dying for IVY … it’s not about intellect, creativity, or service to mankind.

I agree with this on the surface. But I do know many mid-career professionals from T-10 schools who started in consulting or IB who have now switched over to non-profits.

Their education and private sector experience are extremely valuable in support of pro-social goals.

Is this true of everyone who goes to Princeton and chooses their first job in consulting or IB (or goes straight to law school and then BigLaw …)? Of course not. But careers are long and many people evolve as they mature. Don’t assume those expensive T-10 educations are completely going to waste ….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If 70% of the graduating classes at Princeton head for careers in consulting, corporate finance, and investment banking; that tells one all one needs to know about the goals of the dying for IVY … it’s not about intellect, creativity, or service to mankind.

Sounds miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's really common, especially in competitive majors. My son graduated in 2022 at the top of his class with every award, perfect score you could think of and ONLY got into safetys. He is thriving and getting huge opportunities. There is a shift in dynamics that companies are realizing the talent is not where it used to be and he is a star student being recognized at the very top levels of his flagship university. He should have gotten in everywhere but admisssions has been very unfair for a while, nothing we can do other than if WE are hiring, know that the best students may not be at the traditional "best" schools and making different choices in our own hiring.

This is what you do if you don’t win the admissions lottery: you go to a school that actually wanted you, do well, rise above your competition, get great internships & recommendations, and land a good job after graduating. It should be easier to rise above the competition at a school ranked 45 than at a school ranked 15.

or this is what you do if you don't have $400K+ readily avaialbe (without causing financial pain for your family). You go to your state flagship, join the honors program and all that is offered, and do it for very low costs. Knowing that the difference in your education is 99% you and what you put into it

[Anonymous]

Didn’t read all the posts, but NYU has a ~8% acceptance rate. That’s pretty amazing! Your child should feel very proud.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m convinced if schools went back to providing class rank to parents, there would be a lot less of such surprising results. The colleges still calculate for admission purposes.

Bigger issue is that there aren't enough top spots for top kids. Especially this year with the expanded birth rate and the emphasis on taking FGLI and rural kids. These colleges can't fill their classes with DMV high achievers.

If they are all top kids, then all the spots are top spots.

[Anonymous]

I honestly liked the lower ranked school where my kid got in better than the higher ranked schools that accepted/rejected/waitlisted them. But it’s not my college choice!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Anyone with high stats kids, who didn't get where you thought they should? Thought mine would land a few T25s, but didn't. She got into NYU, UMD and GWU, which are good choices but still feel a bit bummed.

Anyone experiencing this? How to get over it.

1520 kid, 3.9 UW.
Applied to 12 t40 schools.
Denied at every single one but UVA (OOS). He is bummed. He doesn't want to go to UVA.
He was also accepted at Science Po and St Andrews and is trying to decide between the two.

Genuine question---why apply to UVA at all (especially OOS) if "he doesn't want to go to UVA"? Also OOS UVA is a Reach with a 13% acceptance rate.

Maybe trying for the Jefferson?

But once again, if it's a school you really don't want to attend, why apply?

Every single school my kid applied to were ones they would be excited and happy to attend. Yes a few of the safeties they wouldn't be "as excited", but they had 2 safeties they were really excited about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone point me to where the T25 list is? The actual link?

Unless someone can provide this list, this whole thread is moot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone point me to where the T25 list is? The actual link?

Unless someone can provide this list, this whole thread is moot.

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