I can’t say this to my kid’s face, of course, but...

[Anonymous]

This is why good students will keep getting rejected year after year.


You people don't even understand that your American holistic admissions system is keeping you hostage.


You need to press for changes in university selection. Make it JUST ABOUT ACADEMICS.

It will become simple, low-stress, and easy.

People will find their college based on their grades and test scores.

[Anonymous]

What's his major? It's much tougher to get in with a computer science or engineering major at many schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were OP, I would hire a private counselor, take a GAP year, keep the SAT scores or try again to move it up. But he shoudl take the SAT II subject matter tests and if he gets close to an 800, send them in. Princeton "highly recommends them" so DS did them. Or maybe even try the ACT. Some kids test better on the ACT than the SAT.

Meanwhile, have your head call around, as suggested. Show demonstrated interest (they are all concerned about yield). Watch those lists of undersubscribed schools. But seriously consider the gap year. It's been a horrible one for everyone I know in the rat race this year.

SAT IIs no longer exist. And the kid's SAT score is high enough for everywhere.

[Anonymous]

The College Openings Update comes out in May. This is a list of schools that still have openings. You may find some solid choices on there if DS isn't happy with his current option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is why good students will keep getting rejected year after year.


You people don't even understand that your American holistic admissions system is keeping you hostage.


You need to press for changes in university selection. Make it JUST ABOUT ACADEMICS.

It will become simple, low-stress, and easy.

People will find their college based on their grades and test scores.

Nobody actually wants it to be that way. That would make colleges boring. Then you will have top students not applying to the academically top schools because no one wants to live for 4 years only with people who scored 1580+ on the SAT and spend all of their time studying. Seriously. And companies are not going to recruit their leaders from schools like that, so the reputation will drop. Look at the people who are considered successful in the U.S. and look at the schools they attended (or dropped out of). It is different here for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give up. It’s hard to to stay optimistic. He worked his ass off at his private school, got mid-1500 on his SAT, continued his in person volunteering throughout the pandemic (which I was not excited about, but he wanted to do it). He has had one B+ his entire 4 years of college, the rest As. His teachers speak highly of him and I believe they must have written good letters.

His counselor said his list was solid. He’s been waitlisted or rejected nearly everywhere. He has one acceptance to a “likely” and that’s it. Only one place teaming and it’s a huge reach, esp this year.

It’s hard to stay positive, happy, and upbeat for my kid. He is unexcited about the one place he got in. I know I should try to point out the positives of getting in that one place but it is so hard. I wish he would defer and take a gap year. I brought it up once but he said he isn’t interested.

I’m not thrilled with his college counselor at school. She hasn’t even checked in on his to see how he is doing. I give up on that process too. He is crushed. I am crushed for him.

I’d anyone else having this horrible of a situation? And please don’t say, “my love sucks too, my daughter only got into Emory and not Brown” or some such nonsense. His safety he got in is a safety for everyone.

When I read these kind of posts or hear things like this from others, I always think the real issue is the realization and regret of the wasted time, effort and money that went into all of it with the expectation of the pay off. The reality becomes the student ends up in pretty much the same place they would have been without all of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is why good students will keep getting rejected year after year.


You people don't even understand that your American holistic admissions system is keeping you hostage.


You need to press for changes in university selection. Make it JUST ABOUT ACADEMICS.

It will become simple, low-stress, and easy.

People will find their college based on their grades and test scores.

You say this as if it is a universally accepted idea that university selection should be just about academics. I don't believe in that at all.
Not to mention, it is up to the schools to decide what students they want to admit and what qualities they find valuable. Why should other people have a say? How would you "press for changes"? You can't require schools not to look at attributes other than academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were OP, I would hire a private counselor, take a GAP year, keep the SAT scores or try again to move it up. But he shoudl take the SAT II subject matter tests and if he gets close to an 800, send them in. Princeton "highly recommends them" so DS did them. Or maybe even try the ACT. Some kids test better on the ACT than the SAT.

Meanwhile, have your head call around, as suggested. Show demonstrated interest (they are all concerned about yield). Watch those lists of undersubscribed schools. But seriously consider the gap year. It's been a horrible one for everyone I know in the rat race this year.

SAT IIs no longer exist. And the kid's SAT score is high enough for everywhere.

Of course they still exist. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/register/test-dates-deadlines. And this year, unfotunately, you need perfect scores to get in. My kid got a 34 on the ACT and ON HIS OWN decided to try for a 36 and got it. That's where you will get the very few merit scholarships left by middle and third tier schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When I read these kind of posts or hear things like this from others, I always think the real issue is the realization and regret of the wasted time, effort and money that went into all of it with the expectation of the pay off. The reality becomes the student ends up in pretty much the same place they would have been without all of that.

I tend to think the problem is that the expected payoff is so narrowly defined (acceptance to a particular set of schools). I know OP isn't ready to hear or accept this yet, so I wasn't going to type it. But, what I see in OP's post is a bright kid who is a hard worker and who has the ability to do well in life, regardless of which college he attends. That's the reward for all this effort, and it's a pretty powerful one, in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

“ And to demonstrate their commitment to the test policy, colleges have to accept 30 to 50 percent among the students who did not submit a test score.”

Is this true? It would explain all the deferrals and WLs we are seeing at my DC’s Big3 private. My kid has shown me MANY tik toks of kids getting into T20 schools this year - bragging that they only had an 1100 on the SAT or a 26 ACT and just didn’t submit scores. They have hit the lottery. It is a crazy admissions year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were OP, I would hire a private counselor, take a GAP year, keep the SAT scores or try again to move it up. But he shoudl take the SAT II subject matter tests and if he gets close to an 800, send them in. Princeton "highly recommends them" so DS did them. Or maybe even try the ACT. Some kids test better on the ACT than the SAT.

Meanwhile, have your head call around, as suggested. Show demonstrated interest (they are all concerned about yield). Watch those lists of undersubscribed schools. But seriously consider the gap year. It's been a horrible one for everyone I know in the rat race this year.

SAT IIs no longer exist. And the kid's SAT score is high enough for everywhere.

Of course they still exist. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/register/test-dates-deadlines. And this year, unfotunately, you need perfect scores to get in. My kid got a 34 on the ACT and ON HIS OWN decided to try for a 36 and got it. That's where you will get the very few merit scholarships left by middle and third tier schools.

College Board website alert - SAT Subject Tests have been discontinued in the United States, and will be discontinued internationally after June 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ And to demonstrate their commitment to the test policy, colleges have to accept 30 to 50 percent among the students who did not submit a test score.”

Is this true? It would explain all the deferrals and WLs we are seeing at my DC’s Big3 private. My kid has shown me MANY tik toks of kids getting into T20 schools this year - bragging that they only had an 1100 on the SAT or a 26 ACT and just didn’t submit scores. They have hit the lottery. It is a crazy admissions year.

PP has no idea if that is true or not, and made that "30 to 50" thing up entirely.

[Anonymous]

Of course they still exist. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subj...register/test-dates-deadlines. And this year, unfotunately, you need perfect scores to get in. My kid got a 34 on the ACT and ON HIS OWN decided to try for a 36 and got it. That's where you will get the very few merit scholarships left by middle and third tier schools

PP is right and you are wrong. SAT IIs were discontinued in the US, announced in January and effective in June.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry you and your child are disappointed. Sounds like he’s very qualified to attend basically any school. No clue why he didn’t get in, but as a parent I would focus on three things:

1) getting child prepared for strong possibility that the safety will be where he goes to school, and that it will be ok and everything will turn out fine (I also subscribe to belief that things happen for a reason)

2) push hard for at least one of the waitlist schools, either via counselor or go directly to regional admissions officer. Have child write a compelling letter about how he really wants to attend and it’s his first choice. See what happens.

3) take a look at schools with rolling admission. It’s not too late and many good schools are rolling, he may find something he likes better as a happy accident. I found a good list recently of schools with rolling admissions - will try to find and post.

Hang in there. Just remember he will take cues from you so don’t panic or assign blame. Sometimes it just is what it is. The lesson is to do the best you can with what you’ve got and not feel disappointed because you felt you deserved something and didn’t get it. Go out and get something else.

[Anonymous]

So they still exist. Post-June doesn’t matter to OP. Keep up.