Lessons learned: 2025-2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's too early to tell. The main information and results have yet to come!

Around when will parents of high school seniors know and have more information?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Private school?
Major?

Public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Congrats! Same here. Didn't take the most APs or the most rigorous in math. Had one B. Public school. In at Ivy.

I feel like DCs application was definitely read carefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Yeah, this is an old DCUM canard. In fact, well-rounded, average-excellent kids get into top 20 schools all the time. Our DMV public school (not a magnet or top-ranked) has kids getting into most if not all Ivies, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Michigan, etc. most years, and these kids are almost without exception well-rounded and average-excellent.

My kid who falls in this category is in to Michigan and waiting on three more top 20 schools, including an Ivy. I wouldn’t be surprised by admission to none of them or all of them based on historical results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's too early to tell. The main information and results have yet to come!

Around when will parents of high school seniors know and have more information?

Most decisions happen by end of March (or April 1st)! Some trickle in after ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. people spend too much time "building the list". there are no secret schools. you know the list. or 90% of the list. move it along

2. people spend too little time on the apps. each app takes weeks. each apps needs the right mixture of intellectual heft with humor/humility/nice guy touches.

3. your soundbite is the most important thing. how are you described in a committee room, the applicant from Brooklyn whose love in physics started with bowling

4. ED to your favorite. dont game it. that leads to regrets, even if your kid doesn't express it to you

5. You don't need so many safeties. Pick your favorite. Two at most.

[Anonymous]

Naviance is a waste! Completely useless!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. people spend too much time "building the list". there are no secret schools. you know the list. or 90% of the list. move it along

2. people spend too little time on the apps. each app takes weeks. each apps needs the right mixture of intellectual heft with humor/humility/nice guy touches.

3. your soundbite is the most important thing. how are you described in a committee room, the applicant from Brooklyn whose love in physics started with bowling

4. ED to your favorite. dont game it. that leads to regrets, even if your kid doesn't express it to you

5. You don't need so many safeties. Pick your favorite. Two at most.

No one knows if it's a "safety" ('likely' is a better term) until they get in! Once upon a time, UMD was a "safety" for top MCPS students.

[Anonymous]

then it's not a safety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Yeah, this is an old DCUM canard. In fact, well-rounded, average-excellent kids get into top 20 schools all the time. Our DMV public school (not a magnet or top-ranked) has kids getting into most if not all Ivies, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Michigan, etc. most years, and these kids are almost without exception well-rounded and average-excellent.

My kid who falls in this category is in to Michigan and waiting on three more top 20 schools, including an Ivy. I wouldn’t be surprised by admission to none of them or all of them based on historical results.

For every kid with these stats and activities that are in, there are dozens who are not. The exception doesn’t disprove the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Yeah, this is an old DCUM canard. In fact, well-rounded, average-excellent kids get into top 20 schools all the time. Our DMV public school (not a magnet or top-ranked) has kids getting into most if not all Ivies, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Michigan, etc. most years, and these kids are almost without exception well-rounded and average-excellent.

My kid who falls in this category is in to Michigan and waiting on three more top 20 schools, including an Ivy. I wouldn’t be surprised by admission to none of them or all of them based on historical results.

For every kid with these stats and activities that are in, there are dozens who are not. The exception doesn’t disprove the rule.

Right, because these schools have single-digit acceptance rates. By definition, for every kid who gets in, 10-20 don’t. That doesn’t change the fact that the kids who do get in are often well-rounded and average-excellent; they’re not all or even mostly hooked or pointy or exceptional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might have misread the group, but from what I learned from DCUM it made it seem like there is little hope for well rounded kids at T20. My well rounded DS got into Duke without any hook or some niche factor. So did his best friend to an Ivy.

Sample size of two, but my son almost did not apply as it seemed pointless to write the essays. If you have a well rounded kid, do apply.

Yeah, this is an old DCUM canard. In fact, well-rounded, average-excellent kids get into top 20 schools all the time. Our DMV public school (not a magnet or top-ranked) has kids getting into most if not all Ivies, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Michigan, etc. most years, and these kids are almost without exception well-rounded and average-excellent.

My kid who falls in this category is in to Michigan and waiting on three more top 20 schools, including an Ivy. I wouldn’t be surprised by admission to none of them or all of them based on historical results.

For every kid with these stats and activities that are in, there are dozens who are not. The exception doesn’t disprove the rule.

Right, because these schools have single-digit acceptance rates. By definition, for every kid who gets in, 10-20 don’t. That doesn’t change the fact that the kids who do get in are often well-rounded and average-excellent; they’re not all or even mostly hooked or pointy or exceptional.

+1

I fell for the "need to be pointy to get into T20" thing last year and it is probably the most prevalent fallacy on DCUM. DS is in at one of HYPSM and from what we hear about his suitemates all except one are genuinely well rounded bright kids. The one exception is a recruited athlete which obviously is a hook.

[Anonymous]

I think people are conflating different tiers of schools here. There is a difference between admission to a T10 and admission to a T30. I don’t think people have been saying you need to be something beyond average excellent to get into schools like Michigan, USC or Rice. And others, like Emory, take more than 30 percent of their ED1 applicants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are conflating different tiers of schools here. There is a difference between admission to a T10 and admission to a T30. I don’t think people have been saying you need to be something beyond average excellent to get into schools like Michigan, USC or Rice. And others, like Emory, take more than 30 percent of their ED1 applicants

Emory
USC
Michigan
All attainable for average excellent. Always have been. Just tailor all of those applications and spend weeks on every single one. Do not rush a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people are conflating different tiers of schools here. There is a difference between admission to a T10 and admission to a T30. I don’t think people have been saying you need to be something beyond average excellent to get into schools like Michigan, USC or Rice. And others, like Emory, take more than 30 percent of their ED1 applicants

Emory
USC
Michigan
All attainable for average excellent. Always have been. Just tailor all of those applications and spend weeks on every single one. Do not rush a thing.

And UVA. My average excellent kid got into Michigan and UVA early action. But they are OOS for both so might be different for instate kids?