My kid isn't getting in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for not blaming the URM boogeyman like most of the grievance-,filled DCUM posters do when their DC doesn't get admitted to his/ her college of choice.

God damn it. Some of you act like admissions standards aren't quantifiably lower for URMs and first gens. The data is readily available: they are. And each of those acceptances means one fewer acceptance for students -- many of them sons and daughters of people who post here -- not in favored demographic groups but with much higher stats. It's bull crap. And just to preempt the response I'm sure is coming, yes, legacies have gotten the same favorable treatment for many years. That's bull crap too.

A poor brown kid did not steal your kid’s spot. Try harder next time.

You have no idea, do you?

Maybe it was a white athlete or a white legacy who stole the spot. Or maybe it was the white kid who had exactly the same stats and similar ec’s and is from the same school who stole it.

Or maybe the essay was meh and even of the admits were a class of 100% lilly-white upper class kids your kid still wouldn’t have gotten in.

+1

[Anonymous]

It is something to consider when the OP realizes bright hardworking kids are a "dime a dozen" at some if these schools. Maybe your student would thrive by being a bigger fish in a smaller pond as opposed to draining uber competitive environment at many if these elite schools. They don't just have to get in..they also have to attend the place for years.

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP on your kid’s invitation to the Scholars community! That’s fantastic. Maybe he will be classmates my similar stat kid who was accepted to UMD but not invited to Honors or Scholars.

[Anonymous]

I don't fault anyone for wanting the best for their kid. It's not irrational or somehow less worthy of a position than parents who take a more careless approach. I will just point out that a child's achievement in school and life is strongly correlated with the level of effort exerted by the parents. It's not a guarantee, but kids of parents who are more involved and supportive generally do better than those who lack such "privilege".

[Anonymous]

Well OP you are not alone. There are likely tens of thousands kids like your DC so disappointed by college rejections. And they will be again next year despite your cautionary post. But it is not over yet, right? My DC is still hoping for good news from UCs. What is that you said about not getting asked by UCs for mid year transcripts? I thought they don’t look at senior grades

[Anonymous]

I think Honors at UMD is for kids with stats like that but also have tons of leadership and extracurriculars. Scholars is awesome and will be a wonderful experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the OP

I think your kid got a spot at UMD in the scholars program, am I right?

So is his need for a place in college less important than bragging rights for getting lots of different offers?

Because I genuinely don't understand. He got a place at a college he'd like to attend.

Problem solved. Move on. Seriously.

Ditto this.
It really sounds like this is just a pride issue.

Many parents feel this way. They want their kid to be courted by multiple schools.

This area is so insane in this way. I remember a few years ago on the private school board a parent posted about losing sleep over the fact that her son was rejected from XX high school. She admitted that the kid had been accepted to 2 other selective (Big 3) high schools
but she just couldn't figure out why school XX would also not want her son and it was causing her a ton of stress 4 weeks after admissions were out. The kid wasn't even really interested in school XX but the fact that there were school administrators "out there" who turned
down her kid for an unknown reason was truly stressful for her. She just couldn't figure out why they didn't see how special her kid was.

This area is full of parents who NEED to believe that their kid is SUPER, SUPER special. And the reality is that 99.9% of our kids are not SUPER, SUPER special to anyone but us, their parents.

+1

Normal people can NOT keep up with the multi million dollar donations to HYPS, OP. And that is okay.

Not to minimize your concerns, because they are legitimate, but do not let your anxieties become your DC's anxieties, because that is the biggest crime we can commit as parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Honors at UMD is for kids with stats like that but also have tons of leadership and extracurriculars. Scholars is awesome and will be a wonderful experience.

UMD is a great school and so much more competitive than it once was!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well OP you are not alone. There are likely tens of thousands kids like your DC so disappointed by college rejections. And they will be again next year despite your cautionary post. But it is not over yet, right? My DC is still hoping for good news from UCs. What is that you said about not getting asked by UCs for mid year transcripts? I thought they don’t look at senior grades

They don't look at senior grades. A few kids get asked for additional or clarifying information. Not sure if that's what she's talking about. Also some kids just got news about Regent's Scholarships. But the vast majority of kids won't hear anything until decisions come out next month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP! But why such hate for UMD? Lots of kids got rejected by UmD this year. I get you have a high stats kid and hoped to get into a selective school. But unfortunately, high stats are not enough. 3 years ago my kid 1580 SAt, 800 on physics, math2, history, 15 APs and 2 beyond AP classes, software entrepreneur, rejected by MIT, Stanford, CMU, Cornell, Penn and Princeton. Only got acceptance from his safety schools UMD, Michigan and Georgia Tech. All honors. My nephew had a similar story, high stats but rejected everywhere. He was beyond depressed when he realized other lower stats kids getting into these schools. That was it for me. For me DC2, we didn’t apply to any school with less than 30% acceptance rate and it has been good so far!
Hang in there. It will be fine. UMD is a good school. Goal is to get an education… it will be met

This is almost the same as my friend's son, SAT 1600, 15 APs all 5, Presidential service award, sports team captain, cello first chair, rejected from dream schools Stanford, MIT, CMU and other top schools, only got accepted from his safety UVA. It took more than a year for the parents and kid to recover from the disappointment.

That's kind of messed up. It took a year for the parents and kid to recover?

I believe it took them that long. It is not messed up. You have no clue because you don't have a high achieving kid like that who worked his a@@ off for YEARS to get top grades and scores. You think achieving academic success like that is easy? Of course they were disappointed. Their reaction is entirely expected and quite human. If they weren't disappointed I would be amazed. You know nothing about this.

DP...we all have high achieving kids. Seriously, your kid is a dime a dozen in this context. Get over it.

The kids described above are not a dime a dozen in this context. Their disappointment at having to 'settle for' Maryland, Michigan or Georgia Tech reveals expectations out of touch with reality, though. Median SAT scores at those three schools are in the 96th, 98th and 97th percentiles respectively. Any kid with the stats outlined above will thrive at any of those schools and will have a bright future ahead of them if they continue to work so hard.

I appreciate the effort at trying to group UMD together with Michigan or Georgia Tech.

UMD outranks both for the majors we’re looking at. Also outranks Georgia Tech in terms of the total number of students with high math SAT scores. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/college-rejections-stress/2021/04/22/ba475d4c-a2ce-11eb-a774-7b47ceb36ee8_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for not blaming the URM boogeyman like most of the grievance-,filled DCUM posters do when their DC doesn't get admitted to his/ her college of choice.

God damn it. Some of you act like admissions standards aren't quantifiably lower for URMs and first gens. The data is readily available: they are. And each of those acceptances means one fewer acceptance for students -- many of them sons and daughters of people who post here -- not in favored demographic groups but with much higher stats. It's bull crap. And just to preempt the response I'm sure is coming, yes, legacies have gotten the same favorable treatment for many years. That's bull crap too.

A poor brown kid did not steal your kid’s spot. Try harder next time.

You have no idea, do you?

Maybe it was a white athlete or a white legacy who stole the spot. Or maybe it was the white kid who had exactly the same stats and similar ec’s and is from the same school who stole it.

Or maybe the essay was meh and even of the admits were a class of 100% lilly-white upper class kids your kid still wouldn’t have gotten in.

+1

All of what to say could be true. Equally true is that dropping test scores, which led to an avalanche of applicants who would never be considered, combined with the stated desire to identify and give preference to minorities is leading to a less qualified applicant pool. Hence, the legal challenge brought against Harvard and UNC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is something to consider when the OP realizes bright hardworking kids are a "dime a dozen" at some if these schools. Maybe your student would thrive by being a bigger fish in a smaller pond as opposed to draining uber competitive environment at many if these elite schools. They don't just have to get in..they also have to attend the place for years.

I never like seeing this phrase because UMD is not a small pond. An Ivy-caliber student is not going to outgrow the opportunities at UMD! It's a major research university!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for not blaming the URM boogeyman like most of the grievance-,filled DCUM posters do when their DC doesn't get admitted to his/ her college of choice.

God damn it. Some of you act like admissions standards aren't quantifiably lower for URMs and first gens. The data is readily available: they are. And each of those acceptances means one fewer acceptance for students -- many of them sons and daughters of people who post here -- not in favored demographic groups but with much higher stats. It's bull crap. And just to preempt the response I'm sure is coming, yes, legacies have gotten the same favorable treatment for many years. That's bull crap too.

A poor brown kid did not steal your kid’s spot. Try harder next time.

You have no idea, do you?

Maybe it was a white athlete or a white legacy who stole the spot. Or maybe it was the white kid who had exactly the same stats and similar ec’s and is from the same school who stole it.

Or maybe the essay was meh and even of the admits were a class of 100% lilly-white upper class kids your kid still wouldn’t have gotten in.

+1

All of what to say could be true. Equally true is that dropping test scores, which led to an avalanche of applicants who would never be considered, combined with the stated desire to identify and give preference to minorities is leading to a less qualified applicant pool. Hence, the legal challenge brought against Harvard and UNC.

Says you. What is more impressive, a good score from a kid with no advantages or your privileged, prepped and supported student with a better score? It is very debatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for not blaming the URM boogeyman like most of the grievance-,filled DCUM posters do when their DC doesn't get admitted to his/ her college of choice.

God damn it. Some of you act like admissions standards aren't quantifiably lower for URMs and first gens. The data is readily available: they are. And each of those acceptances means one fewer acceptance for students -- many of them sons and daughters of people who post here -- not in favored demographic groups but with much higher stats. It's bull crap. And just to preempt the response I'm sure is coming, yes, legacies have gotten the same favorable treatment for many years. That's bull crap too.

A poor brown kid did not steal your kid’s spot. Try harder next time.

You have no idea, do you?

Maybe it was a white athlete or a white legacy who stole the spot. Or maybe it was the white kid who had exactly the same stats and similar ec’s and is from the same school who stole it.

Or maybe the essay was meh and even of the admits were a class of 100% lilly-white upper class kids your kid still wouldn’t have gotten in.

+1

All of what to say could be true. Equally true is that dropping test scores, which led to an avalanche of applicants who would never be considered, combined with the stated desire to identify and give preference to minorities is leading to a less qualified applicant pool. Hence, the legal challenge brought against Harvard and UNC.

Says you. What is more impressive, a good score from a kid with no advantages or your privileged, prepped and supported student with a better score? It is very debatable.

Yes, I do say, as does multiple courts of law, which is why the issue is at SCOTUS. And what negates your position is the assumption that those who have the better stats are “privileged, prepped and supported”. It is not true. There is no debate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for not blaming the URM boogeyman like most of the grievance-,filled DCUM posters do when their DC doesn't get admitted to his/ her college of choice.

God damn it. Some of you act like admissions standards aren't quantifiably lower for URMs and first gens. The data is readily available: they are. And each of those acceptances means one fewer acceptance for students -- many of them sons and daughters of people who post here -- not in favored demographic groups but with much higher stats. It's bull crap. And just to preempt the response I'm sure is coming, yes, legacies have gotten the same favorable treatment for many years. That's bull crap too.

A poor brown kid did not steal your kid’s spot. Try harder next time.

You have no idea, do you?

Maybe it was a white athlete or a white legacy who stole the spot. Or maybe it was the white kid who had exactly the same stats and similar ec’s and is from the same school who stole it.

Or maybe the essay was meh and even of the admits were a class of 100% lilly-white upper class kids your kid still wouldn’t have gotten in.

+1

All of what to say could be true. Equally true is that dropping test scores, which led to an avalanche of applicants who would never be considered, combined with the stated desire to identify and give preference to minorities is leading to a less qualified applicant pool. Hence, the legal challenge brought against Harvard and UNC.

Says you. What is more impressive, a good score from a kid with no advantages or your privileged, prepped and supported student with a better score? It is very debatable.

Yes, I do say, as does multiple courts of law, which is why the issue is at SCOTUS. And what negates your position is the assumption that those who have the better stats are “privileged, prepped and supported”. It is not true. There is no debate.

There most certainly is a debate. They ditched using the test scores didn't they?