Reflections from 2025 HYPSM admit(s)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the college counselor at DD’s school said last week in a presentation, “College has ruined high school.” So glad to attend a school that encourages kids to try all sorts of things rather than “barb” themselves into college. This is the time to experience and develop, people!

I have kids at HYP. My advice for unhooked kids: do it ALL in high school. anything you want. and quit if you want.

but when during the two days when you write up your activities section on the common app, be selective. My kids left a ton out of their list. they had more things out than in. What they left in told a story. This is a STEM kids interested in Genetics and look at this research paper, this essay competition, and this summer research lab job. Or this kid is interested in policy surrounding school lunches - as evidenced by this essay, these debate awards, this internship with the local city rep and his old grade school. and sure, add in they were on the track team for flavor. But leave the stem stuff off the humanities application. Leave the lawn care business off the prospective philosophy major. Being in the school play or taking that service trip can be really fun and even important, but don't clog up the activities section with all this stuff. COLLEGES DON'T CARE

Be memorable as the kid that does X. That's it. That's important to top 20 colleges.

Also, you can change your application for every school. People here balk at high schools that limit applications, because they don't realize those kids are tailoring each application for each school. You can't do that if you're applying to 20 schools.

But of this stops kids from doing as much as they want in high school - experience! develop! Just don't talk about it. It's confusing. the rule is always KISS

They do care about the lawn mowing: https://old.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1l2fzob/take_the_road_less_traveled/mvtncj6/

PP: lawn mowing is great but dont highlight a lawn mowing business if you're applying for philosophy. colleges will assume you really want business and you're trying to game it. play down the business part if you want to add it. part time or summer jobs are good, but don't confuse the story

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is funny to see people fall for trolling so deeply.

There are roughly about 20 students who get admitted to all 5 of HYPSM. The chance that some parent of these 20, posts on DCUM and that too with the language used by OP, is near zero.

20 students, are you kidding me? There are 40 Regeneron STS finalists. 100 RSI kids. 100 USSYP kids. 100 coolidge kids. ISEF kids. These kids regularly get into 3+ HYPSM. I don't think it's inconceivable that a student is appealing to 2 HYPSMs is appealing to the other 3.

DP here. I think the odds of a student getting into all 5 are extremely low. The acceptance rates are extremely low and yield is high. But truthfully a kid who gets into one of these SCEA (or in MIT's case, EA) is unlikely to apply to all four of the other schools, either because their school policy does not allow them to or otherwise.

You don't think it's possible for a high achiever to complete all their apps, including RD, before the SCEA deadline?

What if their dream school is Caltech, Cambridge, or Oxford?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is funny to see people fall for trolling so deeply.

There are roughly about 20 students who get admitted to all 5 of HYPSM. The chance that some parent of these 20, posts on DCUM and that too with the language used by OP, is near zero.

20 students, are you kidding me? There are 40 Regeneron STS finalists. 100 RSI kids. 100 USSYP kids. 100 coolidge kids. ISEF kids. These kids regularly get into 3+ HYPSM. I don't think it's inconceivable that a student is appealing to 2 HYPSMs is appealing to the other 3.

I understand you are mathematically challenged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is funny to see people fall for trolling so deeply.

There are roughly about 20 students who get admitted to all 5 of HYPSM. The chance that some parent of these 20, posts on DCUM and that too with the language used by OP, is near zero.

20 students, are you kidding me? There are 40 Regeneron STS finalists. 100 RSI kids. 100 USSYP kids. 100 coolidge kids. ISEF kids. These kids regularly get into 3+ HYPSM. I don't think it's inconceivable that a student is appealing to 2 HYPSMs is appealing to the other 3.

DP here. I think the odds of a student getting into all 5 are extremely low. The acceptance rates are extremely low and yield is high. But truthfully a kid who gets into one of these SCEA (or in MIT's case, EA) is unlikely to apply to all four of the other schools, either because their school policy does not allow them to or otherwise.

You don't think it's possible for a high achiever to complete all their apps, including RD, before the SCEA deadline?

What if their dream school is Caltech, Cambridge, or Oxford?

Agree with pp. My younger kid got into his first choice SCEA school and withdrew or didn’t file all his other apps (and he had prepared more than twenty). School encouraged this and he wanted to help his classmates. Really no point in continuing with apps if in at first choice, unless would give up that spot for a merit full ride elsewhere, but that wasn’t the case for use (and wouldn’t be an option at the T5 anyway).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the advent of clever AI, such BS can be much more easily detected than replying on the mediocre AOs of those elite colleges.

https://dianeravitch.net/2018/11/30/louisiana-the-miracle-school-that-was-a-fraud/

This has nothing to do with the topic.

Same thing. It’s all about using AI to detect those BS that’s gaming the system!

[Anonymous]

How did your spike / barb kids fare this month?