
Most recent CDS data for 75th percentile math SAT Michigan: 780 Emory: 790 Kenyon: 760 |
And what happens when the peer group is chosen primarily on the basis of their lack of educational opportunities growing up? When a huge part of the peer group is chosen to be with you but not vice versa? |
I thought it was obvious. I’m saying they are not top schools in the same way HYP, Stanford, MIT, Williams, and Amherst are. Do you understand now? (I’m sure going TO has helped these scores significantly too). |
But were you saying IBD department still only had kids from those historically top schools? |
The thing is every year, scores and grades seem to get more and more inflated. For example, when I was in HS we did not get bonus points for APs or honors classes. Less than 5% of my graduating class even had an A average. Back in the late 70s, an SAT score in the 1400s easily put you in the top 1% even. Today something like 30% of my kid's class has a 4.0 and 1500+ is fairly common. I would argue that it isn't harder to get in jut harder to distinguish among the pool of applicants. |
Only, no. Are you more likely to be in the IBD freshman class coming from a school like that (+ Penn and a few others) than a school like Kenyon? A decade ago the answer was yes and I assume it probably still holds. My point was that there are plenty of people at Goldman who didn’t do well on their Math SAT (if you go by undergrad alma mater 50 percentile) who ended up at Goldman. I know that the last few years with TO and super scoring every college has amazing stats, but if you got into college in the last 2-3 years you aren’t working at Goldman Sachs. You are still in college. |
What a crock. Students today are 10x smarter than they were in the 80s. Classes are more advanced and more challenging in high school than ever. |
If you have to shell out 80 grand a year to go to Princeton or to go to somewhere else, it is fine to want to choose Princeton if they will have you. The top colleges are also so rich that they can be very generous with aid. Some students would find Princeton more affordable than other places and will choose it for the money if they can get in. |
I think perhaps the biggest thing is the rise of Asian Americans in American society. This is an ethnic group that has gained tremendously in affluence and sophistication past 20 years. Asian families are producing top students and we see it in the class profiles of top colleges. They have raised the bar for everyone. Makes it harder to get into Stanford now but this is a good thing for our country. There are more top students than the historical list of “elite”’schools can handle. So it overflows to top 50/75. |
Huge endowments and generous aid also makes it more feasible for top students from families who need some help to attend. So it enlarges the pool of qualified students that way |
My first was born in 2009. Everything seemed easy. There were daycare openings all over the place her private school class had fewer students than before and after. I wonder if college apps will be similar in four years? |
This exactly. |
Back in the 70s we didn't even bother with preparing for the SAT. It is now a major part of child rearing for a lot of families. Doing math "for fun" after school is just part of an ordinary day just like playing ball used to be. |
The name of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (derived from IQ test used by US Army) was changed relatively recently to 'Scholastic Achievement Test' to help boost URM admissions to colleges and universities. |
Bigger US population. More international students. Poor kids, women, and people of color aren’t being automatically excluded. The average kid is smarter now than decades ago. |