College counselor aiming too high

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a big believer in shooting for the stars. That being said, he will not get into Stanford, Harvard, or MIT with "lackluster ECs." He should apply broadly and I see no reason why he can't get into a top 25 if he has excellent grades and test scores and writes compelling essays. I would not recommend he ED to a school like Tufts if he does not absolutely love it.

WashU ED1

If you check the CDS for those where ECs are only considered, I think WashU ED works here......or UChicago ED1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a DMV-centered website. We don't know shit about suburban Boston public high schools. How are we supposed to know?

You're paying some dude to advise you. Listen to him. Not us.

You seem nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is going to be valedictorian or salutatorian at his competitive public high school in suburban Boston. After hearing horror stories from others, I have been prepping him to use ED wisely, not aim mit etc, and expect to not even get into t20 or most t40 schools rd. We just hired a college counselor who recommending keeping Harvard and Stanford on our teach list. Now he likely won’t Ed to a school like tufts thinking those schools could be possible. He is a full pay white boy and has no hook and lackluster ecs without leadership. Are these schools possible? Is this college counselor leading us to disappointment?

Harvard favors Boston area publics, just as Penn favors Philly kids and Yale favors New Haven publics. Look at the school's Scoir data. That should tell you. Val/Sal is not nearly as important as being the student with the top rigor. Best is to have both. Lackluster ECs will hurt slightly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is going to be valedictorian or salutatorian at his competitive public high school in suburban Boston. After hearing horror stories from others, I have been prepping him to use ED wisely, not aim mit etc, and expect to not even get into t20 or most t40 schools rd. We just hired a college counselor who recommending keeping Harvard and Stanford on our teach list. Now he likely won’t Ed to a school like tufts thinking those schools could be possible. He is a full pay white boy and has no hook and lackluster ecs without leadership. Are these schools possible? Is this college counselor leading us to disappointment?

BOY VAL is almost a hook these days at the top schools: 60% of the app pool is female at T10/ivy yet they balance for gender thus better odds for boys, especially top boys. As long as coursework was max across all 5 core areas.

[Anonymous]

I mean, you can manufacture an entire linguistics or Latin Am studies or classics major (depending on language taken) in 6 months.....
Just give us intel. We can tell you what to do.

[Anonymous]

Yes, keep them on the list, OP. Why would you intentionally shut your kid out?

No, do not expect him to get in. It's a lottery. You just want to ensure he has a ticket. That's all.

I mean, you should know this. This is basic common sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a DMV-centered website. We don't know shit about suburban Boston public high schools. How are we supposed to know?

You're paying some dude to advise you. Listen to him. Not us.

Except lackluster ECs significantly hurts the applicant. We know that.

WashU doesn't care about ECs as much as its peers. Check CDS. There was an old post about this here: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1298105.page

And read here: https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/18rh6sl/socially_anxious_white_boy_with_barely_any/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a DMV-centered website. We don't know shit about suburban Boston public high schools. How are we supposed to know?

You're paying some dude to advise you. Listen to him. Not us.

Except lackluster ECs significantly hurts the applicant. We know that.

WashU doesn't care about ECs as much as its peers. Check CDS. There was an old post about this here: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1298105.page

And read here: https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/18rh6sl/socially_anxious_white_boy_with_barely_any/

OP said she’s asking abt mit and Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Whoops- harvard and stanford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a DMV-centered website. We don't know shit about suburban Boston public high schools. How are we supposed to know?

You're paying some dude to advise you. Listen to him. Not us.

Except lackluster ECs significantly hurts the applicant. We know that.

WashU doesn't care about ECs as much as its peers. Check CDS. There was an old post about this here: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1298105.page

And read here: https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/18rh6sl/socially_anxious_white_boy_with_barely_any/

OP said she’s asking abt mit and Stanford.

Sorry I wasn't clear. Those HYPSM schools are not possible. But WashU is.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. Boston landscape I think it pretty similar to competetive suburban public’s but without uva, WM, or UMD cp. wash u is a good suggestion it maybe push for ed. What I want to avoid is the kid thinking he may have a real change at mit/harvard/stanford, blowing his ed shots and then not getting into a wash u or tufts in rd.

Our neighbor here applied ed to brown and was rejected, did a bunch of ea at t50 and hasn’t gotten into a single one. He was deferred from a school ranked 50-60 ea that I think he considered a soft target almost sure thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. Boston landscape I think it pretty similar to competetive suburban public’s but without uva, WM, or UMD cp. wash u is a good suggestion it maybe push for ed. What I want to avoid is the kid thinking he may have a real change at mit/harvard/stanford, blowing his ed shots and then not getting into a wash u or tufts in rd.

Our neighbor here applied ed to brown and was rejected, did a bunch of ea at t50 and hasn’t gotten into a single one. He was deferred from a school ranked 50-60 ea that I think he considered a soft target almost sure thing.

Major and a story/narrative is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. Boston landscape I think it pretty similar to competetive suburban public’s but without uva, WM, or UMD cp. wash u is a good suggestion it maybe push for ed. What I want to avoid is the kid thinking he may have a real change at mit/harvard/stanford, blowing his ed shots and then not getting into a wash u or tufts in rd.

Our neighbor here applied ed to brown and was rejected, did a bunch of ea at t50 and hasn’t gotten into a single one. He was deferred from a school ranked 50-60 ea that I think he considered a soft target almost sure thing.

Plenty of top-GPA, top-rigor students from publics and privates get in to WashU in RD, as well as ivies, as well as Stanford Etc. Do not ED anywhere unless it is a clear #1.
Your neighbor not getting into Brown ED only relates to your kid if they also were at the very top of the class with similar rigor and ECs at the same high school or a very similar high school Otherwise it is irrelevant. We know many who got shut out of all T25 and were "top kids" per parents yet were never in cum laude(top 20%) nor got other school honors that go to the top ones. The school counseling office is rarely surprised I know for a fact. They see all the pieces and know who the true top kids are. Maybe yours is one. Ask. But don't block your kid from aiming for the top because you don't think it is possible.
We knew the data and knew all of ours would get into multiple T25 easily and likely T10/ivy. They did.
The high school has information on where students apply and get in. Use it.
Most "top kids" are not, they are lacking in coursework or GPA or both, or they are close to the top but they are rude and every adult at the school is aware. 3.9uw+ and 1500+ can be top student or can be barely above top half and not going to get into VT, UVA, W&M in state. 9-10 APs can be impressive or quite lackluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. Boston landscape I think it pretty similar to competetive suburban public’s but without uva, WM, or UMD cp. wash u is a good suggestion it maybe push for ed. What I want to avoid is the kid thinking he may have a real change at mit/harvard/stanford, blowing his ed shots and then not getting into a wash u or tufts in rd.

Our neighbor here applied ed to brown and was rejected, did a bunch of ea at t50 and hasn’t gotten into a single one. He was deferred from a school ranked 50-60 ea that I think he considered a soft target almost sure thing.

Curious about this neighbor-how does this happen? Assuming the kid had a reasonable basis for aiming high.

[Anonymous]

If it’s a public school could be tough. You need to figure out a way how to differentiate your kid fast. Get smart on the college process yourself or hire someone.