Lessons learned so far: 2024-2025

[Anonymous]

Do not under any circumstances ask for advice on colleges from DCUM. Folks are just going to mess with you. It's completely irrelevant anyway. Colleges pick who they pick. It does not matter if your kid is "worthy" or not.

[Anonymous]

Don’t assume you know about the content of other student’s applications unless you were the AO who read them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SAT score really matters.

It really does not!

Oh yes it does! A few points can make the difference between merit aid $$$$$ and nothing. I’m so glad I made my kid retake his. His score went up 150 points, which opened up more/better college options and alot more scholarship $$$$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That it's a discouraging process favoring rich kids and kids who gamed the process early by picking certain classes to maximize GPA early on, carefully crafted everything, tutored to the max for scores. My only hope is employers realize the cost and general landscape mean good students with potential end up at all sorts of colleges.

They know, don't worry. I think many employers are less excited about elite schools, especially Ivies.

I’m a hiring manager at a F50 company. Employers are always excited about elite schools. Those applicants get the interviews, and fast tracked for promotions internally. They get ear marked for the best opportunities.

But strong graduates from other schools can fair just as well, it will just take them more effort to stand out during their career and get ahead of the pack and get noticed. Networking is and social climbing at work is crucial for this group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not under any circumstances ask for advice on colleges from DCUM. Folks are just going to mess with you. It's completely irrelevant anyway. Colleges pick who they pick. It does not matter if your kid is "worthy" or not.

You are so right. Not sure if intentional, but advice is non sensical or just wrong with greater frequency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That it's a discouraging process favoring rich kids and kids who gamed the process early by picking certain classes to maximize GPA early on, carefully crafted everything, tutored to the max for scores. My only hope is employers realize the cost and general landscape mean good students with potential end up at all sorts of colleges.

They know, don't worry. I think many employers are less excited about elite schools, especially Ivies.

I’m a hiring manager at a F50 company. Employers are always excited about elite schools. Those applicants get the interviews, and fast tracked for promotions internally. They get ear marked for the best opportunities.

But strong graduates from other schools can fair just as well, it will just take them more effort to stand out during their career and get ahead of the pack and get noticed. Networking is and social climbing at work is crucial for this group.

Agree with Both points.

Freshman at Ivy who sent out 10 emails /applications for paid summer positions in last month. Have heard positively from 7 of them and interviewed with several by zoom. Kid’s high school friends at non-elite schools have struggled to get responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not under any circumstances ask for advice on colleges from DCUM. Folks are just going to mess with you. It's completely irrelevant anyway. Colleges pick who they pick. It does not matter if your kid is "worthy" or not.

This advice is true even when talking about chosing from acceptances (or hopeful acceptances). Just take a look at the UGA post where the OP is hoping to get guidance on a deferral. However, people won't stop posting about Florida and Texas even though it doesn't have anything to do with the original question.

Other posts will tell you that your school is overrated and underrated and the best school and one that is a waste of money. Block out the noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Seriously, it seems so, so random. Kids with great stats not getting in (deferred and rejected) and kids with objectively lesser stats (significantly lower grades, rigor, test scores) getting into GREAT schools. It makes no sense.

the kids with lesser stats often have "something" - very unique and defining and immensely memorable. its the holistic part of admissions.
I had one of these kids.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Seriously, it seems so, so random. Kids with great stats not getting in (deferred and rejected) and kids with objectively lesser stats (significantly lower grades, rigor, test scores) getting into GREAT schools. It makes no sense.

An exaggeration here.

The highly selective schools admit strong students.

And every admitted student won't have the same exact academic profile.

4X the applications for an admit spot. Of course there will be deferrals and rejections!

[Anonymous]

Though I consider myself at this point more than informed when it comes to college admissions, I wasn't quite prepared for the extent to which Harvard and Stanford cater to legacies and donors, at least at our top private, and at least in the early round. It is eye-opening. If you are the very top in a top private (think Dalton/Andover/Harvard-Westlake tier) and unhooked, you target mid-tier Ivies, not HYPS. There are just too many well-connected legacies who are also contributing a lot, active in alumni circles, have already sent other siblings.... these kids are typically but not always strong students, rarely the very top. These families know how the game is played and have been setting this outcome up for a decade, since elementary school. If you've seen it, you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Though I consider myself at this point more than informed when it comes to college admissions, I wasn't quite prepared for the extent to which Harvard and Stanford cater to legacies and donors, at least at our top private, and at least in the early round. It is eye-opening. If you are the very top in a top private (think Dalton/Andover/Harvard-Westlake tier) and unhooked, you target mid-tier Ivies, not HYPS. There are just too many well-connected legacies who are also contributing a lot, active in alumni circles, have already sent other siblings.... these kids are typically but not always strong students, rarely the very top. These families know how the game is played and have been setting this outcome up for a decade, since elementary school. If you've seen it, you know.

+10

At my private, not nearly as good as those, and outside metro DC, I watched the valedictorian and other very top academic students get denied from H while a mediocre B student with deep monetary hooks (father was Harvard law and father was a consistent significant donor to H for decades; the accepted student did not have great ECs and was not on any athletic team) get accepted. Now, H probably considered the accepted student “good enough” academically, but clearly H were not choosing the strongest academic applicants from that private given the strong prospect of ongoing substantial donations.

[Anonymous]

YCBK this week - Susan had a list of problems she sees in the common app.
All things discussed here this fall!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YCBK this week - Susan had a list of problems she sees in the common app.
All things discussed here this fall!!

Ha!!
Just listened.
I posted something about last minute common app review tips on here in December and got roasted by everyone. And it was all the stuff she pointed out.

If you don’t have a college counselor helping you, it’s imperative to do that type of detailed review. Because the readers, like Susan, do notice. And more than one error, is a mark against you.

Interesting that she said she can tell which applications are an afterthought in RD that have not been well thought out. And she also hit home on the repetition point and some kids don’t realize how much they are repeating and beating a dead horse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not under any circumstances ask for advice on colleges from DCUM. Folks are just going to mess with you. It's completely irrelevant anyway. Colleges pick who they pick. It does not matter if your kid is "worthy" or not.

I cringe whenever I read a thread title that has 2-3 school names in it, it absolutely brings out the worst in DCUM.

I have a kid at an Ivy, flagship, and a mid-private that gets ridiculed here. I believe I have a good amount of context and only post if I have something valuable to share. People are just nasty for sport.

It seems like it is usually private school parents outside the top that are trying to separate themselves from lower privates, and end up being the nastiest from my observations on here. I don’t necessarily think they are representative of the schools as a whole though.

[Anonymous]

When our kid said his true first choice was a target LAC, we waffled on ED thinking maybe he should aim higher and see what shakes out. He decided to apply ED because it was his first choice. Got in, as expected, and having a fabulous senior year. I'm glad we didn't stop him.