do private high schools manage who applies where

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happens a lot at top privates. You have to be willing to flex your ED.
It happened last year at our school with Princeton.
Class size 70.
Candidates:
-3rd generation legacy, top grades, class president, recruited athlete
-recruited athlete
-recruited musician (yes, there is such a thing)
-legacy x 2 parents, minority

Now a white, top student is going to have a very, very, very hard time jumping the Princeton line. And unlikely that Princeton is going to admit 5 kids from a class of 70. They were directed to Yale, etc.

This year it is Yale.
You have:
-Class president, top academic student
-Legacy x 2 parents
-athletic recruit
-sibling x 2,
-faculty kid.

Yale is pretty much off the table for a generic smart kid. And only 2 of these 5 were admitted SCEA so far. The rest will likely follow.

Was this Holton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

No. Unless the donation over the decades is substantial, not going to move the needle much. Serving on parent committee helps. But this is very different from being on the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard that at some private schools, parents of lower-GPA students push counselors to control who applies where, so stronger students are somehow blocked(?) from applying to the same colleges.

But how does that make sense for the top students? They usually benefit from applying broadly and seeing which schools offer the best merit aid.

Coordinating ED is not a bad idea.

And once someone gets into REA or SCEA, the counselors actively try to dissuade you from applying RD.

But I don't see them steering people away from georgetown or someplace like that so that larlo can get in without competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard that at some private schools, parents of lower-GPA students push counselors to control who applies where, so stronger students are somehow blocked(?) from applying to the same colleges.

But how does that make sense for the top students? They usually benefit from applying broadly and seeing which schools offer the best merit aid.

Coordinating ED is not a bad idea.

And once someone gets into REA or SCEA, the counselors actively try to dissuade you from applying RD.

But I don't see them steering people away from georgetown or someplace like that so that larlo can get in without competition.

Georgetown doesn’t offer ED.

RD at all ivies is much harder. If your DC was “coordinated” to Chicago ED, they won’t be too excited either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

No. Unless the donation over the decades is substantial, not going to move the needle much. Serving on parent committee helps. But this is very different from being on the board.

You're incorrect. These kids get in like clockwork from our school every year.

[Anonymous]

My experience from our private school is there is gentle steering. Definitely pressure to ED, more than I think is appropriate as it is not fully consistent with the "first choice/attend above all others." The kids all know who is a legacy/recruited athlete/big donor/faculty and they understand that impacts their chances at those student's REA/ED schools so counselors don't have to steer around that.
Bigger issue is how to handle the problem of top students whose target and safety schools (think Lehigh, Bucknell and publics) overlap the target and reach schools of the next tier of students. The counselors don't steer the top kids away from applying but they strongly encourage kids to withdraw applications or turn down acceptances as soon as they have an acceptance at school they prefer.
School also only makes advocacy calls for waitlist or in response to inquiry from AO's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

No. Unless the donation over the decades is substantial, not going to move the needle much. Serving on parent committee helps. But this is very different from being on the board.

You're incorrect. These kids get in like clockwork from our school every year.

Sure, Jane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience from our private school is there is gentle steering. Definitely pressure to ED, more than I think is appropriate as it is not fully consistent with the "first choice/attend above all others." The kids all know who is a legacy/recruited athlete/big donor/faculty and they understand that impacts their chances at those student's REA/ED schools so counselors don't have to steer around that.
Bigger issue is how to handle the problem of top students whose target and safety schools (think Lehigh, Bucknell and publics) overlap the target and reach schools of the next tier of students. The counselors don't steer the top kids away from applying but they strongly encourage kids to withdraw applications or turn down acceptances as soon as they have an acceptance at school they prefer.
School also only makes advocacy calls for waitlist or in response to inquiry from AO's.

At our private, for deferred early applicants, the RD apps to Lehigh/Bucknell/Wake/Davidson would be pulled (with nudges and reminders) after OOS admits to UVA, Michigan, and similar-caliber EA schools.

[Anonymous]

at our private the kids steer themselves. they're not going to SCEA to yale the same year the kid with the same resume but better GPA is, and the kid who has similar resume but also double legacy, and the kid who is number one in the class and is URM.

they did Princeton instead. will do yale RD if they want

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

No. Unless the donation over the decades is substantial, not going to move the needle much. Serving on parent committee helps. But this is very different from being on the board.

You're incorrect. These kids get in like clockwork from our school every year.

Sure, Jane.

I don't know why you are arguing this. If you have a kid at a private and there are 5 hooked Princeton applicants BY ALL MEANS, have your kid apply. I didn't have a hooked kid so mine didn't when the field was crowded like this. Most kids wouldn't. The kids figure it out themselves. They self-sort to the open spots.

If that isn't your thing, cool. Shoot your shot. Take on the 4th generation legacies with the top stats and the recruited athletes. Maybe they'll bump the kid off the roster to take your unhooked kid into a non-roster spot. Those of us who have kids at these private schools are just saying that it doesn't generally work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that guiding partly because they have a broader view of the class as a whole so they can be realistic with each student? Is there a way to say that the student is welcome to apply but within the HS there are a lot of kids applying to the same place and based on this student’s profile they may want to reconsider?

Exactly. It's actually not a big conspiracy to only support the wealthiest kids. I've had 3 kids go through this at a top private.
College guidance knows the whole picture and knows that if your unhooked kid is applying at the same time as 2 legacy kids with strong grades then your kid's chance of admission is very slim. They don't want to see your kid waste their ED and then be disgruntled later on when they only have safety options. I have seen this happen time and time again. Kids waste their ED on a moon shot and then fall way down. But parents at these schools don't like this. Frankly they are used to being to get their way in life.

I don’t think legacy gives much boost nowadays. They got rejected or deferred all the time. Donors? Yes. School counselor should not give preferential support to legacy.

At top private schools it's often multi-generational legacies who have served on parent committees, given money for decades, etc. It's not your generic legacies. It's people who have lived and breathed the Ivy in their professional lives and family lineage.
The "regular" legacy kids don't do as well.
Even legacy has it's hierarchy.

No. Unless the donation over the decades is substantial, not going to move the needle much. Serving on parent committee helps. But this is very different from being on the board.

You're incorrect. These kids get in like clockwork from our school every year.

Sure, Jane.

I don't know why you are arguing this. If you have a kid at a private and there are 5 hooked Princeton applicants BY ALL MEANS, have your kid apply. I didn't have a hooked kid so mine didn't when the field was crowded like this. Most kids wouldn't. The kids figure it out themselves. They self-sort to the open spots.

If that isn't your thing, cool. Shoot your shot. Take on the 4th generation legacies with the top stats and the recruited athletes. Maybe they'll bump the kid off the roster to take your unhooked kid into a non-roster spot. Those of us who have kids at these private schools are just saying that it doesn't generally work out.

It’s not true. I know many multi-generation (if that’s a thing) legacy turned down at ivies. Without significant donation, it doesn’t do magic. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience from our private school is there is gentle steering. Definitely pressure to ED, more than I think is appropriate as it is not fully consistent with the "first choice/attend above all others." The kids all know who is a legacy/recruited athlete/big donor/faculty and they understand that impacts their chances at those student's REA/ED schools so counselors don't have to steer around that.
Bigger issue is how to handle the problem of top students whose target and safety schools (think Lehigh, Bucknell and publics) overlap the target and reach schools of the next tier of students. The counselors don't steer the top kids away from applying but they strongly encourage kids to withdraw applications or turn down acceptances as soon as they have an acceptance at school they prefer.
School also only makes advocacy calls for waitlist or in response to inquiry from AO's.

At our private, for deferred early applicants, the RD apps to Lehigh/Bucknell/Wake/Davidson would be pulled (with nudges and reminders) after OOS admits to UVA, Michigan, and similar-caliber EA schools.

Same at ours, counselors point out that doing so may help a friend and at minimum avoids some hurt feelings.

[Anonymous]

Is this just a rich people’s problem? It seems mostly to happen at elite private schools, where there are many hooked students (old money) or immigrant families (new money)… a lot of competition and strategizing among families, schools, and private consultants…

[Anonymous]

I know a girl who went to a feeder school. Forced to REA Harvard. Got in. Applied RD to her first choice, Stanford. Rejected. Other kids were admitted. She had everything for Stanford and was so disappointed!