Help me find a school for my friend's DS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the PP, parent of the student admitted to UVA and UNC. Responding to the question about whether my kid is in FCPS - the answer is no, she goes to a private school in DC. Several other students from her school, with her approximate academic profile (ie, <4.0 weighted GPA, strong but not off-the-chart test scores), were admitted to UNC and UVA this year and last (along with others who have more typical credentials for these schools). I think having college counselors with a smaller case load who really know the students and the admissions officers at these schools made a *huge* difference - they were able to advocate for the students because they know them well and won't try to sell the schools on a kid who won't succeed there. This is probably where private school makes the biggest difference in college placements - the counselors have <50 students in their caseload and most of them have been college admissions counselors at top schools and know how to make the system work for their students. They are doing far more than just checking to make sure application packages are complete.

This is totally different then. Lower GPAs in private school are much more common. A 3.4 from MCPS would be extremely unlikely to get into UVa/UNC. It's a different grading scale (I have kids in each so see it first hand). At least at our school the kids with a shot at the most competitive schools will have at least a 3.8, with mostly honors/APs. The average accepted GPAs to top 10 types are 3.9+ according to naviance.

[Anonymous]

Another private school benefit during the college application process is that many schools/counselors have a long history with many of the top schools. An admissions officer at a top 15 LAC also revealed to me that the private school applicants (sorry I don't know what happens at public schools) basically get a certain number of points added to their admission profile/score based on the known rigor, etc. of their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another private school benefit during the college application process is that many schools/counselors have a long history with many of the top schools. An admissions officer at a top 15 LAC also revealed to me that the private school applicants (sorry I don't know what happens at public schools) basically get a certain number of points added to their admission profile/score based on the known rigor, etc. of their school.

Some public schools, but not all, also get points added for known rigor. This is true for magnets, although I have no idea where the line gets drawn between, say, Whitman and other public high schools. I think, although I don't know, that not all private schools would get rigor points. Some colleges take this even further and apply their own proprietary weighting systems to the individual classes on your kid's transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition to Naviance have the student/his mom look at the institutional research page on the websites of the colleges he's interested in. Have him pull up The Common Data Set for 2012 (2013 won't be available yet). It tells you what the scores/other stats enrolled students had to gain admission. It is very telling.

Also realize that the student admitted to UVA/UNC with a 3.4 unweighted was either very lucky or her test scores and/or "positive contributions" to her school were extraordinary.

The one thing any kid needs to know about the current admissions climate is that you need to LOVE YOUR SAFETIES.

My DC was pretty much was at the 75%ile for standardized testing at all the schools for which DC gained admission. DC was placed on the waitlist at several colleges - at those schools DC was somewhat but not substantially under the 75%ile. DC was rejected at all schools where standardized testing placed DC at the 50%ile. DC played a varsity sport, had lots of AP courses, a rigorous program in general and had solid but not extraordinary ECs. DC ended up at a top 15 LAC.

There are students at the more/most competitive schools who do not need to be at the 75%ile to gain admission but it appears that these spots go to recruited athletes, URMs (Underrepresented Minority), first generation students or those students with extraordinary extra-curriculars/talent/leadership.

So, in my opinion, your friend's son needs to keep this in mind as he builds a list of reach, target and safety schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to Naviance have the student/his mom look at the institutional research page on the websites of the colleges he's interested in. Have him pull up The Common Data Set for 2012 (2013 won't be available yet). It tells you what the scores/other stats enrolled students had to gain admission. It is very telling.

Also realize that the student admitted to UVA/UNC with a 3.4 unweighted was either very lucky or her test scores and/or "positive contributions" to her school were extraordinary.

The one thing any kid needs to know about the current admissions climate is that you need to LOVE YOUR SAFETIES.

My DC was pretty much was at the 75%ile for standardized testing at all the schools for which DC gained admission. DC was placed on the waitlist at several colleges - at those schools DC was somewhat but not substantially under the 75%ile. DC was rejected at all schools where standardized testing placed DC at the 50%ile. DC played a varsity sport, had lots of AP courses, a rigorous program in general and had solid but not extraordinary ECs. DC ended up at a top 15 LAC.

There are students at the more/most competitive schools who do not need to be at the 75%ile to gain admission but it appears that these spots go to recruited athletes, URMs (Underrepresented Minority), first generation students or those students with extraordinary extra-curriculars/talent/leadership.

So, in my opinion, your friend's son needs to keep this in mind as he builds a list of reach, target and safety schools.

Consistent with our experience too. And naviance shows, at least for our school, that SATs are the big differentiator at the competitive schools, although that's usually between kids with consistently high GPAs.

[Anonymous]

His GPA is kind of low for the most selective colleges. Also, the fact that he has no EC's other than a sport will be a big problem. He might try some of the smaller liberal arts colleges like Bucknell, Middlebury etc. as targets

This website
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=virginia+tech&s=all&id=233921#admsns

is really good for developing an initial list of schools.

[Anonymous]

Middlebury is only slightly less selective than an Ivy. It had an 18% acceptance rate for fall of 2011. So it's similar to Cornell, Georgetown, Vandy, Chicago, Wash U, Williams, Hopkins and Bowdoin - all considered among the most selective colleges in the country. At 27% I do agree with Bucknell.

[Anonymous]

^^^And I do believe that the current acceptance rate is more like 15% for Midd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^And I do believe that the current acceptance rate is more like 15% for Midd.

18-19% according to an info session this week. They also said most accepted students will have mostly As, maybe a couple of Bs, in the most challenging classes.

[Anonymous]

Depends whether you are male or female. In 2011 using the link provided by a PP, the percentage of girls accepted to Midd was 16%, the percentage of boys accepted was 22%.

[Anonymous]

I think many folks are being really mean and unhelpful here. If you want to be a big help OP -- go to any bookstore and buy the "388 Best Colleges" book that is usually near checkout. You'll get info on all sorts of colleges and what grades/test scores they expect. You could get last year's version on Amazon for one dollar. Forget the naysayers. Make sure the student goes and talks to his college placement office. They will give a range of which schools are "likelys", "reaches" , etc. Good luck! My kid got into an Ivy when there were kids at her school with better grades/test scores. She had excellent national awards, sports, essays, recs.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP. Yes, there have been some seriously ugly comments to my question, which is sad.

I do appreciate those who offered real advise, thank you!
I plan to tell my friend about the 388 book, and although most people on this thread have told me to butt out, that its not my place or my business - I plan to continue helping her and her son. Its what a real friend does.

over and out.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Yes, there have been some seriously ugly comments to my question, which is sad.

I do appreciate those who offered real advise, thank you!
I plan to tell my friend about the 388 book, and although most people on this thread have told me to butt out, that its not my place or my business - I plan to continue helping her and her son. Its what a real friend does.

over and out.....

Hi OP,
FWIW, I think it's only one person who told you to butt out. I was the poster who told her to butt out of criticizing your role, and then she came back with more of her opinions. But I think it's still just one person not two. Good luck and thanks for taking this on for your overwhelmed friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Yes, there have been some seriously ugly comments to my question, which is sad.

I do appreciate those who offered real advise, thank you!
I plan to tell my friend about the 388 book, and although most people on this thread have told me to butt out, that its not my place or my business - I plan to continue helping her and her son. Its what a real friend does.

over and out.....

Hi OP,
FWIW, I think it's only one person who told you to butt out. I was the poster who told her to butt out of criticizing your role, and then she came back with more of her opinions. But I think it's still just one person not two. Good luck and thanks for taking this on for your overwhelmed friend.

And I never told you to butt out either. I posted several times - regarding the Common Data Set, loving your safeties and "hooks". The 383 (or whatever number it's up to now) Princeton Review book is a good primer but students need much more information than that there days. Good luck to your friend's son!