Question for parents of kids accepted at an Ivy League school

[Anonymous]

So, what was the "hook" for your kids. Smart kids with great scores, gpas and extracurricular scare a dime a dozen. What made hour kid special in the eyes of the admissions office at the Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what was the "hook" for your kids. Smart kids with great scores, gpas and extracurricular scare a dime a dozen. What made hour kid special in the eyes of the admissions office at the Ivies.

This is a million dollar question that among all the high GPAS , amazing EC's and great scores who gets accepted to the IVes and what sets them apart. Is it the essay that makes or breaks it ? or some unusual hobby / internship /EC that grabs their attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what was the "hook" for your kids. Smart kids with great scores, gpas and extracurricular scare a dime a dozen. What made hour kid special in the eyes of the admissions office at the Ivies.

Recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, what was the "hook" for your kids. Smart kids with great scores, gpas and extracurricular scare a dime a dozen. What made hour kid special in the eyes of the admissions office at the Ivies.

Recommendations.

They need to say, if you accept one student from our school this year, this student should be the one. And back it up by not saying that in any other recommendation.

[Anonymous]

There's also a box on most recs (at least there used to be when I was routinely writing them) that asks something like whether the kid is top 10% this year vs. top 1-2 students this year vs. one of the very best students I've seen in the past 5-10 years.

Truth is most people who get in won't know what set them apart. That involves not knowing not only what's in your own application but what the rest of the pool looks like.

[Anonymous]

GPrep and Duke...although not an Ivy its close enough. Counselor was awesome and was extremely helpful. My son did have high grades (12 APs) and high SAT (2250) but he had a ton of extras. I think what was the selling point for him was that he really let them know he wants to be a surgeon and he interned in a Hospital (nuero) all last summer. Every essay or interview (he interviewed twice) he really focused in on long term goals. He did play varsity sports and had a ton of volunteer work as well. Seems like most of the upper end schools are looking for well rounded kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC1: MCPS Magnet HS; accepted to Princeton, Columbia, & Brown (and non-Ivy Stanford); no help from counselor who steered DC to applying to UMD, U of DE, and SUNY-Binghamton (of counselor-recommended colleges, DC only to apply UMD and was accepted into honors college & received merit scholarship). DC1 attends an Ivy.

DC2: MCPS "Red Zone" HS; accepted to Princeton, Yale & Dartmouth (and non-Ivy U of Chicago); counselor emphatically insisted that Ivies/20 top-ranked private schools were "beyond a reach" for DC but highly recommended top-ranked public schools like Berkeley, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, etc. (DC applied to counselor recommended colleges and was accepted). DC2 will attend an Ivy this fall.

For DC3 (MCPS MS) and DC4 (MCPS ES): We'll probably skip the college counseling altogether.

You must be a really proud parent....Why do you think your DC's High school counsellors discourage admission in an IVY league school. Are counsellors told to direct kids towards State colleges ?

I suspect it's because (1) the expectations are set low/lower for high-achieving non-magnet public school students, particularly at "red zone" schools like DC2's (i.e., pushed to apply to top publics but not Ivys/top privates), and (2) high-achieving magnet students are pushed to apply to schools were they're likely to get substantial merit aid/scholarships so that schools like DC1's can boast about the number of its students who, for example, received Banneker Key scholarships at UMD. I also think that getting into any Ivy/top-20 ranked school is pretty much a crap shoot (which is why I encouraged both DC1 and DC2 to apply to 4 of them, and was shocked that each was accepted to 3, including both being accepted and rejected/waitlisted by the same two Ivys they had in common--Princeton and Harvard). And finally, I think that the high school counselors really want their students to get accepted to college and don't want to see a student not get accepted anywhere; and as a result, they counsel the students to aim low/safe (we hadn't even heard of the majority of schools recommended by DC1's counselor!). But I will add that DC1's and DC2's counselors were fully onboard once we (parents+DCs) made the decision on where to apply (i.e., wrote glowing recommendations). By the way, both counselors also recommended that DC1 and DC2 only apply to 6 schools (with no more than 1 or 2 being "reach" schools); but we ignored their advice because I think it's a mistake to apply to so few schools if they include Ivys/top-20s, so DC1 and DC2 applied to 10 schools.

With public HS, there's also the financial aspect...counselors don't want to steer kids toward expensive private colleges, only to have the kids feel terrible when parents can't pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC1: MCPS Magnet HS; accepted to Princeton, Columbia, & Brown (and non-Ivy Stanford); no help from counselor who steered DC to applying to UMD, U of DE, and SUNY-Binghamton (of counselor-recommended colleges, DC only to apply UMD and was accepted into honors college & received merit scholarship). DC1 attends an Ivy.

DC2: MCPS "Red Zone" HS; accepted to Princeton, Yale & Dartmouth (and non-Ivy U of Chicago); counselor emphatically insisted that Ivies/20 top-ranked private schools were "beyond a reach" for DC but highly recommended top-ranked public schools like Berkeley, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, etc. (DC applied to counselor recommended colleges and was accepted). DC2 will attend an Ivy this fall.

For DC3 (MCPS MS) and DC4 (MCPS ES): We'll probably skip the college counseling altogether.

You must be a really proud parent....Why do you think your DC's High school counsellors discourage admission in an IVY league school. Are counsellors told to direct kids towards State colleges ?

I suspect it's because (1) the expectations are set low/lower for high-achieving non-magnet public school students, particularly at "red zone" schools like DC2's (i.e., pushed to apply to top publics but not Ivys/top privates), and (2) high-achieving magnet students are pushed to apply to schools were they're likely to get substantial merit aid/scholarships so that schools like DC1's can boast about the number of its students who, for example, received Banneker Key scholarships at UMD. I also think that getting into any Ivy/top-20 ranked school is pretty much a crap shoot (which is why I encouraged both DC1 and DC2 to apply to 4 of them, and was shocked that each was accepted to 3, including both being accepted and rejected/waitlisted by the same two Ivys they had in common--Princeton and Harvard). And finally, I think that the high school counselors really want their students to get accepted to college and don't want to see a student not get accepted anywhere; and as a result, they counsel the students to aim low/safe (we hadn't even heard of the majority of schools recommended by DC1's counselor!). But I will add that DC1's and DC2's counselors were fully onboard once we (parents+DCs) made the decision on where to apply (i.e., wrote glowing recommendations). By the way, both counselors also recommended that DC1 and DC2 only apply to 6 schools (with no more than 1 or 2 being "reach" schools); but we ignored their advice because I think it's a mistake to apply to so few schools if they include Ivys/top-20s, so DC1 and DC2 applied to 10 schools.

With public HS, there's also the financial aspect...counselors don't want to steer kids toward expensive private colleges, only to have the kids feel terrible when parents can't pay.

I agree that this may be the reason but it really disserves public HS students who, like my kids, received substantially more financial aid (none of which was loan-based) from their respective Ivy than what we received from UMD (and not a penny from Berkeley). I think that it hasn't gotten through to public HS counselors that the cost of attending private college can be comparable to attending your own state's flagship and considerably cheaper than attending OOS publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC1: MCPS Magnet HS; accepted to Princeton, Columbia, & Brown (and non-Ivy Stanford); no help from counselor who steered DC to applying to UMD, U of DE, and SUNY-Binghamton (of counselor-recommended colleges, DC only to apply UMD and was accepted into honors college & received merit scholarship). DC1 attends an Ivy.

DC2: MCPS "Red Zone" HS; accepted to Princeton, Yale & Dartmouth (and non-Ivy U of Chicago); counselor emphatically insisted that Ivies/20 top-ranked private schools were "beyond a reach" for DC but highly recommended top-ranked public schools like Berkeley, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, etc. (DC applied to counselor recommended colleges and was accepted). DC2 will attend an Ivy this fall.

For DC3 (MCPS MS) and DC4 (MCPS ES): We'll probably skip the college counseling altogether.

You must be a really proud parent....Why do you think your DC's High school counsellors discourage admission in an IVY league school. Are counsellors told to direct kids towards State colleges ?

I suspect it's because (1) the expectations are set low/lower for high-achieving non-magnet public school students, particularly at "red zone" schools like DC2's (i.e., pushed to apply to top publics but not Ivys/top privates), and (2) high-achieving magnet students are pushed to apply to schools were they're likely to get substantial merit aid/scholarships so that schools like DC1's can boast about the number of its students who, for example, received Banneker Key scholarships at UMD. I also think that getting into any Ivy/top-20 ranked school is pretty much a crap shoot (which is why I encouraged both DC1 and DC2 to apply to 4 of them, and was shocked that each was accepted to 3, including both being accepted and rejected/waitlisted by the same two Ivys they had in common--Princeton and Harvard). And finally, I think that the high school counselors really want their students to get accepted to college and don't want to see a student not get accepted anywhere; and as a result, they counsel the students to aim low/safe (we hadn't even heard of the majority of schools recommended by DC1's counselor!). But I will add that DC1's and DC2's counselors were fully onboard once we (parents+DCs) made the decision on where to apply (i.e., wrote glowing recommendations). By the way, both counselors also recommended that DC1 and DC2 only apply to 6 schools (with no more than 1 or 2 being "reach" schools); but we ignored their advice because I think it's a mistake to apply to so few schools if they include Ivys/top-20s, so DC1 and DC2 applied to 10 schools.

With public HS, there's also the financial aspect...counselors don't want to steer kids toward expensive private colleges, only to have the kids feel terrible when parents can't pay.

I agree that this may be the reason but it really disserves public HS students who, like my kids, received substantially more financial aid (none of which was loan-based) from their respective Ivy than what we received from UMD (and not a penny from Berkeley). I think that it hasn't gotten through to public HS counselors that the cost of attending private college can be comparable to attending your own state's flagship and considerably cheaper than attending OOS publics.

Merit based aid and need based aid should be distinguished. Ivy Schools basically only offer "need based aid" and thus many families are shut out whereas many top public schools offer merit based scholarships and full rides etc. regardless of income. For middle class/upper middle class, there are virtually no aid from the Ivies but a chance at merit based scholarships exist from the Public Ivies. Even Berkeley offers Regents' scholarships to OOS although very competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC1: MCPS Magnet HS; accepted to Princeton, Columbia, & Brown (and non-Ivy Stanford); no help from counselor who steered DC to applying to UMD, U of DE, and SUNY-Binghamton (of counselor-recommended colleges, DC only to apply UMD and was accepted into honors college & received merit scholarship). DC1 attends an Ivy.

DC2: MCPS "Red Zone" HS; accepted to Princeton, Yale & Dartmouth (and non-Ivy U of Chicago); counselor emphatically insisted that Ivies/20 top-ranked private schools were "beyond a reach" for DC but highly recommended top-ranked public schools like Berkeley, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, etc. (DC applied to counselor recommended colleges and was accepted). DC2 will attend an Ivy this fall.

For DC3 (MCPS MS) and DC4 (MCPS ES): We'll probably skip the college counseling altogether.

You must be a really proud parent....Why do you think your DC's High school counsellors discourage admission in an IVY league school. Are counsellors told to direct kids towards State colleges ?

I suspect it's because (1) the expectations are set low/lower for high-achieving non-magnet public school students, particularly at "red zone" schools like DC2's (i.e., pushed to apply to top publics but not Ivys/top privates), and (2) high-achieving magnet students are pushed to apply to schools were they're likely to get substantial merit aid/scholarships so that schools like DC1's can boast about the number of its students who, for example, received Banneker Key scholarships at UMD. I also think that getting into any Ivy/top-20 ranked school is pretty much a crap shoot (which is why I encouraged both DC1 and DC2 to apply to 4 of them, and was shocked that each was accepted to 3, including both being accepted and rejected/waitlisted by the same two Ivys they had in common--Princeton and Harvard). And finally, I think that the high school counselors really want their students to get accepted to college and don't want to see a student not get accepted anywhere; and as a result, they counsel the students to aim low/safe (we hadn't even heard of the majority of schools recommended by DC1's counselor!). But I will add that DC1's and DC2's counselors were fully onboard once we (parents+DCs) made the decision on where to apply (i.e., wrote glowing recommendations). By the way, both counselors also recommended that DC1 and DC2 only apply to 6 schools (with no more than 1 or 2 being "reach" schools); but we ignored their advice because I think it's a mistake to apply to so few schools if they include Ivys/top-20s, so DC1 and DC2 applied to 10 schools.

With public HS, there's also the financial aspect...counselors don't want to steer kids toward expensive private colleges, only to have the kids feel terrible when parents can't pay.

I agree that this may be the reason but it really disserves public HS students who, like my kids, received substantially more financial aid (none of which was loan-based) from their respective Ivy than what we received from UMD (and not a penny from Berkeley). I think that it hasn't gotten through to public HS counselors that the cost of attending private college can be comparable to attending your own state's flagship and considerably cheaper than attending OOS publics.

Merit based aid and need based aid should be distinguished. Ivy Schools basically only offer "need based aid" and thus many families are shut out whereas many top public schools offer merit based scholarships and full rides etc. regardless of income. For middle class/upper middle class, there are virtually no aid from the Ivies but a chance at merit based scholarships exist from the Public Ivies. Even Berkeley offers Regents' scholarships to OOS although very competitive.

Many Ivies cap the family contribution at $15K for families making $150,000 or less. I know it's DC, but I still think of $150,000 per year as at least middle class, if not upper middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GPrep and Duke...although not an Ivy its close enough. Counselor was awesome and was extremely helpful. My son did have high grades (12 APs) and high SAT (2250) but he had a ton of extras. I think what was the selling point for him was that he really let them know he wants to be a surgeon and he interned in a Hospital (nuero) all last summer. Every essay or interview (he interviewed twice) he really focused in on long term goals. He did play varsity sports and had a ton of volunteer work as well. Seems like most of the upper end schools are looking for well rounded kids.

Ivy League is pretty well defined, no matter how good Duke is as a school, it is in the ACC and not the Ivy League.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, what was the "hook" for your kids. Smart kids with great scores, gpas and extracurricular scare a dime a dozen. What made hour kid special in the eyes of the admissions office at the Ivies.

This is a million dollar question that among all the high GPAS , amazing EC's and great scores who gets accepted to the IVes and what sets them apart. Is it the essay that makes or breaks it ? or some unusual hobby / internship /EC that grabs their attention.

Achievement in one of the arts at state and national levels, also a recommendation from a nationally-known person in that field. Near-perfect GPAs and high SATs, but these are pretty standard among applicants and are more like a threshold. A humorous Common App essay and a really well-focussed essay on "why I want to attend your university" which sent a clear signal that DC really wanted to go there (basically, this was one of the few universities in the country that offered the desired combination of majors). I assume the public high school counselor wrote a strong rec, but it's impossible to know what went on there. Oh, and early decision and full pay, both of which help a lot, I hear. Finally, probably a big dose of luck.