This is why it's a crapshoot

[Anonymous]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/led-by-stanfords-5-top-colleges-acceptance-rates-hit-new-lows.html?hp

[Anonymous]

Today more students apply to these schools today than have ever applied to these schools before, that is why the admissions rate is so low.

[Anonymous]

I know one kid rejected at BC and accepted at BU and another kid accepted at BU and rejected by BC. The funny thing is both kids had the school they were rejected from as their top choice. The process is mysterious. Maybe they could just swap offers.

[Anonymous]

We're going through this process now. Some of the examples of where certain kids were accepted and rejected are beyond explanation. My DD got lots of wait lists (including one that we considered a safety) and then was accepted at her really really reach school. I've come out of the process much more confused than when we started the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going through this process now. Some of the examples of where certain kids were accepted and rejected are beyond explanation. My DD got lots of wait lists (including one that we considered a safety) and then was accepted at her really really reach school. I've come out of the process much more confused than when we started the process.

Schools like to accept students who will actually attend. The safety school probably knew it was a safety school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know one kid rejected at BC and accepted at BU and another kid accepted at BU and rejected by BC. The funny thing is both kids had the school they were rejected from as their top choice. The process is mysterious. Maybe they could just swap offers.

My son has 2 friends who got similar results -- one in at Duke and waitlisted at Williams, the other v.v. Both are opting for other schools and hoping that the waitlist spot will open up.

[Anonymous]

7:59 Congrats! I'm miffed that my child refused to apply to a certain reach school. (Not Ivy.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:7:59 Congrats! I'm miffed that my child refused to apply to a certain reach school. (Not Ivy.)

Thanks. I'm so glad I kept quiet when she gave me her list of places to apply. Funny that she was wait listed to places I "knew" she'd be accepted and she was accepted where I "knew" she had zero chance.

[Anonymous]

I discouraged DC from applying to that top Ivy, because I thought DC's chances were zero. DC got in. Who the heck knows why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going through this process now. Some of the examples of where certain kids were accepted and rejected are beyond explanation. My DD got lots of wait lists (including one that we considered a safety) and then was accepted at her really really reach school. I've come out of the process much more confused than when we started the process.

Schools like to accept students who will actually attend. The safety school probably knew it was a safety school.

Ah, the so-called Tufts effect. I think that is more myth than reality.

[Anonymous]

10:44 That's neat. It is so great to have it done.

[Anonymous]

DD wasn't so lucky. Waitlisted at both low reaches, which I would have put as high matches based on grades and SATs alone. According to Naviance, the scores it takes to get into these schools from DD's school are significantly higher than what the common data set would indicate.

Students really are competing against kids from their own schools. But inexplicably, some kids from the same high school with lower grades, scores, and ECs got in. The whole process has been frustrating and mystifying. At least she is warming up to one of her match schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD wasn't so lucky. Waitlisted at both low reaches, which I would have put as high matches based on grades and SATs alone. According to Naviance, the scores it takes to get into these schools from DD's school are significantly higher than what the common data set would indicate.

Students really are competing against kids from their own schools. But inexplicably, some kids from the same high school with lower grades, scores, and ECs got in. The whole process has been frustrating and mystifying. At least she is warming up to one of her match schools.

My DD was also wait listed at 2 and rejected at 1 school I'd call "strong match" due to stats and Naviance. She opted to accept a spring admission to a school that was more of a reach and is happy with that. But the entire process was such a mystery (and this is our 3rd time through it).

[Anonymous]

It is random since schools want a "well rounded" class. Even the smartest most "cultured" volunteering cookie only has a slight edge today, unless they also have connections.

[Anonymous]

Random all the way. Not just the admissions but also the financial aid. We got 35k at one school and nothing at others. All use the CSS profile and fafsa. Go figure.