WSJ article on your child's chances of getting into an IVY are slim

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say it - I think schools didn’t admit her bc her essays were about her mental health struggles over getting Bs during Covid.

I wish the system wasn’t this way - we talk a good game on mental health - but I think societal actions prove another thing.

I also think business is an incredibly oversubscribed major.

Here is the thing. The schools cannot deal with these mental health issues and they don’t want to. My student’s college had a suicide recently and it rocked the campus. The school should have known this student was at risk (there was a very public sign). I have no idea what the school did to help her, but I suspect (based on my student’s experience with campus mental health services) nothing.

We have messed up an entire generation with our curating and over parenting. The schools are now seeing the other side to many of these overachievers and they want no part of it.

Mental health is at a crisis state on many campuses. If she wrote about having anxiety over a B, it’s no wonder she got rejected. The schools no longer want perfect, curated kids because they fall apart once they get there and the schools hve to deal with it and are not equipped.

The bolded: So true. The small college and big state university my child attended, at certain times of the year, if you hadn't scheduled early on, they would just refer you to some service called "thrive'' or another one called ''better help.''

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The record 11.8 percent admission rate for Harvard's class of 1999 is significantly lower than rates at other Ivy League schools, ...“

Has it ever been easy?

It’s never been easy for your typical kid. It’s always been significantly easier for connected kids.

I went to a NE boarding school. They told us that before about the 1990s, kids essentially signed up for HYP like you would an intramural softball team. It isn’t like that anymore, but my high school sends roughly 25% of its graduates each year to an Ivy League school. The process remains deeply unfair.

Doesn't this just show that the schools are not "all that" in the first place? It just a prestige thing, with no real value other than that. They aren't actually "better," and obviously there are thousands of brilliant students who attend other colleges.

This. 100% this. But that doesn’t mean people will stop striving for prestige.

[Anonymous]

''McKinney High School (MHS) is located at 1400 Wilson Creek Parkway in McKinney, Texas, and is within the McKinney Independent School District. MHS is the oldest high school in McKinney and the current building opened in 1986, after moving from what is now Faubion Middle School.

Although the Texas Education Agency (TEA) rated the school as Academically Unacceptable following the 2009-10 school year, the school has shown improvement, being rated as Academically Acceptable in all following school years as of 2019.''

So she got a 1550 SAT coming from a ''weak'' high school that I am pretty sure is in a rural part of Texas. That is fairly impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say it - I think schools didn’t admit her bc her essays were about her mental health struggles over getting Bs during Covid.

I wish the system wasn’t this way - we talk a good game on mental health - but I think societal actions prove another thing.

I also think business is an incredibly oversubscribed major.

Here is the thing. The schools cannot deal with these mental health issues and they don’t want to. My student’s college had a suicide recently and it rocked the campus. The school should have known this student was at risk (there was a very public sign). I have no idea what the school did to help her, but I suspect (based on my student’s experience with campus mental health services) nothing.

We have messed up an entire generation with our curating and over parenting. The schools are now seeing the other side to many of these overachievers and they want no part of it.

Mental health is at a crisis state on many campuses. If she wrote about having anxiety over a B, it’s no wonder she got rejected. The schools no longer want perfect, curated kids because they fall apart once they get there and the schools hve to deal with it and are not equipped.

They want them, they just don’t want you to admit it’s unhealthy or unnatural, so being that honest about it makes them squirm. The key is for your application to give the impression it was natural and independent (is rarely is). The “naturals” and independents usually make some mistakes, so their resumes aren’t as competitive. Parents are literally doing some of work themselves and college admissions officers are so impressed. I agree that colleges THINK they’re aware of the trouble with curated kids, but I don’t think they’re actually doing anything about it. Too much money and status on the line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The record 11.8 percent admission rate for Harvard's class of 1999 is significantly lower than rates at other Ivy League schools, ...“

Has it ever been easy?

It’s never been easy for your typical kid. It’s always been significantly easier for connected kids.

I went to a NE boarding school. They told us that before about the 1990s, kids essentially signed up for HYP like you would an intramural softball team. It isn’t like that anymore, but my high school sends roughly 25% of its graduates each year to an Ivy League school. The process remains deeply unfair.

Is this typical of the higher end NE boarding schools? Do their students get preferred admissions? Looking at this now for my kid who is interested in going starting in 2023 to play a sport (he's been talking to the coach), so if we're going to consider that school, we'll likely consider others as well. Just curious because DH and I are public school graduates so this is all new.

My husband went to Hotchkiss in the 90s. Got into every Ivy. Chose UPenn. Can count on 1 hand how many people give a damn where he went to college.

[Anonymous]

For any kind of athletic recruiting, if the schools continue to recruit for athletics, it is impossible to get to the level of being recruitable without parents curating. A 10th grader can't decide in 10th grade that they are going to join club swimming (when they are old enough to drive themselves if their parents were never willing to) and then get a spot on a college team three years later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The record 11.8 percent admission rate for Harvard's class of 1999 is significantly lower than rates at other Ivy League schools, ...“

Has it ever been easy?

It’s never been easy for your typical kid. It’s always been significantly easier for connected kids.

I went to a NE boarding school. They told us that before about the 1990s, kids essentially signed up for HYP like you would an intramural softball team. It isn’t like that anymore, but my high school sends roughly 25% of its graduates each year to an Ivy League school. The process remains deeply unfair.

Is this typical of the higher end NE boarding schools? Do their students get preferred admissions? Looking at this now for my kid who is interested in going starting in 2023 to play a sport (he's been talking to the coach), so if we're going to consider that school, we'll likely consider others as well. Just curious because DH and I are public school graduates so this is all new.

My husband went to Hotchkiss in the 90s. Got into every Ivy. Chose UPenn. Can count on 1 hand how many people give a damn where he went to college.

I guess it just gives more options? It perplexes me seeing kids major in whatever from a top private univ and then get a master's in teaching when they could have gone just about anywhere for an undergrad teaching degree and certification.

[Anonymous]

Just want to add hugs to those dealing with kid’s mental illness.

And that I wish this girl felt better about her merit aid/school she will be attending and that her parents wouldn’t have agreed to this article. It is only going to reinforce the bad taste she has over this process and expose her to social media like this. The whole article feels voyeuristic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For any kind of athletic recruiting, if the schools continue to recruit for athletics, it is impossible to get to the level of being recruitable without parents curating. A 10th grader can't decide in 10th grade that they are going to join club swimming (when they are old enough to drive themselves if their parents were never willing to) and then get a spot on a college team three years later.

Without curating and $$$$. Lots of money.

[Anonymous]

We have messed up an entire generation with our curating and over parenting. The schools are now seeing the other side to many of these overachievers and they want no part of it. Mental health is at a crisis state on many campuses. If she wrote about having anxiety over a B, it’s no wonder she got rejected. The schools no longer want perfect, curated kids because they fall apart once they get there and the schools have to deal with it and are not equipped.

This 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The record 11.8 percent admission rate for Harvard's class of 1999 is significantly lower than rates at other Ivy League schools, ...“

Has it ever been easy?

It’s never been easy for your typical kid. It’s always been significantly easier for connected kids.

I went to a NE boarding school. They told us that before about the 1990s, kids essentially signed up for HYP like you would an intramural softball team. It isn’t like that anymore, but my high school sends roughly 25% of its graduates each year to an Ivy League school. The process remains deeply unfair.

Is this typical of the higher end NE boarding schools? Do their students get preferred admissions? Looking at this now for my kid who is interested in going starting in 2023 to play a sport (he's been talking to the coach), so if we're going to consider that school, we'll likely consider others as well. Just curious because DH and I are public school graduates so this is all new.

My husband went to Hotchkiss in the 90s. Got into every Ivy. Chose UPenn. Can count on 1 hand how many people give a damn where he went to college.

I guess it just gives more options? It perplexes me seeing kids major in whatever from a top private univ and then get a master's in teaching when they could have gone just about anywhere for an undergrad teaching degree and certification.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“The record 11.8 percent admission rate for Harvard's class of 1999 is significantly lower than rates at other Ivy League schools, ...“

Has it ever been easy?

It’s never been easy for your typical kid. It’s always been significantly easier for connected kids.

I went to a NE boarding school. They told us that before about the 1990s, kids essentially signed up for HYP like you would an intramural softball team. It isn’t like that anymore, but my high school sends roughly 25% of its graduates each year to an Ivy League school. The process remains deeply unfair.

Is this typical of the higher end NE boarding schools? Do their students get preferred admissions? Looking at this now for my kid who is interested in going starting in 2023 to play a sport (he's been talking to the coach), so if we're going to consider that school, we'll likely consider others as well. Just curious because DH and I are public school graduates so this is all new.

My husband went to Hotchkiss in the 90s. Got into every Ivy. Chose UPenn. Can count on 1 hand how many people give a damn where he went to college.

I guess it just gives more options? It perplexes me seeing kids major in whatever from a top private univ and then get a master's in teaching when they could have gone just about anywhere for an undergrad teaching degree and certification.

Why?

What is your question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to add hugs to those dealing with kid’s mental illness.

And that I wish this girl felt better about her merit aid/school she will be attending and that her parents wouldn’t have agreed to this article. It is only going to reinforce the bad taste she has over this process and expose her to social media like this. The whole article feels voyeuristic.

I agree that doing this article was probably not a great idea. Relatively people can empathize with her situation and this article will be the first thing that appears when people google her name for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is this news?

it is not news at all. But people have been telling themselves and their kids nonsense for years now. Being perfect gets you intot he game at top schools. Now you have to close the deal and have something that can do that. Not news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For any kind of athletic recruiting, if the schools continue to recruit for athletics, it is impossible to get to the level of being recruitable without parents curating. A 10th grader can't decide in 10th grade that they are going to join club swimming (when they are old enough to drive themselves if their parents were never willing to) and then get a spot on a college team three years later.

Kids can and do decide to take up sports in high school all the time and some of them end up recruited at levels far beyond the Ivy League.