ED strategy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s clear on one college admissions thread after another than Big 3 parents are truly unhinged. You know what else was “just talk?” That there was a pizza parlor in NW that was a cover for a pedophile ring. That the election was stolen. Etc.

Chitter chatter among your privileged children that then arrives to you is a very unreliable source as to who is applying where to college, who is applying ED, and who has what grades, test scores and legacy status. You all need to chill out and worry about your own kid.

The simple fact is this: multiple kids from the same high school often apply to the same colleges, and you’re never going to know how many and what their numbers are. Many colleges fill up a large proportion of their entering classes with ED admits. If your kid is well within the zone for a particular college with their stats, and you are full pay, you have as good as chance as any applicant at getting in ED regardless of whether somebody else in your kid’s class has better numbers. They’ll get in, too.

Seriously, Big 3 posters, doesn’t all of your constant competing exhaust you? What are you going to do to fill your time when the kids are gone?

Wow, this is a lot of accusation to place someone you never met with the pizza gate folks. Please be careful, I knew people at a comet that evening.

I am OP, whose kid attends a “big 3” (object to that term, for the record) and my original post was how my kid was staying in their lane and wondered if others would do so too… and I read this thread that most do, within reason. I also appreciated other perspectives like the Yale/Swarthmore poster who reminded me that other kids may have preferences and experiences which lead them to do things differently.

My take on message boards is you can’t categorize a group of people on a few anecdotes, and each post is a few sentences removed from real life. I try to give posters the benefit of the doubt, including you, who I am hoping is trying to provide perspective to others.

(I also want to add, as for competing, my kid helped others applying to same school with their common applications. Kids also routinely proof each other’s essays. So please don’t assume they all have some competitive mindset.)

Ha ha ok. So nice of your kid to help other underprivileged Big 3 kids with their common applications and essays. I’m sure they really needed the help, and that your kid is the best among them and uniquely qualified to do so.

I mean, c’mon now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this should absolutely play a role in where you ED. If there are 10 other kids from your school applying there, and 3 are legacies and 2 are recruited athletes, move on. You're highly unlikely to get in!

At small privates, kids should ask counselor how many others in class are applying. Beyond that, kids talk. This isn't hard to figure out, especially the recruited athlete part. I'm sure big schools are different.

The counselors would never divulge this sort of information at Sidwell.

And to the question earlier about how parents know at Sidwell. I have no clue who is applying anywhere and don't know much about other kids at all. But that Brown incident last year was such drama (on many levels) that I have heard about it from multiple parents and and kids. (plus on DCUM).

Obviously, the counselor wouldn't divulge WHO is applying, just approximate number. Schools that don't do this (apparently, Sidwell and NCS) are idiotic. Could very well have avoided the Brown problem at Sidwell last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would be the point of strategizing to increase odds of going to school that wasn’t his first choice?

There could be very close 2nd with significantly higher chance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would be the point of strategizing to increase odds of going to school that wasn’t his first choice?

It could be smart depending on a kid’s preferences. If a kid’s top 3 colleges are Yale, Swarthmore, and Northwestern, and then a sharp cliff after those 3, a kid might logically decide to ED to Swarthmore. The logic here would be the kid would much rather go to Swarthmore than a school not in his top 3. He might think his ED card is wasted at Yale, so he’d play it at Swarthmore. Just because he would choose Yale over Swarthmore doesn’t mean that he would never ED to Swarthmore or Northwestern. Depends on all of his preference… not just his preference for #1 vs #2.

This was the approach my kid took. He had two favorite schools at the very top of his list that would have been a total lottery. He wound up applying to ED to the third favorite school because the admissions chances were somewhat better. His view was that he'd rather be at school #3 than the other schools lower down on his list. When he was admitted ED decision came in, he was a little regretful about not having taken his shot at the very favorite schools, but that subsided within a few months and he's truly happy where he is. I think it was the right approach for him. All depends on how risk-averse the student may be.

[Anonymous]

Can someone confirm that they did the strategy OP is asking (adjusting pick based on other kids applying) and was successful in getting into the college using this strategy? It seems everyone is talking about it theoretically.

[Anonymous]

Don't know if it worked but we did it this year. DS asserts that one particular Ivy seemed to be the school of choice in his class this year (Dartmouth). He did the math, looked at the candidates and decided that, while it was his first choice, if he were the admissions director, he would pick one or more of the other candidates. So he moved on to a different target. As i said, we won't know how that works out, but I did take some comfort in a rumor on an admissions website that Dartmouth had a material spike in ED applicant this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it worked but we did it this year. DS asserts that one particular Ivy seemed to be the school of choice in his class this year (Dartmouth). He did the math, looked at the candidates and decided that, while it was his first choice, if he were the admissions director, he would pick one or more of the other candidates. So he moved on to a different target. As i said, we won't know how that works out, but I did take some comfort in a rumor on an admissions website that Dartmouth had a material spike in ED applicant this year.

I’m sorry, but this is a terrible approach to take when it comes to college admissions. Your kid walked away from his first choice college based on the baseless proposition that he would be compared with his high school classmates rather than the overall applicant pool AND based on imperfect and incomplete information about his high school classmates’ applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it worked but we did it this year. DS asserts that one particular Ivy seemed to be the school of choice in his class this year (Dartmouth). He did the math, looked at the candidates and decided that, while it was his first choice, if he were the admissions director, he would pick one or more of the other candidates. So he moved on to a different target. As i said, we won't know how that works out, but I did take some comfort in a rumor on an admissions website that Dartmouth had a material spike in ED applicant this year.

I’m sorry, but this is a terrible approach to take when it comes to college admissions. Your kid walked away from his first choice college based on the baseless proposition that he would be compared with his high school classmates rather than the overall applicant pool AND based on imperfect and incomplete information about his high school classmates’ applications.

Not PP, but totally disagree. Students are absolutely compared to others from not only their school but their region...so kids from DMV. PP's kid sounds super savvy to me. And before you tell me I'm wrong, I have a good friend in admissions at top 10 school who has told me this is 100% true.

[Anonymous]

PP this is life not a home viewing of "Pollyanna." Admissions rates are a reality, as is the fact that Ivies don't typically take more than 2 or 3 from our school. As someone earlier in the thread mentioned, it is entirely rational to determine that one would rather have a 50//50 chance at one of DC's top three than a less than 10% chance at the top one, particularly if one is taking into account what others DC actually knows (and compare) are doing. Most o f life is based on imperfect and incomplete information, yet still strategy matters. And your underlying assumption -- that "first choice" is somehow sacrosanct -- is just wrong. When it comes to top colleges, there is really just not that much that varies. DC will will be fine either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it worked but we did it this year. DS asserts that one particular Ivy seemed to be the school of choice in his class this year (Dartmouth). He did the math, looked at the candidates and decided that, while it was his first choice, if he were the admissions director, he would pick one or more of the other candidates. So he moved on to a different target. As i said, we won't know how that works out, but I did take some comfort in a rumor on an admissions website that Dartmouth had a material spike in ED applicant this year.

I’m sorry, but this is a terrible approach to take when it comes to college admissions. Your kid walked away from his first choice college based on the baseless proposition that he would be compared with his high school classmates rather than the overall applicant pool AND based on imperfect and incomplete information about his high school classmates’ applications.

Not PP, but totally disagree. Students are absolutely compared to others from not only their school but their region...so kids from DMV. PP's kid sounds super savvy to me. And before you tell me I'm wrong, I have a good friend in admissions at top 10 school who has told me this is 100% true.

Lol ok. You realize you just contradicted yourself right? If an applicant is being compared to the whole region regardless, why does it matter that he may also be compared to his classmates?

My good friend told me so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it worked but we did it this year. DS asserts that one particular Ivy seemed to be the school of choice in his class this year (Dartmouth). He did the math, looked at the candidates and decided that, while it was his first choice, if he were the admissions director, he would pick one or more of the other candidates. So he moved on to a different target. As i said, we won't know how that works out, but I did take some comfort in a rumor on an admissions website that Dartmouth had a material spike in ED applicant this year.

I’m sorry, but this is a terrible approach to take when it comes to college admissions. Your kid walked away from his first choice college based on the baseless proposition that he would be compared with his high school classmates rather than the overall applicant pool AND based on imperfect and incomplete information about his high school classmates’ applications.

Not PP, but totally disagree. Students are absolutely compared to others from not only their school but their region...so kids from DMV. PP's kid sounds super savvy to me. And before you tell me I'm wrong, I have a good friend in admissions at top 10 school who has told me this is 100% true.

Lol ok. You realize you just contradicted yourself right? If an applicant is being compared to the whole region regardless, why does it matter that he may also be compared to his classmates?

My good friend told me so!

I didn't contradict myself at all. Kids are most directly compared to other students from their school, and then to students from the region (simply meaning they don't want too many kids from DMV, NYC area, Bay area, etc). You can doubt me all you want, but I was told this is one of the most important factors to consider in deciding where to apply. Go ahead and not believe me, but why would I make this up? Just sounds like you don't want to hear this b/c your kid decided to apply to a school along w/ many others from same high school...

[Anonymous]

Not sure what 9:36's aversion to reality is - but our admissions advisor acknowledge the same thing. At a certain level, the competition is who from the top private is getting in to the highly selective schools and that is perhaps the easiest head to head measure a college admissions person can make. Yes, they can take more than one, but year after year, that proves to be the exception, not the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s clear on one college admissions thread after another than Big 3 parents are truly unhinged. You know what else was “just talk?” That there was a pizza parlor in NW that was a cover for a pedophile ring. That the election was stolen. Etc.

Chitter chatter among your privileged children that then arrives to you is a very unreliable source as to who is applying where to college, who is applying ED, and who has what grades, test scores and legacy status. You all need to chill out and worry about your own kid.

The simple fact is this: multiple kids from the same high school often apply to the same colleges, and you’re never going to know how many and what their numbers are. Many colleges fill up a large proportion of their entering classes with ED admits. If your kid is well within the zone for a particular college with their stats, and you are full pay, you have as good as chance as any applicant at getting in ED regardless of whether somebody else in your kid’s class has better numbers. They’ll get in, too.

Seriously, Big 3 posters, doesn’t all of your constant competing exhaust you? What are you going to do to fill your time when the kids are gone?

This is simply not true. DC is but a blip in the numbers of people applying the these schools from around the entire world. The schools will not take all applicants that could do well there. They limit the number of accepted students from any particular geographic area, and then from each school within that area. It is a small number who will get into the school your child thinks is their dream school. Your kid needs to have a list of "first choices" and be realistic. That's when parenting comes in. I agree with PP that there is too much hype about all this. But it is at other schools too, not just "Big 3".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this should absolutely play a role in where you ED. If there are 10 other kids from your school applying there, and 3 are legacies and 2 are recruited athletes, move on. You're highly unlikely to get in!

At small privates, kids should ask counselor how many others in class are applying. Beyond that, kids talk. This isn't hard to figure out, especially the recruited athlete part. I'm sure big schools are different.

The counselors would never divulge this sort of information at Sidwell.

And to the question earlier about how parents know at Sidwell. I have no clue who is applying anywhere and don't know much about other kids at all. But that Brown incident last year was such drama (on many levels) that I have heard about it from multiple parents and and kids. (plus on DCUM).

Obviously, the counselor wouldn't divulge WHO is applying, just approximate number. Schools that don't do this (apparently, Sidwell and NCS) are idiotic. Could very well have avoided the Brown problem at Sidwell last year.

You can't avoid it when there are enough alumni parents whose kids believe using that legacy is their best shot, or because a particular school, in this case, Brown, was by far and away, the top choice.

Also, if a school does this, then is it fair to the kid who has Tufts or Haverford instead of Brown or Swarthmore respectively, as their top choice?

Ultimately, the kids make their decisions, and it really doesn't matter if there are 0, 3 or 12 classmates applying to the same place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s clear on one college admissions thread after another than Big 3 parents are truly unhinged. You know what else was “just talk?” That there was a pizza parlor in NW that was a cover for a pedophile ring. That the election was stolen. Etc.

Chitter chatter among your privileged children that then arrives to you is a very unreliable source as to who is applying where to college, who is applying ED, and who has what grades, test scores and legacy status. You all need to chill out and worry about your own kid.

The simple fact is this: multiple kids from the same high school often apply to the same colleges, and you’re never going to know how many and what their numbers are. Many colleges fill up a large proportion of their entering classes with ED admits. If your kid is well within the zone for a particular college with their stats, and you are full pay, you have as good as chance as any applicant at getting in ED regardless of whether somebody else in your kid’s class has better numbers. They’ll get in, too.

Seriously, Big 3 posters, doesn’t all of your constant competing exhaust you? What are you going to do to fill your time when the kids are gone?

Wow, this is a lot of accusation to place someone you never met with the pizza gate folks. Please be careful, I knew people at a comet that evening.

I am OP, whose kid attends a “big 3” (object to that term, for the record) and my original post was how my kid was staying in their lane and wondered if others would do so too… and I read this thread that most do, within reason. I also appreciated other perspectives like the Yale/Swarthmore poster who reminded me that other kids may have preferences and experiences which lead them to do things differently.

My take on message boards is you can’t categorize a group of people on a few anecdotes, and each post is a few sentences removed from real life. I try to give posters the benefit of the doubt, including you, who I am hoping is trying to provide perspective to others.

(I also want to add, as for competing, my kid helped others applying to same school with their common applications. Kids also routinely proof each other’s essays. So please don’t assume they all have some competitive mindset.)

Ha ha ok. So nice of your kid to help other underprivileged Big 3 kids with their common applications and essays. I’m sure they really needed the help, and that your kid is the best among them and uniquely qualified to do so.

I mean, c’mon now.

Again, why would you read such chutzpah into my statement? I talked about helping classmates, no mention of privilege or my kid’s worth. Simply, he was willing to help when asked, which is evidence of collaboration not competition - which was the topic at hand.

As for other posters, I think the details matter: which college, which private HS, profile of kids etc. What is completely rational in one situation may not be in another. Also, if the kid who chose another place rather than Dartmouth is happy that sounds like a win.

Good luck to all of your kids!