Was your competitive kid get shut out from all top 40 schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Could we stick with original question please?

Was your strong applicant shut out?

(I know all the rest about high grades/scores not being enough, legacy and money talking, private school being viewed as a privilege etc, etc, etc). That has ALL been hashed to death).

Was your kid shut out?

Thank you.

OP, no one can answer your question because no kid applied to every single top 40 school (and what is even top 40? According to whom/which category?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My top stats kid is going to a USNWR top 50 school (in the 40s). Didn’t you know 50 is the new 30?

Which "top 40" schools ? Top 40 National Universities ? Top 40 Nat'l Universities & LACs combined ? Top 40 business schools or engineering schools, etc. ? Top 40 schools with the lowest rates of admission ?

I am the previous poster. Top 40s national university. Here are the schools in the 40s and it is one of these: Boston University, U Illinois, William & Mary, Brandeis, Case Western, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Tulane, Ohio State, University of Georgia.

[Anonymous]

No one is really applying to 40-50 schools, are they??

[Anonymous]

If a kid was "shut out" of "top 40" schools, clearly he/she didn't have the requisite academic profile.

There's only so much yield protection to go around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC's latest report card shows wgpa 4.92, will probably graduate with 4.95.

uwgpa 4.0
magnet
1580 SAT (800 math)

Shut out T40.

Wow. Just Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My top stats kid is going to a USNWR top 50 school (in the 40s). Didn’t you know 50 is the new 30?

Which "top 40" schools ? Top 40 National Universities ? Top 40 Nat'l Universities & LACs combined ? Top 40 business schools or engineering schools, etc. ? Top 40 schools with the lowest rates of admission ?

I am the previous poster. Top 40s national university. Here are the schools in the 40s and it is one of these: Boston University, U Illinois, William & Mary, Brandeis, Case Western, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Tulane, Ohio State, University of Georgia.

Similar here. Unhooked UMC high stats kid, not tippy top attending T40 national school (not CS/Engineering): CMU, Emory, UNC, UVA, URochester, Brandeis, W&M + W&L, Grinnell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC's latest report card shows wgpa 4.92, will probably graduate with 4.95.

uwgpa 4.0
magnet
1580 SAT (800 math)

Shut out T40.

Notice no mention of ECs

You WAY, way overestimated the value of stats

don't want to mention specifics, but has the highest involvement in a national organization, and some other things.

But, yea, high stats don't seem to matter as much anymore. Other activities seem more important these days.

Stats matter, however, the world of higher education in the US is now much more competitive and diverse than in the not-too-distant past. How one frames high stats is also quite important.

Yes to the above. 800 math on SAT is meaningless because it's a very low barrier fir someone aiming for a quant major (those kids should have other things to show for their achievements if they are at least MC) and it's no different from 700 if you are aiming fir something like history or philosophy where your writing/analytical skills matter way more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you the poster from the other thread who claimed everyone is deciding between Brown and Princeton or Stanford and MIT?

My kid got into a target (T60 school) and was shut out from reaches (T20s). His school is actually #8 for his major, but he initially wanted something even better.

It's fine.

Im the poster who brought it up on the other thread and I am not the OP of this post. Just FYI. So apparently I'm not the only one who noticed this trend.

Neither of you understand the timeline or the psychology here. Some weeks ago, not all decisions were in, and so it was peak stress time, where families imagined the worse case scenario and took every rejection or waitlist personally.

Now most decisions are in, families switch gears to make that decision, and then try to be happy with it. Psychologically, there's been an important move forward on the part of most families in a short period of time. This is always how it goes on the College Forum - you just didn't notice it, because your kids are not in 12th grade. So obviously you'll find more posts about "X vs. Y university" than posts about admissions disappointments. Everyone is trying to move on.

The posts about Ivies will naturally catch you eye more than random posts about random choices! I created an "X vs Y" post that you probably didn't notice because it wasn't about HYPSM! The people hesitating about top schools will tend to post, since they know people will answer, whereas the people wondering about Podunk vs Middle-of-nowhere know it might be useless to post - so posting is largely self-selective as well. And don't forget that the MAJORITY of families are sending their kids in-state, and there's nothing to discuss because there aren't any other options. ***Most aren't even on DCUM!!!***

So please be aware of your own biases and the biases of people posting here. Understand DCUM is not representative of reality. In short, be at least minimally intelligent about this.

as of the people who was curious about this, I am not annoyed with you all or angry or anything, just curious of you felt you all were overreacting when the world was falling down a few weeks ago. One of my friends's DDs was having a very hard time a few weeks ago and was very upset to have been declined to her favorite schools, but now that all the decisions are in, she has some great options and just made her decision. The is going to a great school that many of this board would be impressed with.

I think it's important for those who have rising seniors to understand the ups and downs and ups happen and to keep the faith, especially when it comes to keeping your kid feeling positive about the options they have.

Well, how condescending is that. We're so humbly grateful you're not mad at us, PP. There is no "you all". There is no "we". This is only one of your many fundamental mistakes.
Some people are disappointed and post about it. Some are disappointed and don't post. Some people are happy/relieved. A minuscule minority of kids get into top-ranked unis. The rest don't. "We" are not a homogeneous cohort!

The other fundamental mistake you're making is that applications take time and effort. You get emotionally invested, or at the very minimum, your kid does. That's because the system is DESIGNED to make applicants invest emotionally! Admission chances are increased when applicants write essays customized to each college, and that's impossible to do without emotional investment. The holistic admissions process is made for "maximum emotional damage", to quote a popular Asian Youtuber.

This is why when results are in, emotions run high, even if a few weeks/months later, most kids are content with where they're going. The entire year can become an emotional roller-coaster if the student first receives deferrals (as the current trend is going) and then last-minute acceptances. You've got to understand that ***emotions aren't proportional to the rank of the college the student gets in***. They're a function of the stressful process as a whole. You could get into your dream reach and still need to process the year, or have second thoughts or worry about making the right financial choice if a lower-ranked school is offering more aid.

But I've got the feeling you just like to argue for the sake of arguing. If you don't get it, you don't get it. Move on.

This! I hate the "why us?" essays with all my heart and wish that schools that want to see essays would go the UChicago uncommon essay way - creative writing as you see fit. Ask for creativity, not emotional striptease.

[Anonymous]

Mine was not shut out. Got into two in the Top 40.

[Anonymous]

Don’t worry, white, Asian & Jewish hiring managers know the drill now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Could we stick with original question please?

Was your strong applicant shut out?

(I know all the rest about high grades/scores not being enough, legacy and money talking, private school being viewed as a privilege etc, etc, etc). That has ALL been hashed to death).

Was your kid shut out?

Thank you.

Try to reframe your language. It’s not healthy. Why are you using the term “shut out”?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Could we stick with original question please?

Was your strong applicant shut out?

(I know all the rest about high grades/scores not being enough, legacy and money talking, private school being viewed as a privilege etc, etc, etc). That has ALL been hashed to death).

Was your kid shut out?

Thank you.

OP, no one can answer your question because no kid applied to every single top 40 school (and what is even top 40? According to whom/which category?).

on a large scale no, but the kids at my DC's magnet program pretty much all apply to the same T20 schools. That's also part of the problem. Those schools don't want more than a couple from the same school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC's latest report card shows wgpa 4.92, will probably graduate with 4.95.

uwgpa 4.0
magnet
1580 SAT (800 math)

Shut out T40.

Notice no mention of ECs

You WAY, way overestimated the value of stats

don't want to mention specifics, but has the highest involvement in a national organization, and some other things.

But, yea, high stats don't seem to matter as much anymore. Other activities seem more important these days.

Stats matter, however, the world of higher education in the US is now much more competitive and diverse than in the not-too-distant past. How one frames high stats is also quite important.

Yes to the above. 800 math on SAT is meaningless because it's a very low barrier fir someone aiming for a quant major (those kids should have other things to show for their achievements if they are at least MC) and it's no different from 700 if you are aiming fir something like history or philosophy where your writing/analytical skills matter way more.

I can see you trying to justify this away, but this student had great gpa, top rigor, excellent ecs (including leadership), college counselors thought she would land at an Ivy given our school’s prior placements. Highest ranked school she got into was USNew Ranked in 30s. Not my child, btw, so I can be objective in describing strength of application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My top stats kid is going to a USNWR top 50 school (in the 40s). Didn’t you know 50 is the new 30?

Which "top 40" schools ? Top 40 National Universities ? Top 40 Nat'l Universities & LACs combined ? Top 40 business schools or engineering schools, etc. ? Top 40 schools with the lowest rates of admission ?

I am the previous poster. Top 40s national university. Here are the schools in the 40s and it is one of these: Boston University, U Illinois, William & Mary, Brandeis, Case Western, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Tulane, Ohio State, University of Georgia.

Similar here. Unhooked UMC high stats kid, not tippy top attending T40 national school (not CS/Engineering): CMU, Emory, UNC, UVA, URochester, Brandeis, W&M + W&L, Grinnell

My unhooked, white child got into 5 of 5 Top 40s school they applied to, and a top 25 SLAC. Rigorous schedule, TO, probably top 5% of class at ACHS.

[Anonymous]

My kid got locked out despite what looked like the whole package (stats / EC / class rigor). Not sure if the essays or recommendations were off. Kids getting in from the same school with less rigor and lower scores seem to generally have some hook (i.e. sports, URM, etc.). My kid was truthful on their application and wrote all their own essays. Will never know if something was off on the application or if just too many kids wth similar profile.