Are college admissions harder for DC kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.

Really? Their admissions suck:
https://www.instagram.com/smseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/greenhillseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/ursulineseniors25?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

For Cal or UCLA, I’d say top 5% unless an institutional priority. I believe there is a campus hierarchy within the 9%.

[Anonymous]

Top 9% ELC ? Arr these terms of art?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

For Cal or UCLA, I’d say top 5% unless an institutional priority. I believe there is a campus hierarchy within the 9%.

For Cal and UCLA you can be top 1% in a competitive Bay Area school and are unlikely to get in especially if you are a white or Asian male.There will be someone presenting as FGLI even if they really aren’t, there will be someone with lower stats/ECs that chose a less common major/gender, and there will be a ton of fabricated awards and trauma stories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

For Cal or UCLA, I’d say top 5% unless an institutional priority. I believe there is a campus hierarchy within the 9%.

The 9% ELC number is roughly in line with the acceptance rate so it is a good starting point. But people above and belkow do get accepted and rejected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.

Really? Their admissions suck:
https://www.instagram.com/smseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/greenhillseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/ursulineseniors25?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Hockaday seems impressive, at least for their sports recruits:
https://www.hockaday.org/academics/college-counseling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top 9% ELC ? Are these terms of art?

ELC is a California thing. Anyone that is ELC gets automatic admission to a UC, usually Merced or Northridge. There are two ELC groups 'local context' and state even though it is all called ELC. You need to be in the top of your HS class to have any real shot at UCB and UCLA. This makes thing brutal in the bay area and parts of LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't live near DC but I love this site and this discussion board in particular, much as it stresses me out. I'm wondering if you feel that kids from your area face tougher acceptance rates because the competition is so steep where you are, with so many high achieving kids and elite private (and even public) schools. We live in a rural area where if kids are going to college, the vast majority attend local schools with high (80%+) acceptance rates. Reading about the rejections of superstar-sounding students here makes college admissions just feels so hopeless to me if you want to attend a great school, which my DC does. I'm just wondering if odds are better if you live in a less competitive area. Or maybe not - I'm sure our education isn't as strong as where you are.

This is an interesting question OP and you have an interesting perspective! We are DC residents. One thing that is automatically more difficult is that our kids are out of state for any state school. We do get a small tuition off-set for state schools around the country, but we are at a disadvantage in that our kids can't claim in-state residence anywhere.

For the top schools that your DC is looking at, yes, s/he will be at an advantage coming from a rural area.

Interestingly, my DC wants to go to a service academy. I think that being from DC is an advantage in that admission, possibly as compared to where you are.

Actually, huge disadvantage, given the requirement for congressional sponsorship.

DC (not the greater DC area) does not fill the service academy slots.
Being a DC resident is a boost

This is something that isn't well understood. There are a ton of military bases in the region and veterans that work for the federal government or contractors. Many of them have kids that have strong interest in the Service Academies, but overwhelmingly live in MD or VA. So it is brutally difficult to get a Congressional nomination from those states and may have to seek alternative ways to get a nomination. But DC proper does not typically have military families with high school age children. DC doesn't often use all its slots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.

Why do you think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, and what does this mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is easier than MD or VA.

Except for the national merit scholarship issue

is the cutoff higher in DC than VA? It's really high in VA.

yes

actually it is the same

No. DC matches the highest state - whichever state that is in a particular year. Last year I think it was New Jersey. (So last year DC had a higher cutoff than Virginia - unless VA was also 225?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top 9% ELC ? Are these terms of art?

ELC is a California thing. Anyone that is ELC gets automatic admission to a UC, usually Merced or Northridge. There are two ELC groups 'local context' and state even though it is all called ELC. You need to be in the top of your HS class to have any real shot at UCB and UCLA. This makes thing brutal in the bay area and parts of LA.

I agree except I think you mean UC Riverside not Northridge.