RD Acceptances at Ivies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

+1
Our nonDC private of sub 90 kids gets 3-4 into Harvard each year (usually 2 hooked early and 1 unhooked in RD).
And yes it’s on that visual (small though)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

+1
Our nonDC private of sub 90 kids gets 3-4 into Harvard each year (usually 2 hooked early and 1 unhooked in RD).
And yes it’s on that visual (small though)

So Harvard admitted 1900 kids last year and 4 of them were from your random high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

+1
Our nonDC private of sub 90 kids gets 3-4 into Harvard each year (usually 2 hooked early and 1 unhooked in RD).
And yes it’s on that visual (small though)

So Harvard admitted 1900 kids last year and 4 of them were from your random high school?

Why not? Harvard admits are not randomly distributed, they trend rich and they trend smart. They’re going to be overrepresented at selective high schools that charge tuition, like PP’s non-DMV private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

+1
Our nonDC private of sub 90 kids gets 3-4 into Harvard each year (usually 2 hooked early and 1 unhooked in RD).
And yes it’s on that visual (small though)

So Harvard admitted 1900 kids last year and 4 of them were from your random high school?

It's not random (its well-known); its small and yes this happens. Look at the IG pages of MANY private schools.

[Anonymous]

As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

Not true at all for our private, lots of unhooked admissions early last few years. Exception is athletic recruits but we only have one or two Ivy recruits a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that this is an “elite” private school thing. These schools are much more likely to have legacies, recruited athletes, and aggressive steering in the early rounds, which presumably means lots of early round admissions and fewer RD admissions from those schools.

Not true at all for our private, lots of unhooked admissions early last few years. Exception is athletic recruits but we only have one or two Ivy recruits a year.

Is having more athletic recruits in the class better or worse for unhooked applicants?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

Thank you for pointing this out. No one is applying to HYPSM anymore. They are desperate for students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

Yes.

[Anonymous]

With AI resume screening, what you’ve actually done matters more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

What schools are your students genuinely excited to attend? Are you talking about Stanford/MIT/Duke/UChicago/Northwestern, which are just as selective as the Ivies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

Thank you for pointing this out. No one is applying to HYPSM anymore. They are desperate for students.

No way. The acceptance rate is so low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

The source of a college counselor’s conclusion is based on a single kid reporting that her friends are not applying to ivies?

Absurd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a college counselor for over 15 years, I’ve noticed something really different happening. Not long ago, high-achieving students automatically aimed for the Ivies. That just isn’t the default anymore. Sure, they still add them to the list, usually Regular Decision, but the excitement is often elsewhere. One of my top students recently told me that none of her friends at her MCPS school are even seriously considering Ivies. They’re much more energized by other schools. And honestly, as an Ivy grad myself who has visited my own campus and many others recently, I see exactly what they mean.

So many strong, motivated kids are choosing differently. Not because they can’t get in, the students on my roster can compete with anyone, but because the attraction has shifted. They care more about where they’ll feel connected, where they can lead and build things. The kids get it. Unfortunately, many parents haven’t quite caught up yet.

Hiring is changing too. Many companies, and even parts of government, now remove college names from early resume screens to reduce bias. What matters more is what students have done, not just where they went.

Back in the day, every top kid, strong test scores, great extracurriculars, high GPA, automatically wanted Harvard and Yale on their list. I helped plenty get in. These days, those schools are often added more to satisfy parents than because students feel genuinely excited.

This doesn’t sound like what is being seen by the app numbers. Tens of thousands apply to ivies every year. Some may be slightly down (no longer TO, let’s say) but there is big migration away from ivies. The bolded sounds like kids are steered away from applying to ivies (which some college counselors do to seemingly improve the appearance of results).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To use Harvard as an example, they accept about 2000 students per year out of roughly 48,000 applications. Until recently, they would take roughly 1000 during the SCEA round and 1000 during the RD round. However, in recent years, they have stopped sharing the breakdown between SCEA and RD acceptances. It's fair to assume that the odds of acceptance for an unhooked applicant to Harvard in Regular Decision are astronomically low.

I suspect the numbers are similar for Princeton and Yale. And Dartmouth is very tiny. Unhooked students basically have no chance at these schools in RD.

Cornell seems like the only ivy that is somewhat accessible for smart unhooked students in RD, followed by Columbia. But in reality, smart and accomplished unhooked students are generally not going to ivy schools these days.

And Harvard has its own set of feeder schools that send a lot more students than the average HS. THese are elite privates full of rich/legacy/connected parents and selective magnet schools. The average HS student has no shot.
https://www.thecrimson.com/widget/2024/11/15/top-feeders-data/

There are about six public high schools in the Cambridge / Boston area on that list

Quite wrong. Harvard often takes the valedictorian of public high schools. I’m one of them.

Last year, 57 kids from DC's MCPS high school applied to Harvard. No one got in.