I am losing heart.

[Anonymous]

Rampant grade inflation has made many students feel the need to chase ECs in order to separate themselves. It used to be grades were enough to do that, but not now when everyone who puts a modicum of effort gets an A, and just for showing up you get a B.

[Anonymous]

As long as you think outside the box and don't get rigid about what everyone else considers "top schools," you and your DC will be just fine.

Trust me, by April of senior year, the chatter is more about how well the kids did with merit aid than about the fancy school that gives nothing.

[Anonymous]

By the way, I have a book about colleges from the '80s that illustrates how silly the SAT has become. Instead of being a test to generalize your general ability, it has become a numbers game to beat. Ditto with the SAT II (which we called Achievement Tests). Kids don't bother submitting less than perfect scores, when back in the '80s a score in the 600s or 700s was considered good.

Grade inflation is also ridiculous. My smart kid kind of coasts and should really earn Bs and Cs but instead has A's and Bs. Weighted, he has a GPA over 4.0. I love my kid and I think he's awesome, but I think that GPA is ridiculous and not a true representation of how he does in school.

So it's little wonder why the top schools have to turn away so many applicants. Choose schools that will love your kid, not make you both think you won some kind of lottery. And focus on essays to help your kid stand out from the rest of the 4.0/1600 crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a normal stats kid that did just fine in the admissions process. His unweighted GPA was around 3.6, he took 5 AP classes but didn't take the tests, and he scored 29 on the ACT. His EC's were football, wrestling, some normal kid volunteer stuff (little league, hospital), got a couple of awards, nothing spectacular... Interviewed great, wrote a solid essay and picked a reasonable selection of schools. I'm proud of his results and he ended up going to Macalester. Here's the breakdown:
St Olaf - accepted with aid
Luther - accepted with aid
Carelton - denied
College of Wooster - Wait list
Kenyon - accepted with aid
Grinnell - Wait list, no aid
Denison - accepted with aid
Cornell - denied

So you see, even with a normal GPA and ACT, he had his choice of St. Olaf, Macalester, Luther college (his safety), Kenyon and Denison.

So, please don't lose heart based on what you read here. Your kid will do just fine.

Fantastic. And Macalester is a very good school. I wonder if the wrestling helped? I really think it does!

This is such an excellent list and my vote is for Grinnell if your DC gets off waitlist. You guys did a great job picking excellent schools -- congrats to your DC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a normal stats kid that did just fine in the admissions process. His unweighted GPA was around 3.6, he took 5 AP classes but didn't take the tests, and he scored 29 on the ACT. His EC's were football, wrestling, some normal kid volunteer stuff (little league, hospital), got a couple of awards, nothing spectacular... Interviewed great, wrote a solid essay and picked a reasonable selection of schools. I'm proud of his results and he ended up going to Macalester. Here's the breakdown:
St Olaf - accepted with aid
Luther - accepted with aid
Carelton - denied
College of Wooster - Wait list
Kenyon - accepted with aid
Grinnell - Wait list, no aid
Denison - accepted with aid
Cornell - denied

So you see, even with a normal GPA and ACT, he had his choice of St. Olaf, Macalester, Luther college (his safety), Kenyon and Denison.

So, please don't lose heart based on what you read here. Your kid will do just fine.

What is Macalester? Never heard of it.

I have never heard of it either, along with Grinnell and Carelton.

I have heard of Grinnell and Kenyon. But not the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What is Macalester? Never heard of it.

Good Canadian school.

WTF? Macalester is an excellent liberal arts college in St. Paul, MN. One of the few urban SLACs. USNWR has it tied with Oberlin College at #24 on its LAC ranking.

Wait - I thought Minnesota WAS in Canada! Shouldn't have gone to that lousy State school.

[Anonymous]

just for showing up you get a B

Not this guy again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am getting sick of the whole "wealthy hire tutors to spoon feed their kids." The people that I know who hire tutors (very few) have kids who are struggling either with a poor teacher or an LD. The idea that most are rigging the system by buying special assistance for their child is so overblown. The tutor is needed to help the kids grasp information that is needed to pass, not move a kid from an A- to an A. Poor kids have access to Khan Academy, libraries and non profit tutoring groups. If you are worried about any child having access to homework help, I hope you are volunteering to help.

+1 There seems to be a theme on DCUM that wealthy kids are somehow less than and only get where they are through special access, etc. While there may be some examples of this, it is not categorically true. But if it makes you feel better . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:

OP here. My kid is in a magnet HS in MCPS. Straight A's. 1560 SAT (taken only once, he is not keen to retake again because of lack of time). Not a sports person. Participates in 4 clubs. Belongs to a couple of scholastic honors societies. 300 Hours of SSL - various local charities and volunteer work he has been involved in since MS. Leadership position in a couple of clubs. Goes for a few competitions from his clubs - wins a few. 7 APs (Mainly 5s) by end of junior year.

I have been told that he should not even bother to apply to the top schools because he should have done things that differentiates him from other students. Examples that I was given of charities that were founded, travel to 3rd world countries etc., Interning at NIH, Intel competition etc. - is not something we can afford because of lack of time and money.

I do not have a problem with him applying to state public colleges as long as he does something that he will enjoy (he is equally good in Humanities and STEM).

Thank you for your replies. I am actually beginning to feel a lot better now.

Who on earth told you this? They should be shot. Seriously, with these stats, he should apply to all the top schools. You mentioned that he's been volunteering at the same places since middle school--don't forget the value of this demonstrated loyalty in a world where everyone is running around trying new things to pad their resumes.

Please do not pass your anxiety on to your amazing child. He will get in to top schools and...most importantly...do well in whatever he chooses to do.

Again, thank you for an uplifting message. And this is in no way a humble brag. I know my student has done well. We are immigrants. No hooks of any kind but first experience with schools and colleges in this country.

We were pretty confident that he is on a good path and it seems it is a great path in any regular hs student. He has toiled and these stats are based on a lot of hard work and sacrifice on his part.

What we did not know was that these great stats become average stats when you are in a magnet program because now you are one of 300 magnet kids in the program. Every kid has the same stats - great GPA, great SAT, bunch of APs, SSL hours, clubs etc. So, as I understand the top colleges take only one or two students from each school. This means that unless you are legacy or have a hook or have done something extraordinary then your chance if getting into a top college is slim. I was under the impression that doing very well in school, something that my son has done for last 4 years diligently, is something extraordinary. Now, I have been made to realize that we were wrong to even aspire for the best colleges because we did not know what was really expected of us.

[Anonymous]

PP ^ that happened to us also. We did not understand how strong grade inflation was. We thought a few abs were ok at a tough magnet school. B is a C - and that's how they look at it. Especially when everyone else is A-

[Anonymous]

A few Bs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am getting sick of the whole "wealthy hire tutors to spoon feed their kids." The people that I know who hire tutors (very few) have kids who are struggling either with a poor teacher or an LD. The idea that most are rigging the system by buying special assistance for their child is so overblown. The tutor is needed to help the kids grasp information that is needed to pass, not move a kid from an A- to an A. Poor kids have access to Khan Academy, libraries and non profit tutoring groups. If you are worried about any child having access to homework help, I hope you are volunteering to help.

You are uninformed. My kids go to best schools and competition is fierce. Type A parents play every angle there is to eke out a little extra. Tutors aren't just for geometry struggles. Tutors can also help kids learn Mandarin outside of school, and other things like that to get an edge on classmates.

I like how the PP plays down the tutor's role in helping the affluent kids pass. How is that not an advantage? Poor kids, who struggle, just fall through the cracks. And that doesn't even get into the fact that rich kids usually go to vastly superior K-12 schools, where they are a grade (or two) ahead of the kids in poorer districts. Also, nice deflection with the "I hope you are volunteering line." I guess no one should ever point out obvious inequalities unless they are Mother Teresa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a normal stats kid that did just fine in the admissions process. His unweighted GPA was around 3.6, he took 5 AP classes but didn't take the tests, and he scored 29 on the ACT. His EC's were football, wrestling, some normal kid volunteer stuff (little league, hospital), got a couple of awards, nothing spectacular... Interviewed great, wrote a solid essay and picked a reasonable selection of schools. I'm proud of his results and he ended up going to Macalester. Here's the breakdown:
St Olaf - accepted with aid
Luther - accepted with aid
Carelton - denied
College of Wooster - Wait list
Kenyon - accepted with aid
Grinnell - Wait list, no aid
Denison - accepted with aid
Cornell - denied

So you see, even with a normal GPA and ACT, he had his choice of St. Olaf, Macalester, Luther college (his safety), Kenyon and Denison.





So, please don't lose heart based on what you read here. Your kid will do just fine.

Fantastic. And Macalester is a very good school. I wonder if the wrestling helped? I really think it does!

PP here, thank you I think football and wrestling helped, he is playing both sports.

I went to Macalester and loved it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a normal stats kid that did just fine in the admissions process. His unweighted GPA was around 3.6, he took 5 AP classes but didn't take the tests, and he scored 29 on the ACT. His EC's were football, wrestling, some normal kid volunteer stuff (little league, hospital), got a couple of awards, nothing spectacular... Interviewed great, wrote a solid essay and picked a reasonable selection of schools. I'm proud of his results and he ended up going to Macalester. Here's the breakdown:
St Olaf - accepted with aid
Luther - accepted with aid
Carelton - denied
College of Wooster - Wait list
Kenyon - accepted with aid
Grinnell - Wait list, no aid
Denison - accepted with aid
Cornell - denied

So you see, even with a normal GPA and ACT, he had his choice of St. Olaf, Macalester, Luther college (his safety), Kenyon and Denison.

So, please don't lose heart based on what you read here. Your kid will do just fine.

What is Macalester? Never heard of it.

Same. I've only heard of one school on that entire list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a normal stats kid that did just fine in the admissions process. His unweighted GPA was around 3.6, he took 5 AP classes but didn't take the tests, and he scored 29 on the ACT. His EC's were football, wrestling, some normal kid volunteer stuff (little league, hospital), got a couple of awards, nothing spectacular... Interviewed great, wrote a solid essay and picked a reasonable selection of schools. I'm proud of his results and he ended up going to Macalester. Here's the breakdown:
St Olaf - accepted with aid
Luther - accepted with aid
Carelton - denied
College of Wooster - Wait list
Kenyon - accepted with aid
Grinnell - Wait list, no aid
Denison - accepted with aid
Cornell - denied

So you see, even with a normal GPA and ACT, he had his choice of St. Olaf, Macalester, Luther college (his safety), Kenyon and Denison.

So, please don't lose heart based on what you read here. Your kid will do just fine.

What is Macalester? Never heard of it.

Same. I've only heard of one school on that entire list.

Lot of people posting here really need to get out more. I guess the only schools you've heard of are either in your backyard or play football on TV. There's a wide world out there... be brave, sample life, think outside the box, read a book.