HYPS SCEA vs Columbia ED (double legacy)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you have any idea of his rank in the class? I know that most privates don't want to tell you this, but did he get Cum Laude distinction, or did the school signal that he is in the top 10-20%?

OP here. we do not know the exact rank but we know he is in the top 10 out of a class of about 200 students.

[Anonymous]

OP - In case you don't want to out your kid, honestly the rank doesn't matter. In that academic bucket he's competing against kids nationally, not in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the comments, it has been very helpful!

I ll try to answer all the questions:

The counselor has told us that there are kids who have made it to HYPS with similar profiles in the past, but also said that especially for Harvard and Stanford most (but not all) of the kids who have gotten in during the past few years had something very extraordinary or were legacy. But she told us that because our son is so set on applying there then we should let him since there is a small chance he could make it.

Re Major: He wants to study bioengineering and do either a second major or a minor in economics. In terms of long-term career he is not sure yet, he either wants to do research, or become a health economist (i.e. do Phd) or work in the business side of healthcare/life sciences.

Re ECs: He founded the life sciences club at his high school, is editor in chief of the school newspaper and co-president of the comm service club.

Re internship experience: He worked in a biology lab at Columbia two summers ago and this past summer he interned at the Fed (got this through family connections of course).

And yes we are white.

Ok, so this begs the question of why isn't Johns Hopkins and Cornell are not on this list? Would you go to BU before JH? Yes, I'm a counselor and I responded before that his best and most likely only shot at Ivy is Columbia early. By all means apply to SHY (though for his strengths H and Y shouldn't even be in the mix) but whatever, his choice. I would pretend those super reaches don't exist, plan on not getting in, and really think harder about that list…and LOVE THY SAFETY

[Anonymous]

Is legacy just based on where the parents went undergrad. If the parent went to Harvard Medical School, for example, does that get a legacy boost for Harvard undergrad?

[Anonymous]

No it's undergrad but if Harvard Medical School put you in a nationally important position like Surgeon General, that's not legacy but it'll probably work for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One kid I know who got into Harvard, according to his Admitsee is "native american"….He's Indian. I guess he could have claimed "confused" by the boxes. He was SAL, good scores, a good musician, well liked in the school…closest thing to "normal". Not sure he would have gotten in if he didn't check "native american"

BS. There is a Native American admissions officer that handles all Native American applications at Harvard. Besides looking at the application for actual tribal membership, the review would also look at the application as a whole (essay, recommendations, activities and school) for connection with the Native American community and personal identity. If there was no other evidence that he was Native American, they would not have handled his application in any special way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the comments, it has been very helpful!

I ll try to answer all the questions:

The counselor has told us that there are kids who have made it to HYPS with similar profiles in the past, but also said that especially for Harvard and Stanford most (but not all) of the kids who have gotten in during the past few years had something very extraordinary or were legacy. But she told us that because our son is so set on applying there then we should let him since there is a small chance he could make it.

Re Major: He wants to study bioengineering and do either a second major or a minor in economics. In terms of long-term career he is not sure yet, he either wants to do research, or become a health economist (i.e. do Phd) or work in the business side of healthcare/life sciences.

Re ECs: He founded the life sciences club at his high school, is editor in chief of the school newspaper and co-president of the comm service club.

Re internship experience: He worked in a biology lab at Columbia two summers ago and this past summer he interned at the Fed (got this through family connections of course).

And yes we are white.

Ok, so this begs the question of why isn't Johns Hopkins and Cornell are not on this list? Would you go to BU before JH? Yes, I'm a counselor and I responded before that his best and most likely only shot at Ivy is Columbia early. By all means apply to SHY (though for his strengths H and Y shouldn't even be in the mix) but whatever, his choice. I would pretend those super reaches don't exist, plan on not getting in, and really think harder about that list…and LOVE THY SAFETY

OP here. Right now he is thinking bioengineering but he wants to have the flexibility of switching to another life sciences major or even just to economics or even something else if he discovers a new interest. We firmly believe college is a time to explore your academic interests and keep your options open. So we do prefer a school with strengths across the board. JHU is amazing for Bioengineering but doesnt provide much flexibility and isn't as strong across the board. Plus we visited both JHU and Cornell and he didn't like them at all so it would not make sense to add another two reaches that he doesn't like to the list. BU is included as a safety. What other safeties would you suggest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the comments, it has been very helpful!

I ll try to answer all the questions:

The counselor has told us that there are kids who have made it to HYPS with similar profiles in the past, but also said that especially for Harvard and Stanford most (but not all) of the kids who have gotten in during the past few years had something very extraordinary or were legacy. But she told us that because our son is so set on applying there then we should let him since there is a small chance he could make it.

Re Major: He wants to study bioengineering and do either a second major or a minor in economics. In terms of long-term career he is not sure yet, he either wants to do research, or become a health economist (i.e. do Phd) or work in the business side of healthcare/life sciences.

Re ECs: He founded the life sciences club at his high school, is editor in chief of the school newspaper and co-president of the comm service club.

Re internship experience: He worked in a biology lab at Columbia two summers ago and this past summer he interned at the Fed (got this through family connections of course).

And yes we are white.

Ok, so this begs the question of why isn't Johns Hopkins and Cornell are not on this list? Would you go to BU before JH? Yes, I'm a counselor and I responded before that his best and most likely only shot at Ivy is Columbia early. By all means apply to SHY (though for his strengths H and Y shouldn't even be in the mix) but whatever, his choice. I would pretend those super reaches don't exist, plan on not getting in, and really think harder about that list…and LOVE THY SAFETY

OP here. Right now he is thinking bioengineering but he wants to have the flexibility of switching to another life sciences major or even just to economics or even something else if he discovers a new interest. We firmly believe college is a time to explore your academic interests and keep your options open. So we do prefer a school with strengths across the board. JHU is amazing for Bioengineering but doesnt provide much flexibility and isn't as strong across the board. Plus we visited both JHU and Cornell and he didn't like them at all so it would not make sense to add another two reaches that he doesn't like to the list. BU is included as a safety. What other safeties would you suggest?

Lehigh maybe

[Anonymous]

What about adding MIT? Not exactly a safety but it is strong in Engineering, Biological Sciences and Economics.

[Anonymous]

UPenn - another good choice if he is Ivy League or bust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No it's undergrad but if Harvard Medical School put you in a nationally important position like Surgeon General, that's not legacy but it'll probably work for your kid.

Depends on the school. Harvard looks at parents and College only in defining legacies. Princeton treats kids of parents who were undergrads OR PHDs as legacies. That’s a relatively new policy.

[Anonymous]

JHU is really strong across the board. That said, no reason to apply if he prefers other schools and/or would rather be farther from home for college.

[Anonymous]

I know this wasn't your question but since you brought up wanting a school with strengths across the board, UChicago is a good option for a high academic non-hooked kids. Suburban campus 20minutes from a great city. Kids who want an excellent education along with a brand do very well there. Not easy to get into but he has the stats and interesting essays make it more of a possible than HYPSM They appear to be primarily academic focused in their admissions. And, it no longer has the oppressive atmosphere of it's past. Worth a visit. They also have an ED2 option if he refuses to apply to other than Harvard or Stanford early. The kids from the last few years of our private are very happy there. Also , I disagree that MIT would be an alternative. They really care about the contests as evidenced by the application. In our area the kids that get in are either athletic hooks or the best of the STEM public school students.

[Anonymous]

OP - I don't think you mentioned it but are you aware for applications to Ivies (and white and interested in the sciences) that the SAT II tests and xlnt scores are critical? My DC wanted Princeton and had everything needed but his SAT II's (math I, Math II, and chemistry) were only 750. You need 800s or close to it in SAT II exams. We didn't figure that out in time for the Princeton Harvard, etc. applications. Princeton used to require two SAT II tests. Now it says "Strongly recommended" but the reason they dropped the requirement was to make it easier for poorer students to apply. But if you are otherwise a normal applicant, then you better have top SAT II results.

[Anonymous]

What about URochester as a safety? I believe they are strong in bioengineering, health and economics.