Disappointment

[Anonymous]

4.0 out of 4.7 is not a good gpa - this probably impacted how adcom views strength of student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:4.0 out of 4.7 is not a good gpa - this probably impacted how adcom views strength of student

WTF? You don't understand GPAs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

Hmm, this does make quite a bit of sense. I actually thought that all her APs would give her a boost, especially with her scores.

I can attest to that. Last year, one girl from our school got into Princeton who took AP Physics in 12th grade, and two boys were rejected who completed AP Physics C in 9th and 10th grade with 5s in both. The boys were more cracked in other subjects, too. So, what you're saying about having strong APs as a disadvantage is making sense.

“You’ve got to guess how many APs are enough to make you look strong but you can’t have too many” is a whole new level of stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

Hmm, this does make quite a bit of sense. I actually thought that all her APs would give her a boost, especially with her scores.

I can attest to that. Last year, one girl from our school got into Princeton who took AP Physics in 12th grade, and two boys were rejected who completed AP Physics C in 9th and 10th grade with 5s in both. The boys were more cracked in other subjects, too. So, what you're saying about having strong APs as a disadvantage is making sense.

“You’ve got to guess how many APs are enough to make you look strong but you can’t have too many” is a whole new level of stupid.

At some point you've proven that you're smart and know how to do well on an AP test. It may be a better use of your time to show that you have other characteristics, like leadership or creativity or gumption, rather than self study for yet another AP exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand the disappointment. It is natural, but your DD has great options. I haven't waded through the 30 pages, but I think it is important to keep things in perspective.

Thirty years ago at my top NE boarding school, there were 1 or 2 kids who got "shut" out of the Ivies despite having top grades and extracurriculars. They were just unlucky. Years later I ran into one of them at a top grad school, and he was a published author, who went on to receive a MacArthur-level global prize in his discipline. Being rejected from the Ivies didn't change the fact that he was brilliant and driven, so he still rose to the top.

The problem today is that being shut out is much more common--top students can apply to dozens of schools. The numbers just are not in 95% of kids' favor. So your daughter definitely has company. Based on everything you shared, there is no reason to believe she will have trouble rising to the top where she lands.

As adults, we need to be part of the change we want to see. Talent comes from a lot of different schools, not just the top 25. So, why should we treat attending a lower ranked school like it will impede our child's future? It should not. Your daughter sounds amazing, and she is just as amazing today as she was six months ago!

Very well said! We (the parents) need to stop the insanity. For anyone who is on this board and went an elite school, you know of colleagues who are brilliant and amazing at what they do who did not graduate from an elite school. There are many paths to success and hard work has its own rewards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4.0 out of 4.7 is not a good gpa - this probably impacted how adcom views strength of student

WTF? You don't understand GPAs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

Hmm, this does make quite a bit of sense. I actually thought that all her APs would give her a boost, especially with her scores.

I can attest to that. Last year, one girl from our school got into Princeton who took AP Physics in 12th grade, and two boys were rejected who completed AP Physics C in 9th and 10th grade with 5s in both. The boys were more cracked in other subjects, too. So, what you're saying about having strong APs as a disadvantage is making sense.

“You’ve got to guess how many APs are enough to make you look strong but you can’t have too many” is a whole new level of stupid.

At some point you've proven that you're smart and know how to do well on an AP test.

But there is no way to know where that point is, and it probably varies from college to college. Therefore with this as with so many other aspects of the process, the student (a teenager!) is left guessing what the admissions committee wants. The whole thing is preposterous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but personally, I think schools see kids with 15 APs (all 5s) and think "she'll graduate early so that's a year less of tuition." It's a business.

Hmm, this does make quite a bit of sense. I actually thought that all her APs would give her a boost, especially with her scores.

I can attest to that. Last year, one girl from our school got into Princeton who took AP Physics in 12th grade, and two boys were rejected who completed AP Physics C in 9th and 10th grade with 5s in both. The boys were more cracked in other subjects, too. So, what you're saying about having strong APs as a disadvantage is making sense.

DP: No, just that having a 1600/4.0UW/15+ APs does not make you any better than a 1520/3.9UW/8AP kid at most T25. They want to see more---they want a well rounded student, not a robot who can crank out AP Calc BC in 10th grade.

My kid is the only 10th grader taking Cal BC so it really depends on the school. If there are 20-60 kids taking it your kid isn't going to stand out as much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else facing a lot of disappointment during this cycle? DD got into a couple target schools + most of her safeties... Rejected or WL from the rest. She was (imo and told to us by many others) a great applicant - High stats, great ECs + essays, LORs... Her interviews all went very well, especially JHU. She applied to JHU EA and the rest RD, and we're from NOVA. Intended major is BME (biomed engineering).

Stats:
4.0 UW/4.7 W GPA
1570 SAT (800 M, 770 R&W)
14 APs, all 5s

ECs:
- A few regional awards (STEM)
- 200+ volunteer hours @ local hospital
- Founder of non-profit
- Research w/ prof at T30
- Competitive summer program for BME
- Lots of community service

Results:
JHU EA - Deferred -> Rejected
Princeton - Rejected
Brown - Rejected
Dartmouth - Rejected
Columbia - Rejected
Duke - Rejected
UVA - WL
Cornell - WL
CMU - WL
UNC CH - WL
VT - Accepted
W&M - Accepted
Lehigh - Accepted
UPitt - Accepted

DD is incredibly upset and so are we... JHU was her dream school but she relied on UVA + CMU as well. Anyone here confused and facing a similar situation?We all were convinced that DD had it in the bag - Worst of all is that many of her classmates w/ lower stats and worse ECs have gotten into a few of these schools.

Your DD sounds amazing to me. So amazing that I can see why a lot of people on this forum thought you were a troll and these admission results are fake. You must be so proud of her. She will do great and have a great time no matter where she decides to go.

OP here, thank you! She has worked so hard these past 4 years, it really makes me upset that she feels she isn't good enough because of the decisions - It's hard to get her to stop comparing herself to her peers who made it into some of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:4.0 out of 4.7 is not a good gpa - this probably impacted how adcom views strength of student

OP wrote 4.0 unweighted, that means a perfect GPA. 4.7 is the weighted GPA which is also very high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah, she wasn’t realistic about a lot of these colleges. I’m pp whose DC got into 8 schools a while back.

I agree with other posters. You have to do lots of research to get good outcomes. And I mean a lot of research. And then you have to be very realistic about the game and how you can win at it.

We were lucky because 1) my kid was not a 1500+ student; 2) the Ivies were never a consideration because of it, and 3) a few other “street smart” factors that we homed in on that narrowed our focus.

Colleges tell you who they are without necessarily telling you who they are if you are researching well and asking the right questions.

My last thought is that very few students should be applying to Ivies. It’s too hard to win at that game, and the penalty of losing other options early on is just not worth it unless you are really hooked.

I’m intrigued by this. Can you please share more? Maybe an example of two?

If you want good examples of how to approach elite admissions try these:

Applying sideways MIT blog: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways/

The thoughts are pertinent to any highly rejective school and should be taken to heart as someone try's to determine if they are a 'fit' at a school.

And this GT blog about Institutional Priorities: https://sites.gatech.edu/admission-blog/2023/03/06/the-two-most-important-letters-in-college-admission/

both of these will provide needed perspective to the process.

Thank you to poster of the above 2 links. Print out and read and re-read.

From the MIT post:

Do well in school. Take tough classes. Interrogate your beliefs and presumptions. Pursue knowledge with dogged precision. Because it is better to be educated and intelligent than not.
Be nice. This cannot be overstated. Don’t be wanton or careless or cruel. Treat those around you with kindness. Help people. Contribute to your community.
Pursue your passion. Find what you love, and do it. Maybe it’s a sport. Maybe it’s an instrument. Maybe it’s research. Maybe it’s being a leader in your community. Math. Baking. Napping. Hopscotch. Whatever it is, spend time on it. Immerse yourself in it. Enjoy it.

This is my kid. Their sport averages about 20 hours per week and there isn't time for them to also cure cancer. I hope their passions shines through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4.0 out of 4.7 is not a good gpa - this probably impacted how adcom views strength of student

OP wrote 4.0 unweighted, that means a perfect GPA. 4.7 is the weighted GPA which is also very high.

Yes, DD had a 4.0 unweighted. Her school weighs based on rigor, and she took a lot of AP courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand the disappointment. It is natural, but your DD has great options. I haven't waded through the 30 pages, but I think it is important to keep things in perspective.

Thirty years ago at my top NE boarding school, there were 1 or 2 kids who got "shut" out of the Ivies despite having top grades and extracurriculars. They were just unlucky. Years later I ran into one of them at a top grad school, and he was a published author, who went on to receive a MacArthur-level global prize in his discipline. Being rejected from the Ivies didn't change the fact that he was brilliant and driven, so he still rose to the top.

The problem today is that being shut out is much more common--top students can apply to dozens of schools. The numbers just are not in 95% of kids' favor. So your daughter definitely has company. Based on everything you shared, there is no reason to believe she will have trouble rising to the top where she lands.

As adults, we need to be part of the change we want to see. Talent comes from a lot of different schools, not just the top 25. So, why should we treat attending a lower ranked school like it will impede our child's future? It should not. Your daughter sounds amazing, and she is just as amazing today as she was six months ago!

Thank you! I'm trying to get her to stop comparing herself with her peers and recognize that all her hard work will pay off in the future, regardless of whether she goes to the schools she's been dreaming about. She is leaning towards Pitt right now and we're really hoping she gets the Chancellor's Scholarship (already interviewed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Biomedical engineering probably makes it harder.

This. It's always the engineering majors who get the biggest shock at decision time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
ECs:
- A few regional awards (STEM)
- 200+ volunteer hours @ local hospital
- Founder of non-profit
- Research w/ prof at T30
- Competitive summer program for BME
- Lots of community service

No sports, no arts, no music, no leadership.
What's most surprising to me is that there is no school activities. Nada, not even a school club member.
I don't believe this is ivy material, meritocracy or not, DEI or not, now or thirty years ago.