Yale Admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

NP. Not unsubstantiated. And this is not primarily about URM (although it is that too). Legacy admissions have been HUGE in the Dc area. I know who the kids are from the last several years -- and know who their parents are. Enough said.

You know all the kids admitted to Yale in last several years from the DC area and who their parents are? That’s incredible.

Do you also know who shot Kennedy? How they faked the moon landing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seeing this thread. Realizing it was a BIG mistake to apply early to Yale. Top kid but zero hooks! Oh well..

Good luck! My kid was thinking of it, but decided to do RD instead and pick an EA with a little bit better acceptance rates.

Should have done the same ourselves. REA Yale was a mistake. Didn't research past admissions outcome enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

NP. Not unsubstantiated. And this is not primarily about URM (although it is that too). Legacy admissions have been HUGE in the Dc area. I know who the kids are from the last several years -- and know who their parents are. Enough said.

You know all the kids admitted to Yale in last several years from the DC area and who their parents are? That’s incredible.

Do you also know who shot Kennedy? How they faked the moon landing?

There is such a thing as a school directory, you know. So, yes, do know all recent year admittees to Yale (should have been clearer earlier that I meant -- from our school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other than Legacy/Athlete/URM - any DMV admits at all? Looking at our school, this seems to take up 100 percent of the cases.

Yes, there is little room for kids admitted solely on merit these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other than Legacy/Athlete/URM - any DMV admits at all? Looking at our school, this seems to take up 100 percent of the cases.

Yes, there is little room for kids admitted solely on merit these days.

NP. Junior mom. A little shocked to see the assertions on this thread. What an awful situation for our top universities to be driven by legacy considerations. Even the UK with its traditions of royalty does not permit this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

Nobody is claiming that most kids at Ivies are not white and Asian kids. However, those white and Asian kids at Harvard, Yale, Princeton (not talking about all Ivies here) who come from the DMV are hooked. There may be run-of-the-mill white/Asian kids from other parts of the country...but, of course, that means they're hooked...geographic diversity. If people have examples of run-of-the-mill/unhooked white/Asian kids from this area getting into HYP, I'd love to hear about those specifics (not names, but schools, etc.). And before you go calling me bitter, etc., just know that my hooked kid is at an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other than Legacy/Athlete/URM - any DMV admits at all? Looking at our school, this seems to take up 100 percent of the cases.

Yes, there is little room for kids admitted solely on merit these days.

NP. Junior mom. A little shocked to see the assertions on this thread. What an awful situation for our top universities to be driven by legacy considerations. Even the UK with its traditions of royalty does not permit this.

Virtually all the legacies I know getting admitted are highly qualified. I'd be much more concerned about the famous/influential people's kids or the 1st gens/URMs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

Nobody is claiming that most kids at Ivies are not white and Asian kids. However, those white and Asian kids at Harvard, Yale, Princeton (not talking about all Ivies here) who come from the DMV are hooked. There may be run-of-the-mill white/Asian kids from other parts of the country...but, of course, that means they're hooked...geographic diversity. If people have examples of run-of-the-mill/unhooked white/Asian kids from this area getting into HYP, I'd love to hear about those specifics (not names, but schools, etc.). And before you go calling me bitter, etc., just know that my hooked kid is at an Ivy.

Exactly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

NP. Not unsubstantiated. And this is not primarily about URM (although it is that too). Legacy admissions have been HUGE in the Dc area. I know who the kids are from the last several years -- and know who their parents are. Enough said.

You know all the kids admitted to Yale in last several years from the DC area and who their parents are? That’s incredible.

Do you also know who shot Kennedy? How they faked the moon landing?

There is such a thing as a school directory, you know. So, yes, do know all recent year admittees to Yale (should have been clearer earlier that I meant -- from our school).

So you’re extrapolating from a limited set of data from one school to the entire DC area and based on that claim that no further discussion needs to be had. You realize how stupid you sound?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

Nobody is claiming that most kids at Ivies are not white and Asian kids. However, those white and Asian kids at Harvard, Yale, Princeton (not talking about all Ivies here) who come from the DMV are hooked. There may be run-of-the-mill white/Asian kids from other parts of the country...but, of course, that means they're hooked...geographic diversity. If people have examples of run-of-the-mill/unhooked white/Asian kids from this area getting into HYP, I'd love to hear about those specifics (not names, but schools, etc.). And before you go calling me bitter, etc., just know that my hooked kid is at an Ivy.

I think you should provide specifics since you KNOW they’re all hooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG just give it a rest. I interview in this area and all the kids from my list who have gotten in in the last few years are neither rich legacies nor athletes. Your kid is not likely to get in because statistics are not on your side and you’re trying to find some “excuse” ahead of time. Just relax, go read a book of something.

Good to know. This is definitely not the case at our DC private. Genuine question for you as interviewer though: How would you know if the kids you interview are legacies? Are the interview requests marked as such.

I'd like to know this too. And even if you know whether they're legacies or not, how would you know how rich they are? I don't believe that you are interviewing in the DMV (meaning DC, Montgomery County, Northern VA) and have had several kids with no hooks (not URM, not athletes, not legacies, not from famous/influential families, not big donor, not first gen) get into Yale.

I honestly don’t care what you believe, but which is more believable, that there’s a mix of kids from all backgrounds or that there’s some massive conspiratorial plot that keeps all middle class white and Asian kids out? They are not even allowed to look at race any more. And yes, I live in one of the “good” zip codes around here.

It's not a belief, it's a fact. It's not a secret who goes to Yale and similar schools from this area. You may not even be aware of the hooks these kids you're interviewing have. I think that's why you're getting so defensive. People are URMs, but you'd never know it by looking at them. People have connections at universities that you may know nothing about. People may be uber wealthy, but you as a volunteer interviewer wouldn't have a clue. This is not debatable. You may not have realized the kids you were interviewing were hooked, but they were. You just don't understand all the hooks.

DP. This is full unsubstantiated conjecture and conspiracy theory. The kids we know getting in are all Asian and/or white (1 is an Asian/white mix). There are very few URM students on Ivy campuses overall. Mostly white and a large percentage of Asian. So, stop this crazy propaganda and spend your time helping your kid stand out as an applicant.

NP. Not unsubstantiated. And this is not primarily about URM (although it is that too). Legacy admissions have been HUGE in the Dc area. I know who the kids are from the last several years -- and know who their parents are. Enough said.

You know all the kids admitted to Yale in last several years from the DC area and who their parents are? That’s incredible.

Do you also know who shot Kennedy? How they faked the moon landing?

There is such a thing as a school directory, you know. So, yes, do know all recent year admittees to Yale (should have been clearer earlier that I meant -- from our school).

So you’re extrapolating from a limited set of data from one school to the entire DC area and based on that claim that no further discussion needs to be had. You realize how stupid you sound?

Troll alert.

[Anonymous]

It should be noted that the posters on this board are disproportionately from the "top" public and private schools in the DMV area. These statements that "every admitted student they know is hooked" is completely shaded by the fact that their circles are disproportionately in the "top" schools in the DMV. Most of these schools have a ton of legacies, and the EA round is dominated by legacies because kids either want to go to parents' alma mater or think legacy will give them a bump so they apply early.

My kid goes to a different Ivy and so I know the kids who attend there. Lots of unhooked white/Asian kids. I know several in this category from the DMV. I remember thinking that the narrative that unhooked kids need to have national-finalist-level awards and extracurriculars was BS. It's true that there are *SO* many applicants that it is essentially a lottery. But a lot of the lottery winners were smart, engaged white/Asian kids, even from the DMV.

That said, if you are in one of the best schools in the DMV, there will be so many legacy/hooked applicants from your school (and top universities tend to only accept a handful from each school) that these perceptions may be warranted in that context.

[Anonymous]

this is a circular firing squad.

1. This area is not especially unique. NY, LA, suburban chicago, some of the best HS are in Texas .. I mean, we don't even have very wealthy or famous here. We don't have any top private schools here. We're basically suburban NJ .. great kids, great schools, lots of resources, plenty of legacies and sporty kids.

2. But what does it matter. These schools are letting in 3%. 97 out of 100 doesn't get in and don't be fooled, 90 out of those 100 had very competitive application. They're all top of their good high schools, Eagle Scouts, tennis team Capitan, research at local U, and Yale Global Scholar or whatever.

3. This is a failure of higher ed. They're sitting on tax advantaged cash. Tens of billions. They're taking in more millions from tax payers (Harvard got $625mm in 2021) and more from tax advantaged corporations (302mm for Harvard in 2021). And they charge upwards of 90k per student. "Historic financial aid for families making under 150k" f you, Princeton. You don't need this money.

4. They take in 600 kids .. or 1600 kids. When they could take in double that number quite easily. Laugh at northwestern, but there's no reason these schools couldn't do more to move kids off campus for a while to fit more kids in (Princeton esp bad .. more juniors do summer aboard, not a semester or year abroad). They could run year round. They could build or buy more housing.

And when AA was struck down, we should have screamed for them to end legacy and athletics. It was shameful when Stanford folded when rich white alumni said "but you ca''t cut sailing! That's what made Stanford special" Was it ? Gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It should be noted that the posters on this board are disproportionately from the "top" public and private schools in the DMV area. These statements that "every admitted student they know is hooked" is completely shaded by the fact that their circles are disproportionately in the "top" schools in the DMV. Most of these schools have a ton of legacies, and the EA round is dominated by legacies because kids either want to go to parents' alma mater or think legacy will give them a bump so they apply early.

My kid goes to a different Ivy and so I know the kids who attend there. Lots of unhooked white/Asian kids. I know several in this category from the DMV. I remember thinking that the narrative that unhooked kids need to have national-finalist-level awards and extracurriculars was BS. It's true that there are *SO* many applicants that it is essentially a lottery. But a lot of the lottery winners were smart, engaged white/Asian kids, even from the DMV.

That said, if you are in one of the best schools in the DMV, there will be so many legacy/hooked applicants from your school (and top universities tend to only accept a handful from each school) that these perceptions may be warranted in that context.

Fair point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this is a circular firing squad.

1. This area is not especially unique. NY, LA, suburban chicago, some of the best HS are in Texas .. I mean, we don't even have very wealthy or famous here. We don't have any top private schools here. We're basically suburban NJ .. great kids, great schools, lots of resources, plenty of legacies and sporty kids.

2. But what does it matter. These schools are letting in 3%. 97 out of 100 doesn't get in and don't be fooled, 90 out of those 100 had very competitive application. They're all top of their good high schools, Eagle Scouts, tennis team Capitan, research at local U, and Yale Global Scholar or whatever.

3. This is a failure of higher ed. They're sitting on tax advantaged cash. Tens of billions. They're taking in more millions from tax payers (Harvard got $625mm in 2021) and more from tax advantaged corporations (302mm for Harvard in 2021). And they charge upwards of 90k per student. "Historic financial aid for families making under 150k" f you, Princeton. You don't need this money.

4. They take in 600 kids .. or 1600 kids. When they could take in double that number quite easily. Laugh at northwestern, but there's no reason these schools couldn't do more to move kids off campus for a while to fit more kids in (Princeton esp bad .. more juniors do summer aboard, not a semester or year abroad). They could run year round. They could build or buy more housing.

And when AA was struck down, we should have screamed for them to end legacy and athletics. It was shameful when Stanford folded when rich white alumni said "but you ca''t cut sailing! That's what made Stanford special" Was it ? Gross

Great post and I 1000 percent agree with this. Not expanding the number of seats when the endowments have risen by an order of magnitude (as have the number of faculty members and, shamefully, the number of administrators) is ridiculous.