3.75 1500+ aiming for T20

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is very tough for this to kid get into any of the listed schoold except they have a chance at Cornell and Chicago if they ED. Even for a top private the GPA is too low and while 4.0 is rare at these schools many are clustered around 3.7 or 3.8 so this kid is at 50th percentile (roughly). Rigor and EC will not matter without raw GPA and strong hook. Put gpa and profile with school name in chatgpt and see what it says about rough class rank.

This post is super smart.
At these top privates, GPAs are in a pretty narrow range because much of the class was a top academic kid to get into the school and academic stragglers are counseled out along the way or leave for better fit.

80 kids in the class.
Highest GPA in the class: generally 3.95-3.98
80% percentile: 3.9 (the general cum laude cut off which becomes public knowledge) <---the 15 kids above this are most of your unhooked top20s
50% percentile: ~3.65 (announced by college counseling)
0%: ~3.0 (almost zero kids graduate below a 3.0)

So a 3.8 becomes the 70% percentile in the class and a 3.7 becomes around the 60%. There isn't an equal distribution so this isn't an exact science but it's pretty accurate. That's why 3.7's struggle with top20 admissions. They're literally at the 60th percentile, maybe below. And they're competing against the 35 applicants or 40% of kids from their own school who have better grades.

This isn’t our grade distribution. If 40% of the class enrolls at aT25, your rubric fails.

- non-DMV private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is very tough for this to kid get into any of the listed schoold except they have a chance at Cornell and Chicago if they ED. Even for a top private the GPA is too low and while 4.0 is rare at these schools many are clustered around 3.7 or 3.8 so this kid is at 50th percentile (roughly). Rigor and EC will not matter without raw GPA and strong hook. Put gpa and profile with school name in chatgpt and see what it says about rough class rank.

this is true for our HS.

3.7 is about mid-class in a very competitive class. they're still very strong students, will have 1500 or so on SAT commonly. But the school is hard to get into the first place so it's a strong pool with a harsh grading scale (need a 98 for a 4.0).

won't often get into chicago or Cornell.

3.8 has a much better chance and 3.85 can give you a chance at HYPSM if you have an outstanding national award of some kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is very tough for this to kid get into any of the listed schoold except they have a chance at Cornell and Chicago if they ED. Even for a top private the GPA is too low and while 4.0 is rare at these schools many are clustered around 3.7 or 3.8 so this kid is at 50th percentile (roughly). Rigor and EC will not matter without raw GPA and strong hook. Put gpa and profile with school name in chatgpt and see what it says about rough class rank.

This post is super smart.
At these top privates, GPAs are in a pretty narrow range because much of the class was a top academic kid to get into the school and academic stragglers are counseled out along the way or leave for better fit.

80 kids in the class.
Highest GPA in the class: generally 3.95-3.98
80% percentile: 3.9 (the general cum laude cut off which becomes public knowledge) <---the 15 kids above this are most of your unhooked top20s
50% percentile: ~3.65 (announced by college counseling)
0%: ~3.0 (almost zero kids graduate below a 3.0)

So a 3.8 becomes the 70% percentile in the class and a 3.7 becomes around the 60%. There isn't an equal distribution so this isn't an exact science but it's pretty accurate. That's why 3.7's struggle with top20 admissions. They're literally at the 60th percentile, maybe below. And they're competing against the 35 applicants or 40% of kids from their own school who have better grades.

This isn’t our grade distribution. If 40% of the class enrolls at aT25, your rubric fails.

- non-DMV private

Your 40% works because of legacy, donors, athletes and other hooks. I have seen how this works with my kids at two top private achools. 40% of class going to top 25 does not mean it is the the top 40% academically who make it. If you are not part of any institutional priority, you have to be atleast top 15 to 20% academically better by top 10% to have a good chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

Unless that is cum laude(top 20%) at the private, and that private sends close to 20% of the class to T20, removing hooks(athletes, QB, FGLI, fac brats, mega donors), the chances are slim for T20. These days 3.75UW is often around average at privates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

From our feederish high school, one has to be top 15% GPA with near-max rigor to get in to the lower T20 with ED including ED with no hooks. If you want any ivy besides the easier ones (cornell ED or dartmouth ED) or any T10 non-ivy with no hooks you have to have max rigor and be top5-10% GPa, near the very top of the class if you want RD.
3.75 UW is not top 30% for any private in our area, nor at the top two public magnets. A student with that profile and not max rigor, 1500, would be borderline for UVa and W&M in state Ea/RD but would get in ED. Would depend what “near” max rigor meant. No way T20. Ask your high school where 3.75 falls relative to the top 10 or 20% and look on SCOIR

OP said at her school some did get in with 3.75. No need to gaslight any more.

Edge admits are almost always hooked

[Anonymous]

SWAT will look past GPA if intellectual rigor is there. Outside awards for writing or deep ECs in some interesting area. SAT would have to be 1540 plus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

Most of the T20, include WAS in that group, are schools on target lists for MBB and other top jobs.
The same schools are the ones overrepresented at T14 law, T25 med, and top5 phD programs in various fields(tends to be ivy/MIT/stanford/NW/Chicago/ cambridge/oxford, UCB, Mich, even for tech phD).
Most of the T20 are also the schools with pre-TO median SAT around 1500 or higher, ie most competitive peer groups. Faculty tend to have the highest% of undergrad and/or phD from top schools, thus connected.
No, Brown v Columbia curriculum or city vs rural setting does not matter much when the goal is the network and outcomes.

[Anonymous]

t50 stats brah. Uchicago ED may work if you are full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

Most of the T20, include WAS in that group, are schools on target lists for MBB and other top jobs.
The same schools are the ones overrepresented at T14 law, T25 med, and top5 phD programs in various fields(tends to be ivy/MIT/stanford/NW/Chicago/ cambridge/oxford, UCB, Mich, even for tech phD).
Most of the T20 are also the schools with pre-TO median SAT around 1500 or higher, ie most competitive peer groups. Faculty tend to have the highest% of undergrad and/or phD from top schools, thus connected.
No, Brown v Columbia curriculum or city vs rural setting does not matter much when the goal is the network and outcomes.

DP.

Yuck. So pleased not to live this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

Most of the T20, include WAS in that group, are schools on target lists for MBB and other top jobs.
The same schools are the ones overrepresented at T14 law, T25 med, and top5 phD programs in various fields(tends to be ivy/MIT/stanford/NW/Chicago/ cambridge/oxford, UCB, Mich, even for tech phD).
Most of the T20 are also the schools with pre-TO median SAT around 1500 or higher, ie most competitive peer groups. Faculty tend to have the highest% of undergrad and/or phD from top schools, thus connected.
No, Brown v Columbia curriculum or city vs rural setting does not matter much when the goal is the network and outcomes.

DP.

Yuck. So pleased not to live this way.

Agreed. So the OP's kid spent hours and hours developing a "public health" career between the ages of 15 and 17 and they're just looking to go into investment banking out of a top20 college?
They played this all wrong. They should have spent that time getting a 3.9+ GPA and they would walk into a top20. As it stands they have little chance because they're pretty much middle of the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year college counseling at our private told my child to stop at a 1530 (2 attempts) but then we saw it play out and kids with a >1580 had an easier time with admissions despite having the same GPA. It definitely adds to the entire application and I'll do things differently with kid #2. There is little down side.

I hear you but correlation ≠ causation. The kids with higher test scores likely edged out applicants in the other criteria, which gives the illusion of higher test scores drastically improving admissions. Correct me if I'm wrong though!

No, several had identical GPAs, worse extracurriculars but a sky high SAT. Michigan, for example, took the sky high SATs in EA and deferred the rest. There was a definite pattern.

Different major? Essays? Recommendation?
SAT is just a one time test, once you cross the line, no one cares 1500 or 1580.

Ok, i beg to differ. Within a pretty homogenous private school population we saw it make a big difference.

How so? Average is around 1500 at ours, I don’t see how test scores differentiate them. From what I’ve seen it’s always ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

Most kids don’t care. These differences are noise in terms of college experience. Yes, some may find quarter system a little bit annoying but that’s all—they adapt to it in 1-2 quarters. There are kids who may be more sensitive, yes that may eliminate 1-2 schools from the list. No one is blowing this out of proportion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

From our feederish high school, one has to be top 15% GPA with near-max rigor to get in to the lower T20 with ED including ED with no hooks. If you want any ivy besides the easier ones (cornell ED or dartmouth ED) or any T10 non-ivy with no hooks you have to have max rigor and be top5-10% GPa, near the very top of the class if you want RD.
3.75 UW is not top 30% for any private in our area, nor at the top two public magnets. A student with that profile and not max rigor, 1500, would be borderline for UVa and W&M in state Ea/RD but would get in ED. Would depend what “near” max rigor meant. No way T20. Ask your high school where 3.75 falls relative to the top 10 or 20% and look on SCOIR

OP said at her school some did get in with 3.75. No need to gaslight any more.

Edge admits are almost always hooked

Or non-Stem with pointedness in humanities.

[Anonymous]

If they’re serious about pursuing a public health career, Emory may be a good fit.