Class of '26 Instagram College Decisions

[Anonymous]

I thought that was a dude in the Post?

Anyway, I have boys in co-ed — I just also have a couple close friends who complain about the school and am repeating what I was told, so it is second-hand gossip, that is true. They said there had been more kids leaving than typical in past 2-3 years.

What I said about the matriculation to the Ivy League from kinder on is true at all these schools. Hard to know which seniors have been there the whole time or which ones have parents who were also alum of the school or are high value donors to the colleges.

[Anonymous]

Honestly the college admissions situation is in such a state of flux at the moment - responding to Trump and the Harvard Affirmative Action ruling and then liable to shift again in 3 years to whatever the next administration pushes - that it's probably not worth chasing school matriculation numbers; hell, I could easily imagine legacy admissions being outlawed entirely, which would screw over a whole bunch of TT schools.

Pick the best environment for your kid; if your kid relishes a competitive grind then put them in Stuy or a a high-workload TT, if your kid does better in a low-stress environment where they can chill and pursue whatever they're passionate about them put them there, if your family's lifestyle will be meaningfully better in other areas if you aren't shelling out $70k/year in tuition then there's a strong argument for that, but don't pick a school because you think it'll help your kid get into a good college because it probably won't - putting them in an environment where they will thrive is the most important thing you can do for them on that count.

[Anonymous]

Anyone who went to Harvard, Yale or Princeton met these kids who’d spent their whole lives gunning for one of these colleges because it was important to their parents, only to arrive there and be totally lost. Some of them pull it together, some don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who went to Harvard, Yale or Princeton met these kids who’d spent their whole lives gunning for one of these colleges because it was important to their parents, only to arrive there and be totally lost. Some of them pull it together, some don’t.

Hell this happens in a lot of places, the specialized high schools are a mix of "actual geniuses" and "top-quartile kids whose parents made them spend 4 hours a week on SHSAT prep for 2 years."

[Anonymous]

Yes, I just found that the kids who were pressured from the time they were 5 to end up there had no clue how to handle themselves once they got what they’d worked so hard for and a lot ended up adrift longterm.

[Anonymous]

We talk about it like just getting in is a golden ticket, and it’s not. It can be a boost, but plenty of people have graduate from HYP and gone on to be….not much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We talk about it like just getting in is a golden ticket, and it’s not. It can be a boost, but plenty of people have graduate from HYP and gone on to be….not much.

Yeah, whenever I start stressing about my 10th graders not-so-amazing grades I spend a little time looking at the bios of the top 30 or so people in my giant company, all of whom earn upwards of $500k (plus a giant bonus), and while some went to Top 20 schools at least half if not more went to Crap State U.

[Anonymous]

People here act as if Ivy+ is difficult while Zarna Garg family has been open about switching from TT private to public school and having all her children attend Ivy+ schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People here act as if Ivy+ is difficult while Zarna Garg family has been open about switching from TT private to public school and having all her children attend Ivy+ schools.

It’s different if you’re a celebrity/famous - colleges want celebrity kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s creepy to post instagram pages with minors on them here. Don’t do that.

Nope, kids arent idiots and they know that if they don’t want these pages looked at they can make them private and they don’t. It’s fair game.

+1

These pages are really helpful, I have a daughter who is a junior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People here act as if Ivy+ is difficult while Zarna Garg family has been open about switching from TT private to public school and having all her children attend Ivy+ schools.

It’s different if you’re a celebrity/famous - colleges want celebrity kids.

This right here. I stopped caring about that comment once I saw it was some kind of celebrity. They can go anywhere for school and get in anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Zarna wasn’t famous when they applied. That’s a great podcast to listen to. They talk about being shocked that their kids ERB scores were lower than their local public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zarna wasn’t famous when they applied. That’s a great podcast to listen to. They talk about being shocked that their kids ERB scores were lower than their local public.

She was famous by the time her second kid applied to college. I first learned about like five years ago and she has a 19 year old and a 23 year old. Chet Hanks graduated from Northwestern, you don’t need to be as impressive to get into these schools if you have famous parents.

[Anonymous]

She’s not like Tom Hanks famous. She’s still pretty unknown. Tom Hanks is one of the most famous actors whoever lived. Most people have no idea who Zarna is.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know which TT school her kids were in? Very surprised that the kids themselves had great experiences with the transition. The comments about leadership opportunities not being meritocratic in private is very concerning.