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The advice on her is always way too negative. That profile will do well in reality. Private schools are doing well across the board this year and last because schools are wary about what public schools are actually teaching. This is just a fact. Look at the instagrams. Duke is probably low probability and Vandy same if it is not ED (and even then it’s really hard for girls right now) Rest of the list would all be close to likelies depending on how you define that. My advice is don’t over-package your kid. Lots of pushback from consultant generated profiles at schools now. (This advice does not apply to Duke though. They love those kinds of over packaging.).
Signed mom with a girl at a private that went through admissions this year. Don’t trust the negative advice on this board. Results are far stronger for this profile that people are claiming. |
I’m going to be brutally honest. While Indiana/Kelly is on OP’s list, I think they regard it as a target/safety (as you can deduce from the order of school names listed). If the OP is aiming at a reach, they need to apply to more. |
What does overpackaging mean? |
You went through the process in 2018, so you are four years out of school? Honestly, while I think your views are relevant, I can see now why hiring a recent college grad to advise on the process is not the way to go. This seems like a highly myopic view of college admissions. For a kid like this (aiming for school like Vanderbilt), tailoring your entire application to get into Indiana is the wrong strategy. At our private, the kids who end up at Indiana often have no other top business school options. I hope you’re not doing college consulting professionally right now. No insult intended -truly. If you are, read the cues throughout this thread from parents and in the original post. If the applicant is full pay and from a private HS, and they are aiming for top (T10/20) privates, they are not interested in going down a level just for merit. They are better off thinking through a stronger ED 2 strategy. |
Getting into a reach school is a lot of work in addition to having a great profile: you just have to be willing to put in the time and effort to handle a large portfolio of reach schools. |
This. I was the one with the brutally honest opinion above. It seems that we’re saying the same thing. |
I’m not saying tailor it to one specific school, I’m saying that they need to choose whether to go with the undergrad public business route where they get practical skills or the private route where the major is more liberal arts oriented and the skills are interdisciplinary for business. This person is a rising junior and they have time, I’m just saying the activities need to be tied to a specific narrative that shows depth. Aiming for T10/20 privates and top undergrad business programs at top publics are completely different. Applying to UMich, Texas business OOS is as competitive as a Vanderbilt/Duke and it requires clarity from the outset. I stand by what I’m saying from apps I’ve read and peers at similar schools OP has listed. |
This kid wouldn't get into a Ross, Dyson, McCombs, or a Wharton, though - even with everything you are saying. They'd have to settle for something like Indiana, maybe BC if they did ED - if they went the direct admit route. But they could get into Penn CAS or UTexas (Moody Comms & Leadership) or Vanderbilt (HOD) or Northwestern (LOC) and maybe even UVA, depending on their private HS. I think your advice is generally wrong for an applicant like this. Direct admit isn't where this applicant would be most compelling. My advice = always go to the very best school you get into, if you are full pay and $$$ is not an object. Peer group is everything. The peer group at Vanderbilt or Northwestern will be better than that at Indiana. |
To reiterate: I think we’re actually talking about two different, but valid, strategies. One optimizes for brand/peer group at a top private (e.g., Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University), where you study something like HOD, Comm, or Sociology and then recruit into business roles. The other optimizes for a direct, structured business pathway where you’re in the ecosystem from day one. For OP’s student, the activities read as pretty pre-professional (entrepreneurship, small businesses, student org leadership), which maps cleanly to the second path. That doesn’t mean the first path is off the table, it just requires reframing the story to be more academic/people-focused rather than business-first. On the “peer group” point, it matters. I’d just frame it a bit differently: strong peer groups exist in both environments, they’re just different types. At an undergrad business school, you’re surrounded by students who are very intentionally focused on business outcomes early. At a place like Vanderbilt or Northwestern, it’s broader and more interdisciplinary. There isn’t one that is “clearly better”—it’s more about which environment fits the student’s current direction and how they want to position themselves going into recruiting. Best of luck to OP and family. |
| I’m confused. I thought the discussion was about whether they should apply to 15+ schools. I think if getting into a top 20-30 is the goal, then you should include another 3-5 reaches. Also, you can cut 2-3 targets/safeties. |
Reading comprehension is crucial. |
All three of these case studies had something in common: a relatively low SAT. Get your SAT above 1560 and watch the change in outcome. |
"The City" equals NYC. Scranton, Fairfield, Fordham and St. Joe's are all close to The City and provide access to alums, internships and such where business jobs are available. Certainly more "business" opportunities in The City (and metro-NY) than in NOVA. DC = polysci and lobbyists. |
| I thinks it’s too early to say. Junior year is a big year. What is she doing this summer? What classes is she taking next summer? And the summer after junior year? Come back in a year. |
What do you mean? The first one got into UMich-Ross, the second one UF, and the third one BU. Btw, all got into IU-Kelly. So Kelly is a safety actually. |