Safety schools for high achievers

[Anonymous]

To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

Any STEM interest? She would be a hook with Caltech and MIT.

[Anonymous]

21 applications? Wow.

[Anonymous]

My DC had similar stats and excellent ec's but was not an athlete or URM or legacy. Guess what- he did not get into a "top" school. He is at a great state school and extremely happy and doing exceptionally well. Our experience is that if you have a top student, it is not so easy to get into Michigan or Emory because they think you will get in to a better school and go elsewhere. They all want a high yield. I would really think long and hard about making sure your child will be happy at every school on their list because they may end up at a school they never dreamed of attending. It is a total crapshoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

What safety schools are on the list? A lot of kids have stats like your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

What safety schools are on the list? A lot of kids have stats like your kids.

Like I was saying in the original post - we view Michigan, Emory, USC as the safe schools. The naviance data at our HS supports this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

What safety schools are on the list? A lot of kids have stats like your kids.

MIT and Stanford are this kid’s fall backs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify for everyone replying to the chat - DD has a 1560 SAT (800 verbal, 760 math) and 4.8 weighted GPA, and yes she is applying to all 25 top schools except UCLA, UCB, MIT, Caltech. ECs are nothing too noteworthy, but she is a prolific writer and has won many writing contests and has published poems for a close to mainstream publication. She plans on majoring in English.

What safety schools are on the list? A lot of kids have stats like your kids.

Like I was saying in the original post - we view Michigan, Emory, USC as the safe schools. The naviance data at our HS supports this.

First kid I assume? Add your state flagship, Pitt, penn state, vtech to your list. You will thank me later.

[Anonymous]

No top 25 is a true safety, even with stats in the top quartile. Also, if your kid is a writer, are there SLACs of interest? Fwiw, my kid has similar stats and his safeties are in the 25-50 range (20-30 for SLACs.) Some excellent choices in that range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No top 25 is a true safety, even with stats in the top quartile. Also, if your kid is a writer, are there SLACs of interest? Fwiw, my kid has similar stats and his safeties are in the 25-50 range (20-30 for SLACs.) Some excellent choices in that range.

Unfortunately DD has no interest even though I suggested Williams and Swarthmore to her - they are not in the top 25 so out of her consideration set

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No top 25 is a true safety, even with stats in the top quartile. Also, if your kid is a writer, are there SLACs of interest? Fwiw, my kid has similar stats and his safeties are in the 25-50 range (20-30 for SLACs.) Some excellent choices in that range.

Unfortunately DD has no interest even though I suggested Williams and Swarthmore to her - they are not in the top 25 so out of her consideration set

Smart kid but also clueless. They are one and three on the other list and two of the strongest undergrad experiences on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No top 25 is a true safety, even with stats in the top quartile. Also, if your kid is a writer, are there SLACs of interest? Fwiw, my kid has similar stats and his safeties are in the 25-50 range (20-30 for SLACs.) Some excellent choices in that range.

Unfortunately DD has no interest even though I suggested Williams and Swarthmore to her - they are not in the top 25 so out of her consideration set

Smart kid but also clueless. They are one and three on the other list and two of the strongest undergrad experiences on earth.

But they also have no name recognition to the lay person

[Anonymous]

4.8 gpa means you must be at a public. I would make sure you have at least 2 safeties (nothing you mentioned is a safety with those stats) so DC would have a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No top 25 is a true safety, even with stats in the top quartile. Also, if your kid is a writer, are there SLACs of interest? Fwiw, my kid has similar stats and his safeties are in the 25-50 range (20-30 for SLACs.) Some excellent choices in that range.

Unfortunately DD has no interest even though I suggested Williams and Swarthmore to her - they are not in the top 25 so out of her consideration set

Lol.

[Anonymous]

Go on reddit and look at what kids have done to get into top schools. Hint: it’s more than SAT and GPA. One writing extracurricular is probably not going to be enough, even if the essays are amazing. Sorry, I honestly don’t mean to burst your bubble. I have a high stats senior too, this is hard.

It sounds like she’s spreading herself thin doing all these supplements and hoping one sticks. I’d rather focus on one to apply ED or REA/SCEA than just rolling the dice and hoping she will like a school that accepts her.