Two unhooked kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is that much of a mystery. I know a family exactly like this. If you consider that the big private schools send a good number of kids to the top schools every year, then someone in that class gets to punch that ticket. Let's say the school sends 10 (which is the case at our school). The kids need to be in that top 10 and for very bright kids that is where they end up.
What I would say is that these families have figured out that you need to be in the most rigorous classes, so they figure out the math track in middle school so they go into 9th grade already accelerated. That is the only difference I have noticed. They are also full pay.

I have a friend whose kids were accelerated in math at a top NY private school in middle school. It happened because the kids are freaking brilliant at math, not because their parents pulled strings. Will I be surprised when these kids get into an ivy? No. The family is “normal”, doesn’t brag, sweet kids. You’d never know how gifted the kids are unless you can talk about calculus with a 12 year old.

Some of these students are very advanced and gifted. I don't see anything wrong with them being accepted into very competitive institutions. The MIT math department wants kids that can best take full advantage..what is wrong with that?

[Anonymous]

OP - sounds like they have two smart kids who love to learn and got great recommendations - so schools scooped them up. It happens. I personally think the people who obsess over this and try to craft a profile along side their GPS/test scores do worse than those whose kids are genuinely interested in learning and take their own path. Schools can see through this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - sounds like they have two smart kids who love to learn and got great recommendations - so schools scooped them up. It happens. I personally think the people who obsess over this and try to craft a profile along side their GPS/test scores do worse than those whose kids are genuinely interested in learning and take their own path. Schools can see through this.

1000% agree with this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is that much of a mystery. I know a family exactly like this. If you consider that the big private schools send a good number of kids to the top schools every year, then someone in that class gets to punch that ticket. Let's say the school sends 10 (which is the case at our school). The kids need to be in that top 10 and for very bright kids that is where they end up.
What I would say is that these families have figured out that you need to be in the most rigorous classes, so they figure out the math track in middle school so they go into 9th grade already accelerated. That is the only difference I have noticed. They are also full pay.

I have a friend whose kids were accelerated in math at a top NY private school in middle school. It happened because the kids are freaking brilliant at math, not because their parents pulled strings. Will I be surprised when these kids get into an ivy? No. The family is “normal”, doesn’t brag, sweet kids. You’d never know how gifted the kids are unless you can talk about calculus with a 12 year old.

I did not say the parents pulled strings, they did not need to as their kids were bright. It was not a criticism just an observation. I am not jealous of them - they are a lovely family and the kids worked very hard. I was commenting on the only difference I noticed is that they had already done geometry in middle school so started 9th in accelerated algebra. Thats all. I meant nothing negative by it - quite the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is always an angle. You just don't know it. Just because you don't know it, doesn't mean it isn't there. End of story. Just being nice and super smart doesn't cut it any more for elite college admission.
In fact, if they are super smart, they will conceal the angle very well. That's what smart people do. They don't blabber about it and reveal their secrets which would make their achievements look less than spectacular.

This conspiratorial thinking is hilarious. Kids just get accepted sometimes. and while this particular family got both kids in, these same kids may have been rejected at other schools.

Perhaps it makes you or your kid feel better about not getting in to believe everyone is gaming the system, so if it works as a coping mechanism for you, good for you.

Gaming and having an angle are not the same. Gaming is what the Operation Varsity Blues folks did. Having an angle is figuring out a legal way by which your smart kid can get a nod from the gatekeepers at a particular university. And it doesn't mean that they will be accepted at every school. They just have to have an angle for one school. Often the smart ones do. Your ability to argue logically is pathetic. You conflate having an angle with something "ominous". Here is the simple reality. You need an angle to get into these schools, if you are unhooked. Otherwise you are not getting in. Plain and simple. Every unhooked kid who gets in had an angle. Every one. Just because the OP can't figure it out, does not mean they did not use a "Rosetta Stone" to crack the code. Just because you cannot figure out how the magician did the trick, doesn't mean its a miracle Every magic trick is just that, a "trick"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is always an angle. You just don't know it. Just because you don't know it, doesn't mean it isn't there. End of story. Just being nice and super smart doesn't cut it any more for elite college admission.
In fact, if they are super smart, they will conceal the angle very well. That's what smart people do. They don't blabber about it and reveal their secrets which would make their achievements look less than spectacular.

This conspiratorial thinking is hilarious. Kids just get accepted sometimes. and while this particular family got both kids in, these same kids may have been rejected at other schools.

Perhaps it makes you or your kid feel better about not getting in to believe everyone is gaming the system, so if it works as a coping mechanism for you, good for you.

Gaming and having an angle are not the same. Gaming is what the Operation Varsity Blues folks did. Having an angle is figuring out a legal way by which your smart kid can get a nod from the gatekeepers at a particular university. And it doesn't mean that they will be accepted at every school. They just have to have an angle for one school. Often the smart ones do. Your ability to argue logically is pathetic. You conflate having an angle with something "ominous". Here is the simple reality. You need an angle to get into these schools, if you are unhooked. Otherwise you are not getting in. Plain and simple. Every unhooked kid who gets in had an angle. Every one. Just because the OP can't figure it out, does not mean they did not use a "Rosetta Stone" to crack the code. Just because you cannot figure out how the magician did the trick, doesn't mean its a miracle Every magic trick is just that, a "trick"

If by trick you mean winning awards in highly regarded competitions or having other impressive and credible ECs then yes, everyone has a trick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it is a lottery and sometimes the bright kids just get in. i have a friend who lives outside boston, twins went to public, no hooks, no college counselors, one to stanford and one to MIT.

I take mild issue with it being a “lottery” because all these kids have met a very high threshold already to be considered, then, they must have something sparkly or special. Maybe even just a great funny essay.

Lottery suggests it is random, and it’s not, IMO.

PP: You are right. They are very smart, very accomplished kids. I don't know what special thing got them attention at these schools but they probably had something special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is always an angle. You just don't know it. Just because you don't know it, doesn't mean it isn't there. End of story. Just being nice and super smart doesn't cut it any more for elite college admission.
In fact, if they are super smart, they will conceal the angle very well. That's what smart people do. They don't blabber about it and reveal their secrets which would make their achievements look less than spectacular.

This conspiratorial thinking is hilarious. Kids just get accepted sometimes. and while this particular family got both kids in, these same kids may have been rejected at other schools.

Perhaps it makes you or your kid feel better about not getting in to believe everyone is gaming the system, so if it works as a coping mechanism for you, good for you.

Gaming and having an angle are not the same. Gaming is what the Operation Varsity Blues folks did. Having an angle is figuring out a legal way by which your smart kid can get a nod from the gatekeepers at a particular university. And it doesn't mean that they will be accepted at every school. They just have to have an angle for one school. Often the smart ones do. Your ability to argue logically is pathetic. You conflate having an angle with something "ominous". Here is the simple reality. You need an angle to get into these schools, if you are unhooked. Otherwise you are not getting in. Plain and simple. Every unhooked kid who gets in had an angle. Every one. Just because the OP can't figure it out, does not mean they did not use a "Rosetta Stone" to crack the code. Just because you cannot figure out how the magician did the trick, doesn't mean its a miracle Every magic trick is just that, a "trick"

If by trick you mean winning awards in highly regarded competitions or having other impressive and credible ECs then yes, everyone has a trick.

Why is having freakish ability in some discipline and developing it a "trick". Students have different talents and drives some of these are high level enough to get the attention of these highly selective admissions committees.

[Anonymous]

looking on naviance i can see who was admitted last year to harvard from our school. it looks like @ 60 kids applied, one had 1590 4.72, the other was 1470 and 4.13..... which one was the legacy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:looking on naviance i can see who was admitted last year to harvard from our school. it looks like @ 60 kids applied, one had 1590 4.72, the other was 1470 and 4.13..... which one was the legacy?

Why are changing the topic. This thread is not about legacies. That is a different thread.