Tell me about your "average" Big-3 student's college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me about your Big-3 non-high stats kid's college application experiences.
DD is a sophomore at a Big-3. Her grades are mostly Bs, a few As, one C. She plays one sport and is decent, but not outstanding. She enjoys creative writing, and writes for the student newspaper. She is very kind and has fortunately not suffered from much friendship drama. I would be surprised if she scored above 1350 on the SATs. What kinds of colleges do students like DD end up at from Big-3s? I don't want to push her too hard because she seems happy and content, which is so important. On the other hand, I wonder if she'll have more options if we enrolled her in SAT tutoring, pushed the sports a bit more, etc. We are full pay, but not wealthy enough to be noticeable donors.
Thank you in advance. She is our oldest and our first foray into the college admissions process. I am a bit alarmed by the posts I am reading about how competitive college admissions have become.

Is she at a laid back progressive “Big 3” with a somewhat wide range of students?

If so if things are so laid back she may not near her full potential academically, and need help with motivation. We had this issue and had to be more active. The teen remained happy and content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Conn college, trinity, the all women’s colleges other than Wellesley, Dickinson, Denison, Lafayette, Gettysburg, Sewanee, Rhodes, Wooster. There are so many good options. Don’t push your DD too much - let her be happy. That is far far more important.

With that mentality you can’t go wrong doing anything or nothing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These schools seem like a huge reach to me based on what you describe, but maybe I'm doom and gloom?

Yes, boys have a documented edge for admission to the second-tier LACs. And some of the first tier ones too. More girls apply than boys and the girls are on average more qualified. In order to maintain a reasonably balanced female-male ratio, schools admit boys who are less qualified.

Anecdotally I have seen boys who are pretty average get into surprisingly good schools and girls who seem well above average get into less good schools than I would have expected.

In DC's '22 class, nearly all the kids who ended up in RD because they were deferred/rejected in ED split with boys mainly getting into Ivies/T15 and girls WLed at them. And these are all students in most rigorous classes. I had heard about this at LACs, but I didn't expect it in this pool of schools.

Sounds about right, my son’s college counselor told us that there is a national shortage of male applicants, providing an advantage this admission cycle.

Same for Asian males?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heard from someone in the know…and yet not sure whether to believe this…:

Princeton admitted less than 5 white males this year who were NOT legacy or athletes or first in family to attend college.

Less than 5 TOTAL.

Can this be true? We will never know, I suppose. But as a follower of college admission trends, I do find it believable.

https://images.app.goo.gl/ghhkUQ3puK3c5oRx8

Lol

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "middle of the pack" kids at my son's Big3 are now at schools like NYU, Tufts, Wake Forest, Boston College, Colgate, Tulane, Bates, Wisconsin, Texas and Richmond. Pushing more sports won't have an impact unless that would make her a recruitable athlete. Some SAT prep is probably a good idea--no need to start early and it doesn't have to be super-intensive, but getting that test score up does help. ED and full pay can also be very helpful at schools below the Ivy tier.

None of these schools are still options for kids with a solid B average, Big 3 or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Conn college, trinity, the all women’s colleges other than Wellesley, Dickinson, Denison, Lafayette, Gettysburg, Sewanee, Rhodes, Wooster. There are so many good options. Don’t push your DD too much - let her be happy. That is far far more important.

My DD graduated from a big3 (NCS) last year and I do not think a single girl went to any of the colleges you listed.

Where did the middle of the pack kids go?

Bates, Richmond, Colby, Colgate, UMiami, Tulane, NYU, Wake Forest

None of these is middle of pack

At NCS, this is absolutely where middle of the pack kids go. I would also add St. Andrews to the middle of the pack list.

Middle of The pack is all Bs?

[Anonymous]

The "middle of the pack" kids in DC's class ended up at great schools (Michigan, Tufts, NYU, UVA) off the wait lists after RD.

The school does a great job helping students advocate for themselves and it appears they have a higher success rate for students getting in after deferrals and waitlists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me about your Big-3 non-high stats kid's college application experiences.
DD is a sophomore at a Big-3. Her grades are mostly Bs, a few As, one C. She plays one sport and is decent, but not outstanding. She enjoys creative writing, and writes for the student newspaper. She is very kind and has fortunately not suffered from much friendship drama. I would be surprised if she scored above 1350 on the SATs. What kinds of colleges do students like DD end up at from Big-3s? I don't want to push her too hard because she seems happy and content, which is so important. On the other hand, I wonder if she'll have more options if we enrolled her in SAT tutoring, pushed the sports a bit more, etc. We are full pay, but not wealthy enough to be noticeable donors.
Thank you in advance. She is our oldest and our first foray into the college admissions process. I am a bit alarmed by the posts I am reading about how competitive college admissions have become.

Is she at a laid back progressive “Big 3” with a somewhat wide range of students?

If so if things are so laid back she may not near her full potential academically, and need help with motivation. We had this issue and had to be more active. The teen remained happy and content.

What did you do to motivate her, and in a way that she remained happy and content? We are in this situation now and would love to know what worked for folks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "middle of the pack" kids in DC's class ended up at great schools (Michigan, Tufts, NYU, UVA) off the wait lists after RD.

The school does a great job helping students advocate for themselves and it appears they have a higher success rate for students getting in after deferrals and waitlists.

Anything that happened before the Covid admissions cycles is not especially relevant today. Even for "Big 3" kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Conn college, trinity, the all women’s colleges other than Wellesley, Dickinson, Denison, Lafayette, Gettysburg, Sewanee, Rhodes, Wooster. There are so many good options. Don’t push your DD too much - let her be happy. That is far far more important.

My DD graduated from a big3 (NCS) last year and I do not think a single girl went to any of the colleges you listed.

Where did the middle of the pack kids go?

Bates, Richmond, Colby, Colgate, UMiami, Tulane, NYU, Wake Forest

None of these is middle of pack

At NCS, this is absolutely where middle of the pack kids go. I would also add St. Andrews to the middle of the pack list.

Middle of The pack is all Bs?

Yes. Maybe an A or 2, mostly Bs and maybe a C or 2.

[Anonymous]

I give up. Which schools constitute the "Big 3?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "middle of the pack" kids in DC's class ended up at great schools (Michigan, Tufts, NYU, UVA) off the wait lists after RD.

The school does a great job helping students advocate for themselves and it appears they have a higher success rate for students getting in after deferrals and waitlists.

That isn't middle of the pack, that is the 15-40 in a big 3 (where the top 15 would be HYPMS/Ivy), unless there is a significant hook.

[Anonymous]

OP: thank you for your post (and thanks to the many PPs who offered helpful answers.). You have described my DD and our approach exactly. Glad there are others out there. And we are HYP parents - but prioritizing happiness and mental health for this particular child. You are not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give up. Which schools constitute the "Big 3?"

Generally assumed to be NCS/STA, Sidwell and GDS.

[Anonymous]

NCS STS and Sidwell