Success stories/fairy tale endings please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

If you are accepted ED but cannot afford it, you can decline. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

That really applies only to full pay or low income. If EFC is $50K and you cannot actually pay that (Because you just only make $160K/year and the federal govt somehow thinks that means you can afford $50K/year for your kid), then you can only get out of the ED if the aid is less than Total cost -50K. That is where many middle income families are---they can't afford to pay the EFC!!! So it means ED is not an option for your family.

First EFC, is not what the Federal Government thinks you can afford, it's just a number spit out by a formula applied uniformly to families. If it's too high, that reflects lack of funding for aid, not actual ability to pay, or any value judgement. Second, you fixate on your situation, and no doubt you'd prefer an EFC of $30K, but the family getting that EFC is likely making $100K. You really think paying $30K is any easier for that family, than paying $50K is for yours? They get a $20K discount, but they have to pay their bills with $60K less HHI. Now, sure there's an income level so high that EFC is full pay, and full pay is a pittance, but no aid formula can correct for that.

DCUM is right on this one, fairy tale endings come with a price tag, sorry you watched too many cartoons.

[Anonymous]

DS is a freshman at USNWR T15, via ED1. No hooks.

Sounds like a "success," right? Wrong! He really dislikes almost everything about it.

It is so, so very much not what any of us expected. I stay silent, and I have not brought up the T-word (transfer).

This was his "dream school" and he did not expect to be accepted. He loved a couple of true matches (example: Auburn) along with his shitty current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, but your post does sound geared toward true reaches (not the "reach" to a school with a 60% acceptance rate). The best thing you can do for your kid to avoid the "bloodbath" is to help him/her find reaches, targets, and TRUE safeties they'd be happy going to. And if you have a high stats kid, they need to put the work in with the safety just as they would with the reach/match. High stat kids are sometimes sidelined in the yeild protection process.

This is what worries me.

Then apply ED. The only people complaining about "yield protection" are those who didn't bother to apply ED and still thought they'd get in.
DP

This is typical DCUM tone deaf. Not everyone can chance going ED if it means full pay at $80/year. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

If you are accepted ED but cannot afford it, you can decline. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

That really applies only to full pay or low income. If EFC is $50K and you cannot actually pay that (Because you just only make $160K/year and the federal govt somehow thinks that means you can afford $50K/year for your kid), then you can only get out of the ED if the aid is less than Total cost -50K. That is where many middle income families are---they can't afford to pay the EFC!!! So it means ED is not an option for your family.

First EFC, is not what the Federal Government thinks you can afford, it's just a number spit out by a formula applied uniformly to families. If it's too high, that reflects lack of funding for aid, not actual ability to pay, or any value judgement. Second, you fixate on your situation, and no doubt you'd prefer an EFC of $30K, but the family getting that EFC is likely making $100K. You really think paying $30K is any easier for that family, than paying $50K is for yours? They get a $20K discount, but they have to pay their bills with $60K less HHI. Now, sure there's an income level so high that EFC is full pay, and full pay is a pittance, but no aid formula can correct for that.

DCUM is right on this one, fairy tale endings come with a price tag, sorry you watched too many cartoons.

Was just explaining how not everyone can get out of ED because of finances. Personally we are Full pay and easily able to do that thru years of savings. But I'm capable of understanding that many people were not able to save due to circumstances beyond their control. So for many in the donut hole, they cannot afford what EFC is. Never said paying $30K is easier for a family making $100K. I get that everyone in the donut hole range is "screwed" if they were not able to save alot for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

You are missing the point. There are lots of kids who were told in MS that they needed the 1580/4.8 to get into a good college by their schools and took it to heart. So, they take AP classes in subjects that don't interest them. Seriously, the math that some of these kids are doing in 12th grade will NEVER matter once in college or the real world. Not everyone wants to be an engineer, but heaven forbid they don't take math senior year. They are told that they won't get into a good school if they take classes they really like and not the ones that "colleges want to see."

Except...........Some kids don't take it and they will all get into the same schools, but the one with the same course load likely sacrificed a lot. It's not about being smarter, necessarily. It's about taking an easier pathway and ending up in the exact same space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base? and getting into a better school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base? and getting into a better school.

Yeah, the same school you could have gotten in w/o the harder courses or the SAT prep.

[Anonymous]

How many kids actually want to learn Vector Calculus &
Linear Algebra?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many kids actually want to learn Vector Calculus &
Linear Algebra?

Your momma does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a freshman at USNWR T15, via ED1. No hooks.

Sounds like a "success," right? Wrong! He really dislikes almost everything about it.

It is so, so very much not what any of us expected. I stay silent, and I have not brought up the T-word (transfer).

This was his "dream school" and he did not expect to be accepted. He loved a couple of true matches (example: Auburn) along with his shitty current school.

ED is a hook because it favors full pay kids. And schools like Duke and Chicago have drastically higher admits rate for that round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is a freshman at USNWR T15, via ED1. No hooks.

Sounds like a "success," right? Wrong! He really dislikes almost everything about it.

It is so, so very much not what any of us expected. I stay silent, and I have not brought up the T-word (transfer).

This was his "dream school" and he did not expect to be accepted. He loved a couple of true matches (example: Auburn) along with his shitty current school.

ED is a hook because it favors full pay kids. And schools like Duke and Chicago have drastically higher admits rate for that round.

Chi town?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is a freshman at USNWR T15, via ED1. No hooks.

Sounds like a "success," right? Wrong! He really dislikes almost everything about it.

It is so, so very much not what any of us expected. I stay silent, and I have not brought up the T-word (transfer).

This was his "dream school" and he did not expect to be accepted. He loved a couple of true matches (example: Auburn) along with his shitty current school.

ED is a hook because it favors full pay kids. And schools like Duke and Chicago have drastically higher admits rate for that round.

Why would they favor full pay only in ED.
They can probably fill up all spots with full pay if they wanted to in every round ED RD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

Are you kidding me? Was your child’s whole HS experience aimed at getting into college? How sad. Your child has no intellectual curiosity or true interest in learning over just getting As? The colleges can see that lack of intellectual curiosity and passion and that is what will keep them out.

I actually have a kid who chose more time to pursue other passions over extra weighted classes. She will not get into a top whatever school, but she will succeed in life no matter where she goes. She is thoughtful about things and well rounded, mostly, she is mature beyond her years and has great life skills. She is a senior and going through the process now. She is happy and knows she will get into one of the schools on her well curated list. She feels she can bloom anywhere. She opted out of the race to nowhere and has no regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base? and getting into a better school.

Yeah, the same school you could have gotten in w/o the harder courses or the SAT prep.

So take that path. It’s your kid’s problem if they sold their soul to the devil and the devil breached the contract. This kids are screwed in life if they don’t learn balance. From wht I hear, most of them are so overloaded they are cheating their way through anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah OP = sorry everyone is being so harsh about your request but it's just hard to say in this environment and more kids get rejected than admitted to almost all of the top 100 schools. So that's why everyone is being so negative.

But yes, my DS got into 1 of his reaches and rejected from 4 other reaches. He ended up at a target and is very happy he chose that school.

I'm in it now with my DS 2023 senior and it really is all about the idea that no school is perfect, admissions is hard to predict, he will get into some school and probably like it, he has schools in the reach, target and safety that he would like to attend. And he knows from his older brother there is no school that is really perfect and you don't have to pick the school that is ranked highest.

Note as well - I know a few kids from my older DS year that transferred - even from high-ranking schools - so it really is better to focus on what your kid wants versus how a school is ranked.

The bolded part is what I think my family needs to focus on. The reason all these people are saying their kid is so happy they chose the school they did is, at least partially, b/c it's the only school they know as a student. Kids can be happy at a lot of places if they can let go of the idea that there was one perfect school for them. I was happy at my college, but I know I would have had a completely different and, likely, completely happy experience at a much larger school. My kid loves a T25 school with scary admissions rates, no ED option, but also without super high average stats for freshman class. No hook here, so we know the chances are slim. I think you have to be OK going somewhere where your stats are higher than the average.

And "going somewhere where your stats are higher than average" is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that a 1350 SAT is ~90th percentile. Still someone who is really smart, and your kid will do just fine surrounded by others like that even if they have a 1580. In fact, it might be helpful to learn to associate with a variety of people, because nobody is in a job where everyone is a "genius". Good practice for life.

If you want to choose a bigger school with more range of scores, then pick the honors college to find your group of "higher scoring" kids.

Agree with you. The “stats higher than average” comment says a lot about that poster. Stats aren’t everything. There are really bright kids who are lte bloomers, creative kids who don’t do well in traditional HS settings, etc. Thise kids have a ton to offer. Your “high stats” kid may gain a different perspective.

So, what's the point of working hard for those A's in the intense classes? The response above is disingenuous. I'm wondering what's the benefit of all that work if you could also get to the same spot with regular classes and more free time. I mean, I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that would fly with kids who have heard about the importance of class choice and grades since they were in middle school.

The benefit of working really hard for those A's? To actually learn, perhaps? To expand your knowledge base?
The concept that your "1580/4.8W" student can only function around others with similar stats is an attitude problem. There are plenty of really smart people who don't appear that way on paper after HS.

But your "1580/4.8W" will do just fine with kids with "1350/4.0 W"---or at least they should do just fine if they don't have an attitude that they are so much smarter than everyone else and entitled to be around only equally bright kids. Both are smart kids, in the top 10% of college bound kids. I graduated from a T10 university, yet at work was surrounded by people from all levels of universities. Nobody cared---nobody asks what your SAT score was or really where you went to college(after you get your first job). What matters is what you did in college, and what you do on the job. I know plenty of really smart people who attended their local state U where the avg SAT was 1050/1100---that was the place they could afford and they had a great experience.

You are missing the point. There are lots of kids who were told in MS that they needed the 1580/4.8 to get into a good college by their schools and took it to heart. So, they take AP classes in subjects that don't interest them. Seriously, the math that some of these kids are doing in 12th grade will NEVER matter once in college or the real world. Not everyone wants to be an engineer, but heaven forbid they don't take math senior year. They are told that they won't get into a good school if they take classes they really like and not the ones that "colleges want to see."

Except...........Some kids don't take it and they will all get into the same schools, but the one with the same course load likely sacrificed a lot. It's not about being smarter, necessarily. It's about taking an easier pathway and ending up in the exact same space.

Who told them that and why did you, as a parent allow/promote it? The colleges specifically say you do not need to take every AP and you should take what interests you. Why not listen to what they are telling you?? They can smell these over prepped, over processed kids from a mile away. They kids are so freaking entitled and think they are special because they did all of this work that was forced on them as the formula for a top school. Now they think they are entitled to a spot. The school do not want a class of special snowflakes who feel entitled to be there because they to 17 APs. They want bright kids who had their own initiative and wrote their own story of who they wanted to be instead of following the AP and certain EC formula. They have an over abundance of those applications—how could they ever choose? They want kids who have a vision of who they wi want to be and have interests and curiousity about the world. Kids who took classes to learn, not to get a weighted A.