Experienced Moms: Help With A Prediction For College Results For RD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who got into Stanford, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Hopkins, Georgetown, WashU, Michigan, and UVA Echols. Waitlisted Brown

4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT in 1 sitting Highest rigor in her graduating class.

What I learned is that once you start attending admitted student days you see the same families over and over at the different schools. There are some kids whose applications just resonate with admissions. I think a lot of it has to do with the letters of recommendation.

If this was last year, we must have passed each other in the first three.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who got into Stanford, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Hopkins, Georgetown, WashU, Michigan, and UVA Echols. Waitlisted Brown

4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT in 1 sitting Highest rigor in her graduating class.

What I learned is that once you start attending admitted student days you see the same families over and over at the different schools. There are some kids whose applications just resonate with admissions. I think a lot of it has to do with the letters of recommendation.

I've seen this happen many times on Reddit. There are kids whose application just resonates with admissions officers and they will sweep 3-5 Ivies plus Stanford with stats that are the same as many kids who are denied across the board. I bet they may have a "best of my 20 yr career" rec in their file. This makes sense because I've had kids at 2 DC privates and nobody ever sweeps the top schools like this--even the very top kids. I wonder if the teachers/college counselors are careful not to write a rec that elevates one kid above all the others. The schools' goal is to get as many kids as possible into top20 schools (or their business model goes under) so I bet they say that everyone is "an exceptional student" and keep it at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who got into Stanford, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Hopkins, Georgetown, WashU, Michigan, and UVA Echols. Waitlisted Brown

4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT in 1 sitting Highest rigor in her graduating class.

What I learned is that once you start attending admitted student days you see the same families over and over at the different schools. There are some kids whose applications just resonate with admissions. I think a lot of it has to do with the letters of recommendation.

Pricey. Went with UVA, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who got into Stanford, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Hopkins, Georgetown, WashU, Michigan, and UVA Echols. Waitlisted Brown

4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT in 1 sitting Highest rigor in her graduating class.

What I learned is that once you start attending admitted student days you see the same families over and over at the different schools. There are some kids whose applications just resonate with admissions. I think a lot of it has to do with the letters of recommendation.

It's important to have letters that confirm the intangible. But it's not the letters alone that did the work. It's usually due to an already compelling application, and the letters amplify it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you so much for these thoughtful and kind replies. Sorry - I wasn't trying to be vague, more just trying to preserve anonymity. She has many ECs but the standout, we believe, is the work she's done in academia. She worked with a Princeton professor and has a letter of recommendation from him. I don't know about the essays? They seem good to me but who knows. She's also published with some separate work she's done. Interestingly, I believe the comment that "your grades are the least interesting thing about you" applies to her and I would have said that before because she got them with little effort and I understand that "everyone" has those stats at the highest levels. Also, I have another child and the stats and ECs are not the same. I don't want to come across as entitled or like I think my kids are all special or unique. I was just looking for more information and I could never have this conversation with local peers without sounding like a brag. Trust me, the two deferrals in our environment of acceptances have me properly aware of our situation.

How did she get the research position with the Princeton prof?

[Anonymous]

PP. UVA was out of state. Stanford is smart - Admit weekend was the last of the admitted student events and they do a great job so that was the choice.

I find the opinion on teachers/ counselors not elevating one student over others very interesting. My kids attended different high schools and there was a noticeable difference in the college counseling process. I can imagine the culture at one of them being to not ever say someone is the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP. UVA was out of state. Stanford is smart - Admit weekend was the last of the admitted student events and they do a great job so that was the choice.

I find the opinion on teachers/ counselors not elevating one student over others very interesting. My kids attended different high schools and there was a noticeable difference in the college counseling process. I can imagine the culture at one of them being to not ever say someone is the best.

Actually Harvard was the last admitted student days this past year. My kid went from Stanford’s straight to Harvard (took red eye). Stanford’s was better (longer), but my kid ended up picking Harvard. Loves Boston.

[Anonymous]

The wait is hard. UMD Honors is a good indicator of Ivies and Ivy+ admissions, especially if she got the BK scholarship.

Michigan deferred my kid twice, once for undergrad and once for grad engineering. Their loss. I wouldn’t wait on them.

[Anonymous]

Update. I was the OP of this post and I promised to report back. It's been a difficult, stressful year (and yes, it's all of us!) and I want to thank everyone who was so kind and supportive. You were so kind that I wanted to make sure to report back. For posterity: She got in to MIT today. She's going to wait on a few schools to commit but there was a reason this was the EA and she didn't ED anywhere else. For the record, rejected from Carnegie Mellon. Thank you and good luck!

[Anonymous]

I read through this again and to answer some questions: Yes, merit at UMD. Around 30k. UMD is excellent for engineering and so is UMass. DD decided that she'd be happy at either and it wasn't worth the time and effort to apply to NEU, Purdue, Tufts, etc. She figured the most value for that money would be in the top privates and otherwise she'd have an excellent experience at the publics and try again for grad school. DH and I wanted her to cast a wider net but she was very clear with her strategy aligning with her goals. Thank you again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update. I was the OP of this post and I promised to report back. It's been a difficult, stressful year (and yes, it's all of us!) and I want to thank everyone who was so kind and supportive. You were so kind that I wanted to make sure to report back. For posterity: She got in to MIT today. She's going to wait on a few schools to commit but there was a reason this was the EA and she didn't ED anywhere else. For the record, rejected from Carnegie Mellon. Thank you and good luck!

Congratulations!! Wonderful news. Hope she has a wonderful experience -- and thanks for reporting back!

Best of luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update. I was the OP of this post and I promised to report back. It's been a difficult, stressful year (and yes, it's all of us!) and I want to thank everyone who was so kind and supportive. You were so kind that I wanted to make sure to report back. For posterity: She got in to MIT today. She's going to wait on a few schools to commit but there was a reason this was the EA and she didn't ED anywhere else. For the record, rejected from Carnegie Mellon. Thank you and good luck!

Wow!! Congratulations!! What a happy day for your family.
Thanks for the update.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update. I was the OP of this post and I promised to report back. It's been a difficult, stressful year (and yes, it's all of us!) and I want to thank everyone who was so kind and supportive. You were so kind that I wanted to make sure to report back. For posterity: She got in to MIT today. She's going to wait on a few schools to commit but there was a reason this was the EA and she didn't ED anywhere else. For the record, rejected from Carnegie Mellon. Thank you and good luck!

Congratulations!!! You should be so proud OP. Hope you celebrate today!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update. I was the OP of this post and I promised to report back. It's been a difficult, stressful year (and yes, it's all of us!) and I want to thank everyone who was so kind and supportive. You were so kind that I wanted to make sure to report back. For posterity: She got in to MIT today. She's going to wait on a few schools to commit but there was a reason this was the EA and she didn't ED anywhere else. For the record, rejected from Carnegie Mellon. Thank you and good luck!

Amazing, OP! Congratulations!!

[Anonymous]

Wow! I am happy for your DD! congratulations!