HYPS SCEA vs Columbia ED (double legacy)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't think you mentioned it but are you aware for applications to Ivies (and white and interested in the sciences) that the SAT II tests and xlnt scores are critical? My DC wanted Princeton and had everything needed but his SAT II's (math I, Math II, and chemistry) were only 750. You need 800s or close to it in SAT II exams. We didn't figure that out in time for the Princeton Harvard, etc. applications. Princeton used to require two SAT II tests. Now it says "Strongly recommended" but the reason they dropped the requirement was to make it easier for poorer students to apply. But if you are otherwise a normal applicant, then you better have top SAT II results.

OP here. Yes forgot to mention it, but he has taken Math II (800), Chemistry (790) and Biology (800). I agree the strongly recommended statement by most top schools is misleading. Any student from a middle-class or upwards background needs to have subject tests to have a chance. The requirement is truly optional only for the students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Ah, great. Those are the type of scores Princeton wants to see.

[Anonymous]

Legacy doesn't count in the Ivies unless you have given really big bucks. I don't know what it is for Columbia, but Harvard won't pay attention to your legacy-status kid unless you have given seven digits, which we didn't. And DC did not get in even though she had all the necessary bells and whistles.

[Anonymous]

Double legacy counts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Double legacy counts.

Nope. Not unless you give significantly big bucks. DC was a double legacy at Harvard - didn't get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Double legacy counts.

If you mean legacy at two different Ivies, no, that doesn’t give a kid an advantage over legacy at a single ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double legacy counts.

Nope. Not unless you give significantly big bucks. DC was a double legacy at Harvard - didn't get in.

+1000. Double legacies Princeton kids rejected

[Anonymous]

No, I meant double legacy at one school and assumed kid would be top 1 - 10% in grade.

[Anonymous]

FWIW I teach a course in bioengineering at Hopkins, and advise many of their majors even if it is not my primary field. Many are double-majoring in humanities/social science fields, so they do have quite a bit of time to pursue courses outside strict BME. And I would agree that JHU is very strong across the board, not just health science fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW I teach a course in bioengineering at Hopkins, and advise many of their majors even if it is not my primary field. Many are double-majoring in humanities/social science fields, so they do have quite a bit of time to pursue courses outside strict BME. And I would agree that JHU is very strong across the board, not just health science fields.

Agree with OP, Hopkins is strong but not as strong across the board as places like HYPS, Columbia and Penn. Not many people would choose Hopkins over these schools for undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I meant double legacy at one school and assumed kid would be top 1 - 10% in grade.

ALL LEGACY APPLICANTS TO IVIES are in the top 1-10%. All legacy applicants are just as qualified as regular non-legacy applicants. Don't you realize that you are talking 35,000 applicants to 1500 slots? The legacies are all top calibre students and still only 30% of them get in and then it is usually because mom and dad worked on alumni interivews, gave huge donations to the school, or ran financial campaigns for the school. I double legacies at all the Ivies that didn't get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't think you mentioned it but are you aware for applications to Ivies (and white and interested in the sciences) that the SAT II tests and xlnt scores are critical? My DC wanted Princeton and had everything needed but his SAT II's (math I, Math II, and chemistry) were only 750. You need 800s or close to it in SAT II exams. We didn't figure that out in time for the Princeton Harvard, etc. applications. Princeton used to require two SAT II tests. Now it says "Strongly recommended" but the reason they dropped the requirement was to make it easier for poorer students to apply. But if you are otherwise a normal applicant, then you better have top SAT II results.

If you are rationalizing your kid's p'ton rejection as "he only got 750 on his sat2" you are either dumb or listening to a person who is dumb. This is NOT why your kid didn't get in, but I see paid consultants rattle off this BS all the time to lay the "blame" at the kid's feet rather than themselves.

PLEASE STOP SPREADING BAD INFO re Ivy admissions. There are ZERO kids that P'ton "wanted" where ANYONE in committee said "we love him, he's going to change the world, he has everything, but the SAT 2 is a problem, at 750.

No, you are wrong. If you have connections on faculty or family on faculty you can find out these things. For engineering, they want to see 800s on math I math II chemistry, etc. Nail those subject matter tests. A GPA of 3.23 and ACT of 36 wasn't enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I meant double legacy at one school and assumed kid would be top 1 - 10% in grade.

Doesn't matter. If it's harvard you have to give seven digits for harvard to even pay attention. Other schools, maybe less so. This is well known in the NYC private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't think you mentioned it but are you aware for applications to Ivies (and white and interested in the sciences) that the SAT II tests and xlnt scores are critical? My DC wanted Princeton and had everything needed but his SAT II's (math I, Math II, and chemistry) were only 750. You need 800s or close to it in SAT II exams. We didn't figure that out in time for the Princeton Harvard, etc. applications. Princeton used to require two SAT II tests. Now it says "Strongly recommended" but the reason they dropped the requirement was to make it easier for poorer students to apply. But if you are otherwise a normal applicant, then you better have top SAT II results.

If you are rationalizing your kid's p'ton rejection as "he only got 750 on his sat2" you are either dumb or listening to a person who is dumb. This is NOT why your kid didn't get in, but I see paid consultants rattle off this BS all the time to lay the "blame" at the kid's feet rather than themselves.

PLEASE STOP SPREADING BAD INFO re Ivy admissions. There are ZERO kids that P'ton "wanted" where ANYONE in committee said "we love him, he's going to change the world, he has everything, but the SAT 2 is a problem, at 750.

No, you are wrong. If you have connections on faculty or family on faculty you can find out these things. For engineering, they want to see 800s on math I math II chemistry, etc. Nail those subject matter tests. A GPA of 3.23 and ACT of 36 wasn't enough.

Meant 4.23. If a parent says they have a special faculty connection who has offered to help, believe them. They often do.

[Anonymous]

I think some of this is wrong information. Legacy helps at most ivy schools even if you are not very involved and give very modest donations. All legacies generally get put in a different pile and get a second look over. You really need to apply ED though to get the max bump from legacy.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree legacy still counts even if you haven't huge bucks. Of course if you have given big bucks it counts way way more, in the same way that a person with no legacy status but whose parents gave a multi-million dollar gift would take precedence over a regular legacy kid.