What do you mean when you say DC is applying to T10s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t tend to use T10. But sometimes I use T20 and T50 as a shorrtand.

When I do, I’m referring to two different levels of selectivity/unpredictability when it comes to admissions.

I do this knowing the rankings and lines between these categories are quite blurry in a whole bunch of ways.

For example, it’s clear that the schools are ranked a little differently by different publications, and that a school’s exact ranking on a list (or in people’s minds) also changes depending on which categories of schools are included - only private universities or those plus public universities and/or LAC and/or regional schools.

When I want information about a specific school, I either refer to it by name or group it with a couple of similar schools.

Nuanced, logical, and takes it all with a grain of salt.

A view like this allows you to keep your child at the center of their process while understanding that one element of college valuation is perception/prestige. It is not the most important one.

Thank you - this is exactly what I aspire to be. Occassionally I hit the mark, but lately it feels further and further out of reach.

TBH, this process has been much more of a challenge than I expected. Not for my kid - they've been remarkably steady through the ups and downs so far. But for me, the parent.

In spite of knowing better, I've so clearly fallen into the trap of over-investing. Others may be different, but I think for me it's less about the ultimate result and more about trying to "master the process." Maybe to try to create some sense of predictability where there is none????

I relate hard to all the parents who post on here asking more experienced parents to try to predict outcomes for their kids at X school or Y school. It's an impossible ask, of course, and it may come off as crazy at times. But I now understand the deep desire for predictability - to KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

No doubt this is tl;dr for most. But underneath everything, I think it's just hitting me hard that our beloved kid will be living somewhere else next year - not in our house. As wonderful and exciting as that is (!!!), I think it would give me some peace be able to picture it more specifically. To put a pin on a map to know where they'll be. To picture them thriving in their new envirornment. This "in between" stage is increasingly hard as I try to prepare myself to let go and lean into the next phase for our family. (Please tell me this gets easier the next time when the younger sibling launches? lol)

Anyway, I'm grateful to have DCUM as an outlet. My friends IRL are wonderful, but sometimes you anonymous strangers (my "fake friends" lol) are even better. From the four month sleep regression back in the day (omg) to navigating college admissions, this community has gotten me through a lot. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To us, T10s are eight ivies and MIT and Stanford.
The stats of kids at our school go to US News T10s like Chicago, Hopkins, Northwestern are always in a tier below the stats of ivy kids.

Not true to our school. The kids going to MIT, JHU, CMU, Caltec, etc often have higher stats than some ivy kids. But their EC in a tier below. I personal know a couple of kids going to Georgia Tech/UT Austin with higher GPA/SAT than their classmates who goes to Cornell.

MIT ECs are a tier below?

[Anonymous]

Ivy or usnwr top 10 ranked

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To us, T10s are eight ivies and MIT and Stanford.
The stats of kids at our school go to US News T10s like Chicago, Hopkins, Northwestern are always in a tier below the stats of ivy kids.

Not true to our school. The kids going to MIT, JHU, CMU, Caltec, etc often have higher stats than some ivy kids. But their EC in a tier below. I personal know a couple of kids going to Georgia Tech/UT Austin with higher GPA/SAT than their classmates who goes to Cornell.

MIT ECs are a tier below?

lol 😂 PP was making things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t tend to use T10. But sometimes I use T20 and T50 as a shorrtand.

When I do, I’m referring to two different levels of selectivity/unpredictability when it comes to admissions.

I do this knowing the rankings and lines between these categories are quite blurry in a whole bunch of ways.

For example, it’s clear that the schools are ranked a little differently by different publications, and that a school’s exact ranking on a list (or in people’s minds) also changes depending on which categories of schools are included - only private universities or those plus public universities and/or LAC and/or regional schools.

When I want information about a specific school, I either refer to it by name or group it with a couple of similar schools.

Nuanced, logical, and takes it all with a grain of salt.

A view like this allows you to keep your child at the center of their process while understanding that one element of college valuation is perception/prestige. It is not the most important one.

Thank you - this is exactly what I aspire to be. Occassionally I hit the mark, but lately it feels further and further out of reach.

TBH, this process has been much more of a challenge than I expected. Not for my kid - they've been remarkably steady through the ups and downs so far. But for me, the parent.

In spite of knowing better, I've so clearly fallen into the trap of over-investing. Others may be different, but I think for me it's less about the ultimate result and more about trying to "master the process." Maybe to try to create some sense of predictability where there is none????

I relate hard to all the parents who post on here asking more experienced parents to try to predict outcomes for their kids at X school or Y school. It's an impossible ask, of course, and it may come off as crazy at times. But I now understand the deep desire for predictability - to KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

No doubt this is tl;dr for most. But underneath everything, I think it's just hitting me hard that our beloved kid will be living somewhere else next year - not in our house. As wonderful and exciting as that is (!!!), I think it would give me some peace be able to picture it more specifically. To put a pin on a map to know where they'll be. To picture them thriving in their new envirornment. This "in between" stage is increasingly hard as I try to prepare myself to let go and lean into the next phase for our family. (Please tell me this gets easier the next time when the younger sibling launches? lol)

Anyway, I'm grateful to have DCUM as an outlet. My friends IRL are wonderful, but sometimes you anonymous strangers (my "fake friends" lol) are even better. From the four month sleep regression back in the day (omg) to navigating college admissions, this community has gotten me through a lot. Thank you!

There is a way to get more predictability.
Use objective metrics rather than holistic criteria as the primary method of selection.
You can make allowances for other institutionally important factors if they really move the needle but if the vast majority of admissions are based on objective metrics then there is a lot more predictability.

Most people would forego a system where their Duke qualified kid gets into Stanford with a really great essay and well curated extracurriculars as long as their Duke qualified kid actually gets into Duke. But if it's all just a lottery anyway, then you get the current situation.