What do I need to know about College Placement from Private School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had a 35 ACT and an 800 math level 2 from a big 3 and got in nowhere competitive. Hit the books and pick a sport or activity and stick with it. Grades are so much more important than test scores.

you aren't an URM. since race is a social construct and self reported, your kid should've just said he/she was black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And would be happy with Penn or Cornell. Do we pay for the college coach or not?

Get a college coach for a one time consultation in 9th grade. It will help her focus on what she needs to do, because another adult, not mom and dad, is telling her what to do. she needs to be motivated and at some point she may lose motivation, or seek to rebel -- all normal-- but she will have the consultant visit in her memory and will stay on track there.
there really is no need to pay $ after a one time consult.
this is what she needs: grades, scores, leadership
this helps: legacy, varsity sport, under represented minority, giving a building to the college
the private school counselor may encourage her to aim too low- they need to manage expectations of the entire class.
be sweet to her- its a lot of work!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And would be happy with Penn or Cornell. Do we pay for the college coach or not?

Get a college coach for a one time consultation in 9th grade. It will help her focus on what she needs to do, because another adult, not mom and dad, is telling her what to do. she needs to be motivated and at some point she may lose motivation, or seek to rebel -- all normal-- but she will have the consultant visit in her memory and will stay on track there.
there really is no need to pay $ after a one time consult.
this is what she needs: grades, scores, leadership
this helps: legacy, varsity sport, under represented minority, giving a building to the college
the private school counselor may encourage her to aim too low- they need to manage expectations of the entire class.
be sweet to her- its a lot of work!!

+ this is as good a summary as I've seen of what you need & what helps & expectation setting of the counselors. As a UPenn grad - if your kid decides they want Penn or Cornell -- apply early and see the above answer (get the best grades & scores you can & try to do some extra curricular where he/she can excel or stand out, and then maybe one other extra curricular that he/she is good at to be 'well rounded'. (now you don't have to pay for a college coach)

[Anonymous]

ED is key--the odds are so much better at many colleges. You do have to be willing to commit to one school, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until you've been through it, it's hard to appreciate just how elusive a top Ivy school is.

Take a look at this breakdown of Princeton's incoming Class of 2020:
https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/94/44G37/index.xml?section=topstories

1,894 kids accepted
Half are Male, now there are only 947 slots left
Half are people of color, now there are only 474 slots left
11% are alumni kids, if two-thirds of those are white (and so not previously counted as people of color), now there are 440 slots left
17% are first in their family to attend college, if one-third of those are white (and so not previously counted), now there are 415 slots left

Princeton admits about 200 recruited athletes per year. Half are female (because of Title IX) and if half of those are neither people of color nor first-generation students, now there are 365 slots left.

Whoops, almost forgot. 11.7% of the class are international students, which the federal government doesn't allow colleges to include in their under-represented minority reporting. Now we're down to 322.

That's it. By a conservative estimate, Princeton has about 322 slots for every white, non-legacy, non-recruited athlete daughter of college-educated parents in the entire country. And that's without counting VIP/celebrity kids, extremely wealthy kids, faculty kids, etc.

Is your DD one of those top 322 applicants?

You are worth more to these parents with your illumination of the situation than a $40k consultant. Many blessings on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until you've been through it, it's hard to appreciate just how elusive a top Ivy school is.

Take a look at this breakdown of Princeton's incoming Class of 2020:
https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/94/44G37/index.xml?section=topstories

1,894 kids accepted
Half are Male, now there are only 947 slots left
Half are people of color, now there are only 474 slots left
11% are alumni kids, if two-thirds of those are white (and so not previously counted as people of color), now there are 440 slots left
17% are first in their family to attend college, if one-third of those are white (and so not previously counted), now there are 415 slots left

Princeton admits about 200 recruited athletes per year. Half are female (because of Title IX) and if half of those are neither people of color nor first-generation students, now there are 365 slots left.

Whoops, almost forgot. 11.7% of the class are international students, which the federal government doesn't allow colleges to include in their under-represented minority reporting. Now we're down to 322.

That's it. By a conservative estimate, Princeton has about 322 slots for every white, non-legacy, non-recruited athlete daughter of college-educated parents in the entire country. And that's without counting VIP/celebrity kids, extremely wealthy kids, faculty kids, etc.

Is your DD one of those top 322 applicants?

And in your analysis, do you account for the possibility that a single student might fir the "person of color" "first generation" "athlete" designation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Until you've been through it, it's hard to appreciate just how elusive a top Ivy school is.

Take a look at this breakdown of Princeton's incoming Class of 2020:
https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/94/44G37/index.xml?section=topstories

1,894 kids accepted
Half are Male, now there are only 947 slots left
Half are people of color, now there are only 474 slots left
11% are alumni kids, if two-thirds of those are white (and so not previously counted as people of color), now there are 440 slots left
17% are first in their family to attend college, if one-third of those are white (and so not previously counted), now there are 415 slots left

Princeton admits about 200 recruited athletes per year. Half are female (because of Title IX) and if half of those are neither people of color nor first-generation students, now there are 365 slots left.

Whoops, almost forgot. 11.7% of the class are international students, which the federal government doesn't allow colleges to include in their under-represented minority reporting. Now we're down to 322.

That's it. By a conservative estimate, Princeton has about 322 slots for every white, non-legacy, non-recruited athlete daughter of college-educated parents in the entire country. And that's without counting VIP/celebrity kids, extremely wealthy kids, faculty kids, etc.

Is your DD one of those top 322 applicants?

And in your analysis, do you account for the possibility that a single student might fir the "person of color" "first generation" "athlete" designation?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Consider checking out Nina Marks @ Marks Education to help you & your child build a solid 4-year plan. Instead of doing an expensive package, you can pay by the hour for a plan. She is definitely on my list as they know more about the vast array of colleges. The goal is finding a good fit that will allow your child to grow, thrive & be happy. And yes, there are many different ways to climb to the top without an Ivy! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The way to an Ivy is not necessarily through the Big 3. At least 75% of kids at Big 3 schools have their eyes on Ivies, and only a fraction will get in. And, the vast majority of those kids are hooked through legacy, URM status, or athletic recruitment. Some get in without hooks, but really only a handful. The Ivies are not the only great schools in this country. Focus on the education.

[Anonymous]

OP - I think you have taken a lot of unfair criticism. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do everything possible to make sure your DD has the resume for a viable application to an Ivy when she is a senior. I agree that getting in is a lottery.

The most important thing you need to know about the process in privates is that by the time the college counselor gets involved your D's story has been written. Your D needs to take the most rigorous curriculum offered in order to have a viable application, but the college counselor only signs-off on the senior year schedule.

Frankly, the college counseling at our school sucks! It is too little, too late and plain bad. However, you have no choice but to work with them as they write a very important letter of recommendation for your D. They love the kids who ED to a match or safety and are horrified by the kids that want to have options in April to choose from. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks I am OP. Great posts. Keep them coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider checking out Nina Marks @ Marks Education to help you & your child build a solid 4-year plan. Instead of doing an expensive package, you can pay by the hour for a plan. She is definitely on my list as they know more about the vast array of colleges. The goal is finding a good fit that will allow your child to grow, thrive & be happy. And yes, there are many different ways to climb to the top without an Ivy! Good luck.

She is much more expensive than everyone else.

[Anonymous]

The most important thing to know coming from a top private is that the competition from her grade may be very strong alongside increasing world wide competition for top schools. It's seldom going to be "fair" and a school may appear to take one type of kid one year in favor of another then flip it for the next year. Timing can be everything. Some of these schools only take about 10% of the available slots based on pure academic profile. And you're never going to really know the landscape in terms of hooks. Do not let your kid fall in love and use the early application process as wisely as you can. Finally, these kids tend to end up very happy and doing well wherever they land, sometimes even more so when it's somewhere not on the original plan. Enjoy the next 4 years. It's going to go really fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most important thing to know coming from a top private is that the competition from her grade may be very strong alongside increasing world wide competition for top schools. It's seldom going to be "fair" and a school may appear to take one type of kid one year in favor of another then flip it for the next year. Timing can be everything. Some of these schools only take about 10% of the available slots based on pure academic profile. And you're never going to really know the landscape in terms of hooks. Do not let your kid fall in love and use the early application process as wisely as you can. Finally, these kids tend to end up very happy and doing well wherever they land, sometimes even more so when it's somewhere not on the original plan. Enjoy the next 4 years. It's going to go really fast.

What do you mean by use early decision wisely? I am thinking Cornell because one of the easier ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most important thing to know coming from a top private is that the competition from her grade may be very strong alongside increasing world wide competition for top schools. It's seldom going to be "fair" and a school may appear to take one type of kid one year in favor of another then flip it for the next year. Timing can be everything. Some of these schools only take about 10% of the available slots based on pure academic profile. And you're never going to really know the landscape in terms of hooks. Do not let your kid fall in love and use the early application process as wisely as you can. Finally, these kids tend to end up very happy and doing well wherever they land, sometimes even more so when it's somewhere not on the original plan. Enjoy the next 4 years. It's going to go really fast.

Very true and that's where you see the value of the education.

Also, don't spend too much time/energy visiting/researching the "dream school". Do more legwork on the more likely stretch so dc will feel really good about it if that's where she/he lands.