If you child got into a top college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody know any kids who got in with, obviously, top grades and SAT scores - but otherwise isn't a part of any preference group (athletics, legacy, minority, brought peace to the Middle East)? I'm sure such kids exist, but you wouldn't know it to read DCUM.

Yes, good students who are not members of preference groups are admitted to Harvard every year. I know of them as an alumna interviewer.

Do you know how many, i.e. 10 or 100's of "normal but good student" types? It seems like it's still a very long shot, versus something that happens routinely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody know any kids who got in with, obviously, top grades and SAT scores - but otherwise isn't a part of any preference group (athletics, legacy, minority, brought peace to the Middle East)? I'm sure such kids exist, but you wouldn't know it to read DCUM.

Yes, good students who are not members of preference groups are admitted to Harvard every year. I know of them as an alumna interviewer.

Do you know how many, i.e. 10 or 100's of "normal but good student" types? It seems like it's still a very long shot, versus something that happens routinely.

Me again. The only preference groups in Harvard College admissions are recruited athletes, under-represented minorities, legacies (defined as an applicant whose parent(s) graduated from the College), and, sometimes, first-generation to attend college. Nothing else is a "hook" or "tip," not even finding a cure for cancer. Knowing that the preferences are very limited, you can figure that the number of "unhooked" admits out of the approximately 2175 admitted each year (for a matriculating class of 1665, given a 77% yield rate) cannot be merely in the tens; otherwise the class would be 90% athletic recruits, URMs, and legacies, and that simply is not the case. The number of unhooked admits obviously has to be in the hundreds. Can anyone who is not in the admissions office quantify it with more specifically? I don't presume to.

[Anonymous]

I'm a College Admissions Counselor (for what it's worth) --

Ivy and top tier schools look for the "whole package," and by that I mean uniqueness in the following categories:

- Rigorous academic record (good grades/tough classes).
- Solid test scores (SAT, SAT IIs, 4/5 on APs, etc.).
- High involvement and achievement in activities. Depth not breadth is important here.
- Recommendation letters from people who actually know the student.
- A solid personal essay that shares an insight into the student (not a "I was the captain of my team, class president, etc. variety).
- Unique quality (good be an underrepresented group, could be that she/he loves Brazilian jajitsu, whatever).
- Demonstrated intellectual curiosity. It is an academic institution after all.
- Real interest in the school he/she is applying to.
- Make sure the presentation is devoid of careless errors.

Finally, keep in mind that each Ivy/top tier school is different, so dig deep into the differences among them to determine which is best for your child. Harvard's campus environment is different form Yale's. Columbia's urban center attracts some, while others prefer Princeton's quaintness.

I'm a teacher turned college admissions counselor, so am passionate about this. But again, take this for what it's worth!

[Anonymous]

Great advice. Thanks, pp. My DS took the SATs in June and needs to get his scores up. He has a 4.0, but tests poorly. Can you recommend a tutor/company for one on one help before the October test? TIA.

[Anonymous]

Sure. Email me at [e-mail]. I'm a former teacher turned education admissions advisor. I have a cadre of tutors to turn to. And if I cannot help you, then I can refer you to others who can.

Meanwhile, keep in mind that it is much more than test scores. I know of students who received 750+ on all SAT sections and still did not get into their top choices. It's the sum of the parts that matter - the entire application. If you contact me, we can talk about this, too.

[Anonymous]

Princeton review is great. Our kid got into an Ivy with it. Before test prep...only had 600 on each section. With Princeton review...got to 720 on each section.

[Anonymous]

Oh, come now. You can't with certainty attribute all the gain to Princeton Review. If only one could devise a controlled experiment that accounted for gains in scores that would have happened over time in high-schoolers with intellectual maturation, additional learning in school, practice on sample SAT test, repeated exposure to the SAT test, and who-knows-what-else, including luck, which is a factor. But people have a tendency to want to credit the test-preparation services so as to justify the monetary expenditure.

[Anonymous]

No pp...I'm just someone who gives credit where credit is due. We loved the guy from the Princeton Review.

[Anonymous]

No, PP. You have no basis for crediting the entire gain in score to Princeton Review -- unless perhaps you are affiliated with Princeton Review.

[Anonymous]

Why so nasty? S/he liked Princeton Review. S/he thinks it made a difference. I hope everybody knows that a lot of factors play into score improvement; it's still useful to hear whether people are happy with the services they use.

[Anonymous]

Thank you pp -- exactly as you said it. And, no, I don't work for Princeton Review, but I'm thrilled my kid got into said Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you pp -- exactly as you said it. And, no, I don't work for Princeton Review, but I'm thrilled my kid got into said Ivy.

Delusional.

[Anonymous]

Not at all. Why can't you believe some good things do happen to people. Are you the same one who writes "troll" every time you have a thought pop in your head

[Anonymous]

Probably no more than 20 to 30 points' increase in the PP's DC's score can be credited to commercial test prep. Good things happen to SAT scores over time, but not all of it's because of a test-prep service.

[Anonymous]

Every kid is different. Some really, really benefit from the test prep and some do not.