Reply to Is it really that hard to get into college?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Assuming you're not a troll, yes, it is hard to get into highly rejective colleges. Especially if you are from a competitive area where your kid is competing against 30 other high stats kids from their class.

My kid with competitive (99%) stats and ECs is going to a T50 school. A very good school, but not what we had expected some 4 years ago at the start of high school.  Certainly did not expect the rejections from the competitive colleges that spouse and I went to. Nor some of the schools we might once have considered a safety school.

So it's not that your kids are screwed. They'll get into a good college, and chances are it's even going to be a great college. Just don't expect the T10 colleges to be matches.

Also if your kids are better at networking and doing the sorts of things that bring attention to themselves, like emailing school representatives, then that helps.[/quote]

I am not a troll. Our kids are at a well regarded public school. They have so many smart friends that sound identical to one another on paper. One kid may run track and another May play tennis but none are THAT good to be an athletic recruit.

Hope this is not a completely stupid question but do hobbies help? My kids love to ski, boat and fish. They will never be on a ski team but my son has been skiing on black since he was 9. We also go on tons of fishing trips. [/quote]

Fishing, skiing and boating won’t matter to top schools unless you win a national competitive award with public recognition in them. Many applicants are captains of varsity teams and at the top tiers, even they’re a dime a dozen.

Hobbies may help at match or safety schools to give a picture of a more well-rounded applicant, maybe. More important are SAT scores (so use paid prep if you can afford it and your kid needs it), volunteer and service hours (helpful if they can be targeted toward the intended field of study), where you live (it helps to come from an underrepresented state to the school, as schools do keep track of that and often publish the geographical breakdown in future admissions materials) and, the biggest factor of all — luck, which is why the “more applications than you think you need” advice is so important.[/quote]

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