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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There was an old thread on here - but was locked or deleted - on a TJ kid whose profile was reviewed on a podcast - former Yale AO I think.

Eye-opening how brutal the process is.[/quote]

think it was this one. You can see why the TJ kid had a mediocre unconnected application, notwithstanding top stats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-9A4eyDoG8[/quote]

Does anyone else think the entire process is a load of BS?  [/quote]

In what way? The whole "tell us a story", make yourself compelling, tie everything together and be memorable?

Or something else?[/quote]

NP.  It sounds like they want the TJ kid to have the equivalent of a math Ph.d before applying to university. They don't seem to understand much about economics or math, and then focus on whether the written statements make them smile.  I worked as an economist and a huge percentage of my colleagues were engineering, physics, chemistry and math majors who switched to economics as post grads. They never even considered econ in high school.

The AOs seem to enjoy the power they have as AOs. A lot of the ones we encountered when touring colleges majored in subjects that didn't allow them to make big money elsewhere, and being an AO gave them some status

Can you apply to college and say you're interested in anthropology or actuarial accounting when these things aren't even subjects in high school? Can you say you want to explore new subjects and discover your life's purpose without already's having undertaken post grad level research in these subjects as a 17 year old.

I'm not surprised that another poster's high scoring kid is going to the UK.[/quote]

But in holistic admissions, scores aren't actually the end all be all. They know the kids can succeed and do that work. That's not the point of this process in determining whether to admit a student.

There is a standard they expect from a TJ kid (they say that - they are expecting research and use of the additional info section. They say they expect the same from Andover and Exeter). Imo they couldn't see what excites that kid beyond the math in the personal statement. it wasn't clear how that excitement translated at Yale and only Yale. Top colleges want kids who are excited and moved and passionate about something AND how they see their passion connecting on campus.

The TJ kid didn't realize the defining feature of Yale's curriculum....(why they want to study math in a liberal arts context). Also why did they choose economics?

Yale's Mathematics department is looking for pure mathematical talent, which this student clearly possesses, but the Economics department may have been looking for different experiences that weren't as strongly represented in their application (I think the primary major they applied to was "Economics and Mathematics" which is the problem - it wasn't Mathematics or Applied Mathematics. A more strategic approach would have been applying as a Mathematics major with Statistics as a secondary interest.

If it was my kid, I would have made sure they integrated how math is a true humanities discipline and a critical part of educating the whole person (could also tie into long term goal as an educator). Perhaps connecting to philosophy (minor in phil?) Did the application mention the Yale Education Studies certificate? If not, that was a miss. For yale, its important to frame mathematics educations as a social justice issue.
[/quote]

Aren't you allowed to double major at Yale? Will they throw out your application if you want to study math and art history because the departments want different things. Aren't you allowed to try new subjects in a liberal arts degree? There's nothing wrong with Math and Economics. You cannot do well in higher level Econ without a strong math background. With a strong theoretical background, you might do some ground breaking research. Framing pure math as a social justice issue though? Give me a break.

I picked up econ in my last year of high school because it was the only thing that fit into my schedule. I ended up with a career in that area but these AOs would have said I'd displayed insufficient interest.

The AO who said that the student wrote well, which he didn't expect from a stem kid, was incredibly biased. One of my kids went to TJ and all the non stem classes were taught to a much higher level than at the base school my other kid attended.

I was surprised one of them liked the essay about counting eggs as a kid. I would have rolled my eyes into the back of my head reading that.

[/quote]

Ofc you can double major.
But remember, for purposes of admissions, they are ONLY looking at the first thing you list. That's what you NEED evidence for. Everywhere.

Study math and art history, but if you list it, you better have enough proof for why you want to study it. I mean, every other compelling candidate will, so your application just looks....lazy without the evidence. They aren't just going to "believe you". You need to prove it.

And of course, study a wide variety of things - but this is your PRIMARY major. 
The kid chose wrong. I've seen it so much of this in this cycle, with kids choosing majors they shouldn't have, where they lack the evidence to be really competitive. Choosing aspirationally. No, you choose reflectively - look and see what your application supports.[/quote]

Are you a college counselor?

If you want to get in, maybe the strategy should be to choose some unpopular major and write some BS stories to support your "passion" for this subject, then change classes as soon as you get there.[/quote]

I do some ad hoc counseling, on a pro bono basis. Have also been helping with WL and LOCI review for private school kids this cycle.

I wouldn't go the fake major route. That won't work because there won't be (1) enough to bake it up and (2) any passion. Passion was missing in this application.[/quote]

Why not fake it? Give the AOs what they want. They need to check their little boxes. Do a bait and switch.

Kids might have enough ECs to convince gullible AOs that they are passionate about drama or creative writing or French literature, even if they intend to be an atmospheric physicist.  [/quote]

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