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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]People DO get off the waitlists but it requires a few things to happen. For example my DC won a national prize : off waitlist when college received letter. Cousin also. It does happen but not frequently. [/quote]

DD graduated from a top private this year and will attend Ivy of her choice so this is not sour grapes but I think schools manipulate these things to help kids they want to help.

DD's school does not have class rank but at the end of 12th grade school bestows "cum laude" status to 20% of class based on combo of GPA + class rigor. The calculation is not public. This year the class president, popular kid, popular (ie rich) family had a bad college admissions season.  Despite not being in the highest level of math, this kid was named to cum laude and admission to aUS news top30 off wait list was announced shortly after. I wonder if they tilted Cum Laude that way to help with the wait list. [/quote]

Maybe he had the GPA and a rigorous schedule other than not being in highest math.  Also, by highest math do you mean not taking AP Calc BC?  I don't think being in the highest math group should be the benchmark of rigor.  The counselor can look at everything and decide.  Not everyone is going to take the highest physics either.  I say this as someone who loved math in school.  My kids are on track to take Calculus in 11th.  Some kids take it in 10th and others don't take it in high school.  I can assure you, there have been many valedictorians who didn't take the highest math or physics....[/quote]

Its a private so they got rid of AP classes about 2 years ago. In math they have 3 options: grade level, advanced and honors. Advanced and honors are same course (12th grade calculus) with honors being harder. Its the only class that has an "advanced" option in addition to honors and grade level; I think bc in if honors English is too hard you can always jump back to grade level but once you've taken Algebra 1 if you find honors Geometry too hard you cant really jump back.

The Cum Laude distinction is combination of class rigor and GPA but they dont say how its weighted. My 3 DCs have been in the school for years and I cannot remember a kid who got cum laude who was not in honors math. I guess my point is that the school (esp. at privates) have a lot of leverage to tilt things they way they want to help kids have something to tell the college so they can maybe get off a waitlist. 
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Agree. Our private still does AP and there was a bit of controversy over  a student who took AP Art History, Psych, English and  2 Art Studio who made Cum Laude but several students who took AP Calc 1&2, Stats, and Physics classes who didn’t.  They can decide if those are all considered equal  or not. [/quote]

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