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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

OP. Thanks PPs. very useful information/feedback.

To this specific post, let me say that confusion regarding one's DC's prospects arises for a few reasons (in combination): 1. Communication from school tends to be much more cautious/opaque than might be imagined. 2. The apparent randomness of outcomes is such that guidance counsellors cannot predict the upside, in particular, with confidence. 3. Schools almost never talk about relative standing except in the vaguest of terms. 4. There are clearly factors other than GPA/SAT that matter for outcomes and it is very hard to infer much by looking at outcomes for older students who have graduated.

All this is to say that I agree with the surprise/frustration expressed by the post. It is quite hard to raise any of these/related issues with the school.

Not sure how much this is a Big 3 problem as I don't know how this works at other schools in the area/elsewhere.

[/quote]

Part of the confusion is that COVID has changed thing in just a couple of years. The mitigation of standardized test scores, lessoning of AP's and grade inflation because of distance learning (not for Big3 but for other schools) has made the seas of "qualified" applicants that much larger. In the 1980's, schools today that are like 12-18% admissions rates, were in the 45-55% admission rate. So as there are more applicants with fewer distinctions, it is much harder for a college guidance counselor to really say much beyond what is a reach+ what is a reach, what is a target and what is a safety. And even then, with the sands shifting, they don't really know.

In terms of "standing" - they are focused on your kid. They are not going to tell you that your kid is 10th or 80th in the class. The package your kid presents to a college will vary from every other kid, so that is what you need to be focused on. Other kids may have an instrument or a sport that is desired by that college. Your kid may have an outside job that shows something that other kids don't have. One of your parent peers may be a 7 figure donor to a school and you don't know about it. Really, just focus on your kid, help them put their best foot forward and the rest is noise.[/quote]

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