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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications  :( [/quote]

What were your kid's AP scores? What HS and what is the unweighted GPA.[/quote]

I feel like the entire college process can be a crap shoot. I’ve heard of one high stats kid who didn’t fill out the application correctly and got denied for that reason. But every year there are highly qualified kids who for some reason aren’t accepted. [/quote]

I’m a scientist. I’d want to see national standardized test scores to better compare kids, especially the ones with strong gpas and advanced courses. Otherwise who knows what grade inflation and easy teaching went on. I’m want know they can hack it in exam conditions too, given MCPS did away with finals.

See what I mean? Test optional isn’t really test optional when you’re competing for limited seats.[/quote]

I'm an engineer. I believe that plenty of significant and noteworthy observations are not numerically quantifiable.[/quote]

Obviously. But when two applicants fight for one seat and they have the same gpa, courses and extras, the one who submits scores to prove content mastery will win. The lesson here is that you’ve got to at least prep and attempt the tests, and submit if they’re in line with the top quartile. [/quote]

Your comment is a gross oversimplification. Even if two students have the same GPA and same test score, you can’t say they have the same essays, extracurriculars, experiences, home life, etc. Nothing about college admissions is fair on 2023, but to say that standardized testing should be the deciding factor would require admissions counselors to literally ignore everything else. Why bother writing a zillion essays or volunteering if test scores are all that matter? Should a wealthy student that spent thousands prepping for standardized tests get the seat over a musician or athlete that spent thousands pursuing their passions?

I say this as someone who has a PhD but went on the mommy-track and now and earns less than half of people that I know that were less successful in school than I was...Once you get admitted to college (or grad school), no one cares how intrinsically smart you are. The intangibles are what lead to success, like whether you produce quality work, how you treat people, whether you work hard, and sometimes luck.[/quote]

I'm sure that's not what you meant to write, but you seem to imply that high test scores are a marker of intelligence. Colleges don't use them for that. They use them to check that students didn't just get good grades through grade inflation, and didn't just sail through supposedly difficult coursework thanks to lenient teachers. (As an aside, this is the Achilles' heel of dual enrollment and the reason why AP courses + AP exams will always be more highly regarded than DE: there is no way to verify content mastery if students take DE or AP courses without reporting the score, because there is no final exam at the end.)

I did not say standardized test scores were the deciding factor in every case. But you're willfully blind if you think that out of thousands of applications, dozens at least won't be functionally identical. In those cases, test scores can make the difference. Just like in cases where both profiles are identical except for essays, the essays will be the deciding factor. College admissions people look for the distinguishing factors to have the cream rise to the top.

My point is that you can't leave any stone unturned as a candidate. You can't say: "I have everything I need except for X" and then complain you didn't get in. The X might be not customizing the personal statement, something students forget they can do in the Common App. Or X might be deciding not to prep and take the SAT. Or X might be a lack of extra-curriculars. Or X might be not taking enough advanced courses when their school offers a ton. Most students' applications will have an X, and then it becomes a game to apply to schools that will be OK with that, and apply to schools that won't be OK with it but for them, to either hide the X, or explain it, or distract with a whiz-bang achievement elsewhere - or all three. That's where strategy comes into play. If you have a weakness, you can perhaps parlay it into an interesting essay that pivots onto a strength.

Ultimately, I think college admissions are very challenging for 17 year olds because most of them don't have the maturity to be Machiavelli and strategize in this way. They just present their stuff. It's the parents' job to guide their kid to a more thoughtful application. [/quote]

+1. This. And even if you don’t want to hear it, TO works best for URM and first-generations[/quote]

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