Reply to No, test optional isn’t the reason your kid didn’t get in.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Read this 2019 article from the NYT? Sound familiar?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/magazine/almost-all-the-colleges-i-wanted-to-go-to-rejected-me-now-what.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR33p-Nhl1mO5BSmjk461YIxU1iqqvLZ5moObJWGaE2-iV7bm-csPn0xEFU&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Kids have been getting rejected from Uber-competitor schools for a very long time. This was pre-COVID, pre-TO.

I realize there is an impulse to look for something to blame if your kid is rejected from their dream school or most of their targets. But it’s important to remember that your kid is the common denominator (especially with multiple rejections). There is obviously something deficient in the application for the kinds of schools targeted — maybe the essay is bad, maybe you didn’t take enough foreign language, maybe the ECs are spread too thin and don’t demonstrate passion and commitment over time?

What impressed me about the letter writer in the article was he seems to recognizes that instead of casting blame on others. At least there’s some acknowledgment he’s dealing with a bruised ego. That said, his attitude about the schools he did get into leaves a lot to be desired.

I feel bad for kids who faced a lot of rejection this year. But telling them it’s because test optional let lesser kids sneak in and steal their birthright admission isn’t helping them deal with reality. Learn to make the best of the opportunities you ARE given.[/quote]

Well, these sermons about learning to deal with the harsh realities of college admissions is of little help to students who spent years of high school chasing an unattainable goal. Not because they didn't study enough or didn't give their best to their community, their extracurriculars and their internships but because they are from unwanted financial class, race, geography or whatever.

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That is your fault as a parent if you made them think T25 is an "attainable goal" for anyone.  They have always been a reach for everyone, save a well hooked student (think parent is a celebrity or presidents or bill gates, etc).  
A well raised kid will grow up knowing you work hard in school to learn, do well and aim high, but also know their life is not over if they only get into school ranked #32.

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Amen! So many entitled people on this thread. [/quote]

This is the dumbest s**t, I have ever heard. You wouldn't dare say this to an URM or woman trying to get a coveted spot anywhere and coming up short and then venting. Everybody has the right to expect that if they work hard and play by the rules, they will get their reward in a country that is fair. Instead the universities play by twisted rules that are never made transparent and jerk people along. People are not entitled for expecting fair treatment, the Universities are evil for not being transparent about their admission policies.

Why don't HYPMS, make all their committee decisions and scores public after redacting personally identifying information. Why don't they release application and admit rates by race, score, GPA, legacy status etc every year so that people can clearly see what their real chances are.

Don't you dare call people entitled. If admissions were fair, everybody would know their chances very well as the would be enough data to make a very good guess. Instead these universities exploit applicants. They are the evil side here. Blame them [/quote]

It is fair---however there are more "qualified" students than spaces in the T25 schools.  And yes, your kid with a 1580/3.9UW is not really that much different than a 1500/3.85UW student.  There in lies the issue  you have---you think the test and gpa is the be all end all.  It's not.  1500 is 98%, 1580 is 99%+.  Statistically there is no real difference.  You are upset your kid isn't getting into a school with single digit acceptance rates where 95% of the kids are qualified.  Look at Harvard CDS from 2019.  83% of verbal and 90% of Math scores were over 700.  The 25% overall was 1460 and 75% was 1570.  So they are taking kids with 96%+ largely.  Statistically the same---the differences are miniscule in the grand scheme.  93% had a 3.75+UW gpa.  Once again, all really smart kids considering they are using UW and that includes kids from elite private schools where a 3.5 is often very good, plus even in public schools a kid taking 12 APs might get a few Bs in those Ap courses (but good they are taking the rigor).   So show me why Harvard is taking kids who are not qualified?

Nowhere is it written that you are entitled to a T25 education if you get a 4.0 UW and 1580+  If you have been telling your kids this you are doing them a disservice.  They are taking very smart kids---just using a bit more than test scores to determine their definition of "smart".  Harvard does not take kids they think will NOT survive at Harvard.  You just think your kid is better than a first gen kid from rural America who only has a 3.8 UW gpa but has worked thru many other obstacles to get to where they are vs your kid who has had evertyingn handed to them on a silver platter.   In reality, that kid might actually be smarter than yours.  Either way, Harvard wants them as part of their class and not your kid.  They are turning away many highly qualified students---most of whom have the abilties to go on and do great things in life if they aren't hindered by the entitlement that they deserve Harvard and didn't get it.

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