Reply to If your kid was a top student and didn’t get into a top college

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "If your kid was a top student and didn’t get into a top college "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My white male perfect student got into 4 safeties and rejected/WL at 14 others for CS. It was insane. Saying he was a white male was application suicide.[/quote]

What is your definition of "perfect?"  Did he have skills, experiences and perspectives that added or made him stand out to the places he applied?  Were his essays excellent? Did he submit supplements? Did he tailor supplemental essays to specifics of the universities? Did he demonstrate interest? Did he have regional,  state and national (not AP Scholar) awards? Did he highlight honors and ECs well? Did he demonstrate leadership? That's what it takes. My kid did all that. She revised her essay and honors/ECs when early admissions didn't pan out. She kept workjng to earn more awards and dud. She also found much to love about her safeties should top schools not pan out. There are just not enough spaces for high achieving kids. What you think is perfect may not be enough or what the college is looking for. I really hope he finds things to love about his school. As a high achiever,  he will do well wherever he goes.[/quote]

Yes, he did all of that. National recognition, industry recognition for research, captain of school teams, wrote/published commercial software, top 1% of his class, played high school sport, multiple awards.  His essays were read by a group of AOs visiting his school and he was told they were "exceptional". So, yes, an incredibly dynamic kid and I have no doubt he will be a huge success nor does anyone that knows him. But everyone is stunned at the schools he got rejected/WL from. He was perplexed but moved on quickly and had committed himself emotionally to the safety where I have no doubt he will shine. But for everyone who thinks that there was just something lacking that would make him too flat or one dimensional for a college that could explain the results- anyone who was involved in his process doesn't see it. What we do see is very few of his demographic profile getting into this program when objectively and subjectively he is a top candidate.  He is not the only one - there is a profile of super dimensional top kids not getting in and its where they are white/asian and unhooked. Either you go to a top prep school, you are child of faculty or you are recruited for athletics or you are URM or you are not getting in, no matter how big your impact has been.  [/quote]

PP here. I am very sorry your kid did not get the admits but glad he is getting more enthusiastic about his school. FWIW, mine fits that profile and did get into 3 T10. Many other white/Asian friends too. Not legacy or URM or sport recruit or any of that. Really worked those supplements and had a variety of awards tha[b]t helped her stand ou[/b]t. Recommendations are also a factor, and who knows about that. It is certainly a bummer for your kid, no doubt, and I'm sure he would thrive at a top school, but everyone in this profile isn't getting this result.[/quote]

DP here. PP, being a female is a hook.

Usually it is the Asian-American males who are unhooked that are not getting accepted in many Ivy schools.  But, a great benefit of this is that schools like UMD are attracting tippy top Asian-American kids and are now ranked very high in STEM majors.  My kid's safety was UMD. He  got into 2 T-10 schools for CS, and realized that their program was not giving him any edge over  UMD CS honors program for the additional $200K we would spend. He is getting an UMD CS education for practically zero cost.

People bought into the concept that the top college was  providing a "leg-up" to students and that made it prestigious and worthwhile.  However, now people have realized that most of these admissions is not based on merit, and the leg-up does not happen for Asian-American males.

What remains important for most high performing Asian-Americans is getting a great education in in-demand STEM majors, getting internship and research opportunities and making the professional networks and connections to get a job out of college. Then there are other tangible leg-up of not having student debt, getting merit $$$ (especially for UMC kids with 100% EFC) and having savings in the bank as you get launched. 
The current job market is providing a lot of opportunities for the top students regardless of which college they go to.  In some ways, the racist gatekeeping that the top colleges did with Asian-American males has resulted in a boost to the state colleges and made them more prestigious.

I hope that the top colleges continue to reject the top Asian-American students so that the state schools continue to get the strongest candidates.  
[/quote]

The admissions are based on merit. Just not the merit you want. You don't decide what is merit. Why should SAT score merit trump the merit of another skill noted by a national award or the merit of entrepreneurship or ingenuity? There are many types of merit. Perhaps you could snub your nose at legacy or athletic recruits, but those kids are all highly qualified too.  There are just not enough places at these schools for kids who want to go. And, it's not like they are excluding Asian kids -- they have a significant percentage of Asian students per class.[/quote]
oh please... what "skill" does a legacy or a person with a very wealthy parent have?  These kids have the privilege and wealth to develope "skills" and have great e.c. that the vast majority of kids do not.[/quote]

You didn't actually read what I wrote. [/quote]
I did. You think "merit" isn't about test scores, but other achievements, which can be bought and paid for.   And legacies were also bought. Don't kid yourself.

If you think we shouldn't look at test scores because it can be bought by prepping, then how is looking at other achievements which can also be bought a better way to guage "merit"?

First gen and low income students can't buy those things, so colleges lower the bar for them.

MC/UMC families can't afford the same types of experiences, lessons, whatnot that very wealthy families can. And these MC families don't have the legacy hook.

The only these kids have is their hard work and smarts, but clearly, that's not enough for you.  They are too rich to have the low income hook, but too poor to buy legacy status, or have interesting/different achievements, like be an award winning equistrian, or whatever.[/quote]

Well, your first sentence shows you didn't comprehend it. You are claiming things I did not say, and rambling on with a host of topics to consttuct this victim/hero narrative.  If you can't see that,  it will always be a problem. [/quote]
Your attempt to make legacies appear to have "merit" was obvious.  And their "merit" was largely bought. That's the point.

But, my point still stands:

First gen and low income students can't buy those things, so colleges lower the bar for them.

MC/UMC families can't afford the same types of experiences, lessons, whatnot that very wealthy families can. And these MC families don't have the legacy hook.

The only these kids have is their hard work and smarts, but clearly, that's not enough for you.  You think the rich legacy kids have more "merit".    They are too rich to have the low income hook, but too poor to buy legacy status, or have interesting/different achievements, like be an award winning equistrian, or whatever.

The problem is that some people, like you, actually think that legacy wealthy kids have more "merit" than regular MC kids[/quote]

All of this is wrong. Firstly, I never equate legacy with merit. That is a lack pf comprehension on your part.
Secondly, the Asian MC parents I know have spent way more n=money than I have on enrichment -- A++, Dr. Li, CTY ring a bell. My kid's friend's family won't pay for a $65n prom ticket but paid for tons of test prep geared to getting into the STEM magnet. Enrichment is privilege even if the family sacrifices for it (& I know many they do).
Thirdly, open your thick skull and see that I and others are trying to help your kid(s)! They only have their hard work and smarts (& enrichment, let's be honest here). What they still need is a means to stand out from the many other kids (of all ethnicities, including *gasp* legacies) who do the same. Newsflash: there are MANY kids of many races/ethnicities who have "hard work" and "smarts." Those alone are not enough. Different and interesting do not equate to rich. We are not rich. My kid is getting significant FA to go to an Ivy and was accepted to several. It is why we can afford to let her go rather than got to UMD. She does not have moneyed ECs.

But, again, make yourself the victim. And.of course the hero. That seems to be the only narrative you will accept even though it is fictional.
 
Also, you contradicted yourself on the financial end. [b]Didn't you just tell us that all Asian parents are excellent financial planners who can afford anything?[/b] And than all the tippy top students are going to UMD, so affordability isn't even an issue?

Please leave the drama to the professionals, and take some of the good advice you are getting and use it![/quote]
LOL.. where in my post did I state this?  Are you delusional? There are several different people posting on here.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics