Reply to Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For colleges that reject 9 out of 10 applicants and admit 30%+ ALDCs, what do you think?[/quote]

The question is more about if it's actually possible more than the pure difficulty. Yes, the difficulty is there and publicly known: last year Harvard admitted 4% of applicants, while Princeton and Duke admitted 6% of applicants. However, in the past I've seen unhooked kids get into all three. So it seems possible but not sure with the current landscape of admissions, with test optional and application volumes increasing.[/quote]

Wow Harvard Princeton and Duke are brutal, they’re basically accepting 1 in every 20 kids.[/quote]
It is far less than that if you are in an unhooked bucket from a highly-educated urban area: subtract athletes, big donors/VIPs/legacies, first gen/low-income, faculty/staff kids, and kids from geographically underrepresented areas. If you are not an academic superstar with national awards, it is a wasted application. Do not assume the chance is even 1% at an SCEA school (Duke ED might be as high as 5%).[/quote]

I think you're half-right. Yes, it's difficult, but not 1-5% difficult. For example, a profile of an unhooked kid accepted to Duke this past ED cycle that was previously posted here, and I think this is even a stronger profile than a lot of admitted kids at top schools:

"[b]Accepted[/b]

[b]Demographics[/b]: White Male, Upper Class, Top Private Boarding School in Northeast (Feeds into Ivies, Stanford, Duke)

[b]Areas of Interest[/b]: Math/Stats/Classical Studies

[b]GPA[/b]: We have a different scale but it translates to ~3.95/4.0 UW, top 5% of class

[b]SAT[/b]: 1590 (800 Math)

[b]Coursework[/b]: Most rigorous (goes beyond scope of AP/IB), 5s on the AP exams I took

[b]ECs[/b]:

1. School Based Non-Profit Co-Founder
2. Math Team Co-Head
3. President of Investment Club
4. Varsity Squash Captain
5. Varsity Soccer
6. Hedge Fund Paid Summer Intern
7. Student Council
8. Peer Tutor
9. Classics Club

[b]Awards[/b]:

1. AIME Qualifier/Multiple AMC Awards/Local Math Competition Awards
2. Early Cum Laude Inductee/Various School Academic Honors
3. Multiple Coaches’ Awards for Athletics
4. Multiple School Awards for Non-Profit
5. NMSF/AP Scholar with Distinction

[b]LORs[/b]: Math Teacher should be very strong, Classics Teacher should also be strong, Counselor should be above average.

[b]Essays[/b]: Common App wasn’t very groundbreaking but I was told it’s well written. Why Duke was authentic and I tried to avoid cliche topics. For optional essays I chose Questioning Beliefs and Best Academic Experience. I thought Questioning Beliefs was okay, and Best Academic Experience was my strongest along with Why Duke.

Very glad the process is over, and even more excited to spend the next four years at Duke. I almost applied to Yale early but the more I learned about Duke, the more I realized it was my top choice. Good luck to everyone else!”

However I can’t say this student didn’t deserve to get in either, the academics seem top notch for him too. Bottom line, the applicant pool was likely very competitive this year for early decision, with lots of top students showing they really want to go to Duke. Unfortunately not much else you can do but wait OP."[/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