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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a senior who has good options, but not their first or second (or third or fourth) choice. They check every box you can think of in the stats and extracurriculars departments, though no hooks, and they're seeing their unhooked friends with great stats have very mixed results, too. As a result, my own child has concluded that rather than lament all the waitlists and rejections (at this point there are so many waitlists for everyone they know) they're instead grateful they worked their tail off, because they wouldn't even have the option they do have were it not for those stats. There are a lot of kids this year who expected to get into top five schools (and still may if they were deferred) but had meh results at the top 25 schools and so aren't holding their breath for Ivy Day. I'm talking super tippy top students who expected a shot at Harvard and got rejected from Tufts and Emory and Colgate and waitlisted at a bunch in that category too. The state schools seem to be more predictable when it comes to stats. Our plan is to visit the school our child got into, which covid has prevented doing so far, and hope that gets them even more excited. They already are happy, but it's taken the length of the process to fully appreciate how lucky are to have even one solid fifth-choice option. I've been through this process with my older kids, and trust me, this year is different. If next year is anything at all like this one, I'd recommend choosing an ED1 school that doesn't have ED2, then applying ED2 if that doesn't work out, sending off apps to a number of state schools with rolling admissions, and making sure to hype even the safeties on your child's list. If I were to change anything about how my child handled admissions, it would be to visit the so called safeties along with the reaches that excited them in the abstract. [/quote]

This is great advice in any year. Saw this happen last year too. Without a hook, great stats and great ECs are no guarantee to get into the top 25. It also starts to feel a little like a personality contest which can be very demoralizing 
So apply to a few state schools (many are stats driven and have good honors colleges). Never talk down a school that could be a great fit just cos it’s ranked out of the top 30 or top 40. Rolling admission is a great idea.  It took so much pressure off ds last year to know he got in somewhere. It made the Spring less stressful.  
One of the most important things to do as a parent is to make sure your child is applying to a variety of schools. This is especially important for a high stats kid because every school appears to be within grasp. So suggest lower ranked schools that have great programs or have a learning environment that would suit your child and get them excited about these schools. [/quote]

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