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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My DS applied SCEA to an Ivy and was rejected, also got deferred from Georgia Tech, but accepted in UMD Honors. He is devastated, very high stats student from magnet school, perfect SAT, AP's with 5's, high level ECA's[/quote]

These stories make me crazy- I mean who does get in?!  In some ways our process has been easier as an average student with mediocre grades, no APs and decent, but not great test scores (3.3 and 30 ACT)

He’s into 8/10 schools and waiting to hear from 2 more.  He wanted big state flagship type schools so that’s where he applied.

I really do feel for these super achievers, all of whom I know will end up in great places but it’s hard getting rejections when you’ve worked so hard.  [/quote]

I posted something along these lines on another thread snd got some negative feedback, I’m not sure my point was understood. It’s such a crapshoot that the kids with amazing stats end up needing to seriously consider and maybe attend schools they could have gotten into with much more middling stats. These are generally perfectly good schools. This calls into question the whole achievement culture. Why take 12 APs if the benefit in the admissions process is so hard to gauge? I’m really just offering this as food for thought. I have a sophomore so I’m just learning, but the system seems really unfortunate and creates so much unnecessary stress. [/quote]

You are 100% correct. Teens' mental health is suffering because they are pursuing schools based SO heavily on USNWR rankings.

Elite high schools fuel this (both the parents and the peers). Try your best to see this process as a search for schools that would serve your child well, in terms of education and fit. I recommend the Colleges that Change Lives traveling panel (though perhaps now their talk is virtual). It is NOT primarily a marketing scam (despite the rants of one crazy troll on here). My daughter and I attended when she was a junior and it contained SO much healthy advice (like don''t compare lists of schools with your friends, how not to make the search a stressful topic within the family, etc)

Take what you read on here with a grain of salt. Help your child come up with a list of schools that is balanced, in terms of selectivity. Share great things you hear about a wide range of schools. Don't make them believe that a B or average standardized test scores will set them up for a failed life. Really, help them out because the forces around here are NOT healthy.[/quote]

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