Reply to Ivies vs. Top 20 schools (after listening to many a podcast on the subject)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You have to play the game these days to get into an Ivy. My daughter is at an Ivy now and very happy. Her goal through HS was to go to one specific Ivy but we are not legacy and have no hooks and she almost had a nervous breakdown trying to check all the boxes to be considered a strong applicant. Other kids at her school aiming for top schools were all the same. You need to game the process as much as possible. I know parents who helped their kids set up non-profits or who used their connections to get their kids fancy internships. I’m amazed how easily  admissions officers get impressed by all this crap. Parents involvement is pretty clear but the admissions folks clearly choose to look the other way. Also, the number of incredibly wealthy kids at my kid’s Ivy school is astounding to both of us. [/quote]

This is what gets me.  I guess these kids show that they can handle a busy schedule, but the “accomplishments” are so often clearly parent-generated. I think they’re missing a lot of brilliant kids who just haven’t chosen to play the “game.”

My experience with hiring recent Ivy grads is that they are smart and good at working the system, but are not even close to being the most intellectual & interesting young people I’ve worked with.

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I see plenty trying to game the system but mostly the real deal seems to get through.   And recruited athletes get through because for whatever reason, college sports are important here.   The athletes I know that got through are very good athletes.   I don't know what that has to do with academics but that ship has sailed.[/quote]

I guess it depends on what you think the “real deal” is.  This is hard to describe, but I’ll try — in the distant past, H/Y/P etc were the domain of NE prep school kids and we few ultra smart kids from public school (mainly in the NE). At that time, their cachet mostly devolved out of their connections to rich and powerful, whose kids they educated. Eventually they were under pressure to increase racial and geographic diversity, and that effort, along with the common app, made them seem accessible to everyone (with good stats) which led to a massive increase in applications. They dealt with that by sorting for the most “qualified” applicants academically, which led to kids becoming focused on checking a series of very specific boxes. I think the admissions folks saw that, and realized it wasn’t good, hence the more recent focus on kids with “passion” for *something*. I do see a few truly unique and brilliant kids get in, but “passion” has just become another box to check for many (usually with the help of Mom and Dad). I would cite examples, but they’re pretty specific and would probably out me and the kids. Honestly, I blame USNWR and that ilk, as the schools can’t really take too many of those really focused, quirky kids who may not have perfect SATs or grades in every subject and 15 APs, because they were really focusing on their “passion.” I’m not mad about this; it’s just the way it is, but I do see that many brilliant, interesting, intellectual kids aren’t even applying to the Ivies because they see who is applying and who gets in, and are just not interested. I’m sure the Ivies don’t care, as they are still being inundated with applications, and their USNWR rankings will still look good, but I wonder if some of the shine is going to come off, eventually, from an academic perspective? [/quote]

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