And thank you for the context about the honors colleges. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for.

Thank you so much for these thoughtful and kind replies. Sorry - I wasn't trying to be vague, more just trying to preserve anonymity. She has many ECs but the standout, we believe, is the work she's done in academia. She worked with a Princeton professor and has a letter of recommendation from him. I don't know about the essays? They seem good to me but who knows. She's also published with some separate work she's done. Interestingly, I believe the comment that "your grades are the least interesting thing about you" applies to her and I would have said that before because she got them with little effort and I understand that "everyone" has those stats at the highest levels. Also, I have another child and the stats and ECs are not the same. I don't want to come across as entitled or like I think my kids are all special or unique. I was just looking for more information and I could never have this conversation with local peers without sounding like a brag. Trust me, the two deferrals in our environment of acceptances have me properly aware of our situation.

IMHO it comes down to those great and relevant ECs you reference and how good a job your student did tying herself to a unique aspect of the major applied for. Also, what do you expect the LORs to look like?

I had a top stats student with solid well rounded ECs and I suspect good not amazing LORs 3 years ago. Got into a good number of strong schools and honors colleges but not the top 10-25 level where she was at top 25 % of the school’s stats.

This year I have a top stats student that got into one of the schools you listed ED and I suspect she would have gotten into probably every other school she planned to apply to except possibly Yale and Stanford, but those were possible.

The difference: unique and deep ECs that aligned with the story re what she wanted to study. A unique national award that showed a solidly unusual level of creativity. And LOR where her teachers were likely saying she was one in a million. Oh, and how she worked on her essays. It was painful to watch but they were original, thoughtful and specific to how she was bringing a unique perspective to what she would be studying.

Both great smart kids, the older one is a naturally stronger student but she is shy and keeps her thoughtfulness closely held. The second wears her heart on her sleeve and makes everyone around her laugh constantly.

The second also learned from watching her sister struggle in this process and used that as motivation to go above and beyond.

The older one, by the way, is doing great in college, there are so many great schools, not just 25.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the test for me:

When your kid's stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're most likely solid T10-20 territory.

That is, the resume needs to be as strong as the grades/rigor/test scores.

Otherwise, without a hook or other slam-dunk institutional priority, you're in very reachy territory (yes, even with great essays.)

Good luck!

Sorry -- when your kid's high stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're much more like to be in Ivy territory.

This. OP fails to give any EC details and nothing is said about awards.

MIT defers everyone so it doesn't tell anything.

Michigan deferral is a likely convert so just wait it out.
CMU leans admit/or waitlist.
Hopkins RD gets difficult. Most likely waitlist.
Cornell Engineering (a large program) leans admit.

Anonymous wrote:Here's the test for me:

When your kid's stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're most likely solid T10-20 territory.

That is, the resume needs to be as strong as the grades/rigor/test scores.

Otherwise, without a hook or other slam-dunk institutional priority, you're in very reachy territory (yes, even with great essays.)

Good luck!

Great advice. Agree and it held true in our experience

I think honors at UMD indicates she is a very strong student. I would be optimistic, but it depends on the schools you’re waiting for.

Anonymous wrote:Here's the test for me:

When your kid's stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're most likely solid T10-20 territory.

That is, the resume needs to be as strong as the grades/rigor/test scores.

Otherwise, without a hook or other slam-dunk institutional priority, you're in very reachy territory (yes, even with great essays.)

Good luck!

Sorry -- when your kid's high stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're much more like to be in Ivy territory.

Here's the test for me:

When your kid's stats are not among their most impressive accomplishments, you're most likely solid T10-20 territory.

That is, the resume needs to be as strong as the grades/rigor/test scores.

Otherwise, without a hook or other slam-dunk institutional priority, you're in very reachy territory (yes, even with great essays.)

Good luck!

Agree with the others. Honors at Umass and UMD don't tell us much. Your kid could be an Ivy superstar or an ok smart kid.

My daughter last year got into Honors Carolina (UNC CH), Georgia honors, Pitt honors, Clemson honors, Vermont honors---all with a lot of merit money---and then was shut out of top20 in RD except for one Ivy off the WL. She had a very strong app (perfect stats) but wasn't quite Ivy material on the extracurricular side of things.

Anonymous wrote:DD got into the honors program (with merit) at UMass and honors program at UMD. Deferred MI, deferred MIT (this is why there's no ED). Do the honors program acceptances indicate top tier schools in March? I realize you're not fortune tellers but I was hoping if you've seen honors acceptances EA you might have seen what happens next. Major is STEM. Great and relevant ecs. 1590 SAT. 4.0 unweighted and no ranking in the school. This wait is hard. CMU, Northwestern, Hopkins and a variety of ivies plus the deferrals are what we're waiting on.

Honors college is just a stats thing. And your description of DD's application leaves much to be desired in terms of predictions.

UMass and UMD with merit and/or honors is too low-ranking to have predictive power for any top 10. UMich or CMU may have a chance. But you also haven’t told us your ECs in more concrete terms.

Honors program acceptances just confirm that your DC has amazing stats, which is a dime a dozen and a pre-rec for elite school admits. All honors colleges look for is stats, to be honest with you. I can see Michigan converting in RD, but definitely not MIT. MIT EA defer slots in RD are reserved for athletes and world-class students who they might need 1-5 more of after reviewing RD applications. CMU is possible, Northwestern doesn't fit your child one bit. Hopkins maybe but STEM there is crazy competitive. Princeton could work if low income / first gen / URM, maybe Cornell. The other ivies will be random.

Anonymous wrote:DD got into the honors program (with merit) at UMass and honors program at UMD. Deferred MI, deferred MIT (this is why there's no ED). Do the honors program acceptances indicate top tier schools in March? I realize you're not fortune tellers but I was hoping if you've seen honors acceptances EA you might have seen what happens next. Major is STEM. Great and relevant ecs. 1590 SAT. 4.0 unweighted and no ranking in the school. This wait is hard. CMU, Northwestern, Hopkins and a variety of ivies plus the deferrals are what we're waiting on.

I don't see NU unless VERY interdisciplinary (not just STEM - but add music, 2-3 other majors etc)....
I can't say for CMU or JHU.

Sounds like Cornell to me. Not Yale at all.

DD got into the honors program (with merit) at UMass and honors program at UMD. Deferred MI, deferred MIT (this is why there's no ED). Do the honors program acceptances indicate top tier schools in March? I realize you're not fortune tellers but I was hoping if you've seen honors acceptances EA you might have seen what happens next. Major is STEM. Great and relevant ecs. 1590 SAT. 4.0 unweighted and no ranking in the school. This wait is hard. CMU, Northwestern, Hopkins and a variety of ivies plus the deferrals are what we're waiting on.