Anonymous wrote:Actually if you want to see how unhooked kids are doing, you can check MIT admissions. MIT doesn’t consider legacy. You can see some schools have 0 MIT result.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Original point of thread was Instagram though (we did historic data from schools because we all though Instagram was skewed/biased), so this is back to the 2026 Instagram Data - added the USN26+LAC10 because everyone wants more schools.

Definitions:
Ivy+ = Ivy League + Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vanderbilt
WASP = Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona
Ivy+WASP = Ivy+ + WASP
HYPSM = Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT
USN26+LAC10 = U.S. News National Universities rank-through-#26 + U.S. News Liberal Arts Colleges rank-through-#10, including ties

School (N): Ivy+WASP; HYPSM; USN26+LAC10 | Instagram source

70+%
Brearley (52): 71%; 27%; 83% | @brearley26collegedecisions

60-70%
Spence (64): 64%; 19%; 83% | @spence26niors
Chapin (52): 62%; 12%; 79% | @chapin26decisions

50-60%
Dalton (63): 59%; 22%; 71% | @daltondecisions2026

40-50%
Saint Ann's (73): 49%; 10%; 67% | @saintannsseniors2026
Horace Mann (131): 49%; 5%; 63% | @maroonlions26
Trinity (109): 48%; 12%; 69% | @trindecisions2026
Regis (80): 45%; 8%; 68% | @regisdecisions2026
Nightingale (57): 42%; 2%; 61% | @nbs2enior6
Riverdale (131): 41%; 8%; 65% | @riv26seniors

30-40%
Hunter (123): 39%; 10%; 59% | @hawkscommit2026
Browning (27): 37%; 7%; 59% | @browningdecisions26
Packer (92): 30%; 3%; 48% | @packerseniors26
Fieldston (141): 30%; 9%; 46% | @fieldstonseniors2026

20-30%
Friends Seminary (40): 28%; 5%; 50% | @Fsclassof2026
CGPS (119): 27%; 3%; 48% | @lionsseniors2026
Dwight-Englewood (126): 25%; 6%; 37% | @deseniors2026
Avenues (97): 23%; 4%; 36% | @avenues_seniors; current-class posts since 2025-12-01

10-20%
Berkeley Carroll (77): 18%; 0%; 43% | @bcsseniors2026
Poly Prep (123): 18%; 2%; 38% | @polyprep26
Trevor (88): 18%; 1%; 31% | @trevor2eni6rs
Grace Church (80): 18%; 1%; 30% | @grace2026colleges
Sacred Heart (61): 16%; 3%; 30% | @csh2026decisions
Marymount (71): 11%; 1%; 31% | @mmt26collegewall
Brooklyn Friends (49): 10%; 0%; 14% | @bfsclassof26

This list realigns vibe (prestige) and reality. If the goal is an ivy, the last tier (10-20%) schools will disappoint the families. Go for the 30-40% tier to have a realistic chance.

A top kid will do well regardless. In fact, they are better able to stand out at some of the lower schools. My child is at a school at the bottom half of the list and well on their way to Ivy. And having a much happier high school experience. They are still working plenty hard with lots of smart friends, but nice not to be in a class where everyone is gunning for the same few schools. YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Original point of thread was Instagram though (we did historic data from schools because we all though Instagram was skewed/biased), so this is back to the 2026 Instagram Data - added the USN26+LAC10 because everyone wants more schools.

Definitions:
Ivy+ = Ivy League + Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vanderbilt
WASP = Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona
Ivy+WASP = Ivy+ + WASP
HYPSM = Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT
USN26+LAC10 = U.S. News National Universities rank-through-#26 + U.S. News Liberal Arts Colleges rank-through-#10, including ties

School (N): Ivy+WASP; HYPSM; USN26+LAC10 | Instagram source

70+%
Brearley (52): 71%; 27%; 83% | @brearley26collegedecisions

60-70%
Spence (64): 64%; 19%; 83% | @spence26niors
Chapin (52): 62%; 12%; 79% | @chapin26decisions

50-60%
Dalton (63): 59%; 22%; 71% | @daltondecisions2026

40-50%
Saint Ann's (73): 49%; 10%; 67% | @saintannsseniors2026
Horace Mann (131): 49%; 5%; 63% | @maroonlions26
Trinity (109): 48%; 12%; 69% | @trindecisions2026
Regis (80): 45%; 8%; 68% | @regisdecisions2026
Nightingale (57): 42%; 2%; 61% | @nbs2enior6
Riverdale (131): 41%; 8%; 65% | @riv26seniors

30-40%
Hunter (123): 39%; 10%; 59% | @hawkscommit2026
Browning (27): 37%; 7%; 59% | @browningdecisions26
Packer (92): 30%; 3%; 48% | @packerseniors26
Fieldston (141): 30%; 9%; 46% | @fieldstonseniors2026

20-30%
Friends Seminary (40): 28%; 5%; 50% | @Fsclassof2026
CGPS (119): 27%; 3%; 48% | @lionsseniors2026
Dwight-Englewood (126): 25%; 6%; 37% | @deseniors2026
Avenues (97): 23%; 4%; 36% | @avenues_seniors; current-class posts since 2025-12-01

10-20%
Berkeley Carroll (77): 18%; 0%; 43% | @bcsseniors2026
Poly Prep (123): 18%; 2%; 38% | @polyprep26
Trevor (88): 18%; 1%; 31% | @trevor2eni6rs
Grace Church (80): 18%; 1%; 30% | @grace2026colleges
Sacred Heart (61): 16%; 3%; 30% | @csh2026decisions
Marymount (71): 11%; 1%; 31% | @mmt26collegewall
Brooklyn Friends (49): 10%; 0%; 14% | @bfsclassof26

This list realigns vibe (prestige) and reality. If the goal is an ivy, the last tier (10-20%) schools will disappoint the families. Go for the 30-40% tier to have a realistic chance.

A top kid will do well regardless. In fact, they are better able to stand out at some of the lower schools. My child is at a school at the bottom half of the list and well on their way to Ivy. And having a much happier high school experience. They are still working plenty hard with lots of smart friends, but nice not to be in a class where everyone is gunning for the same few schools. YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to directly reply to anyone, former teacher here. I have taught at three independent schools in NYC throughout the years and have since retired. I don’t have much to say to be honest - I understand now more than ever where all of the agita some of my students exhibited came from. It’s not stemming from the rigor of the curriculums of the schools themselves, but from the parents in some cases demanding and in others expecting that their kid get into an Ivy League college just because of their high school credentials. Not a judgement, just an observation. My son and I suspect his wife wanted me to read this as my granddaughter will be enrolling in a nursery school soon. They live in upper Manhattan. Daughter in law wants my granddaughter to go to an all girls school eventually, which I support. I have taught at two different ones and one according to you all is exceedingly better than the other. The one that I will recommend to my son is the one where I enjoyed my experience as a faculty member more, because I thought my colleagues were “nicer” and so were my students. I want my granddaughter to be happy and if I live long enough to see her get into an Ivy League than great 😊. But it will not break me if she doesn’t and I hope my son and his wife think like I do. That’s all from me, talk amongst yourselves.

so you want your granddaughter to go to Nightingale over Brearley.

Anti B mom is going to love u.

Might even be her. She also doesn’t know how to quote people and reply.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to directly reply to anyone, former teacher here. I have taught at three independent schools in NYC throughout the years and have since retired. I don’t have much to say to be honest - I understand now more than ever where all of the agita some of my students exhibited came from. It’s not stemming from the rigor of the curriculums of the schools themselves, but from the parents in some cases demanding and in others expecting that their kid get into an Ivy League college just because of their high school credentials. Not a judgement, just an observation. My son and I suspect his wife wanted me to read this as my granddaughter will be enrolling in a nursery school soon. They live in upper Manhattan. Daughter in law wants my granddaughter to go to an all girls school eventually, which I support. I have taught at two different ones and one according to you all is exceedingly better than the other. The one that I will recommend to my son is the one where I enjoyed my experience as a faculty member more, because I thought my colleagues were “nicer” and so were my students. I want my granddaughter to be happy and if I live long enough to see her get into an Ivy League than great 😊. But it will not break me if she doesn’t and I hope my son and his wife think like I do. That’s all from me, talk amongst yourselves.

so you want your granddaughter to go to Nightingale over Brearley.

Anti B mom is going to love u.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to directly reply to anyone, former teacher here. I have taught at three independent schools in NYC throughout the years and have since retired. I don’t have much to say to be honest - I understand now more than ever where all of the agita some of my students exhibited came from. It’s not stemming from the rigor of the curriculums of the schools themselves, but from the parents in some cases demanding and in others expecting that their kid get into an Ivy League college just because of their high school credentials. Not a judgement, just an observation. My son and I suspect his wife wanted me to read this as my granddaughter will be enrolling in a nursery school soon. They live in upper Manhattan. Daughter in law wants my granddaughter to go to an all girls school eventually, which I support. I have taught at two different ones and one according to you all is exceedingly better than the other. The one that I will recommend to my son is the one where I enjoyed my experience as a faculty member more, because I thought my colleagues were “nicer” and so were my students. I want my granddaughter to be happy and if I live long enough to see her get into an Ivy League than great 😊. But it will not break me if she doesn’t and I hope my son and his wife think like I do. That’s all from me, talk amongst yourselves.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to directly reply to anyone, former teacher here. I have taught at three independent schools in NYC throughout the years and have since retired. I don’t have much to say to be honest - I understand now more than ever where all of the agita some of my students exhibited came from. It’s not stemming from the rigor of the curriculums of the schools themselves, but from the parents in some cases demanding and in others expecting that their kid get into an Ivy League college just because of their high school credentials. Not a judgement, just an observation. My son and I suspect his wife wanted me to read this as my granddaughter will be enrolling in a nursery school soon. They live in upper Manhattan. Daughter in law wants my granddaughter to go to an all girls school eventually, which I support. I have taught at two different ones and one according to you all is exceedingly better than the other. The one that I will recommend to my son is the one where I enjoyed my experience as a faculty member more, because I thought my colleagues were “nicer” and so were my students. I want my granddaughter to be happy and if I live long enough to see her get into an Ivy League than great 😊. But it will not break me if she doesn’t and I hope my son and his wife think like I do. That’s all from me, talk amongst yourselves.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to directly reply to anyone, former teacher here. I have taught at three independent schools in NYC throughout the years and have since retired. I don’t have much to say to be honest - I understand now more than ever where all of the agita some of my students exhibited came from. It’s not stemming from the rigor of the curriculums of the schools themselves, but from the parents in some cases demanding and in others expecting that their kid get into an Ivy League college just because of their high school credentials. Not a judgement, just an observation. My son and I suspect his wife wanted me to read this as my granddaughter will be enrolling in a nursery school soon. They live in upper Manhattan. Daughter in law wants my granddaughter to go to an all girls school eventually, which I support. I have taught at two different ones and one according to you all is exceedingly better than the other. The one that I will recommend to my son is the one where I enjoyed my experience as a faculty member more, because I thought my colleagues were “nicer” and so were my students. I want my granddaughter to be happy and if I live long enough to see her get into an Ivy League than great 😊. But it will not break me if she doesn’t and I hope my son and his wife think like I do. That’s all from me, talk amongst yourselves.

Anonymous wrote:It’s been very fun reading this thread as a fac member of three of these schools. No wonder (some) of my former students were so miserable, sheesh

Anonymous wrote:It’s been very fun reading this thread as a fac member of three of these schools. No wonder (some) of my former students were so miserable, sheesh

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Original point of thread was Instagram though (we did historic data from schools because we all though Instagram was skewed/biased), so this is back to the 2026 Instagram Data - added the USN26+LAC10 because everyone wants more schools.

Definitions:
Ivy+ = Ivy League + Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vanderbilt
WASP = Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona
Ivy+WASP = Ivy+ + WASP
HYPSM = Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT
USN26+LAC10 = U.S. News National Universities rank-through-#26 + U.S. News Liberal Arts Colleges rank-through-#10, including ties

School (N): Ivy+WASP; HYPSM; USN26+LAC10 | Instagram source

70+%
Brearley (52): 71%; 27%; 83% | @brearley26collegedecisions

60-70%
Spence (64): 64%; 19%; 83% | @spence26niors
Chapin (52): 62%; 12%; 79% | @chapin26decisions

50-60%
Dalton (63): 59%; 22%; 71% | @daltondecisions2026

40-50%
Saint Ann's (73): 49%; 10%; 67% | @saintannsseniors2026
Horace Mann (131): 49%; 5%; 63% | @maroonlions26
Trinity (109): 48%; 12%; 69% | @trindecisions2026
Regis (80): 45%; 8%; 68% | @regisdecisions2026
Nightingale (57): 42%; 2%; 61% | @nbs2enior6
Riverdale (131): 41%; 8%; 65% | @riv26seniors

30-40%
Hunter (123): 39%; 10%; 59% | @hawkscommit2026
Browning (27): 37%; 7%; 59% | @browningdecisions26
Packer (92): 30%; 3%; 48% | @packerseniors26
Fieldston (141): 30%; 9%; 46% | @fieldstonseniors2026

20-30%
Friends Seminary (40): 28%; 5%; 50% | @Fsclassof2026
CGPS (119): 27%; 3%; 48% | @lionsseniors2026
Dwight-Englewood (126): 25%; 6%; 37% | @deseniors2026
Avenues (97): 23%; 4%; 36% | @avenues_seniors; current-class posts since 2025-12-01

10-20%
Berkeley Carroll (77): 18%; 0%; 43% | @bcsseniors2026
Poly Prep (123): 18%; 2%; 38% | @polyprep26
Trevor (88): 18%; 1%; 31% | @trevor2eni6rs
Grace Church (80): 18%; 1%; 30% | @grace2026colleges
Sacred Heart (61): 16%; 3%; 30% | @csh2026decisions
Marymount (71): 11%; 1%; 31% | @mmt26collegewall
Brooklyn Friends (49): 10%; 0%; 14% | @bfsclassof26

This list realigns vibe (prestige) and reality. If the goal is an ivy, the last tier (10-20%) schools will disappoint the families. Go for the 30-40% tier to have a realistic chance.