Anonymous wrote:#1 - wouldn’t go for Williams/Amherst. Would focus on Middlebury/Colby/Ham/Wellesley/Wes level for both Ed 1 and 2. Not sure about Swat.

#2 - Would try for Ham/Well/Colby ED 1 and then Bates/Smith level ED 2

Swat's stats are usually better than Williams/Amherst, so that is unlikely. Pomona and CMC too. Wellesley would be great for both if you care a lot about USNWR rankings.

Anonymous wrote:Assume decent but not state or national-level ECs and unhooked but full-pay female from DMV public. Can go TO or not. Used MCPS weighting (+1 for honors and AP).

Applicant #1: 1450 SAT and 3.9/4.7 10 APs
Applicant #2: 1380 SAT and 3.9/4.5 8 APs

What tier of SLACs would you say these applicants fall into for a viable chance of ED acceptance at their reach? (Eg Hamilton/Wesleyan, Amherst/Williams, Bates/Kenyon, Smith/Bryn Mawr, Lafayette/F&M, Colby/Middlebury, whatever). These are made up but I think representative so please don’t tell them to prep to increase scores. Accept as is.

My thoughts (for the little they are worth) -

With no exceptional ECs or some very interesting, unique aspect to application, neither applicant is Amherst/Williams. Being female hurts chances even more. For #1 - Maybe Hamilton/Wesleyan or Middlebury/Colby but tough because no outstanding ECs that would make them stand out among students who will all have similar or higher stats. Again, being female hurts. From there I would think #1 has a good to excellent chance at the others.

For #2, no to Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Colby, a maybe for Bates, likely for Kenyon, Lafayette, etc.

Both are good candidates for Smith and Bryn Mawr because being female doesn't hurt their chances (obviously).

The CDS and Naviance/SCIOR will give you much more better information. Many family members went to several of these schools (many of them within the last 5-10 years and two currently attending - we've got more than half the NESCAC represented in my family). They may be different "tiers" but unless you are comparing Amherst/Williams to Lafayette/F&M (still very good schools), there isn't that much of a difference between many of these schools.

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DC had the stats of #1 with higher test scores pre pandemic and rejected from many of the schools you identify. And it has gotten harder since then.