Until every one goes back to requiring standardized tests, GPA matters. Private/public are viewed the same. So make sure your kid has baseline gpa for wherever they want to go.

Focus on one ec and try to get national recognition and leadership in that.

Unless they want to be a college athlete, any team is ok. Don’t focus on that unless that is the direction they are going.

CollegeVine is your friend. Chancing engine there very accurate IMO.

Also agree with PP’s that I would have focused more on grades and gotten tutors for my DD earlier wherever there were B’s. I didn’t insist on a tutor for the first time until her geometry grade started slipping to a C during 3rd quarter when her teacher went on maternity leave. DD was never good at standardized tests, and ended up test optional so GPA is THE stat.

I wish I would have known four years ago how disruptive and frustrating the test blind / test optional wave would become in the college admissions process. I'm happy to see that the pendulum is starting to correct this madness.

I also wish I had known how to consider acceptance rates by major in the application process, and ultimately how to guide an authentic kid to "play the game" like a pro.

But most of all, I wish I had known sooner not to listen to the naysayers who try to convince everyone that having a transcript littered with a fair amount of B grades takes the Top 20 off the table. They are wrong. Don't listen to them.

This is rare for DCUM but coming from an international school, if the college paid a visit by sending the international admissions rep during the school year, even selective ones, results were positive. They were vested in recruiting kids from the school. If a college didn’t send a rep, and hadn’t in the past few years or ever, we were hosed. We literally should have just made our list from the college visit listing.

would have done a lot less. worried less. let the kids fail more. let them do a super wide range of things and forget the "story".

getting into a school like Ohio didn't require so much drama. we could have enjoyed HS more

I would stop worrying so much about my kid's "stats" and instead support them in environments that truly make them develop their own unique personalities and true passions/interests.

There are a gazillion kids with the perfect stats. There are fewer with genuine personalities.

Anonymous wrote:That the word “flagship” would one day make me want to stick knives in my eyeballs.

Also “my high stats kid” and “yield protection”.

I wish I knew that some schools require you to apply early action or early decision if you want to be considered for a merit scholarship. We missed out on several merit awards this way and it's incredibly frustrating.

That the word “flagship” would one day make me want to stick knives in my eyeballs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we had pushed harder on grades from day 1. Not in a crazy “you can’t have a life” kind of way. But, I was judging grades as they were regarded in my day. And I also thought people still cared about an upward trend. Nothing matters but gpa anymore.

Sorry but what year did colleges especially select ones ever care about an upward trend? Like, where was that ever listed in admissions web sites as a consideration? It sounds more like DCUM fable repeated to make moms of underperforming kids feel better about chances.

From the UVA Admission Blog:
2. GPAs don't show trends.
Trends are important in the admission process. Most people know that admission officers want to see strong coursework and good grades on transcripts. That doesn't mean we are only admitting students consistent records. Lots of students have rough patches during high school. If a student has a stumble or a slow start, grade-wise, we want to see a rebound or an upward trend. The transcript will tell us that story. The GPA can't.
https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2021/02/we-have-to-talk-about-gpas-again.html

I did a quick search for "upward trend" and found this post above and many others going back to 2007. That being said, I don't feel like it's necessarily true for the competitive colleges even if they say they care about it. I just think it's too competitive now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t apply to a popular major. Pick a rather obscure major. Like tell them you want to major in philosophy rather than poli sci.

Yes

Or classics.

Classics/linguistics/philosophy/English

With ECs and essays and recs to match

The school with a 15+ to 20% admit rate is where you should ED.

Aim for #20-35 for ED if a top stats candidate

Anonymous wrote:I wish we had pushed harder on grades from day 1. Not in a crazy “you can’t have a life” kind of way. But, I was judging grades as they were regarded in my day. And I also thought people still cared about an upward trend. Nothing matters but gpa anymore.

I agree with this for our top in-state schools: UVA, W&M, and VT. There was a pretty clear GPA line in Naviance, especially for UVA. Covid didn't matter. An upward trajectory didn't matter. A decent SAT didn't matter. For our next student, we are definitely pushing grades a little harder.

The good news is that there are still many great schools out there that are more flexible and holistic.

Be ok no matter where your kid ends up. It will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:Your reaches are actually improbable
Your likely list is your reach
Your safety schools are actually likely but definitely not safety

Your setting your kid up to be disappointed

Sadly true.