Anonymous
Post 06/16/2025 07:50     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
In NYC, the top privates are full of connected kids - top ranked athletes for certain sports the Ivies love, and big finance donors, plus Prep for Prep. So it is definitely not apples to apples. HYP slots would at least be half filled with these hooked kids. MIT and Chicago slots not so much. People are conflating HYP with "top academics". Brearley, HM, and so on are special cases because of the large percentage of hooked kids, which helps with admissions.
Anonymous
Post 06/13/2025 09:31     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
This thread answers your questions - did you not see it?

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1255948.page
Anonymous
Post 06/13/2025 09:29     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Europe. They go to Europe.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 23:05     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:In NYC, the lowest rank for this kid is Cornell. If this kid is the class president, then Stanford is possible at our school (but no sports is very very rare in private schools, do you mean not recruitable?). HYP are far reaches. Top 10 other than HYPMCaltech are possible.
that's for actual feeders though, OP is likely in the DMV
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 21:28     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
I’m confused by this OP. Doesn’t the term “feeder” imply the path is known?
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 20:41     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s rarer for them to get into HPYSM/HACK, but you see them at a lot of Lower level lacs


What is "HACK"? Haverford, Amherst.... ?!?

It is not a thing. Some fool is trying to make it a thing here, as of yesterday, and writes posts like the above, as though "what you don't know about it lol you're so out of the loop". But, again, it is not a thing.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 20:12     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:It’s rarer for them to get into HPYSM/HACK, but you see them at a lot of Lower level lacs


What is "HACK"? Haverford, Amherst.... ?!?
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 20:09     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.


U Chicago tends to be the destination for the really smart plebes like us.

Not understanding this response. Uchicago adores nepo kids from top boarding schools.


From DD’s private high school, the kids who go to UChicaho are the super smart, unhooked ones. The nepo kids go to Dartmouth, Columbia, Vanderbilt
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 19:56     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.


U Chicago tends to be the destination for the really smart plebes like us.

Not understanding this response. Uchicago adores nepo kids from top boarding schools.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 19:54     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:I know where connected/legacy/big donors’ kids go. How about academic superstars who are unconnected and full pay with top teachers’ recs? This is a kid loved by teachers in the toughest most advanced subjects, asked to be TA where 95% of classes don’t have a student TA, who has 3.9 GPA where no one gets a 4.0. Otherwise unconnected, no sport, not URM, nothing special ECs (head of robotics club, part-time job type stuff). We know it won’t be Ivies, Stanford, MIT, but where? School sends at least 20% to top 10 schools each year, 50% to top 25; we imagine they are mostly legacy.


U Chicago tends to be the destination for the really smart plebes like us.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 10:36     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:The unhooked kid from our school is going to Yale in the fall.


Unhooked top kids are going to Duke, Northwestern, Dartmouth and UChicago from our private.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 10:26     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Texanviadelco wrote:Late to the party, but from description of your child’s diverse interests including scientific research and humanities, my alma mater, UChicago, may be a consideration. “She wants to solve problems with science.” That IS UChicago. But if she changes her mind from the sciences as an undergrad and wants to get rich, UChicago College as a target for investment banking and consulting firms can make that happen too. Scientific bent but a creative writing scratch to itch, that is UChicago too. Virtually every academic department in the top ten nationally per US News rankings whether in the sciences, social sciences or humanities. In the last few years UChicago has established molecular engineering majors, but does not have traditional engineering.


Those are generic high level inclinations, you will find it fit for many many top schools, not unique to Chicago. Rice, JHU, Williams, Pomona are probably better fit than Chicago.

Also, I don't get the quirky vibe for Chicago from the OP. Definitely a top notch student, but just not quirky enough for Chicago.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 09:23     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
It’s rarer for them to get into HPYSM/HACK, but you see them at a lot of Lower level lacs
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 09:06     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
Anonymous wrote:Unconnected unhooked kid at an ivy in a popular major and other top 10s. The other ivy admits were questbridge or other hooks. Unhooked in RD definitely happens for the very top kids.


It can, but I think this year was hard if a STEM major and unhooked. If humanities, unhooked top kids from our private can definitely get into T10.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 04:56     Subject: Where do unconnected, top academic kids from a feeder private go to college?
The unhooked kid from our school is going to Yale in the fall.