Anonymous
06/27/2025 22:11
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Tufts is one.
WF?
Tulane.
Tulane, Tufts, Chicago are all in the "ED or bust" category. Either much easier or much harder to get into than rankings indicate, depending how you apply.
Wild differences between these. I literally don’t know anyone that has been rejected from Tulane. Uchicago uber hard and WF middle of the road.
Agree Chicago is the most difficult admit.
But it is also school dependent. Horace Mann sends a large drove to Chicago each year. At these feeders, an average student can get in ED.
At non-feeder high schools, yes it can be "uber hard".
In fairness, Horace Mann is one of the most rigorous HS in the country (I don't have a child there), widely known for grade deflation. Even an average student there is still a top student.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 21:51
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Any schools whose institutional priorities require a series of narrow hooks, like FGLI, URM, athletic recruits. Swarthmore, Pomona, and Amherst are two examples. Tiny cohorts, majority URM and/or recruited athletes. There might as well be a sign telling high stats Asian and white kids not to apply.
Lots of recruited athletes are white kids. And, recruited athletes tend to be more socially adept than the population at large. They are also generally harder working and better at time management.
Oh please
Unless the kid is multi-sport, they are not harder working than kid with year-round time-intensive ECs. Whether high-level academic, instrumental etc.
No disrespect to kids in year round time-intensive ECs, but this is a profound display of ignorance about the commitment required to participate in a sport at the high school level, especially soccer, basketball and football. Kids get up at 6am for conditioning alone year round.
This comment is in fact a profound display of ignorance about the commitment required for high-level instrumental music. Serious music students practice at least 2-3 hours/day, year-round.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 21:44
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As for the talk about Vanderbilt, it’s tough admit shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s a simple combination of great academics, great social scene, great city, and increasingly good sports. Basically, it’s has it all in a great environment. The recent slippage in the ratings is a shrug. Also, it hadn’t had the political craziness that many elite campuses in the NE have experienced.
Upthread, there was a comparison to Duke. While Duke has a great campus, academics, and basketball team, Durham is terrible and the campus is segregated from the city. Also, while old campus is very collegiate, but the rest of campus feels very corporate. Not a great vibe.
It’s astonishing that Vandy has gone from an acceptance rate of 70% 35 years ago to less than 5% now. Wow.
Vanderbilt has that hard to find combination of urban, warm weather, athletics, Greek life, and prestige. Hard to beat.
Yes, and it is not dominated by Asians and Internationals. Look at their accepted student Instagram--it is an entirely different demographic then any other top20 school.
Yes, Vanderbilt is much more white. Your white children will not be surrounded by students from all over the world who can out perform them or make them feel uncomfortable. They will just be competing with mostly white, upper middle class, American students. Much more comfortable for them as it will be no different from the mostly white upper middle class experiences they have had so far.
Why do you feel entitled to say things like this?
Anonymous
06/26/2025 16:22
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UMD if in state from a W school. 50% does not tell the real picture.
It's changed dramatically for MCPS students in a short period of time which makes it more shocking. From my kids' Naviance (not W school), class of '23 acceptance rate to UMD was >55%, class of '24 was ~35%, and class of '25 was ~25%. The increasing unpredictability of UMD admissions is really unfortunate.
Big Ten is really special. Need to add Colorado and Arizona so all states touch Coast to coast
Anonymous
06/26/2025 16:13
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
This thread is focused on schools that generally fall within the top 3 to 6 percent nationwide. Sorry people, there are thousands of colleges out there and everyone on this board has got to accept that places like Tulane or BC or Vandy or Grinnell get lots of applications from qualified students and can’t accept them all. Even Grinnell!!! Is it so hard to believe that the Ivy+ aren’t the only schools that turn qualified kids away? Or are kids just butthurt when they don’t get into a school that’s “beneath them” during RD so mom and dad have to manufacture reasons why the school’s admissions practices are bad: yield protection, reliance on ED, in state bias, FGLI/URM, etc. You pay your money and you take your chances. If you play the game correctly, your kid will have one or some options that they’re happy with. If not, you were probably arrogant in your list building. Signed, parent whose kid will happily be matriculating at a highly selective non Ivy school this fall (nor one mentioned above, but they’re great options too). The Sun does not rise and set on the evil 8!
Anonymous
06/26/2025 14:27
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UMD if in state from a W school. 50% does not tell the real picture.
It's changed dramatically for MCPS students in a short period of time which makes it more shocking. From my kids' Naviance (not W school), class of '23 acceptance rate to UMD was >55%, class of '24 was ~35%, and class of '25 was ~25%. The increasing unpredictability of UMD admissions is really unfortunate.
Rutgers is similar. Last I heard, Rutgers hasn't released an admissions rate for the classes of 2028 and 2029.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 13:32
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Tulane and Miami. For t50 - t60 type of schools, their overall admissions rate is pretty low. They do play the ED game so if you are not in ED, the admission rates plummet.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 13:29
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
UT is basically impossible to get in from out of state in the most competitive majors unless you have MIT like stats.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 13:25
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Every fall on these boards I watch people comment how VT is a safety school for their kid and by December there is wailing and gnashing of teeth wondering how VT could have rejected their kid with the 5.9 GPA, or whatever. It's an annual holiday tradition.
My DS, from FCPS, was rejected from VT but accepted to W&M and UVA. I don't think DS would have gone to VT if he had gotten in, but it was still a head scratcher.
Perhaps yield protection?
VT says right on their website that they do not yield protect.
"Yield Protection
Virginia Tech does not participate in yield protection."
https://www.vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/counselor-corner.html
Have you ever seen a school say that they do?
Schools that note demonstrated interest on the CDS are essentially saying they yield protect. Please step your game up.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 13:20
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UMD if in state from a W school. 50% does not tell the real picture.
It's changed dramatically for MCPS students in a short period of time which makes it more shocking. From my kids' Naviance (not W school), class of '23 acceptance rate to UMD was >55%, class of '24 was ~35%, and class of '25 was ~25%. The increasing unpredictability of UMD admissions is really unfortunate.
Something similar has happened with Rutgers. Last I heard, Rutgers has not released its admission rate for the entering classes of 2028 and 2029.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 12:58
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What’s with all the anti-Asian undertones? When we (American-born offspring of Asian immigrants) and our American-born children get to campus, we want to contribute and participate in a lot of the same ways that our white classmates do. Some of us might join cultural affinity groups or take a class or attend an event that has to do with our background, but for a lot of us, it’s not the only defining part of our college experience. We wear the same campus gear, cheer on the teams and support the bigger alumni network after we graduate.
Only white?
Internationals and all American students of color also want to be and try to be integrated into the bigger campus community.
Are you sure of that? It doesn't look that way at most large schools.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 10:39
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Vt now has more than 1/2 its class from first gen students. That disadvantages many applicants with college educated parents, disproportionately those from Northern VA. The % first gen at WM and UVA is much lower.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 09:39
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Every fall on these boards I watch people comment how VT is a safety school for their kid and by December there is wailing and gnashing of teeth wondering how VT could have rejected their kid with the 5.9 GPA, or whatever. It's an annual holiday tradition.
My DS, from FCPS, was rejected from VT but accepted to W&M and UVA. I don't think DS would have gone to VT if he had gotten in, but it was still a head scratcher.
Perhaps yield protection?
VT says right on their website that they do not yield protect.
"Yield Protection
Virginia Tech does not participate in yield protection."
https://www.vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/counselor-corner.html
How did he respond to the Ut Prosim essay? It seems that VT really wants kids who are serious about being involved in their community and not just the classroom.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 09:36
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Some Parents who attended UGA 30 years ago are surprised at how difficult it is for their kids to get in now. Some of these kids are going to Auburn, USC and Alabama. It’s tough because not everyone can afford to pay OOS tuition. Hopefully UGA doesn’t run into the same issue as UVA where many in-state families are feeling like they’re being shut out.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 09:29
Subject: Schools more difficult to get in than their rankings appear to indicate
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UMD if in state from a W school. 50% does not tell the real picture.
It's changed dramatically for MCPS students in a short period of time which makes it more shocking. From my kids' Naviance (not W school), class of '23 acceptance rate to UMD was >55%, class of '24 was ~35%, and class of '25 was ~25%. The increasing unpredictability of UMD admissions is really unfortunate.