Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:12     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m not following re UVA. I’m OOS for UVA (not in DC).

Are people saying it’s far below a school like WashU? How would you compare it to Wake Forest?


Yes, no question on WashU. Wake is similar but the smaller size is a much better fit for many, over UVA.


Many also prefer a large public over a small private.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:12     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote: UVA is a great school. The comparison and price issue, whether in state or financial aid is case by case: strength of major, size/ social/extracurricular fit for student, distance from home (can matter a lot for some kids) and cost all come into it.

One piece of advice if you want/expect your child to pick the lowest cost option have that conversation before they get acceptances. A few seniors in our Son's class were very disappointed to end up being pushed to excellent T30 publics rather than similarly ranked privates (in some instances kids preferred slightly lower rank privates)- kids heading off to college not excited and parents feeling crappy for "denying" kids their choice


Ideally, the financial discussion should happen during junior year/summer before senior year, so your kid chooses the colleges to apply to accordingly. They deserve to know what finances you are willing to contribute and under "what conditions" if you have those strings attached (and that is fine to have, they just deserve to be 1000% aware of it all upfront)
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:07     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of our frustration as parents comes from our own outdated understanding of the landscape, which is radically different today. Most of the misunderstanding probably surrounds the idea of "high stats kids" because we are using the metrics and SAT scales from the 90s. It is pretty sobering to realize that an estimated 20,000 students will score at ~1530 or above every year in one sitting (top 1%). With superscoring, that number of students will be even higher. This varies by school type, but I have also seen estimates that nearly 50% of US students will graduate high school with overall averages in the A range.


This! 1530 is the new 1400. 4.0 is the new B. The scary thing is you can't differentiate further among the ones with 1530+ and 4.0 on numbers. It creates a delusion of "high stats kids."


Agree ... so many of these kids test and retest, super score, study and have tutors, specialized college counselors etc. to achieve these stats.

These are bright kids, but universities cannot tell the difference between these kids and the EXCEPTIONALLY bright kids who score in the 1500-1600 first try no prep, ace AP tests with little to no prep, don't have to work that hard for a 4.0+ with max rigor at a top/competitive HS. We have a super high stats kid that read War and Peace on their own as a freshman in HS "for fun"...meanwhile you have T20s offering what basically amounts to remedial literature courses.

Grade inflation is real. TO has really affected the academic quality of students at T20.



Eh. maybe it has. but if so it is a great thing for those that really belong there: easier to beat the mean and the mean is usually assigned a B+.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:03     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Congrats! The ECs are amazing!


Thanks- all him. Frankly, I kept hoping he'd get a B or two and take some pressure off himself, they pressure each other and social media is constant and unrealistic.
We stayed out of it except for supporting his decision not to ED despite pressure from school college counseling and his choice to apply to more reaches than she recommended. Turns out he was right, he had better outcomes in what the school deemed "far reaches" than the ones they had as targets (Tufts, Tulane, CMU)


In-state for UVA?


In state UVA would be hard to pass up


Not really. It’s passed up all the time for Ivies, T10s and top SLACs. UVA is a big public. It’s not the same. A good value, yes.


Lol every school in the country is passed up “all the time” for those schools. UVA is passed up “all the time” for those schools only.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:03     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:I’m not following re UVA. I’m OOS for UVA (not in DC).

Are people saying it’s far below a school like WashU? How would you compare it to Wake Forest?


Yes, no question on WashU. Wake is similar but the smaller size is a much better fit for many, over UVA.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 17:01     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Congrats! The ECs are amazing!


Thanks- all him. Frankly, I kept hoping he'd get a B or two and take some pressure off himself, they pressure each other and social media is constant and unrealistic.
We stayed out of it except for supporting his decision not to ED despite pressure from school college counseling and his choice to apply to more reaches than she recommended. Turns out he was right, he had better outcomes in what the school deemed "far reaches" than the ones they had as targets (Tufts, Tulane, CMU)


In-state for UVA?


In state UVA would be hard to pass up


Not really. It’s passed up all the time for Ivies, T10s and top SLACs. UVA is a big public. It’s not the same. A good value, yes.


For Harvard, Princeton or Yale...Yes. Not the others for me. I'm not from Virginia and no dog in the game, but I couldn't justify the cost difference. That's just me.


If you were in Virginia and had experienced one child at UVA, another at (top5LAC) and another at (ivy in the T10) then you would not question it at all. Cousins have one at a "lower-3" ivy and one at UVA, good family friend has one at UVA and one at WashU. It is night and day between UVA and most T20 privates/very top LACs.


I suppose. For me it would just depend on the ranking of the major at that particular school compared to the others. I personally wouldn't get caught up in all the other stuff regardless of Ivy, ACC or BIG 10 or whatever.


In what way that would justify the cost difference if in-state? Just curious.

Everything is competitive and gate kept at UVA. Getting into a lab is a slog, clubs are more cutthroat than ivy/top privates, classes are huge for most of the first two years thus it is harder to get to know professors. Even going abroad is competitive. The privates have huge endowments and they spend them on undergrads: funding for research, summer programs, cheap or usually free on campus activities. There is less of a big party/big sports vibe on weekends. The law/med matriculation lists are more impressive at the privates and the grades are inflated over UVA which helps.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:56     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
UVA is a great school. The comparison and price issue, whether in state or financial aid is case by case: strength of major, size/ social/extracurricular fit for student, distance from home (can matter a lot for some kids) and cost all come into it.

One piece of advice if you want/expect your child to pick the lowest cost option have that conversation before they get acceptances. A few seniors in our Son's class were very disappointed to end up being pushed to excellent T30 publics rather than similarly ranked privates (in some instances kids preferred slightly lower rank privates)- kids heading off to college not excited and parents feeling crappy for "denying" kids their choice
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:29     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
I’m not following re UVA. I’m OOS for UVA (not in DC).

Are people saying it’s far below a school like WashU? How would you compare it to Wake Forest?
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:23     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:

Makes sense for then. Chemistry major?

Yes, Chemistry major possible double major with math or stats but we shall see. He loved Columbia from the get go but was concerned about the recent issues, in the end he decided he still preferred it (he spoke to several current students) and it is very strong in both subjects.


Columbia does have an excellent Chemistry program. So, definitely understand the decision. Looks like college choice was based on major which is the way it should be done.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:22     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Congrats! The ECs are amazing!


Thanks- all him. Frankly, I kept hoping he'd get a B or two and take some pressure off himself, they pressure each other and social media is constant and unrealistic.
We stayed out of it except for supporting his decision not to ED despite pressure from school college counseling and his choice to apply to more reaches than she recommended. Turns out he was right, he had better outcomes in what the school deemed "far reaches" than the ones they had as targets (Tufts, Tulane, CMU)


In-state for UVA?


In state UVA would be hard to pass up


Not really. It’s passed up all the time for Ivies, T10s and top SLACs. UVA is a big public. It’s not the same. A good value, yes.


For Harvard, Princeton or Yale...Yes. Not the others for me. I'm not from Virginia and no dog in the game, but I couldn't justify the cost difference. That's just me.


If you were in Virginia and had experienced one child at UVA, another at (top5LAC) and another at (ivy in the T10) then you would not question it at all. Cousins have one at a "lower-3" ivy and one at UVA, good family friend has one at UVA and one at WashU. It is night and day between UVA and most T20 privates/very top LACs.


I suppose. For me it would just depend on the ranking of the major at that particular school compared to the others. I personally wouldn't get caught up in all the other stuff regardless of Ivy, ACC or BIG 10 or whatever.


In what way that would justify the cost difference if in-state? Just curious.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:20     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Congrats! The ECs are amazing!


Thanks- all him. Frankly, I kept hoping he'd get a B or two and take some pressure off himself, they pressure each other and social media is constant and unrealistic.
We stayed out of it except for supporting his decision not to ED despite pressure from school college counseling and his choice to apply to more reaches than she recommended. Turns out he was right, he had better outcomes in what the school deemed "far reaches" than the ones they had as targets (Tufts, Tulane, CMU)


In-state for UVA?


In state UVA would be hard to pass up


Not really. It’s passed up all the time for Ivies, T10s and top SLACs. UVA is a big public. It’s not the same. A good value, yes.


For Harvard, Princeton or Yale...Yes. Not the others for me. I'm not from Virginia and no dog in the game, but I couldn't justify the cost difference. That's just me.


If you were in Virginia and had experienced one child at UVA, another at (top5LAC) and another at (ivy in the T10) then you would not question it at all. Cousins have one at a "lower-3" ivy and one at UVA, good family friend has one at UVA and one at WashU. It is night and day between UVA and most T20 privates/very top LACs.


I suppose. For me it would just depend on the ranking of the major at that particular school compared to the others. I personally wouldn't get caught up in all the other stuff regardless of Ivy, ACC or BIG 10 or whatever.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:19     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)


Makes sense for then. Chemistry major?

Yes, Chemistry major possible double major with math or stats but we shall see. He loved Columbia from the get go but was concerned about the recent issues, in the end he decided he still preferred it (he spoke to several current students) and it is very strong in both subjects.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:17     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Congrats! The ECs are amazing!


Thanks- all him. Frankly, I kept hoping he'd get a B or two and take some pressure off himself, they pressure each other and social media is constant and unrealistic.
We stayed out of it except for supporting his decision not to ED despite pressure from school college counseling and his choice to apply to more reaches than she recommended. Turns out he was right, he had better outcomes in what the school deemed "far reaches" than the ones they had as targets (Tufts, Tulane, CMU)


In-state for UVA?


In state UVA would be hard to pass up


Not really. It’s passed up all the time for Ivies, T10s and top SLACs. UVA is a big public. It’s not the same. A good value, yes.


For Harvard, Princeton or Yale...Yes. Not the others for me. I'm not from Virginia and no dog in the game, but I couldn't justify the cost difference. That's just me.


If you were in Virginia and had experienced one child at UVA, another at (top5LAC) and another at (ivy in the T10) then you would not question it at all. Cousins have one at a "lower-3" ivy and one at UVA, good family friend has one at UVA and one at WashU. It is night and day between UVA and most T20 privates/very top LACs.
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:10     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:

No, OOS for UVA. The large class sizes at all of the publics were negative to him, Cal in particular has an amazing Chem Department.



Makes sense for then. Chemistry major?
Anonymous
Post 08/06/2025 16:09     Subject: How did your super high stats kid fare (1550 plus and 4.5 plus with max rigor)
Anonymous wrote:It appears that it is harder to get into college than when we all applied. But what about for the very high stats kids?

Can some of you please share how it went for your child who went through the process if your kid was max rigor, 1550 plus, top grades, great but not national award winning extracurricular.

My child is having trouble finishing up their college lists and part of the reason is we really just have no idea how it will all go with the reach schools. We also don't know what school is "worth" taking your shot early. This child will be happiest with an intense, highly academic crowd.


Good luck to yours! Rest assured elite admissions happen even for unhooked, no ED: admitted to 4 top 10s and 2 in the 15-25 range, Valedictorian, top stats, great recs, did have some rare/selective academic honors though, and extensive ECs. RD admission at least one school in the Top 10 or 15 works out for a decent amount of true top kids. Some unfortunately get shut out. A lot depends on the high school track record with elite schools and how your kid compares to other top-rigor kids applying to elites.