Anonymous
10/26/2025 18:06
Subject: High test score kids who didn't get in where they thought they would
34 rejected UGA UMD UF
But no leadership and mid EC
3.83/4.65 MCPS
But no leadership and mid EC
3.83/4.65 MCPS
Anonymous
10/26/2025 18:01
Subject: High test score kids who didn't get in where they thought they would
Is Blair SMCS magnet considered a great public school that colleges view well? Similar to TJ?
I know there is the huge challenge of being compared to their magnet peers who are also very strong on these traditional criteria of scores and grades, but do they get credit for being at a super rigorous program?
My DD is a 1550, 4.0 UW/4.9 W GPA, good ECs but not curing cancer, fun and interesting kid but not sure how any college will know that.
I know there is the huge challenge of being compared to their magnet peers who are also very strong on these traditional criteria of scores and grades, but do they get credit for being at a super rigorous program?
My DD is a 1550, 4.0 UW/4.9 W GPA, good ECs but not curing cancer, fun and interesting kid but not sure how any college will know that.
Anonymous
10/26/2025 16:38
Subject: Re:High test score kids who didn't get in where they thought they would
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:From my small sample size (30 or so friends and neighbors in the past few years), a key factor is the high school. Some high-stat kids get into multiple top 15 colleges without cancer-curing level ECs and the common denominator seems to be a HS top colleges already accepts from every year. These kids are otherwise non big donors/legacy, non athletes. Whenever I hear from a friend their DC has high stats and is choosing between Yale and Williams for ED and then 5 months later I hear they ended up at a still great but below top 40 schools, usually they come from a non JT level public or a good but not well-known private. Aiming too high coming from an unconnected HS is a risky move.
+1 Unhooked kids from the public high school here never get into Harvard, Yale or Princeton. A 1600 got into Harvard and a 1590 got into Yale, but those kids has ECs that were out of the norm for our school.
As for those who aimed high (Harvard, MIT and Princeton)
Top 5 GPA, 1540, advanced math beyond BC, public hs, first gen hook — rejected Harvard, WL @ MIT and Princeton.
We know a kid like this. Deferred at the Ivies, didn't apply UVA until RD and was not admitted. Ended up at PSU. Should have been an easy admit to UVA in the early rounds.
Anonymous
10/26/2025 16:13
Subject: High test score kids who didn't get in where they thought they would
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:35 ACT and 3.7 UW GPA from a strong Boston private, average ECs, full pay girl - overshot ED, then did not get into any T 50 schools. Ended up at St Andrews
Which T50s did she apply to?
This was not the last cycle but within the last few.
Reaches were too high.
Tufts, BC, BU, NYU, Michigan, Wisconsin were targets and got on some WL but not taken off. She have EDed at tufts.
In the us go into GW, Elon, Providence College
Rigorous private - did not have highest rigor, as noted ECs lackluster. Was in the cohort from Covid were half of hs was online and everyone’s GPAs were weird, maybe over inflated. It was just a bad combination of a tough admissions year, covid weirdness, and not selling herself properly. She got into every international school applied to: McGill, Queens, St. Andrews, Edinburgh
What was the ED reach?
Not going to say specific ED, but reaches were Cornell, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Chicago, and JHU
Why not? It’s anonymous and we’re all trying to learn from each other.
This sounds like a weird covid outlier. not relevant now.