Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is in a similar boat. 3.9 GPA at a Big 3, perfect ACT score (36 on all sections), waitlisted at UChicago, WashU and Emory so far. College counselor had called Emory a match/likely for him.

What?!!!! What did college counselor say? What school did he get into?

This is such a depressing thread for the parent of an 8th grader to read.

OMG do not worry about someone else's college application experience, especially based on two outliers, in the middle of a pandemic.

Sorry, but these are outliers. Most kids get into plenty of schools.

Class of 2020 kid : 7/8 acceptances
Class of 2021 kid: 4/5 acceptances

but your kids may be the outliers. My kid class of 2020 "top" private 1/9 acceptances, and then got in May 1 off waitlist and has been very happy in person this year. Rejected ED1 and EDII. Normal smart kid, 3.8 gpa 1480 SAT, nothing outstanding. it's really a crapshoot these days

PP, I'd be really interested in knowing the types of schools your child applied to. I have a very similar class of 2020 child (yours has slightly better stats). She was 34 ACT, 3.65 GPA from a well regarded private in another large city (they do not weight or offer APs), ECs were quirky, interesting, and consistent with her interests, but nothing earth shattering, some leadership, but not tons. Applied to 2 reaches (Top 10-15 LAC), 4 "matches"(well regarded LAC-Top 50), and 3 safeties (large state U and 2 small, more regional LAC). She was accepted at all except the 2 reaches and received merit awards at the 3 safeties and one of the matches (we are full pay so no real incentive to offer us $$ at matches). We visited every school she applied to except the large state U. She signed up for every school's Instagram feed and opened their emails.

I just wonder if your counselor was not realistic enough (especially if your child had no hook, like mine). Also, I tend to think they do better if they aren't applying to all of the same schools as their classmates. I think my DD was pretty different than most of her classmates (although I do know her friends also applied to one of her reaches --and has much better stats-- and was waitlisted). We had also hired a private counselor, who had a very similar list to the school counselor, although was also pushing her to apply to an Ivy with a very specific program tied top her interests and ECs (which she did not want and did not think was realistic anyway).

I'm sorry your child got only 1/9 and I'm glad it worked out. I know from my D's friends that there was a lot of waitlist movement last year and I suspect there will be this year, too.

This happened to me twenty years ago. I had a great experience at the one school I got into. Three years later I got into nine out of the ten law schools I applied to. It’s a bummer, but he will be ok.

This is OP. DS did the virtual tours and meetings and such. We did not travel during the pandemic. He is at a Big 3 or 5 depending on your definition.

He emailed his counselor to talk about next steps. She said, quote, "this year has been shocking" and they have an appointment to meet. I guess they will talk about waitlists and maybe she will try to help him to have a different perspective. She did say, "this is great for the schools that normally wouldn't get a stellar student like you."

That did NOT make him feel better. He did talk to his friends and I heard him laughing so something they said helped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is everyone else doing in his school? Is it the school or there’s something wrong with his application that you haven’t noticed.

This is OP. It has been tough at his school but kids have certainly got in places.

I won’t tell you his entire list in case anyone is reading this and can figure out who he is, but here is a partial.

Waitlist: Case, Tulane, VErmont
Rejected: Northeastern, Vandy, Tulane, Emory

Many of those schools require demonstrated interest.

But no tours during covid so that has been set aside in most colleges.

You are so wrong. Attending all virtual sessions, emailing academic departments of interest, writing essays that are truly crafted to that school, talking to that school’s regional rep. Most of these schools on this list are very oriented to demonstrated interest.

Ok but if everyone starts doing that...none of it will be unusual or special. someone up thread said their kid did it for 20 + apps.

If anything it was easier this year. My DS and I easily did 20 virtual events over the summer. He researched the schools that had the “demonstrated interest” essay that he applied to and wrote about what he wanted to do there including hiking in x mountain, kayaking on x lake, joining x club, going to y game. It’s not that hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected from Tulane with a 1580?! What in the world.

It’s only out of 1600 right? (The did away with the writing section that they were doing for a while?)

How can a kid with 1580/1600 be rejected from Tulane?!

Yield Protection!

Interesting that people keep posting that. My DC is looking at Tulane for next year, and just got an email rebutting the argument that high stats kids don’t get in because of yield protection. It basically said they have more high stats kids than they can take, and they lean heavily on demonstrated interest. They’re very explicit about that.

You’re contradicting yourself – yield protection is explicitly waitlisting or rejecting people who don’t convey demonstrated interest.

I’m very sorry for your kid OP. That totally sucks. I hope he rallies and ends up living the school he was accepted to. I don’t have much advice, except to note that your school counselor did a horrid job. And at a private, where you are paying for better service. Even with all the uncertainties of this season, the counselor should have done better. Every single school should have been one your kid would be thrilled to attend (even the safeties). And we were told very early on that “demonstrated interest” would be the name of the game. Our private school counselor held our hand, met with us frequently, advocated for my child, and got the job done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected from Tulane with a 1580?! What in the world.

It’s only out of 1600 right? (The did away with the writing section that they were doing for a while?)

How can a kid with 1580/1600 be rejected from Tulane?!

Yield Protection!

Interesting that people keep posting that. My DC is looking at Tulane for next year, and just got an email rebutting the argument that high stats kids don’t get in because of yield protection. It basically said they have more high stats kids than they can take, and they lean heavily on demonstrated interest. They’re very explicit about that.

Yes. This is it. I just posted about this in the TJ/High Stat thread. I think what’s happening is that high stat kids are piling into the same majors at a few colleges. The college only has so many seats. Once they’re filled, everyone else gets rejected. It’s not that the students aren’t qualified, it’s that there are no seats. In time, some colleges may expand their capacity in certain majors, like CS and engineering, but in the short-term, students need to expand their school targets.

This is a good point . If the counsellor is telling all kids at your school who are like your child to apply to similar lists of schools, they won’t all get in (because they do not want a bonus of kids from the same place).

This argues for fit, more than ranking. And you and your child know best what good fit is for him. For others at fancy schools:don’t rely too heavily on the counsellors. You and your child should do your own homework, like the rest of us slobs have to do!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is everyone else doing in his school? Is it the school or there’s something wrong with his application that you haven’t noticed.

This is OP. It has been tough at his school but kids have certainly got in places.

I won’t tell you his entire list in case anyone is reading this and can figure out who he is, but here is a partial.

Waitlist: Case, Tulane, VErmont
Rejected: Northeastern, Vandy, Tulane, Emory

Many of those schools require demonstrated interest.

But no tours during covid so that has been set aside in most colleges.

This is not true. They are all offering online tours, info sessions, student panels, etc. Very easy for them to track interest. For schools who care, I’m sure they still care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is in a similar boat. 3.9 GPA at a Big 3, perfect ACT score (36 on all sections), waitlisted at UChicago, WashU and Emory so far. College counselor had called Emory a match/likely for him.

What?!!!! What did college counselor say? What school did he get into?

This is such a depressing thread for the parent of an 8th grader to read.

OMG do not worry about someone else's college application experience, especially based on two outliers, in the middle of a pandemic.

Sorry, but these are outliers. Most kids get into plenty of schools.

Class of 2020 kid : 7/8 acceptances
Class of 2021 kid: 4/5 acceptances

but your kids may be the outliers. My kid class of 2020 "top" private 1/9 acceptances, and then got in May 1 off waitlist and has been very happy in person this year. Rejected ED1 and EDII. Normal smart kid, 3.8 gpa 1480 SAT, nothing outstanding. it's really a crapshoot these days

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected from Tulane with a 1580?! What in the world.

It’s only out of 1600 right? (The did away with the writing section that they were doing for a while?)

How can a kid with 1580/1600 be rejected from Tulane?!

Yield Protection!

Interesting that people keep posting that. My DC is looking at Tulane for next year, and just got an email rebutting the argument that high stats kids don’t get in because of yield protection. It basically said they have more high stats kids than they can take, and they lean heavily on demonstrated interest. They’re very explicit about that.

Yes. This is it. I just posted about this in the TJ/High Stat thread. I think what’s happening is that high stat kids are piling into the same majors at a few colleges. The college only has so many seats. Once they’re filled, everyone else gets rejected. It’s not that the students aren’t qualified, it’s that there are no seats. In time, some colleges may expand their capacity in certain majors, like CS and engineering, but in the short-term, students need to expand their school targets.

My kid hah a similar story from 2 years ago. 34 ACT. 3.7 uw GPA. National level ECs. Admitted to 1 safety and 1 match. Waitlisted and denied at some of the same schools you listed. The HOS called the admissions office at a WL school and he was admitted. It has been a perfect fit.

Best of luck to your son!! I truly hope something works out for him that he is excited about!! This has been a particularly hard year (I have a HS Senior too).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

When I read these kind of posts or hear things like this from others, I always think the real issue is the realization and regret of the wasted time, effort and money that went into all of it with the expectation of the pay off. The reality becomes the student ends up in pretty much the same place they would have been without all of that.

I tend to think the problem is that the expected payoff is so narrowly defined (acceptance to a particular set of schools). I know OP isn't ready to hear or accept this yet, so I wasn't going to type it. But, what I see in OP's post is a bright kid who is a hard worker and who has the ability to do well in life, regardless of which college he attends. That's the reward for all this effort, and it's a pretty powerful one, in my opinion.

That is not a perspective most are willing to accept - the process of learning is what will reward you in the long run, not the immediate goal of a T10 or T20 acceptance.

I believe in supporting our kids to let them know that their hard work has meaning no matter what the outcome is. If the parents can't even give that validation, it will be hard for the young mind to accept an unfavorable outcome and see the silver lining.

When DC started the process of drafting list of schools the Spring before senior year (as part of the college counseling process at DC's school), DH and I spoke to DC at length about plan B & plan C which includes going to a local CC while working a part time job in the major field before transferring to the state flagship. Keep in mind, DC is a kid in top 10% of class, SAT north of 1500, APs (with 5s on exams), ECs, sport, music and a ton of community service. Our point is not to set DC's bar low, but to show DC there is more than one way to get "there", whatever "there" means, academic success, professional success, personal fulfillment and growth, etc. DC went into the process with a wide range of apps (11 in total) and has been accepted at 7 (EA and RD), including T10 and state flagships local+OOS. When the MIT rejection came, DC was content and understood the odds DC faced this year (28K apps for 621 spots during RD round). DC embraced the news as well as the understanding that this door (for now) is closed.

Hang in there OP, this phase shall pass and your student will be successful given the work ethic he/she has developed. Don't ever lose that.

To that 8th grade parent, don't despair, your child has a long way to go. This is an unique admission cycle and the landscape in 4 years may be very different. Focus on that work ethic and curiosity for learning. It will all work out in the end.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is everyone else doing in his school? Is it the school or there’s something wrong with his application that you haven’t noticed.

This is OP. It has been tough at his school but kids have certainly got in places.

I won’t tell you his entire list in case anyone is reading this and can figure out who he is, but here is a partial.

Waitlist: Case, Tulane, VErmont
Rejected: Northeastern, Vandy, Tulane, Emory

Many of those schools require demonstrated interest.

But no tours during covid so that has been set aside in most colleges.

You are so wrong. Attending all virtual sessions, emailing academic departments of interest, writing essays that are truly crafted to that school, talking to that school’s regional rep. Most of these schools on this list are very oriented to demonstrated interest.

Ok but if everyone starts doing that...none of it will be unusual or special. someone up thread said their kid did it for 20 + apps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected from Tulane with a 1580?! What in the world.

It’s only out of 1600 right? (The did away with the writing section that they were doing for a while?)

How can a kid with 1580/1600 be rejected from Tulane?!

Yield Protection!

Interesting that people keep posting that. My DC is looking at Tulane for next year, and just got an email rebutting the argument that high stats kids don’t get in because of yield protection. It basically said they have more high stats kids than they can take, and they lean heavily on demonstrated interest. They’re very explicit about that.

Upper class, white male students with great scores and private school are easy to come by in this region. He’s not getting in because the colleges he applied to are the same ones everyone around here applied to and those schools fill their quotas with hooked applicants. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but a truth nonetheless.