Anonymous wrote:Or Grinnell or Bowdoin, just don't put too much assurance into the 1550. The smaller SLACs really look at the whole picture of the kid including ECs, recs and personal attributes.

OP said he wants a city or semi rural SLAC. Grinnell is in a full on rural area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What t30 universities or t15 lac give the best boost for a competitive public school boy, likely top 5 in his class of 300, sat 1550 who is full pay. DS wants Ivy but he doesn’t have a hook or good enough ECs to realistically get in. He doesn’t have a set major he wants to pursue. His main goal is “name brand” and prestige 🙄.

What we are trying to avoid… wasting ED on a school he would really want, like Penn, where he would be fine academically but realistically won’t get into.

This doesn't sound like a kid who will get into the top schools, given the lack of ECs, no passion for anything, no dedication, no leadership.

He's smart but so are other kids. He wouldn't bring anything to the school.

So the advice is to look for lower ranked schools.

I had a boy like this. Late bloomer. Had one niche interest (with no related activities) and 2 sports. A pt summer job.

Junior year - with some prodding and planning from us and counselor - went all in and had 3-4 ECs in the works/summer programs/internships. Really took off in a niche academic area.

Ended up at Ivy.

that's great! But this kid hasn't taken off, would have to do that. and it should be organic based on a true interest not because of a college application

what’s up with the righteousness? Who made you Queen?

Maybe the OP needs to just see how others lit a fire under their own kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ED should only be used for a student's stop choice. Whether the top choice is a target or high reach. Anything else is a recipe for disappointment and what ifs. Don't worry about "wasting" the ED. Top choice. Period.

Exactly right!

+100. My kid’s profile (not superstar or unique - more “average excellent”) put them in a place where they’re may have benefitted from an ED boost at some T-25 schools. However, they risked the unpredictability of the RD round so they wouldn’t have the “what ifs” or “buyers remorse” issues. Fortunately they had some good choices in the end. RD doesn’t have to be a recipe for getting shut out, if the kid has a balanced list that isn’t reach-heavy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What t30 universities or t15 lac give the best boost for a competitive public school boy, likely top 5 in his class of 300, sat 1550 who is full pay. DS wants Ivy but he doesn’t have a hook or good enough ECs to realistically get in. He doesn’t have a set major he wants to pursue. His main goal is “name brand” and prestige 🙄.

What we are trying to avoid… wasting ED on a school he would really want, like Penn, where he would be fine academically but realistically won’t get into.

This doesn't sound like a kid who will get into the top schools, given the lack of ECs, no passion for anything, no dedication, no leadership.

He's smart but so are other kids. He wouldn't bring anything to the school.

So the advice is to look for lower ranked schools.

I had a boy like this. Late bloomer. Had one niche interest (with no related activities) and 2 sports. A pt summer job.

Junior year - with some prodding and planning from us and counselor - went all in and had 3-4 ECs in the works/summer programs/internships. Really took off in a niche academic area.

Ended up at Ivy.

that's great! But this kid hasn't taken off, would have to do that. and it should be organic based on a true interest not because of a college application

Anonymous wrote:University of Rochester could be a good target, and possibly a great fit here.

I know you asked about ED ideas, but the best advice I’ve received about this whole process was to take a balanced approach to identifying schools and building a list.

Specifically, do not put potential ED schools on your kid’s radar without also putting potential targets and safeties on there, too.

The message is that he can be happy at many schools. Build a balanced list, and then watch as his favorite rises to the surface the summer before senior year or early in the fall. That school will be his ED school.

Anonymous wrote:ED should only be used for a student's stop choice. Whether the top choice is a target or high reach. Anything else is a recipe for disappointment and what ifs. Don't worry about "wasting" the ED. Top choice. Period.

Exactly right!

University of Rochester could be a good target, and possibly a great fit here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown ED1; Chicago ED2

Brown and UChicago are polar opposites of each other. I can’t imagine a kid liking both at the same time.

So it could be useful to visit both and see what he likes and doesn’t like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown ED1; Chicago ED2

Brown and UChicago are polar opposites of each other. I can’t imagine a kid liking both at the same time.

This!

Anonymous wrote:Brown ED1; Chicago ED2

Brown and UChicago are polar opposites of each other. I can’t imagine a kid liking both at the same time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What t30 universities or t15 lac give the best boost for a competitive public school boy, likely top 5 in his class of 300, sat 1550 who is full pay. DS wants Ivy but he doesn’t have a hook or good enough ECs to realistically get in. He doesn’t have a set major he wants to pursue. His main goal is “name brand” and prestige 🙄.

What we are trying to avoid… wasting ED on a school he would really want, like Penn, where he would be fine academically but realistically won’t get into.

This doesn't sound like a kid who will get into the top schools, given the lack of ECs, no passion for anything, no dedication, no leadership.

He's smart but so are other kids. He wouldn't bring anything to the school.

So the advice is to look for lower ranked schools.

This is why I started the thread. We have all read the boards about how its impossible for unhooked kids to get into t whatever schools, and how the top schools have been dumbed down because only hooked kids can get in. So trying to strategized where my smart kid who isnt a leader can get into.

Your state flagship.
Otherwise, get your kid to do a few things; hire professional help if you can’t do the strategic work.
Great ideas in this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What t30 universities or t15 lac give the best boost for a competitive public school boy, likely top 5 in his class of 300, sat 1550 who is full pay. DS wants Ivy but he doesn’t have a hook or good enough ECs to realistically get in. He doesn’t have a set major he wants to pursue. His main goal is “name brand” and prestige 🙄.

What we are trying to avoid… wasting ED on a school he would really want, like Penn, where he would be fine academically but realistically won’t get into.

This doesn't sound like a kid who will get into the top schools, given the lack of ECs, no passion for anything, no dedication, no leadership.

He's smart but so are other kids. He wouldn't bring anything to the school.

So the advice is to look for lower ranked schools.

This is why I started the thread. We have all read the boards about how its impossible for unhooked kids to get into t whatever schools, and how the top schools have been dumbed down because only hooked kids can get in. So trying to strategized where my smart kid who isnt a leader can get into.

Anonymous wrote:I had a high stats boy who did what they wanted across a wide range of things and in the end was able to retrofit a "story" out of all of it. At HYP.

If you take enough things OFF your application, the story makes more sense. for example, my kid also played sports for a couple years and that stuff just never goes on the applications. it just confuses things.

This is not what OP has. If you have a spike sure take things off the application so a story would emerge more clearly. OP's problem is different, I suspect he doesn't even have sports.

I had a high stats boy who did what they wanted across a wide range of things and in the end was able to retrofit a "story" out of all of it. At HYP.

If you take enough things OFF your application, the story makes more sense. for example, my kid also played sports for a couple years and that stuff just never goes on the applications. it just confuses things.

Realistically I wouldn't waste ED on ivies except for Cornell. But as mentioned by many pps, Chicago is a much easier shot for ED. If you can afford their summer programs, you also get a chance at ED0. So

ED0 Chicago
ED1 Cornell
ED2 Washu/Emory
RD everywhere else, all T10, all ivies, lottery