Anonymous wrote:Mainly just a venting post so bear with me but this is getting pretty ridiculous with the waitlists after the deferrals.. seems like so many of our kids are getting strung along. I, like many, have a kid hoping to major in CS. CS is his innate gift and he is truly gifted at it but these schools don’t seem to see that. He is accepted somewhere (definitely not top 50) so he is probably heading there but what on Earth is going on with all these deferrals and waitlists??? Who is getting in to these places?? He is a white male, 1580 SAT, UMC, straight A, multiple AP, highest rigor, multiple award winning, dedicated volunteer hours, write ups in magazines, articles in Wired… What else to they want?

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Anonymous wrote:Parent of Class of 2022 HS grad here — kid is CS major and admitted to 2 of the top 3 universities. I know most people do not listen to free advice, but for the ones who do, here it is….Focus your perfect stats kids HS years and application on two things. (1) What has your kid done to help others in their community? (2) How will they use the elite school education to help others in their community. It’s not about the perfect stats or the awards, although those help. It’s NOT about how well the essays are written — it’s about the HS experience affecting your kid in some way that they ended up genuinely helping others (not racking up hours at a food pantry), and what are they going to do beyond getting a good job that will change the world for the better?? Without the desire and evidence of having a positive impact on their community, my kid would have been at a safety school (which is really not as bad as some make it out to be!) Oh and leadership “titles” do not count as much as actual leadership — can your kid lead others without a formal title? I’m not saying that being President of a club is bad, just that the kid needs to do something after they get the title….or do lead others without a title. Make sure to have documentation — news articles etc.

Or “When others zig, your kid should zag.” Do something different. For CS, do not do robotics or build apps that no one uses. I cannot say what my kid did without doxxing, but this is also important. Why should a college pick your perfect stats kid who was President of their Robotics Club over the 100’s of other similar kids? What sets them apart?

I hope that makes sense!

It’s quite the phenomenon where your kid’s success somehow makes you the expert.

Considering that I took it upon myself to learn about college admissions during the pandemic when I had to quit my job, and my kid was in 10th grade….I’d say my strategies worked!!!

Way to devalue your kid in favor of your own “brilliance”.

NP. Posting because you really need to stop. She obviously did her homework and had a child not only with high stats but who she shares a solid relationship.
You sound bitter and jealous and you really need to stop.

You’re not the board monitor. Take a seat.

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Anonymous wrote:Parent of Class of 2022 HS grad here — kid is CS major and admitted to 2 of the top 3 universities. I know most people do not listen to free advice, but for the ones who do, here it is….Focus your perfect stats kids HS years and application on two things. (1) What has your kid done to help others in their community? (2) How will they use the elite school education to help others in their community. It’s not about the perfect stats or the awards, although those help. It’s NOT about how well the essays are written — it’s about the HS experience affecting your kid in some way that they ended up genuinely helping others (not racking up hours at a food pantry), and what are they going to do beyond getting a good job that will change the world for the better?? Without the desire and evidence of having a positive impact on their community, my kid would have been at a safety school (which is really not as bad as some make it out to be!) Oh and leadership “titles” do not count as much as actual leadership — can your kid lead others without a formal title? I’m not saying that being President of a club is bad, just that the kid needs to do something after they get the title….or do lead others without a title. Make sure to have documentation — news articles etc.

Or “When others zig, your kid should zag.” Do something different. For CS, do not do robotics or build apps that no one uses. I cannot say what my kid did without doxxing, but this is also important. Why should a college pick your perfect stats kid who was President of their Robotics Club over the 100’s of other similar kids? What sets them apart?

I hope that makes sense!

It’s quite the phenomenon where your kid’s success somehow makes you the expert.

Considering that I took it upon myself to learn about college admissions during the pandemic when I had to quit my job, and my kid was in 10th grade….I’d say my strategies worked!!!

Way to devalue your kid in favor of your own “brilliance”.

NP. Posting because you really need to stop. She obviously did her homework and had a child not only with high stats but who she shares a solid relationship.
You sound bitter and jealous and you really need to stop.

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Anonymous wrote:High stat DC also swimming in rejections.

High sats are not unique. Grade inflation, test prep, tutoring etc. have made it so parents and kids think they are smarter and more special than they actually are.

The % of really smart kids hasn’t changed in the last 30 years. The number of parents and kids who think they fall into that bucket has increased astronomically.

+1
I would say AAP kids/parents (FCPS) especially, are convinced that their kids will get into any college they want. AAP is such a crock of BS, it's too bad these parents don't realize that it means nothing at all.

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Anonymous wrote:Are there any top schools that actually put any weight on kids with top standardized test scores any more?

Duke does. From what I’ve understood after reading posts about kids reading their admissions files, Duke rates kids out of 30 points. Test scores are worth 5 points. If you go TO, your application is now rated out of 25 points.

Then legacy must provide 20 points. The only two kids I know of who got in ED went TO and are not amazing students.

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Anonymous wrote:Are there any top schools that actually put any weight on kids with top standardized test scores any more?

Duke does. From what I’ve understood after reading posts about kids reading their admissions files, Duke rates kids out of 30 points. Test scores are worth 5 points. If you go TO, your application is now rated out of 25 points.

Anonymous wrote:OP, very similar profile to your son. While not glamorous, we have found the most success with Big 10 schools. Very good programs. UMD, OSU and UMN all provided merit. Also just accepted w/merit to CWRU (after EA deferral) and Lehigh. WM as well with Monroe Scholar designation. Deferred and waitlisted UVA and NEU. BU out tomorrow. Took a flyer on Harvard and Penn as only top 20 schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any top schools that actually put any weight on kids with top standardized test scores any more?

Duke does. From what I’ve understood after reading posts about kids reading their admissions files, Duke rates kids out of 30 points. Test scores are worth 5 points. If you go TO, your application is now rated out of 25 points.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of Class of 2022 HS grad here — kid is CS major and admitted to 2 of the top 3 universities. I know most people do not listen to free advice, but for the ones who do, here it is….Focus your perfect stats kids HS years and application on two things. (1) What has your kid done to help others in their community? (2) How will they use the elite school education to help others in their community. It’s not about the perfect stats or the awards, although those help. It’s NOT about how well the essays are written — it’s about the HS experience affecting your kid in some way that they ended up genuinely helping others (not racking up hours at a food pantry), and what are they going to do beyond getting a good job that will change the world for the better?? Without the desire and evidence of having a positive impact on their community, my kid would have been at a safety school (which is really not as bad as some make it out to be!) Oh and leadership “titles” do not count as much as actual leadership — can your kid lead others without a formal title? I’m not saying that being President of a club is bad, just that the kid needs to do something after they get the title….or do lead others without a title. Make sure to have documentation — news articles etc.

Or “When others zig, your kid should zag.” Do something different. For CS, do not do robotics or build apps that no one uses. I cannot say what my kid did without doxxing, but this is also important. Why should a college pick your perfect stats kid who was President of their Robotics Club over the 100’s of other similar kids? What sets them apart?

I hope that makes sense!

Can you give some hypothetical examples of commitment ?

It’s quite the phenomenon where your kid’s success somehow makes you the expert.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any top schools that actually put any weight on kids with top standardized test scores any more?

Duke does. From what I’ve understood after reading posts about kids reading their admissions files, Duke rates kids out of 30 points. Test scores are worth 5 points. If you go TO, your application is now rated out of 25 points.

Anonymous wrote:Are there any top schools that actually put any weight on kids with top standardized test scores any more?

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Anonymous wrote:White UMC is the deal breaker. Read the news. That’s not what’s in right now.

Disagree. The trick is to be one of the 74 white UMC males in the entire United States who is not applying for CS.

-- a parent of one of those 74 guys, a freshman at a T15 studying poli sci, philosophy and econ.

Lol so true. Parent of one of the other 73.

Somehow all my senior DD’s white male classmates are getting into top schools. And it’s definitely in right now if you can throw or kick a ball of some kind or run real fast.