Anonymous wrote:Very anxious and feeling a bit hopeless. She has amazing grades and extra curriculars yet has been rejected or deferred from most schools. She has zero hooks-- maybe that is why she can't seem to get in? You can't do much better than she has done in her classes.

Unfortunately, 3.6 million kids graduate from US high schools each year, meaning 360k in the top 10%. There are a lot of kids who've done very well in the classroom, and the most selective colleges have to look to something else to help distinguish them from each other. The good news, though, is that wherever she ends up there will plenty of other kids in the same boat and she'll be able to get an education that will prepare her well.

Zero after REA acceptance to a T20 school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really stressed. Feels lots of pressure from his FCPS culture of Ivy or bust. Kid already has great choices but having a hard time appreciating them.

Mine is at TJ and boy, there are so many strategies at college application, in hindsight. Maybe we should have spent the money and hired a private counselor!

Strategies?

yes i want to know more...

Aim lower ones from T20 and ED, don’t bother with EA unless you have a hook. Don’t hold out that admission officers will see something special in you during early; they look for hooks, legacy…. You want in, ED is the only way.

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Anonymous wrote:Mine only got deferrals so far and is easily triggered these days.

LOL! That describes my child.

I'm just glad he applied to 20+ schools so he'll end up *somewhere*, right?

20+! He must be very motivated, bravo to him! Care to share what mixes of schools?

Anonymous wrote:Very anxious and feeling a bit hopeless. She has amazing grades and extra curriculars yet has been rejected or deferred from most schools. She has zero hooks-- maybe that is why she can't seem to get in? You can't do much better than she has done in her classes.

In the same boat. Great GPA but the few Bs happened in pandemic year so all the deferrals just confirmed that holistic isn’t really what is being considered..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really stressed. Feels lots of pressure from his FCPS culture of Ivy or bust. Kid already has great choices but having a hard time appreciating them.

Mine is at TJ and boy, there are so many strategies at college application, in hindsight. Maybe we should have spent the money and hired a private counselor!

Strategies?

yes i want to know more...

Mine is doing alright. She was lucky to have been accepted early to Pitt and a couple other safety/match schools with money, so while she is anxious and nervous about her upcoming RD decisions, she knows she has some good affordable options to fall back on. One thing I definitely learned throughout this process is to find affordable safety schools that your child would love to attend, which makes the process more enjoyable for the whole family.

Acting pretty stressed but says he is not. One deferral so far and waiting on 4 others. Motivation for school is pretty low, although I think getting in and selecting a school won't help that. I think with such a big change just around the corner he's finding it hard to stay in the moment and just wants to figure out what's next.

Not at all, he's gotten into his first choice and is waiting on one last decision but it's not a place he's super excited about so he feels like he's done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine only got deferrals so far and is easily triggered these days.

LOL! That describes my child.

I'm just glad he applied to 20+ schools so he'll end up *somewhere*, right?

Maybe? Depends upon whether he applied to schools where he can actually get in as opposed to all reaches.

Very anxious and feeling a bit hopeless. She has amazing grades and extra curriculars yet has been rejected or deferred from most schools. She has zero hooks-- maybe that is why she can't seem to get in? You can't do much better than she has done in her classes.

DS was definitely stressed this time last year, he'd applied early everywhere but his first choice school was the last to release (really should have done ED but wasn't certain it was truly #1 until he was farther along). Refused to discuss anything about where he'd already gotten in while waiting for #1 (which is where he ended up).

Anonymous wrote:Mine only got deferrals so far and is easily triggered these days.

LOL! That describes my child.

I'm just glad he applied to 20+ schools so he'll end up *somewhere*, right?

Anonymous wrote:DD is much more chill than mom and dad. She's into one school she is excited about (more excited about than mom and dad, which is good), which made a recent deferral more palatable. Plus, she was actually happy about the one rejection she has so far.

She doesn't even check the portals unless we prompt her to, that's how calm she is.

I found this to be the case too. I almost have too much info from reading this board (like when decisions are out, and telling them to check portal). I need to stop and let go.

DD is much more chill than mom and dad. She's into one school she is excited about (more excited about than mom and dad, which is good), which made a recent deferral more palatable. Plus, she was actually happy about the one rejection she has so far.

She doesn't even check the portals unless we prompt her to, that's how calm she is.