Anonymous
11/27/2023 18:41
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
So how does the admissions team organize the applications for review. Are all the applicants sorted first by which high school attend so that that group of applicants are considered together (assuming that the college doesn't intend to take too may students from the same high school)?
Anonymous
11/27/2023 18:38
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Do essays often make or break a decision?
Rarely make.
But if kid is a braggart or comes across the wrong way, could break.
It’s true that essays won’t turn an unqualified applicant into an admission. But in a sea of highly qualified applicants, essays absolutely make a difference. Check out YouTube and Reddit for Ivy students who have read their admissions files; essays *always* figure prominently in the comments.
I agree with this. I have two kids currently attending top 20 colleges. And I'm quite certain their essays helped them considerably. With these schools, absolutely every applicant is going to have a stellar academic record and outstanding test scores.
The essay is the only part of the application where a student has a genuine voice. They should take advantage of it. They only need to impress one person. Its purpose is to get an admissions reader to advocate for you at the table. That's it. And as the OP noted, essays are scored just as highly as GPAs and ECs. I think they're quite important for the most selective colleges. As are the teacher recommendations.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 18:25
Subject: Re:Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:TROLL ALERT.
Hate to burst your bubble, but at top 10 schools with 60k applicants, some AOs have admitted that they are culling up to 50% of the applicants before review by AI selection for GPA and test score cutoff (if kid submits scores). They have said 20 years ago they used to get 13k applicants and the number of AOs hasn't increased in the same exponential manner.
Nobody can do a thorough holistic review on that many applications. Period.
They will have a few designated readers browse that pile of rejects just to see if something extra, extra EXTRAordinary is in there--but 99.9999% of the time those are all flushed.
The fact this was even stated publicly is pretty big because they are all completely full of sh&t at these top schools when they say every single application is holistically reviewed. Not.
And we can thank Test Optional and the gaming of USWNR for the mess they are in now.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 18:24
Subject: Re:Stop the Speculations :)
TROLL ALERT.
Hate to burst your bubble, but at top 10 schools with 60k applicants, some AOs have admitted that they are culling up to 50% of the applicants before review by AI selection for GPA and test score cutoff (if kid submits scores). They have said 20 years ago they used to get 13k applicants and the number of AOs hasn't increased in the same exponential manner.
Nobody can do a thorough holistic review on that many applications. Period.
They will have a few designated readers browse that pile of rejects just to see if something extra, extra EXTRAordinary is in there--but 99.9999% of the time those are all flushed.
The fact this was even stated publicly is pretty big because they are all completely full of sh&t at these top schools when they say every single application is holistically reviewed. Not.
Hate to burst your bubble, but at top 10 schools with 60k applicants, some AOs have admitted that they are culling up to 50% of the applicants before review by AI selection for GPA and test score cutoff (if kid submits scores). They have said 20 years ago they used to get 13k applicants and the number of AOs hasn't increased in the same exponential manner.
Nobody can do a thorough holistic review on that many applications. Period.
They will have a few designated readers browse that pile of rejects just to see if something extra, extra EXTRAordinary is in there--but 99.9999% of the time those are all flushed.
The fact this was even stated publicly is pretty big because they are all completely full of sh&t at these top schools when they say every single application is holistically reviewed. Not.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 18:20
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Do interviews count for anything?
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:33
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Op is definitely a troll. A good portion of her post was “borrowed” from a post about Duke’s test optional application review that appeared on the Reddit applying to college board over a year ago.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:24
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Do essays often make or break a decision?
I think that depends upon the school. But yes, it can definately help put your student in the next pile, especially if the essay is intriguing/catches the AO attention. Imagine that 90% of essays are similar and the AO gets bored---if you wake them up you win points
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:24
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?
Np.
Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.
Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.
Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…
NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?
Depending on their last name, maybe?
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:20
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
While this may be helpful for someone who doesn’t know much about selective school admissions, it’s not ground breaking. The same information has been available from many sources for years.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:18
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?
Np.
Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.
Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.
Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…
NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?
Even if they do assume that it can't use it in their admissions math.
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:04
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?
Np.
Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.
Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.
Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…
NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?
New rules this year. They don't know. They would have to look at the school details and specifically search out that statistic. It could happen but they move so fast it is not certain they will bother. First and foremost they will look at rigor and how your kid did on the SAT compared to classmates
Anonymous
11/27/2023 17:00
Subject: Re:Stop the Speculations :)
Also a school like MIT is strictly quantitative. They accept few people from EA because they “need” to see how the students do in Calculus.
I assumed that most MIT applicants take Calculus before 12th grade. (My child is taking it in 10th and is still very unlikely to apply to or get into MIT.)
Anonymous
11/27/2023 16:54
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?
Np.
Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.
Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.
Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…
NP. This is interesting. My (white) kid is at a public high school in which 83% of the students are Black. Are you saying the AO is likely to assume my kid is Black?
Anonymous
11/27/2023 16:46
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Could you tell this year which applicants were AA or Hispanic?
Np.
Yes bc they write about it in diversity essay or in extracurriculars (black student association; students of color conference) and often mentioned as an aside in the LOR.
Troll alert. This is absolute BS. Our HS is 85% black and there is no black student association. Also, there is no point in a an "aside" mentioning what is 85% likely to be the fact.
Since most HS are not 85 percent black, given AA people make up 15 percent of our whole population within this country, I think it is safe to assume that geographic readers of a college assigned to that region knows that school is predominantly black. (Or whatever the racial group may be in that unique situation) Again, not the norm…
Anonymous
11/27/2023 16:45
Subject: Stop the Speculations :)
Anonymous wrote:National Recognition Programs are also for "rural students"
That is elite slang for poor whites who, believe it or not, get left behind also.
Right, but the recognition programs give separate awards that explicitly state the minority group in the award name. For example, an applicant might list "National Hispanic Recognition Program."