Grinnell? I think that’s rural

I’ve got this post from a different thread. It’s helpful to see the big picture.

Top 15 or Ivys: Near perfect GPA with highest rigor and 1550 SAT, 35 ACT + at least 2 hooks. (Legacy+ sports, URM+ exceptional essays, multiple strong ECs, for example) Basically a kid needs to be perfect.

Top 15-30: Top GPA with high rigor, above 1530 SAT, 34 ACT with at least one hook, or National level EC, or have something spectacularly unique and interesting.

Top 25 SLAC :At least one hook, sports or National level EC is more important than tippy top GPA and test scores, since they need to build a class with various talents. Full pay ED helps.
Unique talents go further than perfect academics tho both are generally expected.

Top 30-50: Academics (Rigor, GPA, test scores)are more important than talents and hooks, especially in large public universities. Still needs some interesting or very good ECs.

St Olaf or Oberlin?

Agree with idea of ED2 at one of Hamilton, Colgate, Colby or Bates. And Rd the rest with handful of targets and safties.
Too many artsy kids apply Vassar. But have a shot with if student is male.
Consider Skidmore, Bard.

Anonymous wrote:OP--what was the reason that you think your son was rejected ED1 at Middlebury?

NP. DD was rejected Midd ED2 a couple of years ago with near-identical stats. Tons of ECs, strong recs, FP, private. Definitely not a sure admit for an unhooked kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised by middlebury. I’d check in with LOR writers.

Schools read the LOR now and if they arent rosy lovely they scold the teacher and don't submit that rec. Teacher recs don't actually mean THAT much unless it is the teacher is like this kid is the literal best in my career, or the teacher says the kid is a sociopath or lazy.

I can't believe anyone reads these in big public schools.

Can you apply to Canadian schools outside of your ED school?

Anonymous wrote:Toronto is a little less of a draw - great school and city but I understand it's very much a commuter campus.

Um. No. UT grad here.

UT main campus (sometimes called the St George campus, which is different from Mississauga campus), has a residential college system, is dead center in downtown Toronto, and is not even close to a commuter campus.

Toronto and McGill will accept you if you have the requisite stats. They aren't screwing around with covert affirmative action and athletic and legacy boosts.

Oberlin?

Surprised with the arts focus that they hated Wesleyan. Is another look worthwhile? Agree on looking at Vassar. How about Skidmore?

Tufts and Emory are certainly not rural. I don’t think of Emory as artsy at all either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised by middlebury. I’d check in with LOR writers.

Schools read the LOR now and if they arent rosy lovely they scold the teacher and don't submit that rec. Teacher recs don't actually mean THAT much unless it is the teacher is like this kid is the literal best in my career, or the teacher says the kid is a sociopath or lazy.

you think a public school counselor has time to review and reject LORs?

Search this forum for Middlebury stories - I was pushing my kid to apply but I've only heard negative outcomes on this board. Per Naviance it gets more applications and fewer admits from my kid's HS than most of its peer schools.

All the kids I know that currently attend Middlebury are recruited athletes. My DC’s high stat friend was also rejected ED last year. I think Middlebury is a very tough admit these days.

Anonymous wrote:OP--what was the reason that you think your son was rejected ED1 at Middlebury?

I'm not the OP but it could be anything. Maybe they had already said yes to a lot of athletes from his area and now needed to increase geographic diversity. OP will never know.