Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being female is not a hook for stem or any major. Notre Dames takes a lot of Catholic because that is disproportionately who applies, not because that is a hook.

There is a preference for females at MIT. This is why you see more asian females than asian males at the school.

Anecdotal but I think this could be waning -- rise of STEM has created crazy interest in CS majors/MIT across both genders. DD was rejected by MIT/Stanford (she applied to one of these SCEA) but got into HYP for STEM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, DD got in "unhooked" to one of HYP and several other T20s. Was also rejected by rest of HYP and several other T20s. No legacy, family $, is overrepresented minority. What she had going for her --

Top 3-5/600 ranked in well regarded large public -- not valedictorian (school sent multiple kids to HYP, Stanford, MIT, all the top ranked kids landed well)

Near perfect test scores across SATs and APs

Spiky dedication in sport she has been doing since age 5 but no national level awards or recruited athlete.

Good essays and LORs but not sure if they were really standout.

Hook in bold

Overrepresented is not a hook.

My DD has 5 friends who got into Vandy last year, unhooked. But sounds like things have changed for this year.

Anonymous wrote:Being female is not a hook for stem or any major. Notre Dames takes a lot of Catholic because that is disproportionately who applies, not because that is a hook.

There is a preference for females at MIT. This is why you see more asian females than asian males at the school.

If multiple kids with a similar profile are applying to one school ED, just DO NOT apply to that school. The odds of getting into Vanderbilt, even when a strong candidate, are low and even lower if 5-10 other kids from the class are EDing there. My advice to my kid was to ED to a high target they would have a much better shot at during ED compared to RD.

From a counselor I follow:

“It's the time of year where parents and kids are combing over their applications in their minds after being rejected or waitlisted at their top choice universities. I see a deep stream of posts listing stats, and pointing to those stats as proof the admissions officers really messed up.

Stats are only a filter to get your foot through the door.
As this former Yale admissions officer explains, they "agonize" over sentences in a personal statement. Proof that my declaration that the personal statement is the single most important part of the college application post-covid. If your essay does not make them feel something powerful and deep for you, you are not getting in.

I work with students one on one to craft powerful and moving creative nonfiction stories for their personal statement essays.

They also search for students like needles in the haystack, who are self-aware and understand the importance of how their presence impacts others.

They also search for students with texture. The biologist who also dives deep into gender studies, the computer scientist who is fascinated with solving the logistical problems of the Dyson sphere, the mathematician who is an award-winning poet, the journalist who is obsessed with Strauss and plays the instruments that get her to the deepest place she can reach inside his music.

I will point out that Brown in particular also has these kinds of criteria in their admissions decisions.

Diversify - spend time cultivating more than one of your artistic or academic passions.

Stats are only a yard stick. It takes much more to grab the attention of T20 admissions officers and get invited into 3rd round deliberations.”

Anonymous wrote:My older one was a recruited athlete with much lower grades so we are in different territory with my younger son's who is a junior with: 4.0, SAT 1510, a few strong activities & leadership roles within common clubs found in his public school but no app or national awards or huge spike. Full pay. Undecided but probably economics & history. Lot's of AP's with 4s and 5s, part time job. Wants to ED at Vanderbilt (like the rest of his class). Seems like a very typical public school profile. Is this a wasted ED?

Sure, mine got into five T20 unhooked, three of them were T10/ivy. But they had a much better resume and were top of the class in every way.
1510 is a little low for T10/ivy unhooked but for T20 it is within range.
The key is the course work, what are the classes with that 4.0, and where does the weighted GPA fall compared to the high school. What are AP scores. Are there hard courses your student has avoided. Do the teachers think your son is one of the best in class.
And does that high school send students to T20 unhooked and how does yours compare to prior admits.
Those are the factors that will matter.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, DD got in "unhooked" to one of HYP and several other T20s. Was also rejected by rest of HYP and several other T20s. No legacy, family $, is overrepresented minority. What she had going for her --

Top 3-5/600 ranked in well regarded large public -- not valedictorian (school sent multiple kids to HYP, Stanford, MIT, all the top ranked kids landed well)

Near perfect test scores across SATs and APs

Spiky dedication in sport she has been doing since age 5 but no national level awards or recruited athlete.

Good essays and LORs but not sure if they were really standout.

Hook in bold

Being female is not a hook for stem or any major. Notre Dames takes a lot of Catholic because that is disproportionately who applies, not because that is a hook.

Anonymous wrote:Mine got into an ivy ED this year completely without a hook. Large public dmv HS, but very pointy with lots of various skills (sport, art, significant leadership/volunteering/impact). Letters of recommendation were very strong.

It happens but your kid needed to be preparing for this for a long time before senior year.

To add on: second kid also in at a T20, unhooked. Of course it happens.

Mine got into an ivy ED this year completely without a hook. Large public dmv HS, but very pointy with lots of various skills (sport, art, significant leadership/volunteering/impact). Letters of recommendation were very strong.

It happens but your kid needed to be preparing for this for a long time before senior year.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, DD got in "unhooked" to one of HYP and several other T20s. Was also rejected by rest of HYP and several other T20s. No legacy, family $, is overrepresented minority. What she had going for her --

Top 3-5/600 ranked in well regarded large public -- not valedictorian (school sent multiple kids to HYP, Stanford, MIT, all the top ranked kids landed well)

Near perfect test scores across SATs and APs

Spiky dedication in sport she has been doing since age 5 but no national level awards or recruited athlete.

Good essays and LORs but not sure if they were really standout.

Being female is a hook for top colleges, especially in the STEM fields.

Anonymous wrote:My older one was a recruited athlete with much lower grades so we are in different territory with my younger son's who is a junior with: 4.0, SAT 1510, a few strong activities & leadership roles within common clubs found in his public school but no app or national awards or huge spike. Full pay. Undecided but probably economics & history. Lot's of AP's with 4s and 5s, part time job. Wants to ED at Vanderbilt (like the rest of his class). Seems like a very typical public school profile. Is this a wasted ED?

This is a waste of an ED, especially since you noted this is a popular ED option for the rest of his class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my kid sounds exactly like yours and wants to ED to Duke.

Wow! So it can happen! Congratulations on Duke. My sister went there and had the best experience. So regular kid with out all the extra bells and Regenoeron competition or X Writers Workshop or Math Olympiad can get into Duke?

No, I said he wants to ED to Duke -- meaning his plan is to apply to Duke ED. He is a junior.

Make sure his school has kids accepted ED to Duke on the regular, Duke has a preference for certain schools and it is a waste of an ED if Duke doesn’t “like” the high school.

Yes, DD got in "unhooked" to one of HYP and several other T20s. Was also rejected by rest of HYP and several other T20s. No legacy, family $, is overrepresented minority. What she had going for her --

Top 3-5/600 ranked in well regarded large public -- not valedictorian (school sent multiple kids to HYP, Stanford, MIT, all the top ranked kids landed well)

Near perfect test scores across SATs and APs

Spiky dedication in sport she has been doing since age 5 but no national level awards or recruited athlete.

Good essays and LORs but not sure if they were really standout.