I'm not surprised. It has always been that way, though admittedly even harder now. But even 20 years ago, being tops in your class from a well-regarded public school never gave you a good shot at HYP. I went to a well-regarded suburban public in Florida (so similar demographic to Texas, college admissions-wise?) I was in the "nerdy" class where many of us tried for Ivy and the like. Lots of rejections, lots of waitlist. Even then, great grades, good to great SATs from well-regarded public just meant you had a shot. Sometimes no rhyme or reason. I got into one, was rejected from another. Classmate got into that one, was rejected from the one I got in. Neither of us was valedictorian, and the valedictorian didn't get in.

Best to set expectations to just about zero when it comes to these places. Saves you a lot of angst.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But DCUM told me if I move to flyover country my kids will be Ivy autoadmits

Not Texas, but a state with a small population, like Wyoming or North Dakota, so in their glossy brochure the college can say "We have students from all 50 states."

Yup there are people not even in the top 10% of their class in the mega competitive areas of greater SF, Eastern Chicago (Suburbs), NYC suburbs, and this area who would be shoe ins if they lived anywhere else in the country.

Have people ever looked at where apps are coming from for elite schools. I would wager at least half the apps are coming from just those 4 areas. Colleges could easily fill entire classes with folks from those areas but they don't.

Anonymous wrote:But DCUM told me if I move to flyover country my kids will be Ivy autoadmits

Not Texas, but a state with a small population, like Wyoming or North Dakota, so in their glossy brochure the college can say "We have students from all 50 states."

^^ Plus who is unimpressed by Whitman? BTW, how do I find college acceptance lists for other MCPS HSs?

Anonymous wrote:I didn't find it to be rambling. I found it interesting when compared to the Whitman post. What do all the posters who were unimpressed by Whitman's stats have to say now?

You are comparing some hick school in Texas with Whitman? I am sure even Sherwood is faring way better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped reading after the OP mentioned the race and ethnicity of the students going to top 10 colleges.

Why? It's interesting.

No it isn’t. It is creepy and borderline racist. “Half Asian?”

This OP has spent easy to much time dissecting the stats and outcomes of 500 kids.

What do you call the race of a person who has an Asian Parent and a White Parent?

Hapa

I don't understand. By "Hapa" do you mean "Half pale"?

"She was tall and freckled, with long, dark hair — and we stood out in the same way. As I leaned in to say hi, she yelled over the din, 'You're hapa, aren't you?' It was the last word I expected to hear in D.C., but I welcomed the refreshing respite from the constant and inevitable question: 'What are you?'"

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/12/15/370416571/half-asian-half-white-no-hapa

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped reading after the OP mentioned the race and ethnicity of the students going to top 10 colleges.

Why? It's interesting.

No it isn’t. It is creepy and borderline racist. “Half Asian?”

This OP has spent easy to much time dissecting the stats and outcomes of 500 kids.

What do you call the race of a person who has an Asian Parent and a White Parent?

Hapa

I don't understand. By "Hapa" do you mean "Half pale"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep. 1/3rd of Harvard's entering class in any given year is legacy.

Andover and Exeter (elite NE boarding schools) each contribute about 1% of Harvard's freshman class each year. That number is, of course, lower than the number of kids from those schools that get into Harvard and take a spot from a kid from another school.

That’s nothing compared to Noble and Greenough with only 120 kids per grade. Heard they had a great year this year - 17 to Harvard during ED.

I wonder how many of the admits from elite prep and boarding schools are legacy admits.

And how many are athletes and how many are legacies who are also athletes?

How many have parents that are professors at Harvard?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped reading after the OP mentioned the race and ethnicity of the students going to top 10 colleges.

Why? It's interesting.

No it isn’t. It is creepy and borderline racist. “Half Asian?”

This OP has spent easy to much time dissecting the stats and outcomes of 500 kids.

What do you call the race of a person who has an Asian Parent and a White Parent?

Hapa

OP here. Not sure why people think that the post was racist. I am giving objective detailed data on the students accepted because otherwise stats mean very little. Also, these kids are not "academic drones". Many are accomplished kids with good EC's and participate in many real community service projects.


I am just saying that none of that seems to have helped them get into a top 20 school. Use the information as you will.

And btw, many universities like Brown have actually said they are trying to recruit more kids from Texas. I guess they are looking for a "different profile" than these kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is owed Harvard. Do you understand that you are competing globally for 2000 or so spots? Tell me when you looked at the acceptance rate did you think of another outcome ? I’m trying to understand why you are so surprisEd.

Seriously. The only thing that’s changed since I was young is the enormous amount of parents who think their child with half a brain can get into Harvard.

You mean parents who spend their whole life making their kids study for a test... think they DESERVE (are ENTITLED) to Harvard.

Step back and take a deep breath and be nice, won't you? I swear half the people posting are high school kids.

The world has evolved from a time 20 years ago when Harvard and the other top colleges held themselves up as the best of the American universities and told all applicants we're seeking for the best and brightest students and these are our standards and expectations, and if you meet them you have a fair chance of being admitted. That was understood. And now they've gone from "fair chance" to virtually no chance of being admitted in part because we're giving all these spots to athletes and legacies and all the other special interest groups. At the same time they still call themselves the best universities taking in the best and brightest students. There's a certain inconsistency and hypocrisy involved here. And it's clearer and clearer than ever. And before you shout in capitalized letters, no, I'm not someone who has any stakes in these admissions games, and am just an amused observer from the sidelines.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of this ramble?

DP. Sharing of a pragmatic view of this years college admissions experience at a good school (dominated by the dominant race) with many excellent students as evidenced by the number of APs taken and the number of National Merit Semifinalists. The take away is not to be too dreamy eyed and shoot in the foot, especially if you are a parent/student of middle school or high school.

If you don't have kids or you are a know-it-all, then of course the original post is "ramble". The day is long. Save some attitude for the rest of the day.

Anyone who follows this board or the news or talks to a college counselor or looks at the CDSs or reads the accepted class profiles colleges publish already knows this stuff.

That’s why people are calling it ramble. OP isn’t adding anything new except their own shock that high stat kids who take a lot of APs are not that interesting to elite colleges.

You'd probably be surprised by how "clueless" many parents are. Plenty of parents went to good colleges ranging from their flagship state university to the Ivies and zoned out after graduation and don't really start paying attention till kids are in middle of high school and all that time they think admissions rate are still what they were when they were in college.

I am not rushing to criticize OP for his post, and I find that band of people jumping on him silly and judgmental. Many of the college/high school threads are dominated by elite public/private schools and we frequently get comments from disappointed parents commenting if their DS/DD (or neighbor's kid) had gone to a more average high school they'd have gotten into the college of their dreams. But OP's post shows that's not a safe assumption at all. And it's fair to have a post pointing this out. Going to Blair over Whitman likely does nothing to increase your child's chances of a top college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep. 1/3rd of Harvard's entering class in any given year is legacy.

Andover and Exeter (elite NE boarding schools) each contribute about 1% of Harvard's freshman class each year. That number is, of course, lower than the number of kids from those schools that get into Harvard and take a spot from a kid from another school.

That’s nothing compared to Noble and Greenough with only 120 kids per grade. Heard they had a great year this year - 17 to Harvard during ED.

I wonder how many of the admits from elite prep and boarding schools are legacy admits.

And how many are athletes and how many are legacies who are also athletes?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped reading after the OP mentioned the race and ethnicity of the students going to top 10 colleges.

Why? It's interesting.

No it isn’t. It is creepy and borderline racist. “Half Asian?”

This OP has spent easy to much time dissecting the stats and outcomes of 500 kids.

What do you call the race of a person who has an Asian Parent and a White Parent?

I'd call that half Asian. The racism charge is beyond ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep. 1/3rd of Harvard's entering class in any given year is legacy.

Andover and Exeter (elite NE boarding schools) each contribute about 1% of Harvard's freshman class each year. That number is, of course, lower than the number of kids from those schools that get into Harvard and take a spot from a kid from another school.

That’s nothing compared to Noble and Greenough with only 120 kids per grade. Heard they had a great year this year - 17 to Harvard during ED.

I wonder how many of the admits from elite prep and boarding schools are legacy admits.