Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So he's going to Notre Dame over Cornell and Dartmouth. BFD

You're a D-bag.

Also just stupid. That was my DS. He turned down Princeton and U Penn and WL at U Chicago. But you go on making yourself feel better by being a jerk.

Turned down Princeton and Penn for Notre Dame? That's an even better story. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Remember also that admissions is building a class (and ultimately, a campus and an alumni network). So they need the flashy innovators and prodigies and math whizzes, but they also need joiners, worker bees, charming networkers, “let’s build a croquet course on the quad” people, dreamers, naked mile runners, funny story-tellers, etc.

Maybe their marching band is down a few trombones. Maybe their prize faculty hire just got a grant to study underwater basket weaving in Togo, and your DC’s grandmother is Togo’s most renowned basket craftswoman. Maybe they’re full up on surfers but could really use a drag racer, because the admission director’s counterpart at Rival U just got one and will not shut up about it.

Point being, after a certain point, you can’t engineer this. There is an element of randomness in the process, and your DC never “deserves” a spot anywhere.

THIS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has similar stats, cast a wide net and still got nothing. Waitlisted a couple of places.

Ugh! Sorry, PP. Do any of the waitlists look promising?

If your kid had a 35 and "still got nothing," he/you clearly did something wrong and didn't apply to the right schools. Tons of schools would salivate over a kid with those stats.

Did you watch that you tube video on the other thread? A kid with 1590 was rejected at Northeastern and USC!

USC is a top 20 school and nothing to count on regardless of your stats and Northeastern is in the top 50. I do think that kid should have had a strong shot at NE but they may be yield protecting. The first thing parents need to do is forget any perceptions they had of schools when they applied 30 years ago.

You need to cast a wide net and not just fixate on high rankings. And apply to and show interest to multiple schools that seem very likely admits. High stats kids can get rejected when colleges think you won't come. Even VT, which DCUM likes to dis as a safety for everyone with it's 70% admit rate, waitlisted a ton of kids this year with great stats.

Anonymous wrote:Remember also that admissions is building a class (and ultimately, a campus and an alumni network). So they need the flashy innovators and prodigies and math whizzes, but they also need joiners, worker bees, charming networkers, “let’s build a croquet course on the quad” people, dreamers, naked mile runners, funny story-tellers, etc.

Maybe their marching band is down a few trombones. Maybe their prize faculty hire just got a grant to study underwater basket weaving in Togo, and your DC’s grandmother is Togo’s most renowned basket craftswoman. Maybe they’re full up on surfers but could really use a drag racer, because the admission director’s counterpart at Rival U just got one and will not shut up about it.

Point being, after a certain point, you can’t engineer this. There is an element of randomness in the process, and your DC never “deserves” a spot anywhere.

Your comment should be required reading for all parents going through this craziness. Thank you! Yes!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

I agree with these posts. I spent a lot of time researching schools when ds was in 9th grade. We used that research to identify a bunch of schools in 10th grade - Ivy, top 20, slac, big research univ, lower tier but good campus culture, urban, small town. We visited a few over Spring break and a few in the summer. After that ds took over because he had a better sense of what he wanted. He did not want a pressure cooker and honestly he was a little turned off by some of the higher ranked schools. He naturally gravitated towards more laid back, small or mid sized, mid tier schools (think W and M or Brandeis). He applied to seven schools in the 20-60 range and got into all of them and got merit aid at several. He ended up at UMD honors. Not his first choice but one he made on his own because he didn’t want to spend all our college savings on undergrad.
The one thing I did that I feel was important was emphasizing the variety of schools he could potentially be happy at. I think it is important to do this as early as possible. He could just as easily have emerged from all the college visits insisting on only applying to top tier colleges of course. If that had happened I would have insisted on him applying to at least 4 safeties. The problem with high stats kids is that every school seems to be a match but the odds are so small without a hook. If the acceptance rate is 6%, you have to remember that this includes the legacies, donors, athletes and other applicants with hooks. If you take those out the remaining applicants are competing for maybe half the spots and the acceptance rate is probably much lower than 6%.
As a parent your main job is to help them to identify likely schools that they will be happy to attend. Don’t wait until the summer after 11th grade to have the conversation.

Cast a wide net. However, it’s extremely difficult to apply to more than 10 because of essays and supplemental essays. If a student plans to do more than 10, s/he needs to plan ahead. If applying to 10 is considered an additional AP class, 20 might be considered an extra 1 1/2 AP class. That on top of the crazy junior year curriculum and extracurriculars.

In the alternative, give plenty of time. Start picking out colleges early, find essay questions, and start writing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that you never know about the kids who get into the top schools. I would be a millionaire if I told you the amount of times I have heard, but Johnny had horrible grades and test scores and he got into Harvard, Penn, etc. Your kid has NO idea what his peers have done. He thinks he knows, but he really truly doesn't. Cast a wide net-- in other words, don't apply only to reach schools and apply to safeties that your kid will actually want to attend. Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in the prestige of schools because if your kid doesn't get into a school that you and he has obsessed about that is prestigious, he is going to be a very unhappy camper if he needs to attend a school that is, in your opinion, a less prestigious school. That is not a good thing for your kid.

^^^This, I posted at 13:31, the key was my kid did the research himself and in doing so got excited about schools at various levels of rankings. He had T15 schools, T30 schools, T50 schools and ultimately 50 through 150. Casting a wide net isn't just applying to a lot of T30's and hoping one sticks, it is doing the leg work and finding colleges throughout the rankings that are great schools and a great fit. With these stats there is a school available.

+1000

You posted while I was typing too long. It really is all about the research, finding a good fit, and not getting hung up on rankings and where everyone else is applying.

True story and ultimately my kid picked the "lesser" school because of the research and can't wait to go. The stress of rankings is ridiculous, students will learn and succeed everywhere if they work hard, full stop.

All of this. My kid was accepted at 11/12 schools ranging from two T25 reaches to a couple of safeties outside of the T100, all chosen because they were the "right" schools rather than the "highest ranked" ones. And in the end, the kid has deposited at school not even on the US News national university list since it's classified as a regional university. It's a perfect fit and I think DC is going to do really well there.

There's a school for everyone. A lot just depends on being ok that some arbitrary ranking is not the most important thing.

I'm the PP and hope OP reads these particular posts. This place is toxic at times but smart pragmatic parenting and allowing your kids to think for themselves goes a long way in this process. Rankings are part of the deal and stroke a lot of egos but at the end of the day it is what makes my kid happy that counts. Go to school, hit the books and thrive...all will be well.

I just shot my shot right here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has similar stats, cast a wide net and still got nothing. Waitlisted a couple of places.

Ugh! Sorry, PP. Do any of the waitlists look promising?

If your kid had a 35 and "still got nothing," he/you clearly did something wrong and didn't apply to the right schools. Tons of schools would salivate over a kid with those stats.

Did you watch that you tube video on the other thread? A kid with 1590 was rejected at Northeastern and USC!