The difference is that people who feel they are entitled to those spots for their kids after paying for tutoring/SAT prep/expensive ECs are being disappointed that they are not getting in everywhere as they assumed they would.

People who make a reasonable list focused on fit, including some safeties they really like are doing fine.

Anonymous wrote:High stats kids are getting rejected from VT and UVA, OP. Probably W&M, too. Results just aren’t out yet.

I don't know a single high stats kid that has gotten rejected from VT. They are waitlisted because VT thinks they are using it as a safety. If they stay on the waitlist they will get in because VT keeps space on the waitlist for this.

I think it is harder today than it used to be before the common app. That said, grade inflation makes it appear tougher than it really is. The reality is that many school districts graduate 20-50 percent of their classes with 3.9/4.0 unweighted. The issue is the school has to send in a profile that shows what percentage of the class had similar grades. Kids are not smarter or harder working today than they used to be. Top grades are easier to get. If your child goes to a school that graduates only 4-7 percent of its class with uw 4.0, that shows a more rigorous standard for grading. Colleges know if a 4.0 uw gpa is a dime a dozen.

If child’s school has a record of grade inflation, it is then necessary to do 4-5 years of every core subject taking the most rigorous courses offered to stand out. Electives can’t be fluff and 3 years of any core subject no longer suffices to stand out. It has to be 4 or more.

I think the schools also look to see where you came from in the sense that if you are from an affluent area, born on third base, you need to prove you are willing to work hard and just getting As in hard classes isn’t enough. Does the student do that and have a job and play sports/instrument and volunteer?

Kids coming from more challenging circumstances have to work and do well in school with far fewer supports. When they do well, it shows willingness to work hard through the circumstances. I am glad the schools are beginning to see the value in these kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I decided to track from DC HS freshman year where kids in her adv. academic program (not NOVA) got in

I suspect your location matters a great deal, so what you have to say may be perfectly valid for your kid's school, but it may not apply to students from the DC area.

So only DC area high stats kids get shut out but not other area high stats kids ???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

As an immigrant, this entire school system was very foreign to me. So I decided to track from DC HS freshman year where kids in her adv. academic program (not NOVA) got in, in order to provide me an idea of how to guide DC (no, we can not afford a college counselor). Yes, her program always presents a slide show which shows where everybody is going to.

For graduates 2019 - 2021 (just around 100 graduates each year), the following committed for UVA (consistently 15), W&M (4/5), VT (12/15), JMU (now there was a shift downward from around 12 to 3), VCU (8, +/- 1). The top 5% make it in the end consistently into T10 schools. The top 10% make into T20.

Covid has not changed that and the kids performances (GPA, SAT/ACT, and EC are pretty consistently at the same level across the different classes. From the kid with 12 DE to the kid with "just" 6AP).

15% go to uva? What public school only has a class of 100? What are the schools for top 5%?


I find this very hard to believe. I know kids from elite boarding schools with double ivy degree parents who were shut out. I know kids from top publics around the country with ivy legacy shut out. The top 5% of our public did not make it in to top 10 schools.

I am sorry if I was not clear enough in my description. The numbers referred to the number of students and the 100 is the total number of kids in the advanced academic program (starts out with 125 and usually ends in senior yr with around 100), not the entire HS. In our district, competitive special programs are housed in regular HS.

UVA has reliably received 15 students from this public school program (sure it was a few more who were accepted but did not commit, but could not tell you for sure or how many).

The top 5% of this public school have ended up in the past 3 years at the following Top10: Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Columbia. Next 5% of the graduating class have ended at: Brown, Cornell, Rice, WUSTL, Duke.

Maggie Walker?

Nope, but DC had an EC friend who went there and got accepted ED into Princeton Another from Flint Hill got into Harvard.

My point was just that I cannot discern, at least for DC program, any real shift in acceptance for the year before covid, during covid and last year. Numbers-wise I see still as many get into the same range Universities as before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Let me guess.. white male?

Until pp lists the GPA, I don't think you can assess anything. Plus, NMS meant little this year, You could get it using your SAT score if you got your form in by a certain date.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

As an immigrant, this entire school system was very foreign to me. So I decided to track from DC HS freshman year where kids in her adv. academic program (not NOVA) got in, in order to provide me an idea of how to guide DC (no, we can not afford a college counselor). Yes, her program always presents a slide show which shows where everybody is going to.

For graduates 2019 - 2021 (just around 100 graduates each year), the following committed for UVA (consistently 15), W&M (4/5), VT (12/15), JMU (now there was a shift downward from around 12 to 3), VCU (8, +/- 1). The top 5% make it in the end consistently into T10 schools. The top 10% make into T20.

Covid has not changed that and the kids performances (GPA, SAT/ACT, and EC are pretty consistently at the same level across the different classes. From the kid with 12 DE to the kid with "just" 6AP).

15% go to uva? What public school only has a class of 100? What are the schools for top 5%?


I find this very hard to believe. I know kids from elite boarding schools with double ivy degree parents who were shut out. I know kids from top publics around the country with ivy legacy shut out. The top 5% of our public did not make it in to top 10 schools.

I am sorry if I was not clear enough in my description. The numbers referred to the number of students and the 100 is the total number of kids in the advanced academic program (starts out with 125 and usually ends in senior yr with around 100), not the entire HS. In our district, competitive special programs are housed in regular HS.

UVA has reliably received 15 students from this public school program (sure it was a few more who were accepted but did not commit, but could not tell you for sure or how many).

The top 5% of this public school have ended up in the past 3 years at the following Top10: Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Columbia. Next 5% of the graduating class have ended at: Brown, Cornell, Rice, WUSTL, Duke.

Maggie Walker?

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

I know but still saying it makes people feel better. I have been hearing the same thing for more than 10 years. It's same every time. You just smile, nod and move on.

Anonymous wrote:So I decided to track from DC HS freshman year where kids in her adv. academic program (not NOVA) got in

I suspect your location matters a great deal, so what you have to say may be perfectly valid for your kid's school, but it may not apply to students from the DC area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

As an immigrant, this entire school system was very foreign to me. So I decided to track from DC HS freshman year where kids in her adv. academic program (not NOVA) got in, in order to provide me an idea of how to guide DC (no, we can not afford a college counselor). Yes, her program always presents a slide show which shows where everybody is going to.

For graduates 2019 - 2021 (just around 100 graduates each year), the following committed for UVA (consistently 15), W&M (4/5), VT (12/15), JMU (now there was a shift downward from around 12 to 3), VCU (8, +/- 1). The top 5% make it in the end consistently into T10 schools. The top 10% make into T20.

Covid has not changed that and the kids performances (GPA, SAT/ACT, and EC are pretty consistently at the same level across the different classes. From the kid with 12 DE to the kid with "just" 6AP).

15% go to uva? What public school only has a class of 100? What are the schools for top 5%?


I find this very hard to believe. I know kids from elite boarding schools with double ivy degree parents who were shut out. I know kids from top publics around the country with ivy legacy shut out. The top 5% of our public did not make it in to top 10 schools.

I am sorry if I was not clear enough in my description. The numbers referred to the number of students and the 100 is the total number of kids in the advanced academic program (starts out with 125 and usually ends in senior yr with around 100), not the entire HS. In our district, competitive special programs are housed in regular HS.

UVA has reliably received 15 students from this public school program (sure it was a few more who were accepted but did not commit, but could not tell you for sure or how many).

The top 5% of this public school have ended up in the past 3 years at the following Top10: Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Columbia. Next 5% of the graduating class have ended at: Brown, Cornell, Rice, WUSTL, Duke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. 35 ACT, NMS, varsity sports, leadership, same summer job since freshman year of HS, did not get in.

Keep telling yourself it is the same, but is is absolutely not.

Which college specifically rejected this kid outright? Name the school.

And state the GPA.

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

What makes a person take the time to post this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Observation from parent of a 2020 high school grad (so not impacted byCovid.) parents of kids in high-performing districts have been using the term “bloodbath“ for at least as long as I have been reading parenting boards around this time of year, it always happens when kids they perceive as strong candidates don’t get it. That is not new, Every year seems to feel like the worst year for admissions in certain circles.. What is clearly different though terms of the process is that with test optional the numbers at many colleges have dramatically increased, colleges are all telling this when they report out on admissions data. And of course the other thing to his shoes with Covid is a high-performance kids have lost so many opportunities to distinguish themselves through ECs what do “great ECs” mean in this environment? Nobody really knows. I do believe the process feels much more challenging/random.

+1. Have 2019 and 2021 kids and a couple more to go, so I'm watching the process. 2021 was less predictable than 2019, no question. 2019 kid applied to 5 schools, accepted to all, including the reach. 2021 kid applied to 13, accepted to 5 of the easier ones, WL 3, denied 6, attends one of the safeties. Seems like 2022 is similar to 2021 for lack of predictability, maybe even less.

With more focus on grades, and as someone mentioned, a lot of grade inflation at some schools, some deflation, tough virtual times at other schools, with likewise widely variable EC experiences, it's tougher to gauge one's list.

My advice would be to have more targets and safeties than you think you need. As we saw with my 2021 kid, it was great to have a choice among the low targets and safeties that came through.

This +100. Wish we had applied to rollings early. Wish we had applied to more safeties.

Anonymous wrote:Have friends with children at Big 3, FCPS and MCPS.

High GPA kids and/or high test kids all did great. Looks the same as 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

More unqualified kids applying are making the acceptance rates plummet. But the kids with the goods are doing as well as ever.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

Absolutely wrong. Saw Naviance for past several years. This year’s outcomes are not even close. Things are different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please OP. Most of us would never have gotten into our alma mater if we applied today. That's the truth and you know it.

^This. I'm in the "older" crowd here, but kids in my rural county school went to UVA, W&M, Tech...anywhere they wanted. I doubt any of us would get in today at those schools.

+1