Anonymous wrote:Following this as I have a 10th grader in DC private (not Big3) - is this issue something that hiring an outside private college counselor could help with (we are debating getting one)? Also, why is Chicago considered more of a likely admit?

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s even harder if kid is deferred at ED1 (assuming most are denied, not deferred). Do they see what happens in RD or give up the chance at the top choice and choose a lesser choice for ED2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's not enough information for anyone to be really helpful. A 3.85 and a 1550 is going to get read everywhere. But what else is there? And what do they want to study? Liberal arts or STEM? And what's their vibe? There's a big difference between someone who's going to thrive at Columbia vs someone who's happier at a small, more isolated school like Dartmouth. Or perhaps they want a big sports atmosphere like Notre Dame or Michigan.

Generally, for the top schools, pay careful attention to where students from your high school have been getting in over the past three years. What was true ten years ago is no longer true today. It's a very different landscape. You need to be strategic with where you apply ED. Forget about HYPSM if there is no strong hook. And for DMV applicants, Penn and Duke are also really tough. Vanderbilt and Northwestern are also crapshoots for everyone these days. But for an unhooked ED app from a Big 3, I suspect Cornell, Chicago, Rice, Brown, and Columbia will give it very serious consideration. Notre Dame is very particular in what they look for, but if they fit, it might be worth it. WashU, Emory, BC, and Tufts will be likely admits.

But be sure to visit before applying ED. Mine with similar stats knocked off several schools after visiting.

agree with Emory/WashU for ED1 guarantee, if kid doesn't want UChicago.
Possibly Rice.
Cornell, Brown etc might be harder.

Know which schools have ED2....

Anonymous wrote:There's not enough information for anyone to be really helpful. A 3.85 and a 1550 is going to get read everywhere. But what else is there? And what do they want to study? Liberal arts or STEM? And what's their vibe? There's a big difference between someone who's going to thrive at Columbia vs someone who's happier at a small, more isolated school like Dartmouth. Or perhaps they want a big sports atmosphere like Notre Dame or Michigan.

Generally, for the top schools, pay careful attention to where students from your high school have been getting in over the past three years. What was true ten years ago is no longer true today. It's a very different landscape. You need to be strategic with where you apply ED. Forget about HYPSM if there is no strong hook. And for DMV applicants, Penn and Duke are also really tough. Vanderbilt and Northwestern are also crapshoots for everyone these days. But for an unhooked ED app from a Big 3, I suspect Cornell, Chicago, Rice, Brown, and Columbia will give it very serious consideration. Notre Dame is very particular in what they look for, but if they fit, it might be worth it. WashU, Emory, BC, and Tufts will be likely admits.

But be sure to visit before applying ED. Mine with similar stats knocked off several schools after visiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a crapshoot for all at the top schools, but you should be right in the mix for many of the top 40 schools from a top private. Worse case scenario would be something like a Wake Forest/Bucknell/BC/Middlebury placement.

Bucknell is not in same as BC and Middlebury.

Middlebury is top 20 liberal arts and should be an easy in for your student.

BC is tough tough to get into. Very tough admit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They haven't chatted with you about applying ED or ED2 to UChicago yet?

lol. yes. this has been mentioned. Any my kid had no interest in it following a tour last year but lately was like, "maybe I'll do Chicago ED2."

I don't see this kid at Chicago. And we would get to pay $90k/year for it. UGH.
Besides Chicago, any thoughts?

90k? Lucky you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The private CC office would do their parents justice by steering kids in certain directions with top 20 schools so that the ED choice isn’t a waste. For example, if a kid wants to ED an Ivy, pointing out that there are 8 legacy kids applying early to Harvard would be a good thing to know! Not sure why this kind of advice isn’t given on the regular-even if you ask they don’t seem to want to answer!!

OP here. I tried asking CC this and didn't get very far. I asked if it made sense for my kid to ED to their #1 choice, given where others in the class were EDing. CC didn't give me any answer and implied that I was nosing into other kids' business (not my intent at all). Then I said "my reason for asking is just so we could pick another ED if the lane for choice #1 is crowded" and CC implied that I was making decisions on behalf of my child or forcing things on my child (which they HATE---they clearly never want parents talking on behalf of kids--which is difficult when the kid is 17 and barely came to the decision for one school--let alone is thinking through back-up ED choices).

I just feel way out in left field and confused.

I think this is a very reasonable question for college counseling. Had a kid go thru Holton and they will definitely let you know if the college your kid wants to ED to has many or more competitive or hooked admits that are also applying ED and discuss options. To be clear, they will support students EDing where they want to and will not provide details on who else is applying, but if you ask, they be upfront if admittance is “highly unlikely” or “unlikely” and suggest options.

What isn't clear is if the OP asked about other students by name or if she is just ignoring what college guidance is saying? No CC worth his or her salt can give a "highly likely" to a top tier school these days. But they might use language like "you are a strong candidate". Additionally, they won't tell you not to apply, but might say something like "Are you sure you want to use your early decision app on this school?"

Look over the OPs follow up posts. She unnecessarily sites GPAs of 3.5 regarding other kids who she assumes are overshooting. This is a red flag. How could she possibly know the other kids' GPAs? I wonder if she isn't constantly asking her son about who got what on any given assessment? I'm guessing she crossed a line with the CC in regards to other students' privacy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They haven't chatted with you about applying ED or ED2 to UChicago yet?

lol. yes. this has been mentioned. Any my kid had no interest in it following a tour last year but lately was like, "maybe I'll do Chicago ED2."

I don't see this kid at Chicago. And we would get to pay $90k/year for it. UGH.
Besides Chicago, any thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The private CC office would do their parents justice by steering kids in certain directions with top 20 schools so that the ED choice isn’t a waste. For example, if a kid wants to ED an Ivy, pointing out that there are 8 legacy kids applying early to Harvard would be a good thing to know! Not sure why this kind of advice isn’t given on the regular-even if you ask they don’t seem to want to answer!!

OP here. I tried asking CC this and didn't get very far. I asked if it made sense for my kid to ED to their #1 choice, given where others in the class were EDing. CC didn't give me any answer and implied that I was nosing into other kids' business (not my intent at all). Then I said "my reason for asking is just so we could pick another ED if the lane for choice #1 is crowded" and CC implied that I was making decisions on behalf of my child or forcing things on my child (which they HATE---they clearly never want parents talking on behalf of kids--which is difficult when the kid is 17 and barely came to the decision for one school--let alone is thinking through back-up ED choices).

I just feel way out in left field and confused.

I think this is a very reasonable question for college counseling. Had a kid go thru Holton and they will definitely let you know if the college your kid wants to ED to has many or more competitive or hooked admits that are also applying ED and discuss options. To be clear, they will support students EDing where they want to and will not provide details on who else is applying, but if you ask, they be upfront if admittance is “highly unlikely” or “unlikely” and suggest options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The private CC office would do their parents justice by steering kids in certain directions with top 20 schools so that the ED choice isn’t a waste. For example, if a kid wants to ED an Ivy, pointing out that there are 8 legacy kids applying early to Harvard would be a good thing to know! Not sure why this kind of advice isn’t given on the regular-even if you ask they don’t seem to want to answer!!

OP here. I tried asking CC this and didn't get very far. I asked if it made sense for my kid to ED to their #1 choice, given where others in the class were EDing. CC didn't give me any answer and implied that I was nosing into other kids' business (not my intent at all). Then I said "my reason for asking is just so we could pick another ED if the lane for choice #1 is crowded" and CC implied that I was making decisions on behalf of my child or forcing things on my child (which they HATE---they clearly never want parents talking on behalf of kids--which is difficult when the kid is 17 and barely came to the decision for one school--let alone is thinking through back-up ED choices).

I just feel way out in left field and confused.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The private CC office would do their parents justice by steering kids in certain directions with top 20 schools so that the ED choice isn’t a waste. For example, if a kid wants to ED an Ivy, pointing out that there are 8 legacy kids applying early to Harvard would be a good thing to know! Not sure why this kind of advice isn’t given on the regular-even if you ask they don’t seem to want to answer!!

OP here. I tried asking CC this and didn't get very far. I asked if it made sense for my kid to ED to their #1 choice, given where others in the class were EDing. CC didn't give me any answer and implied that I was nosing into other kids' business (not my intent at all). Then I said "my reason for asking is just so we could pick another ED if the lane for choice #1 is crowded" and CC implied that I was making decisions on behalf of my child or forcing things on my child (which they HATE---they clearly never want parents talking on behalf of kids--which is difficult when the kid is 17 and barely came to the decision for one school--let alone is thinking through back-up ED choices).

I just feel way out in left field and confused.

Anonymous wrote:OP here-
I think my post was confusing. My kid has a clear top choice and it's in the 10-25 schools. he/she is scheduled to ED there. I'm just worried that it won't work out and that he should just directly try for ED a 25-40 school.

I'm worried that by ED-ing for a top (lottery) choice it won't work and he'll end up falling super far down in the schools he has options for. He is submitting EA to a bunch of schools but none of them are givens either.