Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 22:16     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not yielding the genius types - they prefer MIT, Stanford, Caltech. So they need the rich and powerful to stay relevant.

This is actually true. My DS who is a genius type (take my word for it) was admitted to MIT and Caltech and rejected by Harvard. He wasn’t planning to go to Harvard, but I thought it was really weird at the time.

Makes no sense when Harvard has advanced curricula like Math 55 for the genius type. Maybe he just isn’t Harvard material. Caltech is for nerds really into research.


Math 55 is not close to MIT level of coursework. No, Harvard needs Kennedy great great grandsons in the school instead.

This isn’t true. Math 55 is a very rigorous math course that is for the type of students who easily could’ve gone to MIT but had poor navigational skills and ended up on the wrong side of Cambridge
-MIT grad
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 22:14     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had a good friend Z lister at my HYP - required gap year and all. Ended up starting and selling business. Family gives more to my Alma mater than anyone else I know. Sure the kids will have better shot. Doesn’t bother me one bit. These schools are so much more generous on FA than when I was there and so much more focus on first gen. Not totally sure why that’s more offensive than a slightly less wealthy kid recruited for sailing.


Agree. How is this any more offensive than those recruited for swimming or sailing or squash or any number of sports that add NOTHING to anyone on a university campus except those who are on the team (but required years and years of an outlay of time and cash by parents)?


Maintaining a high GPA at a rigorous high school while also playing a sport at a high level is extremely difficult and requires discipline, strong work ethic, organizational skills and determination. Legacy shows literally nothing other than entitlement.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 18:05     Subject: Z list in action
The Z list is definitely real. I know several examples.

That said, I was ostensibly a grad of a top public HS and when I went to one of the HYP the private school grads were far better prepared than I.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 16:00     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not yielding the genius types - they prefer MIT, Stanford, Caltech. So they need the rich and powerful to stay relevant.

This is actually true. My DS who is a genius type (take my word for it) was admitted to MIT and Caltech and rejected by Harvard. He wasn’t planning to go to Harvard, but I thought it was really weird at the time.

Makes no sense when Harvard has advanced curricula like Math 55 for the genius type. Maybe he just isn’t Harvard material. Caltech is for nerds really into research.


Math 55 is not close to MIT level of coursework. No, Harvard needs Kennedy great great grandsons in the school instead.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 15:18     Subject: Re:Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.


I'd be curious to know how many kids actually transfer to Harvard from a community college, because I'm skeptical this happens no matter how rich daddy is.


It almost never happens with Harvard, but when it does, it’d almost always Z list.


It is (or was) a well known program at USC.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 15:17     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not yielding the genius types - they prefer MIT, Stanford, Caltech. So they need the rich and powerful to stay relevant.

This is actually true. My DS who is a genius type (take my word for it) was admitted to MIT and Caltech and rejected by Harvard. He wasn’t planning to go to Harvard, but I thought it was really weird at the time.

Makes no sense when Harvard has advanced curricula like Math 55 for the genius type. Maybe he just isn’t Harvard material. Caltech is for nerds really into research.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 15:16     Subject: Re:Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.


I'd be curious to know how many kids actually transfer to Harvard from a community college, because I'm skeptical this happens no matter how rich daddy is.

It’s rare but it has little to do with Z list. Colleges are looking for community college students who didn’t have access to an elite education early on who carry enormous potential. Princeton was the start of this.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 15:13     Subject: Re:Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.


I'd be curious to know how many kids actually transfer to Harvard from a community college, because I'm skeptical this happens no matter how rich daddy is.


It almost never happens with Harvard, but when it does, it’d almost always Z list.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 13:19     Subject: Re:Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.


I'd be curious to know how many kids actually transfer to Harvard from a community college, because I'm skeptical this happens no matter how rich daddy is.

Harvard's transfer acceptance rate is 0.79%, as in, less than 1%. 6 men and 9 women per the 23-24 CDS.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 12:42     Subject: Re:Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.


I'd be curious to know how many kids actually transfer to Harvard from a community college, because I'm skeptical this happens no matter how rich daddy is.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 11:22     Subject: Re:Z list in action
NP. Yes, this is how it works, and don’t fool yourself thinking it’s just private schools. The Z list includes the well-connected children of faculty. The number of faculty children I know who were admitted in May/June/July to top 5 schools is crazy.

The other thing the Z list people do is that if their kids don’t make even the minimal standards and can’t get in even squinting, they go to community college for a year and then walk in without applying, because transfer stats don’t count.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 11:14     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had a good friend Z lister at my HYP - required gap year and all. Ended up starting and selling business. Family gives more to my Alma mater than anyone else I know. Sure the kids will have better shot. Doesn’t bother me one bit. These schools are so much more generous on FA than when I was there and so much more focus on first gen. Not totally sure why that’s more offensive than a slightly less wealthy kid recruited for sailing.


Agree. How is this any more offensive than those recruited for swimming or sailing or squash or any number of sports that add NOTHING to anyone on a university campus except those who are on the team (but required years and years of an outlay of time and cash by parents)?


Why do you care if other parents pay for sports? I know it can feel disheartening when your kid isn't athletic, or "popular," so you're just looking for ways to look down on those who are. Be a grown up and move on. You're not in high school anymore, and you don't have to live vicariously through your kid.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 11:04     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had a good friend Z lister at my HYP - required gap year and all. Ended up starting and selling business. Family gives more to my Alma mater than anyone else I know. Sure the kids will have better shot. Doesn’t bother me one bit. These schools are so much more generous on FA than when I was there and so much more focus on first gen. Not totally sure why that’s more offensive than a slightly less wealthy kid recruited for sailing.


Agree. How is this any more offensive than those recruited for swimming or sailing or squash or any number of sports that add NOTHING to anyone on a university campus except those who are on the team (but required years and years of an outlay of time and cash by parents)?


Elite schools think those sports “add something to their school” and that’s all that matters. I hope they keep recruiting those athletes just so DCUM can stay mad about it lmao.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2025 10:48     Subject: Z list in action
Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not yielding the genius types - they prefer MIT, Stanford, Caltech. So they need the rich and powerful to stay relevant.

This is actually true. My DS who is a genius type (take my word for it) was admitted to MIT and Caltech and rejected by Harvard. He wasn’t planning to go to Harvard, but I thought it was really weird at the time.