Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:56     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:DS has two friends who were rejected from their #1s, UVA, but each got accepted to an Ivy (Penn & Princeton). One was also rejected from each of his safety schools. The safeties! It makes no sense! How can you get accepted to Penn and rejected from UVA, W&M, JMU, and UMD??

Makes me wish I had pushed my son to apply to some ivies. He didn't have any desire in them, but his stats are only slightly less than the friend who got into Penn (unhooked) and about on-par with the friend who got into Princeton. And DS was accepted to UVA, which was his reach and #1. His gf was rejected from UVA, and she has much better stats than DS. His gf was applying for engineering and DS is going for biology for pre-med, though, so I know that also factors in.

I'm so glad DS is my last kid to go through the college acceptance process because I can't take the stress of another around. Cannot.Do.It!


UVA, W&M, JMU, and UMD know they're not interested in attending and would rather give the spot to someone who's likely to say yes.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:36     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:DS has two friends who were rejected from their #1s, UVA, but each got accepted to an Ivy (Penn & Princeton). One was also rejected from each of his safety schools. The safeties! It makes no sense! How can you get accepted to Penn and rejected from UVA, W&M, JMU, and UMD??

Makes me wish I had pushed my son to apply to some ivies. He didn't have any desire in them, but his stats are only slightly less than the friend who got into Penn (unhooked) and about on-par with the friend who got into Princeton. And DS was accepted to UVA, which was his reach and #1. His gf was rejected from UVA, and she has much better stats than DS. His gf was applying for engineering and DS is going for biology for pre-med, though, so I know that also factors in.

I'm so glad DS is my last kid to go through the college acceptance process because I can't take the stress of another around. Cannot.Do.It!


I think what may have happened is that the Ivies and other top20s GENDER BALANCE whereas the state schools do not. These top privates keep the gender mix 50/50 whereas I don't think those VA state schools care about gender (or are even allowed to care).

Your son's friends probably had a big advantage applying to places at the Ivy level and your son likely would have had it as well. I have girl/boy twins and while my kids did not apply top top20 schools, the boys at our school did much better than girls at top20s this year. If the boys applied as humanities majors they seemed to have a HUGE advantage.

If the gf got dinged at UVA it was probably due to major choice (engineering) rather than gender.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:36     Subject: Re:Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid did amazing RD last year unhooked. Acceptances from Ivies, Pomona, Hopkins, etc. so I know it happens. Kids only report the school they are going to attend- not all of their acceptances so it happens more than you think.
Unhooked?Really?

Yes. White. Not a legacy or an athlete, etc.


Said the person kid in private school, SAT tutor, Essay writing coach
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:36     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why private schools limit applications. So selfish to the other kids in the top 10%.


You know these kids can only enroll at one college each, right? They are taking up zero spots for other applicants? Who are they hurting, exactly?

Are you seriously suggesting strong candidates cast a smaller net for themselves because you don't understand how this works?


Yes, they can only enroll in ONE school. And if they are accepted at 15+ T25 schools, that means, even with Yield planning, those other 15 schools (your kid cannot attend) could have accepted kids who would actually attend instead.

Not saying 1 school, but applying to 20+ is ridiculous


This makes no sense.

The school will enroll the exact same number of kids under both systems. But with yours, the student and the college have far fewer choices. Who is getting in under your system that would not have under the current one? Nobody.

No magical net gain. No benefit. Less flexibility. Fewer choices.

Yeah, great idea. I wonder why the people who have been doing this for a living for so many years did not think of it?
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:31     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Pretty much all the top kids at my DCs stem magnet apply to 15-20+ schools. Some don’t get into any but state flagship, others get into a few T20, and some lucky ones get into several ivies and ivy plus. The rare will get into HYPSM+


This. It's such a crap shoot. I've seen kids who I am sure would get into at least 1 Ivy, and then all they get into is U Mich or Vanderbilt or something. And then kids who seem less stellar but get into a HYPSM (could be athlete or legacy hook).
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:30     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why private schools limit applications. So selfish to the other kids in the top 10%.


You know these kids can only enroll at one college each, right? They are taking up zero spots for other applicants? Who are they hurting, exactly?

Are you seriously suggesting strong candidates cast a smaller net for themselves because you don't understand how this works?


Yes, they can only enroll in ONE school. And if they are accepted at 15+ T25 schools, that means, even with Yield planning, those other 15 schools (your kid cannot attend) could have accepted kids who would actually attend instead.

Not saying 1 school, but applying to 20+ is ridiculous
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:29     Subject: Re:Insane acceptances
Yes, I'm also so curious about what makes an unhooked kid stand out to this degree!

I know a number top local kids from various schools who were shut out from top20 schools. Even on Reddit which attracts super high achievers most kids received at max one Ivy acceptance and those who got more are super smart entrepreneurs with perfect stats who are also URM, FGLI, etc.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:26     Subject: Insane acceptances
DS has two friends who were rejected from their #1s, UVA, but each got accepted to an Ivy (Penn & Princeton). One was also rejected from each of his safety schools. The safeties! It makes no sense! How can you get accepted to Penn and rejected from UVA, W&M, JMU, and UMD??

Makes me wish I had pushed my son to apply to some ivies. He didn't have any desire in them, but his stats are only slightly less than the friend who got into Penn (unhooked) and about on-par with the friend who got into Princeton. And DS was accepted to UVA, which was his reach and #1. His gf was rejected from UVA, and she has much better stats than DS. His gf was applying for engineering and DS is going for biology for pre-med, though, so I know that also factors in.

I'm so glad DS is my last kid to go through the college acceptance process because I can't take the stress of another around. Cannot.Do.It!
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 11:17     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Sports.


It isn’t sports. Sports gets a kid into ONE great school, not EVERY great school.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 10:37     Subject: Insane acceptances
Sports.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 10:36     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:At my kid’s school: senior this cycle accepted in regular decision to: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, CMU, Duke, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Rice, WashU, UMichigan, UVA, Notre Dame, Williams, Amherst, Pomona and one more that I cant’t remember. Thought it was fake, but my kid said they’ve heard around school that it’s real.


+1. I think this is a kid at my DC’s school and my DC knows this kid. Also received merit scholarships at Rice and full-tuition at Vandy The 21st school he got accepted to is an in-state public.


Can you or anyone else help those of us with great kids who got rejected by some/many of those schools help us understand what makes this kid so unique and special (scores, rigor, grades, ECs, etc)? Also,does this kid’s school limit or suggest limiting apps? Since we know that schools compare applicants from one school, I’m surprised that the school CCO wouldnt have an opinion on one student trying to run the table and potentially hoard acceptances, particularly since it seems hard to believe one kid would really want to go to all of these schools.

Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 09:58     Subject: Re:Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid did amazing RD last year unhooked. Acceptances from Ivies, Pomona, Hopkins, etc. so I know it happens. Kids only report the school they are going to attend- not all of their acceptances so it happens more than you think.
Unhooked?Really?

Yes. White. Not a legacy or an athlete, etc.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 09:31     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:At my kid’s school: senior this cycle accepted in regular decision to: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, CMU, Duke, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Rice, WashU, UMichigan, UVA, Notre Dame, Williams, Amherst, Pomona and one more that I cant’t remember. Thought it was fake, but my kid said they’ve heard around school that it’s real.


+1. I think this is a kid at my DC’s school and my DC knows this kid. Also received merit scholarships at Rice and full-tuition at Vandy The 21st school he got accepted to is an in-state public.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 09:21     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:At my kid’s school: senior this cycle accepted in regular decision to: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, CMU, Duke, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Rice, WashU, UMichigan, UVA, Notre Dame, Williams, Amherst, Pomona and one more that I cant’t remember. Thought it was fake, but my kid said they’ve heard around school that it’s real.


why would a kid who is clearly an incredibly strong applicant apply to that many schools in RD? None of this makes sense.


Maybe because there are so many stories floating around about incredibly strong applicants who are shocked when they are rejected by many schools?


If you don't get your ED 1 choice, which many don't, the best next strategy is to apply to as many RD options as possible. It's just a numbers game at this point. The more lines you put in the water, the more likely you are to get at least one fish.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 09:19     Subject: Insane acceptances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:For parents asking about hooks, and especially athletic hooks, keep in mind that at least two hooks (athlete and legacy) are only applicable to one school. These people with multiple acceptances are not recruited athletes. Athletes by and large apply ED after having gone through athlete recruiting. If they're putting in multiple apps, they're not recruited athletes. Some who only just meet the academic requirements may put in some EA or RD apps for safety). No one is getting in all Ivies because they're an athlete. Same with legacy. Athletes may visit and talk to lots of schools (typically during junior year), but they don't shotgun applications. Rather, they get the benefit of a pre-read. They apply ED because they've committed. That also allows them to still apply RD if something goes wrong and admissions doesn't accept them in the end (for instance, if there is something in the full application that negates a positive pre-read (bad LORs, for instance).
So who are these people getting into all T20?


What I've seen, it's usually a very qualified URM. The very qualified non-URM typically land well, but don't have a laundry list of acceptances.