Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top 9% ELC ? Are these terms of art?

ELC is a California thing. Anyone that is ELC gets automatic admission to a UC, usually Merced or Northridge. There are two ELC groups 'local context' and state even though it is all called ELC. You need to be in the top of your HS class to have any real shot at UCB and UCLA. This makes thing brutal in the bay area and parts of LA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is easier than MD or VA.

Except for the national merit scholarship issue

is the cutoff higher in DC than VA? It's really high in VA.

yes

actually it is the same

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't live near DC but I love this site and this discussion board in particular, much as it stresses me out. I'm wondering if you feel that kids from your area face tougher acceptance rates because the competition is so steep where you are, with so many high achieving kids and elite private (and even public) schools. We live in a rural area where if kids are going to college, the vast majority attend local schools with high (80%+) acceptance rates. Reading about the rejections of superstar-sounding students here makes college admissions just feels so hopeless to me if you want to attend a great school, which my DC does. I'm just wondering if odds are better if you live in a less competitive area. Or maybe not - I'm sure our education isn't as strong as where you are.

This is an interesting question OP and you have an interesting perspective! We are DC residents. One thing that is automatically more difficult is that our kids are out of state for any state school. We do get a small tuition off-set for state schools around the country, but we are at a disadvantage in that our kids can't claim in-state residence anywhere.

For the top schools that your DC is looking at, yes, s/he will be at an advantage coming from a rural area.

Interestingly, my DC wants to go to a service academy. I think that being from DC is an advantage in that admission, possibly as compared to where you are.

Actually, huge disadvantage, given the requirement for congressional sponsorship.

DC (not the greater DC area) does not fill the service academy slots.
Being a DC resident is a boost

Anonymous wrote:Top 9% ELC ? Are these terms of art?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.

Really? Their admissions suck:
https://www.instagram.com/smseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/greenhillseniors2024?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/ursulineseniors25?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

For Cal or UCLA, I’d say top 5% unless an institutional priority. I believe there is a campus hierarchy within the 9%.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

For Cal or UCLA, I’d say top 5% unless an institutional priority. I believe there is a campus hierarchy within the 9%.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

It's not that unpredictable. If a kid isn't Local ELC (Excellence in Local Context i.e. top 9% in their school) and they are from a well resourced school public or private they should not expect to get into UCB or UCLA period. They failed the first step. This makes it brutal in top bay area public schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

It's probably hardest for Bay Area/Silicon Valley kids- much higher numbers of competitive applicants and frankly less diversity

It’s so much harder for Bay Area kids. I see posts complaining about the difficulty of UVA admissions when from my perspective it’s far more transparent and clear cut compared to admissions at comparable UCs (Berkeley, LA).

UCs are pretty obvious at a majority of California schools. It is a very systematic process.

In theory yes, but the outcomes can be quite unpredictable. Like top stats student rejected from UC Davis and Irvine but accepted at Stanford (yes, this actually happens). Whereas I haven’t heard of UVA rejects admitted at Yale, for example.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is harder for kids here in DC, and NYC is even harder as others have written.

Yes, and yes. Same for the wealthy Boston suburbs. Midwest is easier in comparison.

I've heard it's terrible in Texas, especially Dallas.

I think the Dallas privates are the sweet spot, actually.