Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

But also, pretty sure everyone here knows the EIC the yearbook who is also on cheer and also class Pres turns no heads. That was two generations ago.

Actually, not true for our private and my DD, who applied to women's studies. We don't have AP classes, but kid was in regular/honors chem and not advanced. Got into 1 T10 (WL at another - and got called off WL in early May), and 3 other T20/25.....
Maybe because it's a private school? Who knows.

Just don't think you can make these blanket statements for all high schools in America.

Private HS have their own rules, though. And colleges know that. Some are known to be massive humanities feeders.
Let me guess? Saint Ann's in NY?
https://saintannsny.org/divisions-and-offices/college-office/class-college-admission/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only effective advice she gave you was that there are so many high stat applicants and so many applicants per school that it seems like picking rabbits from a hat. For the majority of applicants, the essay is like a bell curve. For a small percentage it will knock them out of the pool or put them above their rating but for the majority it is still neutral. The same is true for for letter of recommendation.

What’s happening now with so many applicants and yield being tied to rankings which impacts bond ratings, schools are using technology to sift through grabbing demographic data to pick people based on factors your kid can’t control. Your zip code, how kids with a similar set of key word hits performed in the previous cycle, your financial status, yes your race, your parents education, your parents profession, your extracurriculars, etc etc.

Your high stats, hitting the threshold for ECs, and essays that don’t knock you out , get you put into a cohort of qualified candidates. This is a very, very large bucket. The next buckets are subsets with targeted qualities that your kid doesn’t control..low income, first generation, ethnicity, legacy, rural, veteran etc.

It certainly doesn't work that way. They are evaluating kids in the context of the high school. Your school sends 10 kids to Penn each year, they are selecting these 10 from about 50 applicants in your school. They don't put the 50 applicants into a "very very large bucket". No, that's not what happens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

But also, pretty sure everyone here knows the EIC the yearbook who is also on cheer and also class Pres turns no heads. That was two generations ago.

Actually, not true for our private and my DD, who applied to women's studies. We don't have AP classes, but kid was in regular/honors chem and not advanced. Got into 1 T10 (WL at another - and got called off WL in early May), and 3 other T20/25.....
Maybe because it's a private school? Who knows.

Just don't think you can make these blanket statements for all high schools in America.

Private HS have their own rules, though. And colleges know that. Some are known to be massive humanities feeders.
Let me guess? Saint Ann's in NY?
https://saintannsny.org/divisions-and-offices/college-office/class-college-admission/

Is this the whole class?

That's the school that doesn't give grades. Novel concept and look at the placement outcomes.
https://saintannsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SchoolProfile24-25.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

But also, pretty sure everyone here knows the EIC the yearbook who is also on cheer and also class Pres turns no heads. That was two generations ago.

Actually, not true for our private and my DD, who applied to women's studies. We don't have AP classes, but kid was in regular/honors chem and not advanced. Got into 1 T10 (WL at another - and got called off WL in early May), and 3 other T20/25.....
Maybe because it's a private school? Who knows.

Just don't think you can make these blanket statements for all high schools in America.

Private HS have their own rules, though. And colleges know that. Some are known to be massive humanities feeders.
Let me guess? Saint Ann's in NY?
https://saintannsny.org/divisions-and-offices/college-office/class-college-admission/

Is this the whole class?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

Yes. With all majors open to all admitted students, humanities kids need to have evidence they can be reasonably successful as a stem major if they chose it after they arrived. Top10 deans have gone on record and stated this.

So, how do we explain kids who get into T10 without the most rigor offered at their schools? Are they all hooked? Have something special (institutional priority)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

But also, pretty sure everyone here knows the EIC the yearbook who is also on cheer and also class Pres turns no heads. That was two generations ago.

Actually, not true for our private and my DD, who applied to women's studies. We don't have AP classes, but kid was in regular/honors chem and not advanced. Got into 1 T10 (WL at another - and got called off WL in early May), and 3 other T20/25.....
Maybe because it's a private school? Who knows.

Just don't think you can make these blanket statements for all high schools in America.

Private HS have their own rules, though. And colleges know that. Some are known to be massive humanities feeders.
Let me guess? Saint Ann's in NY?
https://saintannsny.org/divisions-and-offices/college-office/class-college-admission/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

Yes. With all majors open to all admitted students, humanities kids need to have evidence they can be reasonably successful as a stem major if they chose it after they arrived. Top10 deans have gone on record and stated this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I’m specifically thinking of Dean J at the University of Virginia, who has made clear time and again that your core subjects are considered extremely important regardless of interest or intended major. You don’t skimp on them for electives.

That's one school and one person. I don't think you "skimp" on them. Of course they matter. But if you want to stand out, show demonstrated commitment to your area of focus with the willingness and courage (and it is courage) to be decisive about where you spend your time.

Right. And you can do that and still take the toughest course load possible. THAT'S how you stand out.

Anonymous wrote:T10 schools are their own thing. You need to kill AP chem even if you want to be in women’s studies. Partly bcs they don’t believe you won’t switch after you get in.

And then you need strength in your area.

After t20, sure, I think Op is right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh. Any college admissions officer would say that the kid who stands out at elite colleges is the one who took AP Chem while at the same time taking doing the independent music thing.

This actually isn't true. In most cases, the kid who stands out is the one with a unique story. Right now, a lot of kids have the same (overachieving, overtaxed) story.

but hasn't this been true for 10 years now? this is what they call the spike. this is why kids start fake NFPs or write AI-generated self published books on amazon. makes them sound deep into a passion! and colleges were falling for the NFPs for a while - and the books now.

Yes, but the point (I think) is, don't actually do all the other STEM AP stuff if you are deep into colonial women's history. Do the minimal amount of necessary and then do buckets and buckets of extra on the colonial history front? So yes its a spike, but showing initiative to double up on history electives could help and you don't need AP physics...Honors might be enough?

There's a guy on FB (private counselor) who has a whole thing that goes through why this is a better strategy and shows "passion" and drive. And helps not make you look like a bot.

Don't know if this is actually true? Or at least not across the board. A former T10 AO (from another thread here) on Reddit said the below this week:

"She seems to think that prioritizing rigor is aligned mostly with major interests, at least in the videos I've seen.

That's not right. [b]We value rigor across the board, no matter major preferences. Our pools are so competitive that I've gotten accustomed, as have other AOs, to seeing the most rigorous curriculum in all subjects. A humanities kid still challenging themselves with calculus or above. A STEM kid taking AP Lit.[/b]

[i]There is no AO that gives a shit about passion projects. We don't even use that term in the admissions office.

…
Rigor is very important. In our school, 4.0 uw no rigor goes to state flagship. 3.8 uw high rigor has a shot at T5. 3.7 uw high rigor has a shot at T10.

Rigor, GPA, Test score, in that order.

Yes yes and yes! Agree! Our private school has former AOs from T15 and they were saying this when our first applied in 2021. This is not new at all! Both into different ivies unhooked and the few each year from their high school all had top rigor first and foremost, yet also had top scores and were held in high regard by teachers. ECs that are impactful round out the application and can help in the final decision but challenging oneself in all areas and not being a jerk is what gets you past the first couple of reads.