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Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

+1 I haven't heard any sob stories yet, just success stories.

Anonymous wrote:I love the kid who is the bagpiper/chocolatier/just a nice guy!

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Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at public or private school? My impression is that the private schools are doing better as their counselors cultivate relationships with admissions offices.

We are in public and were happy with all the school did. We are happy with the process. Naviance provided excellent information and helped set expectations. Which is what I think is important- managing expectations and aiming for schools that are the best fit and not necessarily the flashy ones (although they they may be).

OP- you said that your child got in to 3 great schools. I don't see how that is brutal. That is great, he has choices.

Agreed. I think it's because I am comparing it to when I was applying and how much the process has changed for these kids!! I hear so many say "I would NEVER have gotten into (name alma-mater) today!!"

Then, don't care so much about getting into any one specific alma-mater, and instead celebrate the achievement and opportunities of being admitted to several other good colleges and universities.

Oaky, I apologize if I have offended you. That said, you just mentioned that your DC has been admitted to at least one university that rejected the class valedictorian. You obviously have a very bright student with competitive college choices, in reality it hasn't been a brutal admissions year -- or at least not for your DC. Congratulations mom, now is the time to celebrate DC's achievements and acknowledge that value of your love and support that helped DC get there.

I'm OP and completely confused. I never said anything about a valedictorian/my child. I think you read that wrong.

Sorry OP, I read back through the entire thread, and I confused the response from the parent of the "bagpiper", "asst. chocolatier", "just nice guy" student who has been admitted to every college he applied to for your response. That said, your good student has been admitted to three great universities, and that is something to be happy about. Congratulations again!

Anonymous wrote:Original poster, I agree with the Previous Poster who said that the college admissions process is not a test on which you are trying to attain a score of 100%.

Your student was admitted to three universities, and one of those colleges is sufficiently competitive that they rejected the class valedictorian.

Please do not complain that there are some rejects in the mix, as it potentially and unnecessarily diminishes your child's accomplishment in your eyes and theirs. It also can make you sound a bit entitled and petulant (which I am certain you are not).

Rejoice! Because your DC will attend a great university next year.

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Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at public or private school? My impression is that the private schools are doing better as their counselors cultivate relationships with admissions offices.

Private, and they did a wonderful job. It's just hard to compete in an environment where you have to achieve well beyond your years in order to be looked at seriously.

I wonder what kind of schooling/experiences the admissions officers have that are doing the choosing? I also wonder where there biases lie. I know colleges will check social media on the kids, but I also found out from a very reliable inside source, that colleges will also go onto the social media of the parents and red flag the kids' files if they see things they don't agree with, such as political affiliation, etc.

Are you for real? Who has admissions officers with time to check parent politics? Money for donations, maybe, but I've heard from advancement officers that the advancement office gets a limited # of put-forwards per year. Barring major royality, etc. I cant believe places other than a few Highly religious schools have time for this. You just sound like you're trying to assign blame in a process that's slready a crapshoot.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at public or private school? My impression is that the private schools are doing better as their counselors cultivate relationships with admissions offices.

We are in public and were happy with all the school did. We are happy with the process. Naviance provided excellent information and helped set expectations. Which is what I think is important- managing expectations and aiming for schools that are the best fit and not necessarily the flashy ones (although they they may be).

OP- you said that your child got in to 3 great schools. I don't see how that is brutal. That is great, he has choices.

NP here, agree. College applications aren't a test where you're shooting for 100 %. You're trying to find the best fit for your interests and personality out of the places that want you. Kind of like dating.

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Anonymous wrote:Well, if it's any consolation, it's also been a brutal year for all those poor and minority students. I work for an org that helps low-income students attend college-most of our students are black or latino. We've been hearing from various admissions offices that there is a huge pool this year, and while many of our students would have been likely admits if they could pay, schools don't want to spend a huge amount of aid on one student with a $0 EFC when they could spread that money around and give several students a decent amount of aid. It's tough out there.

Yes, I've heard that as well. I'm just not a believer in affirmative action. I think it is unconstitutional.

Please explain where in the Constitution it says that a private school must make admissions decisions based solely on SATs and grades.

Of course if we move to such admissions policies you will be bitching that the Asian kids all cheated and prepped to get in and so on.

What does SATs and grades have to do with racism re: any kid? Take a look at the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment please. If you don't like that one, how about the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, if we are talking about federal financial aid?

In the UT at Austin case, kids are evaluated based, in part, on a personal achievement index award. That included factoring in the socioeconomic status of the student and/or the student's school, as well as single parent status, race, and language barriers of any kind. This means that kids who were raised in traditional families who's parents worked hard, and where both parents spoke English in the home, got their 'personal achievement index award' lowered. I don't see how that is constitutional.

Regarding your comments about Asian kids, I read their tests scores are penalized simply because they are Asian. I think THAT'S BS. If the kid was prepped, studied, etc, and performed well, they deserve that score AS IT STANDS.

Do you really believe EVERYTHING you read...? Seriously, if you're going to try and debate about something then avoid anecdotal stories that are not based on any fact. To suggest that the scoring is somehow rigged against Asians (or anyone else for that matter) is simply ridiculous!

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Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at public or private school? My impression is that the private schools are doing better as their counselors cultivate relationships with admissions offices.

We are in public and were happy with all the school did. We are happy with the process. Naviance provided excellent information and helped set expectations. Which is what I think is important- managing expectations and aiming for schools that are the best fit and not necessarily the flashy ones (although they they may be).

OP- you said that your child got in to 3 great schools. I don't see how that is brutal. That is great, he has choices.

Agreed. I think it's because I am comparing it to when I was applying and how much the process has changed for these kids!! I hear so many say "I would NEVER have gotten into (name alma-mater) today!!"

Then, don't care so much about getting into any one specific alma-mater, and instead celebrate the achievement and opportunities of being admitted to several other good colleges and universities.

Oaky, I apologize if I have offended you. That said, you just mentioned that your DC has been admitted to at least one university that rejected the class valedictorian. You obviously have a very bright student with competitive college choices, in reality it hasn't been a brutal admissions year -- or at least not for your DC. Congratulations mom, now is the time to celebrate DC's achievements and acknowledge that value of your love and support that helped DC get there.

I'm OP and completely confused. I never said anything about a valedictorian/my child. I think you read that wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, if it's any consolation, it's also been a brutal year for all those poor and minority students. I work for an org that helps low-income students attend college-most of our students are black or latino. We've been hearing from various admissions offices that there is a huge pool this year, and while many of our students would have been likely admits if they could pay, schools don't want to spend a huge amount of aid on one student with a $0 EFC when they could spread that money around and give several students a decent amount of aid. It's tough out there.

Yes, I've heard that as well. I'm just not a believer in affirmative action. I think it is unconstitutional.

But legacy is constitutional? Even if you couldn't have legacy b/c your parents would not have been able to attend b/c the school did not allow minority students at the time? This was my story.

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Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at public or private school? My impression is that the private schools are doing better as their counselors cultivate relationships with admissions offices.

We are in public and were happy with all the school did. We are happy with the process. Naviance provided excellent information and helped set expectations. Which is what I think is important- managing expectations and aiming for schools that are the best fit and not necessarily the flashy ones (although they they may be).

OP- you said that your child got in to 3 great schools. I don't see how that is brutal. That is great, he has choices.

Agreed. I think it's because I am comparing it to when I was applying and how much the process has changed for these kids!! I hear so many say "I would NEVER have gotten into (name alma-mater) today!!"

Then, don't care so much about getting into any one specific alma-mater, and instead celebrate the achievement and opportunities of being admitted to several other good colleges and universities.

Oaky, I apologize if I have offended you. That said, you just mentioned that your DC has been admitted to at least one university that rejected the class valedictorian. You obviously have a very bright student with competitive college choices, in reality it hasn't been a brutal admissions year -- or at least not for your DC. Congratulations mom, now is the time to celebrate DC's achievements and acknowledge that value of your love and support that helped DC get there.

Anonymous wrote:Apparently, it's a good admissions year based on the thread discussing where everyone is going to college.