I think an unusual passion combined with community service....maybe learn the bagpipes and then play at funerals, moving into some type of leadership role as you age up. Then tie this into a career somehow, maybe wanting to become a psychologist specializing in grief counseling. Of course, at the same time maintain good grades, an excellent SAT score etc. That is how you play the game. Of course, you need to start early.

Internationals often pay above full-pay.

Anonymous wrote:More numbers: 12% internationals admitted at Rice ED, Dartmouth 14% internationals admitted ED (new record high).

https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2020/12/record-number-of-students-apply-for-early-decision-at-rice

https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2020/12/dartmouth-notifies-early-decision-students-their-admission

Full pay students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ll never really know why my son was accepted into every school he applied to including an Ivy where he’s attending but my guess is that (aside from good grades and test scores) he wrote a brilliant essay and is an unusual kid. He plays the bag pipes and spent the summer working as a chocolatier in France.

Working in other countries: could it backfire and make the applicant seem wealthy enough to travel and "enjoy" himself?

If you don't mind sharing, PP, do you have family in France or any type of connection that helped you child get a job there? If so, do you think your child explained that in his essay?

You pretty much answered your own question.

Anonymous wrote:We’ll never really know why my son was accepted into every school he applied to including an Ivy where he’s attending but my guess is that (aside from good grades and test scores) he wrote a brilliant essay and is an unusual kid. He plays the bag pipes and spent the summer working as a chocolatier in France.

Working in other countries: could it backfire and make the applicant seem wealthy enough to travel and "enjoy" himself?

If you don't mind sharing, PP, do you have family in France or any type of connection that helped you child get a job there? If so, do you think your child explained that in his essay?

More numbers: 12% internationals admitted at Rice ED, Dartmouth 14% internationals admitted ED (new record high).

https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2020/12/record-number-of-students-apply-for-early-decision-at-rice

https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2020/12/dartmouth-notifies-early-decision-students-their-admission

Anonymous wrote:We’ll never really know why my son was accepted into every school he applied to including an Ivy where he’s attending but my guess is that (aside from good grades and test scores) he wrote a brilliant essay and is an unusual kid. He plays the bag pipes and spent the summer working as a chocolatier in France.

I'm going with bag pipes and chocolate in France.

Teachings can be great at almost any college. What makes going to a selective college great is the smart, engaged peer group.

I went to a highly selective LAC. Freshman year, I had a friend who a a senior in HS visit. His brother went to UMD, and he was thinking of going there. During his visit, a classmate ran in and excitedly started jabbering about his philosophy reading. "Wow, they never do that at Maryland," he said. He ended up going to Princeton.

But the great thing is that if the "second-tier" schools are now filled with smart, engaged kids, THEN YOUR KID WILL GET A GOOD PEER GROUP THERE TOO!!!

^^ My apologies to the grammar police.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget the percentage of international students really cut into the ‘normal’ American kids getting accepted to selective schools. Profit margins increased with full pay foreign students. Once you also were considered unique if you lived abroad - were the child of missionaries or diplomats. Now they simply recruit directly from the place your family was ‘posted.’ You don’t seem very unique against an international student who pays full freight. Also, agreed on quality drop in American high schools. Probably combination of factors there but seems everyone gets a medal type of thinking...

What selective colleges do this? Please be specific.

NP but I used to teach at Yale and it is common knowledge that this is true.

Yeah I don't put much in "common knowledge". I like verifiable facts.

NP. Harvard increased accepted intl students this year by nearly 3% in EA.

"International citizens comprise 12.2 percent of the admitted students to date this year, compared with 9.6 percent last year."

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/12/harvard-college-accepts-747-under-early-action-program/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the F even is a GPA over 4.0. That’s garbage. The highest grade you can get is an A which is a 4.0 so this nonsense to artificially inflate grades makes me insane. Haven’t hey also made the SAT higher scoring?

Smartest thing kids can do these days is to get an actual vocation.

You must be new here. A 4.1 GPA is like garbage for selective schools.

Except that not all schools weight their GPAs. For the most part, colleges know the difference between a 3.9 at one school, a 4.1 at another and a 5.0 (or whatever insane GPA some schools allow).

True, of course. Some private schools max at 4.0.

How do you differentiate the rigor to succeed in an IB or AP level course and one that covers less content and less advanced and challenging content? The current method is to give different weights to the courses according to degree if difficulty.

I think the admissions race is a problem of too much information. Elite schools can only take so many applicants. If parents see that a certain combination of grades/test scores previously resulted in admits one year, then large number of students are applying with these numbers the nest year but the schools still need to be selective.

As an interviewer for my Ivy league schools, I have seen certain kids admitted that I did not especially like/recommend, but these kids tended to have real leadership positions, like being the school president. Most students who were truly brilliant were not admitted.

Anyway, I would not worry too much because what I have seen in my own kids and acquaintances is that kids with good grades and score will get into good schools. It is kinds of random, so your kid should not have have her/his heart set on a particular place. I will say that if you have sights set on HYPS, it is very hard from a public high school in this area because many slots go to private schools that have superior college advising and long-time relationships with the college admissions, so their students are better packaged.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget the percentage of international students really cut into the ‘normal’ American kids getting accepted to selective schools. Profit margins increased with full pay foreign students. Once you also were considered unique if you lived abroad - were the child of missionaries or diplomats. Now they simply recruit directly from the place your family was ‘posted.’ You don’t seem very unique against an international student who pays full freight. Also, agreed on quality drop in American high schools. Probably combination of factors there but seems everyone gets a medal type of thinking...

What selective colleges do this? Please be specific.

NP but I used to teach at Yale and it is common knowledge that this is true.

Yeah I don't put much in "common knowledge". I like verifiable facts.

Me too. That poster comes into the college and university board and just spouts her theories with zero back up. Constantly. It is one of the biggest problems in terms of not getting a veritable and balanced set of answers here and undermines everything.

Ask area American expat families whose children have applied to elite US institutions in recent years and ED/EA/REA this past fall. 2020 acceptances don’t count.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget the percentage of international students really cut into the ‘normal’ American kids getting accepted to selective schools. Profit margins increased with full pay foreign students. Once you also were considered unique if you lived abroad - were the child of missionaries or diplomats. Now they simply recruit directly from the place your family was ‘posted.’ You don’t seem very unique against an international student who pays full freight. Also, agreed on quality drop in American high schools. Probably combination of factors there but seems everyone gets a medal type of thinking...

What selective colleges do this? Please be specific.

NP but I used to teach at Yale and it is common knowledge that this is true.

Yeah I don't put much in "common knowledge". I like verifiable facts.