Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be full pay and apply ED too. This strategy worked for a student at DC’s private - was premed through most of HS - after meeting with private college counselor they switched to public health/health and society/ anthropology etc. Parents helped align extracurriculars to fit to the story.

Good to know! Thanks.

Medical anthropology and medical sociology are real areas of study. Same with "Medicine, Health & Society", "Biology & Society" etc. The ECs though need a very specific lens and do look different than true premed.
The essays and showing a love of learning outside of medicine/bio would be important.

https://anthropology.as.virginia.edu/ba-anthropology-concentration-medical-anthropology-ethics-and-care

How about pursuing psychology if pre med and wants to be a psychiatrist? Good fall back as well if pre med doesn't work out?

Psych and Bio are the two worst undergraduate majors unless fully committed to additional schooling.

Anonymous wrote:OP, please report back with results. I have a kid in a similar boat. Thanks!

+100

OP, please report back with results. I have a kid in a similar boat. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be full pay and apply ED too. This strategy worked for a student at DC’s private - was premed through most of HS - after meeting with private college counselor they switched to public health/health and society/ anthropology etc. Parents helped align extracurriculars to fit to the story.

Good to know! Thanks.

Medical anthropology and medical sociology are real areas of study. Same with "Medicine, Health & Society", "Biology & Society" etc. The ECs though need a very specific lens and do look different than true premed.
The essays and showing a love of learning outside of medicine/bio would be important.

https://anthropology.as.virginia.edu/ba-anthropology-concentration-medical-anthropology-ethics-and-care

How about pursuing psychology if pre med and wants to be a psychiatrist? Good fall back as well if pre med doesn't work out?

Bad idea. One of the most popular majors and AO look for real evidence/alignment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year college counseling at our private told my child to stop at a 1530 (2 attempts) but then we saw it play out and kids with a >1580 had an easier time with admissions despite having the same GPA. It definitely adds to the entire application and I'll do things differently with kid #2. There is little down side.

I hear you but correlation ≠ causation. The kids with higher test scores likely edged out applicants in the other criteria, which gives the illusion of higher test scores drastically improving admissions. Correct me if I'm wrong though!

No, several had identical GPAs, worse extracurriculars but a sky high SAT. Michigan, for example, took the sky high SATs in EA and deferred the rest. There was a definite pattern.

Different major? Essays? Recommendation?
SAT is just a one time test, once you cross the line, no one cares 1500 or 1580.

Ok, i beg to differ. Within a pretty homogenous private school population we saw it make a big difference.

How so? Average is around 1500 at ours, I don’t see how test scores differentiate them. From what I’ve seen it’s always ECs.

I think PP meant that 1500 opens the door but 1580 opens the door a little bit wider? But 1500 or 1580, they don’t help push the ceiling. Pretty much no one looks at the score again once you get in the door.

If comparing a pool of students (without hooks) from a high school, I think it really depends on the reputation of the applicant's school and the college's ability to differentiate a student's preparation from that school. So if a school has high grade inflation and the college has limited tools to differentiate the academic profile and preparation amongst the applicant pool, test scores matter more. Then the LORs and ECs factor in on the margins, unless the student has a "once in a decade" type of LOR or a unique national level EC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be full pay and apply ED too. This strategy worked for a student at DC’s private - was premed through most of HS - after meeting with private college counselor they switched to public health/health and society/ anthropology etc. Parents helped align extracurriculars to fit to the story.

Good to know! Thanks.

Medical anthropology and medical sociology are real areas of study. Same with "Medicine, Health & Society", "Biology & Society" etc. The ECs though need a very specific lens and do look different than true premed.
The essays and showing a love of learning outside of medicine/bio would be important.

https://anthropology.as.virginia.edu/ba-anthropology-concentration-medical-anthropology-ethics-and-care

How about pursuing psychology if pre med and wants to be a psychiatrist? Good fall back as well if pre med doesn't work out?

Unlikely but who knows if your DD fits an institutional priority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

Is your child top 15-20% in school? Private feeder to which colleges?

OP here; yes, likely top 20% (since class rank factors in rigor). Feeder to all T20s

Is this a max 4.0 school or is there a weighted GPA? Need more info than just 1500+ and info on ECs

Max 4.0 (which nobody ever achieves at DC’s private), 1530, ECs include high impact work/fundraising at public health nonprofits, healthcare policy, projects at hospitals, independent project about healthcare access

Did he apply to any of the below (and if so, what majors). Any EA/ED schools?

Cornell
Penn
Northwestern
Brown
Columbia
Vanderbilt
Emory
WashU
Rice
UChicago


Imo, no shot at HYPSM, or Duke.

Choose a smart ED1/ED2 from this list after talking to CCO.
This is a good list.

Agree. Would recommend Chicago ED1 unless OP has a dream school. Then ED1 dream ED2 Chicago. Ivies are lottery in RD, apply broadly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year college counseling at our private told my child to stop at a 1530 (2 attempts) but then we saw it play out and kids with a >1580 had an easier time with admissions despite having the same GPA. It definitely adds to the entire application and I'll do things differently with kid #2. There is little down side.

I hear you but correlation ≠ causation. The kids with higher test scores likely edged out applicants in the other criteria, which gives the illusion of higher test scores drastically improving admissions. Correct me if I'm wrong though!

No, several had identical GPAs, worse extracurriculars but a sky high SAT. Michigan, for example, took the sky high SATs in EA and deferred the rest. There was a definite pattern.

Different major? Essays? Recommendation?
SAT is just a one time test, once you cross the line, no one cares 1500 or 1580.

Ok, i beg to differ. Within a pretty homogenous private school population we saw it make a big difference.

How so? Average is around 1500 at ours, I don’t see how test scores differentiate them. From what I’ve seen it’s always ECs.

I think PP meant that 1500 opens the door but 1580 opens the door a little bit wider? But 1500 or 1580, they don’t help push the ceiling. Pretty much no one looks at the score again once you get in the door.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

Is your child top 15-20% in school? Private feeder to which colleges?

OP here; yes, likely top 20% (since class rank factors in rigor). Feeder to all T20s

Is this a max 4.0 school or is there a weighted GPA? Need more info than just 1500+ and info on ECs

Max 4.0 (which nobody ever achieves at DC’s private), 1530, ECs include high impact work/fundraising at public health nonprofits, healthcare policy, projects at hospitals, independent project about healthcare access

Did he apply to any of the below (and if so, what majors). Any EA/ED schools?

Cornell
Penn
Northwestern
Brown
Columbia
Vanderbilt
Emory
WashU
Rice
UChicago


Imo, no shot at HYPSM, or Duke.

Choose a smart ED1/ED2 from this list after talking to CCO.
This is a good list.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a 3.75 uw, 1500+, with near-maximum rigor at a top private feeder. High impact ECs and excellent writing. They're applying to health & society/public health and adjacent majors as a non-pre-med. Aiming for a T20 (non-HYPSM) -- do they have good chances? All anecdotes/feedback/input is appreciated!

So your kid doesn't care if they attend Brown, with an open curriculum, or Columbia, with very rigid multi-disciplinary requirements? They don't distinguish between Dartmouth's small and remote location versus Chicago's urban location? Or Harvard's Semester system to Northwestern's Quarter system? Maybe look at those and other attributes rather than "T20"

Most kids don’t care. These differences are noise in terms of college experience. Yes, some may find quarter system a little bit annoying but that’s all—they adapt to it in 1-2 quarters. There are kids who may be more sensitive, yes that may eliminate 1-2 schools from the list. No one is blowing this out of proportion.

These kids want a more social experience.
Strategic ED matters.