Anonymous wrote:MIT publishes the share of applicants at various grade and standardized test combinations that it accepts. At your daughter's level that's something like 10%. With that data point you can make assumptions about the probability of admission to the schools your daughter has an interest in relative to MIT and any hooks or lack of hooks she may have.

Interesting I went to MIT with 4.0 unweighted and 1500 SATs. According to their stats back then I was in their top 25%.

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Anonymous wrote:My DD is a senior at a big 3 and is interested in HYP. 35 ACT, 3.9 unweighted most rigorous classes. No hook, but has played an instrument since first grade (no awards). We're full pay and she's thinking women's/gender studies . Chances? We are making her come up with some safeties but she has her heart set on HYP.

should have played a sport.

I don't think the sport makes a big difference unless you're good enough to get recruited.

But with a decent resume like the OP's DD, playing a sport at a high level would help.

Not everyone can play sports at a high level. It's not a question of snapping your fingers and boom, you're an athlete.

I know recruiting for sports at the Ivies is controversial but even I acknowledge we're talking about kids who likely have put in far more hours and dedication to their sports than most of the bright Ivy qualified applicants did to their non sport hook areas.

maybe these athletes should spend less time on their sports and more time on their academics, then. because right now, they've got the lowest academic ratings.

Huh. Athletes generally get high gpas in college.

1. They don’t
2. We are talking about admissions. They are the least academically qualified group of admitted students.

Yes they do. They usually have the highest GPAs on campus as a group.

Woo hoo! With their communications and sociology majors. 🙄

Communications is an excellent major.

You know the answer to this question. Great stats are a prerequisite to get admitted to these schools, but they are not enough especially for an unhooked kid. She should by all means apply, and it sounds like she we will have a strong application on the quantitative side, but for the competitive schoolS she really needs to think beyond that as far as what will make her stand out. As others have said I would also really question her desire to go to HYP above all things as the schools are very different. My kid is it one of the schools, and I’m no expert on the process but only have her experience to go by so take that for what it’s worth. She really spent long time thinking about why her dream school was a good fit for her and kept that in mind as she worked in her application. She wouldn’t have been a good fit at the other two schools, even if she had gotten in. Rather than just focusing on the obvious prestige of the HYP thing I hope your daughter can identify what aspects of whichever school she’s most want to appeal to her because there are certainly plenty of other fantastic schools that are highly selective probably offer many of the similar benefits.

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Anonymous wrote:My DD is a senior at a big 3 and is interested in HYP. 35 ACT, 3.9 unweighted most rigorous classes. No hook, but has played an instrument since first grade (no awards). We're full pay and she's thinking women's/gender studies . Chances? We are making her come up with some safeties but she has her heart set on HYP.

should have played a sport.

I don't think the sport makes a big difference unless you're good enough to get recruited.

But with a decent resume like the OP's DD, playing a sport at a high level would help.

Not everyone can play sports at a high level. It's not a question of snapping your fingers and boom, you're an athlete.

I know recruiting for sports at the Ivies is controversial but even I acknowledge we're talking about kids who likely have put in far more hours and dedication to their sports than most of the bright Ivy qualified applicants did to their non sport hook areas.

maybe these athletes should spend less time on their sports and more time on their academics, then. because right now, they've got the lowest academic ratings.

Huh. Athletes generally get high gpas in college.

1. They don’t
2. We are talking about admissions. They are the least academically qualified group of admitted students.

Yes they do. They usually have the highest GPAs on campus as a group.

Woo hoo! With their communications and sociology majors. 🙄

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is brutal. No one is happy. Students simultaneously desire to be the best while being filled with self loathing and despair. The food is terrible and the dorms are disgusting. There are mice in the rooms and turkeys lurking in the yard. I guess the academics are ok.

And anti-Harvard clowns posting nonsense on tailboards...

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is brutal. No one is happy. Students simultaneously desire to be the best while being filled with self loathing and despair. The food is terrible and the dorms are disgusting. There are mice in the rooms and turkeys lurking in the yard. I guess the academics are ok.

So don’t apply

Harvard is brutal. No one is happy. Students simultaneously desire to be the best while being filled with self loathing and despair. The food is terrible and the dorms are disgusting. There are mice in the rooms and turkeys lurking in the yard. I guess the academics are ok.

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Anonymous wrote:of course without mentioning any specifics it should go without saying that the race, ethnicity are not mentioned but with those stats members of certain groups would have a better chance than others. Don't get angry with me - that's just the way it is.

yes, rich white athletes, legacies and donors all would have a substantially better chance of getting in with those stats. thank you for raising the point.

well, OP's DD didn't play any sports (at least OP doesn't mention it), so her kid is not a "rich white athlete," so that factor isn't in play here one way or the other. OTH, legacy or donor could be, but unlikely. Race, however, everyone has one.

Indeed, but the handicaps for blacks vs. the penalties for asians are quite different.

No white or Asian will ever trade places with a black even with university black privilege.

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Anonymous wrote:of course without mentioning any specifics it should go without saying that the race, ethnicity are not mentioned but with those stats members of certain groups would have a better chance than others. Don't get angry with me - that's just the way it is.

yes, rich white athletes, legacies and donors all would have a substantially better chance of getting in with those stats. thank you for raising the point.

well, OP's DD didn't play any sports (at least OP doesn't mention it), so her kid is not a "rich white athlete," so that factor isn't in play here one way or the other. OTH, legacy or donor could be, but unlikely. Race, however, everyone has one.

Indeed, but the handicaps for blacks vs. the penalties for asians are quite different.

Let’s not go down that road. At our big 3 last year, other than a few kids, the majority were white. And most were not even athletes or at least not recruited athletes. Perhaps some legacy, but for the most part they were just your typical smart, white, rich kids.

Your DD should apply bc she has nothing to lose.

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Anonymous wrote:of course without mentioning any specifics it should go without saying that the race, ethnicity are not mentioned but with those stats members of certain groups would have a better chance than others. Don't get angry with me - that's just the way it is.

yes, rich white athletes, legacies and donors all would have a substantially better chance of getting in with those stats. thank you for raising the point.

well, OP's DD didn't play any sports (at least OP doesn't mention it), so her kid is not a "rich white athlete," so that factor isn't in play here one way or the other. OTH, legacy or donor could be, but unlikely. Race, however, everyone has one.

Indeed, but the handicaps for blacks vs. the penalties for asians are quite different.

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Anonymous wrote:of course without mentioning any specifics it should go without saying that the race, ethnicity are not mentioned but with those stats members of certain groups would have a better chance than others. Don't get angry with me - that's just the way it is.

yes, rich white athletes, legacies and donors all would have a substantially better chance of getting in with those stats. thank you for raising the point.

well, OP's DD didn't play any sports (at least OP doesn't mention it), so her kid is not a "rich white athlete," so that factor isn't in play here one way or the other. OTH, legacy or donor could be, but unlikely. Race, however, everyone has one.

Anonymous wrote:of course without mentioning any specifics it should go without saying that the race, ethnicity are not mentioned but with those stats members of certain groups would have a better chance than others. Don't get angry with me - that's just the way it is.

yes, rich white athletes, legacies and donors all would have a substantially better chance of getting in with those stats. thank you for raising the point.

MIT publishes the share of applicants at various grade and standardized test combinations that it accepts. At your daughter's level that's something like 10%. With that data point you can make assumptions about the probability of admission to the schools your daughter has an interest in relative to MIT and any hooks or lack of hooks she may have.

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry, it's been a busy day at work. I think DD is not wanting to share her top choice to guard against disappointment, but I get the sense Princeton her favorite. Of course her counselor and Naviance are helpful, but the input here is also helpful and interesting. I think she knows it's all a crapshoot, but like all kids, is hoping to have a better idea. Couple of things - definitely no hooks, and as for the major - we suspect grad school is in her future, so we are less worried about that right now. I could see it changing to psychology or another social science. We appreciate the different perspectives and are actually planning to share several thoughts with her tonight! Wish us luck!

If she's applying this year, then there is very little she can do, realistically, because it's already been done. She should focus on her essays, which are the only part of her application that remain within her control and then apply to whichever school she wants. The essays will matter much more than her prospective major.

At some point, the college admissions game is a lottery, which sounds depressing but also means that she could win, but only if she applies. The advice that she should just give up on Princeton or whatever other school is her top choice is, in my opinion, misguided and self-defeating. Not applying is the one sure way not to get in.

I don’t see anything wrong with her applying to HYP. Those are her dream schools. She’ll also need balanced fall-back schools.

I don't think ANYONE here has said not to apply. More like, apply but realize chances are low for anyone so make sure you carefully pick a good list of schools that are not HYP that you would be happy at.

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry, it's been a busy day at work. I think DD is not wanting to share her top choice to guard against disappointment, but I get the sense Princeton her favorite. Of course her counselor and Naviance are helpful, but the input here is also helpful and interesting. I think she knows it's all a crapshoot, but like all kids, is hoping to have a better idea. Couple of things - definitely no hooks, and as for the major - we suspect grad school is in her future, so we are less worried about that right now. I could see it changing to psychology or another social science. We appreciate the different perspectives and are actually planning to share several thoughts with her tonight! Wish us luck!

If she's applying this year, then there is very little she can do, realistically, because it's already been done. She should focus on her essays, which are the only part of her application that remain within her control and then apply to whichever school she wants. The essays will matter much more than her prospective major.

At some point, the college admissions game is a lottery, which sounds depressing but also means that she could win, but only if she applies. The advice that she should just give up on Princeton or whatever other school is her top choice is, in my opinion, misguided and self-defeating. Not applying is the one sure way not to get in.

I don’t see anything wrong with her applying to HYP. Those are her dream schools. She’ll also need balanced fall-back schools.