Test Optional Results
I’m going to write this in general terms so as not to make my kid identifiable. Main intent of this post is to add a data point regarding test optional outcomes. I’m not going to provide state of origin, race, ECs. Generally, kid was top 5% with high rigor.
Here’s the tl;dr: safeties 1/1, matches 4/4, reaches 1/13.
Category 1: HPYSM:
Applied to 4, rejected 4
Category 2: Next tier top private schools - rest of Ivies plus top 4 LAC (A,W, Swat, Pom), Caltech, Northwestern, Duke, U Chicago, Vandy, WUSTL, Rice, ND, Georgetown, etc:
Applied to 6, rejected 4, WL 2
Category 3: Tippy top publics (Michigan, UCB, UCLA) all are OOS; note UCs are test-blind:
Applied to 3, accepted 1, WL 2
Category 4: Next tier public and similar largish private - Northeastern, CWRU, Wisconsin, McGill, Emory, Tulane, NYU, UVA, UCSD, CMU, USC, Tufts, etc:
Applied to 2, accepted 2
Category 5: SLACs ranked in 20-40 (USNWR) range:
Applied to 3, accepted 3, unsolicited merit money from all 3.
Some might question “fit” on such a broad list, but with Covid severely limiting our campus visits, and fact that kid is pretty easygoing about geography, social scene, etc., she did indeed consider small LACs, huge state schools, and things in between.
Timeline - took advantage of unrestricted EA - had 3 acceptances in hand by end of December, another 2 by end of Jan, then the long wait began, but she was in a pretty good place. (By then there had also been one rejection and one deferral.) By stats we could have called one of the large school matches a safety…but it’s a good idea to have a conservative mindset about that right now. Strategic use of time (having an acceptance before Jan 1) is IMO a safer safety than projecting based on stats, unless you’re looking at an auto-admit school.
Tips learned from seeing process play out:
-For a particular student, there is likely to be some cancellation in play between “hooks” (legacy/ALDC, URM, favorable geography, FGLI, etc.) and “anti-hooks” (ORM, overrepresented geography, SES, overly common ECs, etc.)
-If at all possible, don’t stop taking foreign language classes short of what your high school offers.
-Essays matter a lot for SLACs. UC PIQs matter as well.
-Re: private college admissions coach - considered the idea but did not end up going that route. CC website can be enough. Recommend having parent on the forums and not the kid. But for you kids doing this on your own - we are here for you!
-Even the “low-stress” kids start feeling anxious in the last few days before results are released.
We are grateful to be so lucky: one reach is great, since she can only go to one college.