<p>Since there have been several people on CC who have reported phone calls or letters from coaches, admissions officers ect... and you may be feeling discouraged- I know I was until I heard this story. </p>
<p>I share this story to give some hope to all of you who have NOT received these calls,letters and emails.</p>
<p>I know someone who's child applied to Andover, Exeter, Cushing, Concord, Governers ect...
The child was not a varsity athlete, was not recruited, not a legacy, not a minority and received NO contact from the schools prior to march 10th.<br>
Child was Accepted at all the above schools WITH FA and currently attends Exeter. </p>
<p>PA-C, sounds like you're discouraged about not receiving correspondence from schools. Please don't be, ~90% of applicant don't, and acceptance rates are ~20% NOT 10%. </p>
<p>Admission decisions are so unpredictable. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? I wouldn't worry myself over this as it's rather insignificant.</p>
<p>Thanks, PA-C. I have been feeling VERY ignorant. My son didn't know to contact teachers in his subjects of special interest, send a CD of him singing, etc., etc. We didn't find CC until AFTER he applied. We do live in a fairly unrepresented state (as in, if a school says they have students from "47 states", our state is likely to be one of the three no-shows). But past that, other than high test scores and some unusual EC's, he's pretty much unhooked...AND needs substantial FA. He's so confident that it's going to be great next Tuesday but, since I've been reading CC and he hasn't, my confidence is a bit weaker than his. In his case, ignorance is definitely bliss. So glad to hear that these things CAN happen. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Thank you Benev! You're helping me to keep my perspective. I am an adult but still get stressed over this process sometimes so I can't imagine what it's like for you teens! I will be so glad when next week is over! Good thing I have been busy at work this week to keep my mind off this a little- son is skiing tonight so he isn't giving it a second thought!</p>
<p>Good happykidsmom I'm glad it helped a little! I keep talking to this friend of mine when I get discouraged too...</p>
<p>haha... remember that the kids on this site aren't your average applicants. Grades/scores/academics are not hooks, but EC's are, especially if you are deeply passionate about something.</p>
<p>BTW, coming from an underrepresented state is definitely a hook!</p>
<p>Starz, our state of residence MIGHT be a hook, were it not for the fact that a friend of his from his school who has off-the-chart scores and stats is also applying at one of the two schools he applied to. I don't think that they will take more than one student from our state (much less our little public school). High test scores are a dime a dozen. And who knows how they will view his EC's. Just because I think he has a couple of good ones, doesn't make them "hooks". Plus, he needs substantial FA. So, no, that's not what I said. At all. I stand by what I DID say. He is, for the most part, without a hook.</p>
<p>Exactly, Benev. Thanks for that. You are correct. Were it not that his school friend (who scored almost a perfect score on the ACT at age 11 and has a national reputation as a math whiz...and is a genuinely nice person, to boot) is also applying at one of the two schools, his residence would be a hook. As it is, I think it might only be an advantage at one school...and we had NO idea that we should apply to more. Very naive, we were...lol.</p>
<p>It's interesting though that sometimes a person at your school applying can actually help you be accepted. For example, if a legacy applied from your son's school and the bs wanted to accept that person but their stats were less than your son's stats they will often accept both of you. This avoids a problem with accepting an applicant "out of context" which can anger parents and school personnel. I read about this in a book called "the price of admission" which is about college admissions.</p>
<p>I just keep hoping that some of the kids applying from my son's school are legacies and have lower states than my son! LOL</p>
<p>happykidsmom, schools do NOT have quotas for acceptances from different states. Also, remember that intelligence is not a hook. This math whiz you are talking about will not be an instant in. Isn't your son a child prodigy and genius... so they accept a student like your son who will score a 2350 on his SAT's opposed to a 2400 ;)</p>
<p>My child is a well known athlete regionally and nationally. The schools know this but none have contacted us and we were under the impression that was the norm.</p>
<p>Now, THAT'S an interesting perspective. Me likey! lol. Honestly, though, if my son's friend got the nod over him, I couldn't be at all angry. And, as much as my son wants to go to BS, if she got in and he didn't, he wouldn't be bitter at all. She and her parents are lovely. Whenever she takes a test, or wins a competition, etc., her father immediately emails me with the news because he knows that I LOVE hearing of her success. She is, quite simply, amazing. I think my son is pretty amazing, as well, and the two of them are often compared favorably with one another (a few years ago, they won the two full-tuition scholarships in our state to CTY). It just depends on what the schools are looking for. And one never really knows about that... ;-)</p>
<p>weeble_1 : I really don't know if it's the norm. Some CC posters have stated that they were told they were on the coach's recruiting list. Other parents have told me before that if your child was being recruited for athletics you would know it. I have no idea if that's true or not. You may want to post a thread asking about recruitment on the parents forum or do a search on recruited athletes? </p>
<p>Haha, Benev. Love YOUR perspective, too. Though, I never said that my son was a genius/prodigy! lol. We've discussed this already...my story is that EVERYONE has genius --and I'm stickin' to that. And you are right about the quotas, I think. It just seems that having two kids of the same ethnic profile from the same school in an underrepped state might be a stretch for most schools. I don't mind keeping my mind open to the possibility, though. I'm glad now that my son insisted on applying to a second school that he absolutely LOVES. But I am not blind to the fact that there are so many incredible candidates on CC...and thousands of other great candidates who aren't here. So, yeah, it's nice to hear from PA-C that (relatively) unhooked candidates can get accepted to the top schools with FA. :-)</p>
<p>PA-C ..I hope you are right about legacies. I was reassured by what you had to say. My daughter has much better grades, awards and SSAT score compared to a legacy applicant who is applying to one of the same schools. We sure will be disappointed if that kid gets in and my daughter is overlooked. Hope they both get admitted.</p>