Sorry for the misunderstanding! I meant - accepted students (NOT on the waitlist but accepted already) will put in deposits for accepting their spots. And then the AOs look at the waitlist for other students to decide how much space they have.
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I see, got it. Thank you for the clarification.
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Thanks for sharing insights. It is quite helpful to know
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this is really good to know!
In my case, I was rejected by almost every single t20 save for MIT, Caltech, and UChicago (which I didn’t apply) as a freshman and was recently accepted into one of those as a transfer. I was worried that because of my previous rejections, I might not stand a chance at all the other programs, but I take it that I shouldn’t worry about that?
With students of similar academics (GPA/ Test scores) and similar Extracurriculars (ECs) (e.g. volunteering, Leaderships, clubs, sport/arts, etc.,) are there any ECs that are valued more than others?
Asians form 25-30% of applicants at the Top 30 schools.
Why do we see schools restricting their admissions to 12-15%?
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@JoelAtInGeniusPrep, thank you for answering questions.
Regarding listing academic interests on applications - does it hurt an applicant to be undecided?
That’s right! As long as you show academic prowess and genuine interest in the schools, you should be all good!
AOs will in such cases try to seek out more unique activities and self-initiatives within the field. For example, if both students are interested in business, priority might be given to a student who has started their own business (and made a genuine impact on top of that) over a student who is simply the president of a leadership in business club at school.
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Thanks for your question! Our team of Former Admissions Officers almost always advise against saying a student is “undecided” in the Common App / school-specific questions. This shows that they haven’t given much thought to their future plans and have not focused their interests enough in high school. For most students who are seniors in high school, their future plans truly are undecided, and that’s completely normal. Admissions officers understand that conceptions of their future will probably change! However, they should still avoid the option, and instead choose something that is cohesive with their application persona - the theme of their application.
By listing a major or career in the Common App, you don’t actually have to commit! You are only bound to your major choice if you are applying to a specific program at a university that requires this declaration (i.e. many engineering or nursing schools). Understand that in these situations, the choice will commit you to a clear academic and career path.
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Hi! So sorry I missed this. Especially with the UCs and CSUs turning test blind and optional, AP scores are looked at more than ever. At the same time, I also agree with your instruction to take APs in courses of interest. Ultimately, colleges DO consider rigor of school offerings when looking at academics. However, they also primarily check for AP performances at courses relevant to the school’s major. So there’s no particular damage in 8 2-semester AP courses as long as they have APs in courses relevant to major + actually do well in them. The “additional information” section is also a great place to explain the curriculum available to students.
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This is definitely a tricky question—and definitely depends on the institution. I think a lot of factors do go into this ultimately—because a lot of students of similar backgrounds bring a lot of similar school contexts, academic performance, ECs etc. Plus, colleges might not want to take too many students from the same high school (sometimes there are quotas for that). For public universities, there is also the in-state vs. out-of-state restrictions that play into things.
Having consulted a number of our counselors, I understand that the perception is that because Asians have high testing and academic scores (and this is a stereotype, something we never want our students or parents to hold as universally true regardless of whether it’s positive or negative), they should be ahead of their peers just based on those facts, but in a more holistic admission environment, standardized testing and GPA alone don’t necessarily make many students stand out.
Having said that, the admissions process is not free from implicit bias and it impacts students from a variety of backgrounds, including Asian students.
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Thank you very much for answering both my questions.
How Do admissions view AP vs IB classes when a student isn’t doing the full IB diploma route but choosing the IB class. Thanks
How do colleges typically view the senior year transcript, at least in your experience? Could taking a free period or a teacher assistant period potentially be negative on a student’s applications?
It is my observation that New Jersey is viewed as two states by AOs. The northern part, say from Princeton or West Windsor-Plainsboro and above, appears to have a higher rate of admissions success among elite academic institutions than the southern part, especially with respect to public HS attendees. My observation is necessarily based on anecdotal information as I’ve seen no studies or statistics on this. Could this be true?
I have heard activities of Asian students doing “stereotypical” Asian extracurriculars (ECs) - like dance, violin, piano, tennis, karate, shadowing Asian doctors, etc. - are discounted heavily compared to other students.
How does one counter such a perception?
This is a super common question! It’s typically preferred to either choose all AP or pursue the IB diploma. However, if a student is mixing & matching, the student really needs to be pursuing the highest level classes they can.
Another great question. It’s always about the entire Grade 12 year, and not just about 1 choice. If the student is taking the most rigorous options available to them and 1 class is a free or a TA role, that’s great. But if the overall rigor is low and there are some free/TA periods, it’s telling the AO that you are trying to escape challenge.
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I don’t put much stock into anecdotes when it comes to admissions. There are too many “I heard” examples that are ultimately false. Admissions never values one geographic area over another. They make their decisions based on the quality of applications they are receiving from any area.