I would like to ask the panel here about a specific area of her EC’s. She would love to be involved in helping orphans in the city but her parents won’t allow it for safety reasons and I understand that. I also see that being wealthy enough to attend short mission programs to third world nations will probably not impress an adcom to an elite school. What do you think she could do this summer to really step up in this area? She does know Spanish.
And I would strongly encourage her to apply ED to wash U- because applying ED there is the only way to show them "the love ".
If she gets rejected or deferred then that will indicate to her that she needs to apply to a lot of other schools that her parents may considered to be matches or safeties.
But if she’s accepted then she can breathe a big sigh of relief! Wash U is a fabulous University
That’s exactly the issue. She’s a full pay, unhooked white girl with high stats and all of that is working against her in ways it wouldn’t if she were an URM or male. She needs to understand the advantages she has, not be coached on the “challenges” she faces.
“The median US income is ~$50k. Those families are also paying taxes, mortgages, college fees, and general living expenses. People who make $350k/year are nothing like them. If you think you are, quit your job and try living on $50k/year.”
@austinmshauri , I don’t think, among all the words exchanged in the back and forth on what $350k means in Seattle, that anybody, me included, said, argued, implied, suggested, questioned, deduced or inferred anything relating, directly or indirectly, to any idea or notion that people making 350 live a lifestyle comparable to someone making $50k.
But congratulations on a solid attempt at rhetoric. [rolling eyes here]
As an aside I don’t think males have much if any advantage except at a very few LACs where females are much more likely to apply. And females have the countering advantage of having an additional handful of extremely good schools like Wellesley and Smith where only they can apply. And full pay is hardly a disadvantage - at many very good schools it is an open advantage, and at others it may be an advantage but just not openly acknowledged.
I think, like the other discussion about affluence and class, that we are probably just separated by nomenclature.
When I hear “hooks”, those are the three things I think of. They are formal things that formally get a kid on a special list and often leads to an entirely different ad com review.
The stuff you’re listing is typically helpful to getting in, but falls short of the formal hook that gets you a different ad com read.
OP here. Sorry I didn’t mean to start a war. but I gleaned good info from all your inputs(mostly).
She understands that she is fortunate to be where she is and the greatest pressure comes from her own self doubt but that would be an entirely new thread.
I think most people would agree that she should save EA/ED on a 2 or 3 high reach choice and not Stanford.
The Guatemalan trip is not to proselytize but strictly humanitarian. I don’t think her Spanish skills are good enough to teach. Maybe I can work with her to make some local connections and do a project in a low income Seattle area.
I think applying ED to Duke(her parents both attended law school there) and one of the small top schools will be the best match-Scripps, Whitman, Reed Pomona etc. with Washington as top safety and I think she will be happy with any of these and if she wants to try Stanford RD that will be icing on top of an already great cake.