I don’t think anyone is expecting perfection. As long as all applicants are evaluated the same, and held to the same standards, then things are fine.
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We are very excited about Hamilton! Already made reservations for move in. He’s going to have a great experience there.
I’m capable of having multiple emotions at the same time. Cheers everyone.
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Saying student X is smarter than student Y bc of A and B factors? Objective in whose mind? These schools can fill an entire class full of nearly perfect students. Whatever another student did to impress them or make them think they fit well into the incoming class isn’t down to the same metrics you’d use all the time.
Or, Sian Beilock liked her application so much, so she’s bringing her along from Barnard 
.
I am not sure what you mean by the metrics I would use all the time. It is even more curious that you presume to know the metrics I would use.
What is more relevant is what Dartmouth says is “Very Important” in its own common data set. As long as Dartmouth treats all students the same in regards to those 8 items, then everything is fair and reasonable.
Same thing going on at Princeton. My kid applied REA. Legacy. Very involved parent for 20 years at Princeton. Interviewer. But much more. Organizer of reunions, fundraising etc.
Kid was in the zone or so we thought. Coastal private school kid. Was rejected. I’m actually glad it wasn’t a BS waitlist / defer. A straight reject was eye opening. It did cause kid to lose ED1 and ED2 at places like BC and NYU and that hurt because kid was eventually WL’d Rd at those. That was our own fault. We over estimated what legacy could do. Lesson learned and won’t be repeated for next kid.
Definitely some bitterness I’m trying to get over. They don’t owe me anything. My kid will have a great life whether they go to Princeton or not.
The institutional priorities have changed. Being a high stats legacy was a lock at Dartmouth and Princeton even 5 years ago. It’s not anymore.
Someone on Princeton board of trustees told me you need high stats, legacy and one other hook (athlete, mega donor, or URM). They said you need to be double hooked if you are just a legacy. Legacy alone even for involved legacy parent is meaningless as a differentiator. And this board member even guessed that legacy can hurt a bit with AOs - many of whom are in their 30s and generationally often very opposed to legacy preference. Politically and philosophically opposed. Tough way to read your kid’s application.
When you run the stats on how many non-international, US Caucasian seats there are for only single hooked (legacy) kids from coastal states, it’s vanishingly small.
I’ve seen the follow-ons to your post. Some hard push back. Some of which my objective brain understand. I know where you are coming from.
My kid likely headed to one of the overseas schools (st Andrews, trinity Dublin etc). Has decided this system is just not right for him and could use a clean break for 4 years outside the US. Kid might be right.
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I think a lot of highly rejective schools are going to rue some of these legacy rejections, especially kids like your boy who had a 4.0 and a 35 – more than competitive. When alumni stop donating their time and money to the school because their kids were not admitted, I’ll bet some recent strategy shifts will be reconsidered. It’s going to hit them where it hurts.
I’m not saying a legacy bump is right or wrong, but in some cases it makes some sense – like when the applicant has great stats and his alumni parent(s) is/are active alumni, benefactor(s), or both like in Techno’s case. They serve the school, so it isn’t wrong to expect a highly competitive applicant to get a bump.
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All I can say that participating in this process was very tiring and that I’m really glad that I don’t have to go through it again because I only have one child. 
If your kid has exceptional stats and didn’t get into an Ivy, it will be okay. Your kid will strive and succeed without going to these “designer brand” schools. They just got to continue believing in themselves and to reach for the stars. As for the legacy disappointment, you’ll get over it. I would only contribute my time and money to a school if I felt in my heart that they did something for me and deserved it. I want my son to get into a school based on his own achievements, that way he can say he did it on his own.
Sorry for the dumb question but why did it hurt ED2 at those places? I guess those ED2 deadlines are prior to the REA notification date for Princeton?
My kid got waitlisted. He’s got a 1580 SAT; all As with a rigorous course load (don’t know what his weighted GPA is); AP calculus B/C, Statistics, Physics and computer science scores of 5; NMSF, devastatingly handsome AND charming. California (our home state) was a total bust - rejected by Berkeley, UCSD and Cal Poly SLO, waitlisted at UCD, UCSB, and UCI. Yes, I was pissed, but I’m over it. He’s had many advantages, and I’m cool that a diverse class is more important than getting the absolutely highest qualified in a sea of over-qualifieds. In the meantime, if Dartmouth needs a private school educated white (we don’t disclose the 1/4 Chinese part, lol) male CS major from California, we are totally in. And we’ll make plans at one of the five schools that accepted him, four of which threw substantial merit aid at him. He’s a great kid and will be fine wherever he lands. PS please excuse any typos, autocorrects, etc., ADHD is a legitimate neurological condition. 
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guys, whoever is reading this:
The fin aid email thing is an acceptance.
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Yes, I think it’s true as well. We got a financial aid email 8 days before Ivy Day. At that time the FA portal was updated, too. My daughter got in.
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He sounds a victim of UC “test-blindness” which is costing those schools some outrageously good candidates. SAT scores are a verifiable predictor of student success at rigorous universities, and it’s impossible, even as a ferocious liberal, to deny that the somersaults test-blind schools are doing to appease the baseless demands of the far left are costing them candidates best primed to excel at their curriculum.
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My son was WLed at Georgetown despite him being accepted to Columbia, Williams, Dartmouth, USC, and Rice. It stung. Double legacy, parents interviewed for 20 plus years hundreds of candidates really involved. But honestly he would have picked one of his other options over Georgetown because they are better fits - and he’s 90% into Dartmouth but wants to evaluate Columbia too. I think Georgetown Admissions knew that and honestly I’m not going to stop being involved in the school - I might even double down and understand more just how complicated this college acceptance process is even more than before. I have a lot of compassion for all kids and their families going through this process - now even more so after going through it with my daughter last year and son this year.
Our son was even WLed at Northwestern and UChicago our two other alma maters. We laughed about it at the end of the day. College admissions is a lottery and I guess legacy means less and less every year perhaps as it should. Legacy just perpetuates cycles of privilege and perhaps it’s all time for the system to be fully adjusted but in a total overhaul way.
Today we are thankful for our son’s acceptances but we know it’s irrelevant really as it’s what he does at college that really matters - not where he goes.
Congratulations to all on what has seemed like one awful terrible no good college admissions season. So difficult for our kids - no wonder they are struggling with sky high anxiety and stress. And hopefully as parents we are supportive and loving of their growth and not disappointed in them or their achievements.
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not necessarily, I got waitlisted
is there a specific time frame in which we should send LOCI?
This is so true. I got contacted throughout March SEVERAL times asking for new documents every time. I also got the generalized financial aid missing docs email after the financial office reached out. I didn’t really have my hopes up, even after everyone here told me I got admitted (got rejected and waitlisted at a bunch of reaches prior to Ivy Day) but I am really happy with where I ended up!!
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I have a personal friend who is a Princeton alum and interviews from the school in our area. In his experience, out of all of the students over the many years he’s interviewed, only students from one high school in our area have ever been admitted. He doesn’t live within a reasonable commuting distance of that high school, so he’s upset that that likely means his kids don’t have a chance no matter how capable they are. I can empathize for sure. It’s one thing to receive no alumni preference in admissions, but quite another to see other preferences that make little to no sense, like this one. It likely just makes the job of the admissions office easier given the volume of applications that they get, and that’s fine but still, it’s understandable to be upset about it. It’s only human. I’m sure it’s not just Princeton and Dartmouth, either. I’ve heard similar stories about other highly selective schools.
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I’ve interviewed for Princeton for 25 years and have seen nearly the same in my area.
Yeah, probably so. It’s ok, he didn’t want to stay in California (wants a different experience) and the UC system made it clear the feeling is mutual. The universe has spoken and I’ve decided to listen. And the truth is, at the highly selective schools, everyone accepted is highly qualified (I would say overqualified) and so are many of the rejects. When you have to cut kids who deserve to be there, it comes down to factors that feel arbitrary. The reality is there’s not much difference between a 1560 and a 1600 or a kid who got all As vs. the kid who got all As except that one B. With so many kids with virtually identical stats, a diverse student body comes into play, which makes for a richer experience for all, even if it comes at my kid’s expense.
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