<p>Do you think top prep schools are now trolling for weak candidates to apply, just so they can reject them to deliberately reduce the school's admit rate, thereby bolstering the school's prestige? Colleges do this.</p>
<p>And in thinking lately about the importance of SSAT scores in the admissions equation, my conclusion is that what the schools say about SSAT scores not mattering much does not jibe with the arithmetic needed for these school to maintain a high average score. And these schools do guard their glowing stats aggressively!</p>
<p>Do the schools just keep hush about the importance of SSAT scores, just to get more kids to apply, kids who don't have a realistic chance of being admitted. :-(</p>
<p>I don’t think they intentionally have students apply so they can reject them later. A school with Andover’s caliber does not needs to take that avenue. As for the thread, that was just from a kid with a lot of school spirit. The ssat score does play a roles but as we have all discussed it is just a slice of the pie. There are just a lot of smart kids out there applying to such schools as Andover and they don’t all get in and there are just as many who have no business in applying, IMHO. My nephew applied to Andover which was totally out of his league but forged ahead anyway. I would say he didn’t have a prayer as you never know. The real culprit in that exercise were his parents who thought their son could do anything. I didn’t hear of it until after the application deadline. I also wonder if his parents really wanted him to go away anyway as the whole process was done so poorly. It was the only school to which he applied. Yeah, I’m guilty of ragging on my sister.</p>
<p>Err, yes. It’s marketing. And good business. Also the more apps they get, the more they can choose from to meet their internal needs. There are times that SSat scores are given a bit of a bye so that the school gets some students they want.</p>
<p>Colleges work this way too. Highly unlikely to get discouragement in applying. It’s always, “give it a go”.</p>
<p>I’m sure it varies by school. I know that at Concord the parent tour guides are instructed to present rather than sell the school, because they only want students applying who feel that they’re a good match for the school. Of course, that’s more easily said that done, since the parents giving tours are generally the ones who feel most positively about the school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I’ve been to an admissions presentation at Harvard where they encouraged everyone to apply, regardless of grades, test scores, etc. They said it was because they look at the whole person, but it still seemed pretty blatant.</p>
<p>Not sure how Ms. Toor can represent all the colleges in the entire country… not to mention Duke. There’s always someone with such a view… I remember reading a thread on a former SPS student who also had a twisted view, but many students and parents, former and present, had simply different perspectives.</p>
<p>Big pictures can be better appreciated by scholastic endeavors, not by private anecdotes, but alas there aren’t that many studies.</p>
<p>I’m not making this stuff up. It is commonly recognized, growing trend in college marketing for colleges to tout for more applications to deliberately boost the number of rejections. The rat race is being driven by U.S. News & World Reports ranking:</p>
<p>My daughter is now (gulp) a senior. When she was applying she was the darling of every admissions officer she encountered. They had her apps by that time, and her scores. Everyone said what a great fit she would be, love to have her, etc.<br>
Clearly she was the greatest candidate ever.</p>
<p>She was accepted at two and waitlisted at two. Hardly the glowing endorsement we thought. </p>
<p>And she is far from alone. I have to think it is about yield. The more who apply, the more they can reject and lower their acceptance rate. Lower acceptance rate gives prestige. (I’m so over this sentiment, but I trust it is still out there.)</p>
<p>So yes, I wholeheartedly and cynically believe that boarding schools do encourage applications, sometimes a little too enthusiastically. It also brings in revenues, albeit, not a ton in terms of time expended on reading the applications.</p>
<p>But despite my cynicism, I still believe there are schools out there that will honestly tell a parent, if not a student, that the school may not be a great fit. Even if it is a gentle way of saying your kid can’t cut it here, it is the right thing to do.</p>
<p>Btw, it has been a while since I’ve posted. Hello to all.</p>
<p>yes - the worst are the schools that have huge international tours and encourage international applicants as a path to US colleges. Big business.</p>
<p>I think they just want to get the word out. They want diversity and good students at their school, but I think you <em>may</em> be reading too much into it ;)</p>
<p>Gosh almighty what is it with this obsession about SSAT stats all of a sudden? I’m scratching my head at the energy going into this. You’re overthinking this.</p>
<p>As for recruiting to lower the yield. Not really. Nice sound bite taken out of context. Schools don’t really have to recruit and whip parents into a frenzy - the lousy educational climate and the low college yields out of local schools does that for them. </p>
<p>Having said that - the point of casting a wide net is because the schools are trying to create a certain class culture/demographic. There is a feeling that there “might be a good one in the pile.” The schools want choices and if you saw the range of applicants you’d understand that so many have been prepping for the experience that they all start to look the same on paper. Last year I had ten students push a resume across the table with straight A’s, loaded with AP courses and the ubiquitous science activities. None were accepted. But a kid with few of those, but with some really interesting attributes, did get in. </p>
<p>So I think - IMHO - discussions like these are what make families crazy with desperation and a need to “figure” out the magic formula to getting in. So we analyze “scores” because its easy. The scores are high because so many of the applicants have them - thinking that’s the key and so now it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only the schools won’t tell you they also took kids that didn’t fit those stats and not because of some misplaced sense of pity or largesse.</p>
<p>The real truth of it - be hooked, no someone (sorry but true) or be really interesting. Stand out in a good way. If it’s the latter, those scores become less of a factor.</p>
<p>In a sense - the schools are recruiting not to turn parents away - but because they are looking for something that might be buried in that haystack. And the only way to increase the odds of finding it is to increase the application pile in the process. Like looking for that one unique grain of rice in a 10 pound bag.</p>
<p>Which begs the question - then why not tell kids they don’t have a snowballs chance in hades of getting in? Because that “kid” might be the one they’re looking for and they won’t know what they’re looking for until they build the incoming class.</p>
<p>So if you’re a tuba playing Olympiad from Montana - and you’re the only one - you may win. If the year you apply they get 100 others with that resume, then the odds of acceptance, that year and three years forward, are lower.</p>