Showing interest is more than visiting or speaking with someone.
It’s in what you show them in the app and supp. Think about it. If you can’t show your match beyond stats, mess up any Why Us (and many schools look for this in their other supp questions,) or make some mistakes (eg, naming another college or a program L doesn’t offer, aren’t prepared for your major, etc,) all the visits in the world won’t move the needle.
Really good input from @tuckethannock - I’m an ‘80s alumna and agree with his recollections. Back to your question - does Lehigh reject overqualified candidates? I’ve read many posts from 75th%+ candidates who were rejected. This is likely because Lehigh is playing the ratings game - and thus prefers to accept students who will definitely commit. If you will attend Lehigh if accepted, apply ED or state your intention in your interview materials. Good luck!
I hope a lot of these comments are not accurate because while my DS has excellent stats, he has zero interest in applying to the Ivies or uber selective schools. He does want a good strong school but also wants a more rounded school that “fits” him not his stats and is looking for swimming, honors program and other things that may not be an option at other schools or small LACs. We are overseas so I’m not sure how well he would be able to demonstrate true interest - as in visiting, etc… Personally we are more concerned that it is a big party school and wouldn’t fit him anyway - he has zero interest in Greek Life.
True interest is NOT just about visiting. Thousands visit and cant present a good app. Or answer a Why Us. Think about it. You don’t just send your transcript, EC list and proof of visit.
Its ridiculous that people still blame gaming some news outlet rating system. Kinda shows you don’t know what qualified means. There’s an entire app/supp to fill out.
Think about it.
Tufts Syndrome! If you saw GoBears2023’s Chance Me thread, he got full ride to Stanford and Ivies but got rejected to lower tier schools.
Agreed and I’m sure, as with all the schools, there is no way to fully understand each school’s process or the why behind who did/who didn’t without reviewing each application and stats and essays, etc… ourselves. He will, as always, do his best - present his best (indicate interest by reading emails, following social media, reach out about swim)- not read too much into any one rating, review, or comment and if Lehigh or others is where his heart lies, apply and wait and see. He will land on his feet wherever he chooses - or whomever chooses him I suppose. Anyone care to comment on the partying rumors? (disclaimer - of course every school has this - it seems a bit more on the widely rumored spectrum than most)
People blame Tufts Syndrome because the alternative may be to blame yourself and no one wants that.
But the fact is, you need to show them the right love. Do you know the college, why you fit what they want to find (not just how you think they serve your wants.) Etc… Ulimately, you want to be able to answer the question, “They will like me because…”
That’s not stats alone. Or titles. You’ll have an entire app pkg to fill out. Show your interest there, how you cared enough to dig into the college.
If you are a student who thinks you should be admitted because your high stats make you a better candidate than the others they have, you are probably not what they are looking for.
You will need to make a better case for yourself than that!
Yes. Anyone who thinks s/he is overqualified for a school should not be going to it. Letting Admissions know of your sentiments is highly likely to lead to a rejection
Yes this is what I was trying to say - my son wants to go, and I find the comments that despite interest, etc… his stats might keep him out. But, hopefully if he feels he has what they want and he has the desire to go, it will be a match. I don’t think anyone should apply to any school they do not wish to go to - regardless of whether its first choice or their third choice.
@TestRun if he wants Lehigh I recommend ED. They accept over 50% of their freshman class ED. @lookingforward Tufts Syndrome exists. It may not apply to/explain all rejected candidates but it does affect a certain percentage of high stat kids.
I know many many many kids with top drawer stats accepted to Lehigh. Just last year, a friend’s son accepted there with a most impressive resume. He is at MIT now which was his first choice school. But he was also accepted to Lehigh. Neighbors daughter is a Lehigh grad, as is another young woman I know. Both of them applied to ivies , had the stats to get accepted to them but were not. Ended up picking Lehigh. I can’t remember anyone over 20 years of college talk of anyone being passed up at Lehigh for being overqualified
I have a number of friends who were AOs and some who worked in college admissions offices. They have been consistently adamant that they don’t turn down kids as overqualified alone. An overqualified kid is one who thinks he is overqualified for the school; not s determination the college makes. It makes no sense for s college AO to turn down kids for being academically overqualified to protect yield because that is lowering your own college’s academic stats. The way college admissions works with the top schools is that most of high stat kids are NOT getting into the top schools. Many end up at Lehigh, state schools, all sorts of other places for s lot of reasons. Lehighs accepted students pool would have greatly reduced stats if they eliminated anyone with numbers too high. It’s a loser’s game.
But AOs have seen a lot prospective students and can often read the body language of a teenager. If a kid is looking down his nose at a college, thinks he’s overqualified or doesn’t think the place is good enough, that it’s his safety, it’s a lot more obvious than a lot of people might think. Get rid of that attitude when you talk about a school even. You don’t know who is who. Tell me that you are just applying to Lehigh or some other school because your GC or mother is making you use it as a safety, and you say this with a tone of disdain, you just might be unlucky enough to be talking to that college’s AO’s sister or best friend. The world of colleges is actually pretty small. The “players” often know each other
And applications that leave it clear the kid doesn’t know the college exist, too. It’s not all about high stats. The top performer can flub the rest of it. I’ve seen kids name another college in th app or interview, not present a relevant LoR, not be able to answer a Why Us in a smart way, mistake the geopgraphy (my old but real example of loving Dartmouth for the urban atmosphere, lol.) I’ve seen top performers veer off into irrelevant musings in an essay or not be able to explain an interest in a major. Or reveal unwanted traits. t’s endless- and why I advocate being informed and savvy and on your game.
This CC certainty about Tufts Syndrome is, imo, superficial.
If you want Lehigh, be able to self match, be able to communicate that in your app and/or interview. Don’t think, “With my stats and titles, if they reject me it’s because they’re fixated on yield.”
I am not going to deny the possibility of AOs choosing a candidate “less qualified” stats wise for yield purposes. It could happen. Maybe it does happen. But think carefully what the end result of that sort of strategy would be. You never accept anyone with a package that looks likely that a more selective school than yours will take. You go downhill very quickly with that strategy.
Most all colleges have students with top stats. Some have more than others but all have them. You have to guess who is going to make the cuts of the higher ranked schools than yours and if you have that crystal ball, what the heck are you doing as an AO at that college?
But I read about Tufts syndrome all of the time. The rumor is rampant in California as stories of the kid accepted to HPY but rejected from all of the UCs becomes urban legend. Then you ask the questions. First of all , it’s not all of the UCs. Just the most selective ones. And from the most selective impacted programs of the most selective ones. I know the story well by now.
It can happen. Not saying it never does. But it certainly isn’t a wide spread practice
@TestRun It sounds like your son has solid reasons for applying. Just tell him to be sure to convey that in his application. My sense is Lehigh wants to avoid being a back-up school for kids who are not really interested in attending. They do not expect people from outside of the tri-state region to visit. As far as partying goes, every school has parties. Lehigh is a much tamer place now than it was in the early to mid ‘80s. It was fun to join a sorority and to have such a vibrant social life because I was not one who was invited to many parties in high school. I viewed sorority life as a forcing function to ensure I wasn’t a complete grind! Lehigh students do tend to be very social, but of course not everyone is that way.
Lehigh admits that demonstrated interest is something they look for. High-stat applicants without demonstrated interest are more likely to be turned down. I agree that is not the ONLY reason it could happen, but I do think that yield protection exists. My experience - I had two kids apply to Lehigh. For both, it was not a top choice but a school the guidance counselor suggested that also had programs they wanted. Neither of them really had a “top” school. Kid1 had objectively (but only slightly) higher stats, did not visit, and was waitlisted. Kid2 visited at my insistence, was accepted, and is a current sophomore at Lehigh. I firmly believe the visit made a difference. Is it possible they just liked Kid2s essay better? Of course. Do some kids say patently stupid things because they have application fatigue? Absolutely. One of my kids almost told a school in PA she wanted to be there because she loved the beautiful Maine coast. Do some kids just give off a vibe, in person or on the application, that they are not a good fit or don’t want to be there? Yes. Bottom line, applications are complicated. There’s no way to know exactly why one was accepted or rejected or waitlisted.
But at a school like Lehigh, if you have potentially ivy-quality stats and really want to go there, I’d definitely recommend you show that. By visiting, by writing a thoughtful and interesting “Why Lehigh” essay, possibly by interviewing. However else you, as a student, think you can show them how you would be an asset to their community. It just makes sense.
^ Yes. But try to know the college. If your D even disovered one intriguing thing on a visit, it’s worth it. An excited tour guide, side activity, all sorts of things.
It’s just that visiting, in itself, isn’t ultimate fairy dust to adcoms. Just as signing up for the emails isn’t. Your app is a self presentation and has to show them you’re interested enough to have really looked into the relationship. Your record (all of it) and writing match what they want to find. You don’t want a major that doesn’t exist there, aren’t explaining your Why Us as prestige, or other things that can sound generic, like you don’t know the school, aren’t…well, interested.
It’s a great school. So are WUSTL, Rice, and other unpredictable colleges.
@1stTimeThruMom - Thank you - we will do that for sure. My son is very social - just wouldn’t be into Greek life specifically. Sounds great - thanks.
Interesting. Turns out Lehigh went to the wait list this year - and they are still accepting kids from the waitlist as of yesterday! Their strategy of rejecting higher stats kids did not pay off.
I have done mock admissions reviews with adcoms visiting our local high schools and they absolutely have said that some applicants would not be accepted (or put on the wait list) if they thought that the applicant wasn’t likely to attend. Not the most important factor but a factor none the less.
One of the reasons we did a tour of Tulane last month because they are very big on demonstrated interest. Conversely, I don’t think the public colleges (UCs) care as much about demonstrated interest and tend to focus more on stats, ECs and essays.
But even public colleges like University of Michigan wait-list a lot for applicants not likely to attend. You can believe that colleges are crunching numbers on all of these stats.