Harvard EA massacre

Parents Forum
61

<p>Thank you pton!.</p>

<p>And no school promotes RSI. That's a total waste of time. Most schools have one Rickoid for the entire 22 years the program has been running. The only schools that consistently produce Rickoids are TJ and Blair, and only 1% of the class from either goes to RSI, so it's not like they're "promoting" it. RSI admissions is perfect. They cut through all the garbage and find out who is talented and passionate. Grooming is not possible.</p>

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<p>And yes, quiltguru, I really hope your daughter didn't apply and get accepted and then not go. Although that's unlikely. You would probably remember paying the $35 fee, and CEE would definitely have called you 100s of times.</p>

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<p>Zogoto: thanks for the info we were all wondering about. But, of the 50 RSI applicants to those 4 schools, how many applied to Harvard EA ?(you said 9 were deferred).</p>

<p>As for Aaron Goldin, MIT recruited him very heavily, and he didn't even apply. He was really committed to going to a school that offered a very full liberal arts education, so he was more interested in schools like Harvard.</p>

<p>Oh, and one more question: where does the term "rickoids" come from?</p>

64

<p>oops, I looked back at your post, Zogoto, and realized I could do the math: 9 RSI kids deferred from Harvard, 60% acceptance rate for RSI students applying there, so 13 were accepted to Harvard EA this year, right?
And are you saying that there was a 100% acceptance rate for RSI students at other schools so far this year?</p>

65

<p>Donemom:</p>

<p>Rickoids' etymology: from Adm. Hyman Rickover who launched RSI.</p>

<p>Harvard is a perfect fit for Aaron Goldin. S decided to apply to Harvard after deciding that he wanted a liberal arts education while being surrounded by top math students.</p>

66

<p>Donemon- Yes, 60% acceptace at Harvard. 100% at every other school (Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech).</p>

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<p>Our school is small and does not have Siemens or RSI. Nevertheless we do have some very bright science and math kids who get into HYP every year. Some of these kids have "invented" things on their own or are at very high levels of math (way beyond high school - they can take courses at a well-known college here for credit). So it's not as if the only good math/science kids are the RSI kids - not to say they are not great. The fact is that any college wants students of all different interests, from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, and yes they need to fill their teams as competitively as they can. I had the opportunity to speak the President of an Ivy League Univerisity who once who told me that parents don't get it - they think college acceptance is a reward for doing well in high school. But colleges are looking for kids they think will really succeed - the people who we will hear about ten years after they graduate. For instance our school sent a student to a top Ivy who had a B+ average but who had had numbers of articles already published in the New Yorker and other magazines. They figured he was a good bet. They were right as it turned out.</p>

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<p>massacre indeed when I look at HPS boards. I am getting nervous and feeling fortunate about son's admission last year. </p>

<p>May be karma had something to do with it.</p>

69

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<p>Me too. And it makes me worry for D2 when she applies a few more years. Having succeeded once does not necessarily give me a lot of confidence that lightening can strike twice.</p>

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<p>Coureur and Marite: I think its not just the liberal arts COURSES that draws even hard-core math/science kids to schools like HYP, but the wide range of liberal arts STUDENTS that such schools attract, adding to the "incredible richness" of the college experience.</p>

71

<p>Donemom:</p>

<p>Oh, I so agree. One of my S's math friends is an accomplished musician and has performed in plays. Someone else has won awards for her cartoons. And so on. </p>

<p>H&I went to a performance of Beethoven's 9th by the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and H-R chorus and had fun counting the friends of my S in the orchestra and chorus. Meanwhile, other friends of my S were performing Broadway show tunes in another venue.</p>

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<p>Oh I agree, but my D did in fact have her "Wow!" moment that clinched the choice for her while thumbing through the H course catalog. But she loves the incredible diversity and talent of her roommates and classmates.</p>

73

<p>Part of this is a simple function of demographics. It's well known in adcom circles that the longtime increase in college-bound kids is going to peak in 2007. No surprise, then, that until that time, things are going to be a little worse than they were the year before.</p>

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<p>And to get back to the original topic, since Harvard did take 13 out of 22 RSI EA applicants, we know that they absolutely value the accomplishments and potential contributions of these high achievers in science. It just shows that, in contrast to those other schools, they form their class in a very individualistic way...there is no one particular designation that can be counted on to gain admittance.</p>

75

<p>"And if your daugher applied and you threw away an acceptance, you are a moron and I feel bad for your daughter."</p>

<p>pton, of course the letter was an invitation to apply. I certainly cannot speak to whether or not she would have been accepted, but she was accepted to Yale as a double major in physics and music and was noted by her physics mentor, a professor at University of Michigan to "be more advanced in her understanding of physics than many of my undergraduate students", so it is quite possible she might have been had she applied. Instead, she was accepted at one of the most prestigious music programs to study for the summer. I may not have been aware of the "prestige" of the program, but I am hardly a "moron". I also am not so socially inept or rude that I accuse others of being morons on these boards. Don't know if you are a parent or a student or what your relationship is with Princeton, but I hope it doesn't involve contact with humans.</p>

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<p>And I'm still waiting for data to show that this year's 60% figure is substantively below the figures from the last couple of years. ;)</p>

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<p>Quote: "And I'm still waiting for data to show that this year's 60% figure is substantively below the figures from the last couple of years"</p>

<p>Yeah, me too.</p>

<p>And LOL, Quiltguru, and also, Congratulations!!</p>

78

<p>If any of the RSI applicants to Harvard had even half the arrogance of Pton, I am not surprised that they were deferred.</p>

<p>Humility and quiet confidence have there place in the application process.</p>

79

<p>Haven't read through the entire thread but just wondering why we are calling it the EA Massacre? Surely applicants realize that most will be deferred? D was deferred - she is a double legacy, has 2200+ SATs but lopsided, national level ECs, but because she is an international doesn't fit the mold. Of course it is disappointing to be be deferred but to call this is a 'massacre' seems a bit of over dramatization. The good thing is that the deferred kids get a second chance to present themselves. In D's case, she was never going to be 'done' even if she did get in EA.</p>

80

<p>To edit Pton's statistic, we now know of 23 applicants to Harvard EA, 9 of which were deferred (international statistics are slow in coming).</p>

<p>Also, I know pton! personally (name created just to post on here), and he is not at all arrogant. It is just that Rickoids get pretty mad when they see people on CC either bashing RSI or claiming RSI to be the entrance ticket to Harvard. We are still people. pton! is actually pretty humble.</p>

<p>Last year, 6 were deferred of 25 applicants. That's a lot better acceptance rate than this year's.</p>