@Loser160
Brown - did you apply early, legacy helps most in ED or EA not as much in RD
Colleges don’t hold it against you if don’t interview, but if you do, it shows interest and gives a chance for someone to see you not as a number, typically I agree when admission offices say that interviews tend to confirm the direction the decision was going anyway.
It would have been more interesting if they profiled some of the students who got admitted, especially those without the benefit of legacy status or being an athlete. What’s really been eye opening to me on here is the quality of some of the ECs. You’ve got high school kids spending their summers doing research at Columbia, instead of lifeguarding at the local pool.
It would have been more interesting if they profiled some of the students who got admitted, especially those without the benefit of legacy status or being an athlete. What’s been eye opening to me on here is the quality of some of the ECs. You’ve got high school kids spending their summers doing research at Columbia, instead of lifeguarding at the local pool.
Good advice - very similar to MIT’s simple advice: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
The reason test scores aren’t weighed as heavily as some of you mentioned is because the Ivies, and schools of similar or equal caliber, don’t just want to churn out students who can pass their classes with the highest mark.
Having a 1600 on the SAT doesn’t mean you have the capacity or the drive to be a change-maker, the person who is going to put their university on front-page news for doing good and contributing to the world. A person with a 1400 may adapt better to college than one with a 1600. This isn’t even touching on the benefits of how diverse backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to academia and campus life.
Plenty of 1600s are on front pages for doing good and contributing to the world and do more than only pass classes with the highest mark. It would be nice if people would stop promoting the stereotype of 1600s as intellectuals while people who do poorly on exams are somehow more virtuous and do more to contribute to the world.
If a 1400 is in a class with other students who are 1600, why do you think the may adapt better? If some 1600s have “imposters syndrome” do you think 1400s surround by 1600s have more or less imposter syndrome?
@DaveMcBob Consider someone who hasn’t exactly been given the best opportunities in the world because of socioeconomic reasons and are then given all the resources in the world to pursue what they love.
The point I’m trying to drive home, and it seems like you agree with me, is that American universities are holistic for a reason. A test doesn’t determine your potential, no matter whether you score high or low (more people tend to put down low scorers, not taking into consideration other factors like access to test prep courses and things of that nature).
I think everyone knows the Ivies want to groom future leaders. It’s not clear that being a star athlete, one of the best recruiting hooks you can have, is a good predictor of that. Nor is it clear that an opaque, subjective essay scoring process is a good predictor of that either. Internationally, most college admissions is far less holistic than in the US.
The largest charity in the world is the Gates Foundation, started by Bill Gates who got a 1590. Similarly Zuckerberg of Facebook got a 1600 and his (and his wife’s) charity give a lot as well. Both put their schools in the news (as dropouts I concede) and are doing good in the world. I do agree that people with more access to test prep and counselors will do better, but there are some kids that do well without too much studying and test prep, maybe just taking some practice tests. it’s not like everyone who got a 2400 is wealthy, in our area they’re mostly middle and upper middle class.
What a plug for IvyWise. 
Misconceptions still abound.
And if you cling to them, forget it.
And passion? Pffft. Not just what you love, think about it.
Attend an Elite Prep School? Get Professional Advice? And a photo of a college consultant but not one mention of college guidance counselors. Superficial piece - better off just directing a high school student and family to the many more insightful pieces on CC
I’m 100% with @collegefan101. Having just been through the process with a kid who attended a small public school and had no professional test prep or “college consultant,” it annoys me to see pieces like this. They read like infomercials.
Let’s admit it: Holistic admission is used by selective colleges because of the incredible diversity in this country. It is not because it is better than admission by GPAs and standard test scores. No other country uses holistic admission, nor do less selective colleges in this country.
HolyMoly, folks, the author is a junior at UW. Another article shills for Kaplan. Good writer, okay. But far, far from a subject expert.
No lurkers should assume this article offers key tips. Keep doing your own digging.
Ya know, if all they looked for was stats, kids would know how to prepare.
How is it different that they look holistically? Get an idea of what matters to a college and you have a similar idea of how to think, how to prep, the variety of experiences that grow you, that show you’re aware and willing.
Problem is, so many kids focus only on stats and activities in the high school. Same old titles, the usual options in a hs. They see the college leap the same as getting to the top of the heap in their own high school. Too limited. And you’re talking about colleges that don’t want limited thinking or the easiest path, have more than plenty to choose among who do more.
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I agree, son just got into Princeton - went to small public school, no legacy, no giant hooks, white/male/engineering/middle-class/Massachusetts (full-house of anti-hooks?), no test prep other than taking practice tests, no college consultant, only 4 APs at application time, no fancy summer research or jobs, 3 or 4 ECs. Good writer, all-rounder, top SAT/GPA scores, and a genuine demonstrated interest in a specific area.
Obviously just one data point but demonstrates it is possible for someone to get in from a ‘normal’ school without professional help and without partaking in the EC/AP arms race. A very smart kid with a genuine interest in a field can get in without having a boatload of extras. Wanted to share this to show you can get into an Ivy without spending a lot of money and keeping your child’s high school time sane and relatively stress-free, if the child has the ability and interest.
Looking at the acceptance statistics of our suburban, strong high school, I was in shock to see a very low % of students getting into Ivy League and I know many of these kids personally. It’s mind-boggling because not only did these kids have top grades and scores, they also had interesting EC’s and yet, they were waitlisted and rejected when I was sure they would be shoe-in. Examples: One student with 35 ACT score, member of an acting troupe at school, tutors 9th graders in math, semi-finalist of those various science competitions like Siemens and Intel, wrote a research paper for which he was invited to present at a conference was rejected from all Ivy’s. Another student, also a winner at certain levels of these science competitions, conducted medical research at an Ivy school, had recommendations from professors of this school and got rejected by the school! Another guy, 2,360 SAT, martial arts champ at national level, rejected by all Ivy’s. All are white kids from upper middle class families. Now, I do agree that a great essay helps. My son’s grades and SAT scores were below Binghamton’s range but the essay was amazing-humorous and touching at the same time. He got in.
@m139pl that is exactly my son too, different state, same outcome at same school. Is it Princeton’s adcom that values kids like ours? Take heart smart well-rounded kids everywhere!
D had a 36 ACT, 4.35 weighted / 3.82 unweighted, good not great ECs, 12 APs, a marginal essay. Did not get into any of the 3 Ivy schools she applied to. Our takeaway was that the UW GPA needs to be almost perfect and the essays really count. We will never know why and have moved on
It helps to come from a feeder school or a feeder program.