From the Northwestern RD thread, page 176, “I know for a fact that my counselor know a few days before decisions that I’d been deffered from my early school, he seemed to know something about another school I got into the week before I heard…”
This was in response to someone else saying something similar about their GC. I realize there are people on here who have met with their GC once this year, but for those who have a good relationship, what do you think they know?
I just have trouble believing, especially with small high schools, that they really know this much, and cannot say anything. Maybe at the top public school. How accurate is what they know? How can they resist saying something when the kid is upset over a rejection and they know an acceptance from some top tier college is coming? How meaningful are their conversations with their representatives?
Here is my moment of paranoia, my GC seems to be managing my expectations lately and telling me how wonderful the state school I got merit money from will be, is that a bad sign? Especially the week before Ivy day? Is she just being nice or does she know something?
I know private ELITE schools have special relationsships and make deals (if you take Alisa, I will make sure Tina picks you over Brown) and entertain the Dean of X Top Tier college every time she passes through DC or whereever (why is this even allowed?), the poster does say he goes to private but not elite so I doubt they have the budget for that
My friend’s GC stopped him in the hall after school and told him Northwestern would be out today, he was rejected, so what was the point of even mentioning it if he knew ahead of time (friend is still waiting for someplace he really wanted), GC likes him too
I think you are being paranoid. Your GC doesn’t know what will happen on IVY day and is just trying to get you to focus on the fact that no matter what happens you have merit money at another school, which is a great thing to have.
I’m pretty sure that the parents shelling out big bucks for elite private high schools will not listen to a GC who wants their Tina to turn down Brown if that’s where she wants to go.
You would be amazed. Not at my school but at the expensive privates. That I know about from my friends who go to them.
“I think you are being paranoid.”
I would say the same and I actually called out the person who posted the prior comment, Quest, to this on the page before around 5pm EST today while everyone was waiting decisions. She claimed she thought her GC knew her decisions because her, GC knew her ED decision a week before she got the letter and it was not an acceptance. Then a few others like the above quote chimmed in saying that yes their GC knew at least some of their decisions
I am not surprised if certain admission office may call the GC to ask question about an applicant before their final decision. The admission office may hint something during the conversation, but I don’t think the GC will get advance notice on all admission.
Well, based upon the private school I attend, I highly doubt it. Unless as billcsho said, the AO had a conversation with the GC to delve in depth about something. The GC’s do not get a master list emailed to them in advance.
The Elites do make deals (if you take T, we will make sure V who you really want will also attend (obviously they cannot force V to attend but the school knows V is considering the school, it just may not be her first choice but that can change real fast), they do wine and dine the deans of top tier schools. Doctors can no longer accept gifts from big pharma, maybe it should be the same for college adminisitrators
The poster in question on the other thread actually said she went to a large public school
My kids go to an elite private school. This is not true. While the GC may advocate more heavily for one kid than another, the GC can not give any kind of guarantees to a school that a particular admitted student will say yes. The most the GC can do is to say positive things about the school to the student, but students are savvy enough to make their own choices. If a first choice “changes real fast” it won’t be because of influence by the GC.
Its probably an exaggeration as no one can force a kid, but certain private schools do pull all sorts of things. A couple of years ago a friend’s sister was already into one of the HPYS and she was considering applying to a second and the school gave her a really hard time about it. In contrast this to our local public school where a friend had the same situation and applied to several other HYPS and ended up not even going to the first HYPS
I don’t think the GC can negotiate on behalf of another student. The parents and the student are the only one can make decision based on their own criteria such as financial situation.
For these people money is no object. For the ones on scholarship, they are usually URM or have an unusual story
However, I think I accidentally diverted my own thread. At more average schools, either good public schools or small parochial or private shcools where the GC is NOT going to dinner regular with the HYPS deans but is doing their jobs and touching base regularly with the students and reps. If my GC has a good relationship with the rep at Top Tier college X, do they already know or have a really good idea what the decsion is at that college?
Just to chime in a bit for big, low-ranked public high schools: my guidance teacher never even found out that I got into Cornell a couple weeks ago with a likely letter. I still don’t think she knows…
What would the point of letting guidance counselors know if they can’t tell anyone? Admission offices would not waste time by providing important information to relatively useless sources.
Oh please, like any adcom particularly GAS over what some GC who they’ve never heard of at some large public high school thinks about anything. They have enough to worry about just doing their jobs.
Don’t kid yourself - these GC’s are largely anonymous to adcoms, unless they are from schools that are a) in the college’s backyard or b) exclusive, private prep schools where the parents are paying big bucks. For the vast majority of adcoms, the GC is some anonymous signature on a form and nothing more. Why on earth would they bother informing them of decisions?
The college placement people at the “expensive private” where I work don’t get the info ahead of time. Period.
But they do have years of experience. And all that stuff that they tried to warn you about in the fall is what they bring to the table when acceptances come out. They have a very good idea of where you’ll be accepted and where your odds aren’t as good, and they tried to make that point when you were dreaming of schools that didn’t match your statistics.
They don’t have “inside knowledge.” They’re just good at their jobs.
Early GC acceptance/denial notification and surreptitious admissions deals among “elite” institutions may be urban legend, however, they are also fiction and paranoia. The OP – and not in this post alone – exudes confidence in her/his assertions (especially considering that s/he is a high school senior, with the limited experiences and education that necessarily conveys), but does s/he have any FACTS to substantiate these bold statements?
That was directed at the immediate prior poster, not at anyone else who responded. For the record, I could not believe this when I first read it on the NU Decision thread last week, about GCs knowing decisions ahead of time, which is why I posted the QUESTION in the first place