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<p>Closer to 24,000.</p>
<p>[Fast</a> Facts](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84]Fast”>Fast Facts: Educational institutions (84))</p>
<p>But hey, what’s a 20% error when you’re throwing out numbers?</p>
<p>Chicago was constantly sending us stuff, and ds wrote on his sat profile that he wanted engineering!</p>
<p>I know I’m new to this college thing, but holy smokes, I can’t get over the deferrals I’ve been hearing here and irl. </p>
<p>DS’ college counselor said the word for the year this year was “early” and now he said he’s changing it to “deferral”</p>
<p>We know great kids get deferred, you just hate to see it happen to your own kid who you know is great, would do well at that school, you see it as a fit, and you wonder who on earth they’re letting in.</p>
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<p>well … your reference does show 24k high schools … public high schools … adding in private high schools would get the number pretty close to 30k … and I’m pretty sure the private school kids apply to colleges also.</p>
<p>pizzagirl, I’m talking about Vals that are not just taking soft classes to get the 4.0 GPA, but ones that take all the APs allowed, score 5s on the tests, have 2300-2400 SATs and also have terrific ECs w/great depth. Still I suppose you don’t want an entering class that is too homogeneous. And maybe some of these students come off as arrogant or entitled in their essays–but I assume they are smart enough to know that is bad form. I suppose most of these Adcom people have been at it long enough to know how to read between the lines. I would not want their job.</p>
<p>Schools look far beyond perfect SAT scores and class rank. You can take test prep classes to boost test scores. Many schools are looking more and more for well rounded students with depth and ECs that show 'passion." Not the one time service project for a graduation requirement.</p>
<p>I also think that the essays are used by more and more schools to determine the real applicant.</p>
<p>eyemamom you have a point; it is very hard to be objective when it is your own kid. I know every parent feels their child is special, and they are right.</p>
<p>Yes, please advise. Such kids don’t have a lock on anything. It’s been that way for years. I guess I’m not clear why this is such new news to you.</p>
<p>Pleaseadvise, – ALL of the students who will be accepted by elite schools have impressive credentials. Minor differences in GPA are irrelevant – it doesn’t really matter if a kid was the valedictorian or graduating #10 in a class of 600 – both are strong students. It doesn’t matter if the SAT score is 2200 or 2350 – both are strong scores. The top schools want a diverse class of interesting and accomplished students. If they defer a student, then it means that the student is in the running but that they want to be able to compare that applicant against the entire applicant pool before making a decision. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, if an applicant is simply looking at GPA, class rank, and test scores as being the most significant qualifiers, that applicant may be at a great disadvantage, compared to the applicant who recognized the importance of assembling strong LOR’s and putting together a compelling essay. That would be especially true at Univ. of Chicago, which places particular importance on the essay.</p>
<p>My d. was deferred EA from Chicago about 6 years ago, admitted in the spring. Her SAT score was under 1950, and she was accepted over many students with much higher SAT scores. She was ecstatic when she was deferred (rather than rejected) – and I am pretty sure that her essay was what intrigued the ad com. In the end she got in because of the strength and particular focus of her academics. (But she turned down the spot, in favor of another school.)</p>
<p>D was just saying today what a stroke of luck it was that Yale deferred her EA last year. If she’d been accepted with her 2/650, 2340, 12AP, 900 service hour, leadership packed application, she would have been sold. She ended up accepted RD, waitlisted by her favorite, and accepted by the school she now attends which wasn’t even on her radar until December 30th. As perplexing as things seem right now, most often it all works out in the end. Waiting was tough for our entire household, but worth it.</p>
<p>pizzagirl, because the type of deferrals I am talking about are now occurring at UMich, Villanova, BC, etc. not just as in the immediately prior post (e.g. Yale). You can find 2 or 3 on every couple of decision pages. GCs have termed this the :“year of the deferred” for a reason. Will see soon enough if the stats for EA acceptance bear this out. Percent accepted is down for several schools already. So I agree it is not a new phenomenon, but it is becoing more pronounced, and occuring at the next tier of schools as well.</p>
<p>Those kinds of deferrals have been occurring at the “next tier down” of schools for several years as well. Again, not a new trend in the least. Old news.</p>
<p>I can understand why schools are doing this. The turmoil in the college admissions process has got to be even more stressful for admissions deans than for applicants. Every well-qualified kid who has followed any reasonable application strategy will get into a good school, albeit maybe not one of their top choices. But I’m guessing that deans of admissions have night terrors about guessing wrong and winding up like Case did last year, madly throwing money at waitlisted kids and still opening about 15% below goal; or the reverse, having more acceptances than they have dorm beds. So they’re hedging their bets by keeping as many kids as possible hanging until they see what the RA pool looks like. </p>
<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>
<p>This is old news in the CC community. But from reading the various threads, it seems like many teachers (and even some GC) give overly optimistic expectations to the hs’s top students.</p>
<p>Yes… the deferrals for my S came as quite a shock…as most of his EA schools were not uber selective… but he researched each school well, and really liked all of them… he wasn’t using any of them as a safety, but would have liked to have had a few yes’s to ease the road a bit… well, he got anything but… 4 deferrals… 1 from his ED school. He has sky high test scores, good grades from a top private prep, hard classes, teachers love him, very in depth and atypical EC’s,has over 1500 volunteer hrs working on conservation projects all over the US his summers and works a part time job during the school year. Commutes 3 hrs a day to school. I really thought his passion for his EC’s would sway the admission counselors… guess not… I am staying awake nights trying to figure it out… when I look on the forums of the schools that deferred my S it is even more depressing, as kids are getting in with a lot less impressive stats… but some with more impressive…so who knows. He has a GREAT GC who looked over his app and essays… I’m sure she would have seen a big red flag. It’s just very unnerving and hard to know how to proceed…</p>
<p>5boys, I don’t know your son or his specific stats – but I think one of the most common reasons for a deferral is that the ad com wants to see midyear grades. This would tend to happen if GPA was not all that great, or if there was an issue with overall grade trend – for example, a student who had a weaker GPA in 11th grade than the previous years. Since your son has been deferred at several schools – I’d suggest taking a long hard look at his grades-- and what his first semester 12th grade marks are likely to be. </p>
<p>A deferral is NOT a rejection – it is the ad com taking a wait-and-see approach. The one piece of extra information that they have for RD applicants is the mid-year grade report. You wrote that your son has “sky high” test scores and “good” grades, which kind of suggests that the grades don’t quite match up to the scores.</p>
<p>My class’ valedictorian (and my good friend) had stellar GPA and SAT and an awesome resume: 6 years of band, 6 years of softball, 10+ years riding horses and also volunteering with kids riding programs, along with whatever other high school honor societies and organizations she was in, all while working to get her pilots license. (And this is just the stuff I remember from hanging out with her, I’m sure she had a lot more!) She was deferred from… nowhere because she only applied to State U where my shoddy SAT score would have gotten her guaranteed acceptance! I told her a lot that if I were a less honorable person I would make her trade identities like something a la the parent trap… :D</p>
<p>The kid who got deferred from MIT has stats that are not unique. If it was all about stats MIT would have nothing but 2400’s and 4.0’s.</p>
<p>5boys - sometimes one can get deferred if the school is not sure he will show up based on the numbers (your S above the mid 50s?). State schools are a little more straight forward with their admissions.</p>
<p>Admissions decisions often seem mysterious because we don’t know what the committees are looking for. I remember being confused that I got into my best reach (in the top 20), but was deferred then waitlisted at several schools that should have been safeties or matches for my stats. Then again, I got full scholarships from peers of the ones that deferred/waitlisted me. </p>
<p>Ultimately, you have to accept that stats only mean so much. Your essays may speak to one admissions officer, while they might rub another entirely the wrong way. I’m currently attending the school that I wrote my best essays by far for. I do think that admissions committees are fairly good at what they’re trying to do, which is finding applicants that best match the student body and the university’s needs. It’s unfortunate, however, when this means turning down someone who really loves the school.</p>
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I got deferred (not rejected) with scores between 2200 and 2250. If you look on their forum, they say many times that anything over 700 in each subsection looks the same to them. It’s obviously not just the scores.</p>