Yep. Very good,large state school acceptances (which im more than happy with). DS has hopes/sites set on pricey schools in the Northeast! I warned him.
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Agree 100%. Our HS counselor is pretty plugged in and he added that there was rampant grade inflation across the US during COVID, so the number of applicants with 4.0s is staggering, making differentiation nearly impossible.
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Schools do weird things with GPA. Some are straight-forward, while others focused on equity and inclusion participate in GPA-inflation schemes. Schools also have different levels of vigor in their curriculum. In my high school Pre-Calc was the highest math you could achieve. Others may offer up to AP Stats/Calculus. To the contrary my son took HS Algebra 1 and HS Geometry in middle school, started off high school with Algebra 2 and took pre-calc as a sophomore. As a senior he is taking multi-variable calculus which is equivalent to Calc 3 in college.
Schools also grade differently. Some might are straight-forward and by the book while others may do things like hand out grades on a bell-curve so āno student is left behindā and to inflate teacher performance. My sonās school does this. According to their system his GPA is a 3.2 but most colleges we have applied to use a traditional system where he is a 3.5. My son is one of 20 kids taking Calc-3 and one of 20 taking AP Physics BC and one of 10 taking both. Yet his class rank is in the 60th percentile, which is insane. Thatās because kids taking Trigonometry or Lower-level Math, which he exceeded as a sophomore, are all given easy As for no effort classes, some scored on bell-curves. Additionally, his school gives +1 on the weighted GPA for both honors and AP classes, again inflating the GPA of lower performing students. They also call their regular level classes āAcceleratedā and give +.5 on the weighted GPA. The regular classes in his school that donāt get any extra weight are for the āslowā kids, aka, oneās with special needs.
Another Seperator is the ECs offered and dual enrollment offerings. Some donāt offer DE, others have limited ECs. My sonās high school has world championship level robotics team and have won the most state championships. Many schools donāt even have a robotics team. Yet other schools have direct programs with these higher schools and things like model UN or legislative apprenticeships.
Also, schools have different classes sizes and different levels of competition among students. It is much easier to get a class rank in the top 10% if you only have 50-100 kids in your senior class than it is in a school that has 500, 1000 or 2000 kids.
Finally, some schools also have dedicated classes for SAT prep and review, while other schools do not. Kids in the schools with these classes are clearly going to perform higher on the SAT than kids from schools taking the SAT blindly with no test prep offered.
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Iām so glad to hear that!
This is what happens when the only āobjectiveā criteria (Sat/act) is removed. Grades provide some level of objectivity but vary across schools. So schools need to rely on āhooksā to select from a very large pool of above average candidates.
You are better off in a small non competitive HS where u are at the top vs highly competitive HS where u are in the top 30%. You are competing against your HS peers in the end. Thatās the conclusion I am arriving at.
Also international apps provide the diversity āhookā so it is easier plus many pay full price.
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If you take Ap Physics Mechanics and Calc BC and donāt do well it will actually damage your chances. You know the advice admission consultants give? Take high level classes but not super challenging where there is a risk of anB- or C.
My son goes to a private college prep high school. College prep is a big selling point. They claim that students have a better shot at admission because the admission counselors get to know the high schools and know the kids come out ready for college. They understand the rigor of the courses and what grades really mean (in terms of grade inflation or lack thereof).
Obviously, there are many rejections, but I would say their acceptance rate is probably above average.
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Yes and that is why overall GPAs without context are nearly meaningless. AOs look at the specific classes taken and what classes were available at your school to determine the level of rigor, and how you did in those classes, much more than they look at the overall GPA. And my understanding is that most/many elective classes that may pad the GPA are not considered when a selective school recalculates a studentās GPA to only include core classes (english, history, math, science, language).
That happened to my high-stat D22 at Case. She visited twice from Maryland, went to their DC info session, did an interview ā¦ all the stuff that shows interest. She got deferred from EA and then got waitlisted at RD. There is no rhyme or reason to it, unless you commit to ED, which we werenāt able to do without knowing merit numbers.
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Yes this! One of the hardest parts of putting together a list for S23 this year wasnt finding a distribution of schools (reach targets safeties) but was in part taking into account possibility of yield protection as last years results were reviewed. Weāre anxious that he wont get into to NU, Miami, BU, etc because of his high academic stats and ECs, and too much of a pie in the sky option for all to top top schools so its very hard on kids and parents. Instead, he tried to apply early to many, plus ED1 and ED2 after deferral, abroad start programs for some of the schools that may be more attractive for AO, and honors programs for safety and targets (i.e, Pitt, Rutgers, Umiami) and meditation and burning incense for the rest.
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Same here. Son got deferred ED1 and applied ED2 but to a very tough school. Hoping the state flagship will come through.
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Same here with ED2 & it was a top pick/fit for him. good luck to your son. Our flagship hasnt released any decisions yet either.
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The SAT and ACT are not objective. All assessments include subjectivity.
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Compared to GPA and ECs, standardized tests like SAT/ACT are highly objective.
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Wait, sorry to ask again if this has already been answered, but will decisions for EA release today or on the 1st?
no one knows just yet
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I guess I mean that The tests are the same for all takers so results measure you against others using the same baseline. To me the fact that MIT made these tests mandatory again speaks volumes.
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I think region places a role too. If NEU gets more kids from the northeastern part of the US, and fewer from the southwest, they are going to be harder on the northeastern kids in terms of selectiveness.
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As far as the college admissions process goes, itās definitely better to be a big fish in a small pond. Students are not competing with the world for a college placement, they are competing with their school. However, going to a large, top-tier HS completely prepares a student for college. My older son didnāt get the college he wanted, but is breezing through classes at RIT while others are struggling and even dropping out. Itās a trade-off, but as a parent, I would take the same route for him all over again. Thatās just my opinion, of course, everyone is different.
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The meditation and burning incense is wise! lol
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