<p>A lot of “Tufts syndrome” at our HS-- accepted at Bowdoin, waitlisted at Colby…etc. Boys do much better than girls-- Valedictorian, female, into one Ivy, waitlisted at all others except the absolute safety, while boys have numerous Ivy and great LAC acceptances. Year after year this is true. But overall I’m proud and happy for them-- a good not great public high school, and kids have worked hard and done well.</p>
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<li><p>USABO medalist in at MIT early, predictably, and chose not to apply anywhere RD. The top unhooked students had a rough time, though, with no upper-Ivy acceptances that I know of (counting ED as a hook).</p></li>
<li><p>A surprise acceptance at Williams over more numerically-qualified candidates. Swarthmore seems to be growing fonder of my school, which is a good sign and a distinct change from just five years ago. WashU was fairly predictable.</p></li>
<li><p>Unhooked ORM with 3.4 UW GPA in at Columbia ED. On the flip side, at least one friend who choose the flagship+reaches approach and is probably attending flagship unless waitlists work out.</p></li>
<li><p>So far I’ve only heard of 1 (recruited athlete) into HYP, when usually each will take 1.</p></li>
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<p>What seemed to be the most surprising tales from my son’s school include:</p>
<p>1) Valedictorian of school always got accepted to just about anywhere they wanted to go because of how competitive the high school is and how well you must do to end up valedictorian. This year the valedictorian got rejected to 50% of the schools he applied to, including his # 1 choice.</p>
<p>2) Many friends of my son got rejected from an in-state public school that they only applied to as a safety school. A school that in previous years statistically they would have easily been accepted to.</p>
<p>3) It seemed to be a common theme that white males at his school did really poorly in getting admitted at UVA and UNC, while non white males with lower scores had better results. A hot topic with parents to the college counselors at the school.</p>
<p>It was nice to see a great kid from our high school admitted to a super-reach. He wasn’t the top ranked, he wasn’t hooked, but somehow he got to be part of the very few picked. Sweet kid, they chose wisely.</p>
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<p>I thought they were referring not to your post, but post #2:</p>
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<p>Ditto! I’m also glad to see kids be thoughtful and considerate of their parents’ finances. I also like to hear about kids making plans for undergraduate school with graduate school in mind. I really do love this generation.</p>
<p>I was surprised at the financial aid package WashU sent. I was surprised at how effective early action is. I know that schools admit students early (and send out likely letters) because that increases their yield. I am rarely one to succumb to things like advertising… but having an extra three months to imagine my life at Stanford has really changed the game. I’m surprised that my decision is as hard as it has been. I thought it would be an easy decision. It is, but $$$ gets in the way.</p>
<p>I don’t consider it any of my business what other kids do and don’t get into, and I certainly wouldn’t have any idea what other kids’ GPAs, test scores, and ECs would be. Maybe my kids might know for their very closest friends, but a) those are THEIR friends, not mine and b) I would discourage any speculation. I say pay attention to your own destiny, not others’. I think there is a world of difference between “hey mom, my friend Bob got into College X” and speculating “hey mom, what do you think of Bob’s chances at X, Y and Z?” I’ll tell you guys my kids’ stats and what-not since it’s anonymous, but some real life parent at the school? No way.</p>
<p>^^^I can see how you might know where kids got in. How do so many of you know where people were rejected? Do these kids really go around advertising where they didn’t get in? Human nature being what it is, you’d think these “big shots” would prefer not to give other people the satisfaction of knowing they might not be quite the big shot they appeared.</p>
<p>nrdsb4, at S1’s and S2’s programs, the kids tend to apply to the flagship (which loves these kids and gives them $$$$$) and then they shoot for the moon. For example, 35 kids applied to MIT in S1’s year from a program of 100 kids. The kids were really careful about each others’ feelings, because so many of them were reaching high and they all knew there was no way they’d all get in. It actually made things a little less competitive, because these kids all had the goods to do incredibly well at any school in the country and there is less of the “superstar” pressure. The kids stayed pretty humble about their chances and results, and a sizeable contingent (esp. pre-med and engineering types) took the merit aid and quite happily attend the flagship, picking up second majors, early graduate work and research in the process. We live in a high COLA area where a lot of folks make too much for FA but not enough for paying full freight.</p>
<p>I really have no idea where the senior kids are going. Even the kids don’t really “discuss” this much. We’ll hear where they are headed at the senior honors night, but not really a topic of conversation while we parents sit and watch our kid’s sport…so where do all the posters get all this information? How do you know all this stuff?</p>
<p>^Gossip. Parent and student, both.</p>
<p>I only know from my daughter and I imagine now that everyone is back from break she’ll hear more. They don’t actively discuss it unless it’s a big surprise or to give kudos, in fact just heard one of the hot shots landed at Harvard. They tend to be supportive of each other though, for which I am thankful!</p>
<p>The seniors at our HS started a Facebook group to list where they got in and where they’re going. They don’t list where they applied or were rejected from, just acceptances.</p>
<p>Surprises:</p>
<p>1) How many kids who have taken lots of AP’s and have great ECs who only applied to less-selective local privates and smaller state schools. Rather than over-shooting, I think a lot of kids/parents aimed really low. </p>
<p>2) D is surprised that so many kids she knows who live in large houses, wear expensive label clothes and jewelry, and drive expensive cars are being told by their parents that they can only go to state schools, or privates if they get merit money. She didn’t realize that not everyone budgets and saves to send their kids to college like we did. She used to envy some of her friends’ possessions and houses with pools… not any more. :)</p>
<p>One surprise for me is one girl, commonly known as the school brainiac, who got into CalTech but is turning it down for the state flagship. I’m not sure if it’s school culture glorifying publics or the recession, but the “rich kids” at my school are looking more and more at inexpensive in-state schools.</p>
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<p>I don’t get it either. I know where D’s date for the prom is going, just because he’s been a friend of the family. I might know one or two other kids. I might know where some of D’s and S’s friends are thinking of applying – “oh mom, A is thinking about Notre Dame, WashU and Northwestern” – but I certainly would have no idea what their GPA was, their SAT/ACT scores, class rank, or their extracurriculars other than in the very generic sense (in the school play, runs track, etc.) – and I think it’s a bit unseemly and nosy for me to know, inquire, or track that. I know the ins and outs of my nephew, who is a senior and attends a different school, and I know the ins and outs of the daughter of a good friend who is also a senior at a different school. </p>
<p>I just can’t imagine inquiring about the GPA’s or SAT/ACT’s of my kids’ friends. It’s absolutely none of my business. And I can’t imagine following their extracurriculars other than in that generic sense of knowing that Susie runs track and Billy was in the school play. All this gossip feels like a massive invasion of privacy to me. </p>
<p>And to be honest – and I don’t mean for this to sound snotty – I strongly suspect that a lot of my kids’ friends will have their decisions made for them based on family finances, where they can get scholarships, etc. – plus the mentality of “gotta stay close to home or the universe will implode.” My kids are fortunate enough to have no such constraints. Therefore, I don’t particularly see the purpose in discussing college choices with other parents – I don’t need to tip my hand to them that I don’t have those constraints. A) It’s not their business; and B) I don’t think it would make them feel particularly good. I guarantee I would disagree with a lot of the criteria they use; so what’s the point of discussing it? I mean, I might secretly think some of these people are fools for sending their kids to (say) Grand Valley State for 4 years instead of CC for 2 years and finish it out at U of Illinois. But <em>they</em> don’t believe in the value of the better names that I do, <em>they</em> don’t see the benefit of exploring all different parts of the country the way H and I do, so what’s the point of the discussion? So I can tell them I think they’re fools? Well, they might think I’m the fool for sending my kid to some fancy-schmancy place in the East Coast that golly, doesn’t even have a football team, canyouimagine. So that’s a discussion that’s going to go nowhere!</p>
<p>I rather prefer the like-minded people on CC, plus anonymity :-)</p>
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<p>At a very affluent hs one town over that always sends kids to top schools, there is a LOT of scuttlebutt about now sending kids to inexpensive in-state schools, and / or CC for 2 years and then state flagship the last 2. There have been a lot of people whose finances have really been devastated. Yet another reason to lay low about being fortunate enough to be full-pay, IMO.</p>
<p>My son’s school is very tight knit, a lot of the kids all know everywhere everyone applied and what their statuses are. Once a kid makes a decision on where they are attending they also then post the students name and school on a senior board at the school. The kids also constantly post their info on facebook, including their denials and waitlists.</p>
<p>D wanted to have a mother daughter graduation brunch for her friends last year when they’d finished high school. It was a really nice idea. A lot of us had driven these kids in carpools since pre-school and coached them on AYSO soccer teams and seen them in ballet recitals over the years. She intentionally invited all the girls and mom’s from all the years…so, say, even if they hadn’t stayed close during the HS years, anyone she was friends with even in pre-school she wanted there.</p>
<p>It was really, really fun. I hadn’t seen some of the kids since Jr. High, because of boarding school or private vs. public high school, or whatever.</p>
<p>Nobody talked about where they’d applied, but of course they all talked about where they were going. They were ALL very excited. Looking around the yard, at one point, I thought you could have predicted some of thier schools from when they were 3yrs old…the one who was on her way to Julliard, and some you never would have guessed even a month before…the one who had decided on MIT…Huh???</p>
<p>But, when I looked around what most surprised me was how well each girl really “fit” which ever school they were going to. There were no glaring mistakes or mis-matches. it seemed as if the process had worked really well, in the end, even if it was just really gruelling going through it.</p>
<p>My .02…</p>
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<p>^^^^My daughter’s school also posts attendance decisions of the kids on a board in May. However, according to my daughter, very few kids disclosed where they also applied, much less denials and other acceptances. She said it would be “bad form” to talk about it.</p>