Parents of the HS Class of 2021 (Part 2)

Our school ranks and uses weighted GPA to calculate rank. There is competition to be in the top 10% and 6% for auto admit status.

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Same for us

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LOL. In the 1900s! I had to share my valedictorian with another person. Yup. It bothered me because I took two extra honors classes. But hey, not sure what he’s up to but I have been happy with my chem engr degree :slight_smile:

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Do you think when it comes to just the GPA metric, T20 put emphasis on weighted or unweighted?

@MommaLue I assume they recalculate it with their own weight system and probably only core classes, or something to that effect. The crazy weights some high schools give (for honors even) makes it impossible to compare apples to apples.

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I think they look at rigor and GPA. I always hear that AOs want you to take the most challenging classes available to you.

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@ttb1263 Love this! Absolutely they are human and I agree with you. There is nothing wrong with sending a 3. None of our kids are perfect, and if we let them think they are, then we as parents IMO are setting them up to fail and that doesn’t help them either.

One 3 or, or maybe even a 2, or even 2-3’s will not be the deciding factor that keeps a student out of a college. It’s the whole picture. Sometimes I actually think the applicant that looks too perfect on paper is the one that a college doesn’t admit.

My daughter sent a 3 on an AP test and it was one in the major she was applying for. We didn’t really hesitate about it because we never really considered that the school would look at the AP tests in the application that much and she had an A in that class and the two courses that followed that one. Also, we knew she had a teacher new to the course who didn’t teach a whole unit that was on the AP test so didn’t really care since she was taking it over anyway. If they rejected her based on that, then she wouldn’t want to be there anyway.

My feeling was the same this year with my son and his ACT. It wasn’t a 36, but so what. Clearly, 100% of the test takers do not get a 36 either. So instead of going TO he submitted it. His score which is still plenty high, should not be the sole reason he may be rejected or deferred from his ED school. If he is, then he will find a great place that will be thrilled to have him and lucky to have him. Same goes for all you other parents who’s kids have suffered rejections or deferrals this week with more coming. They’re awesome kids and they will find that awesome place.

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Info from Selingo on twitter

Starting to hear stats from early admissions rounds in age of Covid. BostonU: 12% increase in apps for ED1. 75% test optional. 71% admitted w/o scores. Tufts up 17% ED1, including 34% increase in first gen. 57% did not submit test scores, 56% admitted w/o scores.

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@srparent15 Amen to everything you said!

My daughter LIVES for learning about Psych and did very well in her AP class overall, but it was her first AP exam last spring when it went online. She had a hard time entering the text required to start the test, and after trying 3 browsers on two computers for 30 minutes, she finally got access to the exam. She cried for the first 30 minutes of the exam and did poorly. She may not get credit for that exam, but she will make a great psychologist one day.

As for school ranking, it is so one dimensional (in my opinion). Half of my daughters class has a GPA above 90, but not all of those students took a rigorous courseload. So, what is that really telling you? It is simply a number and a one component of what makes up a student.

As for the ACT, my daughter was on track to hit her goal on the April test. She lost complete momentum and while she was able to test in the fall, she improved in the one area she was focusing on, but was rusty in the two areas she hit out of the park back in February. She decided she was done, and if a college doesn’t want her because her ACT was in the bottom half of the middle 50, then she would embrace those that appreciate her effort.

Congratulations to all of the students who have been accepted to their dream schools and good luck to those who are still waiting.

Having experienced this process once before, I firmly believe that everyone ends up where they are supposed to be. The difference is the journey to get there.

Happy and safe holidays to all!

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Holy cow

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D21 just found out she got deferred from Yale. She has top rank and scores, but no clear hook or legacy. We were half expecting it, but still tough to see her so upset. The EA statistics were that about 8000 applied, 10.5% admitted, 50% deferred and about 40% rejected. On a happier note, S18 (who is applying to law school this year - so double stress in our house) got accepted to UCLA Law two weeks after applying.

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Same here. So many got in with 3.5 gpa. My D21 has 4.0 uw gpa and 36 superscore and 35 in one sitting. Got deferred from Yale.

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I think Yale only accepts or defers. No denials in EA.

Deferral is not a denial! And
this is the internet
not sure I believe all those 3.5 GPAs getting accepted.

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No
 They rejected like 40 percent EA

ok. Thank you! It makes me feel better.

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From Yale’s official EA announcement, “38% were denied admission.” 837 admitted to Class of 2025 from record-high early action pool | YaleNews

IIRC, Georgetown only admits or defers for EA and Vanderbilt almost always admits or denies, very few deferals.

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Sorry to hear @Totoros and @anaray. Deferral is definitely not a rejection but it is still so hard on the kids knowing they have another long wait. :frowning:

Just read Tulane has admitted 4,500 fewer students than at this point three years ago - don’t know how three years ago really compares to now but ugh, hope D21 doesn’t see that.

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I read that too, had to read it a couple of times :slight_smile: I think what he is saying is that their application pool for EA was so highly competitive and so many kids were qualified that they decided to defer a lot more, rather than accept as they did three years ago.

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Yes, the hardest part is the long wait until mid/end of March. My D21 has lost her confidence and thinks she will not get in anywhere (which as parents we know won’t be true). Crossing my fingers for all the kids that are waiting to hear from their schools in the next few days.

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