@Solstice155 Oh good Lord, did someone really say ‘our little 36’?? I’m sorry, but some people are unbearable. It’s amazing how fragile egos persist despite age, success, etc. I actually like this little parents thread. People are pretty nice and normal, whether their kid has a 36 ACT or a 26 ACT. I commented on another thread in response to some information about the specific things highly selective schools grade essays on, because I thought it seemed like a secret code that only privileged and plugged in kids would even know about. Oh boy, you should have seen the snarky comments I got back. My favorite was that I was a hypocrite for asking those questions when I myself was getting ‘insider information’ via college confidential. Um, okay! CC is exactly the same as high priced ivy-insider admissions coaches, yeah!
Oy vey!
I saw your replies! My s21 has a 36 ACT/4.4 gpa with stacked courses and for the most part, he has themes because he is a STEM kid. I never once assumed he’d get into his ED neck, I think UC is a crapshoot and that was before test blind.
I read that and asked my cousin who reads for Cornell. She said 7 min is definitely manageable and they can do it in a quality manner.
If anyone has done a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) for 7 minutes, 7 minutes feels like forever! 
LOL I cannot even relate to half of these threads having a kid that is not 4.0 plus with perfect SAT’s…I just read them for whatever useful info I can glean.
Can’t stop laughing…
I agree! We have a great group on this thread. 
I fully believe as flawed humans, we all have our moments where we think, “They got in because they’re a URM, a football player, they attend a known HS, etc.”, but hopefully that is only a fleeting thought and we realize after going through this grueling process, they worked their little butts off (maybe even the parent, too!) and in the end, the stars aligned! Speaking of stars, “the Christmas star” will be visible tonight. Who is going to be looking for Jupiter and Saturn tonight in the sky?
Yes, regarding the Christmas star. I was just reading about to make sure I’m outside the right time!
And I also agree about the process. There’s no perfect process and lots of great and ‘deserving’ kids of all types. Fort., also lots of great colleges. It generally all works out in the end!
We live on the other side of the world, so my husband was out last night looking for it.
NASA report says it’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”
Sadly it was too cloudy in our city, so nothing to see here.
Your son sounds similar to mine. He’s good in math and physics, so applied for engineering, though may switch if he doesn’t like it. His main ECs were sports and music. He got into Duke Pratt (engineering). I’ve been told that engineering is more math/stats driven, and based on the sample size of 1, that seems true!
Truth! And yes, DS21 and I are heading to the beach in a few hours to watch the sunset and then hopefully the Christmas Star. Joy to the World!
Do you happen to have a link to Fred Zhang’s premed application? Or terms to use in a google search? I’ve searched and can’t find. thanks.
I apologize, it was the other co-founder of Prep Scholar, Allen Cheng. Google: Allen Cheng Prep Scholar Harvard and the first result is “My Successful Harvard Application”. It’s a fascinating read as it has his common app, supplement essay, and a few notes from the adcoms review as well as Allen’s explanation of why he thinks he got into H. I highly recommend anyone interested in getting a better look into “elite” admissions to spend the time reviewing that blog article.
When I read his app I see a guy that had excellent stats, mediocre essays, and got in because of his summer research (RSI) and placing 6th out of 11,000 in a chemistry olympiad.
His recommendations were solid, but I feel like those are a crap shoot for most public school kids.
Oh, ACT how I “love” you - trying to send official ACT scores to ED schools (2 kids = 2 schools) after paying school deposits and ACT unable to process the request at this time. Are you kidding me! I really am counting the days to be done with the ACT!
I know that feeling, but I have one more kid!!! 
This is my last of three. I’m ready to be done with all of this admissions shizzle!
me too - back to back kiddos, so one Class of 2022 right on the heels of 2021 x 2. . Gave up trying to get credits processed from cancelled tests to use for child #3. Just giving ACT more $ for testing and then the official score reports…not happy about it.
I am beyond thankful that I am done with it all-
ACT, high school, CA after this mess of a year!!