He can also use that section to tell a little about why he took it in 8th grade. Was he part of a gifted program? Had he always had an interest in science? Was he advanced and recommended into the course?
1 Like
All of the above. I would never have thought to include why; thanks for the suggestion!
This is funny, my D24 wanted to order bedding for her dorm room the minute after she submitted her first 4 applications on 10/30! I told her we should wait a bit, after acceptances seems fitting (and fun). My D21 didnāt even consider dorm decorations until July before her freshman year began, and only after I suggested she start picking some stuff out. They are such different people in their approach to almost everything.
2 Likes
The UC admissions offices tell students to use every part the application to give admissions a full picture of the applicant. Donāt assume that admissions knows why he was given the opportunity to take the course as an 8th grader. Donāt assume that admissions knows why he decided to challenge himself or why he took advantage of that opportunity. Use the PIQ, A&A and the two additional comments sections to make sure that everything is explained.
Good luck!
5 Likes
Lee Coffin (Dartmouthās Dean of Admission) has a podcast called Admission Beat. I enjoy listening to it.
In the most recent episode (or one of the most recent), he talks about how he thinks it makes no sense for applicants to apply to all or most of the Ivys. He said that they are all so different from each other.
For example, he said he cannot understand why someone would apply to both Dartmouth and Pennā¦.they couldnāt be more different.
So this leads to an interesting question ā In your/your childās mind, which Ivys do you all think share certain attributes that would make sense for one applicant to apply to?
Iāll start - for our family, my son has interest in Yale, Penn and Brown but no others. He likes an urban environment (but Harvard felt stuffy). And Yale gave him good vibes.
3 Likes
My D is interested in Brown because she loved the open curriculum, the campus and Providence in general. Itās the only Ivy we visited.
For the non-Ivys:
Rice because of its diversity (65% people of color), residential college system, reputation for collaboration, and happy students. She also really liked Houston and was amazed by the food scene - high end Korean BBQ, authentic Pho, dim sum, Taquerias, and the area around Rice Village.
UT Austin because of its cool vibe, elite honors programs, large alumni network and the plethora of career opportunities/internships in one of the most dynamic cities (professional and otherwise) in the country. One final big plus is the amount of high rise apartment buildings in West Campus that have amazing views of the hill country right on the edge of campus. Since UT does not require you to live on campus, she can avoid the dungeon like dorms.
Duke, because her friend goes there and itās highly ranked. The end.
5 Likes
Our school (BS) doesnāt give us a deadline other than the collegeās and does not impose any limits. I think 14 is about right. High achieving students who do not get accepted early will apply to at least that many, if not more. I think kids that want to go to highly ranked publics apply to fewer than kids that are targeting small LACs (because those have such low acceptance rates). My D applied to 21 (and results had no obvious pattern). Her friends either got in ED or applied to 14-20. Part of the challenge these days is that many EA schools donāt release decisions until after RD deadlines. The other problem is that there is more uncertainty than previous years regarding targets and likelies - even the most experienced CCs hesitate on making a prediction these days.
1 Like
Totally agree those (particularly if you are talking Penn outside of Wharton) are a very plausible grouping.
Then personally, I know a lot of people who cross-shopped Wharton, Harvard, and Princeton.
ColumbiaāI think there are people who cross-shop it with both of those camps for good reasons, although gun to my head I would probably say it is more the second.
Cornell has long been the serious ātechā college among the Ivies, so that can be as little as a group of one.
And to Dean Leeās point, I also think Dartmouth is a bit of a group of one.
Of course a different person could see them completely differently, but that is my mental map, and I think it kinda ended up my S24ās too.
2 Likes
Completely forgot about Columbia when I wrote my entry! My son also really likes Columbia but is leaning toward their international dual BA programs vs 4 years in NYC.
So I guess 4/8 appeal to my son (Yale, Brown, Penn and Columbia) - probably more than Lee Coffin would think is appropriate. But makes sense for my son. The other 4 held no appeal.
Note - my son is gay and is exclusively interested in liberal-leaning schools/areas where he thinks he will feel comfortable being himself/be welcomed.
2 Likes
My kid is applying to 5, only one reach. Thatās on the low side but they have no interest in most selective schools. Kid also is high stats and isnāt applying into the highly impacted majors.
Our counselors just say the standard 3 safety, 3 match, 3 reach advice. Most our kids apply to most of the UCs and a couple CSUs, so 8-10
3 Likes
5 is enough. One is enough if itās assured, affordable and where the student wants to be.
4 Likes
I definitely think in some cases taking a serious look at four or more also makes sense. The most obvious reason is if four or more have great departments/programs in some area of interest, which of course happens quite a bit.
Iām not sure Dean Lee would really disagree in such cases. I think he is more just encouraging a substantive thoughtfulness about each college as an individual institution.
2 Likes
My kid has applied to 4 so far - 1 reach (ED) and 3 likelies. She has no interest in working on the other 5 applications on her original list until she hears from her ED school. She would be fine attending any of these likelies if she gets rejected from ED. The remaining 5 schools are a mix of reaches and likelies.
4 Likes
UC apps are in! The great feeling of completion is short-lived when you realize how long the wait is for decisions.
5 Likes
DS24 had 4 schools and added 1 more reach to apply. So, 2 reaches, 1 match, 2 safeties. He got admitted to the 2 safeties. Waiting on the 3. As long as, they have pragmatic choices with good mix, 3-5 applications are optimal.
Spraying applications is not the best use of time, $ and effort, IMHO.
1 Like
We looked at Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth. S24 liked all 3 for different reasons. Despite his academics, he didnāt even bother looking at any of the HYPSM schools - he felt it would be a waste of an application even though he is at or above the 75% at all of them. I agreed with him so we didnāt even bother with visits. Columbia was never a consideration - heās very familiar with NYC from many visits over the years and eliminated it as a potential location for college (so no NYU or other NYC schools either). For some reason we never really thought of Penn - or other PA schools for that matter - so few kids have applied there from our school that it doesnāt even register on our scattergram (meaning fewer than 10 apps over a 6 year period). Overall, he has 11 schools on his list although one may come off. Most are high targets/reaches with one safety he likes a lot (McGill). He may add another match school (and take off one of his reaches) depending on what happens with his ED school.
1 Like
S24 attends a private school with strong college placement where the majority of kids at least try for an Ivy+ or SLAC. The average number of applications per kid is now about 14, although the most ambitious/competitive kids tend to apply to even more schools. This average is up quite a bit from just a few years ago. The counselors say that the increase is partially driven by increased uncertainty - outcomes are harder to predict, even for them. S24 is planning to apply to 13 schools right now, if his ED school does not happen. All of these schools are SLACs (some of which are considered likely for a kid from his school with his profile), plus the state flagship.
2 Likes
Ask your kid! D21&23 had certain ones they wanted to open alone.
I tracked when they were coming out but didnt tell kids(they usually knew but not alwaysāand them not being all over it is a great thing!). Make sure to say great things about all schools in the running. For those of you in it for the long haulāie Ivy day or day after(Duke and Stanford have recently gone after): many decisions come in the weeks before: if the schools would be in the top 2-3 if all the rest are No, then get on any parent sessions, encourage kid to take advantage of admitted sessions(mine loved these and didnt need to be pushed but I know some kids balk if they are clutching ivy day dreams and its āonlyā such and such school). Sign up for revisit/admitted days at campus asap and get hotels if needed, arrange for days off work(spouse and i discussed in advance we would be dividing and conquering so as not to burden either work with too many days). They can fill fast! You can always cancel if they get into something they like better as the weeks roll by: many are held after Apr 1st for that reason. You can look up last yrs dates. Covid year was tricky because no one knew if schools would have them, but ā22 and ā23 were similarish. Focusing on juggling the whatifs of all of that kept my mind busy during the crazy decision weeks of march, but I didnt share the juggling woes with Ds.
2 Likes
This is so funny b/c my D26 wanted Yale when she was little because Teddy from āGood Luck Charlieā went there 
4 Likes
I have all the admitted student days noted (well the likely dates based on this year) and made hotel reservations at the places where hotels will be scarceā¦ not mentioning this to the kid though!
4 Likes