Does anyone feel like AP scores were used behind the scenes as a proxy for SAT/ACT scores?
I donât think so with the UCs. DS had 5s in Physics 1 and his Comp Sci classes. Got wait listed at UCSC and UCSD. Didnât get his major at UCSB. I believe them when they say the scores are just for getting class credit.
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I think so, students who are able to get 4 or 5 on the APs are likely to get high scores on the SAT/ ACT. The problem comes when students donât have access to AP courses or exams and also donât have ACT/SAT scores
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Not the scores, but the courses are used as indicators of rigor.
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UC Berkeley in particular states they consider AP scores in their Freshman selection however in general, the UCâs prefer the AP course grades over the AP scores.
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I donât think there is any way to know. My S22 went TO this year and has been pretty successful in terms of admission - however, most of the schools he applied to were in the T50-75 range. He did submit his AP scores - both were a 4. Iâd say his rigor was a notch below the most rigorous - 4 AP (not bad for our school as they canât take until junior year) and the rest honors. His essays were pretty good and Iâm sure his LOCs were good as well (lucky to have a couple teachers that had him more than once). His ECs were average at best (some sports, a lot of volunteering, a job).
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@lkg4answers Thank you for this reminder and insight to newer parents. The mission/vision statements, etc is so helpful!!
Regarding AP scores, I donât think colleges public/private are looking at AP as an indirect proxy in lieu of standardized scores other than rigor and GPA from those classes. I had asked this of someone I know who is on an Ivy undergrad committee and was told that it would be even more unfair since some kids are at schools that donât have the same resources would be penalized. She said theyâre not going there.
I had also asked her how these summer paid programs are viewed and was told that if they are meaningful and impactful and comes across in such away in the student insight or personal statements then admissions would take the insights into consideration. If itâs just opportunities for the sake of opportunities, she said donât give AOs reasons to think youâre privileged and spoiled.
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Thanks for the great tips on creating a list of attributes the school is looking for and making sure we incorporate those in the Essays. Never thought about this so appreciate the input.
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Update to my results thread above: rejected at Berkeley.
Got into the Cal Poly Pomona Kellogg Honors College.
Still havenât heard anything from Riverside.
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In case anybodyâs interested, it looks like Colleges That Change Lives will be putting on a whole bunch of college fairs later this year in several cities.
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Now that everything is back in person, I feel like I picked the worst possibly short and long vaca trip timing ever. Had a couple of programs D24 was interested in but one vaca would make her miss 3 days. Then in another program, same thing but on the back end. Next year Iâm going to book as soon as S21 comes home from college.
This wrapped up the UC admission cycle for the kids I helped. Did get two in both Berkeley and UCLA. Same criteria still true with 3.9+ UW GPA, course rigor, breadth and depth ECs with leadership. I did help one kid who has a disability (I assume they would consider that a hook). Solid essay, good grades, but not sufficient ECs (amazing back in my days), so she was WL at all the UCs she applied to. Did get into a private school in SD.
I only have one more kiddo who applied to Ivies/Stanford. He has UCLA and Berkeley so Iâm curious how this will play out.
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D24 has a practice AP Bio test tomorrow at school. The AP Euro History teacher said she was just a couple of points shy from getting a passing score on that practice AP test. He is recommending she take it in May. D24 SAYS she will study extra for it. The proof is in the pudding. We will see!
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D24 said that the practice AP Bio exam today was fine, said there were only a couple of questions that she thought were a little tricky. It was 60 multiple choice questions and 6 free response questions. She should hear back from the teacher w/in 2 weeks re: what her score was. Actual exam is on 5/11.
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Watching the bloodbath that is the 2022 thread, Iâm definitely going to be taking DD24 on a bunch of trips to CSUs in the next couple of years. Mainly to look at some of the smaller ones that could really be interesting (and easier to get into) so that sheâs got lots of good choices she can get excited about if sheâs not able to get into SDSU, CPP, and SLO. I was checking out CSUCI a few months ago and I liked what I saw.
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I think the take home is to not apply to any school that a student is not willing to attend or is out of budget.
Better yet, do what you are doing⊠fall in love with those âlikelyâ schools early.
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Iâve been following the Class of 2022 thread, too. Itâs been rough for kids everywhere this year.
I agree with your approach. We are planning on taking on a similar strategyâŠfocusing the bulk of D24âs applications on schools in the âlikelyâ category and finding at least one of those that D24 could see herself attending, could see herself happy living there for 4 years, etc.
D24 will also not be applying to any schools that are a financial reach.
What I donât want to have happen is whatâs happening right now for a lot of kidsâŠeither not getting in anywhere, or only getting into the school that you saw as âbeneath youâ or the school that you saw as ânot good enoughâ and, as a result, you didnât want to attend even if you did get an acceptance letter.
I know that itâs sort of heresy to say on CC, but a studentâs academic life & future success are not over if they donât go to a Top 25 school.
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I have been following along to see how things are going. I think having more safeties that you like is very important. Its hard especially if the kids have pretty good Stats but still donât get in as they tend to have higher expectations. I have been telling my S24 that the ECâs and Essays matter quite a bit so he is more realistic. I also share with him GPA and admins stats at some universities he likes so he knows what he needs to do to even have a small chance into getting into them.
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MIT will require test scores next year.
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This thread became quite active since last October. Thank you for all the prolific contributors. I am curious to see how the Class of 2022 fares this season. D24 is aiming for top colleges and particularly âreallyâ want to go to Princeton. She is strong in math and physics and has extracurriculars in both. Last summer she did take some advanced math classes. This summer she will be atending a nationally known selective math summer camp. She is not sure what she wants to study for undergrad but it is not Premed or Computer Science. She also has a talent in Visual arts like painting and sketching and generally is creative and incorporate this talent in whatever she does. She prefers East Coast. Are there any special qualities/attributes that Princeton will look for in the applicants? Appreciate your thoughts.
I canât answer the Princeton question, but others will be able to.
What I will address is making sure your D24 has a wide range of schools she could get excited about that have different acceptance rates. Do not only aim for T20 or T50 schools (Iâm sure you wouldnât have, Iâm mostly putting this out here for the folks who might not realize how competitive college acceptance has gotten). I have an S22 and some of the schools he could have gotten into a couple of years ago waitlisted him or didnât accept him to his chosen major. Every year there are kids who only apply to the most exclusive schools and get rejected or waitlisted at all of them and theyâre completely flaberghasted that all that hard work didnât pay off when their stats were right in there with the kids who were accepted, but now they donât have a backup plan other than to scramble and try to find another university still accepting applications. And theyâre absolutely beside themselves with grief and confusion. The number of âperfectâ kids who get rejected is staggering. Itâs also extremely important to understand how competitive certain majors are even at high-acceptance rates schools.
Luckily for us S22âs #1 was a reach (because SLO is a reach for anyone applying to CS - same thing as above⊠tremendous numbers of kids with perfect stats applying) but his #2 was much more attainable. His #2 (Cal Poly Pomona) acceptance came in in Feb and it was a huge relief. He did get his #1, but even now Iâm thanking our lucky stars because I know it could just as easily have been a rejection. If he had been rejected heâd have been really happy with his #2, and thatâs what the list of colleges needs to have. But even his #2 which has a fairly high overall acceptance rate is still competitive for CS. Iâm watching a bunch of high stat kids get rejected from CS and they canât understand why. A good mix of attainable schools along with the reaches is important for everyone.
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