Public education varies dramatically within a state, as well-just as much as across state lines. Besides, the cutoffs apply to all state students, not just public school grads.
Thank you all very much. I really appreciate your help!
My D got 227 in California, so I think it is safe to expect that she will be named a NMSF.
@QuantMech <a few="" years="" ago,="" i="" suggested="" that="" mit="" should="" admit="" all="" of="" the="" students="" who="" applied="" there="" and="" had="" qualified="" for="" usamo="" in="" their="" junior="" or="" earlier,="" based="" on="" available="" data,="" concluded="" this="" would="" be="" a="" rather="" small="" fraction="" admits="" (around="" 10%="" less).="" idea="" was="" rejected="" vigorously.="" still="" think="" it="" good="" idea.=""><a few="" years="" ago,="" i="" suggested="" that="" mit="" should="" admit="" all="" of="" the="" students="" who="" applied="" there="" and="" had="" qualified="" for="" usamo="" in="" their="" junior="" or="" earlier,="" based="" on="" available="" data,="" concluded="" this="" would="" be="" a="" rather="" small="" fraction="" admits="" (around="" 10%="" less).="" idea="" was="" rejected="" vigorously.="" still="" think="" it="" good="" idea.="">
Excellent idea! It would motivate kids to study math. I think the current message demotivates them, because they are told, essentially, that academic achievement is not valued by the best colleges, as it makes applicants look boring and flat.
Academic achievements are certainly valued, but they aren’t the only criteria for admission, nor are they the only criteria that is valued. There is not one universal “best colleges” admissions policy, even among holistic admissions colleges. For example, some stats about Caltech’s undergraduate class are below It’s obviously quite different from Harvard, even though both have holistic admissions and both are “best colleges”.
25th/75th Comp ACT: 34/36 (likely highest in US by a good margin)
25th/75th Math ACT: 35/36 (likely highest in US by a good margin)
~40% of students get PhDs (likely highest in US by a good margin)
~47% of undergrads are Asian, and only ~1% are Black
Athletics have little influence in admissions, some teams have had losing streaks lasting hundreds of games
I love Caltech and MIT. They are, IMHO, the most honest private schools, in terms of admission.