<p>Is it a bad idea to start 2250/34 3.9+ Parent Thread?</p>
<p>I might be wrong but Ive never seen one for high achieving kids.</p>
<p>is this a joke?? I don’t mean to be rude…but, CC is 90% about these kids…that’s why it’s divided up into the schools that these kids throng to…</p>
<p>What would be the point of the thread, to pat each other on the back???</p>
<p>I actually have lots of questions to ask.</p>
<p>^^that’s a diff story; I thought you meant just opening a new thread for kids in that range…
if you have questions for parents, use the new thread in the parents forum and title it the actual question…</p>
<p>if you have questions re: college search and selection etc…</p>
<p>mods will move the question if it is in the wrong forum…</p>
<p>hope this helps!!</p>
<p>also, to get the best responses, try not to post the same question in too many forums…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/510992-safety-match-reach-high-reach.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/510992-safety-match-reach-high-reach.html</a></p>
<p>This thread, starting with post #11, is useful if you are wondering how to determine safety-reach-match for a high stats kid.</p>
<p>Agree with Rodney, you will get more targeted information if you open individual threads for your questions.</p>
<p>I agree that it is a rather silly idea for the reasons other posters have stated. Too general, to random. And it’s so important to realize that scores and grades are not the whole picture when it comes to admission even at the most academically rigorous schools.</p>
<p>Not the whole picture but 95% of it…</p>
<p>Not sure about 95 percent. it is trite to say that Harvard could fill a whole class with valedictorians. but probably still true. And even at the most selective small schools such as Williams and Amherst there are likely to be a good proportion of students whose SATS are nowhere near 2200. For run of the mill smart kids with the scores cited by the OP (that is, not elite athletes, development prospects, sought-after URMs or others who bring additional specific strengths to a school) I suspect that a lot plays into a decision to admit once the grades and tests scores are out of the way. That is, the numbers are the key to get into the serious consideration pile and be admissible, but that other 5 percent of qualifications–if indeed it really is only 5 percent–and some intangibles and luck perhaps will make the difference at a super-selective school and lead to admission. </p>
<p>After many years of watching the process and seeing two children and their classmates experience it, it seems clearer than ever to me that people who think it is all about grades and scores are setting themselves up for disappointment, just as applicants who can’t see beyond the name game are sometimes limiting their options unnecessarily.</p>
<p>NoIdeaDad, to me, that group is kind of the default on cc, which is why others have started threads for those with lower scores – witness the 3.0-3.3 thread, the 3.6 and lower thread, etc. After a certain point – and many here would say that’s a 2200+ – you don’t need to continue to slice it and dice it so thinly. Once you reach the requisite score for highly selective schools then it’s about other things.</p>
<p>Additionally, even if someone’s kid isn’t a 2250/3.9 kid it doesn’t mean that they don’t have something valuable to teach you. Why limit the pool?</p>
<p>NoIdea, I sent you a smile. We have a kid born with rockets in his psyche. DH once observed “I was always suspicious of the people who never earned a D. It seemed like they weren’t real – until I parented one.” </p>
<p>I’ll recommend “Genius Denied” as a book outlining what not to do. Fortunately, there are lots of good paths open. </p>
<p>I don’t know that I’d start a “Super gifted” thread. You could draw ■■■■■■ and snarky comments that are not helpful to you. Far better to lurk and learn and post on very specific topics that are challenging to you or your student. </p>
<p>It’s a bit like money. It’s crass (or so I understand) to loudly complain about the challenges of having too much. Far better to be a bit reserved and then deeply happy and grateful when you recognize a fellow traveler with the same challenges. No wonder Warren Buffett plays bridge with Bill Gates.</p>
<p>Why don’t you post all your questions here, and we will tell you whether it warrants a high stats thread, a topical thread, or if there’s already a thread that addresses the issues. The thread mentioned in post #6 was a pretty good one as I recall.</p>
<p>My older son had stats like your child and was accepted at Harvard (legacy), RPI and WPI and Carnegie Mellon (School of Computer Science), rejected by MIT, Caltech and Stanford, and waitlisted by Harvey Mudd. As you can see great stats do not make you a shoe-in at schools with low acceptance rates. BTW he’s very happy at Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>No, because stats alone do not tell the whole story. At that level, ECs and specific outstanding abilities (math, essays) distinguish between good and great. </p>
<p>Post specific questions…e.g. “Where can my 2250/34/3.9 kid get a full ride?” Or find the best physics/English/bio-engineering program? Etc…</p>
<p>I agree… I believe (my opinion only) that it is proper etiquette to create a thread with a detailed enough subject that it is evident to other user’s what the question/topic is. Having a generalized thread like this just seems to get in the way.</p>
<p>There are lots of general and specific questions and suggestions for kids in this group and I see no particular reason not to allow a thread of this nature when there have been extensive threads dedicated to sub 3.3 and 3.6 kids applying to top 20 schools.
This forum is exceptionally helpfully unless and until questions are asked about high achieving kids, or affluent parents have the temerity to ask financial questions, at which point folks pile on.</p>
<p>Those who are inexplicably offended need not participate or even open the thread. If the thread has no value it will fade from lack of interest.</p>
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<p>This is one of the most persistant pieces of misinformation out there about high stats kids.</p>
<p>As I have shared repeatedly (with his permission), PMKjr had a 2350/35 3.7 uw gpa. Plus good ecs, leadership roles, recommendations like I wrote them and so on. He did not get into Yale or Brown. I cannot begin to tell you who was more shocked among family, friends, school, etc. Thanks to CC, we were not shocked. When 7 kids get a yes, then 93 get a no. Or when even 12 kids get a yes, then 88 get a no. </p>
<p>Not only do you have to have the grades, scores, recommendations, excellent essay and so on, you have to be what they are looking for that year. It’s as simple as that. </p>
<p>At the Harvard info session, the woman from admissions shared that they had done a study of what percentage of applicants could do the work. Harvard’s own conclusion was 60% of applicants could handle the academics. From there, the admissions committee has to cull the number down to 1600. It’s not a science, it’s an art.</p>
<p>The best piece of advice we got and the one that we hung onto was that a kid who has realistic shot at an Ivy is going to be an very attractive student to a lot of colleges. We’re thrilled with the end result of the college application process. Go, Huskies!</p>
<p>I cannot thank the CC community enough!</p>
<p>Take this to the bank. 55% standardized test scores, 45% rigor of hs courses and grades, 10% everything else…and that 10% may be a bit overstated. </p>
<p>Essays and recommendations are skimmed and glossed over. The reason Jr. did not get into Yale or Brown probably has more to do with the fact that everyone else with his stats also applied there than it does with that 10% factor. I would love to see a study of application overlap among the top 20 schools. Based on what the schools report as their test scores of admitted students compared to the raw number of students who actually achieve these scores as published by College Board, I believe that the overlap factor is enormous.</p>
<p>I agree with pugmadkate.</p>
<p>DD was 35 ACT, 4.0 GPA, #1 in class with tons of ECs indicating achievement. Rejected from the two Ivies she applied to.</p>
<p>Thanks to CC she was ready for those rejections, had other good choices, and has found a good home.</p>
<p>Actually, these latest answers might be why a thread to help a newbie learn these things is not a bad idea.</p>