Several of my sons friends got acceptances to every school they applied to… including ivy, Duke/Georgetown, UVA, etc. One friend also received some amazing scholarships (academic) at several of the schools. He is not an impacted minority, was a Boy Scout, held leadership positions and community service leadership, great grades, and almost NMS. He is a great kid. However, so are a lot of the kids I see on CC. I was speaking to his mom and discussing what was the “it” factor for him? He comes from middle class family so no financial need, did not apply Ed/or Ea for any of the schools and yet was accepted to over 6 reach colleges. Would the recommendations, essays, or community service aspect be the reason? The high school is outstanding but so are many high schools. Curious if anyone has insight?
Who knows. Sometimes schools - even very selective ones - aren’t looking for super stars with a strong spike; sometimes they just want a tried and true, solid, all around reliable, smart student who is going to be pleasant and thoughtful in class discussions and generally thrive at college. Your friend’s son sounds like such a student. In fact, I would guess that the majority of students accepted at top schools are just that: solid, reliable, all arounds; the spiky super stars are probably the exception, not the rule. But honestly I think you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to pinpoint an “it” factor. Sometimes AOs move in mysterious ways - at least mysterious to us, they know their institutional priorities and what kind of class they’re trying to build.
I agree. And if he had only been accepted to 1 or 2 top schools that would make sense. However, he was accepted to 6 where the acceptance rate is less than 10%. Don’t get me wrong I am very happy for him he is a great kid and has a really nice family. But somewhere in all of that is a lesson on what AO’s value; perhaps they all landed on solid and reliable, but maybe something else. I do think that it is something to consider for after college…
Essays and recommendations are items that are often important at highly selective colleges, and both are less observable to outsiders comparing students than other factors like GPA, rank, test scores, and extracurricular (including community service) achievements. Even the students themselves typically have no idea of what is in the recommendations for their applications, much less those for other students’ applications.
I knew a girl from my D’s HS class that got accepted to MIT and other reach schools. But even from elementary school, there was just something about her, that probably translated to her college apps. Her recommendations were probably written to show that she was that one in 10000 student. She was not Val or Sal
Honestly, he probably had amazing essays. Since a lot of applicants are exceptionally qualified to attend those type of reach schools, they tend to see the same themes across applications over and over again. If I had to guess, it’s likely the essay caught the admissions officers’ attention as something that gave a unique outlook on his life experiences/growth as a person. I see lots of people getting in to top schools by writing about some random object and somehow connecting it to their lives haha.
Edit: I know students who had a really low GPA but got accepted into their reach schools with extracurriculars that didn’t necessarily stand out. I asked them what it was they thought made their acceptance and they said it was definitely their essays. One said he also uploaded some of his poetry works that he spends time on independently and was accepted into his top choice.
I am sure his essays were outstanding but as @sdl0625 said there was something special about him and I am sure the teacher recs emphasized how extraordinary he is. And I do like to think that college acceptances are more than random results and luck.
I honestly believe essays need to be truly outstanding to make a difference, and so many get coaching that college admissions, I think, are skeptical unless it comes off as very authentic.
There is no way to know and noone knows everything about their friends (or kids’ friends). He may have an unknown hobby or interest. I don’t think speculation on this is especially valuable for future CC’ers /applicants. It is basically unknowable. The message remains the same, to me: be yourself in your activities and applications and you will land in the right place.
I think this has an outsized impact, probably more than it should, especially for STEM. Schools feel like they get to know more than they really do from good creative writing. Writing and communication in general are hugely important to STEM careers, but only to the level that they need to be clear and concise. I’ve felt for a long time that highly rejective schools might be missing out on some students with the best potential in their desired field due to prioritizing elegant prose.
I will say he is humble, nice, and has a lot of grace for everyone. Perhaps those characteristics came through in his essays and teacher recs. He was not the big high school athlete or the kid who won all the major academic competitions, but clearly something came through to admissions. I think it is an interesting question to ask since most parents are pushing ec’s, good grades, and test scores. Maybe the character piece that can be articulated IS the most important aspect of an applicant.
I don’t believe they prioritize elegant prose. If that were the case, the entering classes would look very different.
I think they prioritize authenticity and so the students who are hiring editors and coaches, get their English teachers to turn their essays into “elegant prose” are the ones who are missing out.
Highly rejective schools aren’t looking to accumulate a group of students with the best potential in their desired field- because right now, that would mean an entering class of 50% pre-med/bio engineering and 50% CS. This is not how admissions works.
And if we add the outliers-- the 3% of kids who want “neuroscience” (most without a clue as to what that is except that it sounds fancier than biology or psychology or chemistry) you STILL cannot approximate what an adcom is trying to achieve.
One year at my kids HS the students were abuzz. Harvard had taken exactly three kids per year for over a decade. Not two, not four. Three. So the kids believed there was a quota system in place. Then came the unthinkable- zero admissions. Plenty to Princeton, Yale, MIT, Chicago-- so it wasn’t as though there was a crop of middling kids.
That next year-- four kids admitted to Harvard. And it felt like a meteor had hit the school, because these four were generally recognized to be the absolute kindest, most generous, most interesting students that the school had had for quite some time. Each more accomplished than the next; the kind of kids who would give you the shirt of their back and then thank you for the opportunity. One of them won the Presidential Scholar that year, and wanted to take his 1st grade teacher to the White House for the ceremony (“she set me on my journey and I owe her so much”) even though you’re supposed to take a HS teacher. That kind of kid.
It amused me no end to think of the Calc teacher or the English teacher or the Physics teacher writing-- for three or four of them-- “This student is absolutely outstanding”.
Humble and nice? Sounds like a good combination to me and in VERY short supply in our society these days!!!
LOR help but I really think it is about the essays and how the student conveys who they are, what makes them tick and why. When I read essays of students accepted into top schools, they aren’t formulated or in your face. They are genuine, sincere and unique to that student.
I think major plays into this. A lot of kids want to go into computer science or the engineering fields, or business, or pre-med majors. But, you have to fill the other majors, too.
The colleges can’t barter over accepted students directly. That kind of collusion is not permitted by DOJ. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it never happens through back channels but it’s probably rare enough to avoid detection or suspicion. I only suspect it and have direct knowledge of it once through personal experience. I would hope that it happens even less now, following the recent admissions fraud cases that have been successfully prosecuted in the past decade or so. Absent that, one admissions department has no way of knowing what another admissions department will decide on a particular applicant.
It’s probably that these students lucked out in who reviewed their applications at each school. Personal opinion factors into admissions decision far more than college staffs would like to admit. I only know this because I’ve had friends who have worked in college admissions at several elite schools and they have shared stories with me that indicate that personal preferences have a significant impact on the decisions of certain applicants on occasion. Admissions staff are people, too, and their humanity factors into some decisions at highly selective schools.
I wouldn’t read into it at all or look for any patterns. These kids probably just got the luck of draw in who reviewed their applications when they came up for review.
Regarding character, take a look at MIT’s CDS. There is exactly one factor that falls into the Very Important category, Character/Personal Qualities. Given all that people (non-MIT associated folks) say about that school regarding test scores, high school rigor, grades, etc., almost no one talks about the most important factor to the school.
Based on character, I am guessing some students with amazing stats also have LORs that include something to the effect of, “this is the type of kid you want in your classroom and on campus.” While I’m not an admissions counselor, I envision that sort of statement might be more impactful than another robotics/math award.
I think discounting as luck a students success at multiple super reach schools is inaccurate and not consistent with my observations and experience. Doing so diminishes these kids as when you meet them it often becomes obvious that they were exceptional students but offered something else that is quickly revealed when the kids express their passions.
I know numerous kids personally that had this sort of results and in each case there applications had a cohesive narrative that had integrated LORs, Essays, ECs and strong academics and scores. In most cases they were very strong in general terms but had specific interests, areas of excellence or awards that would make them standout amongst crowded fields of high stat kids.
Lastly, these kids tend to target schools (some of which are elite) that “fit” rather than shot gunning all elites. They tend to gravitate to schools where their narrative will resonate.
Congratulations to him. The class Val in my younger kid’s HS class was accepted at every Ivy. She was a really outstanding student, and NMF, and involved in lots of things. She actually chose USC…got a full ride there.
Our high school generally does well with getting kids into top schools. In my D’s class of 2016, the kid who got into Harvard really stood out. He sounds very similar to the student described above in terms of middle class, nothing fancy about him or his family, good student, etc…
He had rigor and good grades, of course. He was a natural leader. He was super involved in government at the both state and town levels. It was his passion. Needless to say, he was student body President for a couple of years. Everyone knew him. But his “it” factor, I think, was that everybody liked him. He was (is) a genuinely lovely person. His classmates were all very happy for him.
I suspect he had the most glowing and genuine teacher recs ever. HYPS and their ilk are looking for recs that contain superlatives. If his rec had said, “Nicest student I’ve ever had and a true leader”, no one would bat an eye because it was true.
In this student’s case, it was likely a combination or the usual factors that get you to the gate combined with (probable) great recs and genuine enthusiasm for what he did outside of school.
There is an authenticity that comes across in a few applications that can not be fabricated. It is not one thing, it is a thousand little bits of kindness, curiosity, community building along with dedication to academics.
There is an ease in which the LORs flow with real examples of how a student cheered on classmates at a school event or uniquely contributed to a positive classroom culture with humility and a healthy sense of humor.
The essays ring true to who they are as a human and their experience. They are not overly edited by outsiders who do not really know the student’s voice or by well meaning parents who may overthink every word. They are usually simple observations and reflections from a teenager trying to figure out how to thrive.
Courses and ECs reflect genuine interests and naturally build on evolving interests over time. Community involvement outside of school organized activities is a real part of their lives, and is not a new 501c3 no one asked for in the town. Time is dedicated to digging deeper, not trying to just check a list or have more of whatever than another.
This looks different for each. It is not a formula. These kids are natural collaborators and conveners, not just racking up leadership roles. They will likely succeed no matter where they land. The tempo of their application is different, naturally, and it stands out.