I was one of those students myself and don’t feel diminished by anything that I wrote. I stood out dramatically at my own high school and even in my region, but when I went to college, I fit in completely. That’s the entire point of attending a highly selective school. I also didn’t feel diminished when my friends who worked in admissions told me these stories. Two truths can exist at the same time. I am sorry again that my views are triggering to some, but I was responding to the prompt with what I’ve learned from people who know more about the subject than I do directly.
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For a student without a very strong hook, the most likely reason for her/his near universal acceptances to elite colleges is the unusually strong LoRs from recommenders whom AOs are familiar with (from the LoRs they’ve written for other students in the past).
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With all due respect your experience was decades ago juxtaposed against a very different admissions environment. OP was specifically asking about kids that got into multiple reach (single digit) schools in the last admissions cycle.
Numerous posters throughout this thread have highlighted that amongst those few select students that secure multiple acceptances at super elite schools there appears to be some common traits. These traits have been expressed differently amongst the posters but to suggest it’s luck is not just demonstrably incorrect but suggesting that quality of the application isn’t relevant.
Your saying the “it” factor was luck.
You aren’t “triggering” me but you are saying luck trumps quality which I disagree with. You are suggesting these unicorn kids aren’t “unique” or deserving based on their own achievements.
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Here is a great read…or listen. Especially the very beginning…
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Everyone wants to believe it was their strong essays that got them in. But I doubt that’s true except in a small fraction of cases. Colleges have no idea who is writing their own essays these days or how much help they got or who is just being fake.
I do agree that LOR’s can be that extra push, as well as a well-timed phone call or email from a guidance counselor or even a principal, especially when they have a connection to the college AO.
Maybe I’m just too cynical, or maybe I’m just bitter because my kid is one of those high stat students who got shut out from the elite colleges that peers with lesser stats are going to. But I have a feeling her LOR’s weren’t as strong as she hoped even though the teachers love her, and I know she didn’t play the game and seek out help from her guidance counselor until it was too late.
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I think “luck” or getting just the right AO for whom your story resonates happens, but that is case for someone who gets into 1 of several not all of them.
Just to clarify - I think these kids are 100% qualified, but a little bit of “stars aligned” may push them to the yes pile.
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Totally agree with luck, stars aligning, personal appeal, etc for the one off acceptance kid (not taking anything away they have to be exceptional to be in contention). I think where a kid gets into multiple super reaches however there has to be something making the kid stand out.
When schools are selecting less than 1 in 20 unhooked kids, a kid that gets into 3+ schools wasn’t just lucky.
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This is not a thing. That is not to say that certain AOs aren’t favorably biased towards schools, guidance counselors, etc. It IS a thing for waitlists though.
When you see this happen outside institution priorities, I think it’s a case of all the pieces truly coming together.
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You say it isn’t a thing but then you sort of imply that it is. Maybe not with an actual phone call but still with a connection.
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I can’t say our experience is universal but my son attended a highly competitive prep school that typically placed about 1/3 of its students at Top 12 schools.
There were clearly some colleges that had historically accepted large numbers of students. I have to conclude these institutions were very familiar, comfortable and predisposed to offer admissions based on their experiences with prior years matriculations.
None the less the GCs were very clear that beyond their letters of recommendation no direct contact via calls, side bars or emails would or could be made during the admissions process until decisions had been distributed.
Then and only then students were encouraged if not happy about their current best option and waitlisted at a preferred option to alert the GC. The student was limited to one WL and the GC would inform the school the student would matriculate if taken from the WL. I am sure at this point some incremental advocacy would take place. This frequently did result in acceptances.
Once again not sure at other schools but those were the rules of the road and common knowledge at my kids school.
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Sounds like a great kid. As an aside, it is a very rare middle-class family that has no financial need for the schools that admitted him (if you are talking about Ivy League, Georgetown, Duke etc). Unless the family’s assets are unusually large or he had an unusually robust college savings account, a family that doesn’t qualify for financial aid at that school is likely quite wealthy. I am not saying this contributed to his great admissions outcome (since these are need-blind schools), but I wanted to chime in that those are schools that offer financial aid to middle class families.
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At our school advocacy is contingent on agreement to enroll if moved of the WL. Fair enough IMO.
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The phone call from the guidance counselor works if there is One school the student wants to attend. But getting multiple acceptances, during the regular admission cycle, seems to be more than a few personal contacts. I agree with several posters that the LOR’s could be the it factor.
Interestingly, one of our kids, who was accepted to a highly selective school “accidentally” saw his letter of rec. One of the colleges he applied to released the letter on his portal… it was available for about half a day before the school figured it out. However, he got to read it and shared with me. All I can say is wow. He is a good kid, strong student, but the letter made me cry it was so amazing. His high school was also not one that sends many kids to reach schools so the fact that he got in to his number 1 could be because of the LOR.
Regarding LOR’s, there is another thread currently on CC about certain teachers asking kids (or parents!) to write their own LOR’s, and then the teacher signs.
Schools are test optional, essays are coached and now I read that LOR’s may be written by the student or family. So what’s left.
Harvard also says “character” is important and I believe ability to overcome challenges is highly valued too (hence certain essay topics!). But I cannot imagine how colleges assess these intangibles. In a large public school, GC and teachers may not even know kids well. But still I think applications need to be authentic (and honest), and maybe authenticity shines through.
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Just for clarification his family has the means to send him to any school he wishes to attend.
Middle class can be defined in many ways, but an internet search pulled up this USNWR article as one of the first results, and since USNWR is quite popular with the families of many high school seniors, I’ll use its income definition of an annual income of $52,220-$156,600 for a family of 3. It is very rare that a middle class family can afford to pay $80k/year (or more) on their income.
So all that I think @Alqbamine32 was indicating was that this family is highly unlikely to be a middle class family if they can afford to send him to any school he wishes to attend.
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Middle class (roughly $150k-$400k) does not qualify for financial aid…
That’s not middle class. That’s top decile income in the US.
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Hardly, that’s very much middle class… 