I can just see the lawsuits happening with that- Yale accepted me but I really really really want Princeton- why does Yale decide it’s the one for
Me when I really really want Princeton lol 
I understand what you are trying to accomplish.
From a legal standpoint however that would be collusion because the schools could then manipulate the price based on a coordinated limitation of competitive options.
I also think these discussions look past the differences between the schools. In my opinion it is virtually impossible for any student that presents themselves forthrightly to be a “good” fit and vice versa for more then a few of the Ivies.
1 Like
I believe they used to, but they got sued over it, so they aren’t allowed to anymore. But I don’t have a link to back up my “vague memory”/“belief”.
I agree, but when 7 of the 10 most selective universities collude knowing that they will be rejecting 95% simultaneously, I would suggest that it’s an abuse of their power.
Absolutely
What surprises me is the general “deal with it” attitude in the thread. Everyone here has the intellect and understanding to manage and address these issues. That’s not often the case, and as parents in the process, we should expect more for the kids…all kids. Blaming parents, many of whom don’t understand the realities of their child’s abilities within the hyper-competitive arena they are playing, is pointless. Almost everyone here secretly believes they are better at playing the game, so maybe it’s just a desire not to surrender that advantage?
I also think that this is finally at a point of being unreasonable. When it was 20%…then 15%…then 10%…the pressures and the disappointment just kept climbing. At 5%…isn’t that just crazy enough to need a change?
So what can be done? I think the Ivy League schools…who obviously can work together to align their admission processes, should go a step further and reinvent admissions more completely. Go first. Require applications by September 1st, and commit to eliminating those without a real chance of admission by November…in time for them to ED someplace else. Use multiple stages with varying requirements. Use a forced ranking or top X approach.
I don’t begin to know how to fix it…all I know is that it’s unreasonably broken. I think the Ivy League should prove to the world that they are truly special institutions, and work toward fixing this mess. Rejecting 95% of those who apply at the exact same time feels abusive to me.
6 Likes
Yes, and what parties would have standing. Is disappointment considered an “injury”?
2 Likes
You don’t have to apply to all 8. Say you want to apply to Yale, Brown and Dartmouth, submit the app with the schools ranked.
I think those are creative ideas, but I also think it would create even more frenzy as it would be implicit these are the ‘best’ schools when they clearly aren’t. Who wouldn’t apply early to these schools then? It would encourage the ‘taking one’s shot’ mentality even more.
IMO it’s far better for people to reflect on how low their chances are to get in to these schools…at least the system now allows students who understand that to apply elsewhere during early rounds, maybe forgoing the Ivies altogether (which is the right choice for most students).
3 Likes
Only if people participate in the hype. Thousands of HS seniors could care less that it’s Ivy Day. And most schools do what they can to advertise and promote themselves. They are businesses. Not sure why we are singling out the Ivies as having more sinister intentions. Prestige sells if it’s important to you. If you’ve worked hard enough to think you’re Ivy material you’re smart enough to understand the odds are not in your favor if you’re applying RD.
And I haven’t heard an answer as to why spreading out decisions is preferable to receiving them all at once?
I also second the opinion that there should be a national RD college decision day on March 1 for those schools that don’t participate in rolling admissions. Kids will have 2 months to figure out where they want to go.
7 Likes
I’m surprised the coordination is even an issue. Like almost every athletic conference, there are agreements among Ivy schools on particular practices—need based aid not athletic or merit aid, common application, notification and reply dates which, when combined, create a level and predictable playing field between schools and among applicants.
It’s not about hype, and I hardly think removing these agreements would lead to a more relaxed process. More likely we’d see earlier and earlier evaluation periods, exploding offers, and other competitive behaviors on the part of these schools that would lead to a much more stressful and significantly worse experience for students.
The system as it is does allow for appropriate reflection on fit, comparison of financial aid offers (which can then be matched), and the ability to visit the schools once admitted.
To me, the issue has more to do with an overemphasis on the part of a very small portion of parents/students/college counselors on some sort of college pecking order that most of the world doesn’t observe.
7 Likes
The schools are criticized regardless of what they do. When they don’t mail materials, they are accused of overlooking hidden gems and hurting the poor, the underprivileged, and the unsophisticated who don’t consider them. Do outreach to every student and they are blamed for over marketing and all the hype. Frankly, they can’t win in this. Students should learn when to take marketing seriously by age 16. I must get a letter a week from some supposed national clearinghouse lottery…
16 Likes
I completely agree with this. There were ivies my kid refused to apply to because he either didn’t like the location or he didn’t like their educational model. I applaud that. He was rejected at one of the two he applied too; waitlisted at the other. And in the meantime, he was accepted into some other great schools that frankly he always preferred over the two ivies.
Anecdotally, I am hearing lots of students choosing to attend schools that are not ivies even when accepted into ivies. The reality is, many students who are competing for top schools are headed someday to grad or professional school. That degree is the one that will matter. I’ve hired tons of people in my career into well-paid, professional highly sought after positions. I never looked at their undergrad. I could care less as long as they went to college. Their grad program is an important data point; but more importantly, it is their work history that matters. All of us who are successful in our respective endeavors know that there are many paths to success - and an undergrad ivy league degree is not automatically one of them. So, how can we convince our kids? If we know it, how do we make sure they know it? My kid gets it. Sure - he would have loved to have bragged a bit on ivy day. But he quickly shoved it off and remembered why he didn’t ED to an ivy - because none were his first choice. I wish all kids could embrace this attitude. A process that makes our bright, wonderful children question their worth is a toxic one. Colleges, parents, high schools, etc. have a role to play in stopping it.
5 Likes
No one is raising an issue, AFAIK, with this “athletic league” known as the Ivy League except for why they coordinate on the RD result release.
Because without coordination, there’d be every incentive for earlier offers, earlier acceptance dates, and other practices designed to lure the best students and athletes by reducing their choices. The current system prevents that.
I don’t know why you put athletic league in quotes. It is an athletic league, and a lot of the coordination is driven by the need for common recruiting rules (both for student athletes and for highly sought after students).
3 Likes
So all the students applying to this group of schools are athletes?
Looking forward to SEC Day, ACC Day, PAC 12 Day etc for admission for 2023!
Clearly that’s not what I wrote or even implied.
You seem to be focused on the athletic aspect of what’s going on…you do understand that this topic is wider than that?
I’m all for that! Any opportunity to tail gate is OK in my book 
2 Likes
First thing sorry to the OP and the family she knows…
We are all to blame. Society, our high schools, colleges and yes those everyone gets a participation ribbons. Everyone is a winner.
Having your kids play chess early they learn how to lose, gracefully. You lose more before you figure out how to win.
But it’s the expectations everyone is shooting for. For those on here stating the ivys are at fault could be the same ones asking their kids when applying to internships /jobs if they applied to the big companies like the ivys. Gama anyone? Google, Amazon etc. Is it their fault they didn’t hire your kids?
There are much better schools then the Ivys and there are much better companies then the Big Five.
My sons school, Top in our state in 2017, stressed in 9th grade the kids were getting ready for college. They also stressed every year and especially in Junior year that few if any are going to the Ivys. 11% of Illinois students are so lucky. So they stressed schools that would be great schools but tried to aligned the kids to get merit money also. At first I was taken back by some of the suggestions for my son. What do you mean it’s not in the top 25 schools… But we would get over 1/2 scholarships and outcomes were similar… Well… Not for my kid! Right?
We also need to set up our kids for success AND failure. I had my kid pick his schools but he had to also pick some schools in the top 30/40 /50. What this excersise did was to find out about all the great schools out there, that had great programs, that were not in the Top 10. I also had him apply to a few schools that I knew were quick slam dunks and also decent back ups. These acceptances came in October. Early. We also talked about Ivy week. At his school the question was “Which schools did you get rejected from”… Lol. They took it mostly in stride. Some lucky kids got in, no question.
Also we don’t make lists of schools that the students really want to go to. That is the families fault not just the high schools. So many kids on the site I am active on are stressing over wait lists that might never happen. They should be concentrating on their current wins. Not their maybes…
Realistic expectations.
When I tell someone on cc that they won’t be accepted to X - Ivy school they ask how I know. I tell them that the % of kids getting in are so low that if I just keep saying your not getting in I am usually right… Then we talk about other options… Lol.
Again, realistic expectations. Realistic school choices. How many times have we all (the regulars), told some family just because they have great grades /Stats the chances of getting into X schools are hard and just because your in the top 75% doesn’t mean your automatically accepted. How many of those parents /students question your expertise… Exactly… That’s the problem.
3 Likes
They already have them. It is National Signing Day. It was February 3rd.
4 Likes
Sure, that’s why my replies included all students, not just student athletes. Many of the rules and practices that make sense for athletic recruiting also make sense for academic recruiting, which is what these schools are doing. They coordinate with each other because they are in the same athletic conference. I thought that was your question.