<p>I’m more interested in the profile of an IVY aspiring parent.
I think my first survey question will be: Do either of the parents own a ROLEX, or an imitation ROLEX ?
Second: Does either parent drive a German auto ?
Third: Does either parent drink more alcohol than they would be comfortable admitting to in polite company ?</p>
<p>ParentofIvyHope – you are right, I misinterpreted what you said. My apologies.</p>
<p>I think we should go with the number of 60 cross-admits listed by Cellardweller in an earlier post. I don’t know where that number came from but it sounds about right to me.</p>
<p>LOL! My status as an Ivy aspiring parent expired when S matriculated. But No to all of the questions.</p>
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<p>LOL, EricLG</p>
<p>One .5 AA from my school whith income over 300 K income had a 2010 on the SAT, 3.4 GPA, varsity basketball- got into princeton. One asian, valedictorian, 2350 SAT, varsity fencing, 150 K income, spectacular essays, nice kid, gets rejected??? WHY? Where is the disadvantage from the AA?</p>
<p>Due to the matriculation of my son 4 years ago at an Ivy, I can not afford German cars or even fake Rolexes! Fortunately, both H and I owned our “status watches” for many years- before Ivy was even a consideration! For cars- we go Japanese. Alcohol- no hidden sips there. :)</p>
<p>Let’s compare the 3 year acceptances number from another prep school nearby with a class size is ~160</p>
<p>Harvard University 18
Mas. I. Technology 25
Princeton University 29
Stanford University 31
Yale — University 10</p>
<p>There is not much disparity between Stanford or the second Princeton or third MIT. Even though the school is in the same area.</p>
<p>So it is important to understand that “Ivy Caliber” academic applicant without any developmental hooks apply to multiple schools between HMSPY.</p>
<p>The above school has a matriculation rate of ~ 13% to 15% every year to HMSPY.</p>
<p>POIH:</p>
<p>The comparison is interesting but I’m not sure what significance these data have.
Do they mean that without some boost, the students would not have been accepted at Stanford? That they did not apply and were accepted to other equally good schools? Perhaps Menloparkmom can clarify about her school.</p>
<p>EricLG:
I think I need to change my profile name to ParentOfGeekyD after DD matriculated to MIT over Princeton (Got rejected at Harvard and didn’t apply to Yale).
This was my childhood aspiration so I got mine ASAP after coming to USA.
Yup!, love the german cars.
Fine with admittance of alcohol drinking. Love food and wine.</p>
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<p>The significance is that it is difficult to believe that an “Ivy-Caliber” applicant will only apply to Stanford or if apply to other schools in HMSPY will get rejected from all but Stanford.</p>
<p>So a difference of more than 50% between Stanford and Princeton is alarming. I’ve not gone into Menlo school profile in the last 3 years but prior to DD high school I was able to analyze the matriculation of both Menlo school and the All girls prep nearby to find out that most of the Stanford matriculation were sports or legacy based.</p>
<p>See the point was that my wife and I came to USA without any USA school, college or University experience. So I’ve really put a large amount of effort in understanding the system here. Since we were prepared to send our DD anywhere in US for a high school education, I’ve researched all the top private prep schools and the high profiled public school in CA and North East USA.</p>
<p>I was just providing the information which I think if an applicant to HMSPY has then the applicant has a best chance of matriculating to one. The admission process is more predictable than what most people think. It is just matter of time and energy needed to spend in finding the best match between the applicant and high school.</p>
<p>marite and 2boysima: What my post #223 was more a wonder than a statement and applies specifically to Menlo Park HS.</p>
<p>Sure, academic superstars are not only math and science competitors. There are superstars in writing, literature, humanities,… (my HS favorites). Academic superstars could also be non-competiting students who just do their own studies, research with passion.</p>
<p>However, I wonder why a school with all available resources and high acceptance rate to CHMPSY has no academic superstars in math and sciences like other HS in the same Bay Area. I could not find Menlo academic supertars in non-science areas either, although my research is limited. The following list Silicon Valley Harvard Prize Book Winners is an example:</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> Club of Silicon Valley](<a href=“http://www.harvardclub-siliconvalley.org/school/book_prize_2009.php]Harvard”>http://www.harvardclub-siliconvalley.org/school/book_prize_2009.php)</p>
<p>The Harker HS (175 in sernior class) that has the most academic superstars in the Bay Area does not have that much high acceptance rate to Princeton and Stanford like Menlo Park HS (134 (?) in senior class). </p>
<p>Acceptence rate: In 3 years 2007, 2008, 2009</p>
<p>Harker:
Princeton - 29
Stanford - 31
Menlo:
Princeton - 26
Stanford - 52</p>
<p>[The</a> Harker School: College Enrollment](<a href=“College Acceptances | Upper School | The Harker School”>College Acceptances | Upper School | The Harker School)</p>
<p>Notes: POIH was faster than me about Harker info, but I post anyway.</p>
<p>"So a difference of more than 50% between Stanford and Princeton is alarming. "
Why? Numerous studies have shown that the majority of students end up matriculating within 500 mile of home. And quite a few of the students who ended up at Stanford had parents who went there as well. Why go clear across the country to college if you can stay in Calif and get just as good an education? The same thinking applies on the east coast as well. I don’t see studies that show the majority of east coast “Ivy caliber” students applying, let alone matriculating at Stanford when they are accepted at HYP.</p>
<p>coolweather: Yes, that was the concern about the Menlo school when we were looking for a high school for DD. Without many academic superstar in any area the acceptances at Stanford is alarmingly high.</p>
<p>Another concern was the low acceptances to MIT wrt Stanford for Menlo School:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 8
Stanford: 52</p>
<p>Which is ~7 times and MIT is the one from HMSPY that is least favorable for any type of developmental admits (legacy, sports)</p>
<p>coolweather,
there were and are academic superstars at Menlo. I know 2 of them personally from their years at Menlo and at the school for gifted kids they attended with my son. Harker school [and Harker school parents, who are largely Asian] encourage their students to enroll in all kind of competitions, in the hopes of giving them something to put on their college applications. Many Menlo students, including the 2 I know personally, were involved in their own individual research - one in higher Math[ he actually wrote a math book while at Menlo[ not too surprising as his uncle is a brilliant math prof at Princeton], the other created a new language [ She started this in middle school-her inspiration was the Lord of the Rings] and was heavily involved while at Menlo with the Linguistics Depts at Stanford and Berkeley. The boy who wrote the Math book competed in plenty of math contests in middle school,won all that he entered, and was ready to move on by the time he was in HS. My son, who was captain of the Quiz bowl team tried to get him to join the team, but this shy, brilliant boy wasn’t interested. They are now at Stanford and MIT.</p>
<p>It’s good to know.</p>
<p>“Another concern was the low acceptances to MIT wrt Stanford for Menlo School:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 8
Stanford: 52”
Concern??? Who is concerned? you are creating “problems” out of thin air! Read this again and see if you can understand it better this time-
Why go clear across the country to college if you can stay in Calif and get just as good an education?
sheesh…</p>
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<p>Because maybe the college across the country is a better fit for the applicant.
The applicants at schools like Menlo or Harker generally look for the best fit and not what is close to the home otherwise Menlo as well as Harker won’t have so low matriculation rate to UCB or UCLA.
Did you not wonder why? Because these applicants are not bounded by parent ability to pay and don’t require money from colleges to go across the country,</p>
<p>These applicant can even go to Oxford and Cambridge in UK if that comes out to be the best fit. Lots of Harker student have gone to UK.</p>
<p>That is why a low acceptances at MIT was a huge concern</p>
<p>“However, I wonder why a school with all available resources and high acceptance rate to CHMPSY has no academic superstars in math and sciences like other HS in the same Bay Area. I could not find Menlo academic supertars in non-science areas either, although my research is limited. The following list Silicon Valley Harvard Prize Book Winners is an example:”</p>
<p>About 8 years ago Menlo dropped participation in all the “Book club” awards named after colleges, and came up with their own in school awards for outstanding academic achievements. My son was awarded the History dept award twice, and the boy mentioned above won the Leonardo award [ after da Vinci], for all around academic excellence.</p>
<p>“Because maybe the college across the country is a better fit for the applicant.”</p>
<p>Don’t you think the HS counselors at Menlo KNOW the students AND colleges as well if not better than an adult from the outside? They do, better than parents from other schools making assumptions about “fit”, and where kids do and don’t want to go to college and WHY. Once again, you are trying to do an arm chair analysis, when you don’t have the information to support your assumptions and conclusions. I suggest you find something else to be “concerned” with.</p>
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<p>Then we operate at different level anyway. For us the best fit school for DD was what she thought as a best fit and not what her high school CC thought of best fit.</p>
<p>In the case of DD, we took college tour prior to providing a list of colleges to HS CC.
DD toured all the colleges, went thru the courses she was interested in and found best fit for her and prepared a descending list of the colleges.</p>
<p>I don’t think it make sense to depend on HS CC to come up with a list for the applicant.</p>
<p>If Menlo does that then I’ll recommend people to stay off.</p>