Things you've found give people a false sense of security about getting into college

Poseidenj · 06-17-2009, 05:19 PM

1) Valedictorian. a 4.00 GPA or whatever your val has isn't very different from anything 3.95 and above. It's merely a title bestowed upon you. Same goes for salutatarian.

2) Legacy, this one is annoying. My friend said "if I want to get into MIT, I'll have my grandpa sign something". He has a good GPA (above 3.5 UW), in full IB, but he doesn't do anything aside from that.

3) URM. I find this one the least true among everything, but I've heard some kids say "I'm hispanic, I don't NEED to work hard to get into a good school", etc. URM is a hook/leaning point, not an insta win.

4) Being in tens of tens of club.

Anything else?

BuddyMcAwesome · 06-17-2009, 05:20 PM

I disagree with URM, while its not an instahook, it definitely helps. Have you heard of any 2300+ URM's rejected from any top schools?

BananaSandwich15 · 06-17-2009, 05:24 PM

the majority of URMs get rejected. i do think people put way to much into its influence.

i would add SAT/ACT test scores to the list

BuddyMcAwesome · 06-17-2009, 05:26 PM

How do SAT's give people a false sense of security? Many state schools even have specific formulas that revolve around the SAT. Academic index is 2/3 based on SAT!

BananaSandwich15 · 06-17-2009, 05:30 PM

^^i wasn't talking about state schools but more selective ones. but yes i guess test scores do give accurate security to some schools.

siliconvalleymom · 06-17-2009, 06:16 PM

I've seen many students overestimate the boost that athletic talent will give them in admissions.
1) I think it's hard for some students to understand that being the best in a region in a sport does not mean that they are outstanding compared to the whole recruiting pool.
2) There are some sports that have more power in the admissions office than others.

dontknowjack · 06-17-2009, 06:46 PM

1) Having students from your previous class year get into prestigious low-acceptance rate colleges as a indicator of next year's chances. Doesn't mean it can't happen again, perhaps not to the same colleges but equally prestigious ones, but there's no guarantee that this year's class will have similar results.

2) Having a private college counselor.

3) Having recommendation letters from high status VIPs (congressmen, big time alumnus, highly regarded professor) who don't really know you and just write as a matter of being a family friend (it'll be obvious to the ad com).

ChoklitRain · 06-17-2009, 06:48 PM

I agree with the SAT point. Some kids log on to collegeboard's site, see that they got a 2350, and immediately think: wow, I guess it's time to apply to HYPSM, Penn, Columbia....Don't get me wrong, it's a great score, but you're not gonna succeed in a 7-part(recs, essays, course rigor, gpa/rank, sat 1, sat 2/APs, ec's) process by nailing one single aspect.

einnob · 06-17-2009, 07:43 PM

The legacy one is definitely not always true, same goes for the being-in-thousands-of-clubs one. Being valedictorian does help though, they shoudl already be pretty smart.
The URM thing really bugs me, but sometimes it is true.

Demiitasse · 06-17-2009, 07:46 PM

I agree with ChoklitRain. It's always a plus to have these (except for the tons of clubs aspect; you want 6 quality ones) but most people cannot pull have fulfilling the rest of the "requirements" if you will.
The salutatorian had a college counselor and she only got into GWU. Which is great, but she got rejected by all the ivies when the college counselor told her Penn would practically be a safety (who the heck tells that to anyone???)

The valedictorian problem is that even though you have the highest gpa, itcould mean that all you do is stay at home and do homework; you might not necessarily have any other passion except being a "robot."

jamesford · 06-17-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

I disagree with URM, while its not an instahook, it definitely helps. Have you heard of any 2300+ URM's rejected from any top schools?

I'm not disagreeing with you, but how many URMs with 2300+ have you ever seen?

Quote:

except for the tons of clubs aspect; you want 6 quality ones

Be in 6 clubs? I don't see how you could dedicate a good amount of time to each while participating in other ECs. And unless you're doing something significant like winning regional/state competitions for science olympiad or quiz bowl, clubs really don't carry much weight.

BuddyMcAwesome · 06-17-2009, 08:09 PM

so do I have a false sense of security about getting into college? I have alumni connections to UPenn, will be valedictorian, and have a 2300.

Ny0rker · 06-17-2009, 08:21 PM

^ yuuuppp ^

lockn · 06-17-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

so do I have a false sense of security about getting into college? I have alumni connections to UPenn, will be valedictorian, and have a 2300.

You have to apply ED at Penn to make your legacy worth anything. And you would probably get in ED.

applicannot · 06-17-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

I'm not disagreeing with you, but how many URMs with 2300+ have you ever seen?

Yeah... URMs with 2300+ scores don't get rejected because there are, at least for African American students, usually only about 1700 students who get a 700 or above on one section - let alone all three - let alone 2300+.