<p>the thread continues to evolve and some interesting observations and comments.</p>
<p>Let me add my additional two cents to the recent commentary.</p>
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<li><p>Be careful of admissions officers and dog and pony shows. Sometimes what you see is what you get and sometimes not. They all are salespeople and will put their best foot forward. But being “nice to you” is not a guarantee of admission. The cold hard fact is that its all about your kid’s stats: gpa, class rank, SAT scores. You really need to have a hard look at the profiles of these colleges and determine (try and get their CDS online) what the REAL profile is, not the glossy stuff they produce and the websites that claim to be a warm and fuzzy “we look at the whole student” kind of stuff. They only examine that stuff if you make the first cut or are on the bubble. Its a numbers game. They have X number of seats (dorm rooms) and Y number of applicants. </p></li>
<li><p>As far as having excellent stats and picking only prestigious schools…be mindful that atmosphere or “vibes” are also important. One very prestigious school we visited last year in the midwest, was very “nice and friendly”, but when we talked with students on our own, they were all jacked up on caffeine, talked like chicken little, and were saying, “I am late, late, late for a very important date and I am TRIPLE majoring in biochem, history and spanish!” I am NOT kidding or exagerating. A REAL TURNOFF. Do you want you kid going to a school where everyone is HYPER COMPETITIVE and FRENETIC? Perhaps your kid thrives in that environment. Think about it.</p></li>
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<p>If you look at the profiles, for example in Barrons, of every college you will note that they all have a percentage of national merit finalists, valedictorians and kids with SAT’s above 700 in EVERY category. What that means is that not all kids with super stats go to Harvard, Princeton and Yale (or any other top 25 school). Many prefer a local college or a smaller college or even a local state u for all kinds of reasons. </p>
<p>Yes, the profile of admitted students at the prestige schools will have 99% in the top 5% of their class, superSATs, GPA’s etc. That means your kid will be just like them, if you are admitted. But for EVERY incoming class, there will result a class rank…and 90% of the admitted class to Harvard Princeton and Yale will end up NOT in the top 10%, and 10% will be in the bottom 10%. In other words, class rank is relative at these schools. If you dont mind being in the muddled middle at Harvard…fine. If your kid wants to be a superstar at StateU or small college…fine. It depends on YOUR KID.</p>
<p>Some kids need to be around super bright kids all the time. Nobody wants to be around dullards. But at the vast majority of colleges there are a plethora of BRILLIANT kids, some with SAT scores that werent in the 99th percentile…you know what I mean, Vern?</p>
<p>Its all about fit, fit, fit. And “fit” is a complex word made up of many factors: socio economic factors, geographical, cultural (for some its even racial…like how many chinese, hispanic, or african americans etc), kids with similar stats, size of campus, size and number of buildings, on and on. What is fit for you may be a “NOT!” for me…and vice versa.</p>
<p>Try not to make the admissions process a personal thing…though it is hard…especially when you get waitlisted or rejected at one or two of your top choices…and then hear when someone with lower stats and qualifications got in…its a quirky process…sometimes a crap shoot. It is what it is.</p>
<p>WHich is why this board is here and this thread is thriving…its about fit. I STRONGLY suggest you pick 6-8 schools, maybe more. 2 reach, 2 match, and 2 safety schools. EMBRACE YOUR SAFETY SCHOOLS, because you may end up there! My D got hosed (one waitlist and one rejection) at her 2 reach. We got into our match schools, and our safety schools. WE ALMOST accepted the offer at a SAFETY school…but in the end, the faculty at the match school was so wonderful and she had such a good visit there she accepted at her match. Stuff happens. We were told we would hear about and/or experience WEIRD stories in the admission process…and we were NOT disappointed. And then we heard where some kids accepted and were REALLY shocked…what looks to us like POOR FITS…but its not our kid and not our business so we said NOTHING.</p>
<p>I was recently at Guilford College in North Carolina. Its an astonishly beautiful campus, that is very big…in acreage!, but small in student body size. Another school to consider that is off the beaten path. I was there for business reasons.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you all.</p>
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