@123Mom123, If a student has a first-choice school, it is probably a good strategy to apply early decision, if their top choice college has an ED program. For the past five years, ED acceptance rates have gone up and I assume that will continue to be the case during these uncertain times.
@NateandAllisMom, it truly does depend. Generally speaking, the relationship your child’s school has with elite colleges matters because it typically means that the guidance counselors at that high school have more insight they can offer your child about how to succeed in the competitive application process. Additionally, admissions officers typically visit mostly the same schools every year. However, this is changing due to the virtual landscape.
Your child’s guidance counselors will typically provide a “school profile” that gives admission readers general context with regards to the high school. If you child has mandatory religion classes and limits the amount of courses students can take each semester, it would be listed on the school profile. Typically, that should not be a problem if it is the standard practice of the high school.
What are qualities that Georgetown looks for - what kind of students are the best fit?
Also, under what circumstances should a student apply REA to Georgetown?
We get a lot of students on these boards asking about essay topics. Their instinct seems to be to write about their mental health problems and history (we often discourage this as these kids are much more than their health history). I am curious as to how admissions officers feel about these essays? Assuming at least some of those authors get an acceptance, what elements separate a successful mental health essay from an unsuccessful one? What would your advice be to kids asking if it is okay to write about these things?
How important is geographic diversity when applying to elite schools? Let’s say we have two applicants who are both equally qualified in all aspects of their application—however, one is from an underrepresented public school in a rather uncompetitive area, while the other is from a hypercompetitive region like the Bay Area—would this difference in geography place the former over the latter?
https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/elite-college-admissions-tips
Good questions in this link. And great answers.
Will non-minority students be at a disadvantage without an SAT or ACT test score during this application season when there is a greater emphasis on diversity admissions than ever before? Fewer spots for white and Asian students to begin with so test scores will be even more important for these groups.
I have heard that the applicants submitting SATs will be considered in a separate stack from those without SATs. Is this true?
@Groundwork2022 , in terms of essay topics, students should feel free to write about whatever message they want to convey to colleges. Mental health and Health History are no longer taboo subjects so students can feel free to write an essay on those topics as long as they stick to how it affects them, in particular. It might be easier to pick one subtopic or story to highlight within those categories instead of talking about those issues in broad terms. Successful essays in general paint a picture of who the applicant is, what they care about and then relate it back to how the student’s story can add to the classroom environment or overall diversity on campus.
@Somanyrules and @squ1rrel , with test-optional admissions, there will be greater emphasis on holistic factors, which include geography, extracurricular activities, transcripts and academic record, among other things.
@ucbalumnus . Great question. I typically recommend students provide their recommenders with either their resume, college essay or both. If those documents are not ready, students should have a conversation with them to refresh their memory. That typically helps recommenders write better letters to advocate on a student’s behalf.
Do schools adjust their expectations of the quality of the letter of recommendation based on the school? Are kids that come from an impoverished area where GC are not primarily focused on college admissions at a disadvantage with these letters?
How does a top school look at AP scores from students who didn’t take the AP class (in terms of admissions, not placement)? The so-called “self study” crowd?
@RichInPitt, If a student decides to “self study” and submit the AP scores without taking the AP class, it can strengthen the student’s application depending on the scores that student received. Sometimes, schools restrict the amount of AP classes that their students can take each semester. Often, some classes conflict with others due to time conflicts which prohibit students from taking AP classes. So, most top schools will honor the AP test in lieu of AP classes.
@Aguadecoco , typically colleges are really understanding when they receive recommendation letters that are shorter from kids that come from a low-resourced school. However, they check for consistency. If two students from the same low-resourced school receive letters, and one gets a more thorough letter and the other one is lacking in substance, then that’s sending another message to the application reader.
If the two letters in this situation are from different teachers, then do application readers consider that some teachers (even within the same school) may be better recommendation writers than others, even given similar levels of student achievement known to the teachers?
Does this mean that you don’t know the direct answer to the question? Or is the answer no?
Does it hurt or help being at a TT private for my DC? My DC is an A-/B+ student at a TT private, URM, a few ECs (no major awards), and will need aid for college. Does it help, or hurt being at a TT private? I heard that this would hurt as she’ll be crowded out by donors / legacies at the same private school.
What can my DC do to stand out, or increase her chances when applying to T20s?
Seems like at these kinds of private high schools, there is a dedicated college counseling staff with extra-good (perhaps privileged / connected / insider) information about which colleges (within their focus of knowledge) are reach / match / likely / safety for the student, rather than just making a guess by stats.
Assuming this is the case, the high school’s college counseling staff would be the resource the student should use. The main caveat is that they may be unfamiliar with colleges outside of their focus of knowledge (e.g. if no one there ever applies to a military service academy, the high school’s college counselors may have no knowledge about applying to one when the first student with such an interest shows up). But “top 20” private universities and LACs are probably common enough targets at such high schools.
Hello, thanks for doing this! I had started a thread on whether it was a good idea for my son to graduate a year early from HS and was wishing there was an adcom from the elite level who could give me insights, and voila! I was directed to this thread!
My son has realized he would only have one required course in senior year; the rest would be padding. He wants to move on from HS at the end of junior year.
He thinks he can have a stellar GPA, perfect/near-perfect test scores, and wants to aim for top schools (yes, I know very top schools don’t offer merit aid, per se).
We will be chasing merit; won’t qualify for much financial aid.
My worry is that graduating a year early will hinder opportunities for scholarships.
He won’t have the beefy extra year of APs or leadership/ECs/experience, and it will count against him. Can you confirm this?
I think he’s great, but he’s a sophomore. He hasn’t proven anything yet!