@cobrat I thought you went to Oberlin.
I did. Wouldn’t surprise me if the Princeton adcoms of the late '90s and earlier considered every Oberlin student/admit…especially those from public schools/public magnets to be “riffraff” in their estimation.
Heck, Oberlin was considered so off-the-wall for many reasons including reputation for radical progressive poltical activist student culture by most Stuy classmates that we were considered riffraff by many of them as well.
Didn’t help that in my year, every student who applied to Oberlin(~10) was accepted. And judging by the range of GPAs accepted…most would have been flat out rejected by SUNY Bing including yours truly.
Didnt you start out at another school-- maybe a CUNY or SUNY before transferring to Oberin?
It was and it ultimately caused Fred Hargadon, former dean of admissions, his job. Lots of back story, but…bottom line, the faculty got fed up. The year after Hargadon quit /was fired–depending on your source, the # of admittees from my offspring’s NYC public magnet–NOT Stuy–tripled. Hargadon died in 2014.
But that’s olden times. What P does today - or Vassar or any other top school- is what most focus on, when the topic is a current app.
Massmomm, I never looked at Naviance. It was relatively new when my kids were applying and it wouldn’t have occurred to me. Back then (8 years ago) I didn’t know my kids’ GPA’s or scores either. I could tell who was working hard in my house, without that information. And I never really thought school work or stats were what would matter with admissions: I thought it would have more to do with what they did outside of school.
Our school was very small and as I said, when two kids applied to the same small LAC within a couple of hours drive, our guidance counselor said the school might only take one. It is good to know (for others reading this) that he may have been wrong.
@IBviolamom “Maybe that would be a reason to be a tiny bit biased towards a certain HS. But even that seems an unfair way to judge an individual”
But you do have to consider, that when adcoms make decisions, they want to admit kids that they are fairly sure can succeed at their school, won’t drop out/transfer and will graduate in 4 yrs. This is where the high school comes into play. There may be schools, that make the adcom fairly certain that a kid will be well prepared and can do the work. I have heard adcoms refer to schools, as places where “an A means an A”, which in a veiled manner means that there are some high schools they feel as if an A is really not an A. So it is really not an unfair way to judge. It’s just another piece of the puzzle.
If I were reviewing applications I would select your daughter! All of her visits and video will make her stand out and demonstrate her strong interest. I do believe one thing that might help both of them get in are that they are opposite genders. In a way, each is competing for a different spot.
@Empireapple I think your reply is my favorite! 
@Empireapple Alas, Vassar does not take demonstrated interest into account. It says so in their CDS.
However, if they have a “Why Vassar” essay requirement it has to be easier if you have visited!
@bopper Yes, they do have one, and it is much easier to write about touring the campus, attending a class, and meeting with a professor than I imagine it would be to write about what you have learned about the school second hand.
“Interest” is more than a visit, anyway. If you’re truly interested in school X, you’ve done more than walk the campus and listen to a tour guide or presentations. You know more than the bullets that offers. You know your match more than stats or what someone else says. Or their prestige. Whether or not their CDS says interest is a factor, they want you to know more and have thought this through.