<p>Thanks… and congrats to those hearing good news today!</p>
<p>www- my nephew was a shut out of all schools (legacy at Dartmouth and Stanford), except for NC-CH and JHU. He only applied to JHU because my sister submitted the application for him at the last minute as a “why not.” He was so tired of the whole process, he said, “Sure mom, whatever.” He graduated from JHU last year, had the best 4 years . He couldn’t imagine to be anywhere else. I am sure your D will be very happy at USC too. Sometimes luck just works in a very mysterious ways.</p>
<p>“Sometimes luck just works in a very mysterious ways.” </p>
<p>Sounds to me like his guardian angels came through for him- his mom and whoever was upstairs. lol</p>
<p>@Hunt:
</p>
<p>But it’s not about telling the schools what the student wants. (They don’t really care – they are selecting based on what the student brings to them, not on what the student wants from them). It’s about being able to identify and articulate what makes the student stand out from the others, and similarly being able to identify which colleges are most likely to appreciate that characteristic.</p>
<p>Here’s a simple example. My daughter studied Russian in high school and spent time living in Russia to further her studies. When my daugher was in 11th grade, I read an article in a Yale publication featuring an undergrad who was the college’s only Russian major – the article pretty much focused on the school’s shortage of undergrads interested in studying Russian. So it was easy for me to see that Russian-studying could be a tip factor in admissions. </p>
<p>With a little bit of research I could easily figure out which colleges had strong but under-enrolled Russian departments; which were having no problem filling their Russian language classes; and which seemed to have little commitment to teaching the language (some universities were not replacing retiring faculty members and dropping the major). </p>
<p>So, for example, Brown had a full complement of Russian-studiers – so no particular advantage there. </p>
<p>As my kid did NOT apply to 6 Ivies… I have no data to share there – but its easy for me to see that my daughter’s prospects for admission would have been better at Yale than at Brown. She had something to offer Yale that she knew they wanted. </p>
<p>Of course there are probably many areas where there isn’t much differentiation – and there are many students who don’t have any clear path to differentiate themselves. So I suppose they might as well apply to 6 as to apply to 3… but I think the result in most cases will simply be more rejections. The student who really stands out is likely to end up with multiple admissions – whereas the kid with great stats but no stand-out characteristics is likely to be overlooked again and again. </p>
<p>I just think that the more schools the student is applying to, the more the essays and recs will tend to be generic, rather than focused on particular qualities that are directed to an individual school. In other words, if the student can’t articulate what Yale offers that Harvard doesn’t – and what Yale needs that Harvard doesn’t – then its that much harder to fashion an application that sends a strong signal to the Yale admissions staff. </p>
<p>Thanks. And now… She was just denied at Duke as well. The plight of the white female over-achiever continues in 2014… lol. It is coming down to USC, Vanderbilt and Stanford now. I certainly hope that all the indicators pointing to an admit at USC prove to be accurate 
Her only official admits to date are UTampa, FSU and now UMiami today. Not to disrespect our home state, but we would be considering it a huge disappointment to have her end up staying in-state for college. FSU has an excellent theatre program, but overall - it does not offer all that we were hoping for. We clearly prefer all that USC can offer.</p>
<p>My own JHU story was similar to the one described by @oldfort. You never know where the winds or providence may take us. For my daughter… it looks like California is calling…</p>
<p>Congrats to all those joyful households across the globe today. To all CC applicants… make the most of it… wherever the path has led you Admission decisions are only one small piece of the puzzle. What you do there in college is FAR MORE IMPORTANT!</p>
<p>www, with your dtr’s stats, UMiami should be free. Lots of opportunities for theatre there. </p>
<p>I guess we’ll see. Haven’t seen scholarship offering yet…</p>
<p>WWWard, I hope you’ve hugged your daughter today and told her how wonderful she is. She must have had a hard time getting all those denials. </p>
<p>I don’t know what you’ve heard from USC that makes you confident that she’s gotten in, but don’t assume anything until you get the actual “you’re admitted” news. </p>
<p>You’ve mentioned your younger daughter. I hope that when she applies, she adds a lot more matches to her list than her sister. Her list really seemed very top heavy. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sorry to hear there were so many rejections in one day. I do want to make a point that all the schools you listed so far strive for a 50:50 male to female ratio and the specific issue you point to belongs mostly in the LAC grouping of schools where the white female applicant faces an overwhelming disadvatage due to the sheer number of women applying. Only way to get out of that is to look into all women LACs.</p>
<p>One thing to remember is that our kid only needs ONE school to attend. As long as there is one school you kid would be happy to go to that’s what matters.</p>
<p>Thanks. And of course, @fireandrain. </p>
<p>My daughter is a real trooper… and is taking it all in stride. Years of auditions has built character and prepared her for rejection. Her friends and family are taking it much worse than she is. We all witnessed the effort and commitment and think that it is grossly unfair. But my D understands that it is a raw numbers game that does not favor her specific demographic qualifiers - at least not this year… which are simply too common. </p>
<p>I guess that you can say that her list was “top heavy”… based on the results and due to her key characteristics as an applicant, but she is really not seeing it that way. Today, we also got to see many of her peers that she has known in school for the last 13 years get in to schools like Cornell, Penn, Duke, etc. and chiefly due to factors like golf, soccer, tennis or their URM status. She was not the only over-achiever of similar applicant status to get shut out today. It happened to a few other girls and it also happened to a white male (with 2390/35 on his resume). It is clearly a trend that applied to all of them. At their HS, the higher yours stats, the worse your results it seems. Those who were successful at my D’s HS today or this month may have lacked similar stats but they clearly possessed what those schools wanted from a diversification standpoint… i.e. athletics or ethnic diversity. They likewise know why they are getting in to where they got in… but they are also clearly eager to welcome the admissions regardless. </p>
<p>It is the simple reality of things… and it has not changed since my day. Back then, it was not the Asian or white female applicants who suffered though. It was the white males.</p>
<p>Yesterday and today, my D racked up 3 superiors in theatre competitions at the State Theatre Festival… but those are state rankings that matter little it seems to these collegiate programs. Theatre is not a varsity sport. But my D also makes no apologies for following her passion and would prefer to go where she is in fact wanted. She was also not willing to imply a desire to pursue a less sought after major as a ploy to gain admission. She simply wanted to try and fail as she was… being true to who she is and plans to be.</p>
<p>In truth… as the parent, I will always be more jaded and upset by these results. My D though has already moved on and is rehearsing now for tomorrow’s theatrical performances. If it eventually is USC that she goes to, they will be getting an exceptional young lady who will make them proud over time.</p>
<p>The assumption regarding USC is based on two things… an Invite received to the School of Dramatic Arts Open House (which apparently, based on anecdotal evidence from previous years, is only sent to pending admits) and to a computer glitch within the FA portal that apparently identified the Schools and Majors of those admitted versus pending rejections - which showed as unknown/unknown, before it was discovered and corrected. No worries though,… she is taking the “I’ll wait until I see the official USC admission before I get too excited” approach. It should arrive tomorrow anyhow.</p>
<p>My younger D still wants to aim for Brown as her first choice in 3 years… and is already expecting the rejection. But she will put forth the effort nonetheless. And time will tell if things change for her or remain the same. But she plans to also aim for Top Heavy. Apply for where you want to go… and end up where you end up. You can’t simply aim for safe admissions and then follow a path that fails to inspire you. At least that is the way our family see it :)</p>
<p>I think we have a near “shut out”</p>
<p><a href=“Rejection from all Colleges. No acceptance yet. - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>Rejection from all Colleges. No acceptance yet. - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums;
<p>4.61 GPA, 34 ACT. No acceptance yet.
Rejected to UPenn, Columbia, Princeton, Duke, UC Berkeley, Wash U, Stanford, Harvard.
Waiting on John Hopkins. </p>
<p>Hopefully JHU will accept this kid.</p>
<p>Very true, @oldfort… very true.</p>
<p>I’m popping into this forum 28 pages late, but was the original topic “reasonably good” students getting shut out? It appears now the talk is about top performers who apply principally to the top schools in the nation and who, along with their parents, believe that anything less than those few institutions would “fail to inspire you.” I would agree with an earlier post that suggests we strive for some balance in the application process so at the end of the day there is no place for the young person to go. </p>
<p>For the life of me, I don’t understand the concept of just applying to top 20s and not covering the spectrum. I’m pretty risk averse though. </p>
<p>“I guess that you can say that her list was “top heavy”… based on the results and due to her key characteristics as an applicant, but she is really not seeing it that way. Today, we also got to see many of her peers that she has known in school for the last 13 years get in to schools like Cornell, Penn, Duke, etc. and chiefly due to factors like golf, soccer, tennis or their URM status.”</p>
<p>You need to IGNORE “what other kids she’s known for 13 years” are doing and where they are going. It’s irrelevant to YOUR decision-making. </p>
<p>Her list IS highly top heavy, whether she sees it that way or not. </p>
<p>It does seem that the common thread is that the kids who are “shut out” don’t apply to safeties … I really can’t understand why every parent doesn’t insist that their kid apply to their state university, “just in case.” (And that includes something other than the flagship in states where admission to the state U. is highly competitive). </p>
<p>With over 4000 colleges just in the US, why is it that people only see “top heavy reaches” and “safeties”? </p>
<p>Sure, someone who thinks that Yale is a perfect fit for them may probably think that they could never be happy at their state flagship safety, but there are so many other schools in between. </p>
<p>I believe that students/families don’t do as much research as they should during the admissions process. For my D, there were so many different “tiers” of colleges that fit her, she ended up with many choices. Not to brag, but crafting a good list is essential. </p>
<p>WWWard, you’d be getting a lot more sympathy if you’d let go the “white female” trope. I didn’t see your D’s application- and you didn’t see the applications of the kids who you’ve known for 13 years who have gotten admitted to these other schools. So dial it back.</p>
<p>My nice white boy lost his place to a nice white female at MIT and Caltech. ;)</p>
<p>I have no problem with top heavy lists, both my kids used that approach, you just have to be reconciled with the idea that they may not get into any of the lottery schools. </p>