<p>S&P, I think the STRIDE pool is even smaller but perhaps we’re comparing apples & oranges, offered vs. accepted. However, SAT scores seem to be one heavy component of STRIDE consideration and I like the rest of XTT’s profile as well. I don’t think she’s a slam dunk but it would surprise me if she were offered one, either.</p>
<p>XTT, I say this delicately and with no prejudice, but I’ve noticed that as a demographic, Chinese <em>parents</em> are often focused on the big name schools and are unfamiliar with the LAC concept and then often dubious when it’s explained to them. </p>
<p>(Not that other demographics aren’t affected as well. Both TheMom and I were biased in favor of research universities, TheMom having worked at UCLA for 30 years, but we were astonished when we visited Smith…I was actually astonished first at a “prospect party”…and had to re-think a lot of our assumptions.)</p>
<p>You might think of dropping into the Parents Forum and start at thread about how parents became or become convinced that LAC’s can be a good idea. If your parents start to buy the notion of LAC’s, then accepting Smith will become a lot easier because Smith is an “admissions bargain,” easier to get into than the quality of the school would indicate.</p>