I feel like community service is already totally gamed.
Re: Stanford. If they are looking for diversity, why do they seem to select from the same HSs every year?
Re: Val/Sal. Strictly by weighted GPA. There is only one Val, it was determined by tie-breaker last year. We are a small HS, so generally not much movement at the top. They both speak (and get special robes), and we have a separate honors night.
Re: College admissions process. I feel like we will be heading to a college match procedure much like medical residencies - list your preferences on the CA, four months later everyone gets an answer.
D’s friends have also been spooked by the EA/ED round - they’ve started looking for more matches.
Stanford - 3 years ago we had two female students apply, similar stats/activities. One white one AA. The AA got in. Last year We had 2 accepted, which is crazy since we only have between 45-60 students graduate each year. One was an AA female, amazing debator. The other white male, also amazing debator. (He had a full ride to UW which is unheard of for a non-athlete.). This year is a white male but he is 4.0, Eagle Scout, Search and Rescue, internships etc. and his dad is an alum and they are very active.
International Student - we had an international student for a couple of years. Her stats were not that good, her rigor was ok, not great. Her senior year she took a super light load. She only applied to what I considered reaches. I called the counselor to see if she was setting herself up for dissapointment. The counselor said that international students are a total crap shoot. They randomly get in at schools a US citizen couldn’t get into because they are full pay+.
I agree @Booajo, but think it could get even more gamed if community service becomes a larger focus in college admissions.
@lr4550 - I think the community service part has already started to become another carefully-crafted selling point. Kids are specifically focusing on service projects that help build their “story” rather than just picking up hours with random charities like they did a few years ago. It’s all part of the perfectly-packaged top-notch applicant.
Which is not to say that good works aren’t being done. It’s just in some cases it’s very focused to ensure there is maximum benefit to both parties.
^This.
I know I am the grinchiest of grinches, but the EC and to some degree even the essay aspects seems overweighted to me in many cases.
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@Veronica02 - you’re absolutely right.
@ollie113 I’ve been spooked for 3 years! Hence DD2016 applied to 12 and DD2018 applied to 17 and their lists were match/safety heavy.
I have many IRL parent friends who are not so obsessive about the admissions process as me, who chastise me for “not believing” in my kids. I just just keep thinking if only you knew what I know from CC!
@labegg
I hear you. So much so, that (as I have said before) the very term “Safety” is flawed. What a dumb term for what might be the best overall option a student has.
I have only anecdotal evidence to support my thoughts; but it applies to some of the kids I know that got into the HIGHLY selective schools (aka Princeton) and who are getting the highest special scholarships at top universities (many many others but full rides etc). Yes I think the community service aspect is really a top trend with AO. That is part of my “hindsight is 20/20” thinking on my D18 spending SO much time on athletics that didn’t allow her to dig more deeply into community service. But then again the things she learned on the field and the leadership she took on in that process from both a team motivator perspective and youth coach are just as valuable and can be argued more valuable than some of the community service opportunities. And I truly do not believe that a kid that didn’t have much time for Community Service in HS is then less likely to participate in college. My D15 was a music kid, in 4 competitive ensembles in HS, she also fenced, she was a great student with great stats but did only the minimum (at least in the eyes of the AO) for community service (peer tutoring, relay for life etc). Anyway, once she got to college and was able to manage her schedule differently and jumped into multiple CS opportunities and is now a student leader for the largest student CS group on her campus. She’s also getting up at 6:30 am every Friday to meet with her “little sister” for breakfast at her elementary school from the BB/BS organization. She has thrown herself fully into volunteering, and for no other reason than she could work it into her schedule at college in a way that makes sense. SO…my long winded response is YES I think community service and volunteerism is a HUGE deal right now for admissions and unfortunately my kid expended all her free time on sports lol. The sad part is that I also know D18 will jump at opportunities to volunteer once she is at college and the rigors of HS ECs are behind her; unfortunately it’s very hard to express that authentically to a college if you don’t have a way to back it up.
I know the Stanford rejection shouldn’t spook me, but it does. Only 1 kid whose parents are both doctors at Stanford got an acceptance from D’s school, which is local to Stanford? That’s crazy to me. Typically, her school gets several Stanford acceptances.
Inside my head, my brain is in scramble mode. I’m really hoping D’s EA decision next week will be acceptance. [-O< Otherwise, we go into the New Year with BUPKISS. :((
Amen @labegg
@labegg “I have many IRL parent friends who are not so obsessive about the admissions process as me, who chastise me for “not believing” in my kids. I just just keep thinking if only you knew what I know from CC!”
So true!! Same here. If I had a dime for every “omg she’ll get in anywhere” clueless comment… 
And sometimes I envy them bc what ya don’t know won’t hurt you; other times I wish I had learned what I have learned sooner. D’s app was in no way “carefully crafted” and we may learn the hard way that it needed to be. And that makes me sad to think about bc I’ll feel like we threw away large opportunities that are often afforded to the kids whose luck was on their side that day in the ACT or SAT chair. D got a 35, but on any given day that could have been a 32.
And having that 35 feels like a VIP ticket in the lottery but with the same “no guarantee” fine print. It’s as though you’re happy to have received the VIP ticket, but nobody warned you that most of the others were given the dress code and itinerary and you showed up blind to the event. Idk if that makes any sense but I feel bad that I didn’t figure all of this out in time for D18 to maximize her chances.
I guess they all end up where they are meant to end up and it’s a life lesson in humility watching classmates that may have struggled in classes you didn’t get into schools you didn’t (whether you applied or not). Hopefully they all look back and are glad for where they landed - whether they are able to see that initially or not.
Very good points, @AmyBeth68 and they really hit home re: Sports taking time away from other EC and CS. I also love @traveler98 ‘s post #10819 and its reference to CS being beneficial even if it’s not entirely altruistic for some.
I would like my kids to enjoy their school career, even senior year! So yes sports because that is fun and something they enjoy, even if they are not all-state. Volunteer locally, hang out with friends, watch movies, whatever. They may not go to Stanford or Columbia for undergraduate education, but there is always graduate school! And I’d rather have them happy and healthy than in at an Ivy any day.
I’m an Ivy grad, and I loved college. But my ability to do my work now is in no way defined by the college I attended. My colleagues went everywhere from tiny LACs no one on this board has ever heard of (Wartburg anyone?) to giant research universities. There are many paths that lead to a fulfilling fruitful life.
My kids applied to a few reaches, and lots of matches and safeties. We are lucky because going to reach type schools is considered weird here, so there is not a lot of pressure or drama. On the other hand, people don’t really understand how competitive college admissions is, so we get a lot of “of course they will get in” comments. Um no. But in the end, I do believe they will find their way. Hang in there everyone.
@Booajo “We are lucky because going to reach type schools is considered weird here.” Same. Most at D’s tiny rural school stay in-state. If D went to a big high school on the East Coast, I’m not sure she’d be able to handle the anxiety, pressure and competition among high-achieving kids to get into a “good” school. She’s still relatively clueless about the competition she’s facing in her reaches – which is okay. I am fully aware and taking on that anxiety for her!
Ivies/High School correlation: after reading the last several pages…Do ivies continue to pull kids from the same high schools or do “outsiders” have a chance? Our high school does not post acceptances anywhere but I can only remember one student in the last 6 or 7 years that has gone Ivy. He went to Yale and now working on his PhD at Brown.
You have ONE WORD to describe what you want your kid to achieve, feel, experience, accomplish, or take away from their upcoming college time. Don’t cheat, one word. Go!
Ok I’ll play @DavidPuddy. Independence.
@DavidPuddy Gratitude