I definitely do not know, but everything in my bones tells me that not taking AP tests is not likely the reason this kid got rejected.
Therein lies the issue of this whole crazy process. No one tells you why you were accepted or rejected.
Itās a black box. And so people literally do everything to cover their bases.
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Yes, thatās why both my kids ended up applying to a lot of schoolsā¦
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We have a local perspective as we are just west of Boston in a suburb. Northeastern is a good school if it works for the student and the budget. The co-ops are great and Boston is a great location if thatās the goal. But the admissions stats and alternate campuses etc are definitely a strategy to lower the admissions rate while being able to admit more students. The admit rate for my kidsā high school is 30% on SCOIR. Likely bc they know the high school well, itās rigorous and many families are full pay. My D25 applied TO with 3.8 gpa (1 B, rest A/A-) and great ECs. She was admitted for NU In with no merit so she passed. Local employers love the NE kids and the co-op program. Just depends. But yes, important to know what you are getting. D26 not interested in applying despite the free waiver and no essay.
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Exactly. Itās a crapshoot. Even as a hooked applicant as a coach supported athlete, D26 wonāt rest easy until she has that acceptance in hand. Canāt take anything for granted. Has Plan B and C ready just in case.
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So nerve wracking!!! Fingers crossed.
Kind of off topic. D26 opted to take zero AP tests this year. She already has the AP lang test and one of her 2 potential colleges takes AP tests as credit- but EITHER lang or lit. Not both. So no point in AP lit test. And physics 2- well she totally bombed the physics 1 test so we arenāt throwing money away (same teacher- he just has an abysmal pass rate as a teacher. We have our theories. Tough class but they veered off course frequently). And calc- she opted for early college credit. Same class. Saves money. So thatās all good. I mean- except she has to take a final in physics instead. But sheāll be fine with that.
ALSO- she just turned 18 this weekend! Wild to think about. She said sheās going to buy a lottery ticket this week. We ended up getting a kitten today from a shelter. We know itāll be ours when she heads off to college but our house has been purr-less since June and she misses having a cat. So she got a birthday kitten and named her Frankie 
AND she decided THIS YEAR to try track and field. So sheās in indoor track and loving it! Jumps and sprints! I tried to convince her years ago when she stopped competing in dance- so many skills transfer over. But finally took my advice haha! Literally her first time in a school sport ever. Senior year. lol.
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My daughter was just saying at Thanksgiving that sheās going to buy a lottery ticket as soon as she turns 18. I thought that was weird since we never play the lottery. Now Iām wondering if this is a thing for kids now. Like maybe some influencer made a TikTok about it or something.
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I agree that not knowing creates a psychological problem. In truth though, Iām not sure there always is actually a reason other than āwe do not have enough spotsā when the uber selective colleges reject some of the top students like the one you mention. On another day, or if another AO looked at her stuff, she could have been the one who got in and one of the accepted students not. When you are talking 5% acceptance rates and many multiples of impressive students as slots, the truth may be that arbitrariness is the reason one got rejected.
I remember when I was clerking for a federal judge and we had the job of doing the first review of hundreds of applications for 4 slots the next year. There was nothing short of 50-60 applications that were impeccable. Only 8-10 got interviews. The reasons why some did and some didnāt had nothing to do with oneās quality vs another. They were little things that mattered at that moment in time to the person reviewing but might matter less to someone else or if they hadnāt come right after the one before.
I guess, I donāt believe there is a way for the highly rejective colleges to tell people the secret or to explain to each of them a useful why they got rejected. The true why is often scarcity.
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I think because itās like the only ānewā thing thatās legal for her. Sheās not going to pick up smoking and she still canāt drink. And sheās not the type to get tattooed 
. That would be wild though! I told her she should find a bingo hall and go play lol.
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Probably an employee of the state lottery association.
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My D went to get her ears pierced after she turned 18 because āI donāt need you to sign anything any more, Mom!ā For some reason that felt like a reason to get ears pierced. 
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That is awesome that she is doing a sport senior year! And congrats on the kitten!!
Okay S25 drove back to school this afternoon, and just dropped D22 at the airport. Iām exhausted, lol. (Just S25 and I went to see Wicked earlier today because the girls were busy with other things.)
Just skimmed to catch up on all the new posts. Our school requires everyone who takes an AP class to take the AP exam. No exceptions. That only flies because private school, of course.
Itās common for seniors at our school to try out for the winter musical, even if theyāve never been in theatre before. So why not track & field?
D26 applied to Davidson awhile ago, but one of their requirements is a peer recommendation. She asked a couple of friends to complete it on her behalf, but either her friends suck, or high school kids are unreliable (or both, lol). One friend finally sent it in last night ā tonight is the deadline.
The form is annoying because it clears all data if you fill out some of it and then let it sit ā you have to complete and submit the whole thing in one sitting ā
(Why do they require this? I donāt know of another school that does this.)
Anyhow. D26 also finally recorded a clarinet district band audition piece, combined it with some other clips, and then pulled some theatre clips and submitted an arts supplement to Davidson. She doesnāt even want to go there, but figured she should put wholehearted effort into the application (they do offer her major) since her school nominated her for a scholarship. But that, plus the peer recommendation, is DONE, so we can finally move on.
Last application thing on her plate is the performing arts scholarship application for RIT ā she can prob use the same videos she just compiled, so it should be quick.
Iām ready to move on to some portal astrology, lol!
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At S26ās TItle 1 high school in Los Angeles, the school pays for the AP tests. The school gets a discounted price and if the student doesnāt take the exam, they have to pay the school back $40 per test. (There is on option to opt out of the exam at the beginning of the school year). So, it would cost us only if he didnāt take them.
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Dartmouth has a peer rec too. The only one on my daughterās list. Iām sort of mixed on it and overall, itās a lot to ask on top of everything else. I hear you on the level of effort for a school they may not even want to go to but you never know. Iām sure it feels good to be done. There are a few schools where my D26 could submit an optional video and she decided to not do any of them. If anyone has heard of the school house dialogues? She also decided against that. She has a lot of advocacy work and public speaking and provides a link to one of her testimonies in the common app. At some point I guess these kids have to figure out what optional materials feel worth it. Iām sure the arts portfolio was a lot of work. D25 did a lot of honors apps and scholarship essays etc. Was very exhausting but she ended up in a niche scholars program at a business school with an unexpected scholarship so in the end, the extra effort paid off. Good luck! Heading to the airport now with D25!
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My daughter researched student perspectives on NEU āand she said there were sometimes comments regarding the ārotatingā community. But they also seem really invested in the co-op program. I think itās likely a different college experience than most -with plusses and minuses.
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I am trying to put together a sort of āadventā calendar as my kid waits for the decision day. Thinking of ideas - should I put in quotes (likeā¦hang in thereā¦you got thisā¦one decision doesnāt define youā¦etc etc or will they roll their eyes lol) or bunch of small gift cards or some scavenger hunt or maybe some puzzles to do? Trying to take their mind off the waitingā¦which is brutal. OR do nothing as my kid would say..you are DTM (doing too much)
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I think itās the definition of pre-professional but with the uncertain economy, it probably appeals to a lot of parents/kids.
Im not sure under what circumstances D26 would actually attend if accepted but who knows.
We got hit by flight delays yesterday and only got home at 1am. We had a connecting flight - both were delayed, thankfully the second one too or weād have had to overnight in Miami and miss school/work. Let C26 sleep in a bit and go to school a bit late. We had such a nice relaxing (and warm!!) break and loved having D19 with us too. Her flight was shorter and on time and her roomies had dinner waiting for her when she got back - such sweet kids!
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