<p>I agree with oldfort. I also think there’s an element of crapshoot in the admissions game. This kid’s numbers out of high school certainly look like he could have been accepted at a high-level school and I understand the disappointment. The truth is there are some liberal arts colleges looking for boys with good stats and good writing ability who might have taken him out of high school and they should have been on his initial list. (Also, he ignored the #1 cc commandment which is love they safety.) Now, most of those schools are out-of-reach because they are small and retain so many of their students that they have space for very few. </p>
<p>There’s no harm in trying but he needs to cull his ec list, write great essays and target the right schools. YoHoYoHo’s list is excellent but doing it well sounds like professional counselor time to me. I would call the friend and be brutally honest by telling them that his numbers really were in the ballpark the first time but transfers are harder and you don’t have expertise in knowing why he didn’t make it through out of high school and what he needs to do now nor what schools are within target.</p>