<p>Engineers are excellent predictors of historical data probability.</p>
<p>Bov, which nicely gives me an opening to say, hindsight doesn’t always inform. What seems to have gotten a kid/our kid into School X may not be the “it” at all.</p>
<p>So, likewise, what we think kept one out, can also be off.</p>
<p>Momof2ephs, thank you for sharing that update. Williams is a fabulous school; congrats are in order. I am thrilled I could play a minuscule role in the success of two ephs. </p>
<p>The guide is probably showing its age with eight years of patina.</p>
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Hindsight actually informs quite nicely if you limit the conclusion you draw from that hindsight. In this case it tells me exactly what the likelihood is for LI’s younger son to get into Brown. Which is all I claimed.</p>
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No, we DON’T…</p>
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<p>Wait! Have I ever mentioned my younger son here on CC? ;)</p>
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<p>Well, according to the customized letter my son got from Brown, the admissions committee was impressed with his self-designed community service project and with his initiative to self-study 4 additional AP math and science tests. Stats were not mentioned. Considering that Brown is one of the few schools with an open curriculum, it does seem they were targeting fit, which in this case means established self-directed learners.</p>
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LOL
I think the original post actually predates late western antiquity. Or maybe it just seems that way.</p>
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LOL#2
That’s why they pay us the big bucks.</p>
<p>lookingforward, did you mean “how does the college determine character operationally in the admissions process?” Or did you mean “what does the college think constitutes character?” It is the latter about which I have little or no idea.</p>
<p>Bov, considering recent sensitivities here, I should clarify: wasn’t rebutting. Was adding a thought, considering this thread’s speculations. And I thought it was a good one.</p>
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No problem, I’m just goofing around LF. In the words of someone, I can’t remember who, carry on.</p>
<p>LI, those notes can be quite personalized- and still not offer universal insights to others. Other kids and parents. Clearly your son passed a number of admissions hurdles. Holistic, in action. Another kid may meet those bullets and not find the same results.</p>
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<p>No universal insights, but a perhaps a glimpse of their thinking. For what it’s worth, Williams and Amherst mentioned pretty much the same things in their respective early-write letters. We might conclude that these colleges have:
- a sweet spot for those creating community service initiatives or taking leadership roles as opposed to just logging in hours; and
- that doing something not pre-packaged by one’s high school can be a mark of distinction which will be noted.</p>
<p>Hmm. Agree, somewhat. But be careful not to reduce it too much. It’s more than leading an initiative and climbing out of the h.s. box. He satisfied many expectations. His presentation “stood out” as a whole. Ie, another kid can (and will) take leadership on an initiative and not hit the total mark your son did.</p>
<p>TheGFG,
It’s interesting what you wrote about tracks. It seems there is a huge variability among American schools in this. Some are more rigid than others. However, that can change with time and parent pressure. With the old principal it was hard to get kids registered for advanced classes. All were supposed to take some kind of basic physical science class in 9th grade. I wrote a letter to the principal and someone at the district level explaining why my son could skip that class. I used his ACT science score as evidence. The new principal made a lot of positive changes and our school has made huge improvements. If initially I had to advocate for my son to be able to accelerate in math and science, once they saw how well he did in those advanced classes, they basically let him take whatever he wanted, which included 2 local university courses per semester. I guess if he was better in the humanities rather than math and science, we would focus on getting him accelerated in humanities. I think as parents we can determine strengths of our kids and help them develop them, and also help improve weaknesses. Now I understand how lucky we were in terms of flexibility allowed by our school district.</p>
<p>I have to admit I didn’t know what TOS was until recently. I’m going to read it very carefully. So far I found these wise words. I think they should be repeated on every page and at the beginning of every thread.</p>
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<p>We know, QM, in our heart of hearts our precious snowflakes are not really that special. Holistic admission gives them a fighting chance, while a pure number-driven approach would not. It is my chess vs backgammon analogy again.</p>
<p>For most of us (by definition) anyway.</p>
<p>Parent pressure used to work to influence tracking, but no longer. So many parents tried it that it became overwhelming for the school. Also, the new policy is any summer class taken does not impact placement for that September. So, if in the summer of 2013 my child were to take Algebra 2 and pass it with flying colors, that wouldn’t allow her to take the level in our math sequence, pre-calc., in September 2013. She’d have had to have taken it in the summer of 2012 or school year 2012-13. This is ridiculous for obvious reasons, but clearly, they are trying to shut down the academic advancement arms race. It stinks for the late bloomers. They are also sick of last-minute schedule changes, since the summer class certificate of completion and final grade wouldn’t be available until late August.</p>
<p>Thanks, yolochka. TOS should apply to all members. Members with post counts greater than 4 digits should not be exempted from rules of kindness.</p>
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<p>Holistic admissions helps applicants who do not have perfect grades and test scores but hurts those who do. What determines the overall difficulty of getting is not the method used but the ratio of applicants to the size of the entering class.</p>
<p>Um, some of this is focusing on a type of member or individuals. Please let’s not single out, eg, four digit posters. Or point a harsh finger to tell others not to. Mutual respect, to me, suggests each of us be aware of our own role. On a discussion forum, there is history, a sort of collective memory that accrues. </p>
<p>QM, at some point, I’d be willing to discuss the “more” that needs to come through. But frankly, when it comes up, in the search for simple answers, it gets lost in the other assumptions about stats, diversity, being highly different, etc.</p>