<p>I went to a smaller public university in my state. Yes, I would still be able to be accepted ther. And YES, I would still want to GO there!</p>
<p>I think I would get in, but I’d probably be sweating the anticipation of the results.</p>
<p>One thing I do remember though, was feeling pretty good about getting such a nice letter from New Paltz, saying that they would be “honored to have a student of your calibre.” It made me feel like I had accomplished something, and I wasn’t used to that back then! </p>
<p>I applied to Columbia Engineering, U Chicago and RPI only despite needing financial aid and was accepted at all 3.</p>
<p>Today, someone with my stats would be accepted at RPI, but not the other two.
I know that SATs were recentered 20 years ago, so you can’t compare scores from then and now, but I think the big difference is that the applicant pool has quadrupled in some cases.</p>
<p>Formerly all male schools like some of the ivies now accept women, so the applicant pool doubled at that time.
The population of the country has more than doubled and there are so many foreign applicants looking for a spot at an American university.</p>
<p>My daughter is applying to schools whose applicant pool has increased tremendously in quality in the past 5-10 years.</p>
<p>Will she one day tell her children that she was accepted at Northeastern, once a commuter school, and now a top 50 school?</p>
<p>She came home the other day and said that one of her classmates was not accepted at Cal Tech despite very impressive qualifications. I don’t think she realized how small the school is, and how many qualified applicants aren’t accepted.</p>
<p>The small elite schools can’t easily increase enrollment without changing the undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>Some schools in the top 50 or top 100 have leadership that is increasing standards, raising funds and hiring new faculty to improve the school.</p>
<p>emerald,
You are overestimating what is going on. Many around me are getting accepted and with huge Merit awards also. My own D. was on full tuition, many others were. All of her friends (including her) are in Medical Schools, some are in free Medical Schools, I know several in Law Schools, kids are getting other advanced degrees, passing complicated exams like CPA. All this looks like too much hype, there are people who apply but really do not have their hearts there. They apply because the family pushing them and they are almost happy when they do not get accepted. There are probably more ambitious parents than students and it is pushing statistical numbers.
Also look closely at every somewhat selective place. What is demographics there? I can tell, I have 2 - my D. and my GrandD’s examples. There are definitely over 50% Chinese in D’s class and exactly 72% Chinese in GrandD class. One statistics that drives ALL selective places up and up. Got to be able to compete with those who have tremendous academic support and backing from their parents. As my S. said, Chinese family would starve to whole month, but would send a kid to any expensive test preparation class that is out there. Frankly, S. just follow their lead and his D. ended up achieving her goal. </p>
<p>I’d doubt it considering my HS GPA made it so it was well under the 25%ile of admitted students to my private LAC and my admission back then was a bit of a fluke. </p>
<p>More doubtful I would have gotten the near-full ride scholarship I got. </p>
<p>My impression is the college application essays were one of the key factors in tipping me. </p>
<p>It also seems to be a factor often overlooked in such discussions. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Moonmaid,</p>
<p>What period did you attend HS in NY state? Am wondering as when I attended HS in NYC during the early-mid '90s, most NYC area HSs required a minimum of 3 years of HS math and science*. Granted, if one already took the same basic HS curriculum earlier, one may have been able to get out of such requirements. </p>
<p>Something which my public magnet HS wouldn’t have allowed as they required a minimum of 3 years of math…even if one took the basic HS math courses and then some. For instance, someone who took pre-calc in 8th grade would be expected to take 3 years worth of subsequent math courses. </p>
<ul>
<li>Math: algebra, geometry, & trig mix Science: Biology, Chem, Physics.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>The answer to this post is far too simple: No!</p>
<p>I applied to one school, a state university. I never wondered whether I would get in, and I know I would get in now. I was a very good student but my parents were largely disinterested in whether I went to college. My mother didn’t think it was important for a girl to go, since I’d “just get married anyway.” I don’t recall having even one session with a guidance counselor at my HS, or touring other schools. Luckily I liked the state U, did well there, graduated with honors, had no trouble getting a good job in my field. </p>
<p>DH had a full athletic scholarship at our alma mater, so he’d still get in. If he had to rely on grades alone–not a chance. Same goes for me.</p>
<p>Yes, I would have gotten into the IS state flagship that I attended as an above average student (in about the top 10% of my class) with above average, but not exceptional test scores (only took the SAT once), but I only opted to attend the state flagship because my parents had said they would only pay if I attended an IS public school, since they assumed that any out of state college would have been financially out of reach. I applied to 1 school and had never even seen the campus until I attended orientation before my freshman year. If only the internet had existed back then, I’m sure I could have found many other affordable options for my stats that could have been options, but back then information was definitely not as easy to come by. (The only classmate I’m aware of (our valedictorian) that received any sort of merit aid attended West Point).</p>
<p>I turned down significantly better schools to attend my state school because of a boy. I would still be able to attend IU, but Notre Dame would laugh my application off the table. the kicker would be the D I received my senior year in French for cursing the teacher out in French and skipping her class twice a week.
DS was mortified by my final report card since I was such a stickler for putting in a real effort. I did not practice what I preached but he didn’t know that until he was close to graduation. </p>
<p>It’s hard to say. Because of the Jewish quota at my college at the time, I only made it to the waiting list the first time around. My stats, etc. would have clearly qualified me otherwise. Having said that, the stats of entering students is higher today, but I think the rejection rate is about the same. So it’s hard to know.</p>
<p>However, if I knew what I know today, I wouldn’t even have applied. </p>
<p>Yes I would have gotten into the same school Not sure if I would have went since I didn’t realize being a 1st gen URM would have gotten me in to many other schools below the Ivy leagues that I didn’t know about or even have considered. </p>
<p>The assumption on this thread that many wanted and still would want to apply to a very selective UGs. It is not the case with many, many, many very top (valedictorians and ranked #1) and especially those who researched and found out that the name of their UG is completely irreleveant to their futre. As we have discovered in our family, in ALL our chosen fields of study, the name of UG is not important at all. There are nobody here that ever aimed at any high ranked college. While my grandD admits that at her extremely selective HS they all talk about it, her plan as of now might not include selective college either. The current plan is to get very cheap UG education and get accepted to a Med. School. She will try to follow her aunt in her goal. As far as we (the dinos of the family) are concerned, we just went to a local colleges while working full time and get paid for our education by various employers, all the way thru MBAs. And for an engineer and IT persons, the name of the UG was definitely completely irrelevant. </p>
<p>Miami, have you read the whole thread? NOT everyone went to selective UG schools. Why <em>I</em> went to a competitor school to that school your daughter attended. </p>
<p>Give it a break.</p>
<p>I was valedictorian and NMF. I was quite happy to attend UT-Austin, since its civil engineering program was (and is) highly ranked. It was the only school that I applied to. My tuition was free the first year. After that, my parents got a bill for about $300 per semester - that was tuition and fees. My dorm was the only real cost. It was about $4,000 each year.</p>
<p>I absolutely would still get in … but no way could I afford it. It was part of GM and was really, really inexpensive. Today, it has expensive private-school tuition.</p>
<p>I assume that the discussion about selective UGs because why would anybody NOT get into non-selective place if they apply today. It does not make sense. Also, I do not undertand why some are trying to shut up others. Isn’t it just an entertaining discussion, I do not think that this thread will make any difference in anybody’s life, chill.</p>
<p>not a chance, my HS stats will only survive at the community college level. However, I maybe able to transfer to a flagship U with my grades with the two years while I was in college. I graduated in three years anyway with two or three job offers. I regret to this day that I did not accept a Wall Street position.</p>
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<p>As a practical matter, it may be a reality check for parents who themselves attended and graduated from a college to realize that their kids, even with better academic credentials, may not be admitted to the same college. There have been stories bitterly disappointed parents whose kids were not able to continue the “family tradition” of attending a particular college; if the parents and students realized beforehand how much more selective some colleges have gotten, the disappointment level may be lower in April.</p>