Quote:
Originally Posted by JavaBrewer
His sister is on course to exceed his record and has hopes to go to an ivy school, same as he did but was denied. IMO - no diversity in life.
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Yes, admissions to the very top schools (for example, the Forbes Top 10 or 20
https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/#7f2c9fd01987 ) generally depends on more than just grades and GPA these days. Because there are simply so few spots in those classes, and so many people with high numbers gunning for those spots.
Plus, at most of those schools (all the Ivies, the top Little Ivies like Amherst and Williams, and the other elites like Stanford and Duke), many of the spots are already "taken" and not available to most applicants. This includes recruited athletes (can be as high as 30% at smaller schools like Amherst and Williams), legacies (10-15% at most of the schools), racial minorities (all those schools are going to magically have entering freshman classes that are approximately 14% black and 14% Latino/Hispanic), around 20% "low income," and some amount of "development" students (from ultra-wealthy or influential donors).
So adding those up, you can see if you don't have one of those "hooks," you can still get in, but you are competing for a very small number of remaining spots. You can get in, but you are generally going to need some kind of national-level (or close) talent, accomplishment, etc. Playing the piano, being in the school play, or volunteering locally isn't usually going to be enough.
So kids like your friend's kids, who have very high numbers, are generally going to need something else in addition to get into those schools at the very top of the list (as they have found out). They are strong candidates with numbers like that, and it is possible, but it is difficult.
The good news is you (obviously) don't "have" to go to one of those schools. The scenario is very different once you drop down even a little further down the list. Then, extremely high numbers like that is going to get you some admissions, even with no "hooks" or special talents or backgrounds. The reason is those schools are always trying to move up the list, and one key way is by getting students who have those very high SAT/ACT and GPA numbers.
And, you don't "have" to go to even a top 50 school to be successful (obviously). One thing that most don't realize is that while it's true that admission to the very top schools is crazy difficult for an "unhooked" applicant, college admissions in general is not very selective. There are something like 2,500+ colleges in the US. Of those, only 25 or so have an acceptance rate of 15% or less. And only 100 or so have an acceptance rate of less than around 45%. So for any really good student, there is a very good school they will get into, and can become very successful at.
I studied top college admissions very intensively when my kids were in high school, this included going out to at least 5 of those schools on the Forbes top 20 list and meeting with people there. Although I'm glad its over, it was a fascinating process and learning experience.