Any Ivy news tonight?

[teachermom2834]

My ds isn't an Ivy type student but one of my best friends IRL (not a homeschooler) is dealing with the disappointment tonight.  She applied to 3 Ivies and was denied at all of them.  I did not think she would get admitted but I know they were hopeful and they are hurting tonight.  A little bit later she got news she was denied from a public university she expected to be admitted to.  Tough night. 

 

I just wanted to open up discussion if anyone wanted to share sad or good news.  I know anyone with sad news will be in good company and I hope anyone with good news will not be afraid to share.

 

[saw]

It's a crap shoot, from what I understand from people who are far more knowledgeable than I am on college admissions. That said, DD2 got really lucky. It may have helped that she panicked in December and applied to a ton of schools so something was bound to work out. She was accepted at Cornell (LL and some sort of honorary scholarship), Penn (some sort of honorary scholarship), Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Waitlisted at Harvard (despite being double legacy and third generation, perhaps because she didn't apply Early Action?). Denied at Yale. It's a crap shoot. DD has the scores, the grades, an interesting story -- and so do the vast majority of Ivy applicants as far as I can tell. So we are thrilled with the results (jumping up and down screaming at 11 p.m. here!) but being mindful that luck plays a role as well and that those who were shut out are no less qualified. 

 

[Laura Corin]

It's a crap shoot, from what I understand from people who are far more knowledgeable than I am on college admissions. That said, DD2 got really lucky. It may have helped that she panicked in December and applied to a ton of schools so something was bound to work out. She was accepted at Cornell (LL and some sort of honorary scholarship), Penn (some sort of honorary scholarship), Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Waitlisted at Harvard (despite being double legacy and third generation, perhaps because she didn't apply Early Action?). Denied at Yale. It's a crap shoot. DD has the scores, the grades, an interesting story -- and so do the vast majority of Ivy applicants as far as I can tell. So we are thrilled with the results (jumping up and down screaming at 11 p.m. here!) but being mindful that luck plays a role as well and that those who were shut out are no less qualified. 

 

That's amazing!  Many congratulations!

[GoodGrief]

My daughter applied to three, but the only "new" news on Ivy day was a waitlist from Harvard. She was admitted SCEA to Princeton back in December (with GREAT financial aid), and got a likely letter from Dartmouth for regular decision, so knew she was in there.

 

We're heading out on a big college tour journey next week. There are a few non-Ivy schools in the running too.

[madteaparty]

It's a crap shoot, from what I understand from people who are far more knowledgeable than I am on college admissions. That said, DD2 got really lucky. It may have helped that she panicked in December and applied to a ton of schools so something was bound to work out. She was accepted at Cornell (LL and some sort of honorary scholarship), Penn (some sort of honorary scholarship), Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Waitlisted at Harvard (despite being double legacy and third generation, perhaps because she didn't apply Early Action?). Denied at Yale. It's a crap shoot. DD has the scores, the grades, an interesting story -- and so do the vast majority of Ivy applicants as far as I can tell. So we are thrilled with the results (jumping up and down screaming at 11 p.m. here!) but being mindful that luck plays a role as well and that those who were shut out are no less qualified.

That is amazing, congratulations!

[FaithManor]

Make sure you give me any ivy admissions over on the acceptance list view thread so I can get them added.

[MarkT]

Ranking of Ivy League schools by their Class of 2020 selectivity:

8. Cornell University — 13.96%

7. Dartmouth College — 10.52%

6. University of Pennsylvania — 9.41%

5. Brown University — 9.01%

4. Princeton University — 6.46%

3. Yale University — 6.27%

2. Columbia University — 6.04%

1. Harvard University — 5.2%

[FaithManor]

And the most selective school was not an Ivy, but Stanford at less than 5%.

[creekland]

Did Stanford come in lower than Curtis Institute of Music this year?

 

According to music students at my school, they're usually the lowest acceptance rate of all.  A quick google search showed 4.8%, but that's not this year.  I couldn't find rates yet for this year.  They may not have been released yet.

 

Stanford is probably the lowest acceptance rates of all traditional schools though.  They were last year.  I'm sure they could create 4 or 5 different classes (different acceptances) and still have quite the worthy group coming in - as could Curtis, of course.

 

(My music kids are often peeved that few know the competition involved for their schools.   :coolgleamA: )

[FaithManor]

Oh, I know. Curtis is a blinger. However, Standford came in at 4.7% last I checked so ever so slightly lower unless Curtis was also lower than last year.

 

[MarkT]

My nephew received a letter from Cornell University that they will not take him as a freshman but he should try to transfer in later.

 

Is this something new?

[FaithManor]

My nephew received a letter from Cornell University that they will not take him as a freshman but he should try to transfer in later.

 

Is this something new?

Wow. I have never heard of that before.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My nephew received a letter from Cornell University that they will not take him as a freshman but he should try to transfer in later.

 

Is this something new?

That would be a first in our experience.  

[Jadde32]

Those of you whose children got into Princeton can you tell us about your homeschool program and curriculum you used and if your children too any dual enrollment courses in community college?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jen in NY]

The Guaranteed Transfer offer from Cornell has been around for a few years.

The answer from Brandon here sums it up.

[Joules]

My nephew received a letter from Cornell University that they will not take him as a freshman but he should try to transfer in later.

 

Is this something new?

 

Is he legacy?  I'm not sure about Ivys in general, but some colleges are softening the blow of rejecting legacies (particularly those who have excellent applications), with conditional transfer programs.

 

For example:

http://admission.gatech.edu/conditional-admission

[GoodGrief]

Jadde32, my daughter got into Princeton. She did dual enrollment for a few classes and had a few AP classes. Honestly though, I think past a certain level of demonstrated rigor and test scores, it's more about the person's story. And after that, it's a lot of luck, because there are numerous applicants who are turned away who would have been quite successful.

 

My daughter said just last night that she is happy that she didn't make her high school choices based on a perceived notion that these things would help her get into a particular college, though she realizes now that she probably could have strengthened her application in various ways had she done things differently.

 

Muttichen wrote a post somewhere that talked about her children's journeys to Ivy League acceptances, and she detailed some helpful suggestions there. I'm not sure where the post is now, but think it is not too far back!

 

My thoughts:  strong writing and ability to express oneself in the essays is a good thing. There are so many essays throughout this process! I hesitate to recommend specific curric, but my daughter did use Write at Home freshman year, and did AP Lit and AP Lang with PA Homeschoolers. Those things helped.

 

We did a lot of validation of homeschool grades with testing. She spread out the testing through 9-11 grades, so it was never terribly onerous, but she did have four SAT subject tests and six AP exams done by the end of junior year.

 

My daughter took advantage of opportunities to serve AND opportunities to develop leadership and speaking ability. She really prefers the service role, but realized it was important to stretch herself. This can be done in many ways...employment, volunteer work, sports, church, whatever.

 

I can't emphasize enough that it is important that one not become terribly focused on a single "dream school". There are so many wonderful places where these kids can get a great education. My oldest did get rejected from her "dream school" and realized in the end that she was so much better off in the school where she ended up.

 

 

 

 

 

[maize]

Oh, I know. Curtis is a blinger. However, Standford came in at 4.7% last I checked so ever so slightly lower unless Curtis was also lower than last year.

I have friends whose kids will be double legacies for Stanford, dad is set on them all attending there. Rates keep dropping though and I don't know if he has faced the reality of the odds. The kids are only elementary aged, at the rate things are going Stanford could be down to accepting only 1-2% of applicants by the time they are in the pool.

 

Their mom would be happy for them to go anywhere.

 

Super duper congratulations to those with good news, hugs to those with disappointments.

Edited April 2, 2016 by maize

[JanetC]

My nephew received a letter from Cornell University that they will not take him as a freshman but he should try to transfer in later.

 

Is this something new?

 

Nope. http://www.thecollegesolution.com/a-lousy-admission-offer-from-cornell/