Colleges are more selective than you realize. Don’t sleep on your strategy.
Recently, when a new acquaintance learned what I do for a living, she exclaimed, I wish I’d known you a year ago! before revealing that her stepson had gone through the admissions process without the help of an advisor. She described his outcomes as “awful” and “devastating for the whole family.” They had all assumed, given his 4.5 weighted GPA and ACT score of 35 that he would receive an offer from at least one of the schools to which he applied, but he was denied or waitlisted across the board. After some probing, I learned that he had applied as a computer science major to top-twenty computer science schools, including most of the Ivies and Duke, the most competitive UC campuses, and the University of Washington. When I was applying to college, it was a given that I would get into UCLA, and everyone got into the UW! she lamented.
One of the trickiest and most important jobs that we face as college advisors is distinct from our work with students: from our very first meeting with a family, we must manage parent expectations. Specifically, we have to help parents understand that the admissions landscape is starkly different from what it was when they were applying, and recalibrate what they consider to be reach, target, and likely colleges. My kid should only apply to the Ivies, with Duke and Vanderbilt as backups! Think again.
Parents are regularly shocked to learn that the schools they describe as their “safeties” in the 1990s are now highly selective for all students. And, they are also frequently dismayed that even with excellent grades and near-perfect test scores, a student cannot apply singularly to selective schools.
No matter how competitive an applicant may be, there is no guarantee that they will get into one of their top colleges. We work hard to help students identify not only their best-fit colleges, but also comparable schools that fall into less-selective tiers, aiming to ensure options come senior spring. While we always hope, of course, that they will get into their first-choice college, or at least one of their top three, and encourage students to take advantage of early admissions to improve their chances, we also make sure that they have satisfactory outcomes beyond their preferred ones.
Here’s what I always tell my students: One of the few things you can control in admissions is your college list. Include the most competitive schools, if that’s what’s right for you. But don’t forget to find others that are still a good fit and where you’re more likely to be admitted. We have a very specific formula we use with our families to create a college list, but formula or not, the emphasis is simple: balance. We’re mindful about major selection and strategic about early decision as well. After all, you can be certain of nothing when it comes to college admissions. Nothing, of course, except your own great strategy.
