In Search of the Holy Grail:

Highly Selective College Admissions

Sue Biemeret

Bob Foltin

Amy Grove

Adlai E. Stevenson High School

What is a Holy Grail?

The focus of all our national attention The best of what higher ed has to offer Typically admits fewer than 10 - 25% of

applicants Modern-day version of the knight’s search

for ultimate truth

The Holy Grail, Round One

Amherst Brown Caltech Univ. of

Chicago

Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Duke

Georgetown Harvard Harvey

Mudd

Univ. of

Illinois

MIT Michigan North-

western

U North

Carolina

The Holy Grail, Round Two

Notre Dame Penn Pomona Princeton

Rice Stanford Swarthmore Virginia

Wash U. Wellesley Williams Yale

How The Grail Admits Students -Course Selection

Single most important factor in process Looking for most rigorous courses

available at SHS AP/Honors classes expected Most common AP classes: English, Math,

Science Senior courses are important! Looking for rigor and balance

How the Grail Admits Students -Grade Trends

Not just the course rigor, but also excellence in classes

Expectation: All A’s in all APs!! Reality: Taking most challenging courses and

earning top grades Most HGs expect 4.3+ weighted gpa Grade trends from freshman through junior year

really examined Some HGs recalculate gpa to include only

academic units

How the Grail Admits Students -Test Scores

Which tests to take? ACT+Writing or SAT Reasoning Test with SAT Subject Tests?

Check each school’s requirements!! SHS policy on reporting test scores Common scores: ACT 33+, SAT 1500+ [not

including Writing score] Sometimes used as eliminator to remove

applicant from pool Explain poor test history in personal statement

Some Testing Requirements Harvard: either ACT + Writing or SAT AND 3

SAT Subject Tests of the student’s choosing Yale: ACT + Writing or SAT AND 2 SAT

Subject Tests Brown: ACT+Writing or SAT AND 2 SAT

Subject Tests Duke: ACT+Writing OR SAT and 2 Subject

Tests Stanford: SAT or ACT + Writing; 2 SAT Subject

Tests recommended

How the Grail Admits Students:Co-Curricular Activities

Answer the question: What do you do besides study? What is your passion?

Well-roundedness or Well-lopsidedness Depth over breadth Begin chart in 10th grade and update it; use

Resume feature on Naviance! Don’t join just to look involved!

How The Grail Admits Students:Essays

Single scariest part of process for most students Deliberately ambiguous writing prompts to elicit

how you think, define your passion[s], determine your intellectual curiosity

No right or wrong answer Be sure to answer the question!! Secret: develop your voice!

How the Grail Admits Students:Letters of Recommendation

Two types: teacher and counselor Teacher: How did your presence in class change

the class? What did you add? Counselor: How did you navigate Stevenson?

More global view Get teachers who know you well [not just who

grade you well…] Don’t overstock your app with letters Get to know your counselor now!

How the Grail Admits Students:High School Experience

This is our job: to tell the Stevenson Story of excellence to colleges

High school visits, high school profile, professional development contacts

Let’s not rank high schools [!!], but know that Stevenson’s history of academic excellence is well known to HG schools

How the Grail Admits Students:Geographic Distribution

All HG schools want national student body, at least one student from each state [except public HGs]

No quotas of high schools or states Consider our competition…. Increase the odds? Move to North Dakota

[and be first chair French horn….]

How the Grail Admits Students:Special Talents/Considerations Athletic, Musical, Artistic Talent can add

weight to application What’s your “hook?” Alumni Legacy sometimes considered [but

not always….] “Knowing someone” isn’t going to affect

decision [unless that someone has a building named after him on campus….]

How the Grail Admits Students:Demonstrated Interest

The newest piece of the puzzle. Did the student visit the campus, come to

local presentations [at SHS or at local hotels], email the admission office with legitimate questions???

Some colleges utilize data to help make decisions about candidates.

Early application is the ultimate example!

Importance of “Safety” Schools

What is a safety school? NO ONE wants to be known as a safety Just who is/isn’t safe these days is a

moveable feast Real safety: much more than a place you

can get in, but also a place where you can grow, learn, become the best you can be

--Should resemble your “reach” schools in location, size, opportunities

Early Admission Plans

May 1st is Universal Candidate Reply Date Two Ways of Signaling Your Interest [and Maybe

Even Enhancing Chance for Admission]: Early Action: not binding [can wait til May 1] Early Decision: binding [must say yes if admitted,

can’t wait til May lst]– Real commitment to school [like getting engaged…]

– Must withdraw all other applications if admitted

– May only apply to one school ED

ED: The Financial Issue

Need to have a realistic view of your financial need [as opposed to want]

Can’t compare aid awards from other schools when applying ED

Estimate? Go to www.finaid.org and look for estimator page

Can only refuse ED offer if college does not match your need [as opposed to your want]

Other Financial Considerations

Difference between “ability to pay” and “willingness to pay” [difference between need and want] - confusing difference to many families

Most Holy Grail schools do not offer merit [no-need] aid, only offer need-based aid

Parents: You may have to pay the full cost of a Holy Grail education!

Some Scary Statistics [from 2009]

Brown: 24,988 apps

--10.8% admitted

Harvard: 29,112 apps

--7% admitted

Penn: 22,939 apps

--17.1% admitted

Princeton: 21,964

--9.8% admitted

Stanford: 30,428 apps

--7.6% admitted

Yale: 26,000 apps

--7.5% admitted

Even More Scary Stats…

27,000+ high schools in the U.S.

Each school has a “top twenty” list of students

540,000 superstars all applying to the same schools!

Even perfect test takers don’t always get the brass ring!

Our “best” student can become “typical” in the Holy Grail applicant pool

We do not control this situation!

Lucky/Unlucky Students 85-90% of applicants to HG schools meet

academic requirements, but 7-25% of applicants are admitted Importance of personal factors, both about the

student and by the college Some students are lucky to be admitted And others are unlucky not to be admitted Not a matter of better/best, but of lucky/unlucky

Strategies for Students -There Are No Guarantees

No one is entitled to admission to a Holy Grail!

This is not science, this is an art. Some of our best students are not admitted Realize your local, state, and national

competition

Strategies for Students -Do Your Homework!

Know everything you can about the Holy Grail schools!

Research, read, check web sites, meet with reps

Visit, visit, visit! Level of interest becoming key factor at

some HG schools Know more than a school’s US News

ranking: know why you want to attend it!

Strategies for Students:Develop a “Split Personality”

Important to balance confidence in your abilities with reality of admission odds

As you complete your application, be 100% convinced of your ability to succeed

After you turn your app in, go back to being 100% convinced that you might not get in!

Importance of confidence in application process, reality in admission process

The Stress Factor

Applying to college already stressful; HG apps hike up the stress to “full throttle”

Student stress Parent stress Dealing with stress

Keeping Your Perspective…

Don’t ever forget your talents, your wisdom, your unique strengths

Don’t also forget that there are thousands of equally talented students across the world who also seek admission to the Holy Grail

Instead of admit/deny, think about lucky/unlucky

There IS a right place for each of you!!!

Brown UniversityProvidence, Rhode Island

6,013 undergrads No core curriculum [so admissions looks

for independent thinkers and risk-takers] Brown Curriculum: students must pass 30

courses with no req’ts [must show writing competency plus a Capstone experience]

Self-designed majors are commonplace Frosh live together in halls; then, housing

done by lottery

Columbia UniversityNew York City

7,584 undergrads The ultimate urban campus experience! “Core curriculum” coined at Columbia! Students have intellectual persona

Cornell UniversityIthaca, New York

13,846 undergrads Largest Ivy Both public and private, depending upon major

[“One foot planted in the Big Ten, the other foot in the Ivy League”]

“Easiest Ivy to get into, hardest to get out of” All Frosh take required seminar 70” of snow every year….

Dartmouth CollegeHanover, New Hampshire

4,196 undergrads “Dartmouth Plan”: school year divides into 4 10-

week terms, 3 courses per term. Most students take 3 terms/year.

Must remain on campus summer after sophomore year, so have “leave time” during soph or junior year. Students may take up to 3 terms off campus.

“Most intimate of Ivies” Housing crunches common “Work hard, play hard” place Rural location - outdoor activities very popular

Harvard UniversityCambridge, Massachusetts

6,655 undergrads Highest yield rate in nation: 79% World-renowned faculty in every department Students need to complete a core of 6 “modes of

inquiry” courses Soph and Junior tutorials common Largest university library system in world All frosh live in Harvard Yard which skirts

campus No Greek Life

University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

10,337 undergrads Founded by Ben Franklin: theory + practice Strong liberal arts core Most students live on campus [surrounding area

very urban] 20% Greek Students are politically active and involved Athletics is big here Campus like “the Secret Garden”: Gothic beauty

surrounded by bustling urban Philly.

Princeton UniversityPrinceton, New Jersey

5,047 undergrads The “Ivory Tower” Ivy: deep traditions, more

conservative academically and devoted to undergrad experience

Classes taught in seminar or preceptorial format [discussion groups of 15]

Senior thesis required Honor code Housing broken into 5 residential colleges, many looking

like Gothic cathedrals Upperclass “Eating Clubs” are Princeton version of Greek

life

Yale UniversityNew Haven, Connecticut

5,247 undergrads Great rival with Harvard Academically liberal; no strict core

curriculum; 36 courses required for graduation

Students assigned to 1 of 12 residential colleges but don’t live there til soph year; all frosh live on Old Campus - each college has own dean, faculty, dining hall, etc.

Duke UniversityDurham, North Carolina

6,400 undergrads Two undergrad schools: Engineering and Trinity College

of Liberal Arts Flexible core requirements, but all students must take

Small Group Learning Experience East and West Campuses; all frosh live on East; most

students live on campus all 4 years “Work hard, play hard” place: intense study, but great

support for athletics [“Tent City”] Campus sits in 8,000-acre forest Forms Research Triangle with UNC and NC State

Georgetown UniversityWashington, D.C.

7,038 undergrads Known for Foreign Service and Public

Service programs [location…] Frosh and sophs live on campus; housing

guaranteed 3/4 years on campus Kids use DC for social life and really

support their Hoyas! Jesuit school [only 50% Catholic]

Northwestern UniversityEvanston, Illinois

8,476 undergrads Operates on quarter system Medill School of Journalism and Music/Theatre programs

world-renowned Housing either in residence hall or one of 11 residential

colleges Least “rah rah” of Big Ten schools [not always much to

cheer about!] Beautiful suburban campus hugging Lake Michigan Apps up 25%+ over past three years

University of Notre DameSouth Bend, Indiana

8,371 undergrads Catholic school; about 85% Catholic Freshman Year of Studies all students take 85% of students live on campus No Greek; halls function as hub of student social life;

many kids stay in same hall all 4 years Athletics is HUGE! [sometimes even with good reason!] Kids rely on campus for social life; South Bend not very

attractive to ND kids [and vice versa!] Beautiful campus with golf course, lakes and the famed

Grotto

Stanford UniversityPalo Alto, California

6,878 undergrads Strong commitment to liberal arts 90+% of kids live on-campus, with many frosh in

frosh-only housing Athletics are a big deal at Stanford Very small Greek life; kids use Sierra Nevada

Mtns and San Francisco for social life 8,000-acre campus [“The Farm”] was estate of

Leland Stanford