Every year, I become increasingly more knowledgeable about college admissions. It’s impossible not to be. Since COVID mucked up applying to college with test optional (which is slowly going away) and schools hyper aware now about the kind of students they admit, who gets in and where has been dramatically altered.
I work with loads of diverse kids from all over America. My yearly roster is private and boarding school kids, public schools kids, home schooled kids, and just plain kids who want a good education. This year’s crop had a rather large number of public school kids from excellent public high schools. These kids have accomplished a lot beyond good grades and test scores, which was impressive as some of those schools that had a median SAT score of 1250, and had (in some cases) never sent a student to an Ivy. Many of my public schools kids killed it early, which told me something. Elite schools are now paying lots of attention to kids from Medina, Ohio or Aurora, Illinois, and somewhat less attention to kids from the boarding school heaven that is New Hampshire and Massachusetts. And this is great news!
These public school kids bring a perspective Yale doesn’t get from the applicants they onetime rubber-stamped into the class. Their work ethic and values are unique and original. And they desperately want to make a difference in the world, through STEM and humanities studies. They’re seen as students that will bring an excitement and an energy to the campus, and will be a contributing member of the community, just like they did back home.
So if you’re reading this and you’re one of those kids from a city not everyone is immediately familiar with, and you have the grades, scores, and a profile that matters, aim for the moon. Shoot your shot. Take that risk. Now, more than ever in the last 14 years I’ve been doing this, you can do it You really, really can!