What to do if your kid is - gasp - well-rounded?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. I've always thought, for well rounded kids, the activities would still have a common focus that is related to your major, no?

For example, if you would like to pursue environmental science, your activities (maybe 8 out of 10) will be somewhat related to environmental science?

Well rounded doesn't mean scattered, right?

Of course, varsity, theater, music do not have to be related to that focus, but can still be listed (that's the 2 out of 10).

I think this worked for well-rounded DD whose theme was working with kids. Varsity athlete and captain for 2 sports and also volunteer soccer coach for kids; pianist for school choir and volunteer piano teacher for elementary students; president of literacy club that tutors kids and fundraises for low income school libraries; also cit and lifeguard at summer camp for 3 summers. She had some pointy research with several publications and tied this to a future career in child psych.

Did great this year with acceptances - Georgetown, Michigan oos, tufts, cmu, wash u, Emory. Going to Cornell off waitlist. Currently on wl at rice, jhu (makes sense as sat just under 1550), and harvard.

You’re in for a rough time when your daughter realizes in two years she’s not remotely interested in the personality she developed to create a college application.

It’s super normal for kids to change interest in college. More than half switched majors after first year. Why would PP “in for a rough time “?

Thanks for your comment. Not sure what other posters mean by “rough time” or “why do parents do this to their kids”. DD genuinely loves kids and gravitated to kid activities over the years so chose to highlight this for applications. She may well go into child psych or peds or switch into law or finance. Either way, it’s a great time to explore but doesn’t discount her “college application personality” as it was never a false reflection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. I've always thought, for well rounded kids, the activities would still have a common focus that is related to your major, no?

For example, if you would like to pursue environmental science, your activities (maybe 8 out of 10) will be somewhat related to environmental science?

Well rounded doesn't mean scattered, right?

Of course, varsity, theater, music do not have to be related to that focus, but can still be listed (that's the 2 out of 10).

I think this worked for well-rounded DD whose theme was working with kids. Varsity athlete and captain for 2 sports and also volunteer soccer coach for kids; pianist for school choir and volunteer piano teacher for elementary students; president of literacy club that tutors kids and fundraises for low income school libraries; also cit and lifeguard at summer camp for 3 summers. She had some pointy research with several publications and tied this to a future career in child psych.

Did great this year with acceptances - Georgetown, Michigan oos, tufts, cmu, wash u, Emory. Going to Cornell off waitlist. Currently on wl at rice, jhu (makes sense as sat just under 1550), and harvard.

You’re in for a rough time when your daughter realizes in two years she’s not remotely interested in the personality she developed to create a college application.

It’s super normal for kids to change interest in college. More than half switched majors after first year. Why would PP “in for a rough time “?

Thanks for your comment. Not sure what other posters mean by “rough time” or “why do parents do this to their kids”. DD genuinely loves kids and gravitated to kid activities over the years so chose to highlight this for applications. She may well go into child psych or peds or switch into law or finance. Either way, it’s a great time to explore but doesn’t discount her “college application personality” as it was never a false reflection.

It’s great if your kid’s interest is genuine. That’s one thing. Paying someone $3000 to create a persona or interest or faking one just for the purpose of college admissions is another thing. The latter seems to be OP’s concern. I have a “well-rounded” or scattered kid and no amount of enrichment or curating is going to turn them into someone pointy enough to impress T-20 colleges. So they applied a tier Lower, despite having high stats and high scores.

[Anonymous]

My kid was one of those well-rounded kids. Good gpa (not outstanding), SAT mid 1400s, two sport varsity athlete, club sport for 10 years, honor society president (I think those positions are sort of a joke! She barely put any time into it), lifeguard (assistant maanger at pool), and rec sports coach for three seasons. No academic awards, only some district athletic awards (second team all district stuff).
She got into UVA ED. Most of her friends there have similar high school resumes. I am sure there are many “pointy” kids at UVA too, but I guess my kid gravitates towards the well-rounded ones. They seem to be more interesting, better sense of humor too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ I know you want clay pot mowing lawns running through sprinklers and waiting tables for your DC, and that's fine, you picked a different vehicle. but don't judge others.

A different vehicle?? A generation ago, that pointiness/nonprofit/published book/lab research/recruited-Div III-athlete vehicles weren’t even a thing for almost all of of us who applied to selective colleges. We had the same activities as our peers who went the state school route. We ran through sprinklers, played on the same Little league or school teams, did the same National Honor society/science fair clubs, etc. We all relied on our high school counselors (or ourselves). The current state of College admissions has really created a new class of applicants who have differentiated themselves in very curated, packaged, almost artificial ways. The judgment comes from the potential psychological and social fallout from too much curating.

Too quick to criticize others. Sounds more like you already have an agenda, rather than engaging in a conversation.

Where do you find that PP's DC's activities "curated, packaged, almost artificial?" Tell me.

volunteer soccer coach for kids;
pianist for school choir and volunteer piano teacher for elementary students;
president of literacy club that tutors kids and fundraises for low income school libraries;
also cit and lifeguard at summer camp for 3 summers.
She had some pointy research with several publications and tied this to a future career in child psych.

Now, can you really force a teen to do things she refuses to do? If you are a parent you would know it's nearly impossible. OP's child refused, OP came here exactly because these are things parents cannot "curated, packaged" if the kid is not interested in them. OP is frustrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. I've always thought, for well rounded kids, the activities would still have a common focus that is related to your major, no?

For example, if you would like to pursue environmental science, your activities (maybe 8 out of 10) will be somewhat related to environmental science?

Well rounded doesn't mean scattered, right?

Of course, varsity, theater, music do not have to be related to that focus, but can still be listed (that's the 2 out of 10).

I think this worked for well-rounded DD whose theme was working with kids. Varsity athlete and captain for 2 sports and also volunteer soccer coach for kids; pianist for school choir and volunteer piano teacher for elementary students; president of literacy club that tutors kids and fundraises for low income school libraries; also cit and lifeguard at summer camp for 3 summers. She had some pointy research with several publications and tied this to a future career in child psych.

Did great this year with acceptances - Georgetown, Michigan oos, tufts, cmu, wash u, Emory. Going to Cornell off waitlist. Currently on wl at rice, jhu (makes sense as sat just under 1550), and harvard.

You’re in for a rough time when your daughter realizes in two years she’s not remotely interested in the personality she developed to create a college application.

It’s super normal for kids to change interest in college. More than half switched majors after first year. Why would PP “in for a rough time “?

Thanks for your comment. Not sure what other posters mean by “rough time” or “why do parents do this to their kids”. DD genuinely loves kids and gravitated to kid activities over the years so chose to highlight this for applications. She may well go into child psych or peds or switch into law or finance. Either way, it’s a great time to explore but doesn’t discount her “college application personality” as it was never a false reflection.

It’s great if your kid’s interest is genuine. That’s one thing. Paying someone $3000 to create a persona or interest or faking one just for the purpose of college admissions is another thing. The latter seems to be OP’s concern. I have a “well-rounded” or scattered kid and no amount of enrichment or curating is going to turn them into someone pointy enough to impress T-20 colleges. So they applied a tier Lower, despite having high stats and high scores.

Good luck with paying $3000 or faking one, if your kid doesn't have the substance.

[Anonymous]

I was “pointy” back in the day, with specific or niche academic interests, but that was labeled as “weird”. My parents were wringing their hands because I didn’t want to do traditional activities. My kid was well-rounded with traditional activities so that skipped a generation. I could have done really well in college admissions now lol!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was “pointy” back in the day, with specific or niche academic interests, but that was labeled as “weird”. My parents were wringing their hands because I didn’t want to do traditional activities. My kid was well-rounded with traditional activities so that skipped a generation. I could have done really well in college admissions now lol!

Thankfully, it's not about you anymore.