Rising Junior with excellent grades and test scores but no great extracurriculars

[Anonymous]

DS is a rising junior at a good DMV private- not one of the "Big 5", but the tier right below.
He has excellent grades (95+), and is scoring in the 1500-1540 range on his practice SATs so far.

The issue is that he is not motivated to do anything outside of what he needs to do at school and has no passion for anything yet. He plays a sport recreationally, volunteers here and there (no leadership position), and it's honestly been like pulling teeth to get him to do anything to stand out.

From everything I know about college admissions so far, they all seem to be after the kid who is great at one particular thing, has a great story, demonstrated leadership and impact ... of course grades and test scores matter but they don't seem to be enough.

What reach schools should he be aiming for?

[Anonymous]

No one can advise you without knowing the school. Each private school has different matriculation result.

Did you look at Scoir or Naviance?

[Anonymous]

I actually would focus on a job instead. I've seen colleges give preference to kids with great jobs more than extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one can advise you without knowing the school. Each private school has different matriculation result.

Did you look at Scoir or Naviance?

OP here. I looked at Scoir, but Scoir only tells you what grades and test scores students had to get into certain schools. There is a LOT more to the equation than just grades and test scores. Scoir does not tell you those (whether they were a recruited athlete, legacy, started a business or non profit ...

I am certainly not worried about the grades. I am more worried about the lack of any meaningful Extracurriculars and not being able to stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a rising junior at a good DMV private- not one of the "Big 5", but the tier right below.
He has excellent grades (95+), and is scoring in the 1500-1540 range on his practice SATs so far.

The issue is that he is not motivated to do anything outside of what he needs to do at school and has no passion for anything yet. He plays a sport recreationally, volunteers here and there (no leadership position), and it's honestly been like pulling teeth to get him to do anything to stand out.

From everything I know about college admissions so far, they all seem to be after the kid who is great at one particular thing, has a great story, demonstrated leadership and impact ... of course grades and test scores matter but they don't seem to be enough.

What reach schools should he be aiming for?

Come on! You are going to get every school under the sun thrown at you without some specifics.
Geography preference?
Size?
Potential field of study?
Budget?

[Anonymous]

The kids we know like this go to UVA.

When I was in high school, the smartest guy at my school had no extracurriculars. He went to UMich.

[Anonymous]

With high grades and SATs scores, he will get in somewhere. Coming up with a bunch of fake activities at this point seems silly.

[Anonymous]

Public schools will take this kid.

Here are a few things to do now:
- get a pt job (can be as an instructor or kids/youth coach in his sport)
- Can he also volunteer with an existing non-profit for his sport locally?
- this fall, join or form 1 club related to an area of academic interest at school.

What is he interested in? What fields?
Any hobbies (fishing? - you can create a whole set of ECs around hobbies like that)?
Where does he volunteer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one can advise you without knowing the school. Each private school has different matriculation result.

Did you look at Scoir or Naviance?

OP here. I looked at Scoir, but Scoir only tells you what grades and test scores students had to get into certain schools. There is a LOT more to the equation than just grades and test scores. Scoir does not tell you those (whether they were a recruited athlete, legacy, started a business or non profit ...

I am certainly not worried about the grades. I am more worried about the lack of any meaningful Extracurriculars and not being able to stand out.

Well, start from where Scoir shows, and adjust it down.
What is DC's expectation? Preference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With high grades and SATs scores, he will get in somewhere. Coming up with a bunch of fake activities at this point seems silly.

You'd be surprised. Pretty easy to do if you start now (bc it counts for this summer too).

[Anonymous]

It sounds like he's going to struggle to craft a compelling narrative in his essay(s). Once kids meet a certain academic threshold, the ECs and essays are what distinguish them and result in the most acceptances. Strong academic focus is okay, but then usually awards back up being "special" in that way. So that's an issue. Can he join clubs this year that speak to his specific interests, and ideally take on a leadership position?

I would focus on colleges that admit based more on stats that ECs. That's primarily the large state schools, as well as LACs outside of WASP. McGill. It will also help if he's not intending to major in a saturated area. More info on that will help with targeted recs.

[Anonymous]

Just make some up. It's not like they verify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids we know like this go to UVA.

When I was in high school, the smartest guy at my school had no extracurriculars. He went to UMich.

You again? UVA kids have good ECs.

[Anonymous]

State schools will be less concerned about lack of ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like he's going to struggle to craft a compelling narrative in his essay(s). Once kids meet a certain academic threshold, the ECs and essays are what distinguish them and result in the most acceptances. Strong academic focus is okay, but then usually awards back up being "special" in that way. So that's an issue. Can he join clubs this year that speak to his specific interests, and ideally take on a leadership position?

I would focus on colleges that admit based more on stats that ECs. That's primarily the large state schools, as well as LACs outside of WASP. McGill. It will also help if he's not intending to major in a saturated area. More info on that will help with targeted recs.

Unlikely for lacs ranked within t20. They are test optional, ECs are very important.