What to do with a strong generalist

[Anonymous]

Sophomore DS is at one of the top DC publics and getting straight As and looks likely to get a 1520-1560 SAT based on testing to date.

Loves his niche sport, but is at the top 25% of the crowd, not top 10%.

Great at English and history and can knowledgeably talking to anything he reads and politics but does zero reading on his own.

Probably top of his class for math but seems to care nothing about experimentation or fixing things. In science, he gets everything right but is bored that the classes just seem to be teaching a lot of rote concepts and don’t seem to do anything interesting. Teachers he likes least are the science teachers.

Has an strong interest in volunteering in the human assistance sense (think Martha’s Table) but not in any resume building way.

Very pliable/directable but also a capable leader at any task he’s set. I am sure as an adult he would be someone people would love to hire - very conscientious and enterprising within tasks he has been given. Good habits, positive anttitude, and doesn’t get distracted, not phone or video game obsessed, etc.

He just doesn’t have that personal passion project where he can demonstrate proactively that he is tremendously capable and interested in X, Y, or Z. And he doesn’t seem to have a professional direction at age 16 that this forum seems to think kids need while still teenagers.

What do you do with a very capable generalist? Somebody here must have experience with kids like this.

[Anonymous]

Understood your frustration.

My suggestion is to identify and find schools that love a very capable generalist. They may not be T20, but could be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Any big state school with a liberal arts option if he likes that atmosphere, or any LAC if he doens't want big, rah rah. Both will give him an opportunity to explore all of his strenghts and discover some new ones while he navigates what he wants to do after college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sophomore DS is at one of the top DC publics and getting straight As and looks likely to get a 1520-1560 SAT based on testing to date.

Loves his niche sport, but is at the top 25% of the crowd, not top 10%.

Great at English and history and can knowledgeably talking to anything he reads and politics but does zero reading on his own.

Probably top of his class for math but seems to care nothing about experimentation or fixing things. In science, he gets everything right but is bored that the classes just seem to be teaching a lot of rote concepts and don’t seem to do anything interesting. Teachers he likes least are the science teachers.

Has an strong interest in volunteering in the human assistance sense (think Martha’s Table) but not in any resume building way.

Very pliable/directable but also a capable leader at any task he’s set. I am sure as an adult he would be someone people would love to hire - very conscientious and enterprising within tasks he has been given. Good habits, positive anttitude, and doesn’t get distracted, not phone or video game obsessed, etc.

He just doesn’t have that personal passion project where he can demonstrate proactively that he is tremendously capable and interested in X, Y, or Z. And he doesn’t seem to have a professional direction at age 16 that this forum seems to think kids need while still teenagers.

What do you do with a very capable generalist? Somebody here must have experience with kids like this.

From what you have described, he lacks intellectual curiosity and is not a go getter. He does what is asked, no more. I would target mid range schools. Maybe an honors college.

[Anonymous]

He sounds like he would be a good candidate for a top private high school in DC. Maybe GDS or Sidwell. Is it too late? He sounds like my son who was never bored at one of those schools. Now at a T 15 university studying the humanities.

[Anonymous]

ED UVA
ED2 UChicago /WashU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ED UVA
ED2 UChicago /WashU

Wow. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I have a very capable generalist who is quite intellectual, and we'll just shoot for T20s and related. She was just diagnosed with mild autism and has a very high IQ. I now understand why she wants nothing to do with leadership positions and has trouble volunteering, because at her age, it's all mostly based on social interactions. It's a shame: she's so competent.

She loves to read and do little crafts at home, but that's not anything that's remotely impressive to Admission Officers. I know: my older kid had an excellent GPA and is a total bookworm, and it didn't translate to anything in the T20 acceptance range (he's at a GWU, and doing well).

Admissions Officers in the first and second tier of schools want Wow Factor, which is a little hard on introverts and people who are good at everything but don't stand out in anything in particular. Colleges want to build a well-rounded freshman class, composed of pointy students.

[Anonymous]

OP: This is the exact profile of our DD sophomore year. Liked all subjects, top student across all, but no standout academic passion or career interest. We assumed she would just apply to colleges as an undecided generalist, but her counselor really encouraged her to come up with a few career interests she’d be open to exploring more prior to college. Encouraged her to join clubs, take some summer or online classes, not for resume building but to survey interest. This worked out well - she ended up getting more interested and going deeper in two areas of interest that intersected, and I think her applications were much stronger for it. She’s now headed to a top 10 LAC . . . and I noticed declared herself “undecided” on her school Instagram post now that she’s admitted.

[Anonymous]

He's only halfway through his sophomore year. Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ED UVA
ED2 UChicago /WashU

Wow. Thank you!

Be careful using an ED on Chicago. They take a lot of kids from DC privates but almost never take anyone from public or charter schools.

[Anonymous]

target the T25-50 and look for merit

[Anonymous]

He should try to get a STEM HS internship this summer or next at a government lab nearby (examples: NSWC at Carderock, ARL at Adelphi, NASA Goddard in Greenbelt) or at one of the government sector non-profits (examples: Aerospace, MITRE, JHU/APL).

This will let him see what real world STEM is like and inform whether he wants that path or not. Sometimes the value of internships is confirming what one does not want to do.

[Anonymous]

I would explore local schools, and schools in places you happen to be, to get a picture of the kind of environment he wants — big/small, urban/rural, etc . . . Once you know that it will be easier to find specific schools. I’d also encourage him to have a variety of experiences to see what he likes, but also know that he doesn’t need to find a “passion”. There are plenty of people who have good careers that they like well enough and they allow them to build the life they want, and who find their joy outside of work.

[Anonymous]

Rather than ask what to do with a generalist, I'd focus on what kind of college outcome he wants. A student like that will do fine with large state flagships that value grades, testing and decent ec. Also less competitive privates. If shooting for very competitive schools, he needs more - and you can guide him. Lean onto his interests and cultivate and explore something deeply outside of regular school. You don't need expensive programs or national awards. But you do need to show curiosity, initiative, commitment, and some outcome/impact. Most 'passion projects' are bs and prompted and curated by parents or private counselors. We encouraged our smart, easy going kid to lean into one academic area and one ec they liked. We identified some great experiences to explore these areas throughout hs, and kid had a lot to write about and reflect upon for college apps. Kid is currently happy at a top school. Plenty of time to ponder the next steps...