Parents of seniors - what should my 9th grader be doing now to ensure a solid college application?
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Anonymous
| screwing off with their friends and enjoying their teen years. |
Anonymous
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1. Health, mental health, and sleep are the most important thing, always. A huge amount changes between 9th and 11th grade from a social perspective -- keep an eye on your kid and make sure they are okay
2. Grades, grades, grades. This will be the #1 proof in the pudding that your kid can handle academics 3. Rigor - aim for the highest DC can handle without getting too stressed, drop down if it's too much 4. EC's - I have one kid who specializes and basically does only one thing but has national recognition in that thing, the other is a generalist but has leadership in main three activities (none of which is a sport, btw -- let them do what they like) 5. By junior year, they should be fully running their own show. I never check grades or hw by then -- it's their problem. When they have ownership, they rise to the level of challenge they can handle. Watch and learn -- not everyone is going to be a straight-A student and that's okay 6. Each year, take the five core classes (English, Math, Foreign Language, Science, Social Studies) if you are aiming for top schools |
Anonymous
It depends on the school they’re aiming for, and some might say that taking grade-level/regular bio, Chem, or physics is better than not taking one of them at all if that is the alternative. Some high schools offer regular and honors calculus in addition to AP, so that might be a good alternative. |
Anonymous
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Just relax OP. I have a kid at a top-25 and another one who will not have anything resembling a *checks notes* "solid college application." (This is not uncommon in my friend group, btw.)
I did the same thing for both of them... What I did: Let them choose their path, and help each one individually as they requested/needed. What I didn't do: Map out a 4-year plan that you have no control over (and doesn't guarantee anything) and overly stress about college. |
Anonymous
High school teacher here. Yes! I have so many miserable students in my advanced classes. They *only* focus on transcripts and applications. Meanwhile, four years of their lives are slipping away. I get it. They want to be admitted to top colleges, but at what cost? High school should be more than a pressure-cooker stepping stone to something else. This is balanced, reasoned advice above and I tell it to my own children. College admissions do operate as lotteries these days, especially at higher GPA and SAT ranges. Knowing this, I’m having my own kids do the best they can in rigorous courses, but not to the point of misery. They *will* get in somewhere because we will strategically apply to mostly target schools. |
Anonymous
Keep the grades up, stay off drugs, and don't come home pregnant. |
Anonymous
my 8th grader is taking geometry and French 2. Those are HS classes, count for HS credit, will show up on her HS transcript, and the grades get added into her GPA. For most classes this won't be the case. My 8th grader's social studies and science classes, for example, won't go on the HS transcript because they're not HS level classes. |
Anonymous
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Do not rush math. Both my kids were skipped a year ahead in math in 9th grade. In hindsight, this was a bad move. Schools were not impressed by AP calc classes a year or two early with Bs. Better to be “on time” with As.
Do not take AP world history. Not worth the ding to their GPA unless they LOVE history. The trick is to max out APs without taking the ones that might hurt your GPA. “Most rigorous” but not really. Don’t have any life changes or experiences that interfere with getting As. Selective colleges aren’t forgiving about mistakes after 8th grade. Even if the kids’ father commits suicide in 10th grade. True story. They want grit and tears PLUS the 4.8 GPA. (Why are kids so stressed and anxious? Such a mystery) |
Anonymous
| Best to have ECs that are long term. Thus, if your kid has not done anything long term and just high school, it’s too late. Doing school clubs are not enough. Most of the kids who got into the top colleges from our school have done music for 14 years or sports etc along with a sprinkling of clubs. |
Anonymous
| What about volunteer hours - is this standard now to present a verified # of volunteer hours in an application? |
Anonymous
This kind of advice is a great way to end up with a kid with mental health issues. Kids should never start off with the assumption that they're going to be applying to "top schools" and then try to force their way into being a strong candidate by following some formula that's worked for others. They should work hard in the most rigorous courses they can be successful in and then see what's possible. |
Anonymous
FCPS will include some courses from middle school unless you choose not to have them included. It will not include all, though. Mostly math and languages, I think. |
Anonymous
Argh! Kids should not being doing any activities they're not excited about. |
Anonymous
Then you realize in 12th grade that you haven’t taken the courses you needed to take if you decide to apply to top schools. |
Anonymous
Our child is not math focused whatsoever (much stronger in language arts as well as performing and visual arts). Her private school only requires three years of math. She’s a rising 9th grader so we haven’t mapped things out, but I’ll be curious to see what happens. Would most colleges frown on only three years of math course work? |