Tricks and “lifehacks” that help getting into a better college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok we all know about the straightforward things like good grades and extracurricular achievements, right?
What are some other things that aren’t obvious, may not be exactly ethical (but are legal!) and maybe cumbersome but that help?
So far I have thought about:
- quitting jobs and becoming low income for 6 years (2 years before college and 4 years of college)
- moving to a state that sends few people to certain colleges
- homeschooling
- giving the kid a Hispanic last name and not checking the race on application (no lying involved so..)
- transferring kid to a mediocre but safe high school

I mean I know most of these sound crazy but let’s entertain the thoughts?

Number one would be to make sure the kid comes from a good family. It might be too late for your kids, OP.

Come on don’t be a bore

It’s “boor”.

Don’t be boring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am currently pregnant. The baby will be half white and half Middle Eastern, so technically white for US census purposes. I plan to check the Hispanic box from birth.

I made a mistake of checking white when enrolling in K. Now it just follows me through the school pyramid (even to HS in a different district my kid is pre enrolled together with students from all the feeder middle schools).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am currently pregnant. The baby will be half white and half Middle Eastern, so technically white for US census purposes. I plan to check the Hispanic box from birth.

So you will be teaching your child to lie?

She will just tell the kid their grandma was from Cuba or something

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-Give away all your money when DC turns 16. DC then gets a fast food job and writes an application essay about supporting his/her family while in high school. DC gets admitted and a full ride.

-Find a desirable college with a dean who is single. Divorce so that the appropriate spouse can pursue/marry the dean.

-Invent something brilliant and put DC's name on patent.

-Go to war-torn area and enroll child in school for refugees.

Number one is actually very close to my situation as I divorced and have a low paid job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok we all know about the straightforward things like good grades and extracurricular achievements, right?
What are some other things that aren’t obvious, may not be exactly ethical (but are legal!) and maybe cumbersome but that help?
So far I have thought about:
- quitting jobs and becoming low income for 6 years (2 years before college and 4 years of college)
- moving to a state that sends few people to certain colleges
- homeschooling
- giving the kid a Hispanic last name and not checking the race on application (no lying involved so..)
- transferring kid to a mediocre but safe high school

I mean I know most of these sound crazy but let’s entertain the thoughts?

- assets are considered as well as income
- geographic diversity is not a hook; still plenty of students looking to apply
- there are many reasons to homeschool. College admission is not one of them. Expect to need dual enrollment grades.
- even checking the box, Hispanic isn't as big a hook as you might think

Transferring to a mediocre but safe high school is the best suggestion in this list. It's realistic and the higher the GPA, the better. Just make sure sufficient AP courses and the student's desired activities are offered.

Interestingly, everyone vying to buy a house in a "good" school district (as opposed to a a good enough, say, rated 5-7) told me that the peer group is crucial, and they want their kids to be surrounded by certain kind of kids. Wouldn't then moving to a mediocre high school completely defeat the purpose?

My kids attend a mediocre HS in Mcps. She is one of the top in her class and even though most of the school is not academically inclined, there are enough black and Hispanic kids that are so if a college had to pick, they would not go for the white kid. We don’t care. There are plenty of other schools out there that provide a great education, even if they aren’t “name brand”.

You don't attend a mediocre high school in a wealthier district, you move to attend a mediocre high school on a poorer district (think rural Virginia, rural Maryland etc...) where the kid can be in the top of the class in the state they want to go to college.

[Anonymous]

- Find a rich teacher who has a foundation to donate to a non-profit where kids do projects
- Become teacher’s pet
- Help teacher rig club election against kid a year because kid has started a project at the non-profit that teacher wants to claim
- Teacher donates more money to non-profit that likely writes LOR saying you led the project
- Teacher claims she got the kid into HYPSM (she did, but in an illegal way!) to get more kids to join her rotten club.

This is similar to a case that is under investigation where I live. I do not know that “non-profit” wrote the letter, but it is likely for reasons I won’t go into here. Rich people can be such as*es. The person being investigated though is the middle class person who worked at the “non-profit” place. If the rich teacher is charged, she has millions to get the best lawyers to fight it!

[Anonymous]

Fake leadership with parents help. Saw a lot of those. And it works great.

[Anonymous]

Do what Mackenzie Fierceton did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have DC attend a high FARMS HS with wide economic differences. Your DC can take all honors/weighted GPA/challenging courses and exist in a bubble - all neighbors and peers went private. Bonus for personal achievements like scouting, school leadership, advisory boards. DC will graduate at top of class and be a standout, unlike peers at nearby higher achieving HS who’ll be shocked at being wait listed or rejected.

Big fish, small pool.

I don’t think this works as often as you would think. Those schools don’t always offer the hardest courses.

I agree with the PP. But you are right in that you need to have rigorous courses available. So go to the high FARMS school that happens to be close to a public university. Dual enroll for harder courses as needed. A lot of these schools, while individually, may not offer the best selection of highly rigorous courses, often partner with other high schools in the county and there are county-wide programs offered to the most accelerated students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok we all know about the straightforward things like good grades and extracurricular achievements, right?
What are some other things that aren’t obvious, may not be exactly ethical (but are legal!) and maybe cumbersome but that help?
So far I have thought about:
- quitting jobs and becoming low income for 6 years (2 years before college and 4 years of college)
- moving to a state that sends few people to certain colleges
- homeschooling
- giving the kid a Hispanic last name and not checking the race on application (no lying involved so..)
- transferring kid to a mediocre but safe high school

I mean I know most of these sound crazy but let’s entertain the thoughts?

- assets are considered as well as income
- geographic diversity is not a hook; still plenty of students looking to apply
- there are many reasons to homeschool. College admission is not one of them. Expect to need dual enrollment grades.
- even checking the box, Hispanic isn't as big a hook as you might think

Transferring to a mediocre but safe high school is the best suggestion in this list. It's realistic and the higher the GPA, the better. Just make sure sufficient AP courses and the student's desired activities are offered.

Interestingly, everyone vying to buy a house in a "good" school district (as opposed to a a good enough, say, rated 5-7) told me that the peer group is crucial, and they want their kids to be surrounded by certain kind of kids. Wouldn't then moving to a mediocre high school completely defeat the purpose?

My kids attend a mediocre HS in Mcps. She is one of the top in her class and even though most of the school is not academically inclined, there are enough black and Hispanic kids that are so if a college had to pick, they would not go for the white kid. We don’t care. There are plenty of other schools out there that provide a great education, even if they aren’t “name brand”.

You don't attend a mediocre high school in a wealthier district, you move to attend a mediocre high school on a poorer district (think rural Virginia, rural Maryland etc...) where the kid can be in the top of the class in the state they want to go to college.

Please check the FARMS % at Kennedy and Paint Branch. MCPS has a large population of schools that are very poor. But you wouldn’t know that living in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok we all know about the straightforward things like good grades and extracurricular achievements, right?
What are some other things that aren’t obvious, may not be exactly ethical (but are legal!) and maybe cumbersome but that help?
So far I have thought about:
- quitting jobs and becoming low income for 6 years (2 years before college and 4 years of college)
- moving to a state that sends few people to certain colleges
- homeschooling
- giving the kid a Hispanic last name and not checking the race on application (no lying involved so..)
- transferring kid to a mediocre but safe high school

I mean I know most of these sound crazy but let’s entertain the thoughts?

OP, your true character is what you do when no one is looking...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do what Mackenzie Fierceton did.

I actually believe her that the abusive mother disowned her etc
I know of a somewhat similar situation. Dad hits 17 yo child, has child taken away, child lives with a friend’s family and is now enrolled in college as a foster youth. Wasn’t planned but dad’s lawyer told dad to plead guilty knowing the child has a place to live. Very strange case but I know about it from this dad’s older child

[Anonymous]

My Mom worked at at a university for 15 years to get my brother and me 75 percent off tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok we all know about the straightforward things like good grades and extracurricular achievements, right?
What are some other things that aren’t obvious, may not be exactly ethical (but are legal!) and maybe cumbersome but that help?
So far I have thought about:
- quitting jobs and becoming low income for 6 years (2 years before college and 4 years of college)
- moving to a state that sends few people to certain colleges
- homeschooling
- giving the kid a Hispanic last name and not checking the race on application (no lying involved so..)
- transferring kid to a mediocre but safe high school

I mean I know most of these sound crazy but let’s entertain the thoughts?

- assets are considered as well as income
- geographic diversity is not a hook; still plenty of students looking to apply
- there are many reasons to homeschool. College admission is not one of them. Expect to need dual enrollment grades.
- even checking the box, Hispanic isn't as big a hook as you might think

Transferring to a mediocre but safe high school is the best suggestion in this list. It's realistic and the higher the GPA, the better. Just make sure sufficient AP courses and the student's desired activities are offered.

Interestingly, everyone vying to buy a house in a "good" school district (as opposed to a a good enough, say, rated 5-7) told me that the peer group is crucial, and they want their kids to be surrounded by certain kind of kids. Wouldn't then moving to a mediocre high school completely defeat the purpose?

My kids attend a mediocre HS in Mcps. She is one of the top in her class and even though most of the school is not academically inclined, there are enough black and Hispanic kids that are so if a college had to pick, they would not go for the white kid. We don’t care. There are plenty of other schools out there that provide a great education, even if they aren’t “name brand”.

You don't attend a mediocre high school in a wealthier district, you move to attend a mediocre high school on a poorer district (think rural Virginia, rural Maryland etc...) where the kid can be in the top of the class in the state they want to go to college.

What happens if your kid ends not being the student that you think they should be? Middle of the class coming out of Langley or BCC will have more options than middle of the class from Bristol

[Anonymous]

Military. Be all you can be. Do more before 7 am than what most people do all day. Free tuition. You can do better than this.