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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

You can't do better than this.

[Anonymous]

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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

Yep, move to a small town, would they elect PP mayor? Nope. Grades may transfer, but pecking order, not so much.