Lessons Learned- College Admissions- If you had to do it all again.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do the boxes say after most rigorous?

According to my child's HS counselor, the next box is "very demanding", which is what she gave his transcript. 10 AP/IB classes but didn't do the full IB Diploma.

I don't get this category. Are they going to keep escalating until 16 year olds are have to produce Ph.d thesis level work? At the same time, they want kids to "follow their passion", but how can they do that with 20 AP classes? And while showing commitment to band, foreign languages, service, sport etc etc. And then the colleges will turn around and chose the girl who grew up traveling on the rodeo circuit anyway.

So true!

Good points but honestly, if highest rigor isn’t of interest then maybe just let go of the “most elite” college goal. No one is commanding anyone to shoot for Princeton (except maybe the parents), but the kid with greater IB ambition, for instance, deserves credit for that. I’m quite sure the 10 IB/AP kid above will have plenty of excellent options but all things being equal if I were Princeton I’d give the full IB kid an edge.

I'm not an IB fan, but the IB diploma does have 1 big advantage: it limits the "arms race" in that the schools can limit the number of HL courses a diploma student can take. The purpose is to encourage depth and breadth in HS courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do the boxes say after most rigorous?

According to my child's HS counselor, the next box is "very demanding", which is what she gave his transcript. 10 AP/IB classes but didn't do the full IB Diploma.

I don't get this category. Are they going to keep escalating until 16 year olds are have to produce Ph.d thesis level work? At the same time, they want kids to "follow their passion", but how can they do that with 20 AP classes? And while showing commitment to band, foreign languages, service, sport etc etc. And then the colleges will turn around and chose the girl who grew up traveling on the rodeo circuit anyway.

THIS! It makes you wonder why you robbed your DC of their HS years.

[Anonymous]

My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

You just made that up and it is not true. The graduation rates prove it.

[Anonymous]

Apply early to a rolling admission school to get (hopefully) an early acceptance. My child used Penn State for this and it did take some pressure off.

My child took the ACT once in 10th grade after buying a prep book. Don't force your child to retake these tests if results are in ballpark. My child scored a 33 and my husband fell into the DCUM parent mode that he needed to retake. Ultimately, he did not retake it and I am glad we didn't put that pressure on him.

My child had no interest in tours and really was in denial about the whole process. Ideally, he would have written essays earlier but that didn't happen. Fortunately, his school had an essay program that got him finally working.

I think too much pressure is put on our kids. I know I added to it at times but really tried to stay out of it. My child was too focused on college name and not the best program. We did intervene and actually found a balance of both.

I think the key is to find a program that fits your child. Maybe don't apply to Harvard if you want to be an engineer or your child doesn't want to live in an urban area. Lower ranked schools with lots of research options or a more rural setting may be a better fit- Name isn't everything.

I am not saying Harvard sucks. It doesn't (obviously). My child was accepted to Harvard for grad school and turned it down. He chose another school because it was a better fit.

[Anonymous]

You can't engineer your kid to be something he/she isn't. It's pretty obvious in sports when parents try (the Ryan Leaf/Todd Marinovich syndrome) even when they are talented.

The same goes for academics . All you can do is give them support and every opportunity you can afford and stay the hell out of their way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do the boxes say after most rigorous?

According to my child's HS counselor, the next box is "very demanding", which is what she gave his transcript. 10 AP/IB classes but didn't do the full IB Diploma.

I don't get this category. Are they going to keep escalating until 16 year olds are have to produce Ph.d thesis level work? At the same time, they want kids to "follow their passion", but how can they do that with 20 AP classes? And while showing commitment to band, foreign languages, service, sport etc etc. And then the colleges will turn around and chose the girl who grew up traveling on the rodeo circuit anyway.

This is why you should try to resist the temptation of the rat race. It is unreasonable and unhealthy for teens to be spread this thin. Let your child do what works for him/her. Don’t sacrifice sleep, mental and physical well being just for a check box or just to make some AO happy. Having gone through this admission cycle, we are glad that DC followed his own path, worked hard on his passion and gave his best in school but maintained his sanity throughout. We gave up travel sport opportunities so he can focus on school work and part time job where he gets to pursue his passion. In the end having 5 APs instead of 10+ still landed him in T10 and T20 schools. He only had a handful of bedtimes that went pass midnight.

Just to be clear, he was prepared to be shut out given his 5 APs, but he also understands if a school can only focus on the nbr of APs or the perfect SAT, then it is not a good fit for him. He rather not spend $70K to be at a place where he is miserable.

Seems like a outlier for admission to T10 and T20 and shouldn’t be taken as lessons learnt for others in general

I disagree. DC's 5 APs are Comp Sci A (10th grader), Lang, APUSH, BC Calc, Physic C, Stats. Got all 5s with all A/A+ in these subjects. He is also in post AP maths. He spent 3 years in a class that is his passion, getting international awards with his team. So the rigor and commitment are there. Add leadership roles in student organizations, he has a lot to offer. He is a pianist, but is not into the competition circuit. He uses his musical talent in the form of performances at senior homes.

My point is to curate the academic load and the ECs carefully to allow the student to pursue what works for him/her with lots of balance. DC could've gone down the road of practicing piano for 3 hours a day while playing a sport for another 2 hours, followed by homework for the umpteen APs he has to take. He didn't want to practice 3 -5 hours of piano so he can win some local competition. He loves to play and does practice, but wants to spend those hours doing his AP homework, self teach scripting and SLEEP. He loves to sleep.

The lesson for us this year is not in the "how my DC got into T10 w 5+ APs", but rather that we are glad he lived a balanced and happy high school life. The admission worked out well for him and life goes on....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

You just made that up and it is not true. The graduation rates prove it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't engineer your kid to be something he/she isn't. It's pretty obvious in sports when parents try (the Ryan Leaf/Todd Marinovich syndrome) even when they are talented.

The same goes for academics . All you can do is give them support and every opportunity you can afford and stay the hell out of their way.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are full pay, unless you have close to perfect SATs/ACTs, avoid the big state schools entirely.

???don't they need some paying folks???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are full pay, unless you have close to perfect SATs/ACTs, avoid the big state schools entirely.

???don't they need some paying folks???

VA Tech didn't take the top kids this year. There are tons of articles about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

You just made that up and it is not true. The graduation rates prove it.

Of course they eventually graduate them. The schools don’t want to feel like losers for their social experiment. Then they go on to the job market and employers go WTH? And they end up well whatever. They also have a great deal of difficulty with the professional entrance exams. However they populate SJW and low pay non profits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

You just made that up and it is not true. The graduation rates prove it.

Of course they eventually graduate them. The schools don’t want to feel like losers for their social experiment. Then they go on to the job market and employers go WTH? And they end up well whatever. They also have a great deal of difficulty with the professional entrance exams. However they populate SJW and low pay non profits.

Now you're making more shit up.

Please take note of this: None of the data or evidence supports your claim in any quantity. You are claiming that these kids don't do the work, which means there is a giant conspiracy of professors and administration which you, and you alone, have cracked. You're the "Q" of the college Game! We'll call you "C" I guess. We'll await your evidence that the Harvard kahunas plan this in meetings in the basement of Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC and my DH both went to Ivies. Those kids from the “rodeo” backgrounds had a very hard time at those difficult schools. High level of dropping out and mental breakdowns. Those social experiments are not very kind in the end.

You just made that up and it is not true. The graduation rates prove it.

Of course they eventually graduate them. The schools don’t want to feel like losers for their social experiment. Then they go on to the job market and employers go WTH? And they end up well whatever. They also have a great deal of difficulty with the professional entrance exams. However they populate SJW and low pay non profits.

You are wrong, full stop. They do not "eventually" graduate them. Poor kids at Harvard graduate at almost the same rate as other kids. And research has clearly shown that going to an elite school confers advantages on poor students and POC much more than on wealthier and white students. Facts matter.

From Harvard's common data set for freshmen starting fall 2013 (most recent data available)

First-time, full-time freshmen receiving Pell Grant= 273
graduated in 4 years or less: 224 (82%)
graduated in 6 years or less: 260 (95%)

First-time, full-time freshmen, no Pell = 1378
graduated in 4 years or less: 1176 (85%)
graduated in 6 years or less: 1343 (97%)

[Anonymous]

where's the data from 2014 on?