Parents of seniors - what should my 9th grader be doing now to ensure a solid college application?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to add, make sure your child takes at least one of the following: 1 year of Chem, 1 year of bio and 1 year of physics. Preferably honors & AP.

NP. I realize graduation requirement doesn't always equal what is advisable for competitive college admissions. What if student is def not going into STEM, should they still take Physics, Bio, Chem, and Calculus? DC will start a school that requires 2 years of lab sciences including Biology, but beyond that students can take 'fun' electives in science or load of up on other subjects of interest, whether arts or history.

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?

More selective colleges want to see 4 years of math, typically going up to calculus. Less than that counts against you but doesn't mean you don't have a shot at a "good" school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to add, make sure your child takes at least one of the following: 1 year of Chem, 1 year of bio and 1 year of physics. Preferably honors & AP.

NP. I realize graduation requirement doesn't always equal what is advisable for competitive college admissions. What if student is def not going into STEM, should they still take Physics, Bio, Chem, and Calculus? DC will start a school that requires 2 years of lab sciences including Biology, but beyond that students can take 'fun' electives in science or load of up on other subjects of interest, whether arts or history.

Lol. Depends what you’re aiming for I guess.

[Anonymous]

Have a great relationship with 1 or 2 teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to add, make sure your child takes at least one of the following: 1 year of Chem, 1 year of bio and 1 year of physics. Preferably honors & AP.

NP. I realize graduation requirement doesn't always equal what is advisable for competitive college admissions. What if student is def not going into STEM, should they still take Physics, Bio, Chem, and Calculus? DC will start a school that requires 2 years of lab sciences including Biology, but beyond that students can take 'fun' electives in science or load of up on other subjects of interest, whether arts or history.

Lol. Depends what you’re aiming for I guess.

Rude. -DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges see everything from 9th grade? that is how it was but my 7th grader is saying even 8th matters. Please help me understand this.. from what grade are transcripts sent.

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.

Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to add, make sure your child takes at least one of the following: 1 year of Chem, 1 year of bio and 1 year of physics. Preferably honors & AP.

NP. I realize graduation requirement doesn't always equal what is advisable for competitive college admissions. What if student is def not going into STEM, should they still take Physics, Bio, Chem, and Calculus? DC will start a school that requires 2 years of lab sciences including Biology, but beyond that students can take 'fun' electives in science or load of up on other subjects of interest, whether arts or history.

Lol. Depends what you’re aiming for I guess.

Can you answer PPs question properly? If not, move along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to add, make sure your child takes at least one of the following: 1 year of Chem, 1 year of bio and 1 year of physics. Preferably honors & AP.

NP. I realize graduation requirement doesn't always equal what is advisable for competitive college admissions. What if student is def not going into STEM, should they still take Physics, Bio, Chem, and Calculus? DC will start a school that requires 2 years of lab sciences including Biology, but beyond that students can take 'fun' electives in science or load of up on other subjects of interest, whether arts or history.

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.

If you're in-state VA and want to aim for UVA, W&M or similar level private/OOS university, I would take 4 years of all core subjects (English, History, Science, Math, Foreign Language) and I would take Bio, chem and physics even if you're not focused on STEM. Look at the recommended high school courses listed by the colleges you're interested in and view those as the very minimum if it's a competitive school.

[Anonymous]

Along with grades, rigor and test scores-

The Most Selective Schools: Try to have NATIONAL awards.
More Selective Schools: Be well rounded and sporty.
Selective Schools: Have EC's that you have stuck with all through high school.

[Anonymous]

I would caution against focusing exclusively on selective schools. I’ve seen too many of my students do that, refusing to settle for “less,” and then they are shut out. These are great students with top-notch stats, but they put all their eggs in baskets with 5-10% acceptance rates. When most applicants have similar amazing stats, there are no guarantees.

Don’t disparage the many good state schools out there. They can (and often) lead to prestigious grad schools if that’s important to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a lottery now. Best for your kid: do whatever they want to do, be happy, forget about college until mid-junior year and then hope for the best. Not kidding. Don't let your kid ruin their HS years trying to "work" for something that is a 4-6% acceptance rate. Accept it as a lottery and let the kid have fun.

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.

Kids should strategically pick their AP courses and ideally shouldn't take more than 3-4 in a year. If your kid isn't into STEM classes, don't force them to take AP Calc or AP Bio. However, if they think they might want Premed/engineering/sciences/math, then they should try AP calc and a few of the AP sciences. Even if they don't earn college credit, they are better prepared for those "weed Out" classes than if they only had 1 year of HS Chem.

Similarly , if your kid would rather focus on STEM, then don't force them to take AP eng or APUSH if it will make them miserable. Instead allow them to take Honors ENg/History and have a bit extra time to do an EC they love, socialize or just get more than 4 hours of sleep.

[Anonymous]

OP, figure out what is likely to be your annual college budget, what you can afford for this child. Try using some Net Price Calculators at various colleges using various financial assumptions to see whether need-based financial aid is likely to be available. There is no need to wait to start considering the financial end and talking with your child about this.

For those students who will really need to focus on their in-state publics or else get merit scholarships to attend, knowing this upfront can be a huge help in making the list. Assuming aid will be enough, without having checked, would be a critical error.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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)

I have never understood parents pushing their kids to be advanced in math. When I lived in MD, parents would be in the school screaming that little Susie deserved and belonged in "1 grade level ahead math" because she'd been doing Kumon since she was 2. However, during the "test at school" she didn't test at a level to be put in advanced math. But little Susie knew how to memorize math facts, but didn't really understand them or think at an advanced level. I watched several kids get put into the advanced math due to parental pressure and those kids struggled and were not happy in math class. I suspect they would do much better if they had been at their actual level and allowed to actually learn.
Math is so important to so much in life and so many careers, why would you not want your kid to be working at the level that is appropriate for them? Math is so cyclical, if you don't have a strong foundation, Algebra 1 and beyond is going to be a challenge. Why rush it?

[Anonymous]

Here’s how to have a happy, same, and likely successful college application season with your child.

1. Don’t be on DCUM when they’re in 9th grade worrying about it.
2. See above.

Srsly, OP- let them enjoy high school. Take interesting classes. Get good grades. So XCs they enjoy. That’s it! Now, off with you. No more DCUM college thread for you! 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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)

I have never understood parents pushing their kids to be advanced in math. When I lived in MD, parents would be in the school screaming that little Susie deserved and belonged in "1 grade level ahead math" because she'd been doing Kumon since she was 2. However, during the "test at school" she didn't test at a level to be put in advanced math. But little Susie knew how to memorize math facts, but didn't really understand them or think at an advanced level. I watched several kids get put into the advanced math due to parental pressure and those kids struggled and were not happy in math class. I suspect they would do much better if they had been at their actual level and allowed to actually learn.
Math is so important to so much in life and so many careers, why would you not want your kid to be working at the level that is appropriate for them? Math is so cyclical, if you don't have a strong foundation, Algebra 1 and beyond is going to be a challenge. Why rush it?

Have you not read the thread? People don't care about mastery, or even competency. That is not the OP. People care about doing everything possible to get their kid to the best school possible. That's why you have parents pushing things they don't know about. Upthread someone says you need to get national recognition for a selective college. These threads keep fanning the flames. This is why kids are burnt out and can't think for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take at least Calc AB by 12th, as well as at least 4 years of foreign language and at least an honors physics course.

This is regardless of intended major if you’re aiming for top schools.

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.

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.

Do you really think the most selective colleges will turn down a kid with scores of 5 on every math and science AP offered because they didn't take a language all 4 years? That they'll pass on a winner of a national award in journalism because they never made it to calculus?

Kids should do what they love and are good at, and put everything they've got into that. Stop trying to figure out a formula and then trying to force it to work for every kid.