What exactly does "pay-to-play" mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t every extra curricular activity technically pay to play? I play for my kids to be on a soccer team, I pay for them to be on a swim team. I pay for SAT prep, I pay for music lessons. I pay for summer camp.

Where’s the line that is drawn that indicates it’s something “yucky”?

This. There aren't that many programs that are totally free even for people who are fine with paying tuition. And like, paying for food and transportation is a normal thing that I would do even if my kid were in no program at all.

Do colleges just like Google the program to decide if it's pay-to-play? How do they know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t every extra curricular activity technically pay to play? I play for my kids to be on a soccer team, I pay for them to be on a swim team. I pay for SAT prep, I pay for music lessons. I pay for summer camp.

Where’s the line that is drawn that indicates it’s something “yucky”?

You're right, of course. Very few programs/activities are truly not-pay-to-play, which is why those that are truly not-pay-to-play are highly regarded. And, you wouldn't list being on a soccer team, a swim team, taking a SAT prep course or music lessons on the activity list, at least as "achievement." What you get out of the activities may be an achievement or even a hook/spike though, like being on a top tier soccer team (e.g., MLS Next Homegrown division).

[Anonymous]

Kind of different, but my kid did an outdoor adventure camp for 3 weeks every summer in high school. Lived in a tent, backpacked, rafted, all that. Big focus on community building. No need for us to include it in common app, so we didn't. Luckily enough, she had robust enough activities (including in summer) that it didn't leave a hole.

That said, her main essay was about something that happened on one of the backpacks. There was nothing in the essay that wasn't truthful, but she just referred to trip as a group backpacking trip without specifically saying it was part of a camp experience we'd paid several thousand dollars for. Wasn't germane to the story. Essay was great & kid got into 7 or of 8 schools including a T10 but chose to attend a less intense land grant school for engineering and thrived, was a perfect fit. But I digress.

Anyway, perhaps an essay topic will present itself from your kid's experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t every extra curricular activity technically pay to play? I play for my kids to be on a soccer team, I pay for them to be on a swim team. I pay for SAT prep, I pay for music lessons. I pay for summer camp.

Where’s the line that is drawn that indicates it’s something “yucky”?

This. There aren't that many programs that are totally free even for people who are fine with paying tuition. And like, paying for food and transportation is a normal thing that I would do even if my kid were in no program at all.

Do colleges just like Google the program to decide if it's pay-to-play? How do they know?

Yes- when colleges get 50-100K applications I am sure they are busy checking which programs are free or not. My kid is doing archeology type program this summer - it costs some money. I am not going to pass over it just because its not free.

[Anonymous]

It means: I’m a do@chebag.