Does anything before 9th grade matter?

[Anonymous]

Does anything a kid does before 9th grade matter? Can you list it on your college applications?

Obviously if you have served in a church choir since you were 5, you can put that on your resume and state when you began, but a week of community service (church sponsored) during 8th grade or being on the debate team - does it have a place on a college application? Again, if you won the science fair in 7th, or a national essay contest maybe. But run of the mill community service or student leadership?

I am having a dispute with dh about this. In my day, unless your college essay was about something in your early years that changed your life and involved an extra curric (working at Martha's table making you realize that the ground is not an even playing field), your extra currics pre 9th grade did not matter and there was not even a place to list them on the applications.

Could you all who are farther down the line let us know?



Thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

In my day (the 90s), my high school banned community service essays for college applications.

[Anonymous]

My kid had a 4.0 GPA in my uterus. We plan to put that on the application.

[Anonymous]

I believe if it's something like an instrument you can write "I've played for 10 years," but pretty much no. Can you write that you did community service in high school on a job or grad school application? Not unless it was extremely exceptional and still relevant to what you do, and in 99% of cases, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe if it's something like an instrument you can write "I've played for 10 years," but pretty much no. Can you write that you did community service in high school on a job or grad school application? Not unless it was extremely exceptional and still relevant to what you do, and in 99% of cases, no.

So can I tell dh and dc definitively that nothing (including not only extra currics but her grades in 7th and 8th) can be used (for or against) dc's chances of getting into college?

My dc is the one concerned about this, not me, and I would much rather not have dc thinking about this so early but there are cousins going through the admissions process and it has trickled down.

Thanks again for the sincere responses

[Anonymous]

Isn't your kid supposed to be doing this? Are you one of "those" parents who will badger his professors to stay abreast of his daily progress? His college selection isn't going to make or break him. But I'm not so sure about you.

[Anonymous]

I don't think admissions is interested in anything before high school.The Common App asks for dates for community service, school activities,leadership etc. One way around this is the NUMEROUS (never ending) essays. For instance, that 8th state science award was the beginning of the students interest in science.

[Anonymous]

I understand your question OP. My 8th grade son is in his 5th year of playing a musical instrument (an accomplishment!) but if he decides to put his instrument aside and pursue some other endeavor in HS, I suppose he won't be able to put down that he can play an instrument. But a kid who picks up an instrument for the very first time as a 9th grader will be able to put that on his college app. It seems kind of unfair. However, if my son continues to play just through 9th grade, he'll be able to put down that he has played his instrument for 6 years...right? It's confusing..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had a 4.0 GPA in my uterus. We plan to put that on the application.

Weighted or un-weighted? It makes a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe if it's something like an instrument you can write "I've played for 10 years," but pretty much no. Can you write that you did community service in high school on a job or grad school application? Not unless it was extremely exceptional and still relevant to what you do, and in 99% of cases, no.

So can I tell dh and dc definitively that nothing (including not only extra currics but her grades in 7th and 8th) can be used (for or against) dc's chances of getting into college?

My dc is the one concerned about this, not me, and I would much rather not have dc thinking about this so early but there are cousins going through the admissions process and it has trickled down.

Thanks again for the sincere responses

If your kid is taking HS level math courses in middle school, the grades will count in the HS GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe if it's something like an instrument you can write "I've played for 10 years," but pretty much no. Can you write that you did community service in high school on a job or grad school application? Not unless it was extremely exceptional and still relevant to what you do, and in 99% of cases, no.

So can I tell dh and dc definitively that nothing (including not only extra currics but her grades in 7th and 8th) can be used (for or against) dc's chances of getting into college?

My dc is the one concerned about this, not me, and I would much rather not have dc thinking about this so early but there are cousins going through the admissions process and it has trickled down.

Thanks again for the sincere responses

If your kid is taking HS level math courses in middle school, the grades will count in the HS GPA.

Yes (assuming that your kid does well and does not wind up retaking the class in 9th grade), that would be true with a foreign language credit, too, wouldn't it?

[Anonymous]

So can I tell dh and dc definitively that nothing (including not only extra currics but her grades in 7th and 8th) can be used (for or against) dc's chances of getting into college?

I suppose you could say that. But perhaps it would be more constructive to frame it as "doing extracurriculars now helps you grow as a person and learn to manage your time split between many different obligations, so you can excel as you go on in life and in high school." Although I think it's unhealthy to fixate on this stuff in 7th and 8th grade, if he must, if you plan to apply to selective admissions/private high schools, you can say "this will help with your high school applications, though, which helps with college applications." Or if you are not going to have to apply for high school, you can say that middle school is a safe time to explore new things that you might screw up and not be great at, but you could learn from.

The reason why no one cares about how many extracurriculars you did prior to 9th grade is that they are concerned with what you are doing currently in your life, not that you used to be a great flute player but stopped playing in high school. But also there comes a point where it's just not important. How many people list their SAT scores on a job application?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If your kid is taking HS level math courses in middle school, the grades will count in the HS GPA.

What counts as HS level math? My dc (not OP) is at Basis and taking precalculus in 8th grade, as well as the second year of a world history course that they classify as AP. Math and science are his strengths. If dc does not take the history AP exam, does the grade matter?

And what counts as HS level math? When does it start? Algebra II?

TIA

[Anonymous]

And what counts as HS level math? When does it start? Algebra II?

Depends on the school. Check the policy in your school/school district on this.

[Anonymous]

DD has been volunteering at the same place since she was six years old and the year she began there is going to be listed on her application.

But the three music videos she did in elementary school are not going to be listed. Although it's cool that she did them, she didn't pursue an acting career or music career. Other than the volunteering thing nothing is going on her college app besides 10th grade and higher, including jobs. And her college essay is about something that happened in 11th grade.

Universities don't want to know who you were. They want to know who you ARE. Now. Not 10 years ago.