Can being the no. 1 student from TJ graduating class serve as a hook to top 10 universities?

[Anonymous]

I know TJ does not rank and they do not have Valedictorian for the graduating class but if the kid had the highest GPA or even the 2nd highest GPA at TJ with rigorous schedule (e.g. 11 ~ 13 APs and post APs), could that serve as a "hook" for admission to the top 10 universities like the major accomplishments such as being Intel finalist, major research publication, Math Olympiad member may serve as an "Academic Hook" since TJ is considered one of the best high schools with very rigorous courses and competitive student body? In other words, many people discount Valedictorians since there are thousands of Valedictorians but being no. 1 at TJ would be more difficult than being no. 1 at an average high school.

I know the no.1 student will still need very good SAT score, good extra curricular activities, good recommendation letters and good essays but just wondering if being no. 1 itself could serve as a hook.

[Anonymous]

I don't think they have a number one student. There are many different courses of study (in STEM) at TJ. Students are doing such different things that it would be hard to rate that. Many Ivy acceptances, but the top students just say yes to their college and move on with research they already started.

[Anonymous]

There's no way to know which kid is "number 1." TJ does not rank students, period. Kids and their parents would commit murder Texas cheerleader-style if they did.

[Anonymous]

No, at best it's a regional honor. Not a national achievement like Intel.

Honestly nothing is a gaurentee of admission these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think they have a number one student. There are many different courses of study (in STEM) at TJ. Students are doing such different things that it would be hard to rate that. Many Ivy acceptances, but the top students just say yes to their college and move on with research they already started.

There is a student each year with the highest GPA but the school does not announce it.

[Anonymous]

You folks don't really get how admissions works at the top universities. They don't care about valedictorians. They are looking for that "special something" and it's usually not something on paper.

I interview for one of the "holy grail" universities, and I have excellent "smell sense" for who's actually going to get in, and they don't look any different on paper from the others. Many times they don't look as fabulous on paper as others do. They are interesting kids who are interested in stuff. No one cares if they're number 1 or number 50 at TJ.

You're pushing your kids so hard. Please stop. I get depressed after some of these interviews -- I want to hug the kids and tell them it's going to be okay and some day they'll actually figure out who they are and it's okay not to know. It's okay to let your guard down. It's okay to not be doing worthy stuff every minute of every day. It's okay just to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You folks don't really get how admissions works at the top universities. They don't care about valedictorians. They are looking for that "special something" and it's usually not something on paper.

I interview for one of the "holy grail" universities, and I have excellent "smell sense" for who's actually going to get in, and they don't look any different on paper from the others. Many times they don't look as fabulous on paper as others do. They are interesting kids who are interested in stuff. No one cares if they're number 1 or number 50 at TJ.

You're pushing your kids so hard. Please stop. I get depressed after some of these interviews -- I want to hug the kids and tell them it's going to be okay and some day they'll actually figure out who they are and it's okay not to know. It's okay to let your guard down. It's okay to not be doing worthy stuff every minute of every day. It's okay just to be.

Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

And where does this attitude that they need to get into the top top schools or else they'll flounder coming from? Did they come up with it on their own?

[Anonymous]

come from* conjugation is hard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

And where does this attitude that they need to get into the top top schools or else they'll flounder coming from? Did they come up with it on their own?

Today's high schoolers have experienced the financial crisis of 2008 and its lingering effects on the economy. They see that many college grads are having tough time finding meaningful employment and living with their parents. The unemployment problem persists and many have stopped looking for jobs. Many high school students feel that they have it worse than their parents and that their generation is a generation that may actually do worse than their parents' generation. Many kids feel graduating from the top 10 to top 20 colleges will give them competitive advantage in the job market. Then, there is the pressure to pay back the student loans as well if the parents were not able to pay all of the college expenses. If they are going to incur $50,000 -$100,000 in student loans, why not try to get the biggest bang for the buck and be able to pay back the loans? At the same time, competition for the top 20 colleges are tougher than a generation ago and there are more kids taking AP classes, winning awards etc. All this adds to the stress of high school kids who are ambitious. I guess it doesn't matter if the parents are wealthy but not all of the kids are lucky enough to have trust funds waiting for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

And where does this attitude that they need to get into the top top schools or else they'll flounder coming from? Did they come up with it on their own?

They must as well have. My parents barely knew what harvard is but I wanted to go there. PP is right that ambition is not necessarily coming from parents.

[Anonymous]

Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

The information is out there that they won't get into the colleges they want to go to and that no amount of effort will pay off. It is relentless. As a parent, I frequently say, relax, don't push so hard. It will be OK. But the next day at TJ, it is back to "only an Ivy will do"

[Anonymous]

You're pushing your kids so hard. Please stop. I get depressed after some of these interviews -- I want to hug the kids and tell them it's going to be okay and some day they'll actually figure out who they are and it's okay not to know. It's okay to let your guard down. It's okay to not be doing worthy stuff every minute of every day. It's okay just to be.

... just don't expect to be admitted. We already chose who we want. So relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you automatically assume there is pushing going on by parents? There may be some pushing by some parents but not always. Sometimes it's peer pressures and sometimes it's the kids themselves being driven and ambitious. I have a child in high school and I have to stop my child from pushing himself too far. I have to tell him to take a break, go to sleep early and so on but he feels like selective colleges want too much these days, high GPA, high SAT scores, many APs, leadership positions, volunteer hours, club activities etc.

You are quick to blame the parents but think about the role of the colleges. The population increased substantially in the last 30 years but the number of seats at the top 10-15 universities are about the same. It appears to the high school kids that the whole admission process is unfair due to preferences for legacies, athletes and URMs. The whole process is not transparent and appears to be subjective and terms like "well-roundness" and "passion" are thrown around not to mention passing the "smell sense". That is why the high school kids are stressed out.

And where does this attitude that they need to get into the top top schools or else they'll flounder coming from? Did they come up with it on their own?

They must as well have. My parents barely knew what harvard is but I wanted to go there. PP is right that ambition is not necessarily coming from parents.

Yeah my sister once really put a Harvard guy down who thought she would be impressed with his Harvard creeds. Harvard, where's that?, she said. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Some say the applicant has to be "well-rounded" (show leadership, volunteerism, not just be book smart etc.) and some say the applicant has to show "passion" (just be extremely talented in 1 area never mind being well rounded) because the selective colleges are building a "well rounded class" along with URMs, legacies and athletes and not seeking well rounded students. Aren't these contradictory?