What do you wish you knew about the college process before starting high school ?

[Anonymous]

I wish my kid had taken the SAT/ACT in the fall of junior year. For his HS class (2021) waiting until spring was a particularly bad choice but even now, doing it earlier gets it out of the way and gives some guidance as to options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To work hard in order to earn top grades.

Prepare for standardized tests such as the PSAT, SAT, And ACT.

That there are good reasons that so many try to get into the very top ranked colleges & universities.

Aim high, but also have match & safety schools that you would enjoy attending.

That it is okay to take a gap year in order to increase odds for admission to an elite school.

What are the good reasons PP? Esp if a kid isn’t gunning for Big law or finance.

Important to be able to interview for the best positions available. Better schools yield better job opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My number one piece of advice is, if you are even passingly interested in top schools, get a math tutor now. Even/especially if your kid is a "humanities kid".

Your kid's guidance counselor gets asked if your kid took the most challenging classes. If they didn't take calc bc and ap physics c (for most high schools around here) the counselor can't say yes.

Get the tutor now and keep it up through graduation rather than crying about it later.

So your advice is to keep pounding, pounding, pounding until the square peg is worn down enough to fit through the round hole?

Any normal student can get pretty good at math with enough exposure. Most of our schools don't offer enough exposure, so supplementing is a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Your kid's guidance counselor gets asked if your kid took the most challenging classes. If they didn't take calc bc and ap physics c (for most high schools around here) the counselor can't say yes.
r.

Source? This isn’t true at our MCPS high school. Have you actually asked?

[Anonymous]

I wish I knew that GPA is everything. I would push my DC to have higher GPA so there are more opportunities and options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That a 1500 and a 4.5 means you are a match only outside of the Top 25

Make it 1590 and 4.85

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I knew that GPA is everything. I would push my DC to have higher GPA so there are more opportunities and options

Is it, though?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I knew that GPA is everything. I would push my DC to have higher GPA so there are more opportunities and options

Is it, though?

Basically, yes. Especially now that the SAT is being de emphasized at many colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anything. I knew zilch about the process.

Mostly, I wish I had known I have LDs, but they didn’t do anything to help back in those days. I had such trouble focusing. ADD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My number one piece of advice is, if you are even passingly interested in top schools, get a math tutor now. Even/especially if your kid is a "humanities kid".

Your kid's guidance counselor gets asked if your kid took the most challenging classes. If they didn't take calc bc and ap physics c (for most high schools around here) the counselor can't say yes.

Get the tutor now and keep it up through graduation rather than crying about it later.

So your advice is to keep pounding, pounding, pounding until the square peg is worn down enough to fit through the round hole?

Any normal student can get pretty good at math with enough exposure. Most of our schools don't offer enough exposure, so supplementing is a good idea.

PP is implying that everyone should aim for AP Physics and Calculus. This is absolutely not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I knew that GPA is everything. I would push my DC to have higher GPA so there are more opportunities and options

For my second kid, I’ll focus more on gaming a higher weighted GPA. Did not with first kid and although their unweighted GPA is strong with plenty of AP classes, their weighted GPA could have been higher with a better course selection strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from the parents that are gunning and scheming and talking about admissions from day one. They will stress you out and will stress out your own kids. I promise you that at the end of the day the biggest flex they will have in their lives is telling the world all of the big name schools they applied to and ultimately will be rejected from. It's the dumbest cycle.....enjoy HS, give your kid room to explore and breathe and have friends, and believe that your kid will be happy and successful in life wherever they end up and they will be!

Why do you hate these parents? They're stressed and want the best for their kids (and yours). If you don't want to listen, walk away. Stop with the schadenfreude. The reason they're talking about college admissions isn't to brag and put you down. It's because they need to vent, and perhaps ask for advice, or give it. That's the reason *I* talk about college admissions with other parents. If you want to gloat later on that my kid didn't get into his dream school... what kind of monster does that make you? I would certainly never gloat that your kid didn't get where they wanted!

Carol being over dramatic, you’re just annoying and PP is right. “Monster” haha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do ED and ED2. effectively

Note that even this is changing.....most kids we know at strong schools were only accepted ED1 to a top 25 if they had a hook. Even super strong top of the class students applying ED to a 20-25 range school. And even the HYPS legacies had a double hook.

I think schools (even some in top 40 range) are pushing back on the grab the full pay ED1s. I don't have a problem with this but it's a shift that's being felt by really strong students who thought they were using ED1 effectively. (Hopefully some of those deferrals come back as acceptances, because the school does still know the student used ED there).

This is not a change in the utility of ED - it is a change in the competitiveness of the top schools. They are now a lottery. Only unicorns get in via ED at the T25. It's a waste to use ED on a Powerball number. Spend it somewhere that it counts.

But this is true if you happen to have a unicorn child - then, yes, go REA or sCEA for Princeton but expect it won't work out. That's what DC did and she got soft rejections from Princeton and 3 Ivies. But she wanted to try. She got in a lot of publics via EA (allowed under REA) and found her dream school that way. However, she did NOT get in her to her RD picks nor did her friends. So the advice I have for OP is to realize that RD works only for some folks so think out REA, sCEA, ED, EA well. Don't count on Rd for anything

My kid is a sophomore, and this string of acronyms alone is giving me anxiety! I have no idea what any of them actually mean.

This board really needs a pinned post for all these acronyms and shorthand terms.

They are just different types of early applications. EA means no restrictions. SCEA and REA are restricted early, meaning you can't apply early to other private schools. ED is binding, meaning if they accept you, you have to pull apps elsewhere and commit. FWIW, mine had the opposite experience of PP. Rejected SCEA but in several Ivies/T15 in RD (regular admissions cycle). There is no one size fits all advice when it comes to timing apps. RD may allow more time to accrue honors/awards. It did for mine and made a difference.

For parents of sophomores, course rigor is important (as long as kid has some interest and won't drown under the load). 3+ years of same language in HS. I'd encourage the kid to identify 1 or 2 activities to pursue with some vigor, ideally with something to show for it down the road-- leadership, awards, portfolio material. Schools want to see passion and commitment that doesn't start end of jr year! Also, find 1 org to regularly volunteer with. I would also suggest sample testing ACT and SAT at end of soph year. Pick the one you like better, buy a prep book and sign up for the Aug/Sep test. It is so good to have that out of the way!

[Anonymous]

It cost is an issue, don’t rule out privates. Private schools sometimes offer better aid packages than more affordable state schools because they have some wealthy alumni donors, so don’t automatically think state schools are all you can afford.

[Anonymous]

The top 150 colleges are ALL great colleges.
You can get a good degree and future career from ALL of them.