How early to start preparing kid for attending a good college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the slim odds for even a student with perfect stats, it is way too early, at least from a standpoint that prioritizes mental health.

I would encourage them to find activities they enjoy and also to do some true service that benefits their community. Hands on grunt work, not creating a fake non profit. If those things translate into resume boosters, great, but if not, at least they did something more meaningful than test prep.

- double grad of two schools on your list who won't be encouraging my kids to follow

This is good advice. I didn’t start to seriously think about Stanford until my junior year when I already had 2.5 years of perfect high school grades and a full IB course load under my belt and was taking calculus. That said, my parents had created the conditions in which I had interesting and unique hobbies that they supported financially, which ultimately made me stand out from the applicant pool. To the extent that they were extremely invested in the outcome of my application they didn’t show it (although I was a triple legacy applicant so I’m sure they cared to some degree)…

I am curious about the interesting and unique hobbies you mentioned.

Which hobbies should we make DD do to be a more attractive candidate for the Ivies?

I hope this is a joke post.

[Anonymous]

I think about this and my oldest is about to start middle school OP! I think you are smart to ask.

My parents didn’t know anything about college applications and admissions and it was a junior - my section lead in band - who told me freshman year that I needed a 4.0 GPA if I wanted to go to a competitive college. No one had ever told me that and it was a wake up call. I was used to getting As and Bs and feeling good about it as long as I did my best. I needed that kick in the bottom to make me take responsibility for tracking that all my assignments got in on time. That’s my biggest worry with my kids because we have “standards based grading” in elementary and they have not been motivated to do better than what I consider C+/B work that is the minimum needed to “meet” the standard.

You also need to talk to parents of older kids at your school to get advice on the best track for classes that build on each other like math. They will help you understand the nuances of schedules specific to your school. Do they need to take a summer school class to free up a spot during the year?

I’ve also learned that some programs or interest have insanely early application deadlines. You’d think living in an area where we register for daycare before we tell people we are pregnant and then register for summer camp in January would prepare me, but I constantly feel like I am failing my firstborn by not being “in the know”. When your kid hears about cool things older students are doing or a parent mentions a program or opportunity that might be good for your kid, write it down and follow up to research the requirements, cost and deadlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have to do the thinking for your child they probably aren’t smart enough to attend schools 1-10 the caliber of the ones listed maybe NOVA CC?

Seriously?
Kids don’t know what they don’t know - especially if their parents didn’t go to college or didn’t grow up in this country or region. Do you want your kid to rely solely on their guidance counselor and whatever their friends with older siblings know? I don’t. I’m not OP, but I want my kid to be armed with the info they need to have as many opportunities as possible so they can choose what is right for them when the time comes to apply. Teaching your child how the world works and supporting them to learn how to navigate the world independently is called parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think about this and my oldest is about to start middle school OP! I think you are smart to ask.

My parents didn’t know anything about college applications and admissions and it was a junior - my section lead in band - who told me freshman year that I needed a 4.0 GPA if I wanted to go to a competitive college. No one had ever told me that and it was a wake up call. I was used to getting As and Bs and feeling good about it as long as I did my best. I needed that kick in the bottom to make me take responsibility for tracking that all my assignments got in on time. That’s my biggest worry with my kids because we have “standards based grading” in elementary and they have not been motivated to do better than what I consider C+/B work that is the minimum needed to “meet” the standard.

You also need to talk to parents of older kids at your school to get advice on the best track for classes that build on each other like math. They will help you understand the nuances of schedules specific to your school. Do they need to take a summer school class to free up a spot during the year?

I’ve also learned that some programs or interest have insanely early application deadlines. You’d think living in an area where we register for daycare before we tell people we are pregnant and then register for summer camp in January would prepare me, but I constantly feel like I am failing my firstborn by not being “in the know”. When your kid hears about cool things older students are doing or a parent mentions a program or opportunity that might be good for your kid, write it down and follow up to research the requirements, cost and deadlines.

The problem is the expectation being set. Getting into Harvard Duke or Princeton is nearly impossible for kids who aren’t already connected or come from a background of elite schools

[Anonymous]

My son got into Princeton and Harvard, he went to Princeton, and he wasn’t the class president, or a star athlete and he didn’t invent Facebook. Neither parent went there so no legacy, he wasn’t a minority. But he was an excellent student, took a lot of AP courses and scored 1560 on his SATs. So, super bright but not a star at those schools. It turned out that what got him in, according to both schools, were his essays which we did not see before he submitted them. He wrote about many special moments in his life that meant a lot to him such as collecting beach glass with his grandfather. I can’t do his writing justice but it was beautiful. He went to a very good public HS but never had a tutor or test prep courses. We never pressured him and he did it on his own. Unless a child really wants it, no big investment in tutors etc will pay off.

[Anonymous]

Oh, please.
OP is fresh from the boat and thinks that getting into Hahhvard will set her snowflake up for life.
Newsflash, OP, this isn't how this works in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son got into Princeton and Harvard, he went to Princeton, and he wasn’t the class president, or a star athlete and he didn’t invent Facebook. Neither parent went there so no legacy, he wasn’t a minority. But he was an excellent student, took a lot of AP courses and scored 1560 on his SATs. So, super bright but not a star at those schools. It turned out that what got him in, according to both schools, were his essays which we did not see before he submitted them. He wrote about many special moments in his life that meant a lot to him such as collecting beach glass with his grandfather. I can’t do his writing justice but it was beautiful. He went to a very good public HS but never had a tutor or test prep courses. We never pressured him and he did it on his own. Unless a child really wants it, no big investment in tutors etc will pay off.

Heard about the benefit of lot of AP courses- what were his ECs? How did he handle it around the AP courseload?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think about this and my oldest is about to start middle school OP! I think you are smart to ask.

My parents didn’t know anything about college applications and admissions and it was a junior - my section lead in band - who told me freshman year that I needed a 4.0 GPA if I wanted to go to a competitive college. No one had ever told me that and it was a wake up call. I was used to getting As and Bs and feeling good about it as long as I did my best. I needed that kick in the bottom to make me take responsibility for tracking that all my assignments got in on time. That’s my biggest worry with my kids because we have “standards based grading” in elementary and they have not been motivated to do better than what I consider C+/B work that is the minimum needed to “meet” the standard.

You also need to talk to parents of older kids at your school to get advice on the best track for classes that build on each other like math. They will help you understand the nuances of schedules specific to your school. Do they need to take a summer school class to free up a spot during the year?

I’ve also learned that some programs or interest have insanely early application deadlines. You’d think living in an area where we register for daycare before we tell people we are pregnant and then register for summer camp in January would prepare me, but I constantly feel like I am failing my firstborn by not being “in the know”. When your kid hears about cool things older students are doing or a parent mentions a program or opportunity that might be good for your kid, write it down and follow up to research the requirements, cost and deadlines.

The problem is the expectation being set. Getting into Harvard Duke or Princeton is nearly impossible for kids who aren’t already connected or come from a background of elite schools

Without having background of elite schools or connected, how can I make more possible number one school for my child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think about this and my oldest is about to start middle school OP! I think you are smart to ask.

My parents didn’t know anything about college applications and admissions and it was a junior - my section lead in band - who told me freshman year that I needed a 4.0 GPA if I wanted to go to a competitive college. No one had ever told me that and it was a wake up call. I was used to getting As and Bs and feeling good about it as long as I did my best. I needed that kick in the bottom to make me take responsibility for tracking that all my assignments got in on time. That’s my biggest worry with my kids because we have “standards based grading” in elementary and they have not been motivated to do better than what I consider C+/B work that is the minimum needed to “meet” the standard.

You also need to talk to parents of older kids at your school to get advice on the best track for classes that build on each other like math. They will help you understand the nuances of schedules specific to your school. Do they need to take a summer school class to free up a spot during the year?

I’ve also learned that some programs or interest have insanely early application deadlines. You’d think living in an area where we register for daycare before we tell people we are pregnant and then register for summer camp in January would prepare me, but I constantly feel like I am failing my firstborn by not being “in the know”. When your kid hears about cool things older students are doing or a parent mentions a program or opportunity that might be good for your kid, write it down and follow up to research the requirements, cost and deadlines.

The problem is the expectation being set. Getting into Harvard Duke or Princeton is nearly impossible for kids who aren’t already connected or come from a background of elite schools

Without having background of elite schools or connected, how can I make more possible number one school for my child?

The only things that seem to really move the needle for some elite schools are their application-only, free summer research programs.

MIT RSI program is one such thing. It of course, is highly competitive, but if your kid is accepted the program is entirely free and you are paired with MIT faculty on a research program. A very high %age of kids accepted into that program are often accepted REA at MIT.

Other schools may have something similar.

Any summer program for which you have to pay is almost entirely worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think about this and my oldest is about to start middle school OP! I think you are smart to ask.

My parents didn’t know anything about college applications and admissions and it was a junior - my section lead in band - who told me freshman year that I needed a 4.0 GPA if I wanted to go to a competitive college. No one had ever told me that and it was a wake up call. I was used to getting As and Bs and feeling good about it as long as I did my best. I needed that kick in the bottom to make me take responsibility for tracking that all my assignments got in on time. That’s my biggest worry with my kids because we have “standards based grading” in elementary and they have not been motivated to do better than what I consider C+/B work that is the minimum needed to “meet” the standard.

You also need to talk to parents of older kids at your school to get advice on the best track for classes that build on each other like math. They will help you understand the nuances of schedules specific to your school. Do they need to take a summer school class to free up a spot during the year?

I’ve also learned that some programs or interest have insanely early application deadlines. You’d think living in an area where we register for daycare before we tell people we are pregnant and then register for summer camp in January would prepare me, but I constantly feel like I am failing my firstborn by not being “in the know”. When your kid hears about cool things older students are doing or a parent mentions a program or opportunity that might be good for your kid, write it down and follow up to research the requirements, cost and deadlines.

The problem is the expectation being set. Getting into Harvard Duke or Princeton is nearly impossible for kids who aren’t already connected or come from a background of elite schools

Without having background of elite schools or connected, how can I make more possible number one school for my child?

The only things that seem to really move the needle for some elite schools are their application-only, free summer research programs.

MIT RSI program is one such thing. It of course, is highly competitive, but if your kid is accepted the program is entirely free and you are paired with MIT faculty on a research program. A very high %age of kids accepted into that program are often accepted REA at MIT.

Other schools may have something similar.

Any summer program for which you have to pay is almost entirely worthless.

PRIMES-USA/MIT-PRIMES is another free program run out of MIT for the mathematically inclined. The alumni of this often do extremely well in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Like other posters have mentioned, the Math pathway is what you need to be most concerned with.

Aside from legacy, it's a lottery for top students, but there are minimum requirements- like math.

Develop good study habits and encourage life long learning.

When middle school rolls around, make sure they're in the most rigorous pathway. Engage in experiences that allows them to find a passion. Help them focus in on that passion so that going into high school they are on track to get involved with their passion on a deeper level.

[Anonymous]

As PPs have stated, RSI is super selective but it's as close to certainty as you can get for acceptance to a top school. According to Forbes: "A third (33%) attend Harvard, 22% attend MIT, 10% attend Stanford, 5% attend Princeton, 5% attend Yale, 3% attend Caltech and 2% attend Duke." So while it naturally gravitates to the Northeast, it still places very well at Stanford, Caltech, and Duke.

Another thing to look at is how to prepare to be a Coca-Cola Scholar: it feeds very heavily to the top schools:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As PPs have stated, RSI is super selective but it's as close to certainty as you can get for acceptance to a top school. According to Forbes: "A third (33%) attend Harvard, 22% attend MIT, 10% attend Stanford, 5% attend Princeton, 5% attend Yale, 3% attend Caltech and 2% attend Duke." So while it naturally gravitates to the Northeast, it still places very well at Stanford, Caltech, and Duke.

Another thing to look at is how to prepare to be a Coca-Cola Scholar: it feeds very heavily to the top schools:

Just FYI...Coca Cola Scholars have to be HS seniors and are not informed until Spring of their senior year. So, all these kids were already accepted to top schools prior to winning. Yes, you can look at what they did to get named a Coca Cola Scholar (believe it is heavy on Community Service).

Another thing to look into is entering the Regeneron Contest. It does require your school have an infrastructure required for Scientific research (you can look up what is required on the website)...which is a bonus to schools like TJ and Blair which already have this infrastucture...but is definitely an impediment if you attend a school that does not as your kid will have to work with the school to create that infrastructure.

Only like 1000 kids enter the contest each year...you don't know if you made the top 100 until January, so past any ED rounds...however, I feel like any kid that even enters and has their research accepted (apparently, some entries do get rejected) is in a fairly rarified group. If you make the Top 100, you can inform RD college you made the Top 100 which likely counts for something.

[Anonymous]

If you look at who gets into RSI, that group is already super selective. Lots of high achieving kids. MIT gets 3000 applications, and accepts 80.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at who gets into RSI, that group is already super selective. Lots of high achieving kids. MIT gets 3000 applications, and accepts 80.

+1 and Coca Cola scholars accepts 150 out of 100,000 applicants, absolutely nuts