EC activities and awards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do all of you know what other kids put on their college applications? How do your kids know what their classmates write?

My guess is they don't. They just want to justify lying to boost their own kid. FWIW, I think it's just one or two frequent posters. I don't think tons of people are fabricating.

I will say, my kid knew of kids in her magnet program who started volunteer tutoring programs during covid that essentially did little/nothing. (Mine volunteered to be a tutor, but there nothing happened). They probably had good intentions (as well as ambitions), but too many had the same idea, and MCPS offered free tutoring, so I don't think the demand was there. I hope these kids didn't try to play that off as some major charity creation on their apps....

'It's the thought that counts' doesn't apply in this situation?

[Anonymous]

This goes back a few years (pre-pandemic) but one of my kids had two liberal arts colleges call the guidance counselor to confirm parts of the application. I don't know what part(s) they asked about - but the counselor told us the schools had called to ask if information was true. I remember one of the schools was Vassar and I can't remember if the other school was Bates or Wesleyan. To be fair, my kiddo's story and extracurriculars were not run of the mill and not easily found via google. So it's not like the kid stretched three years of piano lessons into five - but I imagine the calls were the result of a curious AO and not a general policy to check applications.

[Anonymous]

Why are we even asking/expecting teens to be inventors, entrepeneurs, non-profit starters, etc, etc. When can they enjoy life and be kids?
I know that't not the American way of productivity all the time. Then they wonder why kids are so stressed out...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This goes back a few years (pre-pandemic) but one of my kids had two liberal arts colleges call the guidance counselor to confirm parts of the application. I don't know what part(s) they asked about - but the counselor told us the schools had called to ask if information was true. I remember one of the schools was Vassar and I can't remember if the other school was Bates or Wesleyan. To be fair, my kiddo's story and extracurriculars were not run of the mill and not easily found via google. So it's not like the kid stretched three years of piano lessons into five - but I imagine the calls were the result of a curious AO and not a general policy to check applications.

Must be a private high school and elite liberal arts schools. Our guidance counselor sent a packet for us to fill out (kid and parent) and will likely use what's in there to write their rec. If someone calls, they'll likely go, "4 years of saving sharks from killer whales? yep, that's what the parents said. must be true!".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This goes back a few years (pre-pandemic) but one of my kids had two liberal arts colleges call the guidance counselor to confirm parts of the application. I don't know what part(s) they asked about - but the counselor told us the schools had called to ask if information was true. I remember one of the schools was Vassar and I can't remember if the other school was Bates or Wesleyan. To be fair, my kiddo's story and extracurriculars were not run of the mill and not easily found via google. So it's not like the kid stretched three years of piano lessons into five - but I imagine the calls were the result of a curious AO and not a general policy to check applications.

Found this old post. Curious what activity this was to pique their interest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do all of you know what other kids put on their college applications? How do your kids know what their classmates write?

My guess is they don't. They just want to justify lying to boost their own kid. FWIW, I think it's just one or two frequent posters. I don't think tons of people are fabricating.

I will say, my kid knew of kids in her magnet program who started volunteer tutoring programs during covid that essentially did little/nothing. (Mine volunteered to be a tutor, but there nothing happened). They probably had good intentions (as well as ambitions), but too many had the same idea, and MCPS offered free tutoring, so I don't think the demand was there. I hope these kids didn't try to play that off as some major charity creation on their apps....

'It's the thought that counts' doesn't apply in this situation?

PP here. Sure, somewhat, but I think their web presence suggested it was a huge success serving many, but not exactly misstating.

[Anonymous]

How creative should kid get with activity descriptions?
Can he use ! In the title?