B+ in AP Calc AB--UPenn still an option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

Our college counselors say this doesn’t work, good luck!

It’s about execution….
And, no, you cannot start junior or senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you shouldn't rush your kids ahead of their comfort level in math.

If OP's kid stayed on a sustainable track, the kid could be in Honors Precalc that year instead of AB, and then take Calc BC at the same time as they are in reality, but with As and a solid understanding, instead of rushing and hitting a wall.
Now the kid looks like someone chasing higher levels without learning lower levels well.

She has a B+. Chill.

Seriously.

The raw scoring difference between an A grade and a B grade (because colleges typically drop the + and - notations when recalculating and standardizing GPAs for all applicants) might be as little 1 - 2 points.

One kid at 90.1 with an A vs. another kid at 89.4 with a B, and you think AOs are differentiating the latter as “unprepared” for the content??

You got it backwards.
Recalculating means thay an 89 is effectively an 85 and 90 is effectively a 95. They don't say "oh maybe it was a 89" they say "it's a B". GPA drops 0.05 (20 core curses 1 point per letter).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you shouldn't rush your kids ahead of their comfort level in math.

If OP's kid stayed on a sustainable track, the kid could be in Honors Precalc that year instead of AB, and then take Calc BC at the same time as they are in reality, but with As and a solid understanding, instead of rushing and hitting a wall.
Now the kid looks like someone chasing higher levels without learning lower levels well.

She has a B+. Chill.

Good luck chilling your way into UPenn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

How random could it be if your HS offers elective classes in it?

I was thinking you find a major that has maybe less than 10 kids at Penn graduate with that major each year...whatever the heck that might be?

It’s adjacent - fits into the whole narrative. Map out all of the students’ interest.

Look at majors at the schools and try and find ones that are adjacent. Then try to find corresponding classes this week to it, have the kid do an independent study on a niche topic, and have that teacher write the recommendation about that niche interest. Apply for a couple of awards or local or state recognition from really random obscure places.

This is not rocket science at all, but it does require a ton of research and it’s not something a 16-year-old can do alone.

There are a lot of ideas about this on college confidential, and Reddit

So, I hope it works for you...because you are absolutely proving the point of making your kid fairly miserable to go down this rabbit hole. I will agree that if you are willing to hire a 6-figure+ college consultant, I would assume they will essentially do all the legwork for you.

However, how do you make any of this happen if you are current a HS Jr. You won't be able to take these HS electives until next year, so you can't have your HS teacher write the recommendation about this niche interest.

Your kid must be younger. My comments were also factoring in time constraints.

If you have a junior senior, now, you might be able to look at other majors like philosophy… That’s an easy one or ancient history (instead of history)…. it really does depend on the specific interests of the kid already documented; and what their extracurriculars are already in.

You can really map this out if you spend time on college websites. And with kids resume.

Important to know what grades papers the kid has written in high school (that were particular interest or can be positioned of particular interest) that his recommenders might be able to speak to, and if any are at all related to niche majors.

Instead of being an English major be a comparative literature major.

Instead of a poli sci major, try philosophy, or an affinity/ethnic major if possible etc.

It takes hours of research to find the right fit here. And I have a senior and a younger kid in Hs.

Again, comparative literature is not an arcane major. Philosophy also is not an arcane major. Penn graduates plenty of kids each year in those majors.

I would think for this strategy to work, you need to talk about your lifelong interest in Piraha or another obscure foreign language (make sure Penn offers it of course). Really obscure stuff.

No: I doubt there are many comp lit majors! There were hardly any 20 years ago when English was one of the most popular majors. English itself is struggling to attract kids now, and philosophy is too. Russian also!

Whether this works as an admissions strategy though, I don’t know. I think of it seems too obvious it could backfire. And some of these departments are not especially well resourced for undergrad classes. They exist mostly for their grad students and don’t expect or need many undergrads.

They are not as many applicants in these majors as you’d think. Do the research yourself if you’re interested.

I’ll be happy to weigh in on what worked and didn’t work in the spring….
Signing off, so as not to reveal more of my secrets!
J/k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

Our college counselors say this doesn’t work, good luck!

It’s about execution….
And, no, you cannot start junior or senior year.

The key is having really involved parents who orchestrate all of this. That is not going to work for every kid.

If that’s the dynamic in your family, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you shouldn't rush your kids ahead of their comfort level in math.

If OP's kid stayed on a sustainable track, the kid could be in Honors Precalc that year instead of AB, and then take Calc BC at the same time as they are in reality, but with As and a solid understanding, instead of rushing and hitting a wall.
Now the kid looks like someone chasing higher levels without learning lower levels well.

She has a B+. Chill.

Good luck chilling your way into UPenn.

Sure. It might take her out of the running for Penn, but it doesn't mean she doesn't have a solid understanding of the material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/186n79l/she_got_really_lucky_that_her_mom_got_cancer/



Get some breast cancer and she's fine.

My daughter said writing about that stuff nowadays is a bad idea. She refused to write about my cancer - trauma porn is now frowned upon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

I'll pass on this recommendation to encourage DC to lie/be dishonest and fabricate an interest where none exists.

My kid's high school is littered with quirky clubs with just a couple of members that were probably created for this purpose!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

Our college counselors say this doesn’t work, good luck!

It’s about execution….
And, no, you cannot start junior or senior year.

The key is having really involved parents who orchestrate all of this. That is not going to work for every kid.

If that’s the dynamic in your family, go for it.

💯

That said, you have to have a kid who can be orchestrated, or lie about it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

I'll pass on this recommendation to encourage DC to lie/be dishonest and fabricate an interest where none exists.

My kid's high school is littered with quirky clubs with just a couple of members that were probably created for this purpose!

Same at our private school. The school encourages it actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

Our college counselors say this doesn’t work, good luck!

It’s about execution….
And, no, you cannot start junior or senior year.

The key is having really involved parents who orchestrate all of this. That is not going to work for every kid.

If that’s the dynamic in your family, go for it.

💯

That said, you have to have a kid who can be orchestrated, or lie about it all.

This.

My junior is like "heck no, mom",
1) "I'm not going to make up and then attend clubs at school because you told me so."
2) "I'm not going to lie about my interests and identity on my college application."

Who the heck are your 17/18 year olds that they are this pliable in your helicoptering hands?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you shouldn't rush your kids ahead of their comfort level in math.

If OP's kid stayed on a sustainable track, the kid could be in Honors Precalc that year instead of AB, and then take Calc BC at the same time as they are in reality, but with As and a solid understanding, instead of rushing and hitting a wall.
Now the kid looks like someone chasing higher levels without learning lower levels well.

She has a B+. Chill.

Seriously.

The raw scoring difference between an A grade and a B grade (because colleges typically drop the + and - notations when recalculating and standardizing GPAs for all applicants) might be as little 1 - 2 points.

One kid at 90.1 with an A vs. another kid at 89.4 with a B, and you think AOs are differentiating the latter as “unprepared” for the content??

You got it backwards.
Recalculating means thay an 89 is effectively an 85 and 90 is effectively a 95. They don't say "oh maybe it was a 89" they say "it's a B". GPA drops 0.05 (20 core curses 1 point per letter).

That’s the point. Any process involved that concludes with “the latter kid was unprepared, or materially less prepared than the former kid”, is obviously off the mark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/186n79l/she_got_really_lucky_that_her_mom_got_cancer/



Get some breast cancer and she's fine.

My daughter said writing about that stuff nowadays is a bad idea. She refused to write about my cancer - trauma porn is now frowned upon.

Kick it up a notch. Write about how trauma porn is now frowned upon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a big reach. I am just trying to be honest with you. You need to lower her expectations NOW. DS got into Penn and had a 3.97 from a DC private with near perfect scores and high rigor. He went to different Ivy. Graduate school legacy matters very little at Penn. It is a harder admit for non STEM girls, too. To increase her chances, I would zero in on a very arcane major (one that they have trouble filling classes for) and write a lot about it in the essays (authentically). Consider having her apply ROTC, a big booster as a female applicant. Be very specific about what she brings to the Penn community in the essays. Have her fight to raise that B+ to at least a A-. AB Calculus just isn’t deemed very hard from a school like Penn’s perspective. Your daughter is being compared to her classmates (especially other girls) so if there is a hooked classmate or one with a better total package, it will be hard for her to stand out. Find matches and likelies. Good luck!

I don't see how you write authentically about an arcane major unless you were in fact interested in an arcane major prior to HS Jr year, and show something tangible to indicate that interest.

Don't have your daughter magically develop an interest in something obscure and then ruining her JR and 1/2 her SR year of HS trying to prove the interest.

It’s not that hard to be honest.
Create a club at school; add one or two other things and college counselors can help create a narrative. Search on CC for ideas .

Take the elective classes in that subject offered at your high school.

We’re trying it this year. I’ll let you know how it goes

Our college counselors say this doesn’t work, good luck!

It’s about execution….
And, no, you cannot start junior or senior year.

The key is having really involved parents who orchestrate all of this. That is not going to work for every kid.

If that’s the dynamic in your family, go for it.

💯

That said, you have to have a kid who can be orchestrated, or lie about it all.

This.

My junior is like "heck no, mom",
1) "I'm not going to make up and then attend clubs at school because you told me so."
2) "I'm not going to lie about my interests and identity on my college application."

Who the heck are your 17/18 year olds that they are this pliable in your helicoptering hands?

If kids are ambitious enough to want a t20, and they go to very competitive and rigorous schools, they all realize it takes something extra.

Just good grades, and good scores and a little bit of school leadership does not cut it anymore.

It’s a sad reality.

[Anonymous]

I'm also a UPenn alum and as I understand from conversations with the current Dean they are phasing out legacy somewhat or at least deprioritizing it significantly from what it was in the past.

So do share that with your child so they are not counting on it. It used to be a significant hook at Penn, esp double legacy like you have.