Early start: How do I prep my child 4 college admissions re: extracurricular projects, initiatives,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's funny the number of posters saying "relax!" or acting as though OP is being silly. The same posters have very likely been prepping their kids since birth for AAP and TJ!

Anyway to answer your question OP, I started when my child was in 4th grade by picking an organization we as a family could volunteer at and regularly volunteering. My goal is for my child to one day be more involved in a higher level of volunteering there on her own. This is organization we are committed to and she enjoys. She also has learned a lot of other great skills that will transfer into the real world - dealing with diverse groups of people, time management, etc.

Learning a foreign language in after school club - that's going so so - just started really this year

Plays sports - but nothing very competitive - hoping that this year my child will pick one and stick with it more. Planning to making my child pick in the Spring.

Scouts - my child is involved and has been steadily earning badges

Church-participates in youth group

4H - found out about this through a neighbor - Fairfax county has several 4H clubs, just started this year. They are smaller and they offer more of a chance for leadership.

PP. How old is your child now?

My child is 13 now. Also, to be clear, we are not looking at a path to Harvard, Yale, etc. To be more honest, when she was younger, yes, we were those parents but over the years we realized that wasn't going to happen.
Now, we are just hoping for admission to a state university in VA and not even W&M or UVA but more like JMU, George Mason, Christopher Newport. Yes, we are doing all this just to get into a basic state school. We saw some of our friends and neighbor's kids who had top grades, top scores who were not getting admitted to even those schools not to mention not getting into uva, Harvard, etc. We can not afford out of state school and my kid is not going to have the top grades and top scores. She does well in school - some As, mostly Bs, luckily nothing lower and she doesn't do well at all on standard tests. I forgot to mention, that yes, we have already started prepping for PSAT and SATs and ACT but are not intense about it at this point.
My Dh and I attended basic state universities and did well in our careers BUT that was over 20 years ago and it was just easier back then.
Those whose kids are older and more familiar might have additional insights.

I was going to be gentle with you until I saw that you are prepping your 13 year-old for the PSATs. Yes, you are intense about it. This is not normal.

Your anxiety is screaming from your post. You saw kids not get into certain schools and you got yourself worked up about your own kid and as a result you are posting on message boards and sending her to PSAT school.

Your daughter is a good student. The problem isn;t finding extracurriculars that you can make her love. The problem is she doesn't do well on standardized tests. Thats the only problem you have and its the only one you should be focused on. I would have her tested to see why she doesn't do well because if she could benefit from an accommodation like extra time you do need to lay the groundwork early. And if there's nothing specific like that, let it go. Have her do the prep in 10th or 11th grade and accept that she will be an applicant with good grades and mediocre test scores. There are an increasing number of schools that are test score optional and they would love an applicant like your daughter. She's going to be fine. That is unless your anxiety and pressure make her anxious/depressed (I have older teens and I've seen it over and over again in kids whose parents are hyper focused on college -- the kids seem OK until suddenly they aren't and you have a world of trouble), which would be far worse than lagging test scores.

What public colleges in Virginia are test score optional?

[Anonymous]

I don't get this - Leadership and 4-H. A friend's kids does 4-H for the 'leadership' opportunities. I have asked her several times to explain the leadership opportunities but she just dances around not really answering.

I am not familiar specifically with 4-H, but if it runs like Scout programs, there are probably lots of opportunities for kids to lead and plan projects. Sometimes they'll be in charge of a group, sometimes someone else will be in charge. Both situations give a kid chances to learn about how to become a good leader. Planning, organizing, and following through on long term projects help kids to learn important skills for college and life.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking about this thread. I think the OP is dreaming if she thinks her child will continue to be complaint and do what mommy wants because it will look good for the college admissions people. I would have loved to have all my kids continue with music lessons, for example, but they had other plans. Even the Tiger Mom, Amy Chua, wasn't able to get her kids to always do what she wanted because they grew up and became people with their own personalities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a preteen who spends 99% of his time training for his unpopular sport (in which he is nationally ranked) and a high schooler who spends every summer at every medical and hospital program he can find because he wants to be a doctor.

How do colleges view kids that are passionate and dedicated, but only to one thing?

They love it.

isn't that the opposite of being 'holistic' though?

Holistic is over. Colleges are no longer looking for kids who joined DECA, FBLA, yearbook, the tennis team, and were the president of 10
random clubs. They want the kid who started tinkering with electronics as a 6 year old, started programming in elementary school, and held summer internships and taught programming by high school. Colleges want kids with drive and passion who can commit and follow through. Not just the kids who checked all the boxes that their mom forced them to check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a preteen who spends 99% of his time training for his unpopular sport (in which he is nationally ranked) and a high schooler who spends every summer at every medical and hospital program he can find because he wants to be a doctor.

How do colleges view kids that are passionate and dedicated, but only to one thing?

They love it.

isn't that the opposite of being 'holistic' though?

Holistic is over. Colleges are no longer looking for kids who joined DECA, FBLA, yearbook, the tennis team, and were the president of 10
random clubs. They want the kid who started tinkering with electronics as a 6 year old, started programming in elementary school, and held summer internships and taught programming by high school. Colleges want kids with drive and passion who can commit and follow through. Not just the kids who checked all the boxes that their mom forced them to check.

Don't you mean well-rounded instead of holistic?

[Anonymous]

I wonder if this idea will catch on:

The report, entitled “Turning the Tide,” presses college admissions officers to place higher value on the things prospective students do for the greater good overall in their communities, for their families or at their schools as opposed to focusing so heavily on their personal achievements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this idea will catch on:

The report, entitled “Turning the Tide,” presses college admissions officers to place higher value on the things prospective students do for the greater good overall in their communities, for their families or at their schools as opposed to focusing so heavily on their personal achievements.

University of Washington is trying something different than checked off boxes.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/01/22/uw-joins-effort-to-rethink-admissions-criteria-creates-new-scholarship/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this idea will catch on:

The report, entitled “Turning the Tide,” presses college admissions officers to place higher value on the things prospective students do for the greater good overall in their communities, for their families or at their schools as opposed to focusing so heavily on their personal achievements.

Certainly not in evidence during college tours over the past year. With one notable exception (UW Madison), every school we looked at was highly focused on individual achievement/fame. DC found it a real turnoff.