What do I need to know about College Placement from Private School

[Anonymous]

Seconding that an instrument can indeed be a hook--for a school that really wants that instrument/musician.

[Anonymous]

Can i jump in and ask a question? My DD is a science kid. Does she really need to participate in a sport (she could walk on to swim team, but wouldn't do well)? Or can she just focus on the stuff she likes (science, art, tech, etc.)? I don't see how a sport helps her if she isn't good at it. It seems like a big time suck, but she'll do it if colleges expect a sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can i jump in and ask a question? My DD is a science kid. Does she really need to participate in a sport (she could walk on to swim team, but wouldn't do well)? Or can she just focus on the stuff she likes (science, art, tech, etc.)? I don't see how a sport helps her if she isn't good at it. It seems like a big time suck, but she'll do it if colleges expect a sport.

Sports help with college admissions tremendously if you are a recruited athlete. Otherwise participation in a high school sport, while worthwhile for a myriad of reasons, counts as an extra-curricular activity like any other interest or activity. IMO, your child should do activities that she is interested and can show sustained interest in. While a few college teams have some walk-on athletes, it is unusual, they have no admissions boost, and many college coaches do not allow them on their team. The typical walk-on athlete is someone who got into the college on their own and is an excellent athlete who wants to continue playing their sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can i jump in and ask a question? My DD is a science kid. Does she really need to participate in a sport (she could walk on to swim team, but wouldn't do well)? Or can she just focus on the stuff she likes (science, art, tech, etc.)? I don't see how a sport helps her if she isn't good at it. It seems like a big time suck, but she'll do it if colleges expect a sport.

Sports help with college admissions tremendously if you are a recruited athlete. Otherwise participation in a high school sport, while worthwhile for a myriad of reasons, counts as an extra-curricular activity like any other interest or activity. IMO, your child should do activities that she is interested and can show sustained interest in. While a few college teams have some walk-on athletes, it is unusual, they have no admissions boost, and many college coaches do not allow them on their team. The typical walk-on athlete is someone who got into the college on their own and is an excellent athlete who wants to continue playing their sport.

Agree with this (except that the walk-on situation really depends on the sport), and would also point out that if she's really good at science, schools like CalTech, MIT and University of Chicago, seem much less interested in sports than Ivies and LACs do. Wouldn't surprise me if that were true of engineering schools as well. The holistic approach is not the norm in college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can i jump in and ask a question? My DD is a science kid. Does she really need to participate in a sport (she could walk on to swim team, but wouldn't do well)? Or can she just focus on the stuff she likes (science, art, tech, etc.)? I don't see how a sport helps her if she isn't good at it. It seems like a big time suck, but she'll do it if colleges expect a sport.

Sports help with college admissions tremendously if you are a recruited athlete. Otherwise participation in a high school sport, while worthwhile for a myriad of reasons, counts as an extra-curricular activity like any other interest or activity. IMO, your child should do activities that she is interested and can show sustained interest in. While a few college teams have some walk-on athletes, it is unusual, they have no admissions boost, and many college coaches do not allow them on their team. The typical walk-on athlete is someone who got into the college on their own and is an excellent athlete who wants to continue playing their sport.

Agree with this (except that the walk-on situation really depends on the sport), and would also point out that if she's really good at science, schools like CalTech, MIT and University of Chicago, seem much less interested in sports than Ivies and LACs do. Wouldn't surprise me if that were true of engineering schools as well. The holistic approach is not the norm in college admissions.

Agree with PPs. It makes no more sense for a science kid to participate in a school sport she doesn't care about than it does for a top athlete to waste time with ECs he or she has no interest in. Except for those very talented few who somehow can excel at everything, admissions counselors can spot resume-building from a mile away. Better to do one or two things (school work and something else) very well.

[Anonymous]

Also, given the broader context of the thread (private school admissions counseling), it's worth pointing out that private school counselors typically aren't science-oriented. So your DD may get steered to LACs when, actually, she might be better off at OOS public flagships where the course offerings, faculty, and research opportunities are much broader, deeper, and more diverse. The private school view of prestige doesn't always serve science students well. It seems to focus more on student demographics than on academic resources.

[Anonymous]

I'm the science kid's mom. Thanks for the guidance. It is helpful. I'd rather have her focus on her passions so that makes me happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seconding that an instrument can indeed be a hook--for a school that really wants that instrument/musician.

+1. Your kid also needs to be really good, as in state level or national level good. I say this as the parent of a musician who got into a top 5 USNWR university by winning a state-level prize and soloing at the Kennedy Center. I don't think even these would have been enough without great grades and SATs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD going to what is regarded as a strong local private next year in 9th Grade. Goal is Ivy League. What do I need to do/know starting now. Is the college coach type thing worth it? They charge 10-15K for one kid.

You don't need to do or know anything. Your DD will need to make sure she picks a schedule that fits her academic interests and meets the common requirements of 4 year institutions. Whose goal is Ivy? If it yours, you need to step waaaaay back. If it is hers, you need to step waaaay back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD going to what is regarded as a strong local private next year in 9th Grade. Goal is Ivy League. What do I need to do/know starting now. Is the college coach type thing worth it? They charge 10-15K for one kid.

You don't need to do or know anything. Your DD will need to make sure she picks a schedule that fits her academic interests and meets the common requirements of 4 year institutions. Whose goal is Ivy? If it yours, you need to step waaaaay back. If it is hers, you need to step waaaay back.

This attitude is such condescending B.S. I can tell you that very, very few kids in the Ivy's had parents who stepped waaaay back.

[Anonymous]

Focusing on passions sounds good but as you entered 9th grade, did you really know what your passions were?

I had never played an organized sport of any kind when I started practice before the 9th grade. That was more than 35 years ago and rarely a week goes by when I'm not out practicing soccer that I picked up on August 15th, 1979. It wasn't such a big sport in the rural area I grew up in. I never won anything personally but I was the 13th man on the state runner up team as a senior. Memories I will never forget. I also know the pressure I faced trying to make varsity and in state JV tournaments helped me learn to focus and deal with my nerves during tests, both in the classroom and for the SATs.

My suggestion is to go out for a sport as a freshman and see where it takes your DC. Admissions is not going to hold trying a sport against a student.

"I'm the science kid's mom. Thanks for the guidance. It is helpful. I'd rather have her focus on her passions so that makes me happy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Focusing on passions sounds good but as you entered 9th grade, did you really know what your passions were?

I worry that my smart, competitive DC is so focused on being perfect at everything that he doesn't explore and try things that he isn't assured of being really good at. You got to test things out to find out if they spark something in you. You can find great joy and fulfillment out of activities that don't go on a college application or increase your future earning power. Spouse and I try very hard to model being game for anything and trying all sorts of new things, but that mostly proves that we're goofy to DC (and I'm sure we are). Obsessing about getting into college or future job prospects is a recipe for a shallow personality or lots of therapy later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Focusing on passions sounds good but as you entered 9th grade, did you really know what your passions were?

I had never played an organized sport of any kind when I started practice before the 9th grade. That was more than 35 years ago and rarely a week goes by when I'm not out practicing soccer that I picked up on August 15th, 1979. It wasn't such a big sport in the rural area I grew up in. I never won anything personally but I was the 13th man on the state runner up team as a senior. Memories I will never forget. I also know the pressure I faced trying to make varsity and in state JV tournaments helped me learn to focus and deal with my nerves during tests, both in the classroom and for the SATs.

My suggestion is to go out for a sport as a freshman and see where it takes your DC. Admissions is not going to hold trying a sport against a student.

"I'm the science kid's mom. Thanks for the guidance. It is helpful. I'd rather have her focus on her passions so that makes me happy."

This isn't really reality anymore. By 14, other kids have been playing for 7-8 years. You can't pick up sports in high school (at least not at the level that would matter in any respect for college admissions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focusing on passions sounds good but as you entered 9th grade, did you really know what your passions were?

I had never played an organized sport of any kind when I started practice before the 9th grade. That was more than 35 years ago and rarely a week goes by when I'm not out practicing soccer that I picked up on August 15th, 1979. It wasn't such a big sport in the rural area I grew up in. I never won anything personally but I was the 13th man on the state runner up team as a senior. Memories I will never forget. I also know the pressure I faced trying to make varsity and in state JV tournaments helped me learn to focus and deal with my nerves during tests, both in the classroom and for the SATs.

My suggestion is to go out for a sport as a freshman and see where it takes your DC. Admissions is not going to hold trying a sport against a student.

"I'm the science kid's mom. Thanks for the guidance. It is helpful. I'd rather have her focus on her passions so that makes me happy."

This isn't really reality anymore. By 14, other kids have been playing for 7-8 years. You can't pick up sports in high school (at least not at the level that would matter in any respect for college admissions).

Depends on the sport.

[Anonymous]

Football and being the right size being the major exception to years of training