Regrets?

[Anonymous]

What do you wish you had known when your DC was starting high school? (Or, better yet, what does your DC wish they’d known, done, and not done?) What ended up being important in college admissions, what ended up being overkill, etc?

[Anonymous]

My senior really wishes they studied more freshman year. That 9th grade GPA is dragging down the high grades in later years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My senior really wishes they studied more freshman year. That 9th grade GPA is dragging down the high grades in later years.

+1 I've heard many teens say this

[Anonymous]

Agree with prior poster. All grades, every year, matter. Alos, we let DS's learning resource teacher (he's at very rigorous DC private, with a pretty severe ADHD and exec function disorder) talk him into taking only 5 courses junior and senior year. Huge mistake. Even if he had filled that extra spot with an easier arts class, it would have looked much better on the transcript. DS has intelligence that is above 98% of the population, but has been deferred or rejected by 8 colleges so far, including safeties you wouldn't even believe--and no acceptances. It's a nightmare and due to very bad decision-making--not for lack of hard work. Grades and a full, rigorous course load.

[Anonymous]

What about the pressure to sign up for intensified courses in 9th grade and/or taking lots of AP classes?

[Anonymous]

Hire a reputable SAT tutor.

[Anonymous]

Not a regret, but grades matter so much! I feel so bad when I hear people talk about Freshman year as not important because I know how hard it is to pull up a lower GPA. I think take the slightly easier class and get an A versus the one you think looks more rigorous and get the B. I saw many kids at my kids school take "lesser" classes, end up with a higher GPA and then have an easier time with admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the pressure to sign up for intensified courses in 9th grade and/or taking lots of AP classes?

Starting sophomore year with a GPA above 4.0 puts you in a good position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the pressure to sign up for intensified courses in 9th grade and/or taking lots of AP classes?

My kid took 1 AP in 9th grade (NSL) and 1 in 10th (US history) and that seemed plenty.

[Anonymous]

My son would say to get more involved earlier on. He went into junior year with basically nothing but participating in a varsity sport. He didn’t get into NHS because of lack of leadership and volunteering which was actually a great wake up call for him. He spent junior and senior year getting more of that done and did get into NHS and his dream school even with a comparatively weak EC list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son would say to get more involved earlier on. He went into junior year with basically nothing but participating in a varsity sport. He didn’t get into NHS because of lack of leadership and volunteering which was actually a great wake up call for him. He spent junior and senior year getting more of that done and did get into NHS and his dream school even with a comparatively weak EC list.

Could you share the school? Thx.

[Anonymous]

Really none for us. We had a great partner in our school and that *really* helped. I would say if your school starts its college counseling program junior year or later, get your own private counselor. We had 4 years of college counseling services and they were invaluable. The other recommendation we got from friends was to have a private tutor for SATs not a group class. We followed this advice and were very happy. My own personal piece of advice is not to get hung up on the PSAT. It’s nice for your high school if kids score high and it certainly is helpful for the kids who do well, but not scoring in the stratosphere has no impact on admissions or how well your kid adjusts to college. We knew people who prepped the PSAT and that just wasn’t worth the money to me. And yes, get those good grades freshman year! They make a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Grades matter so much and that sucks when there is so much variation in grading policies among teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really none for us. We had a great partner in our school and that *really* helped. I would say if your school starts its college counseling program junior year or later, get your own private counselor. We had 4 years of college counseling services and they were invaluable. The other recommendation we got from friends was to have a private tutor for SATs not a group class. We followed this advice and were very happy. My own personal piece of advice is not to get hung up on the PSAT. It’s nice for your high school if kids score high and it certainly is helpful for the kids who do well, but not scoring in the stratosphere has no impact on admissions or how well your kid adjusts to college. We knew people who prepped the PSAT and that just wasn’t worth the money to me. And yes, get those good grades freshman year! They make a big difference.

I agree with this. I used to think it was ridiculous. But at our NoVa, very rigorous private, college counselor won't even talk to you until mid-way thorugh junior year and nobody is helping kids and parents understand how important choices from 9th grade on really are. If I had to do it over, I would have had outside counseling for our first at least, until we got the lay of the land. Now that I learned all the mistakes with our first, I know how to help my youngers ones make better decisions.

[Anonymous]

NP. The private college counselor thing is very interesting to me. we are in an okay but not great school district, with not many kids at all going to selective schools, although the valedictorian did go to Harvard last year. I'm really concerned that the guidance counselors will be completely clueless about what it takes to get into these schools, and put my kid in a worse position in many ways because they may be totally ignorant when it comes to applying at that level. Food for thought, thanks.