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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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,[b] 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)[/b].  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![/quote]

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.

[/quote]

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[/quote]

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?[/quote]

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 [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.

[/quote]

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.
[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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