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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a hard message to deliver and I apologize in advance.  A 3.7 just isn’t all that compelling and neither is a 34 ACT relatively speaking for top 15 universities even coming from a great school like Sidwell.   If your kid isn’t a NMF and/or Presidential Scholar candidate and done some [b]substantive internships or academic research outside of school, [/b]and hit &gt; 3.9 overall GPA having taken the Math I — Math IV sequence plus all the accelerated 1A sciences plus four years of language, plus a &gt;1560 SAT or 35/36 ACT, you really don’t get on the radar screen of the top 15 schools.  Exception is the hooked kids — namely athletes, legacies and URM, but a couple of those hooked kids have the former qualifications, too, making them spectacularly attractive applicants.  These schools really know Sidwell and for example understand that a solid A from Math III is a pretty powerful academic signal.  I just cannot sit by and continue to watch the Sidwell CCO get trashed the way it is by some folks on this forum. In the aggregate, they are doing a good job in a very challenging and competitive environment.  The reality is, putting aside the “branding” element, the top 30 - 50 schools offer a great education.  Sidwell parent of senior.[/quote]

This is a bizarre expectation of any high school student, regardless of what high school they attend. My college student hasn’t had either of those yet, and not for lack of trying. [/quote]

It is very hard for a regular kid to get those opportunities. But you have a contingent of kids whose parents are academics, doctors, researchers or C suite in Universities, who are able to access these ECs and stand out in college applications.[/quote]

Ok, so I am a researcher at NIH and my boss calls and says there is a high school kid who wants an internship. What responsiblities am I seriously giving this kid, other than to clean test tubes and MAYBE prep some slides? It is ridiculous to think that I am putting my grant research or academic standing on the line for this.[/quote]

Still loads better than the zero opportunities my kid has as an unconnected kid. [b]My kid who is great on paper and in person, couldn’t even get a job at the mall.[/b] [/quote]

Then he didn't try very hard. Sorry, but I don't believe this.[/quote]

There are kids in science research programs that have reached out to a hundred scientists to find a mentor.  They just need one yes to create some kind of project.   The ones don't actually get to do so something on a lab have done statistical surveys, retrospective projects using existing data, etc.  Where there is a will, there is a way.[/quote]

Please don't encourage this as the norm! This is unsustainable for scientists and professors!  I have never gotten more emails from high school students.  There are research protections/institutional review boards that do not make this a viable approach.  Have your kid find a data set--there are public ones available and do the science themselves.  We have more college, graduate, post-doc, and early career people to mentor.  [/quote]

The professionals that gave advice to my young scientists had a very different outlook.   One at an ivy and one at a state university.  They were amazing and had a tremendous impact on these young students.   My students and myself are forever grateful.[/quote]

The problem now is it's become a "thing" -- it was fine when it was the few truly interested in science kids.  But now we're inundated because everyone's looking for the new ticket to stand out for college admissions.  It's unsustainable.[/quote]

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