I find that a lot of folks use this form to humble brag about their kids. My child only has a 3.97 and got a 32 on the ACT is their any chance that he could get into a decent university with grades and a score like that? In the meantime other parents are looking at their kid's 3.6 GPA and ACT 27 score thinking..."Oh no, my kid will never get into college" .

It's better to just put your energy into what is happening today and see where that eventually takes them.

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a high-achieving, National Merit Finalist, #1 in the class kind of kid, the very best advice I can give you is to step away from this forum and not come back until spring of sophomore year.

Spend the time between now and then nurturing your child's love of learning, helping him/her find one or two areas of particular interest and - above all else - get him/her to read, read, read. Doing those things will hopefully lead to good grades, and prepare DC for the standardized test regimen.

We are a pretty laid-back family, and I've been a little surprised at how stressful and protracted this process has become. The later you can wait to start, the less time you'll have to spend in its throes.

I actually think spring of sophomore is bit late. Once your child is in HS, the process should start, IMHO.

Anonymous wrote:it's like everything on DCUM, this forum is so addictive to me. the more i read, the more i worry.

should i come back in a year or two before driving myself crazy?

btw i don't have a future Ivy Leaguer. i'd be thrill with good in state schools.

I think it is fine. You can get a lay of the land (although some things will probably change by the time your oldest is heading to college). You benefit from hindsight of the posters about what activities would be good for your child in MS (mainly the ones that interest and attract them). You get an idea of which things you can let go and which things may be problematic in the future.

However, it should not drive you crazy.

As the parent of a high-achieving, National Merit Finalist, #1 in the class kind of kid, the very best advice I can give you is to step away from this forum and not come back until spring of sophomore year.

Spend the time between now and then nurturing your child's love of learning, helping him/her find one or two areas of particular interest and - above all else - get him/her to read, read, read. Doing those things will hopefully lead to good grades, and prepare DC for the standardized test regimen.

We are a pretty laid-back family, and I've been a little surprised at how stressful and protracted this process has become. The later you can wait to start, the less time you'll have to spend in its throes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you should come back until at least 10th grade. And stop worrying. Your kid will get in somewhere. If they don't thrive there, they can transfer.

+1 OP, it is far, far too early to concern yourself with college issues, and DCUM is hardly representative of what the average person thinks about various colleges. Come back in about 4 years, and then take what you read with a grain of salt.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Don't come back here. Go to College Confidential where people actually know what they are talking about.

But stay away from the Chance Me forum. The majority of kids are overachievers who think an A- is a death sentence relegating them to community college (well, not all). The Parents Forum is pretty good, though, and Ask The Dean is good also.

Op, don't come here. Go to College Confidential for more comprehensive advice. But give it a rest for a few years.

The only thing you should be doing now is thinking about the financials. Make some estimates of what college will cost fir your kid and give some serious thought to how you will pay for it. Make a financial plan and put it into action.

Then forget about college at last until 9th grade. 10th is probably the right time to start actively thinking about college.

Anonymous wrote:it's like everything on DCUM, this forum is so addictive to me. the more i read, the more i worry.

should i come back in a year or two before driving myself crazy?

btw i don't have a future Ivy Leaguer. i'd be thrill with good in state schools.

Yes, unless it's to laugh at all the psycho helicopter parents hyperventilating about whether or not their precious little flower won't get admitted to the Right School because they were only the runner up for that Nobel prize...

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you should come back until at least 10th grade. And stop worrying. Your kid will get in somewhere. If they don't thrive there, they can transfer.

+1 OP, it is far, far too early to concern yourself with college issues, and DCUM is hardly representative of what the average person thinks about various colleges. Come back in about 4 years, and then take what you read with a grain of salt.

Anonymous wrote:Don't come back here. Go to College Confidential where people actually know what they are talking about.

or State School Confidential

Don't come back here. Go to College Confidential where people actually know what they are talking about.

Don't come back until tenth grade.

Also, read The Blessing of a B Minus, by Wendy Mogel.

I don't think you should come back until at least 10th grade. And stop worrying. Your kid will get in somewhere. If they don't thrive there, they can transfer.

it's like everything on DCUM, this forum is so addictive to me. the more i read, the more i worry.

should i come back in a year or two before driving myself crazy?

btw i don't have a future Ivy Leaguer. i'd be thrill with good in state schools.