U. Illinois Urbana?

I posted about pointy kids above.

I'm sorry to say it, but admissions is also all about brand. Private U.S. Universities are very different in this respect from the famous European universities that get lots of state money. So the US universities are looking for kids who are going to become rich or famous, or better, both, and then donate a lot and get the school mentioned in blurbs about "Larla Lark, a graduate of X university." They've latched onto "passion" as a way of weeding out the drifters. Who knows if that will work for them.

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that Macalester is holistic, actually cares about well-rounded individuals or something.

My fear would be that the Admissions Committee saw she had done nothing else and concluded that she was a grind who had to work really hard for her good grades vs. someone who was naturally smart. They may conclude that she did no extracurriculars because it was a struggle for her to get those grades or that she spent all her time being tutored, going to Stanley Kaplan, etc.

Best not leave those ten spaces for extracurriculars blank. Heck she must do something other than watching TV. Does she have a favorite author and has she read all the author's books? Is she involved with church?

It's really dangerous for you to present her to colleges as 'here's someone who won't contribute to the college community at all.' There will be someone else with the exact same grades PLUS extracurriculars and that will be your competition.

Yes, that is exactly the kind of student that colleges don't want. College in the US is about more than academics; students live together and form a community, so schools are looking for students who will contribute to and further that community. They want students who are involved with their interests in some way. So, a writer could help with the newspaper or literary journal, a musician could play in the orchestra or band, an actor can be in plays, etc. All the different types of things that make the college a more enjoyable or interesting place to be. The only way a college can tell if a kid will be a contributor to the community is if they have a track record of being that type of person in high school.

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that Macalester is holistic, actually cares about well-rounded individuals or something.

My fear would be that the Admissions Committee saw she had done nothing else and concluded that she was a grind who had to work really hard for her good grades vs. someone who was naturally smart. They may conclude that she did no extracurriculars because it was a struggle for her to get those grades or that she spent all her time being tutored, going to Stanley Kaplan, etc.

Best not leave those ten spaces for extracurriculars blank. Heck she must do something other than watching TV. Does she have a favorite author and has she read all the author's books? Is she involved with church?

It's really dangerous for you to present her to colleges as 'here's someone who won't contribute to the college community at all.' There will be someone else with the exact same grades PLUS extracurriculars and that will be your competition.

False dichotomy between being a grind versus being "naturally smart." You get good grades however you get them. Everything else comes after that. Agree that it is a must to have some work experience or demonstrated commitment to at least some extracurricular activities.

Anonymous wrote:Big state schools have more of an emphasis on grades/scores and less on the other "holistic" factors.

+1

Anonymous wrote:OP, I empathize. I have two kids who sound just like your daughter - great students but zero interest in extracurriculars. To be honest, I can understand why. So many clubs, etc. are complete BS and they just prefer to come home, read, write, do their own thing. I think it's such a shame that these days, kids are supposed to come up with some kind of circus act or sideshow to prove they're "well-rounded". Whatever happened to having a creative and rich inner life without the need to constantly participate in clubs and teams? Where are the colleges that appreciate the smart introvert? I think Europe has it right in that they don't base university admission on how many activities a student is involved in, but rather on what kind of grades and test scores the student achieves.

+1. I couldn't agree more. My kid is hard working and an excellent student but in his free time, he wants to curl up on the couch with a good book or catch up with Dr. Who. The last thing he wants to do after school or on the weekend is spend an hour in traffic and another hour chasing a ball around a field. There is too much emphasis on ECs in the US- it isn't like this in Europe. I don't even remember having to list any in my college apps. in the U.K. and my relatives in Canada had a similar experience.

[quote=Anonymous]We did the college tour two years ago and are gearing up again. The whole "well rounded" thing is now passé and colleges say they are looking for "pointy" kids with demonstrated passions. This was at the selective and highly-selective colleges we toured, and we heard this over and over. By passions, they apparently don't mean a heartfelt essay about how a kid wants to go into healthcare and save the world. They mean the kid has an extensive track record in, say, volunteering at community health care organizations and in school ECs that involve international and local service.

Agree that public universities aren't as concerned with ECs.[/quote]I also noticed the information sessions I attended also stressed the importance of a track record. Stanford and Princeton sessions also emphasized a track record in music is desirable. I would think that might be the case of any college with a symphony or marching band. Some of the best college symphonies affiliate themselves with local professional symphonies so it wouldn'the be a stretch that exposure to youth symphonies in high school could be a hook.

We did the college tour two years ago and are gearing up again. The whole "well rounded" thing is now passé and colleges say they are looking for "pointy" kids with demonstrated passions. This was at the selective and highly-selective colleges we toured, and we heard this over and over. By passions, they apparently don't mean a heartfelt essay about how a kid wants to go into healthcare and save the world. They mean the kid has an extensive track record in, say, volunteering at community health care organizations and in school ECs that involve international and local service.

Agree that public universities aren't as concerned with ECs.

Our experience was that Macalester is holistic, actually cares about well-rounded individuals or something.

My fear would be that the Admissions Committee saw she had done nothing else and concluded that she was a grind who had to work really hard for her good grades vs. someone who was naturally smart. They may conclude that she did no extracurriculars because it was a struggle for her to get those grades or that she spent all her time being tutored, going to Stanley Kaplan, etc.

Best not leave those ten spaces for extracurriculars blank. Heck she must do something other than watching TV. Does she have a favorite author and has she read all the author's books? Is she involved with church?

It's really dangerous for you to present her to colleges as 'here's someone who won't contribute to the college community at all.' There will be someone else with the exact same grades PLUS extracurriculars and that will be your competition.

Agree McGill (although it is huge and has very little structure or support for students, so if she is socially anxious and likely to isolate herself, may not be a good idea for her), or St Andrews in Scotland or University of Edinburgh. Maybe a place like Wesleyan if she applies early, if her scores are that fantastic and she can write an interesting essay and bill herself as a true intellectual, you never know, they might take her to beef up their stats.

Anonymous wrote:I forgot to mention-She won't be valedictorian but she's in the top 20% at least. She wants to be far away (specifically, Chicago, but I don't have any idea why.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD attends a challenging HS and has great grades and truly amazing test scores with minimal studying. She's sure to get good teacher recommendations and has taken a good amount of APs. In school, she's a model student and I know I'm her parent, but she's a really smart kid. Out of school, however, she's totally unmotivated. No extracurriculars. None. She used to do some, but quit due to dislike. Watches TV all the time and gets her homework done by procrastinating then freaking out. Obsessed with comedy shows and writing, yet completely unwilling to try and make that a hobby at least. That's almost entirely due to her social anxiety, but now that she's a senior there's no way to start over. What kind of school wants a student who's very weak on extracurriculars but very good on academics? Is there hope?

Foreign Schools - but she has to be really good academically - if you want to apply to oxbridge, you can only pick one or the other and your interview will be focused in the field you want to study.

McGill

Some State schools.

I agree with the foreign schools recommendation. We did a tour of some Canadian schools - they are only interested in grades/scores. It was rather refreshing that you don't have to fake an interest in extra-curriculars.

I'm not American - I find this whole "well-rounded" student concept a bit bewildering.

Anonymous wrote:22:17 here - top tier schools (Ivy, UChicago, Northwestern..etc.) will demand more than just excellent stats but as you move away from those schools, the process is less holistic and more stats driven. A lot of state schools you can overcome weakness in EC with strong stats. But, again, this wouldn't work at top tier schools.

+1. OP - Are you in MD or VA? What's the situation with $ - full pay/FA needed/looking for merit?

Big state schools have more of an emphasis on grades/scores and less on the other "holistic" factors.

Macalester College sounds like a really good fit. You want a slac ranked from 15-30 that will take her for her test scores and recs to juice their stats, but that will still offer her a good academic environment in a caring setting with nice kids.