OP, one thing to bear in mind: Rather than focusing on "top tier" colleges because she has a 4.0, please let her focus on whichever colleges have the majors and programs that she most wants. She might fit beautifully at a place that has exactly the major she's looking for -- whatever that proves to be when the time comes -- than at someplace that has a generally prestigious name and high rankings (by whose standard? Ranked on what criteria? Top school for which professions, and which areas of study aren't really at that college despite its high "rank"?).
If the program of study isn't a fit for her individual interests and ambitions, the college's reputation really doesn't mean a lot to her. The college name on a diploma might open some doors, but they might not be the ones she really wants to go through.

Meanwhile: Yes, volunteering is always good, and tutoring is great. Also:

Literary magazine
School newspaper
Creative writing club -- they do exist in high schools and if she can get a good faculty adviser this could be great for her
Writing camps and classes -- lots in the DC metro area, and for HS kids, not just younger ones
Writing contests -- if she is really into writing she could try entering contests. There are essay contests held by lots of groups, play-writing contests held by some local theatres, etc. She could research them. If she's not a competitive person or doesn't write well under competitive pressure, don't push it.

She should do what she wants to be doing, in a way that fits into her academic schedule. If that means just one activity, that's fine. But please don't have her rack up extracurriculars with one eye always on how they'll look on applications.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many people are being super witches here. OP asked an innocent question. If you can't be helpful, move on. She doesn't need your nasty preaching or condescending attitudes.

OP -- I can be helpful. My little plan worked for my dd who graduated from an Ivy. I would need to know if your child goes to a public or private school and what year they are in. Most people start too late. If child is older than rising freshman, it is late in the ballgame.

Top Ivies want people who are the best in whatever their passion is. So, if your child likes to write, as you say, then she will need to enter and win some writing contests.

For volunteering to have any recognition...child must start something themselves. Must have excellent recommendations from the people served.

Good luck! Don't listen to the naysayers. Check out fastweb.com for some ideas of all of the scholarships and contests out there. Mine won about 6 or 7 national contests and was a recruited athlete as well.

Helicopters at 12 o clock - incoming!

+1
Honestly, I would rather my child do one really average extracurricular that he was actually interested in - or even no ECs and just come home and read books for pleasure every day - than micromanage him into doing things just to catch the eye of the admission committees. What a complete sham.

I hope the "elite" colleges that require kids to jump through these manufactured hoops are aware that most of these kids are only doing so because the school requires it and because their parents are making them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?

Any suggestions for places to tutor kids with literacy challenges?

Oh, come on OP. Do you really need to be spoon-fed to this degree?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=literacy+tutoring+volunteer+opportunities+montgomery+county+maryland

The funny thing here is that even the Mom can't figure this out herself and/or she's managed to outsource her helicoptering to DCUM!

Anonymous wrote:I think many people are being super witches here. OP asked an innocent question. If you can't be helpful, move on. She doesn't need your nasty preaching or condescending attitudes.

OP -- I can be helpful. My little plan worked for my dd who graduated from an Ivy. I would need to know if your child goes to a public or private school and what year they are in. Most people start too late. If child is older than rising freshman, it is late in the ballgame.

Top Ivies want people who are the best in whatever their passion is. So, if your child likes to write, as you say, then she will need to enter and win some writing contests.

For volunteering to have any recognition...child must start something themselves. Must have excellent recommendations from the people served.

Good luck! Don't listen to the naysayers. Check out fastweb.com for some ideas of all of the scholarships and contests out there. Mine won about 6 or 7 national contests and was a recruited athlete as well.

Helicopters at 12 o clock - incoming!

It isn't black and white pp.

I recently attended a seminar on getting into college and I'm telling you, recruiters told us that they can tell when a student is being helicoptered and they are looking for students who are passionate and who take initiative. I am guessing because those types of students will stay strong when the going gets tough whereas the helicoptered student will be the first to crumble.

I agree mom should butt out. Either she's interested and motivated or she's not. You can't engineer her future. At this age you should not be suggesting her activities. if she does nothing there are still good schools that will take someone with a 4.0 GPA. And when OP gets down into asking where to find X, Y Z activity, it just makes me think her DD is not even ready for college. If she can't do this on her own, there's a larger issue.

I think many people are being super witches here. OP asked an innocent question. If you can't be helpful, move on. She doesn't need your nasty preaching or condescending attitudes.

OP -- I can be helpful. My little plan worked for my dd who graduated from an Ivy. I would need to know if your child goes to a public or private school and what year they are in. Most people start too late. If child is older than rising freshman, it is late in the ballgame.

Top Ivies want people who are the best in whatever their passion is. So, if your child likes to write, as you say, then she will need to enter and win some writing contests.

For volunteering to have any recognition...child must start something themselves. Must have excellent recommendations from the people served.

Good luck! Don't listen to the naysayers. Check out fastweb.com for some ideas of all of the scholarships and contests out there. Mine won about 6 or 7 national contests and was a recruited athlete as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?

Any suggestions for places to tutor kids with literacy challenges?

Check with you local library, her old elementary/middle school teachers and ESOL teachers. Google literacy advocates etc.
what does she do with her time now? I agree with some of the other posters that she has to be driven to do something beyond getting good grades as that's not enough to get into a top school. Something that sets her apart and makes admissions remember her for her and not another good student from a probably relatively well off family and location. Good luck! I hope she finds something she is truly passionate about and not just for college but because it helps center you and define who you are and who you can be which is hard as a teen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?

Any suggestions for places to tutor kids with literacy challenges?

Oh, come on OP. Do you really need to be spoon-fed to this degree?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=literacy+tutoring+volunteer+opportunities+montgomery+county+maryland

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?

Any suggestions for places to tutor kids with literacy challenges?

Oh my god, woman! LET HER DO THE LEGWORK! It's HER LIFE. Stop trying to help so much! She really needs to take some initiative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?

Any suggestions for places to tutor kids with literacy challenges?

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Let her take the initiative. Relax, OP. Colleges want to see students take initiative. They can tell when mommy and daddy are pushing their kid to do things. It is a recipe for failure when they are out on their own. Are you the type of parent that will show up and do their laundry for them?

Anonymous wrote:Literary magazine if she likes writing

If there is t one, she could start it and name herself editor

Thanks- literary magazine is a great idea!

Anonymous wrote:No need for snark. I'm just trying to get some ideas to share with my daughter. She will probably find a club or activities that interest her, but if DCUM had some interesting ideas I thought I'd share them with her. I keep reading about kids with "great ECS" and I'm wondering what types of activities these are. Sports? School newspaper? Yearbook?
The only reason I said top tier college is because she has a 4.0, although I realize that these days straight As and good scores don't necessarily get you into a top ranked school. That's partly why I'm trying to help her find some interesting ECs. She loves kids, babysits a lot and works in her schools childcare center.

Given what you have described, maybe she would enjoy tutoring children or adults with literacy challenges?