Advice for sixth grader to get into UPENN M&T program

You’re in 6th grade, man, and you have no idea what you will want by 7th grade. You will go through so many changes, both physical and mental, by the time you start college, that you have no idea now what you will want then.

My kid at 6th grade was an entirely different person than the person she was when she was applying to colleges. During middle school she was in robotics, math clubs, and orchestra, in high school she was in activism, dance, and science, and she ended up majoring in neuroscience in college. She also went through periods in which she was focused on fine arts, on creative writing, and on other things.

Give yourself the space to be able to explore all the things that are out there, and which will be available for you in middle school and in high school. As long as you don’t forget about the importance of your academics and of being engaged in activities and interests, college will take care of itself.

You should read this thread - the responses are relevant for you as well: Thinking about college

Here is a version of what I write for kids who are just starting high school, so it goes even more so for you:

College admission is not a target, college admission is not a goal, college admission is not a prize. College is the one of the possible ways to continue your education once you have finished high school. The college you choose and those which choose you will be based on what you did in high school.

You should not be planning your middle school and high school education in order to “qualify” for admission to some perceived “dream” college or colleges. You should should plan your middle school and high school education to get as much as you can out of school, to get some idea what you want to do in your life, to see what you are capable of doing, and to figure out who you are (at least as much as is possible).

Your school plans should be based on your interests as well. If science interests you and you want a science future, choose the most rigorous science courses that you high school has available. Same for social sciences, humanities, art, etc. If you continue to find engineering to be interesting, try to see in you can attend camps for engineering geeks or robotic geeks. Join clubs like VEX robotics.

In another five years, by the time you are a junior in high school, you will have a better idea what you want to do for your next step in you education, and THEN you should be looking which colleges will be the ones that best fit these steps.

You match your college selection to your high school education and achievements, you don’t try to match your education and achievements to your pre-selected colleges.

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