I didn’t attend any actual Ivy League university. I do know many people who either got degrees or are currently getting degrees from universities at the same level (such as MIT and Stanford, or in a few cases an actual Ivy League school). What we all did is compatible with my understanding of what is recommended in the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. Specifically, we did what was right for us, whatever we did we did it well, and we treated people fairly. What we each did was wildly different, but in each case we did what was right for us. This is worth reading by students and by parents of students.
In deciding between AP Capstone versus an outside research project, I would similarly forget about university admissions, and do whatever is right for the student.
Both options sound great to me. Your daughter should do whatever is right for her.
And this is definitely something to keep in mind. We each need to figure out what pace is right for us, and this can vary widely among even the strongest students and most successful people.
This is not easy. However, if we do what is right for us, and do it very well, then university admissions will work out one way or another.
17 year olds who don’t know their butt from their elbow about college admissions should not be used as a source.
10 AP courses and the qualified “only” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence. 10 is more than sufficient. Taking additional online will not make for a stronger application.
I think your 9th grader should do AP Research & Capstone instead of an outside research project. Here’s why (or, here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth ):
there will be a lot going on in 11th and 12th grade. Your daughter might have other extracurriculars she wants to explore in addition to doing a research project. Whether it’s a sport, clubs at school, maybe a part time job, etc.
just because the current senior who is hoping to get accepted to an Ivy League college says that he thinks your daughter should do it as an outside research project because it’ll ‘look better’ on Fancy School apps doesn’t mean it’ll actually look better. That senior is hoping that it’ll give him an edge, but what he doesn’t realize is there are literally thousands of high achieving seniors applying to those colleges who ALL have done impressive research projects and many of them STILL GET REJECTED from those Top 20/Top 25 colleges.
INSTEAD she should focus on exploring things that interest her. She loves playing a sport right now? Great. She should do that because she loves it and she’s plugged into her high school community. In 10th grade, let’s say she decides, “You know what? I want to join the basket weaving club.” Go for it. Try it out. If she changes her mind, that’s fine & totally normal. You get my drift.
she shouldn’t necessarily rely solely on other high school students for advice on how to go about this. Sure, she can listen to what they have to say, but consider their usually uninformed opinions & advice in conjunction with other information your family gathers through other sources (like the counselor at school, for example).