If you say so…
Here’s an article from a few years ago but still applies: Pricey summer pre-college programs won't get your kid into a better school - CBS News
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got it.
Has anyone ever heard of the guidance counselor knowing if a kid got in like the week before the acceptance were sent out.
I would think that would be an insiders event or a pure accident…and probably a termination event for anyone working in an admissions office.
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Technically correct, however, Cornell, like many other universities, have summer programs for pre-college kids, but also summer school for their existing students.
While I am sure the pre-college summer programs are a money maker, and little else for the universities, I have seen a number of instances where HS kids who attend Cornell’s summer school (not HS summer program) have that experience help with their ED admissions.
Obviously, you need to get great grades in the summer school courses to make this a positive impact, but everyone I know who has used this path has been successful in gaining admission.
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My kid went to Purdue STEP - and when he got in, he received $10K merit. Kids at his HS with higher stats got no merit.
Was the summer program the reason he got $10K or the fact that he started an aviation club at school or something else?
No way to know - but I imagine it could help but per all the opinions out there that it doesn’t, it likely doesn’t.
One can never be assured.
I would do a program for the right reason - and that shouldn’t involve college admissions. In my son’s case, it was - he wanted to do engineering but we (as parents) wanted to ensure that he knew what that even was - especially because he changed his desired major 3 times in his last two years of HS, finally settling on the 4th (engineering) which he stayed with through college.
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To our Parents,
I know this thread is used for info sharing purposes, but some of the posts seem to be full of angst. At times, I too feel like if my boy doesn’t get into his “dream” school it will be a big disappointment (since he’s applying to my alma mater). But I also keep in mind that I never let HIM see that because I don’t want him to feel like he failed, and that if he has to go to his 2nd or 3rd choice school that he is somewhat less than what he thought, which might translate to less excitement on going off to college. Obviously it goes without saying that we all want the best for our kids, but lets not forget that they get alot of their cues from us. They’re under enormous pressure to compete academically and socially, so the less stress we give them, the more they’ll accept the idea that its all good. My strategy is to talk up ALL the schools my boy is applying to, not as a comparison but as a differentiator. This way if he doesn’t get into Cornell, he’ll still be just as excited to go whatever school he gets into. IMHO, it will hellp out in the long run in assimilating into the new chapter of their life.
As for our student applicants,
Don’t stress. You can’t change anything at this point. You put your best foot forward with your applications to ALL of those schools you applied to, and you chose them because each have their wonderful strengths to take advantage. Remember you’re SENIORS!!!..take advantage of the time you have left in high school. And when you do go to college, you’re going to have a blast wherever you end up. Dorms, socials, clubs, sports…professors who will push you beyond what you’re used to…its all relatively the same. Just learn, make your parents (and yourself ) proud, and have fun. What you make of it is what matters.
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Just relax and do one’s best. A particular school never defines who a person is and in general this is probably even irrelevant. Given what is happening in American elite universities now, this becomes even much less relevant. Just watch MIT, Harvard and UPEN congressional testimony and you get an idea what is happening there. I work for a big major company, and we have people from Harvard/Stanford all the way to San Jose State University. I see very similar from silicon valley’s other major companies. A school label may be helpful for self-esteem and initial social connections, but it won’t do too much beyond that. Be happy, keep pursuing your dream and being a useful human with integrity are more important. Quite frankly, if one dumps half million cost for such private school into “magnificent 7” a while ago, one’s return would be a lot better in terms of financial freedom.
Always encourage your kids no matter which school he or she goes to or even the kid messes up. At the worst, not many jobs in this world need a brilliant brain anyway to be successful.
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Interestingly, in the new task force findings, Cornell talks a few times about building out their pre-college summer program. They seem to be hoping to use it to connect with high achieving under represented students. Here’s just one of the quotes:
For high-achieving students in high schools that lack rigorous curricula, the opportunity to
demonstrate their ability to succeed in Cornell-level courses can boost their chances of being
admitted. Recognizing that in-person pre-college programs will be limited in their reach
because they are resource-intensive and some high school students may not be able to leave
their homes for the duration of a summer program, a suite of online courses should be
developed through eCornell specifically to recruit high-achieving high school students.
Instructors of these courses would be in a position to provide admissions staff with first-hand
insight about course participants who have the potential to thrive at Cornell and therefore
should receive focused follow-up communications and be tagged within Cornell’s applications
processing system (Slate) should they ultimately apply.
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Did anyone receive an email from Cornell on Financial Aid discussion on Dec 13? The timing seems weird along with ED results coming up
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My DD just got the same email. Yes, the timing does seem weird. I hope this is a good sign because why would they send this invitation to all applicants who applied for financial 1 or 2 days before the ED results come out if they are going to get rejected?
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I would assume these types of emails go to everyone. Possibly with the FAFSA not yet released they won’t be able to give definitive financial aid packages to ED admits and they are going to talk that through?
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We got it too
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Thats what I was wondering too
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It was done last year too, the night before announcement. Dec 14 7pm is the proposed date this year. So this is routine. Let’s hope for the best and plan for other scenarios.
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well said.
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My son got the email as well.
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I got the same email as well.
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I see the same thing. What’s more puzzling is that I’m an international applicant so it’s supposed to be blank for me (per the Cornell fin aid page)
I’ve mailed the fin aid dept about this. Hoping it’s not something negative, has me worried fr.
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