<p>D is a rising senior. She has done well enough. She will be applying to some reach schools. She also has a good match in mind.</p>
<p>We have no clue how and to what extent any of us can do anything to give her a leg up. </p>
<p>First, D. She is interested in psychology. Should she contact schools to set up interviews? Should she contact the head of the psychology department? If so, what on earth would she say? I think she might faint dead away if she had to do a personal interview with anyone. Is that sort of thing important enough to insist that D do it? Or will she just hurt her chances if she does poorly?</p>
<p>Second, the parents. Should we canvass friends to see who knows someone at Big Elite School? We are double-legacies at an Ivy. What should we do with that?</p>
<p>Sorry to be so clueless, but my husband and I both just went to the closest public university and so never navigated the college admissions process. I feel like the whole world knows what to do except us.</p>
<p>Trying to dig up connections is not going to be productive.</p>
<p>Also, contacting professors is not really useful in most cases. Some schools, like Ivies, say that they don’t consider demonstrated interest very much (if at all) in decisions.</p>
<p>Also worth noting is that marking psychology as a major won’t generally affect admissions chances unless she has pursued that significantly. If she has done tons of internships, etc. and says that she is DEFINITELY going into psychology, that’s different. But marking a major (particularly an offbeat one) is not always going to be important, especially if it’s not backed up by something else.</p>
<p>Most schools set up alumni interviews. She won’t be at a disadvantage if she interviews with a local alumnus versus an admissions officer.</p>
<p>Her interest in psychology is real, thank goodness. She took AP psych, one of her recommendations is from her psych teacher, she is on the psychology research journal and will have to write a research piece for publication this year, and she got a 5 on the AP test. I cannot tell you how relieved we were to see this child finally get passionate about <em>something.</em></p>
<p>What then should she do with all of this demonstrated psych interest?</p>
<p>So she should do an alumni interview with each school she’s interested in?</p>
<p>Oh, man. This is going to be like pulling teeth.</p>
<p>I think it is more important to understand how the system works rather than how to work the system. Since you are unfamiliar with current college admissions, I suggest you read some books. One that I recommend is called “Admission Matters”. Sorry, I can’t remember the author, but you should be able to google it. Also, I found it in my local library. I think it gives a very good description of how college admissions works and what colleges are looking for.</p>
<p>Her interest in psychology is wonderful, she can showcase that in her ECs, with LORs, and in her essay. Having a research paper is great. </p>
<p>I agree that trying to dig up connections or talking to profs in the psych department (save that for grad school) are not the way to go. Colleges will ask on their applications if she has any legacies, so that’s where she will state that information. How much weight it will hold varies with the college.</p>
<p>All colleges state their interview policies on their websites, she should sign up for an on campus or alumni interview at the schools that she’s interested in.</p>
<p>A factor that you haven’t mentioned is money. There is great information on this site and I also like: finaid.org</p>
<p>Now, what else to do with it? It depends. If she has a lot of other passions, definitely play up the research, etc. as an EC. She might want to consider it as an essay choice if she’s not doing many other ECs (showing focus on one or two things, which means that she values depth of breadth). If she has questions about psych at the different schools, definitely get in contact with teachers. But it doesn’t usually lead to anything beyond information. As in, it’s not going to establish a relation with the teacher that will get her into the college. Psychology is an unusual one, but not so unusual that it will raise eyebrows (in my opinion). If the school has a strong psychology department, the demonstrated interest is definitely important, so it’s great she’s found her niche.</p>
<p>She needs to start brushing up on interview skills in all likelihood. You haven’t posted the schools that she is considering, but many of them require or recommend interviews. If she is truly awful, then she can pass on the optional ones. But there are schools out there that require them, and it would be terrible for her not to apply because of fear of interviewing. So I would suggest working on that now if any schools require an interview. </p>
<p>I think that the best way to game the system is to position yourself (your daughter needs to). She is interested in psych. What else does she want to come out in the application? Does she love working with kids? Spending time with family? Emphasizing certain traits in the essays and interviews is the best way to present yourself as who you are (or the best parts of you). Make a list of things that are important to her, and find experiences that can help draw those out (i.e., essay fodder). She may want to position herself as someone interested in psych and writing who combines her passions by writing articles about psych for publications and the school newspaper (or whatever), but helps young kids having trouble with English (or whatever). Is she a strong leader? Compassionate being? Pick the most descriptive trait and make sure it comes out in the app.</p>
<p>"econd, the parents. Should we canvass friends to see who knows someone at Big Elite School? We are double-legacies at an Ivy. What should we do with that?</p>
<p>Sorry to be so clueless, but my husband and I both just went to the closest public university and so never navigated the college admissions process. I feel like the whole world knows what to do except us."</p>
<p>Unless her parents went to an Ivy undergrad, your D wouldn’t be considered an Ivy legacy.</p>
<p>My husband and I aren’t ivy undergrad, but ivy grads. I read on the ivy web site that grad school counts. We’ve donated over the years, but they haven’t exactly erected any statues of us on the campus. Which perhaps takes this ivy down from a SuperReach to a MajorReach.</p>
<p>It sounds like our role will be helping her toughen up and do some interviewing. Oh well. Gotta learn to do this sometime. She did an interview to get on the psych journal (two, in fact), so maybe this damsel in distress routine is just an act. Let’s hope so. </p>
Which perhaps takes this ivy down from a SuperReach to a MajorReach.</p>