Is a Campus Tour Really Necessary?

Colleges & Universities Brown University
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<p>The “working with kids at church” thing is always impressive (to me) when it’s combined with other child-related activities- eg, mentoring/tutoring at the middle school, reading to kids at the library. Then, it suggests a pattern of interest in kids and willingness to do for them. An option for Chelsea would be to organize for the church kids to sing at a nursing home- then it’s a double hit: kids and the elderly. Or, she could start a gently-used kids clothing drive at church, for needy families. That would show caring, inspiration, initiative, ability to interface with the leaders of whatever group received the clothing, etc. Run this a few times over the next two years. Come up with similar ideas.</p>

<p>A lot of kids only project a vision of themselves in college- walking across the quad to classes, etc. They forget to project just how their application will be rated by adcoms. Thousands of 4.0-plus, top score kids. You have to make yourself stand taller in a tall crowd. There is no one magical formula, but it is entirely possible to craft an advantageous impression. Just remember, with most top students participating in some combination of Key Club, MUN, debate, school newspaper, something at church, music lessons, some once-in-a-while fundraiser, you have to show your special uniqueness.</p>

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<p>rainbowrose: Wow, that’s get you got into Tulane! Congratulations! </p>

<p>I’m going to really focus on the essays because I think writing is one of my strengths. </p>

<p>I hope that admissions officers like me. I don’t think I’m particularly interesting, but I think if I make sure my application has “me” written all over it, I should be okay in that aspect. </p>

<p>That’s what my mom says. She says, “It’s not about where you go, but about the education that you’ll receive.” Which is true, but I want to live in a different part of the country for a while. I think college will make that easier. </p>

<p>It’s okay. My text messages are always novels. :)</p>

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<p>JRZMom: I don’t really want to go to HYP. I think that people who think that they have to go to them are crazy.</p>

<p>Rankings really don’t matter to me, but I want to go to a university where all of the students are there because they deserve to be. </p>

<p>Yeah, for ACT prep, I’m using Barron’s 36. I’m trying to prepare myself for the math section. I’m mostly worried about it. </p>

<p>I love to help teach Sunday school and I’m definitely putting it on my app. I’ll have to speak with the children’s minister about an activity for the kids. Thanks for the idea! :)</p>

<p>I’ll compare the financial aid offers that I get when the time comes.</p>

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<p>lookingforward: I’ll look into tutoring. I’m sure that I could find some people who need it! </p>

<p>Like I told Rainbowrose, I really hope that the admissions officers want me to be a part of their class.</p>

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<p>I just wanted to say good luck in the future Chelsea! I’m sure if you keep up the good attitude admissions officers would love to have you in their class. </p>

<p>It’s weird but posting on this particular thread has made me feel better. Even though I’m pretty much over Brown, I am an insane Emma Watson fan so I watch a lot of her interviews. I still get pangs in my stomach when she explains why she chose to go to Brown and when I see threads about people who got into Brown ED. Thanks for the help (or at least chance to vent anonymously :P)! While the majority of the people on these boards have no idea what they’re talking about (including myself a lot of the time) there are definitely some kind-hearted souls who actually give good advice. </p>

<p>P.S. YAY I’m officially a 2nd semester senior :D.</p>

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<p>rainbowrose: All of my senior friends are excited, too! I’m really going to miss them. </p>

<p>Thanks so much, by the way. I hope you’re right. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I’ve always liked Emma too, but she’ll have graduated from Brown when I start my freshman year of college. Maybe I could see her if I went on a campus tour. ;)</p>

<p>You all are so generous with your advice and it’s helped me so much to know that my dreams are possible. You’ve really encouraged me. </p>

<p>Even though you got deferred, there’s still a chance you could still get into Brown. Don’t give up yet!</p>

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<p>Looking forward –</p>

<p>Clothing drives are nice but in Scouts, we try to steer kids away from claiming a drive as a leadership thing. Because while it is a worthwhile thing to do & the items are needed and appreciated by those who receive them, the person running the drive is not doing a lot of dealing one on one with others, developing leadership skills, or developing a program, event, service project etc on his/her own. You put notices in the church bulletin, paper, etc and wait for the items to come in, then you sort, clean, transport, whatever. It’s nearly solo work. </p>

<p>It’s a good deed, but it does not involve as much planning, research, coordinating, setting up & taking down, getting others to help with an event or events, as a more complex service project does. </p>

<p>If you can incorporate a drive into something else you are doing, so that it is a part but only a part of it, that is great . The people who need the items get them, and the young person gets the experience planning & all the other things I mentioned. </p>

<p>A possibility could be having part of the price of admission to an event be a couple of cans/cartons non perishable food. I have seen badge workshops where part of the admission fee was a roll of paper towels (to be given to the wildlife rehab center—it is their cage liner). </p>

<p>We have a girl in our Scout troop who spent a lot of time for a couple of years teaching Sunday school in her church. She was developing the lesson plans herself, and planning the craft activities she included (she is artistically inclined). She was not a “helper” for an adult SS teacher. I consider that real leadership experience. If she wanted to cite it for job or other applications, I would suggest to her that she get a letter from the religious ed director of her congregation, or the pastor, describing the level of work she had done.</p>

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<p>Rainbowrose–congrats on 2nd semester beginning! My dau begins hers, too, today.</p>

<p>Don’t you guys worry abt Ms Watson. She would have gotten into any school – she has the brains to do the work (I notice others from those movies seem to be skipping college) and there are few colleges who would miss the fact she is in a position to help fund scholarships in future years. </p>

<p>And she and other “famous people” really hate to be noticed at their campuses, so if you ever run into any, pretend you haven’t. </p>

<p>You have been so thoughtful to come on this thread & talk abt your situation & Brown – I know no matter where you go to school, you are going to be a huge asset to that place. Too bad you cannot clone yourself and spread your goodness to many campuses!</p>

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<p>Jrz- sounds like the Scouts are lucky to have you supporting them. Agreed, a clo drive is not that big, in itself. Maybe just a good deed. </p>

<p>This branch of the convo started because, way back, Chelsea said there were few opps in her area. So, in her case, if it’s one hs kid organizing a drive at church, as an extension of working with Kgarten kids anyway and if it’s done more than once, it can show initiative and ownership. When I look at apps, sometimes, even the small things that one does independently can speak volumes. (Especially, when the applicant is not in an urban or suburban area where opps might be more routine or structured.)</p>

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<p>Another thing that I was kind of wondering was: does it look bad when, for example, on the ACT if I got a 35 English, 34 Reading, 32 Science, and 24 Math?</p>

<p>I know that there’s a significant decrease, but that’s how I’m predicting my scores to be. I don’t know how to prepare myself for the math section.</p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>If you are strong otherwise, one lower score can be ignored- especially when you are not going into a concentr that depends on math. Geographic diversity will help you, as will being out of the city. Frankly, something like 4H can stand out- if you take serious advantage of the various leadership, public speaking, volunteer and etc opps. (Win something.) Glowing teacher recs help, as do rigorous classes (in the context of what your school offers.) Eg, stick with the highest level math, even AP calc if you can manage it. Summer school, even at a comm coll is good, obviously at a U is better- and some special by-application scholars program is best. See the pattern? It will spin your head- but, no matter where you land, it’s a life lesson and you will always be proud of trying. Oh, but have fun, along the way. All competitive colleges want to know they’ve got real kids who can enjoy themselves, too. And, we know you want to go live in a big, exciting city, but there are so many great LACs. Part of college is the friends you make- we haven’t even begin to discuss that yet. Part of college is also deciding whether you want to be a little fish in a big pond or big fish in a little pond. So, when you look at schools, beyond the pretty marketing stuff, at some point start to look at the actual course catalogs online (on schools’ web sites.) That will give you a great idea of which schools, even smaller ones, have super IR or poly sci or history or econ depts, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised.</p>

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<p>lookingforward: I think the toughest math classes offered at my school are pre-calculus and dual-credit college algebra. </p>

<p>I have won several awards from entering things into the county fair. I won a trophy at a debate tournament last year. That’s all so far, I think. </p>

<p>Going off to college will be a big change for me. Right now, there are only148 people in my class. The one thing that annoys me about my school is sports seem like they come before academics.</p>

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<p>When my oldest dau graduated from h.s. in 1997, her class had 150 kids. Today, at the same school, third dau’s class has 400. The growth is from housing developments going up in the area.</p>

<p>It really makes a difference — there are more things to be involved in now, many of them invented by the students. There are several student-run a cappella singing groups, there are new arts clubs, the school now has football (not a shining light imo; takes too much money from other things). There are also more elective courses offered. </p>

<p>However, in the class of 97, a number of the students from that school were accepted at Ivy & similar schools. </p>

<p>Take your toughest math courses, but don’t worry too much that they are “only” pre-calc. That would matter more if you had plans to be an engineer. It does not “look bad” if your math score is lower than your humanities ones; that is actually the norm—for kids to be stronger in one area than another. There are also plenty of students with stratospheric math & science scores who struggle to write an enjoyable paragraph (enjoyable to others).</p>

<p>The ACT tests actual knowledge of the subjects; they are not playing logic puzzle games with you. So to prepare yourself for the Math portion, make sure you know how to do the kinds of Math it is covering. I would go to the ACT website — there are practice tests & questions and review helps on both the College Board (SAT) and the ACT sites. And there are those practice books. Just use them! </p>

<p>Also, if your school offers ACT-prep classes or after school help for these tests, sign up. If they don’t, see if you can go to a Math teacher for some extra coaching.</p>

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<p>JRZMom: If you don’t mind me asking, was your oldest daughter valedictorian? I don’t think that I will be. There are people who get better grades than me, but they’re happy with just going to college locally. </p>

<p>In the last year, my school has been sued by students and there has been a lot of controversial things happen. All of those were sports related, by the way. They’ve even caused people in surrounding towns to look down upon the students. </p>

<p>I know that my school offers ACT prep, but I’m pretty sure you have to be a junior to take it… I’ll have to check for sure. </p>

<p>I always dread math, but I need to relax and have confidence. I have a book and I always do the question of the day, but I’ve noticed that the same question is repeated.</p>

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<p>Chelsea–</p>

<p>My oldest dau was salutatorian, which delighted us. It meant she got to wear the ribbon but she didn’t have to spend her graduation weekend writing a speech, while her grandparents were visiting. The Valedictorian got to do that while <em>her</em> grandparents were visiting! </p>

<p>And it didn’t matter a darn vis a vis college acceptances. Those were ancient history by the time the vale/salut stats were finalized. </p>

<p>You can always ask if you can take ACT prep in your soph year. Just because other kids choose to do that prepping in Jr year does not mean you have to wait till then to do it. If there is a fee, offering to pay the fee will usually quiet the objector. If someone says “No one has ever done that before,” the response is “there is a first time for eveything,” Delivered with a big genuine smile. If they say “What will you do in Jr year?” you can say, “I will take the course again; it will help me bring up my Math scores.” </p>

<p>In our school the kids are encouraged to take the PSAT in autumn of soph year. The PSAT when taken in autumn of Jr is the make/break for whether you are considered for a National Merit Scholarship. </p>

<p>If the first time you ever see it is the day you are taking it as a NMSQT (scholarship qualifier), you are at a disadvantage. So it is better to take it in Soph year, and have the practice. Then it does not scare you in 11th grade, and if you had weak spots you have had a year to address them. </p>

<p>The same is true for the ACT — take it early & often, whether in the form of practice tests at home, in prep classes, or even “for real” as the offical ACT at a testing center, and your scores will be higher than if you waited till 11th grade and took it “cold.” </p>

<p>I will tell you something about those tests—my oldest dau had a couple of prep books, and as you know they have old tests (“Real SATS!”) bound in them, for you to use as practice tests at home. </p>

<p>So, one of the times she was taking the SAT “for real,” she noticed the questions were seeming vaguely familiar. And easy — she knew the answers quickly.</p>

<p>So she came home and looked at her prep books — and sure enough, an entire section of the SAT she had <em>just</em> taken was in the prep book, word for word! ETS had put a chunk of an SAT they had sold to the publisher of the prep book, in that day’s test. </p>

<p>Another good reason to use those prep books, and do the ques of the day!</p>

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<p>JRZMom: Just as long as I’m in the top ten of my class, I’m happy. </p>

<p>My school doesn’t offer the PSAT or even the PLAN. Maybe I could ask my counselor if I could take it anyway. </p>

<p>Wow, that’s crazy! She was pretty lucky. I hope that happens on the ACT too. </p>

<p>I’ve decided to take the SAT Subject tests the summer before my senior year. Brown doesn’t require them for ACT takers, but if I do well, it can only help me. </p>

<p>I’ve heard that Barron’s 36 isn’t good to prepare for the English section of the ACT. Is that true?</p>

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<p>I know that this thread hasn’t been touched in over a month, but I just wanted to ask a general question. </p>

<p>I received my transcript a few days ago and I am currently ranked 19/146. My GPA is also a 3.8 (it was combined with last year’s), but I’m pretty sure that it will be a 3.9 by the end of the year. I am especially irritated about my class rank because at the end of 8th grade I was ranked 7/139… It makes me so irritated. Brown cares more about your GPA than your class rank, right? </p>

<p>I’m working on my schedule for next year, and I’m taking 8 total classes (5 of which are honors and one is an independent study). I really messed up last year (by getting 2 B minuses), but I hope that Brown will see my improvement when it comes time for me to apply. </p>

<p>If anyone has any advice/comments that will calm me down, I would really appreciate it.</p>