<p>I started really thinking about DD’s college admission process earlier this year. Went through several joyful ups and painful downs. Now what? Other than one more SAT II Math subject, all there is left for me is to write checks for application fees. Followings are her stat which qualifys DD for just about any school. Do I miss anything? </p>
<p>GPA - 4.0 UW and she will have at least 9 AP when she is done with high school
Class ranking: school does not rank but she should be at least top 5
Very broad range of EC and many academic awards including governor school of art, state math top 5, Tennis team cham of county, Yale book award, national placement in National Spanish exam, civil service award for community services, etc
ACT: 34 (E36, M35, R35, S30)
SAT II: Phy - 800; Bio M 750; USH - 750
QC knows DD well and should give her a good recommendation letter.
English class next year will focus on essays.</p>
<p>Also, she will put in Asian american from Laos in all the application.</p>
<p>PS. will do a couple school visits in the summer</p>
<p>Now what? Take your D to see colleges - now is the time to start. Incorporate family vacation time with the visits, however, so it doesn’t get to be a grind for everyone. One really important hint: set up an interview in the admissions office. While the Ivies don’t interview on campus, many other schools do. Given what your D has accomplished, I think an interview will only enhance her application.</p>
<p>Here’s how you begin to narrow your list from “all schools” to those she will visit: find out what kind of learning environment she wants. Big? Small? All women or co-ed? City, suburb, or rural? What region of the country? Toss out all the prestige stuff. She needs a balanced list, so you must first identity the range of schools that fit her other criteria. </p>
<p>Remember that this is HER decision (except for the financial part). You must trust her to determine the best place for her future and academic/social interests. At first, she may say that her first choice is a school that you think it completely wrong for her. Resist the temptation to tell her this! Once she accumulates a list of visits, she will begin to re-order everything. (My D loved almost every school she visited, and so every school was a “first choice” at one time or another. A few of these “first choices” made my husband choke. )</p>
<p>There are so many top notch schools out there that she can choose from a wonderful selection of them; however, she cannot possibly visit them all. If you make an East Coast trip, try to choose the Ivies that meet her criteria as well as some others that are slightly lower in the rankings that also fit.</p>
<p>Love thy safety…safety, safety, safety… and consider a school with rolling admissions to take the pressure off everyone… your daughter has great stats and will be a welcome addition to any campus… focus on what is right for her…and where she will be happiest…and where she will be safe for 4 years to explore all she is and can be…</p>
<p>Now comes the most important part of all – your daughter needs to choose the colleges to which she will apply.</p>
<p>You have multiple roles in this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If she feels that visiting a particular campus will be important to her decision about whether or not to apply, try to make it possible for her to visit, if time and money permit.</p></li>
<li><p>Get clear in your own mind what your family’s financial situation is and how it will affect your daughter’s college choices. And then share the information with your daughter. </p></li>
<li><p>If you and your daughter’s other parent intend to place any restictions on her college choices for reasons other than money, tell her now.</p></li>
<li><p>If your daughter’s final list seems to lack well-chosen safety schools, make a fuss.</p></li>
<li><p>The financial aspects of the application process will require a lot of work on your part. You may want to start investigating this now.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>If your daughter has not already asked two teachers to write recommendations for her and obtained their agreement, remind her to do this IMMEDIATELY when school starts in the fall. Some teachers have quotas: they will only agree to do X number of recommendations each year because that’s all that fits into their schedules. Particularly busy teachers may have low quotas. The sooner your daughter asks for recommendations, the more likely she is to get a “yes.”</li>
</ol>
<p>A very few colleges specify that students must obtain recommendations from teachers who have taught them in a specific subject (UChicago, for example, wants one math or science and one English or social studies). But for most, any two teachers who have taught your daughter different academic subjects is fine.</p>
<p>Make sure you have financial as well as academic safeties in mind. Be sure you have a clear understanding with your D if her ability to attend some of these schools depends on the merit/financial awards. If you are in doubt, add some schools to her current list, whether those are your own state university at the in state tuition or a place where a large enough merit award is a good possibility.</p>
<p>As every one has said, choose a happy financial safety- perhaps a smaller private school where she can gain a scholarship on her merit, being one of the top students there.</p>
<p>My D had admissions to very expensive privates known for marginal aid (I did not know it then, but had I been on CC longer, I would have) and her one public safety. She ended up at the public- if one is into rankings, it was a UC school, so a great place, but it was not where she thought she would go, and she never really fit in there. D2, because we learned, had 6 choices of varying expenses, but both public and private including some schools with merit $ so she could truly choose her place.</p>
<p>I would highly advise this- choose a couple of safeties where your D could actually imagine attending.</p>
<p>Try not to spend September through March stressing her choices, just wait until she gets the admissions offer AND the financial offer, then decide. Otherwise you will be arguing over options that will no longer matter come spring. Your D may change her mind many times over the school year, so try not to worry that each comment is written in stone. Let me play with the options.</p>
<p>One thing I’ll mention is to have different sizes/locations, too, unless your DD is absolutely set on a specific size/region. DS started out looking at small schools and has since branched out to bigger ones, as he found some larger schools had more resources in his intended program. He is geographically very diverse in his choices, but we have traveled a lot, so that is not a big surprise.</p>
<p>I’ve also read lots of stories here about kids who made lists in the summer of junior year who felt by April of senior year that they’d grown beyond them/found a different passion, etc. </p>
<p>Last time we talked about it, I think she said:</p>
<p>Priceton - friend like there
Yale - book award
Duke - I suggested
Cornell - DD likes the photo on web site
Williams - DD like that area, me, pole dancing?
WashU at St. Louis - visited and like
selection #7
selection #8
Case Western - upper safety
State U - safety; with NMF and pick State U as #1</p>
<p>Look at Miami of Ohio. State school for you, isn’t it? So…somewhat more manageable financially. Very good honors program. “Feel” of some of the eastern schools.</p>
<p>lb - congrats to your daughter! She is a great candidate and is well qualified for any school on her list. You also seem to recognize the sometimes arbitrary, unpredictable aspect to admissions by including a couple of safeties. Might I also suggest looking at some of the top state schools? They aren’t safeties for your d unless she is in-state…but most have very good merit scholarship programs for which she would certainly be a strong candidate, in addition to admissions.</p>
<p>I’m not partial (yeah right! lol!), but UNC-CH and UVA come to mind.</p>
<p>If you are considering Miami as a possibility, make sure she applies for the Harrison scholarship. Full ride and perks. The application deadline is early - don’t miss it! Also, even if she doesn’t get it, they let you know and tell you if (unlikely to be a no) you were accepted to the Honors or Oxford scholars programs late in December which is nice to know early!</p>
<p>lb, check out a couple of college admission books from the library so you and your daughter can read. I’m on my 3rd book and they all give me tons of information how to select a college, personal reflections on her strengths and weaknesses, what she like and not like to study, ie how to personalize the application so it can stand out. I don’t know if I can summarize all that for my D even, but I will ask her to read them because I found there is wealth of information in there.</p>
<p>Since it’s a given that you’ll be riding this horse all the way to the pole --and the winning circle-- here’s are a few ideas:</p>
<ol>
<li>Transform yourself into a research and administrative assistant</li>
<li>Let your D have the final decision on everything and respect her thoughts, likes, and dislikes</li>
<li>Focus your energy on scholarship’s research and applications. There are a few national scholarships worth checking out (Robertson, Morehead, Coca Cola, Toyota, just to name a few.) For what it is worth, pay close attention to the deadlines as many applications have deadlines that are well before the school applications are due. </li>
</ol>
<p>For some reason, I think you’ll truly enjoy researching the various sources of money. </p>
<p>PS Book Award at Yale should not be a reason to apply there. Such award has as much significance as a participation in one of those silly and money-grubbing four letters conventions in DC or an entry in the Who is Who!</p>
<p>Your daughter has sounded from the git go like a girl with spunk. Provide information to her. Help her understand deadlines. Feed her good food. Make sure she sleeps. Enjoy the ride. Let her choose.</p>
<p>Understand still probably she has absorbed your values more than she tells you and will take care of you all your life.</p>
<p>Shake your head occasionally about this odd country America.</p>
<p>Yes, that is not a very common country for CCers. I’ve to admit that the second I see a post by LaserBrother, I start thinking about Khan from King of the Hill. The parallels are so amazing that, at first, I thought LB was “toying” with the CC community. Kahn Souphanousinphone, however, does not have an extra 50 pounds! </p>
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