My D won’t self-promote and doesn’t like to be recognized in any public way for any of her accomplishments BUT that being said, she does want her accomplishments recognized to accomplish her getting into the college of her choice. She is very even keeled about her abilities and accomplishments and doesn’t want to apply to all the upper echelon schools but there are a few in which she feels she is a good fit for her and she would be thrilled to be accepted. So in that instance she will self-promote on her applications to be viewed as the good fit she believes she is. One thing she hates is competitiveness. She is not at all competitive in her academic pursuits. She prefers a collaborative environment where students work as allies not combatants trying to inch out another student for one of the few “A’s” possible.
I know at our school there are criteria that the kids are told to consider when voting for King/queen and their are minimum requirements for nomination (academic). I would include if there is also room for that. I have known the past three kings fairly well and felt there was more to it than popularity.
Hope it is not too late to join this thread. I have a DS who is a senior. I spent a lot of time on CC when my DD, now a college graduate(!) was going through the process. Different kids, different personalities and different strengths so we will see where the process takes us. My DS has one application finished, Pitt, and was accepted into the Honors College there about 10 days ago. Whew! He is going to college somewhere! LOL It is not his first choice and wouldn’t be mine for him either, but things can change a lot over the course of senior year. Sounds like many of your kids are well along in the application process. My DS is now working on his common app essay - it is in the editing stage and hopefully will be finished in the next week or two. He is also trying to work on the essay for Maryland since they have a Nov. 1 priority deadline. I’m the record keeper and administrative assistant in this process. He runs cross country in the fall and is really busy but I remember helping with the administrative stuff with my DD too.
@lvmjac1 and @dcplanner thanks for your suggestions. I am getting inclined to add soccer coach LOR now.
Hi @PAO2008 I too am my D’s (as I was for my S’s) administrative assistant or as I like to say their administrative…you know what for short. Lol. My D is also busy with soccer, school n ECs but is still applying to 6 schools EA n another 6 RD. Which has been proving challenging but not impossible yet. Thankfully she is done with her CA essay n it’s subject works equally well for UMD-CP once it is trimmed down a bit. It really speaks to who she is apart from her academics n other statistics compiled on her applications. She just has the additional questions / essays to finish. We r set to hit submit on Saturday or Sunday with application number one. UMD-CP n the others will follow in quick succession.
@indsfolax I am glad my thoughts could be of help. It’s difficult trying to decide on what to do with all the nuances possible in this process. I am glad to have everyone’s input with my quandaries.
DD added one school last minute and the deadline is Oct. 15th. All the deadline approach fast.
Sons first CA app is due 10/15 (EA). All of a sudden we are questioning everything…so wanted opinions about this. Is an engineering teacher a science teacher for the purpose of a recommendation letter from a “science teacher”? Son has taken honors bio, chemistry, physics, and now AP bio - but a different teacher each year. His engineering teacher has known him (and had him in class) for 4 years, plus has had him in FIRST robotics for 4 years. He is the one teacher that knows (REALLY knows) my kid. All of a sudden my son and I are panicking that this teacher may not qualify to do the science teacher recommendation. Yikes…are we over thinking this?
@4kids2graduate I personally would think that an engineering teacher would count as a science teacher and that using a teacher who really knows him makes the most sense. But if you are really worried, why not contact the school and ask. If the need a science teacher your can add one and still use the engineering teacher. Most college allow an extra letter.
A couple of weeks ago, there was a mock admission at DD’s school. After the mock admission, there was a panel discussion by AOs. One of funny moments was that AO from Kenyon College told that an applicant last year sent them 18 LORs and the applicant did not get admission.
@4kids2graduate I don’t think engineering teacher is a science teacher. We had same dilemma with AP Computer science teacher and were advised to use a core teacher instead. You might want to read up on specific school your son is applying to whom they consider a science teacher, but I think it is too risky to use engineering teacher.
i am surprised by that advice. Even Stanford gives credit for AP computer science.
Did some more research online…MIT (son is not applying there) says they want one LOR from a math/science teacher and they list the following as qualifying:
Math
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Earth Science
Environmental Science
Computer Science
Engineering
Technology
Science Research (as a class)
Maybe this makes me feel better about using engineering as a science LOR…
Thanks for all the advice to the “Does DD add Homecoming Court to the Common App”–lots to think about since your answers were all well reasoned, thoughtful, and pretty well distributed between yes and no. 
@texaspg That advice came from the former Caltech admission officer. He told us that any subject that has word “science” in the name is frowned upon.
@4kids2graduate - I think there’s a lot of kids who don’t get into the competitiveness of it all, but it’s just an unfortunate part of the system. S and I have had the discussion about how much he wants to try to get into the two most competitive ones on his list. On the one hand, he really does - but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice other things that are important to him - not the least being sleep! - to build a huge list of ECs, write an app, or cure some disease. He stuck with a sport for 4 years where he’s easily the lowest-ranked senior and has been fighting injuries, instead of bailing and spending the time on something where he’d “excel.”
Recently, he’s learned from his counselor that the honors program at one of his safeties is known for being competitive rather than collaborative. On paper, it looks a lot like the honors program he’s in now, but other alums of the HS program who’ve been there have been really critical of the competitiveness and unnecessary stress that they experienced. I don’t think it’s dropped the school off his list - it’s the one app he’s finished already - but it’s adding to his cynicism about it all.
Ah well. A step at a time, right? Today’s win - figuring he can do the interviews without a tie!
Hope everyone out there is having a great evening!
@LK AKnomad thanks for your thoughts, @Ballerina2016 thank you so much for weighing in and also letting us know where the advice came from.
I find it so interesting/frustrating that many schools give conflicting advice…and our kids have to sift through all of it to make decisions not knowing if the advice is accurate, or if it is able to be generalized to different schools. Maybe I am misinterpreting the comment made by the Caltech, but how can a subject with the word “science” be frowned upon? Is the course itself frowned upon (some schools have limited offerings…it is not the students fault for choosing from what is available to them) or is the teacher LOR from one of those courses with “science” in the name frowned upon (again, some schools have limited choices for which teachers they can ask for an LOR -and if a “science” teacher is required, that may limit it further).
S16 is from a senior class of approx 135 students (high school has approx 550 students total)…so you can imagine that we are very limited in what is offered. We feel VERY blessed and thankful that such a small school started offering engineering and robotics when my son was a freshman, because it TOTALLY changed his passion, his academic direction, and some of the college options he is exploring.
I apologize for spewing (is that even a word?) but I am feeling very tired, stressed, and unbelievably crazed by this process now that we are smack dab in the middle of it all! And when we find little glitches (such as how do you define a “science” class)…I get a little crazy!
@Ballerina2016 As an aside (hopefully everyone can forgive that I digress!)…my D14 danced ballet from 2nd grade through high school, and still doing one ballet class and one choreography class every semester - she just started her sophomore year in college. In 8th grade she figured out that she would never be the ultimate ballerina due to her size that was emerging in adolescence, but bully for her…she is STILL pursuing her passion (not her major!) in college. Kudos for her…she is 5’ 11", 160ish lbs. and still living her love for dance on some level…and she still does pointe! She is my inspiration for “defy the odds” and “follow your dreams”! So @Ballerina2016…everytime I see your “name” I love what it represents in my family!
Looking for opinions on when a parent can call a school and when the student should. DS and I went to a local admissions appointment that clearly invited a parent to attend. Admissions rep was no where to be found at the given address. The phone number provided with the confirmation of the appointment only said “the admissions office is now closed.” Since DS is at school or practice during office hours do I call and apologize and/or find out what happened? No E-mail address was provided for the rep.
@Cheeringsection If there is no way to leave a message , and he’s unable to call at lunch or something, I would call today and tell them why he’s unable to call. Is there anyway he could go to GC office and have them assist with the call? Good luck. Keep us posted.
@Cheeringsection I would definitely call and explain your child’s timing difficulties with practice, etc and ask the questions that need to be asked. In every info session we have been in at colleges all over the place, they all say they welcome calls from parents. I think its the incessant calls that would be irritating. One or two calls to answer specific application questions cannot and should not be an issue. After all, they want to call these students adults but really, there are precious few 17, 18, 19, or 20 year olds (or even older) that are truly adults at the time they apply and go to college. For the most part, it is a process that develops over time. The timing is different with all students but I believe colleges understand this and I do not think that they do (or should) have an negative opinion regarding a parent calling on a students behalf.