Unwritten rules: 1) Don’t send additional information unless explicitly “optional.” 2) If the student wants to be considered for a competitive scholarship, “recommended” and “optional” should be read as "required. 3) If the school states that it doesn’t want LORs, don’t send any. 4) If the school specifies the number of LORs requested, don’t send more than requested, and never ever more than 3. 5) The student does not need to fill in every single activity line, only meaningful ones and the student should spend quality time on that section. Don’t include any fluff. 6) Don’t mention expensive paid summer programs. 7) Essays - be humble in all things. That doesn’t mean the student shouldn’t explain significant achievements, but it is all about tone. 8) If anything else, such as mission trips or starting a non-profit, was not done genuinely and costs money, don’t include. 9) No BS’ing. Adcoms can spot BS a mile away no matter where on the app the BS is.
@curiositycat333 I definitely agree about developing a relationship with the rep. It works pretty much everytime, especially with smaller schools.
@VickiSoCal I think the answer to if the swim coach would be helpful letter writer depends on the school. Check to see exactly what they are asking for. If they specifically say a teacher rec. then I don’t think the coach will work unless she also had her as a teacher in H.S. My experience was many private schools will take up to 3 letters, and usually 1-2 of them had to be teacher/counselor letters. But the 3rd could be anyone who isn’t a relative, and the coach would be an excellent choice.
@itsgettingreal17 That school turned out to be her #2 pick but she got into her #1 and attended there. (And graduated in 4 yrs.) That was the only acceptance that I felt a bit guilty turning down.
Unwritten rules (highly depending on the school):
If it’s stated as “recommended”, do it.
Some schools don’t include interviews as part of evaluation.
QOTD: Unwritten rules: This video has made me very cynical about the whole process. Watch it at your own risk…
@Dave_N Here are my few thoughts, fwiw. (Not much, btw. 
)
First, I think there is a difference between paid summer programs and paid summer programs. There are some paid summer programs that are highly regarded and definitely impact admissions: SSP, MathCamp, ISSYP, etc. I think the expensive pre-college programs that are big $$ makers for universities are the ones being dismissed.
Second, I think additional info is useful if they have a spot for it. For us as homeschoolers it is a place for portfolio type info. But even if we didn’t homeschool, it is a place to share info that might help their application. For example, dd’s Russian fairy tale translation would be applicable regardless.
Fwiw, students can upload images of awards, etc too. No reason not to if you think it add value.
@STEM2017, you went meta on us. Not only is the video cynical about the process, it is cynical promotion for the “author” of the video.
That said, I can’t disagree with anything in the video.
I would be more cynical if I wasn’t so jaded.
@STEM2017 Sounds like you should post that video in the Parents of the Class of 2019 thread. 
@stem2017 I wasn’t surprised by anything in the video. It pretty much sums up what I already knew. It is why I think the pointy comments are spot-on. They do want super specialists and enough points round out to a circle. But they also don’t want weak pointies. They want super specialists who are super pointy on top of what is already excellent across the board.
They also want $$, no doubt about it. But those schools that are willing to give out large scholarships are buying the stats of those that they are giving them to in order to increase their stats.
It really is like a great big game of who helps who win.
(I hate autocorrect.)
Totally agree with @Mom2aphysicsgeek. It is a big game, but so many of us on this tread are already in the know! I thought we started early with D17, now I really know that now is the time to start with D19 and D21! It is amazing how much you learn with your first!
@STEM2017 I started to watch that video and wanted to stab myself in the eye. Maybe I’ve been on CC too long. Fifteen minutes to go through 5 things? I can only take it in short doses…so I’ll continue to minute 4 a little later after my coffee has worn off.
@greeny8 asked
She was chatting online with her engineering teacher and asked him if he would write one and he said sure, where do I send it. She looked at me and I was like, uh, tell him the apps open this month and we’ll get everything he needs to him as soon as we can and thank you! So she did. I have to look and see which of the 9 need teacher req’s, and how those happen for the non-common app schools. I don’t know how they work for the common app schools, either, but now that it’s open I can have D check. It was more to see if he was amenable to doing it (he was), and now it’s up to us to get him all the right stuff. As soon as we figure out what it is, lol.
We just found out D18’s IB Psychology class isn’t happening this year, and they scheduled (ugh!) PE instead! She needs to take at least 1 IB class to maintain eligibility. The IB director said just take APUSH this year and that will maintain, but D18 is freaking out because APush, is well, Apush. Her guidance counselor email consistently returns “I have a lot of emails, I’ll get to yours eventually” autoreply. I’ll give it to tomorrow morning then the dragon shows up in person. School starts Thursday.
I’m pissed because if there wasn’t going to be an IB Psych, why would you schedule PE for her? Really? No thought went into that substitution at all-it’s like the PE was literally next to the Psych and they fat fingered it. Grrr. It’s a double bummer because D18 is very interested in Psychology in general.
I agree about a lot of the summer programs not taking up real estate on the college applications. D17 did duke tip center for 4 years and D18 did duke tip center for three, and while it was a phenomenal experience for them, I don’t think it’s one of those things that helps them get into college. It was more along the lines of letting them have a taste of independence and college life, and what some of their peers would be like at college (ie bright and interested in academic stuff).
D17 did lab science (loved it) philosophy (meh) information security (prof kept thinking she was in the group with “no programming experience” and assigning her the easy stuff and she had to keep correcting him), and game theory (ok).
D18 did green science (loved it) criminal minds (loved it) and criminal trial advocacy (loved it, especially the professor who was so good). She thought she wanted to be a lawyer, but she said she found mock trial really stressful and hated messing up, even though she eventually got the kid she was cross examining to impeach himself.
So I think the value of those programs is exploring your strengths and seeing what could work for you in the future, but I don’t think there’s a bump for college at all.
Yeah, D17 is very aware of this. Monetizing achievement. I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s good that D is aware of why they want her at some schools-she’s a marketing tool. Since her mom used to be a marketing tool, she’s rather sanguine about the idea of it being a win-win situation for her and the school because she’s under no illusion that she’s “loved” or “wanted” anywhere. Some places she’s a good fit, some places she raises the profile. It is what it is, make the most of it.
Qotd: probably only going to add a resume, heard that some admissions like to look at one single sheet vs the whole common app. Figured it can’t hurt. Son doesn’t have anything else worthy of submission except lax highlight, ha.
Son17 is more pointy vs well rounded, but not pointy or well rounded enough lol
Good thing he has MONEY, cause he’s got no prestige
I think how a school looks at those paid programs depends on a) the school you are applying to b) the program c) how much else the student is involved in. I wouldn’t leave these programs out if it takes up a huge chunk of their summer. I think schools are looking at this partly to see what students are involved in over the summer. A kid who attends these program is going to look better than one who spend their summer in the basement playing computer games, or all summer at at test prep. (I certainly would leave off the all summer long test prep courses.)
We intend to list S17’s Camp CIT experience. It’s not the same thing as a paid college experience, but we did pay for his attending. (At reduce rate.) I don’t hesitate to add it because a) It’s leadership experience b) It’s a huge part of who he is & helps illustrate his personality. c) He spend significant parts of this & last summer at this camp d) he is mostly applying to large state universities e) He doesn’t have a huge laundry list of EC’.s
@Dave_N We also attended a Vanderbilt roadshow on Sunday (Vandy had 3 or 4 of them scheduled across the country). What we heard was a variation on the same message. They only need the two academic teachers LORs and the counselor’s LOR, but would accept additional LOR’s. However, it’s not NEEDED, and please do not send a dozen LOR’s to your poor AO. He gave a rough estimate of no more than 3 or 4. Even the counselor’s LOR, really only has to be a supplemental school report, and not really a LOR. I got the sense that the policy is to accept additional LOR’s, but the AO’s really don’t want them, unless it’s something “unique” to your story.
It seems at Vandy, that “optional”, really means optional and not code for “required”. Yes, they take SAT II, etc, and if the scores look good, go ahead and send them, if not, no need to share them with Vandy. What Vandy doesn’t know, will not hurt you.
3 hour delay for 1.5 hr flight, but I have CA site to go thru to keep me busy :-). Lot of info to fill!
Sorry I should clarify that D applied two years ago. Pitt has since changed a few things, I think LOR are only needed for the special scholarship apps for Chancellor’s, Stamps and Nordenberg Leadership scholarships. And they say now to highlight important EC activities in the short answer essay questions instead of sending a resume.
@mommdc …I’m kicking myself for not being pushier about insisting to D that she mention her part-time job in her essays to Pitt!
@carachel2, don’t beat yourself up about it.