Quirky Ap, last child: please HELP me w/ADVICE

Parents Forum
1

<p>So …my youngest child managed to skip 11th grade, jumping from soph to senior last summer, by taking summer courses and entering h.s. with some advanced coursework.</p>

<p>He’s now applying to U’s and LAC’s with fine Dramatic Writing programs, most of which also require he submit a portfolio of written plays/screenplays, which he has well in hand. His ap essays are top-shelf.</p>

<p>He has a delightful personality (mature, humorous, ethical) and interviews exceptionally well…except there’s been NO TIME to visit anywhere yet.
By skipping junior year, we lost important exploration time, substituting websearch and SAT-filled weekends instead of visiting colleges. </p>

<p>Now he’s upstairs finishing off 8 college aps & portfolios on deadline, for BFA or BA programs that offer screenplay/stageplay writing courses aplenty. </p>

<p>Stats (GOOD, not GREAT): SAT-I’s this fall (650/570/650 with a “12” essay) and SAT-II’s (780 U.S. Hist, 670 Lit); “5” on the only AP course he took as a sophomore (U.S.History); list of 4 more AP courses he’s taking now as a senior (no exam results will come until June, of course…). At least the colleges will see his passion to learn and max out re; courseload.
GPA around 87%, big gaps (A’s Hist, Eng, Econ, Gov, Photo, Theater…then C’s in Math, Science). Good think he wants to write movies for a living.</p>

<p>Have you ever heard of a “rankless” application?? Guidance says they can’t give him a class rank because of the skipped year. He’s in such a competitive h.s. that in a way, that’ll help him. He has none of the “National Honor Society” and usual indicators of brilliance. It’s all in his writing and persona.</p>

<p>He works hard, has some EC’s that indicate national leadership in his religious organization, and presumably will get great recs from his teachers in History,
Theater/Creative Writing, Photography Indep Study, and the national person in the religious organization.</p>

<p>Ahh. It feels better just to write all this out. My older kids had more conventional routes into LAC’s, so I relate to everybody’s issues here on CC.</p>

<p>MY QUESTIONS (at last, madam, a summary!):</p>

<p>l. Skipped year in h.s.-- has anyone lived through this?</p>

<li><p>No class rank – will it keep him out of any admission processes? </p></li>
<li><p>last-minute visits to colleges (for interview and so he’ll know what to do if/when he gets letters accepting him in Spring):</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Details on #3:
– Should I schedule trips to 5 schools in NYC area and Boston, affordable trips easily made by car, in time for admission interviews? Is there any point to interviewing now? Worth it, if it’s the tipping point, to help him get accepted and therfore give him more choices. </p>

<p>-- Should I also schedule to visit/interview at his 2 schools in L.A. before we know if he gets admitted (harder to afford, but not impossible)? One school offers interviews, the other not, but neither of us has ever set foot in L.A.
I’m considering making the flight, wondering how he’ll even know where to attend if he gets a smattering of acceptances in Spring. </p>

<p>THANKS FOR LISTENING…and helping, if you can!</p>

<p>P.S. I’m proud of him, and I’m sure you are also patting your guys/gals on the backs these days, just to accomplish this complex task of college aps!</p>

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<p>What schools is he applying to? Honestly, are any of the schools on your list SAT optional? The V and M SAT I scores seem like the potential deal breaker–not the interview or GPA or rank. If he could apply to a school without those scores it may be an advantage.</p>

<p>I think the ‘skip’ and all of the independent work will be a plus, btw.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about the visits. He will have a month to make his decision in the Spring. He can visit the admits then.</p>

3

<p>I would have him call the schools’ admissions offices to see if there is a possibility for him to do alumni interviews in your area. Regardless of the answer, that also put him on their radar screens if they haven’t been able to track him earlier. Other than that, wait for the acceptances before spending too much money to do visits.</p>

<p>Although it’s been too many years ago to freely admit to, I also skipped the 11th grade. It has always made for good dinner conversation…</p>

4

<p>Lots of kids skip grades-not a problem other than the time compression in terms of research and thinking about college. No class rank-not a problem either; more and more schools are not providing ranks, and if he is applying to schools/programs that are giving his portfolio and good look over, the app will be examined with the same care, and his situation will be pretty clear. Last minute visits are probably going to be important for him if he is looking at LACs, as they really want to see some interest from their applicants. Informative for him too, but essential for some of the smaller colleges.
The issues I see that may be stumbling blocks are his grades and test scores. Though his portfolio is the centerpiece of his app, many schools that have competitive programs in audition/portfolio type majors have so many competitive kids with great material that it often comes down to the “other” traditional factors. When you have more kids than you can take, you start looking at everything. We have friends whose son applied to Emerson, a school where he easily was in the mid/top range for test scores, but the program he wanted was the most competitive in the school, and because the school can cherry pick with all of those kids applying for that program, they do. Kids who get selected for the program also tend to have the highest stats in the school. He was accepted to the school, but not to the program he wanted. I’ve seen this happen a lot. There are just so many kids with specialty interests and talents who ALSO have great academic profiles and that is going to be his major competition. </p>

<p>You did not indicate where his applications have been sent. If they are super competitive programs like USC, CMU, etc, I suggest some apps to some excellent LACs that have great programs in writing. Goucher is one that comes to mind, Wheaton, Skidmore, Bennington, College of Charleston, Sarah Lawrence, Wells, Randolph Macon, Manhattanvill, Ithaca where his academic profile may not be as much of an issue. These schools are also looking for males and would be willing to give some leeway. I suggest this because, the feedback from many in the field felt that my friend’s son was waay up there in talent, and yet his acceptances in the top programs were far more meager than expected. His counselor who followed up had it pretty much confirmed that his academic profile was below that of the average applicant in those programs, and even if that was only counted as 10-20% of the process, with so many talented applicants, that count was crucial. He did add a number of such schools as I am suggesting into his list, and got some nice acceptances with merit money to boot from them. Some great opportunities too. That he has some dream schools on his list is not a problem, who knows what may happen? But a some safeties to cover what are weaknesses in his profile would also be wise. Many of these schools have later deadlines so he is not too late to give them a looky see. Goodluck to your talented, motivated son.</p>

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<p>I would not rush to make the visits to LA until you know whether he has been admitted. I am making the assumption that the UC school is UCLA, the other school may be USC. UCLA does not do interviews, as you already know, and USC puts doesn’t weight interviews heavily in the admissions decision, even though they do offer them. If I’m off base, I agree with the suggestion of asking about the possibility of an alumni interview. So, really, I’d just wait until you have firm acceptances in hand. </p>

<p>Make sure that the guidance counselor clearly states on the school report that he has not been ranked because of skipping the grade. Although it is true that more and more schools are dropping ranking, if other applicants from the school WILL be ranked, it could cause confusion if his case is not clearly spelled out. The lack of a rank, however, should not affect his chances.</p>

<p>I agree with cptofthehouse - all applicants need to have some foundation schools (safeties) in the mix. This is especially true for kids who have some warts in their transcript. Even though your son is interested in writing/English, those C’s in math and science will be noted, especially at schools where there are general ed requirements in math and science. The lopsidedness in test scores can, and often are, overlooked, but lopsidedness in grades like you are describing can raise red flags, even if the student has no intention in majoring in those subjects. (If he had B’s in math/science and A’s in everything else, not an issue, but C’s are another story). This won’t preclude him from admissions to any school, but better to have a fall back plan you won’t need than need a fall back plan when it’s too late to put one together. :)</p>

<p>Finally, your son sounds like a great kid - good luck to him!</p>

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<p>Does the GC approve of the list and think that, overall, it is safe? If its a competitive HS, the GC should be at least somewhat clueful (not a luxury we all have!).</p>

<p>IMO he should visit since his persona is one of his strong points (and you can do it without breaking the bank), and especially if he is applying to LAC’s. Also, if he really knows his favorite, his GC will be able to push with that one.</p>

<p>Just a cautionary note - make sure that his sat’s put him comfortably in the mid 50% range for at least some of his schools, and that the admissions rate is generous on at least a couple. Weird stuff happens in admissions.</p>

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<p>“Make sure that the guidance counselor clearly states on the school report that he has not been ranked because of skipping the grade.”</p>

<p>Yes - very important. Call the CG and sent a follow-up email so it won’t be forgotten.</p>

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<p>One other comment: If he’s applying to programs where his portfolio will be used in the admissions decision, then his talent may trump than the bumps in math/science. Of course, it’s hard to predict how his talent will be evaluated by the schools in question.</p>

<p>And, I agree with Ohio-Mom - if it is do-able to visit the Boston schools without missing too much school, and they offer interviews, it’s probably worth doing. I just wouldn’t spend the time and money to fly to LA right now.</p>

9

<p>These comments are all wondefully helpful and I’m reading with care…</p>

<p>While I didn’t feel comfortable to name the schools, I do want to reassure all that his list of 8 includes a big range, so his SAT scores are “match” as well as “reach,” if that means within the middle 50%.</p>

<p>My web and phone research taught me this: Re: portfolio, each school handles the review balance somewhat differently. Some have an academic department that piles up accept/reject, while the creative department also piles up accept/reject, and they’ll only then pick from the double-accept pile and winnow down. Other schools have a more holistic review process, where everybody reads everything, so (as one respondant suggested) his portfolio might actually smooth out the bumps on his transcript. All of which supports the EXCELLENT advice you’re giving here, to ensure SAFETY schools on everyone’s list. </p>

<p>Since my older two attended top LAC’s but wouldn’t consider big universities, I can’t believe I forgot your wisdom: LAC’s especially need to be visited, or at the very least contacted for regional alumni contact! That I missed that only tells me I’m overworked. Thanks for the heads-up.</p>

<p>My GC seems so overworked, and I thought with this being my youngest kid, I knew so much and should “let” her help everybody else. But I’ll bug her a bit when school resumes (altho she may have sent out transcripts already, since we got them all in early) to ensure she writes WHY he wasn’t ranked (skipped a year). I think she may have mentioned that, but I’ll nail it down. </p>

<p>Your helpful advice is much appreciated. Will happily receive more…</p>

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<p>First of all, since he is a lopsided candidate, his math grades & SAT scores won’t make all that much of a difference at the schools he has chosen (assuming he has chosen schools for their strong writing program) – he will be evaluated very much on the quality of his writing & his portfolio. If that does it for the school… they’ll take him; if not… they’ll pass. My daughter’s SATs were pretty much on a par with your son’s - she’s at Barnard & was also accepted at Chicago & Berkeley. She has a super GPA… but she’s got a friend at school who had a lousy GPA (including C’s & D’s) – but super portfolio of her creative writing… so you just never know. Rule #1 about the lopsided candidate is to toss everything you know out the window. </p>

<p>College visits aren’t that important either – my son never visited any of the LACs he applied to until March of his senior year, and got into them all. It is important to demonstrate that it’s a serious application – but one advantage of a weaker GPA & SATs is that no one thinks the kid is looking at them as a safety, and the submission of a portfolio kind of gets the message across that the kid takes them seriously. I assume that if your kid has scouted around for colleges with strong dramatic writing programs, his “why this college” essay will be similarly strong. If he wants to visit, by all means do it – but if he can’t, things should work out. (Actually, too much attention to a LAC can backfire when it comes to financial aid – my son ended up getting dissed by the college he wanted most, and wooed by the college that was so far away and so out of reach financially that he had done little more than mail in the app). </p>

<p>As to the skipped year of high school… I did that myself, in ancient times, and those of us who do it are too pigheaded to do anything else. The colleges understand that, too. Again, it really is going to come down to the quality of your son’s writing… at least no one is going to wonder where your kid’s passion lies. The parent you want to talk to is soozievt - she’s got a kid who skipped a year of high school and ended up at Tisch for musical theater at age 16, and is going strong. (I assume that the kid also has a talent that will knock your socks off… but the point is, it can be done). </p>

<p>I think that your son has things well in hand and really, at this point, your best bet is to stand back, see how things go, and let the chips fall where they may. There could be different advice if it were September or if you were trying to structure things last spring – but right now things have pretty much played out the way they are going to. Last-minute visits and on-campus interviews probably won’t make that much of a difference at this point – there’s no reason not to do them, but there is no reason to stress out over them either. Keep in mind that the worst case scenario in terms of college admission still leaves your son a year ahead of schedule.</p>