<p>"That people can hide their personal agendas from others on threads like these. LOL. "</p>
<p>Curmudge–first thought I had from the very first post(apologies to MOWC) :)</p>
<p>So I will have to try extra hard to hide my agenda, LOL:</p>
<p>Number bajillion–parents who send their kids to “non-competitive” public schools should be cited for child abuse, and their kids will never get into any school anywhere</p>
<p>Bajillion and one–If you take the AP course, but not the test, you shouldn’t get the credit, or the weighting. Possibly, you should be sent for psychological testing.</p>
<p>Bajillion and two–(this is the converse of an earlier one). ALL kids drink in HS; if you think your kid didn’t, then you have obviously no knowledge, understanding, or interest in them, and you should be cited for child abuse.</p>
<p>BAzillion and three–if a student spends the summer “just hanging out” s/he is obviously unmotivated and will never get into a decent school. And shouldn’t. It is an affront to all the kids who care about their futures.</p>
<p>If you really want to get into an elite, your personal essay should be a combination of the styles of E.B. White, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Thurber, and David Sedaris. It should make the reader laugh, cry and want to nominate you for a Pulitzer. </p>
<p>It takes much longer than a week to learn how to insert the blue winky thing.
It takes at least six months to learn how to insert the yellow smiley face.</p>
<p>On a positive note… I learned how my son could get his Extra-Curricular info to format correctly on the Additional Info page of the blasted Common App online! Sometimes other students and parents actually do have real info that is helpful!</p>
<h1>whatever: If you don’t go to a pre-college preparatory summer camp to decide what you want to do in life, you won’t ever know.</h1>
<h1>whatever a. If you don’t go to a pre-college preparatory summer camp and (gasp) still have an idea of what you want to do you will never be as talented in that field as someone who went to an acclaimed pre-college preparatory summer camp</h1>
<h1>whatever b. If you are so pathetic that your resume says that you actually worked each summer (instead of going to a pre-college preparatory summer camp), you probably won’t even get into college and you shouldn’t because you aren’t as talented anyway</h1>
<p>Which leads us to the biggest one:</p>
<h1>gazillion Your whole life, every last part of it, depends on what school you pick and whether you have researched it and passed it by those on collegeconfidential See my smiley face garland</h1>
<p><em>)If you really cared about your kid you’d have moved to (pick one depending on your situation)
Rural area with crappy schools but the folks have heart and good values
Suburban area with great schools but the kids all suffer from anxiety disorders
Urban area with a mostly crappy schools but my kids in a Gifted and Talented magnet school so who cares?
*</em>) Only losers follow the rules on the application and/or use the Common Ap. Kids who want to and deserve to get in add a cover letter; a customized, annotated resume to explain what a Book Award is; a DVD or CD of a recent performance even though kid wants to study sociology; extra recc’s from the band leader who thinks kid is god’s gift to the tambourine.</p>
<p>X+X You’re interview only lasted 30 minutes? OMG mine lasted 5 hours because we found so much in common we just chatted and chatted and she invited me for dinner and told me I’m the most outstanding student she’s ever seen and said I’m sooo in…
Of course, don’t worry, you could still get in with a 30 min interview as long as you really connected in that time…</p>
<p>this I know is true # anyone’s guess: My gpa is 1.2 however, I go to one of the best, top, or most competitive schools in the country with serious grade deflation</p>
<p>another thing I know is true: you will never get into HYPMS, unless you can walk on water. But first you must create the water that you need to walk on</p>
<h1>4294967287: If you’re not first in your class, you’re screwed.</h1>
<h1>4294967288: You can’t get into a good school with an SAT score lower than 2300. Even below 2350, you had better make up for it with something else really good on your application.</h1>
<h1>4294967289: A “B” in a class will kill you, unless you have an “upward trend”. A 4 in an AP is also unacceptable (a 3 is unspeakable).</h1>
<h1>4294967290: Whatever circumstances you have are “special” and must be explained on your application.</h1>
<h1>4294967291: If the only schools you apply to are two state U’s and Stanford, there’s something seriously wrong with you and/or your judgment.</h1>
<h1>4294967292: Test prep is always time well spent.</h1>
<h1>4294967293: Certain schools are reaches for anyone.</h1>
<h1>4294967294: The only “hooks” are URM, recruited athlete, or legacy status.</h1>
<h1>4294967295: If your essays are not formatted correctly, recs in the wrong envelope size, or pages are stapled when they shouldn’t be, your application won’t even be read.</h1>
<h1>INTOVERLOAD: Cal is not a safety school. (j/k…)</h1>
<p>I’m not so sure about that; might not be a hook because the hammered dulcimer isn’t normally played in an orchestra, unless the school has a gypsy or Greek/Middle Eastern ensemble and you can switch to cimbalom or santur (and that spot isn’t already filled).</p>
<ol>
<li> Since I got a 2150 on my practice SAT (or 157 on my practice LSAT) I’m sure to get at least 100 (or 10) points higher on the real exam.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Posters who use smiley faces should be disregarded because they obviously have girly IQs below 120.</p></li>
<li><p>The CC Student Cafe is a wonderful place to expand your mind. Everyone should visit.</p></li>
<li><p>marite doesn’t have a clue</p></li>
<li><p>Students who get more than $100 a month allowance are wanton gluttons. Their parents are rich idiots with disgusting values. They probably live in McMansions.</p></li>
<li><p>A kid who didn’t have a part-time job during high school will never develop a work ethic. He won’t know what to do when he does get his first job–if he ever gets one. High school jobs look great on a CV.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay the course means stay in your chosen classes.</p></li>
<li><p>Whatever you do, don’t pay for your child to do a six week volunteer stint in Africa. Your child cannot get a proper understanding of Africa if you pay for him to build school facilities in African villages.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>It is absolutely essential to take the most difficult possible course load in high school, including every single AP course offered, and including math at least through AP BC level. This is true no matter what the student’s intended major. It is never acceptable to take less than 4 years of math or foreign language, or to change the foreign language being studied.</p></li>
<li><p>“Need blind” means that the college will definitely give the student generous financial aid in the form of grants and make the college affordable if the student gets accepted.</p></li>
<li><p>If the college is not “need blind” then students with financial need should not bother to apply.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Cheers…I think I’ll send my child to Africa.</p>
<p>Number umteen…Everyone can get need based aid regardless of their income. They just need to know how to couch their income and assets.</p>
<p>Number umteen plus one. There IS a way to get instate tuition at out of state universities. Just keep on trying.</p>
<p>Number umteen plus two. All those “rules” that you must follow to be an independent student?? Well…they don’t apply to you.</p>
<p>Number umteen plus three. If you keep asking the SAME question over and over and over on all the different CC forums, you will eventually find someone who will give you the answer you want.</p>
<p>Just read the right posts and you can learn the above.</p>
See my smiley face garland</h1>