I’m inspired by the other thread. I admit that it’s been a long time since my offspring went off to college. Still, I think these strategies can help.
It’s true that it’s all about “building a class.” That means that GPA and test scores and the curriculum you’ve taken account for about 60% of the admissions decisions at “holistic” admissions colleges. Do what you can to improve the other 40%. Here’s one thing you can do.
Does your kid excel at academic (non-scientific) research? Try for http://tcr.org/event-1996062 or submit an article to the Concord Review.
If your kid is an excellent mathematician, but his/her school doesn’t offer the AMC and AIME, (s)he can participate in http://www.usamts.org/ If your kid is a talented writer , enter the Scholastic Art & Writing program. http://www.artandwriting.org/ Artists should also attend a National Portfolio Day http://www.portfolioday.net/
I’m sure many others can list other contests. I think they are particularly important for kids who are interested in “reach” colleges who are coming from high schools that don’t have a track record of sending many students to them. Please note: it’s not necessary to be the national winner in the contests for it to have an impact on an application.
The idea is just to have some proof that your child genuinely excels at something beyond a letter of recommendation from a high school teacher.
Or let your kid be a kid (and choose activities based on their interest not your dreams) and allow your kid to be admitted to schools that view your kid as an appropriate student for their school…just a thought.
OOPS, Looks like Stagedoor no longer gives out financial aid
@lostaccount You’ve missed the point I’m making. I’m not advocating pushing kids into doing things they aren’t interested in. A kid who enjoys and excels in math is going to ENJOY participating in the Math Talent Search contests, for example. A kid who loves producing art is very likely to really enjoy attending a National Portfolio Day. Usually, it’s not necessary to produce a new poem or essay or work of art for the Scholastic program or a research paper for Concord Review. Students submit things they’ve written for class or just for fun.
Stagedoor is a fabulous facility. Sadly, the owner’s husband passed away a few years ago. Don’t know if that affected their financial situation or not- just a comment. I went to HS with them. Delightful people.
I am responding to the idea of turning childhood into a college resume. And that appears to be the premise of your thread. You can say …well if she is interested in X then this is just tweaking her a bit—but the motive is to have college admissions guide childhood activities. I think it is a terrible idea.
Good Grief! There is WAY too much focus on getting kids into reach colleges these days as it is.
Now there is a “formula”?
sorry but I think the focus on trying to help kids to get into reach colleges, where most have absolutely no business applying in the first place, needs to ratcheted down, not encouraged.
NO “average” excellent student’s life will be over if he/ she does NOT get into an reach college!!
But too much pushing by overly eager parents who are anxious to prove their snowflake is “excellent” at something in order to impress college admission offices can have a very negative impact on a students HS years.
And parents who live through their kids accomplishments need to chill out.
It’s also very helpful if the student has an unusual interest that is not the typical - it’s hard to stand out in music or debate, even at the state level because so many students participate. My kids had less common ECs that they pursued with great intent. Nothing really beats a high level of expertise in an unusual endeavor.
Menloparkmom has it right, as far as I am concerned. College is 4 years. Childhood happens once. It is already too short. Why the obsessive focus on 4 years with the potential to ruin and pressure through 16 of those years. Childhood is calling. Adulthood and associated pressures start too early as it is and they last a lifetime. Let kids be kids. And parents…enjoy your kids’ years-they go too fast. Why push to end it early?
I was listening to NPR today and heard about NYTimes writing/ journalism/ fashion/digital internship opportunities for high school students (paid! and they find housing for the students too) that sounded really cool/ inspiring to me … mostly for Jr/ sr’s http://www.nytco.com/careers/newsroom-summer-internships/
also their are internship opportunities at IB’s for high school students… esp diversity candidates
I like your ideas, and I think those being critical might want to give it a second read. OP clearly states “average excellent”, not that s/he’s trying to shoehorn mediocre students into top schools formulaically. One very large demographic on this site are children, and parents of children, who clearly perform at a high level but don’t believe they stand out or have anything to show for it. OP is just suggesting ways for students to take their interests and market them to an adcom; if you like public speaking, find and enter a public speaking contest! Nowhere does s/he state that students should pick up activities they’re not already interested in.
I think these are really great ideas to help some students develop their resume, and I’m sure plenty of the stressed out high schoolers here are grateful.
My son did exactly what was suggested in the post I quoted above. He did as he pleased in terms of out-of-school interests and let the pieces fall where they may. He was pleased with the college where he ended up.
My daughter was not willing to let the pieces fall where they may. She focused on a single EC area where she had some natural talent, even though I suspect she would have preferred to dabble in a wider variety of activities, and she did this deliberately, with the intent of enhancing her college admissions prospects. She was pleased with the college where she ended up, too.
If I had asked either of them to approach life and ECs in the way that the other one did, I would have gotten massive resistance.
My older son certainly didn’t pursue computer programming to get into college. He did it, because he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Very different younger son pursued origami because it was fun. Come application time, he was lucky that it was also different. A lot of his school ECs he did because his friends were doing them. That’s not the worst reason in the world!
I think this is jonri’s real point, and I think it’s a good one. The idea is not to push your kids into activities that they don’t enjoy, but to be aware that for many activities, there are ways to receive recognition for excellence. This often involves very little work beyond the activity itself. For example, if your kid is a writer or an artist, it is not a big burden to submit work to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This doesn’t take away at all from the idea that the kid is a writer or artist because he loves it–it’s just an opportunity for some external entity to say that he’s good at it. If he wants to keep doing it as a career, and if he wants to go to a college to study it, then being able to show that he’s good at it can really matter.
so what exactly would one put on their “resume”…entered X contest and lost? are you suggesting doing some random activity and somehow word it as what, an experience?
to be honest, i think some of these things must have a regional bent…i have never heard of most of them. but then again, i have NEVER heard of a h.s freshman doing a paid internship at the university level either–here its cause for celebration when a kid gets a job at the local bagel shack. evidently we are pretty mundane people on the opposite coast who for the most part do average things—not even a small fraction of the type of things i read about here. (for reference, when i first came here i had to google what an IB diploma was–i’ve never heard of it, and while my state apparently does offer it, its in very specific places, none of which are in commuting distance to my region let alone my kid)
all of this focus on imaginary EC’s just to put something down just rings very hollow to me.
thats just me
…joiner of the “i tried but didnt start a club” crowd :))
urban legends, that are (unfortunately!!!) exist among teens.
Getting pregnant and having a child. Solves all FAFSA issues. interesting essay. Low SES (automatically, regardless of the parental income).
Political activity during this election season. Making splash, getting into the news. Rec letter from politician. Actually, it is surprisingly easy to get in and it does impress adcoms.
Disclaimer: I don’t approve these methods. I am simply reporting …
@kac425, as far as I know, ALL of these “contests” are open to kids from all over the US. I mention them because they are ways of getting recognition for excellence. They aren’t “imaginary” ECs. Nor am I suggesting doing some “random” activity. I’m suggesting that kids who are interested in competitive colleges seek out contests and other venues in which they can get recognition for their talent.
For example, there are kids who are very good at math who attend high schools that don’t offer the AMC and/or AIME . These are exams for kids who excel at math and if you want to go to a top engineering program having a good score can help get you in. If your school doesn’t offer these exams, you might want to participate in the USA Math Talent Search. During the academic year, this program posts difficult math problems. You have up to a month to solve them. Now, if you’re a kid who excels in math but you attend a high school that doesn’t have a math team, this program gives you a chance to go beyond what your school offers. Your solution each month is graded by a mathematician who sends the student written comments on his/her work. The top scorers’ names and states are listed. The highest scorers are given the opportunity to take the AIME, even though their high school doesn’t offer the AMC (or even if it does). (Usually, you have to take the AMC first and only kids with a certain score can take the AIME.)
Even if you aren’t the ultimate “winner” of the contest with the highest cumulative score there are lots of benefits from participating. If you attend an average public high school, you are unlikely to get the same sort of feedback and help with math problems from your high school teacher. And, if you do well in the contest, that’s something you CAN put on your college applications. (If your kid is terrible at math there’s no point in entering and I’m not claiming there is. )
Or maybe your kid is an artist. Your kid’s teacher thinks (s)he’s really talented. I’m suggesting that your kid submitted art work to the Scholastic contest and attend a National Portfolio Day. As you can see from this list, the Scholastic contest is national. http://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/National-Notifications-Announcement-v20160314.pdf (Moreover, these are the national awards; there are also more local awards) It’s one thing for your kid’s art teacher to write a rec for Ashley; it’s another for Ashley to win a national Scholastic award for her artwork. You may never have heard of this program, but I guarantee you college admissions officers have. And if your kid might want to go to an art school, then you definitely should go to a National Portfolio Day. They are held all over the country. http://www.portfolioday.net/2016-17-schedule
Again, as Hunt explains it’s the recognition of excellence that helps.