…I respect everyone’s opinions but I’d just like to say that I’m a 14-year-old who just finished sophomore year (I skipped 3rd grade) and I researched and chose my top schools in freshman year. I know that my ‘top schools’ list may change in the next 2 years but please don’t think that we can’t understand or have legitimate opinions about colleges/higher studies.
(This is a reply to comment #15.)
@musiclover814 These posters aren’t trying to shut down dreams. They are trying to shed some light on reality for the OP and other readers. Many of these posters have been around the College app process more than once already. Basically the reality is this: you can have a perfect sat and gpa and the usual “special extra curriculars” but the fact is for Stanford, Harvard and Yale the acceptance is definitely not in your favor and you can’t even call the school a match. The majority of perfect sats will be rejected from Harvard. And especially when you are younger than a junior in high school it’s hard to really set concrete college targets. In elementary and middle school I thought I’d be Stanford bound but the reality is that just doesn’t happen for most. A better approach is for a parent to foster their child’s legitimate interests. Let them naturally progress and once they reach junior year and have test scores and everything solidified, make an extensive list of match, safety and reach schools. It doesn’t matter where you go it matters what you do when you get to school.
^ young friend, it’s not unkind to point out that someone has miles to go. And I think the wise kids keep that in mind, are open to the work yet to do, the experiences still to come.
Nothing wrong with amassing ideas.
@lookingforward Was that directed at me or @musiclover814
Ahh, the post above yours. An xpost.
I’m happy to give advice, but it’s probably not going to be what you want to hear.
There’s no such thing as “spike” when you apply to colleges like that. After you reach a certain thresh hold in grades, scores, and essay, it’s impossible to stand out. The end result is no more a bachelor’s degree than University of Michigan. The only difference is $200,000 you spend for it. If you look at professional job postings, the only distinction employers make between degrees is a bachelors and a masters. Plus, at her age, that kind of pressure to get into a hyper-selective college with a 95% rejection rate is simply not healthy. There’s so much more to college than brand name. She needs time to find her true identity.
No, it’s not impossible to stand out. But you have to know what that means. It’s not big awards or some unusual (or odd) activity.
Similar problem with using “spike.” It’s no one thing. It’s not about being unilateral. It’s more how you pursue what you do, in addition to being rounded in the right ways. It ties in with the attributes.
The problem is that having those kinds of dreams schools puts a lot of pressure on kids. If she ever gets a B she will feel awful knowing that most kids have straight A’s. If she gets less than close to perfect on the SATs she will feel like a failure. Who needs that kind of pressure? No one. Have her just do her thing and if she is Harvard material then worry about it.
" The end result is no more a bachelor’s degree than University of Michigan. The only difference is $200,000 you spend for it. "
If you qualify for in -state tuition at UMich, then fantastic. But for the people who live in the 49 non-Michigan states or the rest of the world, OOS tuition plus fees is not substantially different than what you will pay for most private schools.
Kids change a lot in the 4 years of high school. It is an intense time of growth – your daughter should continue to do well at school, hang out with friends, do things that make her happy. Both my kids in 9th grade had very different ideas of what they wanted to do in college. Give your daughter the gift of space and time. All the best.
I have always felt it’s better to reverse-engineer it. Students should do their absolute best in the circumstances they are dealt. They should pursue their interests. Then, based on the grades, scores, and financial circumstances, select colleges that fit. Actually, maybe that’s forward-engineering it, and too many people are trying to reverse-engineer.
@narline1 -From the excellent academic accomplishments your daughter has already exhibited, she will in all likelihood have the stats to make the first cut at her dream schools. So it is wise to search for the ‘spike’ or ‘hook’ that will put her application in the Yes pile.
Right now she is on her traveling soccer team, however that group numbers in the millions across the country. College coaches are already eyeing top HS freshmen girls on Olympic Development teams, and tippy top club teams in the nation. If your daughter is among these athletes, she has a chance of being recruited.
If not, you should encourage her to try other athletic pursuits. Track and field offers over a dozen events to try–she may be a budding distance runner, javelin thrower or pole vaulter. Reaching state and regional individual championship level in such an event is far more likely than being an elite-ranked soccer player.
A poster previously suggested squash, rowing, and fencing–these are teams the Ivys need to fill. As one mom of an Ivy pole vaulter once said to me: “soccer players are a dime a dozen”.
Good luck on this long and exciting process.
No, it’s not impossible to stand out. But you have to know what that means. It’s not big awards or some unusual (or odd) activity.
Similar problem with using “spike.”
^ @lookingforward If you know what that means to “stand out” for three schools of OP’s interest, namely, HYS, why don’t you spell it out for us.
A poster previously suggested squash, rowing, and fencing–these are teams the Ivys need to fill. As one mom of an Ivy pole vaulter once said to me: “soccer players are a dime a dozen”."
There was an interesting analysis in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago that listed which sports had the highest admissions boost for Ivy recruiting purposes. Don’t remember the exact list but rowing and sailing were right at the top of the list, with the commonly played sports like baseball, soccer, etc at the bottom. Probably has a lot to do with the number of competitors like the mom of the pole vaulter points out.
I don’t think it makes sense to force a kid to do a sport that they don’t enjoy and if their greatest joy is playing soccer that’s a good choice for them. But if the elements the kid enjoys are physical activity with a team and the kid is open to trying different things, it can’t hurt to try a sport that gives a kid the best chance of being recruited.
Just anecdotes, not data, but in our small town even though we have the top ranked public school in the state that regularly sends kids to top 20 schools, (magnet school), the only kids that have gotten into Stanford in the past few years have been nationally ranked sailors. Top rowing (crew) students go to multiple Ivies each year.
" If you know what that means to “stand out” for three schools of OP’s interest, namely, HYS, why don’t you spell it out for us."
LOL. Because if one wants colleges of top caliber, the very most competitive, one should be the sort who can look and process, have that drive and savvy. That’s not blogs and forums, it’s what the colleges say and show. After the student tries, there can be some help.
Doesn’t that make sense?
Sorry, but to be blunt, no. Sounds like mumbo jumbo badly translated Kung Fu movie prophesy type advice.
It’s easy to knock down the posts of others and imply there is a Secret. It’s much more difficult to give advice that is clear, applicable and actionable.
If you want to see what “spike” can get you into Harvard, read Allen Cheng’s (founder of Prep Scholar) article “My Successful Harvard Application” and bio. He breaks it all down for you.
I know an Ivy fencer. She won a gold medal at the Olympics, too. Just saying that even in less popular sports, you need to be very good to get recruited.
I am only on page one of this thread and can’t get past the being pre-law in High School.