<p>Wow, Yo. I dunno. There is no formula like that that guarantees. Plenty of kids author or have high placed internships and come off dry as possible.</p>
<p>I have no advice to add. While both D’s did well I had a talk with them. ‘Look, if both your parents died tomorrow and you had no money, any of these schools and any of the state schools would be a very decent education.’ Kids at med schools currently have taken very different pathways to get there. They come from very elite private to a wide range of public schools. There is not just one way to med school except being in it for the long haul.</p>
<p>DeskPotato’s post at 11:22am should be required reading for parents of high schoolers!</p>
<p>I think the best thing you can do is just to set a good example for your daughter and let her make decisions on her own. My parents were always very hands off when it came to school. They did not help me with my homework (besides proofreading papers occasionally) or tell me which extracurriculars I should do in high school. Now that I am in college, they do not ask me what classes I am taking (although they know I am majoring in Physics) or tell me what activities I should participate in. However, what they did do is show me the incredible importance of having a strong work ethic and being a conscientious individual and I feel like I am a more mature and responsible person because of this. I have been able to learn to do things on my own and have been very successful. I chose the schools I wanted to apply to and researched all of them, have connected with professors, and have gotten great summer jobs (research positions in my case) without help from my parents. I have found that many of the kids who have overly involved parents (helicopter parents) often have trouble in college because they cannot do things on their own. They are often very complacent because they think that as long as they do what they are told they will get what they want. To be successful requires a high level of independence.</p>
<p>@OP, thank you for posting a question that has generated some very good advice. I agree that DeskPotatos advice is particularly valuable, because the cost of college today can be startling for Newbie Parents. Even the best-laid college plans can fall apart if family finances arent in order, and if student expectations arent realistically geared toward what the family can ultimately afford.</p>
<p>DS was in 10th before I figured out that paying our EFC would probably mean that the younger kids in this house wouldnt be eating much. Sadly, my DS goes to school with a lot of families who havent really connected the college financing dots, just based on random comments they make. Ive found these 2 books to be particularly helpful: Paying for College Without Going Broke; The College Solution. (I realize you didnt ask for college financing advice, but Im also thinking of other parents who might be reading this thread & financial awareness is definitely part of the overall college planning process.)</p>
<p>When my DS HS Class 2015 was in 7th grade, I started keeping a list of his accomplishments, awards, etc. He also has a file box for award certificates & other important papers. Having all info in one place has helped him compile his resume and complete job applications. (Obviously, as he progresses through HS, the MS awards come off the resume.)</p>
<p>In addition to the other excellent advice posted here, Id simply add that its always helpful to pay attention to what parents of older students have to say re: programs, camps, etc. their kids have particularly enjoyed & found useful. Seeking advice from parents with older, accomplished (& seemingly happy) kids has always worked for me. However, this is only to generate ideas for my DS to consider. Sometimes hes open to my suggestions, other times not and thats all fine.</p>
<p>First of all I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful and insightful replies.</p>
<p>My daughter is definitely the one “driving the bus” and I am simply the navigator. Because she is my oldest and also the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family, it is painfully obvious that the road to college has changed dramatically since her father and I (not to mention the grandparents) traveled it. She is driven and ambitious. I simply want to make certain that we explore all beneficial opportunities that allow her to experiences disciplines that she thinks she wants to pursue as well as areas that haven’t even occurred to her yet.</p>
<p>I am definitely a list maker and I will check out the suggested books. DD has already started documenting her activities and her father and I really encourage her to try new things. I think she will end up in the science arena but not in medicine but she needs to discover on her own.</p>
<p>I look forward to growing along the way and watching my daughter figure out what she wants to pursue and where she wants to do it.</p>
<p>Jonri, is mostly right, though we were more low key. If med school is likely and finances are an issue remember the undergrad years should probably cost as little as possible and also be a place where it won’t be hard to get a high GPA. Neither of my kids have the least interest in medicine and we were lucky enough to have an inheritance from grandparents to pay for college. </p>
<p>In general - use 9th grade explore a bunch of ECs and don’t close any doors academically. If there’s an AP that a freshman can take, sure take it. It’s not at all the norm at our school, but you do need to take the honors courses that put you into the top academic track.</p>
<p>Older son took AP Comp Sci (and later said he should have just taken the AP without taking the course), younger son took his first AP (part of a pilot program) in World History as a sophomore. My older son took Science Research and hated it, and dropped it. It didn’t stop him from getting into Harvard. It wasn’t his passion comp sci was. He did a ECs at school he enjoyed (in his case Science Olympiad and Academic team) and then all sorts of comp sci stuff after school. Some of it was community service, some of it was volunteer work, some of it was paid work, and some of it was just for fun, but led to recognition. He had a passion and pursued it.</p>
<p>But the fact is not every teen has a passion, and that’s okay. It’s easier to put together a compelling application if you do, but lots and lots and lots of kids do just fine being well-rounded. My younger son was more of this type. He didn’t have the stellar grades of his older brother, or the single minded passion, but he did what he liked (orchestra, Science Olympiad, Literary magazine). He played with origami, sold some earrings and wrote his essays about that. He did a little historical volunteer work for the neighborhood association and wrote about that too. He did different things every summer, none of them earth shaking - music camp, travel with parents, working in an architectural office, volunteering at the senior center (including teaching a class in origami). All of these activities came very natural out of whatever he was interested in at the moment. He got into some very selective schools.</p>
<p>Note that most applications want data on which years, how many weeks per year, and an average number of hours for each of those involved weeks a student has spent on each major EC. This is a good exercise to teach a 9th grader how to set up and use spreadsheets. It is hard to recreate the data from memory Senior year. Track it as it is done.</p>
<p>Encourage your child to initiate or expand an EC opportunity for him/herself and others. Never let him/her say, I love doing this but didn’t do this cause it wasn’t available. Being a team/club/activity founder is an excellent experience. Your child has been doing the wrong ECs if s/he says, I ruined my high school years to get into xyz Uni and now all that is wasted. The student should want to be doing these activities regardless of their value on a resume.</p>
<p>Make sure your child gains note taking, organizational, and study skills and time management in 1-10th grades. This often can only be done if the rigor is high for that student’s potential. These are learned skills, and schools generally only teach them to struggling or remedial students only. Finding and keeping a job can also be very useful to gain these skills. Getting a driver’s license also is an excellent exercise in scheduling and planning and is something teens tend to be motivated to do as a task to practice these skills.</p>