I am a parent of a 9th grade student. I am posting to ask for some academic guidance.
Hard working student
So far all A’s in first and second quarter. Third quarter has couple of A- so far.
No volunteer work so far but registered for volunteer work in 4th quarter.
Participated in school debate club but did not qualify for metro finals. Basically no awards.
Not participating is sports but participated in violin orchestra outside of school
participating is school news paper and computer science club
Current classes in 9th grade Bio, spanish 2, world history, Algebra 2, English, health, Computer science.
Did not do well in AMC 10 (got good scores and achievement roll in middle school and did not these tests well in 9th grade. )
So far, all this does not look like a great achievement. Does not look impressive on a college application.
How can I guide my 9th grader? What extracurricular programs to participate in and how to succeed?
What else can the student add to the classes or outside of school activities to have a stronger college application?
Any advice is appreciated.
If this post is on the wrong thread, can this be moved to the correct thread please.
Ninth grade is too early, in my opinion, to be worrying too much about this. The best course of action is to let your student live in the present, enjoy high school, work hard, pursue natural interests and activities, and make friends. In a couple of years he, and you, will know what interests he really loves and he can expand on those.
It really is unhealthy to live for building a resume for college admissions. Try not to talk to him in this way, even if you are thinking about it yourself!
Your kid is doing all the right stuff. What did you really expect from a 9th grader? He may drop some of his ECs or he may excel in some. As an example, he is participating in his school newspaper. He may not like it or he may become the editor in his senior year. You don’t expect him to be an editor as a 9th grader, do you?
Thank you both of you for the reply.
I actually do not know much about college and applications.
I was just reading about SAT and came across this website. That was my first post on this forum.
I was reading some of the posts and then realized how many achievements all are listing and in comparison we have not even thought much about college yet.
I am not trying to build a resume for college. But it is after reading posts on this website, I thought maybe we are not well informed and not doing much.
I think the best thing you can start doing right now is figuring out how much you as parents can pay for college and start learning that process. Can you pay for $60K a year private school? Or have you saved all along to afford the state school? Run your numbers at schools and get an idea of what your EFC will be. That is the parental homework I wish I would’ve done when my kid was in 9th grade. We had NO idea how all of this worked.
If you are going to need merit aid, make sure your kid is taking the PSAT at school when it is offered (ours allows freshman and sophomores to take it for practice) and have a talk with him and get him on board for prepping. It could mean a LOT of money.
Have you learned about that part?
As far as your son, without pushing somehow…encourage him to dig deeper into a few things he really loves. It looks like everyone has said it’s all too early, but then you see some crazy fantastic resumes when you dig here on CC with kids doing research and volunteer work that seems to have started from the womb! Is there at least one thing he does that he would like to explore a little more this summer?
If you don’t know a lot about the process, one thing to be aware of is cost. If your family can afford $60,000 or more per year, you don’t need to worry much. Most people can’t afford that. All colleges have a net price calculator that will give you an idea of what that school will expect you to pay. If those numbers are more than you can pay, your kid will need to look for merit scholarships. Until he has ACT and SAT scores it’s hard to get a good sense of where merit is likely because test scores are often a big factor.
If he can take the PSAT as a sophomore that is good practice. And the junior year PSAT is used to qualify for Natiionap Merit Scholarships which can be a good source of money at many schools. So a trial run as a sophomore can help.
He is young. Just keep encouraging him to do well academically, to get involved in extra-curricular activities that he enjoys, and also to find friends and have some fun.
@carachel2, Thank you for replying back with kind words and good advice and not assuming me to be a helicopter parent.
My student does not go to private school. But I have no idea about the college fees or scholarships.
Kid took PSAT in October and school counselor sent a printout of scores. I really did not understand the whole percentages and weights.
I did not worry much as I was told that any score in 9th grade does not matter.
My kid loves debate and playing violin. But does not have any awards to reflect the interest other than a few honorable mentions.
I guess I will have to start exploring more about scholarships.
@learning19 … Of course!! I don’t think you are coptering at all!
encourage him gently to pursue something more in depth this summer. Help him focus in on something he enjoys and provide him with the opportunity…a camp or conference at a local college? Some volunteer work?
dig into that PSAT. Nothing more heartbreaking than a kid who was in range but didn’t prep a bit more to make NMF. Spend time on these boards and learn what his scores mean.
-run your EFCs. Learn about what the numbers mean and figure out what you can afford.
I WISH I would’ve done all that her 9th grade summer. I’m still glad she had a few summers to just be a kid and I still wouldn’t recommend going crazy anxious with it pushing him to do a million things. But learning and proceeding towards s goal is a good thing and might even serve to help him focus in and have a great high school experience without being crazy stressed out.
“participated in violin orchestra outside of school”
“participating is school news paper and computer science club.”
Those 3 EC’s are fine! and plenty! If he wants to continue them I would encourage it , as long as HE wants to and they don’t interfere with his doing the best he can in class. What colleges are looking for in EC’s is genuine interest in an area which is reflected in the commitment to an EC over years. There is no magic formula for EC’s that will “impress” colleges. And “The more EC’s the merrier” is not something that you should encourage. The EC’s should reflect what your child likes to do.
YOU are the one who needs to start doing financial planning homework, since private colleges will probably be even more expensive 4 years from now.
Having him prep for the PSAT next year, and then again for the "real"one in the Fall of his Jr year, can mean the difference between begin awarded hundreds of thousands of $$ in merit scholarships and nada.
Good that he’s taken PSAT already. That score doesn’t matter but it’s good to practice. And his scores should go up every time especially in math because he will have covered more material.
I debated in high school and really enjoyed it. It’s great for teaching you how to think logically and present an argument. That can help in lots of areas (notably writing). It gave me more confidence as a teenager too. He seems like a smart hardworking kid so if he enjoys it and keeps doing it he will probably get a lot out of it and maybe win some recognition too.
“My kid loves debate”
Good! that can also be a good EC. Perhaps he can rise to be leader of the Debate club by his JR/ SR year. Same with
violin- First Chair is not easy to accomplish and is another good Leadership position. Any EC’s that he does well in and will achieve leadership positions by the time he applies to colleges will be big +++'s on his application.
Excellent that he already took the PSAT.
Find out next year what the cutoff scores are for YOUR state- they vary considerably from Miss to Mass, and students have to meet or exceed their state cut off scores to be eligible for National Merit scholarships from colleges or directly from National Merit Corporation.
If he is close to the cut off scores then private prepping is well worthwhile.
@menloparkmom : “If he is close to the cut off scores then private prepping is well worthwhile.”
Why not just practice with a couple of tests, see where the kid could use improvement and then do work in that area? Why is formal prep your recommendation?
The student seems to be doing fine. Following the lead of the student, and continuing to support the child seem a sure course of action which will yield strong results. Following the advice above about preparing for the costs of college is always sound.
Your child sounds like one to be proud of, which means you have created an environment where your child can work at bringing out the best in him/herself.
^^because private prepping , by knowledgeable experienced coaches, instead of the parent , after a review of the students PSAT scores, can help insure that the student has a better grasp of what it was that he did not understand the first time they took the test , and a better chance of improvement when the test is taken again.
Is that not worth $ 150,000-200,000
ymmv
that is what we did.
Why does he have to consider private colleges? They are one option, but the OP should be looking at their in-state public college as well, which are often a good deal. A very strong student can often get the price down really low at their in-state public, too. Maybe they are in a state with strong public schools, like California. I wouldn’t worry at all about scholarships right now – the best scholarships are given by colleges anyway.
You should educate yourself on the difference between need based aid and merit aid, figure out what your in-state public colleges are like, and see where he is a the end of sophomore year. That is plenty early enough to start worrying about specific schools.
OP - all great advice here. The AMC exams are difficult exams and if your child is participating but not getting the highest scores, I would suggest moving on, because the next steps are AIME and AMC12, which are even harder and I think you have to be a high scorer on the AMC 10 to be in AIME.
Better to spend the time prepping for PSAT and SAT as others have suggested. The percentiles from the 9th grade PSAT report (the one comparing to other test takers, not the general population) should tell you about the relative standing of your child.
With the music, the child can play in school orchestra etc., even if he/she is not winning any awards. Having a passion and love for music is important. Not everyone is going to win the top awards. And the kids who do so are often intrinsically motivated, and have an innate talent.
Look into your in-state public. Look into college costs. Your child is off to a good start, but I think focusing on the types of resume / activities to get into a “good” college should not be the aim right now. The honors/ AP classes will be rigorous and if child focuses on good grades, good SAT scores and EC’s that he/she likes, he/she will be in good shape.
I don’t think anyone is saying that this family has to consider private college. Even in state publics aren’t easily affordable for everyone. Thus, it is not too early to begin thinking about cost, financial aid, and scholarships.