<p>My S is 11 year old and he often tells me he is determined to go to ivy league. He is hard working, quite self discipline, and is now in a good private school.</p>
<p>Please share your stories on how to prepare him in every aspects to be a capable candidate for ivy league colleges?</p>
<p>hmm ... we are raising our kids to be good people, who do well at the things they pursue, and hopefully follow their interests/passions. If this leads to an elite school; great ... if not; great. At 11 we did not suggest our kids do <em>anything</em> specifically pointed at college admission. For that matter in HS the only lead towards college we do is advice them to keep busy and challenge themselves at school. That said we don't exactly fit the norm on CC.</p>
<p>Wow recycle! I think the best way to raise a son is to encourage him to be kind, hard working, self disciplined, moral and all those boy scout adjectives. </p>
<p>I think at 11 your boy sounds like a great kid. Encourage him to be a child, to play and to develop his own interests. If he talks about Ivies now feel free to smile and tell him its a great goal but no outside programming from you re his college plans seems appropriate at this age.</p>
<p>3togo I think you fit the norm more than you know ;)</p>
<p>next summer, sign him up for Little League and don't give him a summer reading list. ;)</p>
<p>...sorry, I couldn't resist.</p>
<p>So can he recite the ancient eight? I mean you have to start at the beginning.</p>
<p>Tell him to start by making sure he has chosen his parents correctly. Preferably with lots of money, and double legacy. Also his race/ethnicity. If he starts now.... And see if he can bulk up to around 280 - every Ivy League school desperately needs offensive linemen. Alternatively, top flight rowers are in high demand.</p>
<p>If he can take care of these, he doesn't have to worry about academics much. ;)</p>
<p>Both my S and D have and are going to Ivy league schools. Did nothing special other than point out the importance of doing well in school in general so that you had options. I think the real key was HS. Both went to very good HS's where Ivies were assumed to be at the top of the college heap. S was attracted by the challege. D was determined at a young age to beat older brother, so applied to and got into a "better" ivy starting this Fall.</p>
<p>If he can star in a movie or two, or win an Olympic medal, in addition to getting good grades, that would be a nice hook.</p>
<p>Here's a serious suggestion:
In addition to great test scores and great grades in tough classes, he needs to have a couple of things that he cares about and loves and spends time on and grows with. Hobbies or sports or extracurricular activities or music. Not just schoolwork! This will give him a happier life, too, if he is spending time on things he loves. He may change his mind often now, but during the four years of high school, it is good to have him have one or two specific things that he cares about and loves and spends time on and grows with during high school. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, I'd be a little worried if my 11 year old was already determined to go to the Ivy League. (I'm the parent of a son who got into Harvard, but decided that for him Carnegie Mellon would be a better school.) There is no formula for getting into an Ivy League school - good grades and good scores help, but so do intellectual curiosity, evidence of a life and interests outside school. </p>
<p>I'm convinced that what got our son into Harvard was not his grades (excellent but not perfect) or scores (ditto), but his interest in computer programming. He spent a huge part of his free time teaching himself about computers. All we did as parents was provide him with his own computer at age 13 (so he'd stop experimenting with ours) and giving him all the computer books he requested. We sent him to computer camp for one week one summer in middle school and for a few weeks for Columbia U. summer course in high school. The rest he did on his own. Not every child is as one sided as our son. That's just one way to get in. The other student who got in from our high school was much more well-rounded.</p>
<p>My son has no interest in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>Also, can't our daughters be competent Ivy League applicants? Harumph.</p>
<p>Be prepared for a roller coaster ride for which not every student has the stomach.</p>
<p>Daughter has a friend who announced in 6th grade that she was going to Yale. Bright girl....I'm sure she would do well there. </p>
<p>When she hit high school, she knew that everything "counted." She checked her grades on the computer several times a day; she constantly knew how every single grade affected her GPA. After about a semseter, she (wisely) determined that she could not live like that, even if it meant not going to Yale. She and my daughter drew the black bean of a preAP English teacher from whom it was almost impossible to get an A; she had to learn to live with the fact that the kids who had the "easier" English teacher were getting better grades with less effort.</p>
<p>In pre-AP Biology, every kid has to make a model of a cell. Two years ago, there were twins who turned in identical cell models to two different teachers. One got a 100. The other got a 70. I tell this story to illustrate that there isn't always equity in grading and it doesn't always go in your student's favor.</p>
<p>Columbia this year has only five players who are 280 or more:</p>
<p>Football</a> - Roster - GoColumbiaLions.comOfficial Web Site of Columbia University Athletics</p>
<p>Princeton only has three. </p>
<p>There's very little competition, provided he puts in the time and energy to bulk up.</p>
<p>At age 11, my son knew about the "Big 10" and "ACC", but never heard of the Ivy League. Got into two of the Ivies, but decided to attend a school better for his interests.</p>
<p>Someone should post a poll here on CC to see how many of the students who are currently at Ivys expressed an interest in middle school.</p>
<p>Blew it- son wouldn't apply to any with his super stats - test scores, APs, ECs-grades not always A's (you have to do the homework, on time, not just ace the tests)- but then we live in the Midwest where the east coast schools are not often considered. Just reminding people that different areas have different outlooks. There are pros and cons to every school. Son was/is too stubborn/strong willed to listen to us regarding the need to get the grades and write the essays... maybe grad school or being a professor at one.</p>
<p>When my son was 11 he ruled out Princeton because it smelled funny. "Too old," he said. </p>
<p>Completely serious.</p>
<p>Pretty funny. Princeton's loss.</p>
<p>mini LOL re post #6</p>
<p>Okay, I'll say it:</p>
<p>With the almost-arbitrary admissions to these schools, it is very poor parenting to focus on Ivy League admissions at that age (or to let him do it). </p>
<p>Encourage core fundamentals (good study habits, intellectual curiosity, etc) but do not allow the Ivy League to be put out there as an end in itself.</p>
<p>There is no way - NO WAY - to tell what school would be best for your kid at this point.</p>
<p>BTW: there is no "best school"; only the best school for your kid.</p>