<p>@SevenDad,
You don’t think a woman who charges over 40 grand to groom your kid starting in the 9th grade, for college admission isn’t the anti-Christ?
<a href=“Rich People Pay This Woman $42,000 a Year to Get Their Kids Into College”>Rich People Pay This Woman $42,000 a Year to Get Their Kids Into College;
<p>@GMT: Nah, I simply choose not to worship at her particular church! FWIW, today was the first time I’d ever heard of Ms. Hernandez.</p>
<p>Oh man, my kids are so going to end up at St. Giraffe’s. </p>
<p>St. Giraffe’s! Wow. I’m impressed. And you won’t need to pay a consultant to get them in. :)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t stick my neck out for such an unproven institution…sorry, it was just sitting there on a plate :)</p>
<p>Yuk, yuk, yuk. Good one.</p>
<p>@SevenDad this sounds pretty authentic to me - go girl! 
“Flash forward to today. Through family friends, my daughter shadowed a research scientist for a day last summer and arranged a full-time internship in his lab for this coming summer. She thinks the scientist is a total rock star and is very interested in the specific nut that his team is trying to crack.”</p>
<p>@SharingGift - the number of authors on a paper is highly project and field dependent. When a HS student is presenting something at a science fair, they should be able to communicate <em>their specific contribution</em> to the project. They are judged on the quality and relevance of their science, their presentation, their lab notebooks, their communication skills. </p>
<p>@tomtomclub: I shared that story as an example of how (despite my efforts NOT to be the sort of parent who pushes his kids into things too strongly) a research opportunity could happen authentically/organically…but as in one of Cal Newport’s examples, this only really came about because we happen to know the scientist in question (his daughters go to school with my younger daughter).</p>
<p>As I noted along with that story, this is just another way I’ve become the sort of parent I didn’t want to be. Something similar happened with my younger girl and sports. I said I’d never be the kind of parent who misses church for a sporting event. Sad to say it has happened… :-(</p>
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<p>Mmm… I thought I had let it known that I was an insider and familiar with how authorship was determined.</p>
<p>@Periwinkle : Frankly I have no idea if NCL looks good or not. I’ve decided I don’t care. Anything that culminates in a debutante ball is not a good choice for my particular daughter. I just needed a few days to work through my thought process and come to peace with my decision. :)</p>
<p>Of course, she’s stuck with these girls who are already worried at 11 about their resumes…</p>
<p>@leafyseadragon @periwinkle D and I did NCL and it was truly an underwhelming experience. We w/d this year. No regrets either. There are plenty of needy nonprofits. If there is one that interests your s/d, they can get involved, keep a log of their own hours, and form relationships w/ the board members and volunteers/employees. These people would serve as great references for the application process. To me, a much more authentic, educational experience. Just my thoughts. </p>