Chance my kid?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
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<p>Male - competitive public high school
7/650 rank
GPA 4.0 unweighted</p>

<p>JR/SR Year courses:</p>

<p>AP World History
AP US History
AP Comparative Government
AP Calc A/B
AP Calc C
AP Physics A/B
AP Physics C
AP Latin
SUNY Albany Latin for college credit
AP English Comp
AP English Lit</p>

<p>Summer university course in Statistics</p>

<p>In an elite science research program that prepares students for Intel competition. </p>

<p>SAT I : 760/720 (He's being tutored now to take them again)</p>

<p>SAT II Bio - 790
SAT II Chem - 690
Will take Math I and Physics SAT II</p>

<p>Soph/Fresh courses all honors </p>

<p>Orchestra - violin</p>

<p>His passion, however, is his guitar - 9 years of private lessons, accomplished classical guitarist. Now he's a rock star.</p>

<p>ECs are lame - He plays lead guitar and manages his band - they play out 2-4 times a month. Many charity gigs. But literally ALL of his spare time is spent on the band - recording, mixing, writing songs, rehearsing, setting up gigs</p>

<p>Summer job teaching music at a camp last summer. Will likely have a job at a research lab this summer.</p>

<p>Wants to major in Physics and maybe look into the program with New England Conservatory and do the double major with guitar. </p>

<p>I think he has a unique story to tell - he looks like a rock star, thinks like a scientist. But I'm his mom. What do you folks think? </p>

<p>We're looking at: Tufts, Yale, Harvard, BU, Northeastern, Washington in St.L, UChicago, John Hopkins, SUNY Stony Brook (the safety);</p>

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<p>Definitly get those sat scores up</p>

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<p>get those SAT scores up?!?!
tufts 25-75 for mat is 670-740
and reading is 670-750
while yes getting even higher test scores would help....i wouldn't worry about test scores. if you think EC are lame definitely make them better. i would think it is more important to have better ECs at this point than test scores. his test scores are already there</p>

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<p>chill out its called sarcasm</p>

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<p>I was thinking the same thing! The test scores are fine...</p>

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<p>He doesn't feel like his ECs are bad..and I agree...it's his passion, but in the big Admissions world...he's not feeding hungry children or playing in the marching band...so wouldn't schools see them as lame?</p>

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<p>A nice community service project would make him even more perfect, but he seems like a very strong applicant .</p>

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<p>My vision of "active citizenship" is that no matter what you love to do, part of your practice is to bring it to the immediate community and the world. This kid loves music--a passion for many at Tufts. And part of what he does with music is "many charity gigs." There may be more there than we realize--or even that he realizes at this point in his life.</p>

<p>73552, welcome to CC. One thing I hope you learn is that in chance threads, you get what you pay for.</p>

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<p>Chill, it was sarcasm. Why are you making a chance thread for your son though? He's the one who's going to college, and therefore the only one who should be so nervous about getting in or not. If everyone on this thread says he won't get in, would you forbid him from applying?</p>

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<p>Dear Seashore and Lje62, </p>

<p>Thanks for your welcome and your helpful comments. We're going to visit Tufts next week. He's very psyched about seeing it, based on what he's learned from the website. And thanks for the advice re: getting what you pay for. And finally thanks to all for being so cordial. I posted elsewhere and was not received as kindly. In fact, I was virtually vilified for being a helicopter parent.</p>

<p>DS received an email about a "professional" evaluation of chances for different schools. Has anyone purchased one of these? Are they worthwhile? It costs less than $100.</p>

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<p>Fastonice,</p>

<p>I got that response in another forum too. No...he can apply anywhere and everywhere, until I run out of money for application fees. I've never pushed school clubs or sports or other ECs. Success comes in all shapes and sizes. </p>

<p>The SAT class, btw...was his idea. Two of his friends started a group with a tutor and he wanted to join. </p>

<p>I'm looking into "chances" for him because we're planning a visit to Boston in the next few weeks, and he's supposed to have a list of "good fits," "safety schools," and "reaches" for his guidance counselor for his appointment in March (which I am supposed to attend as well). That will be the only official appointment he'll have with guidance. Huge school, very little support. After that, he'll just drop off paperwork to be sent out.</p>

<p>His cohort consists of serious over-achievers - kids who are in every extra curricular, spend summers at college programs, make all county in fencing, have been working in labs for years, and are Eagle Scouts and helped build houses in New Orleans... you get the picture. He's not that kid and he doesn't need to be. But, there's probably a price for that admissions-wise, and since neither of us really knows how someone like him fits at some of these schools, I offered to look into a couple. He took me up on it. </p>

<p>We' re looking at the research part of this process as a team effort. The ultimate decision (within the bounds of our finances) will be his.</p>

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<p>Don't waste the money on the "professional" evaluation. NO ONE knows that this year's applicant pool, so no evaluation guaranteed anywhere. It seems like your son has a pretty good chance at Tufts. Honestly I think you just need to wait and see where he gets in. I'm sure he'll get in somewhere he likes.</p>

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<p>I second the "don't waste money on chances" evaluation. Instead, have a great time on your Boston trip. Look at a variety of schools, which is EASY to do there. </p>

<p>"Serious over-achieving" as you put it is not the only road to college. The "unique story to tell" is another one. At THIS point, the only thing he needs to know about chances is that his stats and story are good enough that he can start out thinking about anywhere he wants.</p>

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<p>And 73552, please have him (or you) report in on his impressions of the new music building!</p>

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<p>Your son sounds like a really talented, interesting kid. I think that maybe you underestimate the extracurriculars - Tufts, I think, likes to see passion. Would it be better if he did 10 things poorly? The important thing, I would think, is to distinguish his band from the general idea of kids who have bands in high school. And I mean, not every Physics major also prioritizes classical guitar and becoming a recording artist. It's unique, but how it comes off depends on how you choose to portray it. </p>

<p>With good grades, difficult courseload, and activities that do show a focus in a few areas (science and music) - I think admissions people like to call this depth in activities - I think he has a great shot anywhere, so his essays should be good too to complete the picture. Sounds like you've done a good job on him!</p>

<p>Anyway I don't usually post on chances forums, but this one went from 0 to 13 replies since my last login, so I figured I'd see what the hullaballoo was about haha</p>

<p>ETA: oh yeah, enjoy your visit! If you come by this weekend, many people will be home for President's Day Weekend, but the Chamber Singers will be singing a bunch of short Brahms waltzes and a Stephen Sondheim medley for Valentine's Day. If you come the week after, you probably won't be interested but the EPIIC symposium is happening. Should be amazing to hear tons of experts speak about the topics they know.</p>

<p>Secondly, you could consider setting up meetings with the classical guitar private lessons instructor (he started when I was freshman, really good guy) and perhaps someone in the Physics department. Tufts doesn't see very many straight-up Physics majors, so that should give him some points too.</p>

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<p>I think Tufts will like him. He's smart and passionate. That sums up a lot of what makes Tufts kids so cool, I think. </p>

<p>Don't pay for that evaluation. That's total BS. No one can tell you your son's chances except the Tufts admissions office in April.</p>

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<p>^ Very true.</p>