Congratulations to you from an AA parent with a 100 Qs

Student Lounge African-American Students
1

<p>As an AA parent, I'm grinning from ear-to-ear, as I read all your acceptances to top schools. Over the last few months, I've followed most of your posts as each navigated the admissions game, and commend each on your academics, grace, and humbleness through one of the most stressing periods in a young adult's life. From your experiences, I know my own D can shoot for the stars, and admission to any school she desires with perseverance, diligence, and heart. I forward to the next 4 years as my dd begins high school with a bitter-sweetness within my heart. My baby grew up and is biting at the bit to begin preparing for college matriculation. </p>

<p>So, here I am on CC looking for advise. </p>

<p>Our situation:</p>

<p>DD attended a public school in an inner-city with dismal test schools along with horrid teachers. We finally (after 3 years of trying) won an entrance lottery which afforded dd the ability to attend a top rated, predominately Caucasian, charter school in the city, and district next door. (She's 1 of 6 AA's on campus). She struggled this year due to needing to catch up to her peers in an already accelerated curriculum where the students began high school Latin in 6th grade and already experienced high school chemistry as 7th graders. </p>

<p>She has now found her groove and pulling an As in many of her classes, including Latin I, and looking forward to showing everyone at the school that she has the ability to stand with any of them. Along with increased confidence, D wants to begin studying for sitting the PSAT/PLAN tests next year as a freshman so she has an idea of what areas to concentrate her test prep studies. </p>

<p>When did you begin thinking about colleges, PSAT, ACT, and SATs? I did not mention APs, as the school may not offer any, excepting Latin, calculus, and the sciences.</p>

<p>D asked to begin a college profile portfolio because many of her classmates already began their "college prep" books over winter break. </p>

<p>Any BTDT advise? </p>

<p>Dd will turn 14 before fall, dances competitively 10+ hrs a week, involved in 3 ECs at school, and volunteers 12 hrs a month as an assistant dance teacher & math tutor. She will take the required courses at school as there are no options: Rhetoric, Latin, Humanities, Ancient History, Moral Consortium, Algebra II, Biology, Guitar & Music History, Modern Art Application & History.</p>

<p>She's concerned about ECs, and I think her plate is full enough. She does need to hang out, veg out, and sleep.</p>

<p>FYI: Dd is a first generation outside of her brother who attends a local, private university. He applied to 3 private schools, was accepted to all, and attends the one that offered full tuition.</p>

<p>Again, congratulations, and thank you, in advance for any advise.</p>

2

<p>I’ll jump in before the stars come home from school.</p>

<p>The planning started freshman year in high school. I attribute this directly to the school the kid was attending. One day early in 9th grade, she brings out this book form her English class and wants to be drilled. The book was some kind of uber vocabulary skill book (!) I hadn’t seen anything like that since I had take the SAT back in the dark ages - lol that’s when it clicked. The school was prepping these kids as soon as they stepped foot in the school. And yes, like your child mine was one of 5 Black students in the class (ultimately ended up being the only Black after that year).</p>

<p>She maintained 3 strong EC’s in high school. Model UN - which allowed her to travel to DC for national competitions. The school’s drama club on the technical side. She ended up as the head of sound crew for junior and senior year. She also played softball - for the fun of it!</p>

<p>She stayed in the honors track, taking APs as they interested her. I recall her telling me in the 10th grade, there were some things she wanted to do to enhance her college applications, so we let her take the lead on classes and ECs. </p>

<p>The school started testing these kids starting in the 9th grade. There were 2 series of tests, one set in the fall and one set in the spring. She enrolled in SAT/ACT prep summer before her junior year to get a heads up on the PSAT.</p>

<p>The school also has a college fair every spring, but also advertises the college fairs of other schools in the area. She started attending them in the 9th grade to get a feeling of what was out there. The high school is an all-girls Catholic school in an upper middle class suburb. A lot of Catholic colleges represented, but most of the top 50 schools were there also.</p>

<p>I now strongly recommend to anyone who will listen to start the prep as soon as possible. I’ve seen prep classes as low as $50.00 to well over $500.00. I think the most telling thing the kid got out of it, was HOW to take the tests. She took the SAT twice, not to boost the score in the application, but to boost the score for the National Achievement Award. Once she was named National Achievement Semi-Finalist, we wanted to increase the score to ensure the scholarship.</p>

<p>What else we learned belatedly, but not too late, was that the NAF designation opened the door to all types of merit scholarships - but I have to admit that a lot of the schools did not appeal to the kid. University of Iowa was not on any list she made - but the point is, is that she got a ton of offers - so the option of full ride was on the table - for a cart load of school. The next obvious step after this, and this is where these stars went, is Hey - I am just that good, lets push the envelope. If I am being courted by some fairly good universities, lets see if the top ones want me. Question asked. Question answered.</p>

<p>The students that are posting, are very self motivated. I am not getting a sense of how much parental involvement has been involved in the process. Your child is fortunate to have you assisting her in the process and you are fortunate that your child is aware and motivated.</p>

3

<p>I think your daughter is already far ahead of the game. She’s got her eye on the ball (college) and is sincere about preparing for her exams. That’s more than I ever did, and I turned out okay (well, I think so. :))</p>

<p>To be honest, I didn’t begin studying for the PSAT until sophomore year, and about a week before the exam administration at that; the poor results I got reflected my lack of preparation (196 :() However, that motivated me to start doing vocabulary building exercises, which consisted of reading challenging, thought-provoking works of literature and reading some of the higher-level print media out there (NYT; The New Republic; Foreign News Report, etc) that really jived with my interests. If your daughter would like to build up her vocabulary, I advise her to burrow into the literature of whatever her favorite topic is, and to challenge herself with books full of words that she’s not too familiar with (with a dictionary on hand, of course). That’s the best way, in my opinion, to boost one’s vocabulary: by reading works in which the words are put into proper context.</p>

<p>For mathematics preparation, there is nothing else to be done besides sitting down with a full-length practice exam and re-taking them until every question is scored right. Unfortunately, I had early onset senioritis in junior year and was unable to reach my goal of getting every math question right. So start prepping for the math section early (I didn’t :(). </p>

<p>The writing section requires a good grasp of what proper English is supposed to sound like. Again, reading extensively will come in handy here. I did no preparation for the writing section and got an 80 on that part of my junior year PSAT. I didn’t get the same results on my SAT (because I made a lot of stupid mistakes and my pencil broke repeatedly in during the essay I didn’t finish lol) so remind your daughter to keep practicing the writing section in the interim between her PSAT and her SAT even if she does manage to get a great score on her first try. </p>

<p>I didn’t study for my junior year PSAT. That was a mistake, but on the other hand, I didn’t know about stuff like National Merit and National Achievement until the following year. :mad: Make sure your daughter studies.</p>

<p>In terms of “college prep” books, I think that, provided that you tread cautiously, you are being very smart here. I didn’t pick my list of colleges until I was in my guidance counselor’s office last year (which I realize would be anathema to the ethos of some here on CC) and as a result missed out on applying to a lot of schools. I also underestimated myself very badly. Research the colleges carefully, visit them to determine if you like them, and then make the decision about whether or not to apply. Look at the stats of accepted students (and, if available, their accompanying circumstances) when making your final decision. It seems like you have a very college-oriented school dedicated to helping its students (I don’t). With that, I’m sure she’ll receive a lot of help from her teachers, guidance counselors, and perhaps even other students. </p>

<p>With regards to extracurricular activities, encourage her to pursue what she likes to the highest level. My parents always told me, “if you’re going to do something, you should strive to be the best.” I like running, so I joined track and became varsity captain. I like playing the violin, so I joined a local pit orchestra and became section leader. I like hearing my own voice, so I joined Mock Trial (captain/president) and Model U.N. (committee chair). I like a variety of other things (astronomy, manga, population ecology), so I joined groups related to those interests and have remained a member for a pretty decent length of time. But in everything, I have dedicated my performance to a higher ideal, and have forced myself to remember–even when half-measures would have been sufficient–that anything worth doing is worth doing well. </p>

<p>With regards to courseload, I advise her to choose the subjects that she likes (when she eventually can craft her own schedule) and pursue them to the highest level. I also (cautiously, though) recommend that she step outside her comfort zone and take a risky course. I took one course that wrecked my GPA but changed my life. I met my two best friends there and learned rudimentary electrical engineering (I have a burgeoning business in headphone repair thanks to that course :)). And to this day, I don’t regret it.</p>

<p>However, the fact that your daughter has you is her biggest asset. A lot of what I did was on my own; I had to feel my way in the dark. As a result, I made some bad mistakes (and a lot more good ones) that may or may not bear on the decisions I receive this Thursday. Encourage your daughter to keep it real but to pursue what she loves. If she does that, it’ll lead to great things. </p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

4

<p>I commend you, as a parent, for making sure your daughter is on the right track, and like ksarmand said, she’s definitely ahead of the game. </p>

<p>I agree with absolutely everything silvermoon and ksarmand said (again lol) … they both gave such great advice that it’s hard to add. but i can tell you that from my experiences, test scores aren’t everything when applying to elite schools. Of course, you can’t go wrong with a high SAT score, but don’t dwell on it if her scores aren’t desirable. Instead, make sure she maximizes in all of the other facets of her application (extracurriculars, GPA, noteworthy national/regional achievements, recommendations, ESSAYS ESSAYS ESSAYS !!, exc) I got an 1880 SAT I score, a 270 point increase from my 161 PSAT score, and still managed to get admitted into the most selective institutions in the nation by studying with the (infamous) Collegeboard Official SAT Prep Book, which costs around $20. I did great with my SAT II subject tests though, so don’t sleep on those. If her SAT II scores are significantly higher than her SAT I scores, colleges may weigh her SAT I score differently.</p>

<p>I think what they’re looking for are students who have used their resources most efficiently. When writing essays, your daughter has to make her keyboard speak on behalf of her life … her voice has to come through her application and touch the admissions officers. Honestly, my essays are what has gotten me into college. I can’t emphasize enough on that.</p>

<p>Oh yeah, DO NOT PUSH YOUR DAUGHTER to the point that she gets so fed up with everything. Remember, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink it. The whole college process was a chance for me to grow and find out some things about myself that I previously didn’t know. It isn’t something that you can formula-ize and expect rewards. Of course, the thought of college entrances is daunting and you need to be prepared to deal with that. But I don’t regret the amount of time and effort, heart and soul, I put into those apps by not following the traditional, obsessed and crazed method of college preparation that many of peers have gone through (I’ve seen some of them breakdown because a few things in their applications were a bit off, and it wasn’t pretty). It’s a good feeling knowing that you can reap the fruits of your labor during the second semester of senior year =]</p>

<p>I wish you and your daughter all the best! Get ready for some sleepless nights, crazy tension around the house and most of all, a chance for self-growth.</p>

5

<p>^I’d just like to add to justadream92’s post about essays.</p>

<p>My essays talked nothing about my family situation, the literal challenges I’ve overcome, or the struggles I had earlier in life. I took them all from a more philosophical standpoint, and came up with essays that were a lot more metaphorical. In essence, they were all-encompassing statements about my life. They told more about me than anything else would. I feel that going one step beyond the day-to-day struggle really embodies the whole “don’t let your struggles define you, define your struggles” idea. Just my take on things.</p>

<p>If you’d like a sample, feel free to pm me.</p>

6

<p>As a Mom very much like you. I am single and from the enter city. My daughter has gotten up at 4:30am to commute to a school 90 mintues away. (This made a great essay by the way) You have been given excellent advise. I can add this. The most vauable advise I gave my daughter in entering high school was to GET TO KNOW YOUR COUNSLERS. This is her senior year, and because her counslers know her well, I can’t even tell you how many oppurtunities have came her way. (They even call me from home) My daughters SATs and GPA are not nearly as high as the other students who have gotten into some of the schools she has, but she is a stand out. Encourage your student to do things that are not necessarily what her peers would do. This is what the colleges are looking for. They would also like to see leadership. If she is involved in something that she likes encourage her to take a leadership role or even start her own group. Keep in mind that colleges don’t care as much about the number of ECs as they do the consistence in a particular field of interest. For example my daughter’s ECs are debate, oratory, JROTC, and academic decathlon. Each of these she did speaking of some sort. Seek out competitions, even outside of school your daughter can participate and get recognition for. I highly recommend NAACP ACT-SO. There is one in just about every large city. My daughter has now been accepted at Boston College, UIU,Occidental (full rides) and were waiting for Williams today. Good luck to you and your daughter. I’m sure with a mom who is so open to the possiblities she will be fine.</p>

7

<p>Cool. I’m a role model!</p>

<p>Make sure your daughter understands the opportunity that an education can get you is my advice. That and do the best she can which might not be straight As. It might be As and a few Bs. Also, have her find something she’s passionate about as opposed to being in every club that she likes a little bit. Another thing, try to make sure she still gets to stop and smell the roses. After all, she’s still a kid. Remind her that it’s ok to have a time to hang with friends or go on dates or whatever on saturday nights. Although the boyfriend thing might be a bad idea, you’d have to ask the girls around here. I’ve never had a girlfriend so there are alot of problems that I could have had but didn’t. Plan ahead for the PLAN ACT PSAT and SAT. Take practice tests and take the ACT and SAT. She should want to succeed more than you want her to. If you want her to succeed more than she wants it herself it won’t happen. Tell her to try not to fall into peer pressure at this age. Some kids may have rich parents and can do certain things, and other kids have habits that aren’t exactly productive if you know what I mean. Everyone’s different and she should pick her friends very wisely. No offense to anyone, but high school girls can get a little crazy. All in all, she should understand that if you work hard you get to play hard too just like in college. If you need anything else, just ask :)</p>

8

<p>If your daughter is interested in test prep, you can go to the college board online store and buy actual copies of PSAT’s. They’re fairly inexpensive, about $7.00 each, I think. They will also send you via an online link, the answer key for each test you purchase.</p>

9

<p>Congrats.</p>

<p>Sounds like you have an incredible daughter! It also sounds like you are an incredibly sensible mother.</p>

<p>Best of luck to her!</p>

10

<p>I always thought of college/admissions/tests…but I didn’t do much about it until junior year. </p>

<p>i did take a prep PSAT sophomore year and that helped me junior year (Im a National Achievement Finalist) </p>

<p>I think you should have her gradually look over/study for the ACT/SAT. I wish I had. Junior year seemed like a whirlwind because I was taking prep courses and “cramming” for the test. I still did well though. Just do things at a slow pace now…she’s only a freshman?? (hope I’m not mistaken).</p>

<p>Research colleges NOW! I applied to 14 places and got into 13 out of 14. This is going to be one of the most important decisions of my life and I have no clue where I want to spend the next four years. The more she becomes acquainted with colleges and visits, the more likely that she will be able to make a stable choice of colleges to apply to.</p>

<p>RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS NOW!! even freshman can get some.
Keep up with her extracurriculars, and I think you will be fine. =)</p>

11

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<p>I can’t think of a time when I didn’t think about college. I was going to go to Xavier, the school here. Then probably Cornell, my mother’s school, then Tuskegee, my father’s then Cambridge, etc. Not that I was obsessed with it. I just randomly told my parents that I would be at those schools in the future. Usually prompted by a visit or a story of college days. Cambridge was the first school where I was like “Okay, what do I need to do? Let me write this down, let me learn this.” That was probably 8th grade.</p>

<p>I took my first SAT when I was 11, in 6th grade, so I probably started thinking about it then. I’m so glad that I did. I studied seriously when I was 11, read the whole prep book and did multiple practice tests. Tiny me, in my room with my door closed, carefully timing myself on the sections, being allowed to work with a calculator for the first time in my life, being sure to only take the allotted breaks. I am so happy I did it back then. I’ve never done more than minimal prep now. I took it again in 8th grade, with the top third or so of my grade at my (public) school. The PSAT soph year with everyone at my school, PSAT and two SATs 11th grade.
SAT score progression:
6th grade (old SAT, out of 1600): 1070 - 590 Verbal, 480 Math (I was like, let’s skip HS and go straight to college!)
8th grade: 1830 - 640 CR, 640 M, 550 W
10th grade PSAT: 207 - 75 CR, 67 M, 65 W
11th grade PSAT: 226 - 72 CR, 74 M, 80 W
Jan 2009 SAT: 2110 - 770 CR, 690 M, 650 W <—Someone should have studied
May 2009 SAT: 2300 - 800 CR, 700 M, 800 W <—Someone did 10 q’s per section</p>

<p>I never really thought about the ACT. Took the PLAN in 10th grade, got the same score as my sister, maybe a 27 or something. We are both way better at the SAT. Took the ACT Junior year, got a 30, forgot about it.
I started thinking about APs when we got our course guides in 7th grade, to pick courses for 8th grade. My friends and I would always circle our courses for the rest of HS. When I was in 7th grade, my school had more APs than any other in the nation, so I could take whatever I want. APs aren’t really anything to think about. Not signing for them is just, like, not a conceivable option. The only questions are “Do I want Calc AB or BC? Phys B or C?”</p>

<p>Your daughter’s ECs sound a lot like mine. I dance about 8.5 hours a week, and not competitively, and work as a tutor at my school, two hours every Saturday morning, with other school-related ECs.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>