<p>mom5, If you are from Calif., I suggest that instead of a gap year doing volunteer work, he take classes at a local CC next year. With his stats, he would easily be able to transfer into a UC in his Jr year. Taking classes at the CC may also "look" better to smaller private colleges than doing volunteer work alone, when he wants to apply to new colleges next year.</p>
<p>Mom5 --</p>
<p>Believe me, you have got our support! I know this has got to be hard.</p>
<p>One thing I want to mention is that sometimes "top schools" - meaning highly ranked by US News - does not mean the best education available. A book that really helped us look at educational quality is <em>Choosing the Right College</em> . Here's a link to it on amazon: Amazon.com:</a> Choosing the Right College: 2008-2009: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools (Choosing the Right College): John Zmirak,Walter E. Williams: Books It really helped us understand what the colleges really had to offer our son. We looked the colleges up in this book before we visited, and compared to other college guides, it was way more accurate. This would be a great resource to check out some of the schools folks have mentioned.</p>
<p>One big advantage of a smaller school, is that your son can really stand out. That might make it even easier for him to get into a great graduate school than going to a top ten university.</p>
<p>Whether he chooses one of these lesser known gems that are still accepting or does a fruitful gap year, I trust that this trial will make him stronger and happier in the end.</p>
<p>Hope your family member understands that this is anonymous. Also, you can e-mail members individually if you want to discuss more. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I suggest that the OP's son apply to St. Olaf which is a very good, under-appreciated college (because of its location more than anything else). If he should want to transfer to one of the better-known schools, he could do it from St. Olaf. I don't think that a gap year working for City Year or something similar is going to improve his resume.</p>
<p>I disagree with Marite. I think a gap year could make him look very different. This was a kid who was all academics and had no ECs. He might have some supplemental recommendations from supervisors from the gap year program. I would guess that he'd have a new set of essay based on his gap year experience. The only difficulty I see is that unless you get started on the gap year experiences in the summer, there might not be enough to write about. I think he might still be able to apply to a few of those top 7 colleges, along with some matchier schools and a safety or two.</p>
<p>I do think for a Californian, the CC route and then one of the UC publics is a reasonable alternative route.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>he might still be able to apply to a few of those top 7 colleges>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Perhaps...but this student needs a MUCH more balanced list. The nice thing about Andison's story was that he applied to mostly different schools after his gap year, but he got accepted to his dream school. STILL...he had a bunch of really really good options if that dream school had not become a reality. That is what this student needs to do.</p>
<p>If this student is, in fact, from CA, it seems a shame that he didn't apply to one of the UCs. Many folks would love to attend those as OOS students. </p>
<p>If not from CA, what about the honors college at the flagship U? </p>
<p>The gap year should be a well thought out and well planned one. It needs to be about this student's interests and personal growth...not about padding a resume to get into college. What does this student want to do with his time for the next year?</p>
<p>What about a post graduate year at a prep school?</p>
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<blockquote> <p>This is very confusing. Are we hearing the whole story? Those stats would get him into most schools....public, at least! Something doesn't add up!<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Trust me, we went through this whole process with Andison--who seemed to have the whole package, didn't apply to only Ivies, and still didn't get in anywhere. Sometimes things happen.</p>
<p>OP should definitely read the Andison saga and examine closely what he did in his gap year. He split his time among three or more activities. He took the time to examine his life, to re-think and re-craft his list of schools to apply to in the fall. He ended up getting into a number of colleges, including MIT, a school to which he hadn't applied the year before.</p>
<p>I believe that taking a gap year and then re-applying to the Ivies with the idea that this gap year is going to make a difference is a low percentage proposition. I think Andison re-applied to one of the schools that rejected him on his first go-through. They rejected him on the second go-through. </p>
<p>Use the time wisely to really think about what you really want in college, without thought to prestige. It's easier to do when you're not in the feeding frenzy of senior year of high school. Find colleges that really fit your bill. Build your list up from the bottom.</p>
<p>And looking at Andison's profile, we know that he had much stronger ECs than the OP's son. I really do not think that a gap year--in fact a few months--doing City Year will make him more desirable by virtue of improving his list of Ecs.
He does need to expand his list of colleges. But I also think that St. Olaf is a great college; I don't see the downside to applying to it since it is still accepting applications and attending it.</p>
<p>Boy, we're pushing St. Olaf so hard, it makes ME want to go there!</p>
<p>I think another help, whatever route is taken, is for the young man to figure out his passion and be able to craft an application that reflects a student who loves something in life. That activity should be pursued/natured.</p>
<p>Social science? An activity that highlights which social science. </p>
<p>I tend to agree with Marite that St. Olaf's is a good option as is Hendrix iMO. In addition, the 3.5 GPA just isn't that strong even though the text scores are.</p>
<p>Perhaps at St. Olaf's, Hendrix, or a similar school the poster's son would discover a passion that would either make him competitive for transfer or happy where he was.</p>
<p>Another concern is that if this bright young man is shy then the gap year may or may not change anything for him. He may find it even harder to become more outgoing than if he were in a school. He may find it difficult to get a good rec. in the fall if he is shy. Just because he needs to look better on applications does not mean he will have the comfort level or the skills to get a great rec.
I, too, think he should find a school for this fall.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what one does with a gap year. I think that a gap year might in fact make a shy young man more outgoing if he has to work with other people or is pushed outside his comfort zone. I know that it had that effect on me.</p>
<p>Personal testimony is good evidence. And it sounds like the OP's son has no interest in schools still accepting applications.</p>
<p>mathmom: Do you think international activities more helpful for next year's cycle?</p>
<p>We don't know how finances play into this. If the original list of schools was influenced by the top Ivies new FA policies, then the community college/UC route may work out best. If finances are not an issue, I'll cast another ballot in favor of St. Olaf. It has a program called Great Conversations which is kind of a great books program for freshmen. The kids for that sound like they're more on the studious end of the spectrum, and they are housed in the same dorms which would help a shy student get more of a sense of community. Here's a nice thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/saint-olaf-college/475556-olaf-nutshell.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/saint-olaf-college/475556-olaf-nutshell.html</a> and another: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/saint-olaf-college/310866-great-conversation.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/saint-olaf-college/310866-great-conversation.html</a> Being Asian would be a plus so far as admissions goes.</p>
<p>I don't think international activities in and of themselves would necessarily be helpful. If the kid wants another chance to be accepted at elite colleges (and I'm not sure that they would be the best fit, but the same goes for even the smaller LACs, especially top ranked ones), I think they'll want to see some evidence that this kid can:
[ul][<em>]work with others
[</em>]succeed at something besides schoolwork
[<em>]has interests/activities outside academics
[</em>]can take a leadership role (not by being club president, but perhaps by running a project or committee)
[*]has some connections with his community[/ul]</p>
<p>I wouldn't be surprised if your son has enough AP credits to enter a community college as a sophomore, do one year and then transfer to Berkeley. He could still take three years to graduate; maybe do a double major. Or do a BA and MA in three years.</p>
<p>Edit: I guess I'm assuming you are in CA; if not, then it wouldn't apply.</p>
<p>If he didn't have any ECs to speak of until now, whatever ECs he "acquires" during the gap year will look just like an attempt to pad his resume.</p>
<p>He should try to get in somewhere now (and there are still some good schools taking apps). He can transfer to another school after a year if he is not happy, as long as he does well academically.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that he could easily get into U of Pittsburgh (including possibly their honors college). It is a pretty good school. From there he can take classes at Carnegie Mellon as well... - just an example...</p>
<p>If he can't (which I doubt will be the case if he tries), he should do something that he enjoys during this year. If taking classes is what he likes, he can do so at community college. He does not have a year to accumulate ECs - he only has a few months until the applications are due...</p>
<p>I don't think it's padding your resume if you are upfront about it. New essays would be "I realized that there needed to be more to me than four years of nothing, but school, so I spent this year finding other ways to succeed, be me, learn what my true interests were or whatever." If he can start this summer he's got six months. Less if he applies ED or EA.</p>
<p>That said, he may still be better off finding an okay college to attend now. If he likes it he can stay, if he doesn't he can transfer.</p>
<p>That is a very good point. Very little ECs indicate that the student might not work very well with others (again, I'm drawing a generalization). I'm not sure entirely what is required these days, to be well-rounded or not.</p>
<p>I think if he gets some ECs, or volunteers/works, his application will be that much stronger. He can also talk about overcoming being shy (although that does sound cliched). He might also want to look at state schools as safties. Applying to the top 7 universities seems a bit risky for me. It's not just your stats that get you in, but how you present yourself.</p>
<p>
Yes, this is definitely true. It's a shame that your son did not realize this at the outset. When my son, who had hardly any EC's, was applying to colleges we read the book A is For Admission and he realized immediately that he would not have much of a chance with the Ivy League -- and that was almost 10 years ago when things were still less competitive than they are now! </p>
<p>My daughter - who very much is the "doer" type (more the "do everything" type) is at a college affiliated with an Ivy League campus, and I can see why those personal and social qualities are so important. A quiet or shy kid would probably be overwhelmed in that environment -- even my d. (who is very outgoing) had a very hard time making friends and a rough first semester emotionally, and she's quite a dynamo. </p>
<p>When admissions is very competitive, the ad com likes to see what each student will add to their campus community. There is room for a few introverts -- but they had better be brilliant and outstanding in some sort of way. Being simply smart -- even if very smart -- is not really enough to add something to an environment already filled with exceptionally smart and vibrant people. </p>
<p>It's too bad that your son did not apply to the UC's -- obviously he would have been accepted there. If your son is very focused on academics, he might want to consider Reed or Univ. of Chicago --they are both difficult to get into, but not as fickle as the Ivies, and they are schools that might be more appreciative of the ideas and intellect he brings. </p>
<p>I also think a gap year may be a time for your son to develop more confidence, depending on the activity he chooses. My son actually took a mid-way gap - of 3 years! -- and became involved in activities that really transformed him into a more outgoing person and enabled him to build leadership skills. City Year really is a good option -- not so much because of how it will look for a college, but because of what it will do for your your son to have that experience.</p>