<p>There is a book, “What It Really Takes to Get Into the IVies” (I many not have the title exactly right) that is dated, written by a former Ivy admissions director. What is useful about the book is that it puts accomplishments into the perspective of what the highly selective colleges see in the majority of the applications they get. There is a particularly valuable chart listing and evaluating awards and accomplishments. </p>
<p>A lot of it is truly a “what have you been doing lately” thing as well. Your child has a great start, but keeping it up is important. For most kids, it doesn’t matter what activities they are doing. Unless there is an activity that is hugely desired by colleges, the particular ones your student is seekiing admissions to, it really only matters that they are doing something. That they are active in the arts, on a number of sports teams, are student council reps, officers are all within the checklist category. If the school orchestra needs that instument, the student is a recruited athlete, gains recognition on a nationally regarded basis for some activity, that’s a whole other story. Few kids are in the latter categroy and those things can be “hooks” at the right school. At a school that has no hocky team or doesn’t put much weight or interested in the sport, prowess in it is a yawn. A school that has a conservatory program with an orchestra comprised of music performance majors, is not going to care about the playing skills of even an oboe player or harpist who isn’t applying the the school of music.</p>