"At our HS we regularly get kids in the top 10 percent with a 32 into Vandy. We’ve never since tracking gotten a kid into Duke unless top 3 percent and a 35+. Maybe our school is an anamoloy but this pattern seems to hold.
My neice with a 32 got into every school she applied to ranked 12-20. And not one in the 1-11 rank that she applied to. So it depends what you mean by " qualifications"."
Entirely too small of a sample to be meaningful. Hanna is right. There’s no meaningful difference at any kind of macro level.
Earlier in this thread, it was mentioned that money often better spent on essays. Any thoughts/suggestions on where to get assistance in teaching the kids to improve their writing skills? Son is in eighth grade so we have plenty of time…It would be nice to find an online resource that would give him a prompt and then give detailed feedback on his essay.
We heard positive things about a local English teacher and have tried to contact her for lessons but she does not seem interested. We were looking into an online course that had great reviews but given their lesson time, it is only for children that are home-schooled.
Jmo, but 8th graders don’t usually have the life experience to write with the sort of self awareness an app/supp needs. Nor the editing perspective. I’d say even rising 11th graders struggle (including those who say they love to write.) They need time to live life. Get the hs basics first and try not to have this different style interfere with the skill set needed for hs. After that, you extend their range.
Everyone will say reading and more reading sharpens their thinking and observation skills. Imo, get there before you polish. A great writer IRL is usually a great observer first. You can work on that, but keep in mind this is an 8th grade brain. Don’t burn out any affection for writing.
Agree with @lookingforward wholeheartedly. Don’t add extra tutoring unless you think your child is somehow behind at school. Boys (generalization - I have two) seem less inclined to write about themselves and their writing abilities seem to develop a little later than girls. (Of course there are exceptions, but most of my friends with boys agree.) Don’t worry about college essays for a few more years. Just make sure your son does well in school.
When the time comes, ask around to other parents in your area about resources for essay prep. Friends and parents of top HS students who recently went through college admissions can often be the best references.
thanks very much for your thoughts.