Help a confused new parent?

Parents Forum
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<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am pretty new to the college undergrad admissions process, at least for the US. I did my MSc in the US and am doing PhD in Canada now (went back to school late). I did my UG in india.</p>

<p>Because of husbands job and my studies, we moved around a lot. However, for the past 5 years, we had been staying in the same small city. There, our daughter attended an excellent school where she had many opportunities to do well, and she did so, being accelerated grades </p>

<p>We moved abroad a few months ago, and D is currently going to a pretty good school that is selective in it's admissions.</p>

<p>However, the curriculum is not challenging for her-she is completing AP Calculus AB/BC this year, and will be done with practically every course that she is interested in by the end of next year, so nothing left for 12th grade. (AP Biology, AP WH, AP English Lit, AP physics she will take, the school doesn't offer AP chem so she is teaching it to herself and doing her own labwork. </p>

<p>Additionally, she is very interested in biomedical sciences, so she secured internships with Profs by meeting with them, and is now doing her own work. </p>

<p>We'd like her to look into top US universities (Ivy League universities, top schools) and apply 1 year early because I heard they give good financial aid to Intls (Canadian citizenship) and I think they would provide a good environment for her. </p>

<p>She stopped by the counselor today to discuss with him her goals and aspirations. He got very excited when she expressed her desire to apply to top colleges. He told her that she should start 'creating a portfolio' and try to 'lead more' (in extracurricular activities). He also said that she should work on 'selling herself' and things like that. He wants her to start a blog, make a website etc. I know she can do this, but how important is all of this to the process? </p>

<p>He seems like a very nice guy, but I am a bit confused to what he means.</p>

<p>I know letters of reference are important, as are grades and scores (I'm not worried here, D is smart and good @ testing), but how important is this branding/selling yourself stuff and what does it mean? Also, is there anyway I can help her out? </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>She can take more advanced courses on-line. Down here in Florida, for example, they have Florida Virtual.</p>

<p>The concept is a great one. Here’s an example. Few schools offer Latin anymore. But because of on-line classes, kids all over the country can sign in, and take Latin classes.</p>

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<p>He is basically saying grades and glasses are not enough for top schools. What are her ecs, what doesnshe do outside of the classroom? Besides internships? She will be compteting with thousands ofnkids just like her awesome classes great scores and grades son what makes her special?</p>

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<p>First, if your family is comfortable financially then you might not be eligible for very much financial aid. At the schools you have listed the financial aid is all need based.</p>

<p>I think your counselor knows what he is talking about. Entrance into the schools you are talking about is extremely competitive, especially for internationals. Your daughter does sound like an outstanding student and this needs to be evident to the admissions committees.</p>

<p>There are many ways to go about packaging oneself. Your daughter’s counselor has given her a couple of good ideas about how she could do it. Maybe she will be able to come up with even better ideas for how to demonstrate who she is.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the clarification!</p>

<p>We have looked into online classes, but she really prefers having a teacher in the room to ask questions of. Also, labs are difficult online, and not the same. Also, Canadian universities do not allow kids to take the classes unless they have finished high school (no point), and also auditing is not helpful because the classes are held during school hours.</p>

<p>At her old school (till 9th), she participated in clubs like Science Olympics, Model United Nations, her school newspaper, Business Leaders. She won regional medals for S.O., awards for UN, state writing award for newspaper, state and regional prizes for business leaders. This was last year. She also volunteered at local hospital and plays tennis (started in 7th grade, but loves a lot).</p>

<p>Her new school has very few clubs that she is interested in, and she is only doing debate and speech here. The other clubs do not interest her, are just clubs for boring school volunteering, yearbook (not very artistic), things like that. </p>

<p>What confused me was how she is supposed to ‘present and sell herself’. I did not quite get what he meant by that. He gave her an example of some fellow who markets himself well through a website/blog, but she is just a student in HS, and it seems very fake to me if she is not interested in doing it. </p>

<p>We are not pushign her to graduate early, she has told us she is interested herself. D is mature for her age and I think she needs a challenge to remain interested (this has been a trend thru her school career, and a year where she does not do anything seems like a bad idea, at least for her).</p>

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<p>Thanks Pea, we make 120kish a year (I am a student, husband is an engineer). We live in an expensive area, but as D is our only child, we want her to get the best available education, and are willing to give up things for it.</p>

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<p>Confused Mom:</p>

<p>It is my understanding that Canadian colleges place much less emphasis on extra-curriculars.</p>

<p>They go more by gpa and test scores.</p>

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<p>That I know (it is very much like Indian system), based on marks, but we are considering US colleges and universities here. I think she would prefer and do better with the smaller classes and also, we just got canadian citizenship recently-most of her life has been spent in the US on visa and I think she would prefer to return their for her studies. I feel bad we had to move, but there was no way to stay in the old city :frowning: (financial issues).</p>

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<p>I was under the impression that international students get very little, if any, FA at US schools.</p>

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<p>You can use one of the online calculators to do the FAFSA & guess your EFC to deterimine how much financial aid she may get. Look on Cc site for colleges that offer good merit aid. I really enjoyed the books"What colleges don’t tell you" & What High Schools don’t tell you". It is exciting that you have a counselor who is so enthusiastic!</p>

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<p>I am not a parent with an Ivy-potential student, but it is helpful to read the threads on CC about who actually makes it into the Ivies. There are kids that created non-profit organizations, perform with professional orchestras, have published books, have published in scientific journals.
Other than studying, what does your D love? You have time to let her stretch her wings a bit and really focus on something that will make her stand out. She will be competing with all the other intl applicants, as it were, as well as the kid from Alaska who runs a fishing boat and studies Inuit culture.</p>

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<p>She might be able to find a professor at a nearby university with whom she could do research. It could lead her to make a significant contribution, have a wonderful letter of recommendation, and suggest an essay topic. For some extraordinarily gifted students, it is not about joining lots of clubs or being pres. of them, but finding a way to express the student’s passionate interest in one activity and make a real contribution to it.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

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<p>Hello again,</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses, they have been very helpful to us! My daughter is actually working on designing her own research project right now, and then after the Professor approves it, she will be allowed to start the actual work. </p>

<p>I talked to my daughter again and she said that the counselor was mostly concerned about how she would ‘sell herself’, and told her that she should work on a blog, or create something else beyond her science work and clubs/sports.</p>

<p>I looked through some threads on this forum and the accepted students all seem to be amazing students and people who will surely make the most of their opportunities.</p>

<p>I think my D will have similar stats and activities to those kids, so that is where the counselor’s talk of ‘marketing’ must come in.</p>

<p>I’m just not sure what he means by ‘marketing herself or presenting’. Does he want her to appear like a certain type of student or individual to these universities? I’m confused about that.</p>

<p>Also, thanks for the FAFSA calculator idea, I will run one when I get the time (PhD keeps one very busy!!). </p>

<p>Thanks to all of you again for your suggestions!</p>

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<p>What province do you live in? I ask because it really isn’t making any sense to someone familiar with Canadian highschool curriculums. None of your post is adding up.</p>

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<p>Also how did you just move to Canada yet you also just got Canadian citizenship?</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>We live in AB. Our daughter goes to one of the few schools that accelerates students past grade level, and since she was many years accelerated in math/science, she got credit for:</p>

<p>Math 10, Math 20, Math 30, Science 10, Bio 20, Chem 20. </p>

<p>She is taking Math 31 (AB Calc), and BC Calc this year, with Chem 30, Physics 20, English 10 and 20 ( 2 semesters of english), French, and Social 10. </p>

<p>The coming year, she will be taking: Bio 30 AP (2 terms), Social 20 AP (2 terms), English 30 AP Lit (2 terms), Physics 30 AP (2 terms, if they add it). She will try to fit in french and will P.E. 10, CALM and an elective <em>if</em> she gets into her desired US schools next year. (These are required courses). She told me that she can do some classes online if need be so that she can graduate (if she gets in in grade 11).</p>

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<p>We were on husbands L1 visa for past 7ish years in America. Then I studied in US for 3 years to get my M.Sc so, D was on F2 with me.</p>

<p>About 3 years ago, we applied for PR card in Canada. We got the PR card and only recently ‘landed’ with our goods. My husband has been working in canada for the past 2 years in several places to support our family (very complex situation), so he is very close to getting Canadian citizenship. Daughter is a minor, so she will get citizenship with him by next Feb. I won’t get it for 2-3 more years, but I am not worried about me, only about her. </p>

<p>Sorry, I did not realize that i was unclear about citizenship: She will have it when she applies for university in the US. My husband will be filing within a few months. I will remain on Indian citizenship for 2 more years at least.</p>

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<p>From what you describe, there is no way your husband or daughter for that matter can get citizenship by next year. Moreover, it would be absolutely impossible for you to be able to say you have citizneship by X date even if the paperwork was submitted at this imte. I know, we immigrated not that long ago. Not to mention, if you and your daughter were living in New York and going to school there, you had to have been lying to get your PR card. </p>

<p>No wonder you changed your screen name Nymom2014. Your other posts didn’t add up either. Made absolutely no sense that an adult would post the link to the highschool their child was attending etc. I always assumed you were just a kid in Calgary trying to figure out how to apply to the Ivies, lol.</p>

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<p>Confused, first you need to clarify your financial situation. Most top US colleges or universities offer only need based aid. The online calculator you could get an idea of how much need based aid an American family would be eligible for. </p>

<p>Depending on your citizenship your daugher may not be eligible for the same. It’s really case by case by individual college. Ironically the most selective colleges are the most generous with need based aid for internationals.</p>

<p>There are also some very good schools that offer merit based aid, sometimes to internationals. This is a specialized list and does not include the Ivy League or many of the most selective colleges/universities. If you need or want merit aid, you should learn which schools offer it. </p>

<p>Colleges/universities often use merit aid to recruit non-White, non-middleclass students who will contribute to their diversity percentages. As an ethnic Indians, your daughter may fall in this category. Look at colleges that are located in rural locations, the middle west or the south. Any place that doesn’t get a lot of Indian applicants. Grinnell, Macalester, Carleton are a good place to start. Also womens colleges, like Smith.</p>

<p>American colleges admit based on both objective and subjective factors. Selective colleges will definitely want top grades, scores and rank, but recommendations and essays are also VERY important. </p>

<p>In addition, they will be looking for abstract qualities that will make up a balanced class. In other words, what can this student contribute to the campus community? This is where extracurriculars – arts, sports, leadership – and diversity factors – race, religion, ethnicity, economic standing – come into play. International life experience (and here I mean the Indian, not the Canadian, connection) can be a BIG PLUS.</p>

<p>I think your daughter’s counselor is well meaning, but don’t get distracted by the blog, website advice. Yes, this is one way to let colleges know who you are, but the traditional methods – essays, arts supplements, resumes, recommendation – work too. I wouldn’t focus too much on “presenting, branding, or selling.” Yes, the college application is a small opening into which the student has to fit his/her whole persona. But first s/he has to have the interests and accomplishments.</p>

<p>She should be focusing on developing a few (one or two) in depth interests and activities. Her independent research certainly qualifies. Maybe one other activity that she enjoys? Schools are looking for leadership, accomplishment and progression in a few focused areas, not a laundry list of activities.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure what you’re talking about. My husband worked in Ottawa for about 8 months, and then has been in Calgary (now in Edmonton) for almost 2 years now after his contract in Ottawa ended. Besides his visits to the states, he has spent 3 years in Canada. My husband is taking care of the immigration business, and he said that both he and her would be eligible for citizenship. I also did not literally mean ‘February’, I was just guessing on what he has told me. I believe it takes a few months for the processing to be finished. </p>

<p>When we visited Toronto to pick him up, we would tell the customs/immigration people that we would move when I finished my degree. I completed it this august, and since I didn’t apply in time for my PhD in the states, and had gotten in at UofC, we moved there. The PR card’s time (the point where there are not 3 years left) expired this september. We moved in late august,perhaps a few weeks before that date.</p>