<p>My kids go to public school and kids at their school are definitely "tracked;" if you aren't in honors classes in 9th hard to get there later...and kids in non-honors classes are encouraged not to take SAT IIs - it makes the school average look better! Make sure you know what courses and tests the top seniors have taken and plan to invest in SAT prep junior year. In my kids' school the guidance counselors do nothing to prepare kids for college until Jan of junior year. If I had waited till then to do anything, I wouldn't have gotten my kid into the "good" SAT prep class and she wouldn't have taken SAT IIs after she finished Biology and Chemistry.</p>
<p>You didn't happen to go to Stanford, Dunnin?</p>
<p>XD</p>
<p>As the title indicates, I'm also a high school frosh (whoot!). And while I commend you for checking out this site, don't let any chances threads wig you out. If you get nervous (and pointlessly so; CC is certainly not a decent representative of the entire US or even the entire prestigious college applicant pool), your D will be able to tell. </p>
<p>Basically, I don't want you to be as stressful as my dad. Obviously, it's not the same ball game as when you and my dad applied to college, nor are you and your daughter the same person. Don't force rankings down her throat...but at the same time, keep an open line of communication. </p>
<p>Ask your daughter about her INTERESTS first and foremost, not about her college plans. Like you said, college didn't shape you; rather, what made you attractive to colleges shaped you. The same applies for her. Compliment her on her dance progress, and always be open to softball carpooling, etc. even as the schedules get more grueling. Don't, however, promote her team's ranking or regurgitate her accomplishments to her. Be proud of what she has done, not what you think your baby girl CAN do because she DESERVES it. She has to earn it.</p>
<p>Bad scenario #1:
As background, my dad owns his own medical practice. He's an econ/med guy. I'm a humanities (history, literature, philosophy) girl. He applied to prestigious research unis. I'm thinking undergrad focused LACs/smaller unis.</p>
<p>Me: "So...next time we're in NY, let's take a train to New Haven."
Him: "Oh, okay, and Princeton too."
Me: "??"</p>
<p>Another time
Mom: "Hon, can you think of any school's like Davidson College? glassesarechic loved her camp at Davidson this summer..."
Me: "Yeah, mom talked about [random but good LAC]..."
Him: "Oh...well if you wanted to do a school like that, Williams is really the best."</p>
<p>See? Don't leave your D feeling overwhelmed. Just tell her to stop by her GC's office and talk about courses, or whatever. And shoot off a casual introductory email yourself, but don't start nosing around. But at the same time, you don't want to be like my mom, who's just like, Oh, your college doesn't matter in the grand scheme anyway. Visit colleges if you're in town, sure, but mostly just tell your D to pursue what she loves. She's your little girl, and she can do everything she wants to do, whether by using the resources of a huge uni or of a small LAC. Who knows? Just be proud of her and happy she's still under your roof.</p>
<p>For the record, those CAT6 scores mean nothing.</p>
<p>i did the biggest mistake in 9th grade and i slacked off and my parents weren't focused on ME they just wanted me to come home with a 95...so i think the what i tell you will be more valuable because this is coming from someone who struggled in the 9th grade.
1) FOCUS ON HER DONT JUST TELL HER TO GET A SCORE
2) sit with her and discuss what shes struggling with
3) get her a tutor if you see her struggling even if she says she doesnt need it
4) take her to trial lessons of dif things and see what shes into
5) make sure she stays on top of things</p>
<p>I'm a 10th grader, albeit an international student, so I can probably shed some light on what my parents have been doing/what I'd like them to do.</p>
<p>(I got into this process this year primarily because the US suits all my needs when it comes to what i want in my college education)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Be supportive of your daughter's choices; if she tries out a new extracurricular, praise and encourage her! I spent a good chunk of last year dabbling in MUN and school publications, and now I absolutely cannot imagine life without those two activities!</p></li>
<li><p>Unlike me, my American counterparts have the luxury of choosing their courses of study. Since she must be undecided now, let her sample a wide range of subjects this year - while making sure that the workload is demanding.</p></li>
<li><p>While freshman grades do matter, they aren't the be-all-end-all. They must certainly be good, yes, but don't push her to the edge demanding a 4.0 or anything of the sort.</p></li>
<li><p>Have casual discussions about college. Ask her if she's ever thought about college, where she'd like to go, etc. At the end of the year, maybe get her a guidebook so she can flip through it and get a general feel of the options she has.</p></li>
<li><p>Get her to take the PSAT (in grade 10) and ACT (since scores are selectively reported, a not-so-good score now will not harm her). This will help gauge her level at standardized tests.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, and most importantly, tell her to enjoy life and not get too stressed out about college. We're all kids, and we're supposed to have fun and enjoy life. Keep a tab on her and make sure that she's not burning out, give her a prod when needed to make sure that she doesn't procrastinate. Be a caring, supportive parent who is there for his/her daughter. That is absolutely the best thing you can do.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If this is the competition, I'm royally screwed. XD XD</p>
<p>Thank you all for your further replies. I meant to post yesterday but seemed to have been stuck in a Log In loop.</p>
<p>HSOverrated -- yes, I did attend Stanford... until I transferred to UCLA. Long story short I wanted to be in UCLA's linguistics program, which at the time, and probably still is, top 3.</p>
<p>P.S. Leaving the page up after being summoned to the other room to help prep dinner -- you guessed it -- has caused this thread to become a launching point to discussing college with my daughter. So let this be a lesson that if you don't want other family members reading your posts... :)</p>
<p>tot he OP: Move your question to the Parent's Forum</p>
<p>
[quote]
to the OP: Move your question to the Parent's Forum
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Done by moderator action, in the interest of getting more informed replies for this interesting thread. But it was certainly already on-topic and well responded to in the College Admissions Forum.</p>
<p>Our GCs were not clued into options beyond local LAC and state flagship.</p>
<p>I hope you have better resources at your disposal. In any event, I found it very helpful to check out the admission websites of several selective universities so that I was informed about their requirements, preferences, and expectations. Then I sat down with our soon-to-be-freshman son with that info and the course book from his HS and we mapped out a 4-year course of study. He understood that the purpose was to put him into the position where he would have the most and best options later on. The courses he took varied somewhat from the plan over the years, but this guide served him well.</p>
<p>I agree with others - 9th grade is a good year for exploring extracurricular activities, but I wouldn't drop dance. She loves it even if she's not stellar. Prepare to take the most advanced level courses you are offered - if you can do well in them and like them. But you don't need to plan to take every AP your school offers. The hardest part I think is figuring out what high school kids should do in the summer. My oldest took Chemistry one summer because of scheduling problems, a college computer graphics course, and worked doing computer programming two summers. Those experiences were core parts of the picture of who he was when it came time to fill out applications. However he didn't do them to look good on applications, he did them because he was interested. My 10th grader went to music camp last summer, but probably isn't good enough for the next level up of music camp. No idea what he should /could do this summer.</p>
<p>Four year plan:</p>
<p>If the school is on a year-long schedule, this is how a failry ambitious schedule might have looked like at ours (it's now gone to block scheduling, so the following schedule no longer applies):
9th grade: Honors English, Honors Algebra II, Honors Bio, Honors Social Studies (World History), art, Phys Ed, foreign language (can't remember which level).
10th grade: Honors English, Honors Geometry, Honors Chemistry, Honors Social Studies (American History), art, Phys Ed, foreign language.
11th grade: AP-USH, AP-American Lit, Honors Pre-Calc, foreign language, Honors Physics, art.<br>
Take PSAT in October.
Discuss colleges with GC.
Take SAT1 in spring. Visit colleges during spring break.
Take AP exams in May.
Take SAT IIs in May or June.
Ask teachers for recommendations.
Summer: visit some more colleges if necessary. Draw up list of colleges.
Begin working on college essays.
12th grade: AP-European History; AP-English Language; AP-Calculus; maybe an AP-science; AP-foreign language, art, Phys Ed.
Retake SAT1 (or ACT) if necessary; take or retake SATII.
Complete applications.</p>
<p>ECs: Students should pursue whatever EC interests them. ECs can involve holding a job. They can be school-based or pursued outside school. They can be sports, academics, arts, community service, or a combination thereof. The important thing is that they should be done for their own sake.</p>
<p>Model and encourage her by reading books for pleasure daily. Consider reading the same books together, if she'd like to, to talk about them. Google up reviews to see what others say. </p>
<p>Or, if there's a library in your community offering a book club, join together. I can't imagine a lovelier time than going monthly with a D to a book talk, then out to eat together. This will establish a talking time between the two of you into the next four years that can branch into all the process of college applications. Reading, of course, will expand her vocabulary and improve her SAT scores. That's not something to do months before the SAT's; it's something to begin now.</p>
<p>If she's only reading from the Internet, she might be reading but not at a high level of critical thinking or vocabulary. You might take turns choosing the book pick for the following month, if it's just the two of you.</p>
<p>See movies together and talk about them.</p>
<p>There are some wonderful words of wisdom in these three pages responding to the OP. As a mom of twins who are now five months from HS graduation and totally confused about where they TRULY want/would like to go, let me offer the following kind advice.</p>
<p>Paying3tuitions makes many salient points-encouraging your D's reading-not just from the internet or for school assignments will continue to broaden her own world-something teachers do not often think of- the individual student as person. Hopefully, from reading or other interests, D and your family can enjoy pursuing interests together as a family for the 3 1/2 short years she has left at home. Those years truly do fly by-many of the posters make great points-she is a ninth grader-enjoy her and your time together!</p>
<p>It's great to encourage her during student advisement each year to sign up for the most rigourous course load she can handle-not the course load the guidance couselor or the parent wants. Both twins in our home have had to dramatically reduce EC's in all areas during junior and senior year to keep grades where they want them to be in order to handle a course load they were "urged" to take. BTW, both kids are in top 5% of class, 6+ AP's, excellent test scores, etc- but now that the "rubber meet the road"-they are totally exhausted and have no idea of what they want to major in, IF they can determine the school (s) they want to attend.</p>
<p>The other advice I would offer (with the benefit of hindsight) is that while "guiding" your D with ideas about the colleges that might be great fits for her seems helpful-tread lightly -instead, when you travel for any reason where there is a college or university- walk the campus or go for a tour. Even if YOU think this a not a school for her-it is one more campus she will have seen-students, classrooms, faciliites, dorms, to think about. If you start visiting schools as part of a "while we are out" plan-I think it will minimize the stress involved with selecting schools that are the right fit and will give all her a basis for comparison. Our twins have applied to a combined 18 colleges- every one of them (save two )came from "mom ideas"-albiet they did the research and we have visited many. Now in the final months- even with two acceptances so far per child-they have no "WOW- I need to go that school feeling".</p>
<p>So....enjoy your D's time as a high school student, be confident in the knowledge and intellect she has gained from you so far and pursue activities you both enjoy which foster her interests and ultimately her passions. Those things will come across to Adcoms at the right time and she will be a young person who is more grounded, mature and self-confident-which will go a long way in interviews.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Make sure she takes tough classes. No slacker stuff. If she insists, then just one or two per year.>></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Both of my kids took fairly rigorous courseloads, but both also took this "slacker stuff", and I have to say that these were wonderful experiences for both kids...and gave them exposures to things that I wished they had had more time to pursue in high school. In DD's case, she took courses in Culinary Arts, and loved them. In DS's case, he did independent studies in music that some folks would see as "slacker stuff". He desperately wanted to take photography, sculpture, culinary arts, but these conflicted with his strong course load. I thought it was unfortunate that the "smart kids schedule" conflicted with these other learning opportunities.</p>
<p>The best advice I can offer is to let your DAUGHTER write the roadmap...not you. She needs to explore and pursue things that are of interest to her...not in an attempt to create a promising resume for college. Personally, I think it's nice if a student finds their own passion in some EC and concentrates on that rather than having a laundry list of different and varied ECs. Re: courses...again, in 9th and 10th grade in many places, there are very few electives. In 11th and 12th grade balance the electives with the required courses. </p>
<p>And as others have said...she's in ninth grade. Some of this will evolve in a natural way as she progresses through school. Remember too that some kids really have an early interest in exploring college options. Others just aren't interested until their senior year of high school. Either way works!!</p>
<p>the only thing you really need to do in 9th grade is plan out that first year course schedule properly. Oh, and begin diligently saving for college if you havent already started.</p>
<p>Your child should be encouraged to participate in some ec's that he/she likes and will get them involved in hs life. They should not be geared to resume building however. The best thing our son did was join marching band as a freshman. During that first summer camp he made many friends which lasted throughout hs and beyond plus he was not a stranger on that first day of school among some upperclass mates.</p>
<p>Just to clarify on my academic roadmap. It's essentially what the GC told parents at course selection time in 9th grade. Eg., if you want your child to be in AP-Calc in senior year, this is the sequence of courses to take. It does not mean that come senior year, a student has to take AP Calc or AP-Science. In fact, S1 did not and still had great college options. But it is important to be aware of the appropriate sequence for getting to a particular set of courses in senior year.</p>
<p>Apart from that, I endorse the idea of reading and discussing. Not just books and movies, but also news about current events, science, etc... It not only keep parents and children connected, it helps students clarify their understanding of what they've read or seen and learn to express themselves and make an argument as well as cultivate an interest in learning more.
I also believe that a student should fit in at least one course that is not strictly academic in his or her schedule. S2 greatly enjoyed a graphic arts course he took. The teacher who taught that course is perhaps the one he remembers most fondly. Between liking the subject matter and the teacher, he worked hard on that course although the course was probably not taken into account by adcoms. But he looked forward to that class, and it colored his schoolday.</p>
<p>Agree with Marite re: being aware of sequencing at your child's school.</p>
<p>At our school, students have to take science the summer before 9th grade if they want to be on the "accelerated" (i.e. AP) track. Didn't realize this until it was too late for DS.</p>
<p>right!</p>
<p>By sitting down with the course catalog, we discovered early on that the only way that a student at S's HS could take a full "college prep" program and 4 years of a language and 4 years of music was to have "early start" and end at the normal time, i.e., take one extra course each term.</p>