OK…need some help on my son. Have one daughter at an Ivy and another who chose not to attend Ivies she got into. Son has 35 ACT, taking SAT2s in June. GPA 103.9; most difficult classes in HS; 6-7 APs prior to graduation.
Moderate extracurriculars: Student council, hospital volunteer (50 hours per semester), varsity swimmer as a freshman, and main EC is lacrosse (will have 4 years on varsity team, with community service on team too).
Overall, solid, but not overwhelming in any realm. Good writer and well-like by teachers, so I suspect essays and recs will be very good.
Give me your thoughts on Ivies, other top schools, LACs: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Penn, etc., MIT, Stanford, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, etc.
6/7 APs is the most rigorous courseload? Not to demean your son’s schedule but most ivy people seem to have twice as many or more;however, if it really is all that is possible there is nothing else to do.
You’ve obviously been through this before but… ECs are a bit slacking as you mentioned… Strong points are GPA and ACT(you gotta show me how your children prep to get 1% scores from all of your kids, I could definitely show some of my students). Although I’m sure you know, most of those schools admit around 20% of 36ers so the score definitely won’t make the app. I dont think his app outside of it is weak tho; it just isn not stellar.
What does he want to major in? That list is just a rewrite of the top 10 schools, and yes, he has a chance, but nothing about him stands out, so he might struggle to get into them.
P.S. Why mention that you have kid that are ivy caliber as the second sentence? I don’t see how that is relevant.
Thanks. Just meant it to say we’ve been through the ivy process and apps before, and I’m not always certain that is the end all…that’s all. His high school is a little odd; can only take 1 AP soph year. Most students end with 6-7 max. I’m trying to get him to think about ‘fit’; but that’s a tough think to explain in my experience. As far as prep, honestly nothing special. Latest was online Kaplan course; lotsa reps and full length tests. I agree that it’s a 15-20% chance for him at these schools; hopefully he can decide on his choices to apply and something works out.
The number of AP classes is often limited by what the school is offering. It may be the most rigor schedule of that school and yet with 6-7 AP by graduation. In that case, it is not the fault of the student.