<p>This is such an informative board that Ive become hooked and wanted to pick some brains of parents with kids whove gone through the process. Son will be a sophomore this fall at a public high school. He didnt join any clubs at school during his freshman year, as he wanted to get a feel of the school. However, he did volunteer at outside communities. For his upcoming sophomore year, among the things he is looking to try out for and join, are the soccer team, Spanish club, math/science club. He wants to pursue a career in Medicine. Schools that he has researched and is interested in thus far are Duke, MIT, UNC, UF (Honors Program or BS/MD), and UMiami (Hons Program or BS/MD). Schools that Ive suggested to him for their Honors Programs are UVA, University of Michigan, and University of Maryland-College Park. Ive also suggested Johns Hopkins to him. Hes OOS for all except UF and UM. Hes also visited Duke, UNC, UF and UM on prior occasion. While I understand that the SATs are missing from the equation, based on where he is, what are your recommendation(s) with regard to choices of school based on path he is on, and rigor of current courses? He has indicated he wanted to do Chemistry SAT II in December. Is this advisable to do in sophomore year? Any lessons learned to share on this will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Freshman Schedule- Completed
Liberal Arts Math III
Algebra II Honors
Integrated Science Honors
Biology I Honors
Reading III
English I Honors
Spanish III Honors
PE/Soccer
(Did Latin 1 and Life management Skills Online)
Did the PSAT as a 9th Grader no prep and scored 171 with a breakdown of 58, 55, 58</p>
<p>UW GPA 3.68
Weighted 4.28
Class Rank top 3% of approx 900.</p>
<p>Sophomore Schedule
Eng II Hons
PreCal Hons
Anatomy and Physiology Hons
Chemistry Hons
Spanish IV Hons
AP Statistics (Anticipating 4 or 5)
AP World History. ( Anticipating 4 or 5)
Will be doing the PSAT again</p>
<p>EC- Volunteers at local Hospital and Citys Police Athletic League. Certified CPR, State Certified Soccer Referee. Plays Rec Soccer. Referee both Travel and Recreational soccer. To date has over 160 hours of service hours, High school requirement is 40.</p>
<p>Summer Activity 07- CIT (Counselor in Training) at a Summer Camp, Traveling to a Spanish Speaking Country, attending a University Science Program and continuous MLG online! (Xbox video games)</p>
<p>I would recommend your son wait until he has completed a full year of Chem before he takes SAT II. Sounds like he's on a good track for his classes, but based on his PSAT and GPA I think MIT & Duke might be a stretch. I would suggest helping him find EC projects involving his interest that would make him stand out, encourage him to stick with 1 or 2 of his EC for his HS career, and relax a great college will snap him up before you know it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sounds like he's on a good track for his classes, but based on his PSAT and GPA I think MIT & Duke might be a stretch
[/quote]
skiersmom,
Those are the boy's 9th grade PSAT scores and GPA, for gosh sake! Sounds to me like he's doing great, and he shouldn't rule out any of the colleges on his list. His scores and GPA are almost certain to rise over the next 2 years.</p>
<p>Look into Trinity College. They have close to 100% placement for medical schools. They also offer 100% merit scholarship. We met a few students that turned down Stanford and Brown to go to TC because of their pre-med program(if there is such a thing), scholarship and honors program.</p>
<p>Advise from a parent that just went through this process - don't hint about how proud you would be if he could get into any particular school. It is very competitive out there, he could have all the right stats and still be rejected by his dream school. On the other hand, many schools say that they look beyond standarized tests, I don't think it's true. Unless you have a special hook, top schools (Duke and MIT on your list) are looking for ~2200 for SATs, and 750 for SAT IIs.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses! Patsmom, thanks for also clarifying that these are in fact his 9th grade scores. He'll definitely be looking into 1 0r 2 HS EC's. Trinity looks wonderful as well. However, at this point he's leaning towards a bigger campus feel. Bearing in mind this is his HS Sophmore year, i'm sure college feel may change as his list becomes more definitive when he approaches Junior year and he gets the opportunity to visit others. He did exceptionally well in BIO, so this is definitely an option for him to consider for SAT II with the practice tests of course :-). Its good to know that H an I are on the right track of coaching/encouraging as CC parents and students all appear to be so extraordinarily knowledgeable. Keep the input/suggestions coming...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Never assume that your school's curriculum in a subject is a good match for the SAT II. It may not be. The people who design curricula pay a lot more attention to state and school district requirements than to the SAT II, which is taken by only a small minority of students. Make sure your son takes some practice tests, and ask the guidance counselor or subject teacher whether students who take a particular course are well prepared for the SAT Subject Test in that subject. No matter how well he did in Bio, for example, he will be at a disadvantage if your school's curriculum does not include some of the topics covered on the SAT Biology Subject Test.</p></li>
<li><p>Two of the state universities on your list -- UNC Chapel Hill and UVa -- are very difficult to get into from out of state. It's not impossible, but it requires very good credentials -- close to or perhaps even equal to what a kid would need to be a realistic candidate for a place like Duke.</p></li>
<li><p>Your son already has some ECs and he's taking an unusually demanding academic program (seven academic subjects, where many kids only take five). You may need to make sure that he doesn't overload himself with ECs to the point where he has to choose between studying and sleeping.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If he's interested in medicine,have him try to gear his EC's and community service towards a medical setting,like a hospital or nusing home.Science quiz bowl teams are another excellent option.
I encouraged my S,who was interested in community involvement,to gear his EC at HS towards an organization that gave him those opportunities,plus the opportunity to shine above his HS setting,an EC that had a county,state or national focus.He chose Key Club,and went as far as the state level.Theres other ways to translate this outlook,for example, a student interested in business could look at FBLA and enter their regional competitions.
Your S's classes seem to be on the right track,the theory is take the hardest level of classes your HS offers (if feasible).And take advantage of the availability of AP's.
One thing we did with S (who was willing) was to take an SAT prep class BEFORE taking the junior year PSAT,as we had discovered with D's prior experience that an excellent PSAT score makes them eligible for National Merit Scholarship status,and he saw his sister turn that status into a nearly free ride to college.He did extremely well,qualified for NMF and was confident going into the SAT testing phase.
It might sound like overkill, but some of getting ready for this standardized test is just knowing how to take the test properly and taking the prep class teaches you that. Some parents/kids here on CC advocate self study but the structured class setting worked well for my kid.He took it the summer before his junior year as part of a summer program on a college campus.
If its possible, it would be great to gear your childs summers towards his interests. There are programs on college campuses that emphasize math/science, as well as programs that explore medicine as a career option.
Again,some parents disagree with this and feel summers are for family vacations,etc.My S managed to spend summers at a performing arts camp,then two college based programs,then the summer before college working.He also held a p/t job during his junior and senior HS years that was associated with his major of interest (sports management...he worked at a roller hockey rink) and his summer job before college was with a minor league baseball team,a job hes holding again this summer.</p>
<p>He should take the Chem SATII in May or June, not December. He gains nothing but risks losing much by taking it before he's finished the course. And, as someone else pointed out, he should be aware that the SATII may cover material not included in his course, so he should get a prep book and spend some time on it before the end of the school year. It is quite possible that his Chemistry teacher will spend some time near the end of the year prepping him and other students who plan to take the SATII.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Never assume that your school's curriculum in a subject is a good match for the SAT II.<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>Absolutely true! My D had 2 years of hs biology and still had to learn whole chunks of new material for the SAT 2. Get a commercially prepared prep book and see how much more extra study your S would need to do in order to take the chem and/or bio tests. You have to realize that all the scores you take on SAT 2s will be sent to colleges when you send the SAT scores, so I wouldn't "take an SAT 2 just to see what I'd get on it." [Consolation beat me to the punch!]</p>
<p>Wiith my 2 Ds, their PSAT scores improved 10% every year, so I wouldn't worry fret about a 171 in the 9th grade. However, the SATs will be an important component in the application process since your S will be applying to competitive BS/MD programs and oos schools--he'll need to take them seriously (prep must be more than changing the batteries in the calculator and sharpening the #2 pencils).</p>
<p>Good luck...and watch for signs of burn-out.</p>
<p>One more thing about the SAT Subject Tests: If your son thinks he may need to take Math Level II, the best time to do so is at the end of his sophomore year. A large portion of what's on that test is material usually taught in a precalculus course.</p>
<p>Take the SAT subject tests as close to finishing the class as possible and best if taken in conjunction with the AP test in the subject. Those that take AP find the SAT subject tests very easy in comparison.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Take the SAT subject tests as close to finishing the class as possible and best if taken in conjunction with the AP test in the subject. Those that take AP find the SAT subject tests very easy in comparison.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is true for most subjects but not math. The AP math tests are 100% calculus. The SAT Subject Tests in math are 0% calculus and 100% other stuff.</p>
<p>Tell him to improve his grades. UW-Madison, for example, uses unweighted gpa's, improving grades would look better, the honors/AP classes are to be expected. The UW website admissions section has a chart of freshman expectations that shows chances of being admitted for gpa's, class ranks, ACT/SAT scores; even if he has no interest in this school it is an example of how well he should do to get into a good caliber school.</p>
<p>The above quote is which we are very cognizant of. thnks for reiterating Marianne.! You also mentioned not overloading on EC'S. I believe S has been great in managing his time, gets his school work done resulting in excellent grades , gets his EC's in and still has an overwhelming amount of time to hang out with friends and play his video games :-) . His EC's are very rewarding to him, because he is involved in activities that he enjoys .</p>
<p>Also, I should point out that his HS is on a block schedule. which means he does 4 courses one semester (Aug- Dec) and the other 4 (Jan-May). Just realized that I missed one of his classes for soph, which is a part II to Eng.</p>
<p>Anxiousmom- I've been seeing a lot about RICE here on CC. will do some research, seems quite competitive.</p>
<p>Cathyme- Thanks for sharing D & S's experience. Great advice on the EC's, S will be looking into them to decide where his heart lies. I agree with the vacation notion. For us, we do a mixture, there is the family time together, then there is the time for him to explore independently. Hence, the reason, he is attending a residential science program this summer and also travelling to a country where his language passion is spoken.:-)</p>
<p>Consolation/Ellemenope- Thanks a bunch on your input, H and I can now have an even more informed discussion with teachers. We are so happy that "time" is our greatest friend right now :-) . The caveat of watching out for burnout- thanks for bringing that up. We haven't seen any sign of that and there is no pushing on our part, he just sets his goals, executes his action plan and still hang out with friends and play video games, just a normal teenager. No complaining or pushing on our part.. :-) </p>
<p>One of the lessons learned so far is the school's curriculum and match for SAT II.. Your responses have all been very informative. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks Padad. Kid is enjoying highschool for learning's sake:-). However, when the school gives a college research exercises to these HS freshmen and have class discussion. It allows these kids to learn about other colleges and what may interest a person to go there etc. Some of these kids have visited their school of research and can provide a more personal account, as in my S case.</p>
<p>One good thing: he will be graduating in 2010, just as college admissions begins to ease (fewer high school grads in '10 than in '09 and even fewer the following years).</p>