<p>Getting a job is definitely good for the parents’ wallets.</p>
<p>My daughter did what interested her and founding her own charity wasn’t in that list. In retrospect, I think this knocked her completely out of contention for most of the competitive scholarships. It probably hurt a little in college admissions but I think not nearly as much as one might think given most of the commentary on this site. She got in to most of the schools she applied to and there was a healthy selection of lotteries on her list.</p>
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And here I thought my kids didn’t get accepted because there were just too many good candidates!</p>
<p>I made sure my kids did some community service, because I thought it was good for them, and also so that box on the Common Application wouldn’t be blank. But for the most part I tried to help them explore what was interesting to them. </p>
<p>So my computer nerd got a decent computer and I let him spend a lot of time on it as long as all of his grades were excellent. (And I knew he was capable of excellent grades.) </p>
<p>My younger son was less focused in his interests, but he went to music camp one summer (he played violion in two school orchestras), he worked for me one summer and he volunteered at the senior center one summer. When he got interested in origami, I showed him how to make earrings and he ended up selling them at local galleries as well as making them for friends. He ended up learning much more origami than I had ever known and wrote about it for one of his college essays.Neither of us were thinking college essays when I first taught him origami. He was thinking cheap but cool presents for girlfriends when he started making earrings. You never know what will be useful, but if you nurture their interests I do believe you will ultimately have happy kids with good outcomes.</p>
<p>Honestly, the whole “starting my own charity” thing still baffles me. I don’t actually know any kids that have done this. I know that when as an adult we tried to start a small music program in our community, we were overwhelmed by how much research it took to understand things like tax laws and 501c3 status, and ultimately we had to prevail upon a lot of acquaintances who had things like legal experience, and an understanding of zoning laws, etc. </p>
<p>I still for the life of me can’t believe that there are 15 year olds who are capable of organizing something on that scale – particularly if they don’t have contacts in the legal world, in local politics, can’t drive a car, have to fit this in around a demanding academic schedule. I am convinced that all of the charities out there were actually started by people’s parents who then claimed that it was their child. </p>
<p>Call me cynical, but I don’t know any children mature enough to actually take on an undertaking of this size. Did Junior really organize a marathon for a charity? HOw did he manage to stand in line at city hall at 11 AM on Tuesday morning to get the permits necessary to park all those cars in his chosen location? And when he proofread the contracts – that he apparently downloaded off the internet – to hire the food vendors that would be there after the event, how did he know what to look for? And the liability insurance that he had to purchase? the EMT’s that he had to make sure were available for the event? The graphic design that went into making the posters?</p>
<p>I think ‘starting my own charity’ is mostly BS. </p>
<p>I do too, Momzie. I seriously doubt most of these things have happened solely on the basis of the child’s initiative. I am sure they are a few, but that’s it. I could see a homeschooled child doing it more than a kid in regular school, simply because of the flexibility of his/her day and perhaps the ability of the parent to use the process as a learning opportunity.</p>
<p>My younger D, who is a 9th grader now, is a lay back person and does not really care about academic achievement. She would not do anything for an extra credit if she is getting an A-, while my older D is always aiming for the best and is not very satisfied with an A. My older D just entered college and my younger D spent a day with her during the week welcoming new students as we live in town. After she participated in some of those activities, visited several dorms, and hanged out with her sister’s friends there for a few hours. She suddenly fell in love with college life and now has a goal to get into the same in state flagship. In the last couple weeks, she has been planning to join the student council and dreaming about how to become the future president of the club she just joined. We have been laughing in our heart that we could not do anything to motivate her but now she is motivated by her own achievable goal.</p>
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<p>Probably really means “raised some money and donated it to some charitable cause” rather than going through all of the stuff to set up a “permanent” 501(c)(3) charitable organization.</p>
<p>I dunno- there are several lawyers in my town who donate their time (and their firms resources) to both existing charities and to people starting new ones. Big firms have requirements for pro bono work- and this qualifies- and small firms do it because it allegedly introduces you to the movers and shakers in the region who donate to these causes so it’s good for business.</p>
<p>You don’t need much legal or business acumen to set up a 501 C-3 if you’ve got a lawyer who will donate the time. In addition, these folks will help teenagers set up a board, figure out which software to use to track donations and generate receipts which meet IRS requirements, etc.</p>
<p>it’s not rocket science and I think both the teenagers and the community benefit.</p>
<p>How did ‘get involved in helping others’ turn into ‘start your own charity?’ That’s the “CC leap.” </p>
<p>Yes, there are certain steps to legally start one and kids usually rely on adults. </p>
<p>So why not find some good nearby cause and hook up with that? Kids can roll up their sleeves in their own communities, with an existing program. It’s not hard, can do some good for oneself and for those it helps. </p>
<p>Start a charity would be hard, but many kids would organize events to raise money for an established charity. I have been managing a 501C(3) charity. It is not easy even for an adult.</p>
<p>Personally, I have a lot more respect for the kid who is willing to roll up their sleeves and spend a lot of time working in a soup kitchen or mentoring a needy child than for the kid who participates in the whatever-a-thon and hits up all their friends’ parents for money.</p>
<p>My kid was in high school a long time ago, but had a classmate who did organize a charity, which raised in excess of $1 million while he was in high school. He also worked on creating an infrastructure for it, so it would continue when he went on to college. So, yes, it can be done.</p>
<p>In answer to the OP:</p>
<p>In terms of choosing high schools, choose the one which is best for your child without regard to college admissions. There is no reason to think now that your child is going to want to apply to tippy-top schools, let alone that (s)he can get into one, so choosing a high school where you think he’ll be able to get better grades to make them more probable, is IMHO, not a good idea. (Remember, he has to do well in college too, so you want him/her to be well prepared academically.) </p>
<p>In terms of ECs, let your children pick those they enjoy and pursue them. However, if they are good at them–or at academics, for that matter–seek opportunities for out of school validation of excellence. Sometimes, this is easy. If your kid is state champ in debate, the fact that (s)he excels in debate is self-evident. But if your kid is a good writer or artist, have him/her submit work to things like the Scholastic contests or National Portfolio Days (for artists.) If your kid is interested in social studies and a good writer, have him/her submit things to the Concord Review. If your kid is a good actor, look for things like the Shakespeare contest. If you can afford it, apply to things like Stage Door Manor. If your kid is good at math, make sure (s)he takes the AMC and, if applicable, the AIME. If your school doesn’t offer them, try things like the USAMTS. </p>
<p>In other words, IF your kid is really excellent at something, look for opportunities to prove that (s)he isn’t just good at the school level, but at a state or regional or national level. Some schools are really good at pointing out things like this; others are abysmal. </p>
<p>If your kid hates chess, don’t force him or her to play it because there are rankings. If your kid has no artistic talent, submitting works to contests will serve no purpose. I say this only to stress that I am NOT saying you should force your kid to get involved in an EC because you think it will help your kid get into college. I am ONLY saying that if your kid enjoys something and excels in it, seek out ways to win awards iand recognition. </p>
<p>You’ve gotten lots of really good advice. A few things I wish I’d known / would have done differently …
- started studying / prepping for PSAT/SAT - this can be something as simple as buying a couple of vocabulary books and routinely doing vocab - In an ideal world, you should exit Junior year with solid SAT, ACT scores - if everything is riding on the October test scores Senior year it puts way too much pressure on the kids. I would have had my kids take SAT for the first time June of Sophmore year - then you’ve got a baseline to work from.</p>
<p>2) started visiting colleges earlier - even if it was just a cursory drive through. some after sophmore year, I wish we’d done more - if only to narrow the type of school (large vs. small, urban vs. rural) - the nice thing about touring that summer is the jury is still out - you’re not sitting in an admission session hearing staggering statistics about the odds against you getting in - and you’ve still got plenty of time to up whatever scores you might have gotten.</p>
<p>I do believe summer activities are important - if possible, do one interesting thing every summer, preferably a few of them that require you to live away from home for a week or two and interact with strangers (sort of a college dry-run). These do not have to break the bank - there are plenty of programs out there that are free or under $1,500 - many of them are competitive, but if you can get in it’s a great experience. </p>
<p>I know lots of parents who say “I wish we’d started sooner” - and that applies to test prep, lookin</p>
<p>oops - my response got truncated I think. Should be: that applies to SAT prep, looking at colleges, writing essays, lining up references, writing a resume, and of course saving for college. Add to that: identifying scholarships to apply for. </p>
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Do not take a real test for baseline in high school. You can get a baseline from a mock test. It was a very old idea to take the first SAT unprepared. Not only it shows in record for schools do not allow score choice. If the student got a big improvement in the next attempt, it may raise a red flag and the score may be withhold. Many of those test prep company would offer free mock test (as an advertisement). Otherwise, get a prep book and try a practice test with time. That is all you need for baseline. There is no reason to pay for it.</p>
<p>The first thing is making sure your kids are getting a good education and are working to their potential. My kids had a lot of music and also sports in elementary grades, stopped the sport after 8th or 9th grade but continued heavy in music through HS. Their elementary school had a ‘book club’ with competitions - great to help foster reading. Every school level builds on the next - and if they are working to their potential at each level, grades will show it unless grade inflation and taking too easy of classes in HS. Staying busy with EC and with school/studying.</p>
<p>In our area, kids that test high on standardized testing in 5th are invited to take the ACT in 7th or 8th - for the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP).</p>
<p>Some kids are better on SAT than ACT and vice versa. Both my kids focused on pulling up ACT, and they pay off on scholarship level was greater than if they had a part time job.</p>
<p>If your HS offers ‘personal finance’ - some kids benefit from that (learn about income and expenses, that money doesn’t grow on trees). One kid was a frugal spender, the other benefited greatly from this course (her school used the Dave Ramsey program, and the private school now requires this semester course for all students).</p>
<p>Our large public HS had too many distractions and I did not like their block system education - if we could not afford the alternative private, we would have made it work.</p>
<p>The ‘fit’ for HS, the ‘fit’ for college. The ‘fit’ for college pursuits. Some kids do benefit from a gap year. Some may need to commute to CC because they don’t know what they are going to study and may be too lost away from home. If scholarship student, make sure the college is the right fit to take full advantage of the scholarship and financial package.</p>
<p>The new US News Best Colleges (2015 edition) should be available very soon, as college stats are already in the national media. I picked it up every year since HS sophomore year - lots of info in articles, can get familiar with the colleges and what they offer, rankings, the student quartile info, etc. Index in the back with some school basic info, listed alphabetically by state. This info is also available for purchase electronically - I like the print format.</p>
<p>You certainly can observe what friends’ older kids are doing in HS and what they do for college and their majors (esp the ones you know are smart and have solid GPA, good in testing, solid family situations - so evaluating what is in students’ best interest and also have good input on college search and current HS education situation).</p>
<p>I can tell you what we parents did as far as our background. H and I got degrees in another state - in very diverse fields; I have since got advanced degrees in two other states and have worked at the university level in those states - so even though I knew a lot about colleges then, the paradigm changes some - so you have to always see how things are changing.</p>
<p>Nephew was getting a PhD at a flagship school in another state, so we did a fall break trip (our state has fall breaks, but that university was in classes) - my kids were young, but I wanted to see that campus and hear about their programs (along with visiting nephew). Every time the 9th grader had a school day off when area colleges were in session, we would schedule a campus trip - sometimes would see two geographically close schools in a day. When kids were at All State band, during the day I saw two colleges in that city. So had a good evaluation of the geographically close and most affordable schools.</p>
<p>By being prepared with a lot of advanced thought, you are not having a compressed time frame and a lot of pressure. When my oldest was starting 10th grade, I was diagnosed with stage III aggressive cancer and had to take aggressive treatments for 16 months - my first chemo was on a day that we had scheduled a college trip to a nearby state where the college was in session but my kids had a day off - so H and a friend took the kids and their two friends, while a friend drove me to chemo session.</p>
<p>My kids applied to a very short list of in-state public schools and went to their first choice which also gave each the best scholarships. Good fits for both of them.</p>
<p>The logistics of coming home on school breaks, where they may want to live after graduation, so many other factors can come into play.</p>
<p>I’m not sure it’s all that hard to find community service opportunities that are also in line with the students interests. An example would be a musically inclined kid playing at a senior center once or twice a week. My kids were (are) into tennis. So they have been instructors at a summer tennis camp at a local public tennis center. The place offers discounted or free summer camp for families that qualify and the local HS approves the hours spent teaching tennis as community service hours. Also, the HS has service clubs at school which combine doing community service with a social outlet. It also gives a chance for leadership if the student is so inclined. I imagine there are lots of creative ways to combine interests and community service.</p>