<p>asI have posted before- and I apparently will do again ;)
my daughter is a BRWK- was on honor roll once in either 8th or 9th grade.No AP tests taken- No AP classes offered at her school.
Graduated with a 3.30 GPA SAT good on verbal- not so good in math. In fact she has quite a severe math and processing speed disability.
She did have her 2000 hr pin from the Woodland Park Zoo volunteer corps when she graduated high school- she started in the pony unit when she was 12. Worked for us- she got to spend summers and weekends shoveling pony poop, and she learned how to ride , handle money and customers ( for the rides) on top of it.
She was lucky to have that opportunity so free and so close- it may have stood out in the pile of college applications, because she was admitted to all her schools, despite her BWRK status and her high financial need.</p>
<p>BUt I have read about a lot of others on these boards- who have equal instances to show what they have learned without exotic volunteer opportunities.</p>
<p>Kids whose family livelihood depends on everyone working in their restaurant. That is going to stand out, not many people work with their family,and it can be a great chance to learn from each other.</p>
<p>Someone who has to work at whatever they can get- may not sound impressive to some- but a job at Starbucks for example- they are learning skills that will serve them well in college- and show that they can really benefit from their time there.</p>
<p>Many kids who are working, aren't just working for money to buy a fancy car- or pay for goodies, they may be saving for college- helping with the family expenses or even just because they want to stay busy.</p>
<p>I understand that there seems to be a subculture of very high earning- high expectations parents who raise children with equally high expectations of their opportunities. I understand that they may feel to "compete" they have to do what the neighbors are doing, whether it is right for them or not.
It shouldn't be about - what they think it will take to get into Yale- it should be about * finding the good fit*</p>
<p>Thats what we did & D was admitted to all the schools she applied- some with merit money- the school she graduated from last month- with a degree in biology, didn't have merit but it had good need based aid- even though she didn't have unbelievable grades, scores or awards.</p>
<p>I admit Reed College has probably gotten a tad more competitive since she entered as a freshman as it has gotten lots of publicity in the past few years-but I would bet that they still take other things into consideration, than lists of achievements .</p>
<p>Re scholarships
She had a small scholarship from the local Rotary club- that was it for community service based awards
If I remember right, she also won some money for an essay that was published in a guide for GLBT students.
But other than that- frankly all her money was need based from her college.</p>