<p>I can’t answer this yet for D2. She decided not to continue a few ECs from MS, her friends were all in band & she hasn’t found her place yet. She is my child that needs her sleep & has limited stamina so I think that she was also trying to avoid feeling overwhelmed.</p>
<p>She is in the process of reforming a DI team for next year (she missed it big time this year and it had been a big EC for her since ES) and plays rec softball. She’s planning on bumping back up to the school team next year. Her church involvement is heavy in the summer (easily 60 hours over a 2 week period) and limited to Sundays during the school year, for the most part. She’s also part of a weekly writers group. She’s pretty good at self monitoring her time but I am concerned for burn out once the IB stuff kicks in full time junior year. </p>
<p>Now my older D could burn both end of the candle no problem, so I feel like I’m starting over. I just keep reminding myself that it’s their journey and they have to learn to manage their time. </p>
<p>D&B: That’s a long winded way of saying…I think it depends on the kid and the individual activity.</p>
<p>RobD - our '10s and '13s are similar! My '10 can survive on no sleep and go, go, go whereas my '13er also dropped previous ECs and is looking for the right fit and has a greater need for sleep and such. It does feel dramatically different than the ride for '10 so I’m looking forward to just letting her define her own way - she wouldn’t have it any other way as my stubborn one and I think it will be nice to approach life from a different direction for awhile.</p>
<p>Can I just say that I’m looking forward to a chill 2010-11 school year? I’ve decided that there will be no college discussion in my house after D1 officially makes her decision & the Spring College Fair next year (which we will casually attend with D2 just to get her thinking.) </p>
<p>I can already see that D2s junior year will be crazy & I anticipate a much different college search for her (that I think will involve really being on tenderhooks at this point in 2013!)</p>
<p>I can only relate to those of you that are expressing fears about scheduling all that the kids would like to do. My DH actually had nightmares about it the other night ;)</p>
<p>Any of your kids studying for AP exams? Mine has three scheduled :(</p>
<p>Welcome too all that have recently joined the thread!</p>
<p>We decided to forgo the AP-HG test, so no testing this spring.</p>
<p>Sounds like many of us have ADD/Inattentive, NVLDish, gifted type kids in this group. My d is one that needs her sleep as well; generally asleep by 10-10:30 and thank goodness she has the ability to sleep in most weekends.</p>
<p>I have an EC question for those of you that are more “experienced” (have gone through the process or are just completing the first time through) are dance (outside of school), select choir and debate with the probability of NHS down the road enough? My d is in a local youth ballet and also dances competitively - the commitment is in the 15-20 hour a week range, and she also assistant teaches dance a few hours a week. She can’t do speech because the season interferes with the dance competition season and she would have a hard time participating at school in drama/musical theatre because the schedule interferes with debate. Should she be joining other clubs that don’t require as much time? Being a rookie at this, it’s really hard to tell how much is enough, and what exactly the adcoms consider. She lives to dance, so she has the passion piece locked down.</p>
<p>I’m unsure what the goal is here.</p>
<p>Also, how important are things like summer leadership/civic opportunities? Are they worth forgoing ballet/dance intensives for? There is so much to consider!</p>
<p>I fully believe kids should do what they love for ECs and NOT worry about what will/won’t look best for apps - true love and passion shows more and shows adcoms who these kids are.</p>
<p>Also, NHS is worthwhile if the chapter at the school is a good one and if it is something they truly enjoy but I actually don’t think it gives you an edge in admissions. My D’10 did not have NHS (at our school it is a biased entry requirment towards IB students and my D’10 was AP) and she has had many great acceptances. Her resume has also been padded towards her passions and not the norm.</p>
<p>In being in some of the results threads for competitive schools this spring I’ve found many a dissapointed student with a well stocked resume. I think though those kids who come alive with their passions and personailities have better results.</p>
<p>mnmom62 - I have no idea about the EC. The only thing I know is that they are supposed to show passsion, and looks like your daughter is pretty passionate about dance.</p>
<p>As for summer programs - only the ones that are selective MIGHT give her some admission advantage. Other might be fun and interesting, but do not do them with the goal of a certain acceptance.</p>
<p>Has anyone turned into a grade detective? I have! It is the end of the third quarter and I wish, yet again, that the teachers would finalize the grades. I am obsessing about them, but they are so important!</p>
<p>As teh parent of a senior and of a freshman, I have decided that schools give two hoots about ECs with few exceptions. I don’t think you need to show passion, I don’t think you need to seem well rounded or anything more than a healthy interest in something outside of school and nintendo. All of S’s friends are getting acceptances that more or less fall in with grade/test score profile. There are a couple with an exceptional talent, but truly exceptional, who will be recruited for that particular talent, but most of them have wide ranges of devotion to ECs and it seems to have had no impact on acceptances at the top schools so far. More importantly, it is the one area that parents really should butt out of…if you want to put a stake through the heart of the hope of raising a well adjusted young adult start telling kids what they should and should not do in terms of ECs… kids with the helicopter parents in sports/dance/ecs are never going to learn to balance, have fun, and actually choose activities because they like them…not because they want to get into an exclusive college.</p>
<p>I really just want my kids to be happy. And if dancing through the summer makes your D happy and she would resent some type of leadership activity that you made her do just to have it on her resume, then it’s the wrong decision. My niece is a dancer & she shows leadership by assisting with the with younger dancers classes and helping at workshops at competitions & things like that. You can combine a passion with leadership. </p>
<p>As this admissions cycle comes to an end, I’ve decided that there really is no rhyme or reason to admissions once you get past the gpa/test score matrix. Read some of the threads on different school forums to see what I mean. </p>
<p>D2 is doing a few summer programs but they tie in with her interests plus without them she’d be a little bored. My older D is proof positive that even 2 summer programs at a particular school with stats & gpa in their accepted student range doesn’t mean they’ll get more than a waitlist. And I’m fine with that; D1 enjoyed the programs that she did and got a lot out of them; she didn’t enroll to get a leg up on admissions. </p>
<p>As for grades, we are in week 3 of the 4th marking period. 2 days left till Spring Break! Then just 30 days of school for D2 (less for D1 with exam exemptions & graduation)</p>
<p>When I wrote about selective summer programs I was thinking in lines of RSI or TASP.
But it is very interesting and actually quite refreshing what you guys are writing. I really would like to believe that it is all about the numbers : GPA and Test Scores. That is how it was when I went to school and I would love to be convinced that it is still like that ;)</p>
<p>
<br>
Are you talking about the program for which you pretty much pay and go?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I believe you. Why is the society so invested in EC though?
I would love to dismiss all that is being said about leadership and so on.
Should we start a revolt for our kids’13? EC ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT, DO WHAT YOU LOVE, HAVE A LIFE </p>
<p>Our case and EC - son has tons of interests, some of them are tied very closely with academics. One EC that he would love to ditch and to which I am saying no is the violin. He is simply so good in it at this point and he (we) have invested so much time and money that I will absolutely insists that he continues till college. After that - his call. I am hoping that he will be smart enough and use his ability to play an instrument (both violin and piano) at least for recreation or to give himself a break from everyday. Oh, and at Christmas ;)</p>
<p>Kelowna: The 2 programs D1 did at Vanderbilt were part of the Vanderbilt Summer Academy (Programs for Talented Youth) which are geared towards kids who identified as “gifted.” So you have to have certain scores to apply and certain individual programs are more competitive. They happened to have classes that she was really interested in, that she couldn’t be exposed to in the regular school year, plus she got exposure to college/dorm life stuff: living with a roommate, laundry, etc. But it’s not like TASP or RSI.</p>
<p>For EC’s: I think colleges like to see that kids haven’t just gone to school & played video games. And if you write a novel, cure cancer, start a worldwide non-profit, are on TV, or are a nationally ranked athlete, that might catch someone’s eye. D1 has some friends that are amazing to me: quirky combination’s of ECs and talents, test scores and athletics, etc. All with good gpas. And their rejections have been just as unpredictable as their acceptances. </p>
<p>D2 will ramp it up a little for next year since she’s realized she’s missed a few of her old ECs, but I’m not going to push her. I almost think she’s better off getting a p/t job at 16 than having extra ECs. </p>
<p><em>DO WHAT YOU LOVE, HAVE A LIFE</em> > maybe that should be the motto for this thread ;)</p>
<p>I think ECs are important at the most selective schools because they have oodles of applicants with the grades and test scores, and they need to use something to distinguish among them. But by the same token I think the emphasis on “leadership positions” and multiple ECs and service hours and such is largely misplaced. Schools aren’t particularly interested in finding only the hyperachievers. As one admissions officer at a highly selective LAC told us, “An entire college class of former high school class presidents would be pretty boring and a pretty horrifying thing; we’d never look for a class like that.” And they aren’t necessarily interested in the kids who plotted out how to pad their resumes from 9th grade on, usually with a heavy dose of guidance and a strong push from over-eager parents. </p>
<p>Colleges do want kids who have talents and interests beyond their schoolwork, television, Facebook, and video games, and who actively pursue those interests. I take the colleges at their word when they say their goal is to assemble a truly diverse and interesting class; people who are “doers” and not just passive followers, people who have genuine interests that they will continue to pursue in college and beyond, and in so doing add some vibrancy to campus life to the benefit of the rest of their class and college. In that regard, the kids with the manufactured resumes may not add much to the mix, and might even be a bit of a drag. But if that’s the case, it suggests there is no one right path. You’re better off just being who you are and pursuing your own interests. That’s what ECs are for; and your ECs and essays, together with teacher and GC recs, are going to be the best clues the college has as to “who you really are” apart from someone who can get As and score well on standardized tests. But I think what parents and prospective applicants need to understand is that, beyond a certain point, college admissions is no longer just about merit. </p>
<p>Admissions officers at the very top colleges will tell you that a very high percentage of their applicants are fully or highly qualified for admission, in the sense that they’ve demonstrated a capacity for academic work that would allow the applicant to succeed academically at that college. But once they’ve determined which applicants meet that threshold, the Adcom is no longer looking for the handful of “most qualified” among the many who are highly qualified. Instead, they’re looking for a balanced and diverse group of the highly qualified who together will make the most interesting and lively class. You can’t predict exactly what interests or ECs will put you in that mix at any given college in any given year. You may be one of the top five oboe players in the world, but if they’ve already got several of the top ten oboe players in the world, your rare talent, passion, and accomplishment may not stand you in good stead. It’s not entirely a merit-based competition at that point; and a particular school’s decision to turn you down shouldn’t be seen as their negative judgment on you. It just means you didn’t fit into the basket of what they happened to be looking for at that particular moment.</p>
<p>Had to check the title to see which thread I was on - 3 AP tests as a freshman, Kelowna! My '13 D isn’t taking any AP’s this year, my '11 S is in 2 AP classes, but I guarantee you he is not studying for the tests yet. Our third quarter ended last week, and the online grades were updated today, we are on to the last quarter.</p>
<p>D has plenty of interests and EC’s, however my older S’s interests are simply video games and reading science fiction, so I am hoping that it is only selective colleges that will look for EC’s.</p>
<p>Yes, I know! DS has been advanced in math and science so he is taking two as a default (as he is in two AP classes) and trying to supplement his geography class with AP Human Geography material. I know it is rare, but not by CC standards
(honestly, now I wish he was not that advanced)</p>
<p>So what EC do your kids do?
Mine has math as his biggest EC, that is also tight very closely to academics.
Math Circle, ARML and so on…
Violin and piano - loves to play, hates to practice.
Boy Scouts
Church group
Was fencing, now starting rowing.
Debate - new this year and loving it. Wants to go to a deabate camp.
Flying (had a few lessons but can’t save enough to try for a licence any time soon - thank you God )
Movie making - his absolutely biggest passion. He writes scripts, records, edits, mixes sound - you name it.
Gaming - of course!
Computer design - creates logos.</p>
<p>He is very busy but I would rather have him busy than play computer games every evening and weekends. None of the EC will help him in college admissions . His grades and test scores will. And that is what I am trying to guard. So I really do not care about the EC (other than music, like I have said), he does :)</p>
<p>DO WHAT YOU LOVE, HAVE A LIFE (but please bring home good grades )</p>
<p>LuckyGirl '13’s ECs are drama, drama and drama She stopped classical ballet at the beginning of high school because she had dance every.single.day and wanted to have a social life. She was in the fall production, one-acts this winter, and now “Fiddler.”</p>
<p>She also sings in the school chorus and the adult choir at church. And writes poetry.</p>
<p>I too am wondering about ECs and college admissions. My oldest D is a freshmen in college and had pages of ECs and leadership. They were stronger for her than her grades although she had a very solid SAT. She got in every place she applied although she wasn’t applying to Ivies, etc. But I am watching her younger friends who are getting their college acceptances now and some are inexplicably being denied with amazing EC packages. So I am just not sure about the weight of ECs.</p>
<p>My '13 D2s EC is a very popular sport. There will be a huge amount of kids who are passionate about her passion. And while she plays at a high level, there are kids who are easily at a higher level than her. Will she be lost in the crowd?</p>
<p>And for those of you with ADD kids, I read your posts with much interest. My D3, who isn’t in high school yet, has ADD and I worry so much about how she will function in high school. I am paying close attention to all of your tips for success!</p>
<p>EC’s for D '13 - field hockey (fall), forensics (winter), lacrosse (spring)
tried out for the musical, was cut! Chorus - but here that is a class, not an EC
Sports take a lot of time during the season, there isn’t time for anything else but school work.</p>
<p>also club lacrosse in the summer, hoping to do a theater workshop also</p>
<p>She will have excellent grades and test scores, doesn’t want to play sports in college except at the club level.</p>
<p>I’ll echo what was said above (hi fellow '10 parents) about letting the kids do what they love. D '13 dances every.single.day (to borrow KLucky’s expression). She does a 6-week summer dance intensive, which doesn’t leave time for much else if we want to squeeze in a family vacation. She is involved in several clubs at school, which fortunately meet during the school day or else she wouldn’t be able to fit those in. She just took her last violin lesson last Wednesday. She just was not practicing, and although her teacher has the patience of a saint, D and I agreed that it was not a good use of her time and my money.</p>
<p>So, there she is–she’s happy, she likes school and dance, and she’s a good student who manages this crazy schedule with an incredible degree of independence. I think I’d drive us both crazy if I worried about what some adcom would be looking for in three years.</p>
<p>My S, HS Class of '13, is a huge tennis player. Tournaments, varsity, etc. Still, not D1 recruiting level – plus academics are totally #1. Would be great if he can go to a D3 (no $), play on a team that could give him a built in social network and get a great education. He would just love that. But, there is so much organized tennis, below varsity, at the college level. He is still playing his various saxophones - we are going to try to pick a school jazz band based on his tennis schedule. He also finds time to do a couple of clubs which are right after school (science olympiad, student govt). I have a great community service project he can do for a nonprofit right from his computer, but he hasn’t really gotten going on that – </p>
<p>Since I have an older D (graduating from HS this year) and have gone through the college app process, I am better equipped for S. Different interests, different kinds of schools, but I am still better prepared.</p>
<p>S will take the bio SATII this year (D didn’t take any SATII’s, didn’t need to for her colleges). He gets the SAT question of the day from college board; not sure if he does it; I don’t want to be a drill sargeant on that… all his grades are so good, I can’t harp on him too much.</p>
<p>Looking forward to “chatting” with you all over the next few years.</p>
</p>
)
)</p>
She stopped classical ballet at the beginning of high school because she had dance every.single.day and wanted to have a social life. She was in the fall production, one-acts this winter, and now “Fiddler.”</p>