<p>I am really envious that you were able to make that decision. Do you mind sharing how long was your daughter invloved with the violin and what level does she play on?</p>
<p>mamabear1234 - forensics at my S’s school starts right at the beginning of school year and goes al the way till mid March - state competition. It is also very, very time consuming if you want to do well. Is it really only a winter activity for you?</p>
<p>My kids are not involved with school sports. When DS did fencing it was on the side. He will start crew after Easter and it will be the first sport associated with the school, although it is really a privately run program.
He is a good runner and was thinking about joining cross country but they practice before school every single day. Well, DS already gets up at at 5:30 every day to be at school on time, can’t even imagine getting him yp an hour earlier so he could run with others. He never goes to bed earlier than 11 P.M. :(</p>
<p>How important are sports as far as admissions go? I never though they are, always thought that we are crazy about sports in this country but one day my 7th grader came from school with the news that you can’t get into an ivy without sports. Who knew ;)</p>
<p>Linymom - is he already studying for that SAT? Is he going to take it after Honors Bio?</p>
<p>My D’13 is a softball player, has been since the age of 3. Plays fall & spring rec & was on the MS team. Decided not to try out for the HS team this year but is planning on returning next year. </p>
<p>She’s a writer & helped form a weekly writers club with her friends that is branching out into film; they have lots of projects scheduled for the summer.</p>
<p>She’s done DI (Destination Imagination) since ES, dropped it this year, misses it and is already forming a team for next year. </p>
<p>Starting piano (I know, it’s late but she just decided that she wants to) but for fun. Plus youth group & a yearly summer community partnership program in the Appalachian region. </p>
<p>This year has definitely NOT been overscheduled, but she needed to figure out what she wanted to do. Enjoyment of an activity is mandatory for her so signing up for stuff just to have something on a resume won’t happen with her.</p>
<p>I find that my kid is almost always overscheduled. He still finds time to play games.
When his schedule becomes relaxed, he will be online and in front of the computer ALL THE TIME! Anyone else sees that phenomena in their kids?</p>
<p>Kelowna–At the risk of exposing myself as almost downright negligent, I do not know what level she was playing at. She wasn’t using the Suzuki books anymore, so it’s harder for me to judge. She started playing when she was 7, played with a youth orchestra for a couple of years, but dropped that a year and half ago when a conflict with dance arose. She’ll continue to play with a small ensemble at school.</p>
<p>We could have stuck it out through HS, but didn’t really see the point since she was no longer enjoying it and truly no longer had the time to practice more than one or two days a week. She gets home from dance at 9 p.m. most weekdays, eats dinner, and starts homework.</p>
<p>We both had some regrets about this decision. It’s hard to let something go that has been a part of your life for so long. Her teacher is very understanding and would take her back next year if D changes her mind. We’ll see…</p>
<p>My D’13 was more involved but like RobD’s '13er mine too dropped most ECs this year and will put those back in she misses. She had been hevailly involved in drama but this year it reached a level where she was feeling suffocated by the drama group so she didn’t audition and didn’t opt for drama II next year on her schedule. She played field hockey and rowed crew last year (8th graders can play HS sports not offered at MS here) but just wasn’t in love with them or team sports in general so she opted out of those as well this year. She is also one to not do anything she isn’t passionate about or enjoy so her resume will not be padded. She does love her youth group and did a missons trip last summer. She is not doing one this summer but I imagine those might be in her future as well. She loves photography and that is where her heart and passions lie at the moment so she’ll be taking some classes on that and entering contests. She plans on volunteering or looking for a job this summer though she knows those are harder to find at 15. I’d like to say her grades are stellar but as with ECs if she’s not passionate about something she doesn’t devote time/effort to it. This is a very independent and stubborn kid but with a lot of talent and very smart so she’s one I know I’ll just have to guide if possible but she needs to blaze her own trail and figure it out on her own. I’m hoping watching her older sister (my D’10) will inspire her towards focusing grades on college but at the same time she has no intentions on aiming for tier 1 schools so there is no need to battle with her on this. </p>
<p>I’m curious to see how things change next year as she really comes into her own. This year she selected her classes more based on what her friends were taking and while she is great at math and science she doesn’t like them so she battled the honors classes and opted to take the regular level ones next year but stay focused on honors english and art. And she’ll be taking 3 credits worth of photography so we’ll know soon enough if that’s her future or if it all changes again. She’s alot like me in that sense so I try to approach it that way.</p>
<p>Momof: I swear our '13s are two peas in a pod. You reminded me about the theatre piece. D’13 has done some musical theatre in ES & MS then dropped it because of conflicts with DI & softball; she’s taking Theatre Arts I next year to fulfill her fine arts requirement & I wouldn’t be surprised if she decides to continue with it. </p>
<p>As for grades, that’s where they differ. Mine is a perfectionist; we’re trying to explain to her that “do your very best” doesn’t have to apply to assignments where they only get a check mark for completion. She’s only ever gotten 2 marking period B’s in her entire school career. It’s really my only worry for her as she goes through school; when she gets to all that heavy reading AP content, if she continues with her diligence (which isn’t a bad thing but…) she’ll crumble. Trying not to pre-worry about that though!</p>
<p>I think that they learn as they go. My procrastinator is also a perfectionist, believe it or not. But since he has quite a heavy load of classes this year, he is learning that a perfect LA assignemnt does not have to have 100 pages. The reading has to be done, no question about it. Is she a fast reader?</p>
<p>Kelowna: it’s so funny that you ask that! She thinks that she’s not because D1 is the fastest reader I’ve ever met so that whole “living in the shadow” thing takes place, KWIM? But one of her BFFs told her how impressed she was with her reading speed last week (D2 has fallen in love with the Sherlock Holmes series & just bought 2 1000 page volumes.) This friend is a math-elete and said D2 read at least 5 times faster than she did. So compared to a normal person, she’s a fast reader but next to her sister she’s a slow poke. Sigh.</p>
<p>This will help. Will help for sure in all those AP classes.</p>
<p>Mine reads so fast that he was chosen to do varsity debate as a complete novice - purely for the speed.</p>
<p>And by the way - I also know what it means to be growing up in the shadow of an older sibling. I have a daughter that will be the class of '15. Very different, different strenghts, different almost everything. But you always compare!</p>
<p>Oh, and nothing relaxes me beter than a good crime story, so I am already liking your daughter :)</p>
<p>Did you guys notice that the thread of '10 parents has almost 24,000 postings? I bet we will beat them when 2013 comes !!!</p>
I have a son with an MSG sensitivity too, and I have wondered how that would play out, since like you said, people are much more aware of peanut and gluten allergies/sensitivities. So sorry about that soy allergy, that is a VERY hard thing to avoid, it’s everywhere. My mother-in-law had that sensitivity.</p>
<p>OK so I’m reading above and my DD has no where near the number of ECs that most of your kids do, but we have always tried to not be overscheduled. DD has decided to drop band next year and most probably, every year in HS. It really became a choice between band and everything else, including a certain AP class that she wouldn’t be able to fit into her schedule with band. So she will be playing her flute at church for children’s worship (with some pretty good musicians that are helping her learn more just because they want to help her) but not in band. She will also be able to keep up her ballet, which she just loves. She just loves to dance and her ballet company performs in nursing/retirement/Alzheimer’s facilities about 8 times a year. After the show, they go out to the audience (in their costumes) and talk and pray with them. This year with band she had to miss 4 of those “performances” and she really missed it. This also means she will be able to continue in MUN (Model United Nations).</p>
<p>We found it to be a shame that band (at her school) is so all-encompassing. The band director won’t let you be in the second semester (concert) band if you weren’t in the first semester (marching) band. So she felt compelled to give it up altogether.</p>
<p>After reading all the posts on this site, we decided to have DD take the PSAT in 10th grade to gauge what she may need to study to attempt to become a NMF. Since she wants to become a veterinarian, we will be trying to maximize scholarship money for Bachelor’s to save for grad school. I wish I had done this with my DS (2011). She has been dreaming of UCDavis since she was young, but has recently become open to considering other schools if she can save (a bunch) of money. </p>
<p>This journey is so much harder than I remember it from my time looking at colleges…and I did it almost all myself without much help from my parents…thank you to this site…</p>
<p>And to the parent above (DogsandBirds)who’s son is working/volunteering at the local animal shelter - how did you do that? My daughter can’t find anything because she isn’t 16 yet…</p>
<p>I am sure you have read about that we have decided that EC do not matter as far as college admissions go </p>
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<p>I have a 7th grader that volunteers at the animal shelter, but an adult has to be with her. She goes with a friend and we parents take turns going with them. It is a chore for us, tons of fun for them.
On the subject of vokunteering with animals, I don’t know which area you are in, but this is the place my daughter and her friend love to visit during the summer and on any/all vacations. In fact she will be volunteering there in a day:)
[Best</a> Friends Animal Society - Welcome to the Sanctuary](<a href=“http://www.bestfriends.org/atthesanctuary/]Best”>At the Sanctuary | Best Friends Animal Society - Save Them All)</p>
<p>I will be watching your journey closely as my DD’15 life goal is to become a vet as well ! She wants to be a big animal vet, you know - horses, cows etc ;)</p>
<p>Thank You Kelowna for that link. We’re in Southern California, and the local animal shelter will not let her volunteer unless she is 16, period. They have a program with a high school in the area and will let HS students, from only that school, work there with some sort of program set up through a teacher there. My daughter is not from that HS, so we’re out of luck. We have a local animal care facility that usually only lets 18 year olds work. But under certain circumstances they will allow 16 year olds. They even said that since my daughter has shown a keen interest, they will allow her to go through training right before her 16th birthday and start work then. But that is a year away.</p>
<p>The only place I found that will allow her to accompany me is a Cat “retirement” home, which doesn’t really do any medical stuff, but it may be a start.</p>
<p>We even looked into ROP (Animal Health) at her school, but they also require the student to be 16. At least here they will overlook that, if she is in a grade with mostly 16 year olds. They told her that she could take it next summer before she is 16. That would work well for us. She can devote the 12 hours a week easier that way. I see why vets end up waiting a year to enter Vet school from the Bachelor’s degree programs…it is awfully hard to get those 1200 hours of animal time in otherwise. (UCDavis only requires 200 hours, but most students have 1200 hours.) And just to let you know, it’s much harder to get into Vet school that Med school - there are fewer schools. Here’s a good link for Vet schools: [AAVMC</a> | Students & Admissions | Schools & Colleges](<a href=“http://www.aavmc.org/students_admissions/vet_schools.htm]AAVMC”>http://www.aavmc.org/students_admissions/vet_schools.htm) There are 51 accredited schools in the world…luckily only one is in a non-English speaking area - French-Canadian.</p>
<p>We have been trying to strategically plan her vet school plans since middle school. I tried to teach her everything she would need to take the HS classes for Pre-Vet college programs. We have mostly looked at UCDavis, but Cornell is also on our radar. I’m not sure we could afford Cornell, but if they can give a good fin aid package to her it might be less than UCDavis. Our financial need will be great because her brother will also be in college and maybe her dad too. Also a slight chance I would go back to get either a Master’s degree or teaching credential to help pay for college costs. Life has become complicated…</p>
<p>Just a thought: the Boy Scouts have an Explorer program that lets HS kids “explore” various careers. D1 did one at a hospital & the other in Physical Therapy. Can you check your local boy scouts council & see if they have a veterinary program? They don’t start until the beginning of the school year so it wouldn’t be until August or so.</p>
<p>RobD - Thanks for that info! I have to confess that I found CC bacause of the needs of my
kid’13, and the younger one is just along for the ride. But I should definitely start thinking about her too ! She has been talking about being a vet for the past two years. Has an uncle who is a vet, althought in Europe She wants to be a big animal vet, loves kittens but prefers cows - go fiure. She has charts of animal anatomy hanging in her room - I should probably pay closer attention, shouldn’t I ?</p>
<p>AtomicGirl - I do not even know what you are talking about! I am so not in the subject.
Do they have to have certain number of volunteers/work hours to be admitted to the vet program? Do the hours from overseas count? Because when she goes back to where I was born, she can log in up to 8 hours per day pretty easily. She has already assisted a c-section of a bulldog a couple of years ago and LOVED it! !!! (bulldodgs are apparently known for difficult labor).</p>
<p>On the sad note, we have been taking a fun ride behind the Animal Sanctuary today, trying to get to some slot canyons, but the road was very difficlult. Too difficult for our volvo cross country. The car is stuck in the sand dunes right now, with punctured cooling system, and my DH is trying to ressucitate it Wish him /us good luck ! :(</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to post that may headache related to grades is over.
DS managed to pull 4.0 again.
I have promised to buy him some game expansion for $20 if he does that.
Going to order it now :)</p>
<p>Oh, help. I look at all these ECs everyone is doing and my sweet DS is still just exploring. He gets good grades, his teachers love him, but he hasn’t found his ‘passion’ yet. He will volunteer this summer at a program for the elderly, but, again, this is because I helped find it for him, not b/c he’s Mr. Geriatric Care. And this week we found he’d been waitlisted for our HS Research Program (it gets kids mentors and sends all the final products to Intel; we’re in one of those NY high schools that gets a few semi-finalists every year). But he didn’t make the program, and refused to try to do the research independently. So, so disappointed he wasn’t selected. So I guess my question is: if he’s not got the drive or the passion, does it matter that he’s smart? It is frustrating that he has one ingredient and not the other. I can’t force him to be driven. Does this come at some point? How hard do you push? Do you regret it if you don’t push? Or if you do? Any advice from been there/done that parents [if my q. is even coherent] will be very welcome…thank you!</p>
<p>I don’t think I would regret it if I didn’t push and with my '13er I don’t push. She likely will not have many or traditional ECs whereas her older sister had some strong ones. Comparatively though, for my oldest, I don’t think her ECs really had any impact on where she got in and where she didn’t. I think as long as they can write something worthwhile in that category on apps they are fine. And by worthwhile I think you can even effectively explain a lack of ECs if needed. I think some colleges would even prefer a kid who said “I just wanted some downtime” if they had a strong app overall that proved they weren’t lazy or unmotivated. Too often now it seems every kid can list similar matching ECs so I think they tend to all blend together when it comes to admissions!</p>
<p>Don’t sweat it if he’s happy and still exploring options - so sorry he’s dissapointed but you may find it does motivate him in other ways, it may just not be immediate.</p>
<p>AtomicGirl - S has been a volunteer at the animal shelter for several years. Initially an adult had to be with him but now since they know him so well he doesn’t need me. The age for volunteering here is 16 but this year they allowed S to volunteer alone at 15. Our community is building a new no kill shelter so S also helps with a lot of the fundraisers.</p>
<p>Kelowna - Vet school applicants have to have a large number of hours in all types of animal areas to be considered. I think most schools say about 500 but the applicants usually have well into the thousands. It is best to start getting them while in highschool if possible.</p>
<p>RobD tanks for the heads up on the Boys Scouts, we have a pretty active council near by that I’ll check out.</p>
<p>Kelowna, I think DogsandBirds answered your question above.</p>
<p>DogsandBirds, thanks for the answer. I don’t know why my area can’t be a little more progressive about that. Like I said the only place that will let her volunteer is a cat retirement home and I will have to go with her. We had one more idea…the local cat/dog adoption society keeps cats at the local PetSmart and someone has to come in everyday to clean cages and feed/water the cats/kittens. Maybe I could volunteer there with daughter in tow…I’ll be checking on that soon.</p>
<p>And I agree, it’s best to start on those hours now…I see that many prospective vets need a gap year, so to speak, to catch up on those animal hours to get admitted to vet school.</p>
<p>Wow, I had no idea about the hours required for vet school! I will have to keep this in mind for D '18 (I know, lots and lots of time to go for a 10 yo but I’m a research junkie )</p>
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She wants to be a big animal vet, loves kittens but prefers cows - go fiure. She has charts of animal anatomy hanging in her room - I should probably pay closer attention, shouldn’t I ?</p>
Wish him /us good luck ! :(</p>
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