<p>My D, at American, received college credit for 5 AP courses (4s and 5s) and entered with enough credits to make her a 2nd sem. freshman. She also placed out of 4 general ed classes with her AP scores. Every college handles AP scores differently.</p>
<p>Also, American never saw her AP scores until after she was accepted. She self reported some of them on her application, but I’m not really sure how much they factored into admissions.</p>
<p>The story we got is that depending on the school, there are some colleges that will accept AP scores, but in general, the ivyies for example, do not accept them for college credit. Our local public school has a deal that if you take AP classes, they will accept some of them at the state college. It all depends on the rigors of the school and the classes. In our private school, AP classes are staggered so you can only take 1 in 10th grade, up to 3 in 11th and up to 4 in 12th. No more. The classes require 2-3 hrs of hw per night, and on top of sports that are mandatory, the kids are up to 2-3am and falling asleep in school! That’s just our area in general. </p>
<p>You may have 19 AP classes, as our school does, but not everyone qualifies for them. Stanford Univ math is only for exceptional math students and maybe 3 kids per year take that. It is beyond AP level and is equivalent to second year math at college level. Most of the kids who take that go on to MIT or Harvard and major in math. </p>
<p>What troubles me is what Ask the Dean says - that if you take the weaker AP classes, colleges are not impressed. They like the heavy hitters like AP calc, chem and physics vs. APES, APUSH, AP psychology or AP statistics or AP Art History. These poor kids can’t get a break. And the awards? Forget it! There are kids at one of our local public high schools (which is outstanding and if I could send my D there I would, but we are not in that town; it’s 5 mins away! To have that vs. the 2hrs r/t we do in the am and then in the pm is insane). But they have kids winning westinghouse and siemens awards getting tons of money but these are exceptionally bright kids… The town magazines always do a “teens to watch for” section each year, and when you read that, it is even more depressing than some of the stuff on CC! (lol)</p>
<p>They also like to see non-teenage activities. Cappex reported that, but when the admin dirs come to the school, they really stress leadership and kids making a difference in their communities vs. kids just having good academics and nothing else. That’s why you see a lot of kids with perfect SAT or ACT scores and high GPA’s not getting into the ivyies. They like diversity, and some kids don’t have the high GPAs and scores but think outside the box. </p>
<p>My D has 2 friends, for example, 1 at Yale and 1 at Cornell and they both have friends up at the school who had really bad GPAs and they excelled at everything and wondered how did these kids who barely had a 3.0 get in? It was something else (they have yet to figure it out and it wasn’t sports)…but the kids got in…so who knows what the thinking process is or what they need in any given year. </p>
<p>I’m concerned about these so called “Director of Recruitments at the Ivyies.” A story about that in another email you guys might enjoy!</p>
<p>Here’s my feeling: I don’t give a hoot if an adcom wants “hard” APs vs. “soft” APs. My kid’s not wired like that. If not taking AP Calc is going to keep her out of a school then so be it. She’s a humanities kid, looking at strong writing programs. She’s certainly taken (and will continue to) challenging math & science classes (including AP Chem next year) but she’s not going to turn away from the challenging classes in the areas that she’s most interested in (i.e AP English Lit & English Language, APUSH & APEuro.) </p>
<p>And as far as I’m concerned, my kid is a teenager. She should be doing teenager things. She’ll do “non-teenager” things for the next 6+ decades (I hope and pray!)</p>
<p>I think our kids have to be authentic to who they are. I don’t mean lay on the sofa and play video games, but I mean that they should do things that are of interest to them and make them happy and excited. If they jump through all these prescribed hoops to get into a “top” school, will they end up in an environment that is still about following a lock step path? The school that my D will end up being happiest at will be one that looks at her application and says “hey yeah, we’d like her here!” I don’t want her spending her college years feeling like a square peg forced into a round hole.</p>
<p>Funny thing about the AP credit/scores. When D1 was looking at schools, one of the things important to her was how generous they were with awarding credits for APs. It was definitely a turnoff to her when schools either didn’t give any credit at all for APs (even 5s) or refused to even use them for placement purposes. Not sure how D2 feels about that yet as we haven’t had that conversation yet.</p>
<p>I TOTALLY agree RobD which is why it makes me so angry that Ask the Dean puts all those questions up there! It really is a turn-off and makes kids feel like they aren’t good enough. My d would NEVER consider taking anything in the math and sciences beyond the basic courses. Four years in the core courses is enough except for things she loves which is literature, languages, the arts and for schools or anyone to demean the arts as lesser, is a travesty. I know my D would not want to be around kids who solely focus on just math and science. Bless them or we wouldn’t have the advances in medicine today, but I’d like to see those kids get up and perform or write a beautiful poem, story, song or tell a story through a journalistic piece. Or to be creative enough to photograph, make something out of nothing in an art class (my D admires her artist friends) or create a film. I think people who think these classes are “fluff” are narrow-minded. Where would the world be without the arts? It would be a pretty boring place, and I for one, would rather my D go to a school where she is comfortable and surrounded by other creative and talented people as well.</p>
<p>p.s the NTA’s (non-teenage activities) are to show leadership. There are many kids out there doing that in different ways (mostly through community service). I think that is important only to show that they care about the future of the world. A lot of kid work in stores or have other paying jobs over the summer, because they need to work to support themselves or help out in the family, and that too, is a NTA.</p>
<p>A kid with great grades in a fairly rigorous curriculum with varied ECs, good commuity service and PAID work experience can get into alot of great schools. I just went through this with my D and acceptance into her specific program was only 7-8%. She did not apply to Ivies because only one offered her program and to be honest, even though it is highly touted, we were not impressed. It was very academic and insular as compared to other programs.</p>
<p>She only took 2 APs in HS - stats and English - but all the other courses were honors level courses throughout HS. Only taking 2 APs did not hurt her at all - she was accepted into every program that she applied to. She has won some local honors but nothing beyond that, she has a some leadership but nothing too notable. She is a very good student with OK SAT scores. She got into all top 50 schools into a program (architecture) that had a 7-8% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>But what she demonstrated on her apps was that she was smart, well rounded, and thoughtful about what she wanted out of a college experience. Shed demonstrated 1. a commitment to being involved in her school community in athletics, student government and consistent community service, 2. a commitment to the community at large with community service, 3. a commitment to finding a “direction” - she found a mentoring program and “tried out” a couple of professions 4.commitment to working hard - her schedule has been jam packed since Day 1 and she has held several paid part-time jobs during the school year and during the summer. 5. She knew the programs were looking for kids that excelled in math, science and art, that would take risks and had a global outlook and emphasized those qualities. She talked about her travel (which everyone on this board says is a big no no) and landed a big scholarship because of it. In fact, some of the applications asked, where have you traveled?</p>
<p>In her apps, when they asked her why xyz school? she focused on telling them what she could bring to the program and the school, not about what a great school/program it was. She was very specific in her essays letting them know that she had researched their specific program. So, although the academics have to be there and not necessarily at a super human level, the other stuff is just as important. Now that I have been through this process, I think it is as important to be very thoughtful and specific about what your kid can contribute to the school - how are they going to help shape their class, what are they going to do (beyond academics. All the top schools assume their applicants are going to be smart and they know that not all kids are afforded the same opportunities academically.</p>
<p>I find it very interesting that ad coms expect all kids to be leaders. You know, we can’t all be leaders! Every leader needs a follower. I have one kids who is a natural leader and another quite content to follow (but smart, creative, kind, etc.) His college app will show no leadership - but instead a commitment to his passion for the arts and strong grades. He also doesn’t like community service because he has difficulty with interpersonal stuff (aspie kid). I trust that he will find a college that likes him just for who he is.</p>
<p>I agree, not all kids are leaders, or they don’t always have opportunities within what they are passionate about. I think that’s fine though, there are places for everyone!</p>
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<p>Well, I don’t think they “expect all kids to be leaders.” Some highly selective schools might prefer applicants who are leaders, but they don’t expect “all kids” to apply or be accepted there, just as they don’t expect “all kids” to have great grades and top test scores. They’re just looking for the ones that do. And even at that highly selective level, I think passion and achievement in the arts can often be as impressive to adcoms as leadership. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, though, I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to have kids manufacture the “perfect” resume by tailoring their HS activities to what they think the adcoms are looking for, be it leadership or the arts or whatever. Better for kids to be authentic. As long as they do reasonably well in their studies, there’s a college out there that’s a good match for them, in fact probably many such colleges.</p>
<p>And not everyone accepted at a “highly selective” school is a leader. My nephew is at Cornell (which I guess is highly selective) and he never led anything in his life. He’s an introvert who just makes good grades. He did have a part-time job fixing computers, but quite frankly, his “resume” was not that outstanding. I just don’t believe all the hype about what ad coms “want.” I think it’s a crap shoot - as long as you’re in the range academically. I certainly don’t want my kids obsessing about what some unknown committee is going to think about them. It’s really unhealthy. And don’t get me started about the parents!</p>
<p>Good day all! I hope all of you whose children are on spring break like my D are having a relaxing break from school. My D is at the beach for a couple of days with friends enjoying this great warm weather. Although today has brought in some cooler temperatures, so I understand they have gone outlet shopping.
I hope she is enjoying herself because those pesky teachers of hers have provided her with quite a bit of intellectual stimulation that will be waiting for her when she returns. We went on our first college visit on Tuesday with our D to the College of William and Mary. It was a beautiful day and there were many visitors to campus and Colonial Williamsburg. We had a nice time and I think it was good for my D to step foot on a campus and to start envsioning what type of school would suit her. She also applied for her first job this week and awaits the interview process in early May.:)</p>
<p>We had spring break in mid-march, so my D is in school now. However, they gave a ton of hw over the break, and of course this holiday weekend (we had Good Friday off that’s it). Blueshoe I heard College of William and Mary is quite beautiful. I don’t know when we will get to collge visits - I hate to do them in the summer since you can’t see the true demographics. Is everyone’s S/D working this summer? If so, the whole summer? No one is hiring around my parts - a lot of college students take the jobs in December and then put in their apps then for the summer. We will probably do SAT prep since during the year will be too difficult. It’s Weds 6-9pm and all day Sat or all day Sun if taken during the year. Right now we drive 98 miles a day to go back and forth to school ( 2 r/t’s) - I just want to make it to the end of this year (May) before gas rises anymore! It’s $4.95 where I am and the news keeps saying it could go up as high as $6-7/gal. Insane! Get out the bicycles…This will make our decision a bit easier to move over to public for sure…I noticed that in the public school by us they offer some nice variety of other classes like journalism, broadcast journalism, entrepreneurship, fashion and interior design, 14 music grps - my D’s current school is pure academics except for the music and theater arts… She would need to drop music if she stays at her current school to do economics or marine biology for the global scholars degree. </p>
<p>I cried all day for my D. She is the strong one and just feels we have to do what we have to do. I hope she keeps that spirit up - she reminds me so much of my late mother. </p>
<p>Have a good break and holiday everyone!</p>
<p>No breaks here. They were supposed to have Good Friday off, but ended up using it as a snow make-up day. Next week is state testing week - S needs to find a good book as he usually finishes the tests early.</p>
<p>S was “officially” asked to prom today. It is a Senior Prom, so the girl had to ask S. She invited him over for an Easter egg hunt and each egg contained a word, which were arranged into a poem, that asked him to prom - very cute! It is the same girl who asked him to the Winter Formal last year. They’re good friends, so I know they’ll have fun. Now he wants a pink tie and vest to go with his tux. Don’t know if you can rent those - hope I don’t have to buy it.</p>
<p>D2 had Good Friday off, but they don’t call it Good Friday for fear of mixing Church and State. So officially it’s a “professional day” for the teachers. It just happens that it always falls on Good Friday. Some coincidence!</p>
<p>D2 made good use of it, traveling down to Northfield, MN to visit Carleton College which is still in session. Great visit, though D2 thinks it’s too close to home, and she doesn’t like the quarter system. Otherwise, though, very impressed with the college.</p>
<p>Megpmom: My son has his own tux, but when he goes to a formal we rent the shirt,vest and tie to match his date. The easter egg hunt idea was great!</p>
<p>We have our college co-eds home for the weekend. </p>
<p>My son joined the journalism class at the semester (he took Health, a California requirement I think, first semester). A couple of weeks ago they asked him to be the Entertainment editor. The school paper came out today and it was so fun to see his name in print!</p>
<p>Really, my daughter is not schizophrenic but she started out in the class of 2011 because she started high school at 13. Then she decided to take a “gap year” between sophomore and junior year to be a Rotary exchange student in S. America in 2009-10. This year she has been a junior at our state’s residential school for gifted juniors and seniors. However, she learned this week that she has been chosen as a Davis Scholar to attend the United World College of the American West, a 2 year international school with an IB diploma program in New Mexico. 50 Americans are chosen to be Davis Scholars each year, nearly all as juniors - 25 go to the U.S. school, the other 25 to schools around the world. D was reaaally hoping to do her last years of high school abroad but she is happy to have been chosen. Her new school will have 150 students from around the world and 50 Americans. So she is now on the 6 year high school plan. Hope that doesn’t continue in college! Greetings to all.</p>
<p>Wow, Apollo, that’s insane. I was just going to post that my ds has his first club cricket match today! lol</p>
<p>Good for your son! I think cricket is awesome. Maybe D will see some cricket at her new school. She developed an appreciation for soccer while in S. America. I’m all for kids doing what inspires them.</p>
<p>Apollo6 - Sounds like your dd is turning HS into a series of wonderful adventures.</p>
<p>Blueshoe - My parents took our family to Williamsburg when I was 5 or 6 and I fell in love with W & M and ended up there 12 years later and still loved it.</p>
<p>We started visitting colleges over Spring Break. After Passover with the In-Laws in NY we visited
SUNY - Binghamton - DS liked school, described the campus as “utilitarian” which he thought was a plus. No students on campus though due to break. He said “I could be happy here and the price is right”. Even as Out of State it is affordable.</p>
<p>RIT - Didn’t like the feel of campus, students didn’t seem happy and admissions wouldn’t give admission rates for engineering students. Didn’t help that student magazine had cover story on last years SGA President resigning due to an incident with another student and was know running for SGA VP. The mix of ice and snow during the tour didn’t help, dorms are set far a part from classes and there was very little diversity of campus.</p>
<p>University of Rochester - I think this was his favorite. Great campus, very few required courses. The energy just felt right, now if we could find that for $20,000 less.</p>
<p>Syracuse - Liked the engineering department and the school, but it was too rah rah for him. Dad as a life long OrangeMan fan was not happy. One of our 6 year twins was sold on going.</p>
<p>Welcome Apollo6! I have a DD13, but I “knew” you on the 2012 board b/c I have a DS2012. Your DD’s HS years sound like a wonderful adventure! </p>
<p>Momto4boys - great write ups of your campus tours! Thanks for sharing. DS12 just went to tour Geneseo (no engineering), but we will be visiting Binghamton in the summer. DD is looking at engineering too. Have you looked at Clarkson Univ, Olin, Trinity, Union or Vanderbilt? I think a high stats kid could get some merit money from some of those schools. But maybe you were the one who told me about them?</p>
<p>Megmom- congrats to ds on the prom date. It is a lot of fun and just part of the HS experience.</p>
<p>It’s nice to have the whole family home, isn’t Tx5?!</p>
<p>Good luck to your DD medavinci on the job hunt. I am trying to get my DS12 to look around. DD13 will be helping her uncle at circus camp for 2 weeks, going to camp for a week and the vacation for a week. So we don’t think a job is in her future. I think studying for the ACT is in her future summer plans! DD has decided to take the ACT this June to see how she does. She thinks she’d prefer the shorter format with science rather than the longer SAT. </p>
<p>Happy Easter to all who celebrate. For us, only 3 more days of Passover. Counting down till pasta!</p>