<p>DD14 and I did a Stanford admissions reception in Harlem in January, the adcom made it a point to discuss summer activities… She said that they do ask about how students have spent their summers on the application. I have heard of other schools doing this as well… </p>
<p>Its so competitive these days… with admissions and scholarships… this is just another way that they are deciding who gets in… who gets the $… will the student who has done lab research in a cancer lab or built houses for Habitat in their town be more desirable than the student who has hung out on FB/on the couch??</p>
<p>No where on the common app do they ask specifically about summer activities. They do ask you to list all your extra curriculars, so an academic summer activity would be among the list. I encourage you to let your kids have some down time over the summer, school can be such a grind. But if there is an activity that they would love, then go for it. Otherwise, let them go to the beach, relax on the couch, play soccer…</p>
<p>Sparkle, as far as the branch of Engineering goes, don’t worry too much about narrowing it down to a major. The majority of engineering freshman don’t know which branch they want, and if your student is one of them, just make sure that you choose a place that has a lot of options (not just ME and EE for instance) and has a freshman course that helps them choose.<br>
That said, even if they think they want aerospace or biomedical, don’t rule out smaller schools that only have a concentration in that area and not a major - ME will prepare you just fine for a masters in Aerospace or an Aerospace job, as will ChE or ME for biomedical.
Try to visit all the schools and get a feel for how much they emphasize the undergrad experience. Many of the research universities treat teaching as a necessary evil, but some are very good.<br>
As far as summer goes, I believe admissions committees know that not all students are going to have access to some of these amazing (and expensive!) programs, some just need to make some money! So don’t stress, especially this summer, about getting him into particular programs.
And I echo the posters that say not to worry about the GPA thing - AdComs look more at the course rigor and individual grades, at least at the hard-to-get-into places.</p>
<p>Could they ask about summer experiences on the supplemental? I’m not sure, I’m just going by the person who does the admitting/rejecting… </p>
<p>My dd would definitely want to hang out with her friends who are NOT on the same path as she is… they go to different schools now, so the summer would be a perfect time to hang out with them… and I don’t want to have to tell her “no” all the time… </p>
<p>Lots of negative things are going on in this city and it will get worse as the mercury rises… so being away for 3 weeks, learning about nano/bio technology won’t be a bad thing… for a girl growing up in the inner city… I think when it comes down to it, different kids have different needs… for different reasons…</p>
<p>Yes, some schools may ask about summer on the supplemental. But I think you can make a good story of just about anything other than sitting on your tush all summer on FB. A less academic program is probably fine, if the kid finds something interesting/exciting/fun in it. My 2 cents, YMMV (your mileage may vary).</p>
<p>My ds applied to 11 schools and I don’t think any asked about summer activities. They asked about experiences in general. My impression was that most questions are pretty open-ended and can be answered in many different ways. They also understand that lots of kids need to work and many, many others can’t afford an expensive summer program. </p>
<p>Now, I should also say that ds didn’t apply to any ivys since he had to get merit money and they don’t offer it, but he did get accepted by several highly ranked LACs, all with pretty good merit money, with no research or exotic summer programs on his resume. He did have great grades/scores and essays though!</p>
<p>Something to keep in mind: Junior year can be really, really, really challenging for a lot of kids. For many of them, the academics ramp up considerably. They take PSATs, SATs, subject test, AP or IB exams and ACTs. They are constantly reminded, “This is the most important year for college admissions. This is what the colleges will be looking at. Don’t let up!” You want your kid rested and ready for the fall. Make sure they have some time to relax and recharge this summer. They don’t have a chance to be kids much longer!</p>
<p>Have to share this with someone, anyone, and since my S does not see the miracle it may be, you all are the winners. : )
He is notoriously lazy. Plenty bright, and a great kid, but so laid back that it pains me (I try not to show this…). Anyway he managed to pull a D+ (which we stupidly left on his transcript, and it will appear, instead of making him re-take it) in 8th grade algebra. He did ok- meaning Cs, ugh- for most of the year but the 4th quarter and final killed him. His GPA is just over 3.0 now because of that coupled with a lack of any honors classes (weighted 0.5 here) freshman year. Looking at the report card through 3rd quarter and his current grades he could end this year with a 3.8!! I am over the moon about this. The whole GPA is still not great but if colleges like upward trends, he’s got one- and he has an honors and an AP class in there too! Happy Friday to me. Sometimes my neurotic tendencies, which lead to calculating this today, work in my favor.</p>
<p>@pacnwmomof2 and ELKyes
Thanks for saying -Colleges look at the whole transcript and calculate it however they want. They also look at the rigor of the student’s classes. If your school only offers a handful of APs they don’t expect your child to have taken ten.
and
colleges usually unweight schools that weight, and mostly they look at the particular course load a student took.
A high GPA, with no honors or AP classes, is very apparent to a selective school.</p>
<p>That makes me feel good, because I’m pleased that S’14 is taking the hardest classes the school offers, and so far has been able to do well with that amount of challenge.</p>
<p>@BrukeSt
Thanks for saying -
Sparkle, as far as the branch of Engineering goes, don’t worry too much about narrowing it down to a major. The majority of engineering freshman don’t know which branch they want, and if your student is one of them, just make sure that you choose a place that has a lot of options (not just ME and EE for instance) and has a freshman course that helps them choose.
That said, even if they think they want aerospace or biomedical, don’t rule out smaller schools that only have a concentration in that area and not a major - ME will prepare you just fine for a masters in Aerospace or an Aerospace job, as will ChE or ME for biomedical.
Try to visit all the schools and get a feel for how much they emphasize the undergrad experience. Many of the research universities treat teaching as a necessary evil, but some are very good.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reasurrance about the branch choosing. I do worry about how I’ll be able to tell how ‘well thought about’ the undergrads are. Good to know that at least some research universities are very good.</p>
<p>@86wahoo -
That is wonderful news! I’m sure it’s hard to go on pretending to not care at home. Have some virtual chocolate!</p>
<p>Haven’t been around much…in part because it feels so early…
So exams are approaching. Then k2 is having wisdom teeth taken out.
Summer camp is planned. </p>
<p>Congrats 89wahoo! That is great news!
Love your screen name. When my DH was in highschool, there was a group that had wild parties…called them wahoo parties and the “mantle” of giving those was passed down from Srs to the following group etc…</p>
<p>On the grades front–k2 had a very mediocre freshman yr and soph year started out better yet got derailed 3rd quarter in part due to illness. 4th quarter is looking up so final exams might make a big difference. I am praying that is the case and that continued maturity will occur and jr yr will be even better.</p>
<p>K2 is a different “kid on the couch” than k1. So the journey in highschool and looking for colleges will be different.
(Plus k1 cast a big shadow (worked very hard 8th grade through sr yr) In fact k1 was just talking about planning the sr schedule and practically having to push the gudance counselor to let k1 take the heavy # of APs.)</p>
<p>“FIT” truly is the most important…we saw one school over spring break that seems like a really great fit. A year from now we will see…</p>
<p>Right now we just want to get through exams and wisdom teeth. And I hope the summer goes well and some things left on k2’s “do” list get done.</p>
<p>On the AP classes/tests front–our kids’ hs doesn’t allow students to take APs till they are Jrs or Srs. So no freshmen/sophmores take any. In fact when our k1 took almost all courses as APs Jr year, and all APs Sr yr it was almost unheard of…</p>
<p>congrats 89wahoo! I wish I knew how to calculate S’14’s GPA – the school does it a wierd way and I never could figure it out. He too had a bad 8th grade and so-so 9th year, but now he’s getting a few As here and there so I’m hoping he’ll end up in the 3’s. He’s on Varsity baseball, and he’s batting over .400 – can we factor that into his GPA?</p>
<p>Good morning, everyone! Just bringing this thread back to the top of the list so it doesn’t get lost. I’m sure once our 2014 children start their junior years in a few months, it will get a lot busier around here. :)</p>
<p>My 2014 child still has a couple of weeks of school left and then one SAT subject test and a first stab at the ACT before heading overseas for most of the summer. </p>
<p>My '14 finished yesterday. She has a new employee meeting this morning for her summer job and a softball tournament this afternoon/evening. No real break until August, when there’ll be a few days off between the time the pool closes and school starts.</p>
<p>S is in final approach to the end of sophomore year. Four exams this week, one more next week with a couple of SAT 2’s sandwiched in between, then summer. I am ready for it to be over: S had a ‘final project’ for Calc due today, and for practically the first time in his life pulled the same needy, passive-aggressive, stressed out behaviours at which his sister excelled. I guess he learned from her, but now that she is in college I thought we were done with that. Nope. A ruined dinner, spoiled evening, sleepless night. The only upside was that D was (briefly) home and asked me ‘Did I really behave like that?’ Yup, only more often. The empty nest is looking better and better.</p>
<p>Need suggestions: D 15 completed APUSH and APES exams. She is due to take SAT US history on June2nd. Unfortunetly, we completely overlooked this and scheduled her college visit to Chicago for June 1st. We would not have time to fly back to hometown to do the test? Has anybody changed the test Venue in such a short notice? Can she take the test as a standby in Chicago? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>About four years ago, I had a student have to change venues. He did have a little more time than you will to contact College Board. In his case, he scheduled himself to take the SAT the first week in December. The basketball coach, however, scheduled a tournament for the team four hours away. The kid almost had a nervous breakdown when he found out. So, we called College Board and explained what happened. He was able to take the SAT at another high school about an hour from the tournament site. Yes, he was on standby, too, to take it. Fortunately, it worked out all right, and he got into his dream school. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, if all goes well, my son will earn exemptions to his finals, so school should end in about seven days for him. Still, he does plan to go to the school during finals to help the ladies who gather textbooks do their inventory. Good NHS hours for him.</p>