<p>drmom - piesquared asked about schools in ME & VT. We live in MA and do know U of R pretty well. D was almost certain that was the school she was going to - until a second visit to Case Western changed her mind :)</p>
<p>S is home - sleeping late, getting up late and generally just chilling. His local friends are all still in school, so socializing is not feasible. He’s hanging out a bit with his sister and another family friend who came home after graduating from college. Friends’ wedding this weekend and then we are off on our vacation…can’t wait!</p>
<p>Yes, Case is a great school. D loves it there. For those who are starting to look, both U of R and Case offer very good merit scholarships - Case was a bit more generous than U of R. Location, academic reputations and merit scholarships were a few of the reasons these schools made it onto D’s final list.</p>
<p>Thought I’d jump in and introduce myself…I have a D who will be a sophmore this fall. D attends one of our large public high schools and seemed to have a very good freshman year. Due to outside commitments she was only involved in speech team and student council this year, but plans on doing more activities this next year. I’m just now starting to research colleges and trying to learn as much as I can before it’s too late!!! Happy i found this site!</p>
<p>Welcome here, Mandy! I am glad you have joined us!</p>
<p>We are moving next weekend. S has been bullied a bit and has been asking for a move for a couple of years. H and I have both have job changes in the past few months and while we are currently within driving distance, this move will put us closer. I will be glad when the move is over and we are settled. All of this clutter with boxes, newspaper, and just stuff is driving my OCD self nuts.</p>
<p>Hi Seal, I think that community college courses fit a need for some students. As long as it is a class that is transferable to your state university system, then it is probably taught at par with most university classes of the same level.</p>
<p>Thank you for response. Let me clarify. She is top achieving rising sophomore with strait As in honors and AP classes. She took chemistry at local community college to get ahead. The class is transferable to all public in state universities, but her eventual goal is Ivy school. How do Ivys treat enrichment classes taking during summer at the community colleges?</p>
<p>Summer’s going along. Driver’s ed is in progress. Dentist, doctor’s appointments, etc. The kid leaves in a week for his five-week program. Got his Math 2 SAT score back this morning – he logged on and checked without me reminding, although he did have to ask what his user name was.</p>
<p>Welcome Mandy; Welcome Seal. Seal, one piece of advice I’ve seen recently is that competitive colleges don’t like to see too much “privilege” in students’ summer activities. Interpret that as you will in regard to your chemistry class. </p>
<p>Hope the new school and move work out well for you and your son, bajamm. </p>
<p>piesquared, congrats on successful SAT 2 test taking! Wow. </p>
<p>Waving at drmom123–who is also shopping for college dorm room things this summer!</p>
<p>Hi! I have a DS16, and this will be my second go-round (DS12 has just finished his freshman year in college). The two of them are so different, it’s going to be interesting.</p>
<p>seal16, I think how the Ivies would look at it depends on why she is taking the course. If she is doing it because it’s in her area of interest (i.e., thinks she may want to major in Chemistry or ChemE or the like), then it’s all good. If it’s to get college credit, I wouldn’t count on it, especially if she is getting high school credit for it. If it’s to “pre-learn” chemistry to make sure she gets an A in a tough Chemistry class sophomore year (I know some kids that did that), then I’m not sure Ivies will think that much of it. But then, it’s summer after Freshman year, so whatever she does would be ok.</p>
<p>There are a few issues with taking any college courses in high school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ivies and other top schools do not consider the credits from them while they do give credit for APs. The only place the credit works is in state schools, usually within the State.</p></li>
<li><p>If anyone is applying to medical schools, the grades need to be good. Although one can ignore telling colleges you have done some classes in college if you did not do so well, AAMC requires every college grade ever received to be submitted on the application and these grades will need to be turned in.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It does look like the classes look good to top colleges if they happen go beyond what is available in AP curriculum, i.e., past Calculus BC, past AP Chemistry etc showing that the student has gone past what is available to them in their high school. </p>
<p>If the goal is to finish college quickly, it does help quite a bit to have many dual credits.</p>
<p>Checking in. Just got back from an overseas trip with DD’13. DS’16 has been off working (Volunteering) at camp for the past week. We pick him up today and return him for another week tomorrow. </p>
<p>Seal- DD’13 will be attending an Ivy this fall. She did the IB Program and had several AP classes and will get 0 college credits. From what I’ve read EastGrad is right- the Ivies don’t like to see a lot of privilege. A real summer job looks great.</p>
<p>waving back EASTGRAD----DD’13 is getting there. Graduation is this tuesday.
DS16…on that XBOX way too much! BUT, oldest DD is home this summer, and they have a great reading contest going on between them, so, I’ve decided not to worry.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. I am new to this forum, and some concepts might look new to me. Is going to free community college in the summer considered a privilege? What about those expensive summer programs at top universities, some of them selective, some not, but all with the price tag of 2,000 to $6,500 for 6 weeks? And another scenario: applicant who does not qualify for financial aid spent summer working? And who will hire a 14 year old (my DD616 skep a grade)?</p>
<p>Seal, There is nothing wrong with taking the chemistry class, especially if it is something that your student wants to do. When your student goes to fill out college apps, he or she could work a way of stating that it was free into the application. Just don’t take the class thinking it will get you brownie points with college admissions counselors.</p>
<p>And, yes, college admissions counselors could very easily look at summer employment very favorably. The summer employment could be paid, volunteer, or a mixture. It means that the student is learning the value of work and learning how a different segment of society lives.</p>
<p>You are right, not many places will employ 14 year olds for pay. So, maybe volunteering should take a higher priority for now. </p>
<p>I am not sure where you live, though where I live the grocery stores will hire 14 and 15 year olds to bag and carry out groceries. Some restaurants will hire kids that age to be bus boys. And, kids that age can always babysit or mow yards. All of this adds experience and gets references for future jobs.</p>
<p>I think that college admission people just want to see that students haven’t had everything handed to them, they have had to work for what they want to some extent.</p>
<p>Seal- at 14 the “job” would probably have to be volunteer work. My son volunteered last summer. I would strongly suggest whatever volunteer work you find be of some interest to your child and not just the typical Candy Striper (unless your child wants to go into the medical field). My son wants to go into business so he volunteered in a store last year and is this summer working (volunteering at 15) in a summer camp store. He can get a paid position next year. </p>
<p>As far as expensive summer programs- No matter the cost, the ones favorably viewed will be selective and offer financial aid.</p>
<p>My philosophy (and s is my first, so who knows if it will work) is that they should spend the summer doing something productive that they enjoy. I always ask my kids, what do you want to learn new this summer? It doesn’t have to be academic, although that’s what my older kid wants. So I think if your daughter wants to spend part of the summer taking a chemistry class, more power to her! Knowledge is never wasted, although it probably is not a golden ticket to an elite college admission.</p>
<p>My younger kid is learning how to code, working on algebraic concepts, and building his stamina for his first cross country season. </p>
<p>Older kid is doing driver’s ed, lifting weights and getting fit, and spending 5 weeks away at a camp in his area of interest (it’s selective, there is financial aid, etc.) He’s also volunteering as a tutor. </p>
<p>There also seems to be plenty of time for video games, hanging out with friends, swimming and generally relaxing. I’m great with that…I think there should be enough time in the summer to spend part of it bored.</p>
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