@hs2020dad D20’s high school has an online database that lets them log volunteer hours (parents volunteering at school are also included).
@lkim10 There is no active thread on College Confidential for your D’s school where you can ask questions about the honors program?
@bigmacbeth unfortunately not. There is a board for the school but it isn’t active at all. I guess I can post something and see if I get a response. The school is a good state school but not on the next level of competitive schools. The honors school has a really good reputation but it has been hard to find much info on it besides what is on the school website and just word of mouth.
@tutumom2001: “…D20’s high school has an online database that lets them log volunteer hours (parents volunteering at school are also included).”
I have not seen anything like this before, where the parent volunteer hours are logged along with a student’s volunteer hours. Does this carry forward to the student’s profile when the counselors and students are submitting volunteer hours for college apps?
@Waiting2exhale No, the database allows for separate parent and student accounts. The school uses all of the data to submit for a PTA award for cumulative volunteer hours or such for the community. I happen to work in government, and we have a friendly competition among the various agencies for volunteer hours, so it’s an easy way for me to keep track of mine for two different entities. I don’t keep track of my child’s hours - not my circus; not my monkeys.
I don’t think community service per se is a must have item on the application, agree with one of the upposter, it is what you do outside of the classroom that counts, and it could be sports and other ECs, including volunteering, part time job… nobody can do them all, I believe school would value varsity sports highly, they would also very much appreciate a part time job. Community service is always good to do, but not everyone has the time to do it, and that’s ok.
@makemesmart thanks. That is what I have been thinking but then I get those moments of panic, not that we can do anything about it at this point. She has a 4.0 GPA (unweighted), 5 AP classes and 2 college in the high school classes, 1440 SAT (she just took it once, debating if she will take it again). EC’s are concert band, jazz band, combo band, pep band; high school soccer, cross country and track; club soccer and working for the city parks and rec department. She does have a few small volunteer things but just very random and non consistent or anything. So generally I feel like she has done all she can do and it should be good but then I have those freak out moments of what more she could have done which I know is just ridiculous. If she doesn’t get into the honors college it won’t be the end of the world but the program is really appealing as it offers much smaller classes that are higher level thinking type classes for the basic stuff the first two years and offers more opportunities for research, working with professors… Thanks for letting me vent a bit to get my worries out. It is hard reading some of these posts and the amazing stuff some kids are doing. I think my d20 is pretty amazing but then you come on this board and it makes you start to question things!
@lkim10 Your daughter sounds like an intelligent, well-rounded individual in both the arts and athletics, as well as academics. I hope it works out well for her!
@lkim10 I wouldn’t worry about building the resume. There are literally thousands of schools that would love to have your daughter. The most important thing you can do now is to develop a broad list of schools to look at. Make sure she applies to a range of schools, with a realistic understanding of safety/match/reach, both in terms of admissions rates and affordability. I’m encouraging my D20 to go ahead and apply to a highly selective school (wont get in if you don’t apply), but don’t get your heart set on it. D19 was very pragmatic this year. She applied to a range, and did not have a first choice. Now she has some acceptance that she’s excited about, still waiting to hear on a couple, and then it’s decision time.
Thanks @momzilla2D I know she is more than safe getting into plenty of schools and we aren’t really worried about it. She really only has this 1 school on her list at this point. Her top choice is an in-state public school where she has guaranteed admittance because of her GPA and test scores so we know she will be in and she will have some automatic scholarships based on her scores. The school ranks #15 in the nation for the degree she wants. So it just seems like a no-brainer and we are having a hard time seeing the use of wasting too much time looking at other schooling options as this will be by far the most affordable option while still providing a very quality education in the field she wants. She thinks she wants to go on to graduate or vet school so saving money for undergraduate is a priority. Any other schools she would be considering would be OOS where the costs would be much higher. The only question mark is the honors college portion but even if she doesn’t get in for that I don’t think that would be enough reason to consider the other schools on her “list”. But she will apply just in case something crazy happen and it just seems like what you are supposed to do. I keep thinking we are missing something but all signs point so strongly to this one school choice I can’t think of one reason why she would make a different choice.
@lkim10 Our in state flagship also has a honor college. It is heavily driven by stats (GPA and test scores) not so much by ECs. Kids need to have close to perfect test scores to get in. There are separate honor programs that are easier to get into. Is there previous year student profile available for her target honor college?
@whataboutcollege thanks. I have tried to look around for any type of facts from past years but haven’t found any yet but I have to believe they are our there somewhere so I will keep looking. For the one my daughter is interested this is what it says: Our evaluation of your completed application and essay will be holistic, taking into account:
High school GPA and test scores
Evaluation of your response to the Honors essay questions
This isn’t the flagship school for the state. It’s the #2 state school so not as competitive. She is debating applying to the flagship school too but if it doesn’t have as strong of program in her area of study it seems silly. I think a part of her just wants to do it to be able to say she was offered admittance since it is the big school most kids are trying to get into…
Hopping on this thread because I’m tired of reading/hearing about the admissions scandal. D20 and S20 just received email – apparently March 9 SAT Test Date scores will be available March 22 (those who took essay will have to wait until March 25–27 for Essay scores). On pins and needles waiting for the scores!
Also, just wanted to give a shout out to Girl Scouts and how many great opportunities they have by staying in Girl Scouts through high school. My D20 completed her Gold Award last year and now this year as an Ambassador Girl Scout is applying to participate in the Girl Scout Congressional Aide program offered by our local Nation’s Capital council. Girl Scouts are placed for one week in congressional offices, including Senators and Representatives, during the summer in a 40-hour internship. They learn first-hand about our nation’s political process and help members of Congress and their staff with daily assignments behind the scenes.
They will also earn federal hours to apply towards the Silver Trefoil award. Unfortunately, we’ve been horrible about tracking Silver Trefoil hours and it’s extremely hard with busy schedules to earn all the different types of volunteer hours required.
@scoutmom2002 my D20 has focused on other areas with Girl Scouts, doing a lot of backpacking and serving as her troop’s outdoors coordinator and GAM leader. (GAM is a nautical intertroop competition). My older daughter was also the GAM leader for the same troop for 2 years. Love the leadership opportunities available through Girl Scouts!
@VickiSoCal - great! Wish “my girls” (I’m the Troop Leader/Guide and have been for 7 years now) were more interested in backpacking/camping. We have “glampers” though and while they do love the outdoor activities (canoeing, archery, high ropes, horseback riding) – they are a little soft when it comes to hiking/backpacking/camping. I’ve had to drag them on past hikes 
I’ve never heard of GAM - will have to research. Not sure about where you are but we also work with Kappa Delta sorority at local university (GW) to partner and do projects/events. The Kappa Delta Sorority supports Girl Scouts.
@scoutmom2002 both my girls bridged out of my cadette troop in to a high school troop that has been around 50+ years with a strong outdoors tradition.
GAM is so fun. They compete in sailing, swimming, lifesaving, canoeing, kayaking, signal flags, march, camp site inspection, morse code and more. It is just fun to see a bunch of teen girls coming together and displaying their skills in a non-academic environment. It is a great break for my kids.
@VickiSoCal - that does sound like a lot of fun…just not what any of my girls are into. Which is fine. Every girl has their own strengths. We are hoping to work on a new badge offered this year…College Knowledge!
Re: volunteer and community service hours. My S included a lot of marching band events and community service (city parades, performances at fundraisers and fairs. While in jazz band, they played for Kiwanis and Lions Clubs and a other events. It all adds up over 4 years!
Also got the email about the SAT score availability. I couldn’t remember if I actually sent her scores when I registered her, and in trying to find out, I stumbled upon the Big Future “Create Your Road Map” search on the site. I played with it a little knowing what D20 is looking for and while most of the results were the universities on her list, there were a couple of suggestions that weren’t. It’s a pretty useful tool for narrowing down your search if the student knows what criteria is important to them (rural or urban, small or large, how far away, co-ed or single gender, etc)