@homerdog I think when I signed up my kids we talked with the coaches. I told thr coach that I would give all my time to support the team and my kids would bring everything they got to practices and meets/soccer matches but they are going to miss 1-2 practices every month. Swim is 6 days a week and the body physiologically needs rest anyway. I also said I was not grooming champions or college athletes. S21 always did relays when the teams needed, got the USA Swim time standards so that kept the coaches happy. I mean, I was paying the club team each month so as long as they got their money, I figured why does it matter? Donât tell me you want your athletes to be well-rounded and not allow the space. In our area we have 4 comp swim clubs so that helped us with supply and demand.
@Creaky Thats great your kids didnât need any help. My D24 probably would need minimal help. My personal philosophy is that if Iâm going to fork over $70-85 to pay for the college app, I have the right to review and make suggestions. They donât have to take them, but I can still make recoâs. From a business professional side, reviewing written work and also interviewing Ivy Leaguers for my company is something I do as a work EC. It made no sense for me to not apply my strengths and skills to help my kids if Iâm helping other peopleâs kids. As an immigrant with no one to help me growing up, I saw the advantages other kids had. I wasnât going to waste my skill if I could help S21 and his friends.
Its sad, that this happens so often. My daughter was the top scorer in the golf team of her school and the district for 3 years. Since Golf is a spring sport in our district, she made sure that she can make it to the team if she took one period early release and had her athletics period in 6th instead of 7th. But in Jan she was told that she can not be in the team because she is taking athletics in the 6th period. They want her to take an extra filler course so that she can be on the team. She said thanks but no thanks and is playing in golf tournaments over the weekend in the local junior PGA events.
Our schoolâs policy is that in order to stay on a team, not only can you not miss practice, you can not go away over school vacations. Vacations have always been highlights of our family life. We plan them way in advance, often to visit extended family living overseas.
S24 is our first kid whoâs doing a school sportârunning all three seasons. He loves it, but weâre heartbroken about vacations.
Same. Coaches can be relentless. Also, team sports have a different vibe. Skipping practice or missing a game affects the rest. Itâs a big commitment.
I wouldnât want ballet dancers to get discouraged that choosing dance as their EC will make them less desirable to colleges. Princeton, at least, seems to accept a lot of them. Maybe theyâre all squeezing in a lot of other activities around ballet (my D19 did, for sure), but there are enough on campus to support 2 ballet groups, one classical, one contemporary. There are several other dance groups too, more hip-hop based. Itâs a lively scene.
JHU has a ballet club unrelated to the Peabody Conservatory, and IIRC theyâre building a new student center with a performance space, so I could see them being happy to accept a non-major dancer.
Yes, me too. Also, our son runs distance, so he would run/train while we were away, but the rule is absolute. I mention it to add to the conversation about how demanding school sports can be.
If S24 had other strong interests, and if he were aiming for a more selective college, he would need to seriously consider not running.
There are also just tons of dance clubs/groups also. My daughterâs roommate from last year (freshman year) is a Chemical Engineering major, but also was in a whole bunch of dance groups. She would be up and out early in the am and then back late at night between studying and dance and then second semester joined a sorority. I should ask her if sheâs still dancing so much because that is a huge commitment and Chem E is a huge time suck too, especially this year Iâve heard. But what a great combination and as someone else said, the endorphins released in a sport (this is still a sport too) to help with mental health etc and just de-stress when youâre in an intense college setting has to be great.
My ballerina has done pretty well in admissions but my mom, her grandma, seems shocked every time she isnât accepted and I explain she has some serious holes in her app. Her world, outside of academics, centers on ballet. Her friends, her time, her energy are at the studio. She doesnât have school activitiesâŠin fact the last two years she has done virtual school. We are lucky she has gotten the results she has. We still have four decisions to go.
That sucks, the distance guys can do the work out on their own. My S21 is part of the relay team for T&F so he really canât miss practice, but it was no problem to travel during XC season. He just did the workout on his own.
This worries me a little for my D23 who will definitely have holes in her application. She trains for her sport 20-23 hours a week year round, plus has a long commute each day after school to get there. As much as she loves her sport, she doesnât plan to pursue it in college, at least not at a competitive level. One bright side of virtual school was that she was finally able to join two school clubs since they meet online and she could fit that them in her schedule. Its so hard to balance it all.
The coaches said it was the rules of the governing sports organization regarding practice but luckily our theatre arts program was flexible and took my son in a secondary role on rest days after a meet. But agree, the sports commitment is exacting.
I am a doc and I would agree that after the training process is done, it is one of the few careers at that level that can be very family friendly. I currently work part time, am home every day when my kids get out of school and off on Fridays. I make a very comfortable salary. BUT I had to work to get this schedule, many weekends, holidays, and nights were worked to make this happen! Donât go into medicine for the $ or the âgloryâ. You have to love the work and really want to help people. It is definitely a service industry.
She has been accepted to Colby, Wheaton (IL), and St Olaf. Waitlisted at Wellesley, Grinnell and Kenyon. Rejected at Carleton, Macalester and Swarthmore. Still waiting on Barnard, Pomona, and Harvard. My guess is it will be Colby. Itâs a great school and one of her top choices despite the not obvious opportunities to take ballet. So donât worry too much.
@BertieMom@Curiosa2@RockyPA just reading thru a dayâs worth of posts, lots to process. But yours all resonated with me most.
My daughter is a dancer also, she has been dancing since she was 2, but seriously training and on a dance team since she was 7, at the same studio. Over the years she has spent anywhere from 15-25 hours a week in the studio between classes, privates, and rehearsals. And because we are in LA she has also danced professionally and is a member of SAG-AFTRA, and has also been acting since she was 6 in commercials, tv, and films. She is not a ballet girl though, more contemporary and jazz. Though she has competed at YAGP since she was 9. She used to do variations, went on pointe at 10, but she tore her hamstring several years ago, and had feet issues, and she knew ballet wasnât her path, so she stopped doing pointe (though still does barre and basics). She had duets and many ensembles make it to YAGP NY Finals multiple years but they never went, and they finally decided to actually go in 2019, and it was quite the experience. We also stayed and did tons of college tours all over the Northeast and New England. Her studio also does a couple other non ballet competitions a year too.
Anyway, while she has been able to do some activities at school (student gov, Ambassador, clubs, service), her major EC has always been dance. If you do something 20+ hours a week there isnât time for much else. She wrote essays about dance. It is a major part of who she is for over 11+ years. I sure hope colleges donât hold this against her!!! We were told AOs would appreciate the major focus and loyalty and passion her participation in dance has shown over so many years. She however is not majoring in dance, hoping to minor or at least take classes and be on some performing groups/teams. She is going for pre med.
She has managed to earn a 4.64 cumulative gpa through all this activity though. So fingers crossed she has some positive results in the next 2+ weeks as her final 11 decisions come out, since she had 3 rejections last week (sheâs had 8 acceptances so far). If not, no regrets on her dance days, it is part of her soul and what makes her her.
