Grade 10
Academically #1 with 2 other kids
Private day school, puts 15% kids in CHYMPS each year
No interest in sports, but plays in school squash team and does well (was state level in the past)
No interest in STEM, but extremely advanced in mathematics
EC: Music (composition/piano/cello - competes and wins at International level), poetry (National level, published)
Target Major: English and Music
Climate: No preference
Location: Not sure, but parents’ impression is Big City
Politics: Extreme Left SJW
Gender: Male
Other: Big foodie, lives for music concerts and photography
Financial: No restrictions
College search: Hasn’t started, not interested in starting
Career goal: BA, MA, PhD, post-Doc, teach, compose music and write poetry, and participate in politics
I would not start a college search while he is in 10th grade. His ideas of what he wants in a college can change over the next 2 years. Wait a year, get his standardized test scores etc.
High school for now.
In 10th grade, it is early to be looking at colleges now, since his interests and preferences could change. He just needs to do as well as he can in high school, make appropriate choices to avoid closing off any potential college directions (i.e. take the usual well rounded course selection in all of the usual subjects, as well as additional advanced or elective courses in areas of interest), and do his best in the extracurriculars he enjoys.
Although math may not be his main interest, it can be useful in politics (e.g. statistical analysis of things like polls and elections) and other situations, as well as give him another kind of mental practice compared to the kinds of mental practice in humanities (English), arts (music), and social studies (politics).
Actually, I had both my girls take the SAT in 10th grade in the spring to get a baseline idea of where to look. I am personally not a fan of kids who start looking at schools their junior year based on how the assume they’ll score based on practice tests. Plus test experience a plus to when taking PSAT in junior year.
Also, some schools under consideration might require subject tests. I think it is a good idea to take them at the end of the actual HS course since not as much review needed. For instance, took Calc subject test the semester completed AP Calc BC, test for US History after APUSH.
I don’t think it’s too early to think in broad terms and to casually go by any college that is nearby or near a planned vacation sight although I think prime time is spring junior year/summer. But it’s easy to run out of time, especially if you think you might look far afield. Maybe for now be sure to take opportunities at music competitions, etc that are held at colleges to also have a basic look around.
Top private schools around here are pretty aggressive about having students research colleges, take tests, etc. so you might want to see what school provides. If they are doing it, maybe too much from parents also.
Agree with post # 2.
Assuming he has top grades and test scores by the end of junior year he will be looking at the top tiers of colleges/universities regardless of possible majors. As above, a lot can happen in the next year or two. He will be looking at schools that fit him academically and socially. Probably no religious/conservative schools. This leaves hundreds of schools to choose from, both public (state flagships can be wonderful) and private. He probably will refine his choices of majors once he has been exposed to various classes while in college. It will be interesting for you to discover the path he follows.
Do not get caught up in the prestige of the colleges- HYPSM are not always the best school for everyone and there is not enough room in them for most elite students. He will do well in many schools that will have his peer group and academics to challenge him plus keep his interest.
There is no SAT subject test for calculus. There are SAT subject tests in math. Level 1 is for those who have completed algebra 2, and level 2 is for those who have completed precalculus and trigonometry. No calculus needed if the student needs to take an SAT subject test in math.
I agree that it should be high school for now. (The school thinks the same as well.) I just wanted to get a feel for how people decide fit. If you were to assume that the profile is unchanged in 2 years, which schools would you recommend?
If it were up to me, I would take the top 20 universities in the USNWR ranking, remove all the ones that are not in a big city, then slim the list down to those that have strong English programs. Then I would make a list of the top 20 conservatories, and slim the list down to those in big cities, and with strong music composition programs. Then I would cross compare the two and pick the pairs in the same cities. So I would come up with pairs such as Harvard and NEC, Colombia and Julliard, UPenn and Curtis, Johns Hopkins and Peabody etc. Correct thinking?
Aside, he took the Math SAT 2 at the end of 9th grade and got a 790 (no, he is not retaking it). He will take the AP Calc BC at the end of 10th grade. But that’s neither here nor there as he is not interested in STEM.
Wis75,
You wrote: “It will be interesting for you to discover the path he follows.”
I plan not to. Once he is in college he is on his own, and the parents’ responsibility will be to fund whatever he wants to do. Frankly, that’s how we have treated him through the 16 years of his life as well. He is his own man.
Don’t forget LACs unless he is adamant that small college isn’t right for him. You can get good music education at several LACs.
With his interest in food and live music, I’d definitely focus on school in urban areas or just outside with easy access via public transportation, which will actually take quite a few schools out of contention.
I looked at top-20 LACs but not a single one is in a big city. Same reason why some top conservatories like Eastman and Oberlin didn’t make the cut.
For LACs, you should not rule out the following:
Swarthmore: Just outside Philly, very easy, quick commute via commuter train. Philly has a wonderful dining scene (many chefs have left NYC for PHL), a great music scene and a great arts scene including outstanding museums.
Haverford: Ditto above, in consortium w/Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Penn
Carleton: 40ish minutes from Minny/St. Paul - not sure if it will meet preference to be in/near city but worth a look
St. Olaf: Same town as Carleton, good music school, although lower ranked than top 20 provides a good education
Pomona: near LA
Claremont McKenna: near LA and Pomona, part of a 5 school consortium
Oberlin: Not too far from Cleveland (up and coming food scene), has a conservatory
Thank you. This was helpful, especially the ones close to Philly.
@1Wife1Kid NorthWestern. Based on what you say, he will fit right in. Another option is Brown.
Would he necessarily want a conservatory, or would a good music program at a non-conservatory school be fine? Or the ability to take a good selection of music courses as a non-major (i.e. if he majors in English or some such and just adds music courses as out-of-major electives)?
Also, it is best to start by finding the safety schools which he is certain to get into, rather than focus on reaches and then do a panic search for safeties in the middle of senior year. English is a common major which lots of schools have strong departments in, and is usually not oversubscribed. Music programs may require auditions, so they may not be counted on as safeties, although if a safety school has a non-selective music major, or music courses that non-majors can take without restriction, that may be enough. Once the safety schools are determined, non-safety schools can be added to the application list.
However, math strength will help if he wants to learn and use the quantitative tools in the social sciences (like political science and economics), as well as if his humanities interests move into philosophy.
TBH I don’t know what he wants, as he doesn’t want anything right now. I was just problem solving to understand the right way to approach the problem. I know nothing about English nor about music either. So all these are good, second level questions, which for sure will need to be answered (and I have filed them away). I am sure there will be third level questions to answer after that. I suspect that he doesn’t want to attend a conservatory as that is too much work, and instead wants to take private lessons from a respected professor at a top notch conservatory and attend a few classes schedule permitting (which is what he has done all his life).
How does one determine a safety school? Again, assuming that the academic performance and EC levels remain the same, what would be good safety schools?
CollegeAngst, Why do you say NorthWestern and Brown? I went to Brown. Providence blows as a city. It is a close commute to Boston, but still.
Really? I think Providence is great but I love RI for all the water access. Providence has great dining because of the Johnson and Wales grads that stay in the area. And Boston and NYC are easily accessible via train.
Another plug for Philly is easy access to NYC and DC via train or cheaper Bolt/Mega Bus.
If any schools with automatic admission for his stats are academically suitable and affordable, they can be counted on as safeties.
Otherwise, finding a safety may be more difficult than you may think. In some cases, a student may have to apply several highly-likely-but-not-100%-certain schools to minimize the chance of a shut out. Beware of schools that use “level of applicant’s interest” in admissions, as these may reject or waitlist “overqualified” students who appear to be using them as “safeties”.
I was more thinking about great places to eat in an evening with no advanced planning, like an UPenn student can easily do. Providence is a small, small town, not a city. It is 1/10th the size of Philly.
UCBalumnus, I didn’t know that there are automatic admissions in any college in the USA. Are these for state schools?