The book, A is for admission?

Applying to College
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<p>"I don't necessary connect taking the most APs with the love of learning."</p>

<p>Nor do I. Nor do I even equate "the most challenging courses" with a "love of learning." </p>

<p>It is one of the few areas in which I very much disagree with the poster AdOfficer, who has stated that Calculus will be looked upon more favorably, period, than a humanities class possibly much more important to a non-math major -- perhaps a one-time course offering at the h.s., by a soon-to-be retired (or sabbatical) veteran teacher, giving students a rare opportunity to be challenged in a nontraditional seminar course, for example. </p>

<p>A student, for example a performing-arts-headed student (nevertheless applying to a liberal arts U, not to an arts U), may take some quite challenging science & social science courses, yet not have enough room in the schedule to accommodate those PLUS that h.s.'s unique requirements PLUS the student's true passions (an advanced music or art course, for example) PLUS calculus. And I'm not talking about a technical college, or an Ivy applied to, even.</p>

<p>Similarly, there is the example above of the student taking 6 semesters of English because of the personal reward. </p>

<p>I often, even usually, support admissions policies at most U's & colleges, but I vary in the way that I have just described. I also think that a blanket policy like that has a tendency to encourage insincerity & posing. There are lots of students who do indeed relish ("love") the most challenging courses, but one has to qualify that with the question, Most challenging to whom? An advanced studio art class may challenge a math/science student more than one more course in math or science. (Yes, I know, it means most intellectually challenging, but the point still holds. Artists tend to be able to do literary analysis in their sleep, while certain students not as free & fluent with artistic language may be quite challenged in a demanding lit. analysis course, both in apprehending the meaning & in expressing it effectively.)</p>

<p>This is not the only example I can think of, just the most handy one: My D will have taken 4 yrs. math, 4 yrs. honors & AP science, 4 yrs. social science (including AP), 4 yrs. foreign language (including Honors). Yet I'll be darned if I'm going to pressure her to take Calc her Sr. Yr. just because some admissions committee wants her to. She wants to take AP Studio Art, & tough if the colleges don't think she's been "challenged" enough. That's their loss. She'll get admitted to a college which values her choices & her talents, & is not looking for a cookie-cutter high school program that meets some rigid definition of "challenge."</p>

<p>End of rant.:)</p>

22

<p>3togo,</p>

<p>I have no problem with an avid student of science to seek out the most advanced science curriculum his or her high school has to offer; however, that's not what Hern</p>

23

<p>
[quote]
3togo,</p>

<p>I have no problem with an avid student of science to seek out the most advanced science curriculum his or her high school has to offer; however, that's not what Hern</p>

24

<p>jissell,
The problem (one problem) is that schools vary in the gradation of courses & their prereqs. At some schools you can take 5 AP's in soph. yr., which obviously means you would had to have skipped Honors or prep courses in at least some of those. At other schools, you can take no honors or AP's until jr. year. At still others, the year doesn't matter as much as the sequence: you can never take an AP without an Honors, or never take any advanced course in anything until you've taken the basic. When you consider all the different subjects a person can possibly take in h.s., there is often just not enough room in the schedule, with the possible math & science courses (for example) to complete these 'challenge' courses. And as I alluded to earlier, that doesn't even consider the core h.s.requirements particular to that school: religion, health, _<em>semesters of P.E., _</em>_semesters of whatever unique offering is there. At my D's school, for example, the requirements for graduation far exceed what even some Ivies require at entrance. I'm sure that's true of many other schools represented on CC, too. </p>

<p>The school day does have an end at some point. Hence, the need to make choices & eliminate. I just don't like the idea of a One Size Fits All for what defines "challenge" OR "love of learning."</p>

<p>This is not an argument against MH's books, which as I've said elsewhere, we used like bibles, with fabulous results. Mostly, what her books did for us is (as another poster said) describe the reasoning & process behind the decisions. That did not cause my D (and with my guidance) to create an artificial record or a distortion; it merely helped tailor the application with a view to the priorities that the committee was looking for. Thus, her first book provided guidance indirectly in how to word the resume, the organization of it, etc., without any falsification or exaggeration.</p>

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<p>re. Gatekeepers. I like A for Admissions because it explains the nuts and bolts of the process although I must agree it is not a very good read. Gatekeepers, on the other hand, I found to be a great read ... it gave admissions a very human face. </p>

<p>I also found it very encouraging as it is clear the AdCom folks really try to understand the student behind the forms and numbers so they can admit a really interesting class ... that is great news. What was discouraging was the reinforcement of how tough it is to get into an elite school. For me the book makes it clear how qualified the applicant pool is at a school such as Wesleyan and how LOTS and LOTS of perfectly fine applicants will be rejected.</p>