<p>just a couple quick things that were my S's strengths.</p>
<p>a. Willing to leave the region and apply to a reach school that might consider him "geographic diversity."</p>
<p>b. Had the foresight to realize to make high SATII scores he had to prepare an afternoon for each exam. These scores greatly enhanced his stats. We have almost zero AP success in our schools still.</p>
<p>c. For those of you whose bright S or D's are not the ones with their hands in the air talking in class a few times an hour..for those of you with kids with some introversion personality traits...so that teachers sometimes "didn't get" them until months after seeing their written work, getting teacher recs can be tricky. Teachers often are "charged up" on the extrovert personalities which is understandable. But then how can they write a letter about a quieter kid that is compelling? If your kid has not communicated his or her personality and passion to a teacher..it is not too late.</p>
<p>My biggest point of pride was probably watching somewhat intoverted S manage getting his letters of reference like a young adult, not a child. This means
1. visiting your teacher rec choices by October 1 with a list of your likely colleges, and a couple sentences about how you would be successful in that school and why it is a fit..they were astounded at his choices and had no idea who he was or what his dreams were. Make sure your list makes sense.
That is make sure you have match colleges as well as reach colleges and you are not asking teachers to "sign on" to writing references for schools that are clearly not rational choices.<br>
2. Dropping by your teacher rec choices classroooms a few times to update them on college visits and finding oppotunities for the teachers to get to know who you are..IT IS NOT TOO LATE to form a bond with a teacher who had you last year or the year before. It is rewarding for a teacher to see a shyer student bloom and seek them out, not a burden. My son's teachers I believe became very fond of him during fall of senior year because he was prepared, gave them summaries that were brief and cogent re his interests, ECs and stats, and more importantly..he confided in them. They became very interested in his outcomes.<br>
3. Showing respect for teacher and GC time frames and deadlines. Be the kid who has done his homework and is considerate. Write thank you notes all year senior year. Even so..my son's school is so overwhelmed by urban public poverty issues, that his recs were not written or mailed to his colleges until after Christmas. Very worrisome. But the letters written after building a relationship with these teachers fall of senior year were worlds better than the ones you get if you simply put a form in a teacher's hand. Letters of reference take a lot of time for public school teachers.</p>
<p>We found it helpful to know where certain arbitrary lines are drawn in terms of range of choices. For example, the difference being in the top 10% versus top 11% for some schools. Another school was a clear safety for those with a 4.0 GPA and above (i.e. 100% of applications from our high school accepted), but became less certain for the 3.9s. In college, I read a thread where students said employeers in engineering were drawing a line in the sand at a 3.0 GPA for internships and jobs. Kids with a 2.9 or 2.8 GPA were having a hard time. </p>
<p>It's hard to change your GPA late in the game, so if your goals include places where this will be important, knowing early where the bar is set is important. This is particularly true for kids who have ability, but aren't necessarily motivated in 9th or 10th grade or goof off in an easy class and then are kicking themselves as juniors and seniors when they find their choices are more limited than they should have been. </p>
<p>If they know the consequences and still choose not to study (as is happening with S2), then at least they have made an informed decision.</p>
<p>I kept my mind open in regards to school choice and when I realized I wasn't happy with my list, altered it based on what my dream school really was. Find out the most important things to have in a college and select your choices to a degree based on that. Make sure to consider financial aid carefully and find schools that are generous with it (especially if you have high stats) if its an issue. Remember that in the end, the process will turn out to be alright even when it seems that everything is going badly and it feels like you won't get in everywhere. Researching the colleges are important, look deeply on the school website to find out all the little details that may turn out to be deciding factors in applying/deciding between colleges. Also remember that you can find a school you'll be happy with no matter where your stats fall on a spectrum. Look realistically at your stengths and what schools would like them to help choose colleges that would accept you. To love your safety, make sure it has a few qualities that would make you happy there. Of course, find CC and spend some time there to help you with the process. And enjoy it and have fun, the process doesn't have to be too stressful if you balance it out.</p>
<p>I should have added one point that was in some ways the most important:</p>
<ol>
<li> My kids did not get fixated on getting into just one particular school, and we did not encourage them to do this either. Neither applied EA/ED, and therefore also had more time to reflect on their choices both before and after the acceptances rolled in. They ended up with several very satisfactory alternatives in April. They weren't disappointed by losing out on admission to a particualr "dream" school because they didn't have one!</li>
</ol>
<p>Boy, do I wish this thread had existed in spring of 2005! Of the things noted below,</p>
<p>"The second best practice, I think, was to complete and send off several RD applications before hearing from his ED choice. These included both his number two and three choices as well as two safeties. He posted his ED application and forgot about it [well, at least put it out of mind] and concentrated on writing knockout applications for other schools. Again, for me, this was essential sleep-at-night strategy."</p>
<p>was very important for my D. 3 of the 4 apps that were done along with the early app were common app and this really helped. 1 of the apps was rolling admit...the acceptance to this school in November was very important to my D's confidence level and helped her get the other 3 apps in.</p>
<p>I was the one who suggested getting a nickname via the application. It worked for my son: When he showed up on campus for the interviews, it seems like so many professors and students already knew who he was by his nickname.</p>
<p>In dd#2's case it would be spending the time and energy to get into the summer sessions at the military academies. Her ranking of the academies completely flip-flopped after a week at each one. Also, taking the hardest classes available to her--in this case, classes at our local 4 year college as she is homeschooled. 3rd--keeping up with the ECs and sports...</p>
<p>Yes, absolutely serious. I think the creating a shorthand identity is a critical aspect of the application process, especially for schools that dont interview or for applicants that have weak points in their resumes. </p>
<p>If you dont mind the mercantile reference think of it as creating a brand, a persona, a handle -- what you offer that will make the adcom reach for you, instead of 8 others with the same statistical credentials.</p>
<p>Colleges are looking for interesting kids who do interesting things. It helps enormously if you can present a multi-faceted identity. At small schools where kids need to work and play well together and where the adcom has to populate the sports teams, orchestra, theater, student government from a small pool of kids, its essential.</p>
<p>The admissions readers process piles of applications. (Read "The Gatekeepers" if youre not already sufficiently convinced). You just have a few minutes to get your personality across on paper so a clearly defined and reinforced identity can help and if your scores, rank or grades are not off the charts it can compensate immeasurably.</p>
[/quote]
Yes it is, but in all honesty the nickname did not come from the application per se, but from his portfolio, which was submitted via DVD. Apparently the DVD was passed around to a lot of people, including some students. And since it included him introducing himself and some of his works, they had a face to put to the nickname.</p>
<p>I taught myself about the college process. I read books, visited libraries and didn't depend on the school counsellor but we were friends. At the same time, my son was in the full IB program, involved in musical pursuits beyond school and had developed a spinal tumor at the beginning of his senior year with accompanying pain. Pain was able to be managed. Yippee. I felt like I was the business manager. I had nothing to do with what he was doing in school but I would tell him when to write an essay, fill in a form, email someone, telephone someone. He did everything. I directed. It worked. And in between major scholarships, college acceptances, IB exams and graduation, we got to Israel for an operation and the spine, I can report now, is fine! And he is very happy at school.</p>
<p>Oh yes, and when he was 4 and ready to start school, I figured having an international education would be a good thing for a little hispanic kid from Texas. So as a teacher, I pulled up roots and took a job overseas. Been here every since. I think that helped too. :) We do what we have to do.</p>
<ol>
<li>The best thing I did with my son 5 years ago was to NOT read internet bulletin boards like this one, and to never even see US News rankings until after all college apps were in. A lot <em>less</em> stress. </li>
</ol>
<p>I honestly looked at the US News rankings for the first time when he was received an early acceptance from Macalester and I wanted to find out if the school was any good. As west coasters we had never heard of the school until they were so aggressively recruiting him as an NM finalist, and the school accidentally made it on to my son's college list. My son wanted a small LAC with certain characteristics, but to narrow things down he decided no religious-affiliated schools and nothing south of the Mason Dixon line. Macalester stayed on the list accidentally because somehow we missed noticing the Presbyterian affiliation until after the application was in. This probably was because we did use the Princeton Review book, and Macalester and most of the other LAC's he chose were listed as being one of the top 20 campuses where students "ignore God on a regular basis".</p>
<p>The result was that my son was accepted to 5 of the 6 LACs he applied to. They were all over the map in terms of rankings, but in terms of campus culture they were all pretty much the same, and my son would have been happy to attend any one of them. Several offered excellent financial aid, and with my son's open-minded attitude it was relatively easy to part with the admission letters from those that didn't. </p>
<ol>
<li>The best thing I did this year with my daughter was to insist that she apply to UC campuses, but otherwise avoid getting personally emotionally wrapped up in the process, especially since I think d. has gone about things all wrong. She wants an out of state private college but has applied to schools that are huge reaches for her, including one Ivy - but I'm feeling confident that she will have a choice of at least 2 UC financial-safety campuses where she can be happy.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>The best thing my daughter did was to insist on applying for fee waivers at almost all of the private colleges she applied to (that kept me from griping about throwing away money at reach colleges). </p>
<p>My guess is that even if d. manages to get into the reach colleges, she'll never get enough financial aid... but the cool thing is that I don't care. I figure that's her problem, not mine. I have decided that I will be absolutely delighted to have a daughter attending UC Santa Barbara - heck, I might even put a sticker on my car.</p>
<p>I'm glad I get to go through this one last time with the benefit of the collective wisdom on this thread! Thanks for thinking it up, quiltguru.</p>
<p>I'm glad that:</p>
<p>When d#2 came up with her final list, she went through every app and made a list of the essays and short-answer responses she'd have to write. There were many! Though most of her schools used the common app, she still had to deal with supplementary questions (which weren't necessarily "why do you want to come to XYZ U?"), and her primary essay wasn't applicable to some schools (I think she had the worst time with the U-Mich essay). UVA, for instance, had several short-answer questions that required much thought. The list helped my d to manage her time, because she could see how far she had to go to reach the finish line. </p>
<p>We bought the US News college issue in winter of each kid's sophomore year. NOT for the rankings (maybe I should have torn that section out), but for the state-by-state alphabetical listings of colleges and the accompanying thumbnail sketches (size, selectivity, majors offered, etc.) Each kid seemed intrigued by the idea of thinking about college "already," and each one went through with a red pencil, circling schools that looked interesting. This is a less overwhelming approach than thinking about all 3,000 US colleges - if they know that certain states aren't where they want to spend 4 years, there's less mind clutter.</p>
<p>When D got waitlisted at her top choice, we were offered help by her teachers and we accepted it with gratitude. She was never a kid to play by the rules and hadn't really made it clear that this school was at the tippy-top, so when a teacher and the headmaster wrote strong letters in her favor, they included this fact. It was only a week after May 1 that she got the call she was admitted. Though that was nearly six years ago, I still get a rush when I think about it.</p>
<p>calmom..you are the picture of sensible chic during admission seasons for your children with great outcomes. I am sure I should recall..but did your S end up at Macalester?
dig..I really loved your advice last season that students if possible should present a "handle" that can be thrown around in committee to ID you and your signature passion or EC or field of study. There was an article a year ago that included some dialogue about student applications at Bowdoin, and the students were referred to with "handles" like Theater Boy and such. My S aimed for a distinctive ID re his ECs although they were in no way rare or that distinctive, but he highlighted a couple veins of ECs and tied them together in his essays with academic path goals. I think his role on a future college campus was projected well.
Enjoyed knowing now where digmedia came from...cool!</p>
<p>I think the title of this thread may be leading some of us to recall only what we did right, not what we did wrong -- and most of us could put examples on both sides of the ledger.</p>
<p>I also think that this thread has generated a certain amount of selective recall. I certainly was aware of all of the standard rankings, for example, and given our son's record there was no question he could or would be applying mainly for so-called "first tier" schools (though he had no Ivy fetish). The search was therefore mainly one of making sure he had covered the risk scale with a variety of schools that were to his taste, but all (except his in-state safeties) pretty high on most people's list. (For my daughter, the problem was totally different, because she wanted to attend an art school, and it was extremely hard to get good advice about how to evaluate and gain admission to such schools.)</p>
<p>It was after his freshman year that I became aware of PR and its discussion boards, and I spent a lot of time on that board and recall very well some of calmom's threads (under a different name then, just as I have a different one now) concerning her son's admissions and financial aid situation. (No he didn't attend Macalester.)</p>
<p>So I think people should read this thread as a source of potentially useful but selective advice by me and other posters.</p>
<p>And BTW/ I especially value calmom's interventions here concerning financial aid and financial management matters. Nobody is more knowledgeable than she is or more willing to offer correct and appropriate advice on this subject.</p>
<p>One of the biggest things S did right before even compiling his list of schools was to go into the GC office and get the comparable information to Naviance or scattergrams. It allowed us to see where our HS had strong relationships and ties, and more importantly, where there was some question about that. For example, I just read the article about Vanderbilt regarding their bias against schools that do not rank. That may help to explain some surprising outcomes from our HS. The stats on WUSTL were very revealing. Very few got in there who did not apply ED or otherwise show strong interest in the school. Apparently they are very concerned about yield from our area. Some of the same kids rejected from these two schools got into schools that were much higher ranked. I can speculate about not knowing these students ECs, recs, essays etc. but definite patterns did emerge!</p>
<p>Faline, my son did not attend Macalester -- it was a nice early write for him, but he never visited & I have to admit that we are a family that views the geography of the US as consisting of 2 coasts with Chicago somewhere in the middle. So basically Minnesota would have been a stretch. Mac was great in terms of setting a good financial aid bar though - in the end their award was a good measure of what we considered minimally reasonable. Part of my son's strategy in choosing a number of similar LACs was to be able to use award letters as leverage for negotiating a higher award -- however, it ended up that the school he chose to attend was also the one that came in with the highest grant award from the outset.</p>