@choski94 not sure what grade you’re giving your speech to.
One of the more helpful things we were told was about timing of standardized tests. D took sample SAT/ACT tests, and decided which one to prep for, and prepped the summer between 10th & 11th grades. This took a huge amount of stress off her during an otherwise very busy Junior year. Likewise, with SAT Subject Tests, we wish we were more aware earlier on. It would have been good to get these out of the way earlier, which most kids can do, such as Biology at the end of Freshman year.
Another helpful pointer that was made early on was for kids not to spread themselves too thin on ECs, but instead dig deep on whatever the kid is interested in.
For Seniors, I think it’s all about 2 things.
- For the best chance of getting in, be authentic to yourself, and make sure your application shows who you really are, and apply to schools that value what you have to offer.
- This is a process, and it’s a good time to reflect on a number of things:
(A). This is not The Great Culling. Acceptance or Denial is Not a reflection of your worth as a person or where you will ultimately go in life. I really think you need to hammer this home. Acceptance does not mean that you’re “the best” and rejection doesn’t mean you’re a loser; at the end of the admission season you’ll all be surprised that some kids got accepted and others rejected.
(B) The idea of “the cream of the crop” going only to HPYMS is IMO just crazy and perpetuates the dangerous narrative that if you don’t go to HPYMS you’re not the best (and presumably won’t have as many post-college options open to you). WRT getting in, holistic admissions results in different admissions than stats based objective admissions, so some of “the cream” is getting passed over because HPYMS already accepted too many other kids in this student’s lane. WRT applying, shockingly (tongue in cheek) not all superstars will apply to HPYMS, for a variety of reasons such as finances (this is huge!), geography, social fit, etc. So to imply that “the cream of the crop” is at these schools is a false narrative; there’s cream elsewhere.
©. Life is long and you have opportunities to rise and fall all along the way. Just because you go to a HPYMS doesn’t mean you’ll be successful and just because you don’t doesn’t mean you won’t. College is a tool, not the end result.