College Addmission Consultants (Plano, West: private schools, universities, eat)

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by PISDstudent

My first advice is to take a deep breath and calm down. That transition to high school, espeically for people with high goals can be really stressful, but I think there's a lot less to worry about than most people realize.

Going into 9th grade, the only thing you should be really concerned about is that the kid needs to be taking the Honors/AP schedule. Often, the counselors will dissuade students from doing so, but you need to make sure that you're on the highest/most rigorous course sequence from day one, since PISD will weigh their GPA based on whether a class is honors, ap, or just regular.

That having been said, there's not much else you can worry about. At this point, you don't really know what it is that will potentially get your niece into college. My best advice is that she stay on the lookout for activities/competitions that she may enjoy or excel at - eventually, if you keep trying , you're bound to do well at something and have an accomplishment to tell the colleges about. Just speaking personally, the two strongest things I presented on my application were honors I had never heard about as a freshman.

My parents had me talk to a counselor at this exact same time... the end of 8th grade, right before I began high school. Quite honestly, it didn't help us much - all the things you could be told (work hard, do some community service, be engaged in some activities besides your classes) are pretty obvious. That hvaing been said, it was probably helpful having someone to talk to just to put our minds at ease.

Hope this helped! I won't be on here so much this week since it's my break and I don't have work to procrastinate on, but feel free to ask me if there's a question you have - I've been through all of this before .

This.^^^^ Seriously, she hasn't even STARTED HIGH SCHOOL YET and she and/or her parents are freaking about SAT scores and sweating college admissions? My advice to her and/or her parent - take a chill pill. Yes, it is important to do well in classes and transition well and all that, but fer cripes sake, if heaven forfend she gets a "B+" or whatever the world won't end and she won't be doomed to a life of ditchdigging or even "not being immensely successful.

Personal anecdote - I darn near flunked out of high school but was saved by luck and an uncanny ability to do well on standardized tests, I was on academic probation my sophomore year of college but for various reasons grew up and finished strong (albeit not "spectacular") my last 2+ years, wound up falling into an interesting career and now am doing better than or as well as almost all of my former National Honors Society high school friends. And although some of that has been my mad skillz, a darn good part of that has been "luck". Frankly, a darn good part of all of our lives is "luck". Yes, in broad brush terms skill and hard work makes your life better, but there's still a lot of variance in how MUCH better. A good friend of mine who was NHS and NMSF in high school (IOW, bright AND hard working), who knew his career path way back then, was laid off for much of a year recently. He now has a good job again, but much less certainty than he (or I) would have expected, and has had to "reinvent" himself a bit professionally. Things change, we get thrown curveballs, stuff happens beyond our control. We adapt and move on, and much of the time how we move on comes from things we learn in the most unexpected places.

You can plot and plan and analyze and evaluate and spreadsheet (raising hand here on that last one) all you want, but in the end sometimes you've got to go with your "gut" and realize that the destination is shaped by the journey and the latter happens WHILE you're making other plans. The two most important decisions in my life turned out to be where to go to college and who I married, and for both of those it wasn't a 30-tab excel sheet with countless vlookups or multi-colored and highlighted priority list that determined it, they were decisions that just FELT right. Yes, they were informed by my life experiences and all that and it was more than just a blind guess, but to some extent it was realizing that there were things beyond my control and I'd just have to leap into them.

The sooner this girl (and her parents, for that matter) learns that one CAN'T control everything, that sometimes stuff just HAPPENS and sometimes it goes "wrong" even making the "right" decisions with the "best" information one can have, the more successful she'll likely be overall. We often advance the most personally and professionally from the lessons we get when we stumble and fall. I'll also say that the true trailblazers, the difference-makers, the visionaries who bring forth revolutionary changes, are often NOT the people who are very very very good at one focused thing. Rather, they are very good in multiple disparate fields...and who see the links between them where others never have.

IMHO, the advice she should get is to be intellectually curious about everything and always...learn. Just gain knowledge in whatever piques her interest. Don't sit around memorizing vocabulary words, for example, but read/learn/experience/GROW as a person. These are her formative years, she should use them as much as she can because they won't come around again.

In 30 years all the things she discovers and investigates and expands her mind about now just might be the lynchpins in an illustrious career. But I can assure you that in 30 years nobody will give a flying fig if she got a 1480 or a 1320 or even an 1190 on her SAT, or if she got that B+ in a regular track class.

[PISDstudent]

Originally Posted by Tripolar

You can tell how overwhelmed I am by the blunder I made earlier. She'll be sophomore in fall and her brother will be freshman. Boy, I 'm glad that trouble maker is going with his parent. My niece's last SAT scores were 1690 and GPA is 3.9, not bad.

Is 11th grade going to be too late to start extracurriculars? What else she needs to know? What do I need to know?

It's never to late to start extra-curriculars, but the earlier the better. If she thinks that there's something she might enjoy, she should definitely start participating! So yes, have her take a look at what's offered at her school. I think my best advice would be that often, what sets you apart in applying to college is what you have besides numbers (rank, gpa, test scores, etc.). Make sure that she has the opportunity to be engaged with things she likes outside of her classes; colleges want to know that the student will make a difference on campus, in addition to getting good grades.

Really, there's not much you can do - I think it just comes down to making the most of the opportunities she's presented with. Have her pay attention to what her friends are doing, becuase a lot of times, your peers will find some really great programs, competitions, or other opportunities. Quite honestly, I think a lot of the top kids over at Plano West know more about getting into college than many counselors.

Best of luck to her!

[PISDstudent]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

IMHO, the advice she should get is to be intellectually curious about everything and always...learn. Just gain knowledge in whatever piques her interest. Don't sit around memorizing vocabulary words, for example, but read/learn/experience/GROW as a person. These are her formative years, she should use them as much as she can because they won't come around again.

This is very, very good advice. Quite honestly, having this love of learning is what will make your time in high school valuable, and if you genuinely have that love, it will come out when you apply for college, and really will set you apart. Too many kids do everything "just because it will look good to colleges", and ironically, that mindset keeps them from having the curiosity that colleges are really looking for. Prop to synchronicity for this.

[SMS_Parent]

Originally Posted by Tripolar

You can tell how overwhelmed I am by the blunder I made earlier. She'll be sophomore in fall and her brother will be freshman. Boy, I 'm glad that trouble maker is going with his parent. My niece's last SAT scores were 1690 and GPA is 3.9, not bad.

Is 11th grade going to be too late to start extracurriculars? What else she needs to know? What do I need to know?

I am a confused -- you say she is going to be sophomore but then ask whether starting extracurriculars in 11th grade is too late. Is she actually a sophomore or a junior?

With regard to extracurriculars, she should start them whatever age she is. Better to have something on the application than nothing. However, the major reason that I ask about age is test scores. A 1690 is okay for a student who is going to be a sophomore, but if she is heading into her junior year siting at 1690, I would actually put some effort into improving those test scores -- not just by passive methods such as reading, studying hard in classes, etc. but by actually preparing for the SAT/ACT. By the end of sophomore year, students have had all the math covered on the SAT and most of the math covered on the ACT even if they are on the track that starts Algebra I in 9th grade. A sub - 1800 score isn't going to be particularly impressive coming from Plano West and that is the pool she will be compared against. She might also want to try the ACT and/or talk to a college counselor about admission test optional schools.

[Tripolar]

Junior, 11th Grade when she joins PW. I'm officially loosing my mind. She is doing her sophomore year now.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Tripolar

Junior, 11th Grade when she joins PW. I'm officially loosing my mind. She is doing her sophomore year now.

First as others have mentioned - relax, formulate a plan, execute that plan.


Be ready with all of the following:
A. Volunteering/extracurriculars - IMO she needs both unless she has one that is a passion and requires significant time....
1. Vols - food pantries, North Texas Food bank (long way from Plano tho), Salvation Army store etc.
2. Extras - sports, band, jazz appreciation club, FFA etc.

B. SAT prep. IMO there is disconnect between between her grades and SAT scores. Grades lie often SAT scores rarely so. She's going to take the SAT for real next year so there is some time but not a lot.

B1. I'm betting she made a 169 on the PSAT not a 1690 on the SAT. Sometime soon have her take a free online SAT and go over the scores with her. She needs to ID her weaknesses. Also if she did take the real SAT and bombed the writing portion don't worry too much very few schools give that 1/3 of the test any weight.

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice

[Tripolar]

Thank you. When do people start courting colleges to show "demonstrated interest"? She studied in Iceland for 3 years and in UK for two years when her father was posted there. Could that add some interest to college application? Do you recommend KD for SAT prep or a tutor?

This site is such a blessing, to move to a new city and immediately connecting with dozens of nice local people ready to take time to guide a stranger as best as they can. Human kind is not as unkind as people assume. Thank you all.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Tripolar

Thank you. When do people start courting colleges to show "demonstrated interest"? She studied in Iceland for 3 years and in UK for two years when her father was posted there. Could that add some interest to college application? Do you recommend KD for SAT prep or a tutor?

This site is such a blessing, to move to a new city and immediately connecting with dozens of nice local people ready to take time to guide a stranger as best as they can. Human kind is not as unkind as people assume. Thank you all.

Court colleges by attending their guided tours. That'll get you on their mailing lists and computer systems. Her studying abroad is a significant positive IMO and she will have opportunities to chime in about that on most all college applications.

KD is fine. Our son self studied for the SAT and hammered it - we bought him a book and paid about $50 for an online course.

I owe you that phone number, for the person in Plano, but it's at home. I'd prefer a smaller class with guaranteed one on one time to get those numbers up fast.

[Tripolar]

Thank you so much. Is your son in college now?

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Tripolar

Thank you so much. Is your son in college now?

Yes and medical school in the fall.