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My Nephew is getting straight A's in school, taking all the hard advanced placement tests, getting tutoring for his upcoming SAT test and is on the track and field team. Though he wants to get into an Ivy League Elite School and I do not think he will get in because he needs to be something special to be accepted.
He tells me that most activities like Band, the Debate Team, Plays and Musicals and Yearbook etc are for Nerds and will destroy his social standing in school. I tell him they will look good on his college applications. He said he does not want to be a social outcast for a silly college application.
What do you recommend for this misguided young man?
Volunteering in some manner for the community on a regular basis.
That was a big deal for my second daughter who graduated high school in 2004. She was told that by her high school counselor and by admissions people from several different colleges during the process.
Your nephew is already participating in track and field. If he doesn't like that, then he needs to find an activity that he enjoys and then hope that colleges look positively at that activity. I am always concerned when I hear young people say that they are doing an activity just to look good to colleges. At some point in the college interview, that will come out and it will not be positive. I don't know where he goes to school, but students who participate in school plays or band and chorus are not considered "nerds," even in inner-city schools. I teach at a school where we always win sportsmanship awards and do very well in sports; however, students who appear in school plays are thought so highly of that play programs are autographed by those students.
He tells me that most activities like Band, the Debate Team, Plays and Musicals and Yearbook etc are for Nerds and will destroy his social standing in school. I tell him they will look good on his college applications. He said he does not want to be a social outcast for a silly college application.
And AP classes and the Ivy league aren't for nerds?
This man needs some proper socializing fast. The fact that he would buy into a system that would judge and ostracize people based on their after school activities is atrocious and appalling. This man needs some character building ASAP.
If he likes sports maybe he can coach kids in that sport. My son is a freshman and he plays football, wrestles and plays lacrosse. He also coaches football and lacrosse. He has been told that colleges look favorably on kids who volunteer in their communities. Volunteering can be quite enjoyable if your nephew finds something he enjoys. My son really loves coaching younger kids.
My Nephew is getting straight A's in school, taking all the hard advanced placement tests, getting tutoring for his upcoming SAT test and is on the track and field team. Though he wants to get into an Ivy League Elite School and I do not think he will get in because he needs to be something special to be accepted.
He tells me that most activities like Band, the Debate Team, Plays and Musicals and Yearbook etc are for Nerds and will destroy his social standing in school. I tell him they will look good on his college applications. He said he does not want to be a social outcast for a silly college application.
What do you recommend for this misguided young man?
I recommend he do what he likes best, what he has a passion for, perhaps. See more below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momma_bear
If he likes sports maybe he can coach kids in that sport. My son is a freshman and he plays football, wrestles and plays lacrosse. He also coaches football and lacrosse. He has been told that colleges look favorably on kids who volunteer in their communities. Volunteering can be quite enjoyable if your nephew finds something he enjoys. My son really loves coaching younger kids.
If your son loves the coaching, that's what he should be doing. The reality is that you can't "game" college admission stuff. There was a guy in my older daughter's high school class (2002) who was the valedictorian, scored 1600 on his SAT (old test, perfect score), was active in scouts, volleyball, synagogue, National Honor Society, volunteering, many other activities, didn't get into Harvard, went to Stanford instead. Probably a better fit for him, anyway, since he's from the west. But whatever. The latest scuttlebut is that colleges want to see a person do well at a few activities, rather than spread themselves too thin.
If he likes Track and Field (you mentioned he's on the team), he could call the local chapter of the Special Olympics and see if they need any help with their track and field program. He could even do one-time help at an event if he can't work with them on a regular basis. My husband did "lifeguarding" at a Special Olympics boating event one day for community service/military-community link service.
I am sure like others said too, local schools/clubs that do track would probably welcome his assistance.
My Nephew is getting straight A's in school, taking all the hard advanced placement tests, getting tutoring for his upcoming SAT test and is on the track and field team. Though he wants to get into an Ivy League Elite School and I do not think he will get in because he needs to be something special to be accepted.
He tells me that most activities like Band, the Debate Team, Plays and Musicals and Yearbook etc are for Nerds and will destroy his social standing in school. I tell him they will look good on his college applications. He said he does not want to be a social outcast for a silly college application.
What do you recommend for this misguided young man?
If he does all of that he will still have the profile of a student who applies and gets accepted. Ivy League schools are highly competitive and often those accepted and those not accepted have the same profile. He needs to find out his SAT scores and see where they fall in the range of those with a 75% or higher acceptance rate. He is taking AP courses and doing well grade wise but a lot will depend on how well he does on each AP test. A 5 is desirable and a 4 is minimum to be supportive of his application. A lot will depend on his interview and his essay. http://www.hernandezcollegeconsultin...atistics-2008/
He has probably already taken the PSAT tests and has some thoughts about how well he might do on the SAT. Your advice to him is accurate and he may have fear of failing or may have some insights he isn't sharing. How well did he do on the PSAT?
I recommend he do what he likes best, what he has a passion for, perhaps. See more below.
If your son loves the coaching, that's what he should be doing. The reality is that you can't "game" college admission stuff. There was a guy in my older daughter's high school class (2002) who was the valedictorian, scored 1600 on his SAT (old test, perfect score), was active in scouts, volleyball, synagogue, National Honor Society, volunteering, many other activities, didn't get into Harvard, went to Stanford instead. Probably a better fit for him, anyway, since he's from the west. But whatever. The latest scuttlebut is that colleges want to see a person do well at a few activities, rather than spread themselves too thin.
Kids have to do SOMETHING other than school to stand out from the crowd.
I don't think they should do things JUST for the college applications, but they should think about how they can take the things they do enjoy and make them work for them for college admissions. My son wants to go to one of the service academies so any type of leadership activities are a big plus for him.
If he's a junior now, and I assume he is if he's studying for the June 6 SAT, then it's a little late to show a passion for anything. Ad com's aren't dumb. If a Junior all of the sudden starts devoting hours to a new interest, they are going to realize it's just for the application and not a real interest.
The best thing for a student to do is to find something freshman year that they really like and delve into it throughout their HS career.
PS - I would encourage you to suggest to your nephew and his parents that acceptance to an Ivy League School is a huge gamble for anyone. More then 80% get rejected and most of them have the stats to get in. Instead of worrying about making him look unique, it might be more enjoyable to just find a college that will accept him as he is - maybe it's an ivy, maybe it's not. Sounds like a great kid!
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