Navigating the College Application Labyrinth: A Parent's Journal from Junior Year

 As a parent, there are few experiences quite as exhilarating, and simultaneously nerve-wracking, as embarking on the college application process with your child. It's a journey that takes you through an emotional rollercoaster ride, packed with highs and lows, anticipation and anxiety, joy and worry. It is a path that is both uncertain and uncharted, and yet, it holds the promise of a bright future.

This blog chronicles my personal journey with my child through the maze that is the college application process. It's a narrative filled with countless Google searches, late-night discussions, endless paperwork, and the most pivotal decisions that are shaping path towards the next significant milestone in my child's life as he is at the end of Junior year in High School.

 

We had a session with five college advisors from Stanford, Duke, UPenn, Cornell and Berkeley. Here are the raw notes from the meeting and lot of good questions from meeting that will help. Sharing unfiltered and consider more as a guidance for planning your kids high school journey -

10 April College Outreach Session

# Do colleges recalculate the GPA submitted by schools?
Penn      
We don't! We read you in the context of your high school, so we look at your GPA as your school calcs it.

# Are athletic extracurriculars any good? or should I try to focus on academic extracurriculars more Whatever type of extracurriculars you enjoy is great! We look for dedication, leadership, and longevity in your extracurriculars.

# What percentage of your admissions are early decision, early action and regular decision
Penn      
We bring in about half our students through Early, half through Regular.

# Do you think that state governor's schools (summer programs) are beneficial when it comes to college admissions?
Penn      
They're a great way to show academic rigor! If you do a gov school, definitely tell us about it.

# To correct the above, it was asking a sophomore teacher for a recommendation.  Is that a red flag?
Penn      
We prefer to see recs from junior and senior year since they know you most recently, but if it's someone you know very well who you have kept in touch with, sophomore year is fine!

# If a student has set their mind pursuing pre-med, would it put him/her at disadvantage to show a lot of medicine-related experience in the application because pre-med/biology is overly subscribed?
Penn
Nope, that's totally fine! Your application will be the strongest for whatever area you are the most passionate about.

Commitment and longevity more important - How are you spending time outside of school, family responsibilities to support the family,

Core course work over 3-4 years of high school and think of the areas where you have most gift / interested. Interested in liberal understanding as from verbal arts comes critical thinking.

Duke - Calculus and Physics are critical

Berkley - STEM related activities are critical in outside school - Robotics team and doing research- Business on STEM focus and faculty want to see aptitude.

# Is there a % cap of how many students you pick from a specific school?
Stanford  

While we consider you in the context of your school to help us understand the opportunities you've had access to, you're not directly competing with your classmates and we don't have quotas from certain schools.

# is it okay to take high math and physics but passionate about Pol science and do lot of activities and apply for pol science for undergrad?  will it show as conflict in my resume?
Stanford      
We know students may have multiple interests, and that's great! If you have the opportunity to take classes related to your intended major in addition to taking the core courses, that's great! But if those classes aren't offered at your school, that's totally fine too

# If my friend and I co-run the same program or company as an extracurricular activity, does that diminish its value for either of us in terms of college admissions?
Stanford      
Collaboration is great! You should be open and honest about your shared leadership in your application.

# What if I don’t have strong passion on anyting particular, just a normal good student. What can I do to increase my chance to enter a good university?
Duke     
Some students are more well rounded and some students lean heavily into one area.  Continue to do what you love and achieve strong academics!

# Do you envision your school bringing back the standardized testing requirement in the future like MIT, Brown, and Yale ? How will the SAT affect your school’s admissions process ? Is Super-Score same as one-time composite ?
Berkeley / UPenn / Duke / Stanford / Cornell - Apply if you have good score or can go test optional or score free. Super score is what we consider if you submit multiple scores.
Stanford      
If you feel good about your scores, submit them! But no worries if you don't submit them. You may want to research a school's average scores for admitted students as you choose whether or not to send them

# What advice or recommendations do you have for a high school students who are looking for summer activities to enhance their resume ?
Stanford - Summer plan if research opportunities is important, if you like to volunteer in summer for couple of days do that too .. Summer programs are expensive and may not be what everyone can afford.

# How much do you evaluate AP scores vs GPA in the admission cycle ?
Duke  
Both AP scores and GPA are ways for us to look at your academic achievements.  Grade trends, the rigor of your classes, testing, and teacher recs also all speak to your academic strengths.  Most of us are hollistic in the way we review applications so we aren't looking at one thing vs. another.  We are looking at everything!

# Is it acceptable to not take a science course in my fourth year of high school? Many college counselors discuss the importance of the 'trifecta' (biology, chemistry, physics), especially for STEM fields. If I am planning to pursue a major in business instead, is it alright if I don't take physics in my final year?
Stanford      
For Stanford, we recommend three or more years of science (some examples include biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, human anatomy, and environmental science). We also recommend that students take approximately five academic courses each semester, including during your final year. These are just recommendations though (and may be different for other schools here today), we know that each school has different course and schedule offerings

Tell us who you are as a person and how you fit for the university.

# Do the students need to take 4 years foreign language course? Do you count the years that students took foreign languages courses in the middle school?

UC Berkeley     
We typically want to see 2 years of foreign language at UC Berkeley.  We do count foreign language courses completed in junior high.

# Stanford, Duke, and UPenn Rep: What majors are most competitive at your schools?

Duke
No majors are competitive at Duke.  You only apply to the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences or the Pratt School of Engineering.  Within those departments you can look at the different majors we offer and at the end of your sophomore year you will work with academic advising to determine what major(s), Minor(s), and certificate(s) are best for you- Duke

# are having officer positions in clubs important in showing commitment, or is a cohesive explanation of contributions and commitment to a club enough?
Stanford      
Either one is great! We appreciate leadership, but leadership can be different things, it doesn't just have to be a title. Your commitment, teamwork, and contributions can show your impact too

# Is it ok not to have a 4.0 GPA?
Stanford      
We don't have GPA minimums and we know that there are many personal circumstances that may lead to lower grades on a student's transcript. However, we are looking for students who are excelling in their classes and will be prepared for the rigorous academics offered at our schools

# is foreign language class just as important as core classes
UC Berkeley      
Foreign language courses are often considered as a core class for most universities. Therefore, they are important.

# Watch the people at school and a great way of to see if the students are stressed, laid back. Very organic experience on the campus.

# For senior year course selection, do you recommend to take Calculus 3 and linear algebra at the same time if I want to show rigor if I am interested in stem major?Thanks
Stanford      
While we can't provide specific course recommendations, we encourage students to pick a course schedule that shows academic rigor but also sets you up to succeed and allows you time to do things outside of the classroom too

# Is it okay to get chorus teacher rec though i am applying for humanities major ?
Penn      
I'd encourage you to look at each school's recommendation policy. At Penn, that could absolutely be your second teacher rec, after a core academic teacher.

# Will the schools give interview before admission?
Stanford      
Stanford has optional interviews, but each school is different! I encourage you to check our websites for detailed info on interviews