College Admissions Questions (4 Viewers)

[The_Man]

The College Board strikes again. On the Oct. 24 PSAT, students who missed one question on the math saw their score drop from 760 to 710.

A fifty-point drop for one question is not defensible, especially when the test is attached to National Merit scholarships score cutoffs. By comparison, students who missed five math questions on the October 10th PSAT scored a 700 (which is typical).

The College Board is a broken institution, whose tests are of ever-diminishing value. 

 

[bigbottom]

The College Board strikes again. On the Oct. 24 PSAT, students who missed one question on the math saw their score drop from 760 to 710.

A fifty-point drop for one question is not defensible, especially when the test is attached to National Merit scholarships score cutoffs. By comparison, students who missed five math questions on the October 10th PSAT scored a 700 (which is typical).

The College Board is a broken institution, whose tests are of ever-diminishing value. 

That's my son's PSAT.  If true, that's a real bummer (won't get his scores until the 10th).  But does the National Merit Scholarship really have a score cutoff?  I always thought it was a percentile thing.

EDIT:  Just checked and he actually took the test on October 10.  Sounds like that is good news?

 

[The_Man]

That's my son's PSAT.  If true, that's a real bummer (won't get his scores until the 10th).  But does the National Merit Scholarship really have a score cutoff?  I always thought it was a percentile thing.

Are you sure he took it Oct. 24? The primary dates this year were Oct. 10 and 13, but about 10% of schools gave it on the 24th, which was the alternate date. Speculation is College Board knew they had a sketchy test on its hands, which is why they administered it on the day only 10% of kids were taking it.

To get National Merit, you have to be in the top 1% in your state. They calculate that 1% by what's called the Selection Index. They add your Math, Reading, and Writing section scores, which each fall between 8 and 38, then multiply that sum by 2. The Selection Index for Texas last year was 221 - the national average is 218. You can google for info, here's a decent explainer I found with a quick search: https://blog.prepscholar.com/psat-score-needed-for-national-merit-scholarship

 

[chet]

My daughter found out tonight that she was deferred at Stanford.  Apparently, this means quite a lot as they don't like to defer applicants and quite a relatively high percentage (for Stanford) end up receiving offers.

 

[bigbottom]

My daughter found out tonight that she was deferred at Stanford.  Apparently, this means quite a lot as they don't like to defer applicants and quite a relatively high percentage (for Stanford) end up receiving offers.

Just need a bunch of admitted students to make the mistake of opting for Harvard or Yale. Keeping my fingers crossed for your daughter!

 

[chet]

Just need a bunch of admitted students to make the mistake of opting for Harvard or Yale. Keeping my fingers crossed for your daughter!

Apparently, the rough numbers for Stanford REA are 10% admitted, 9% deferred and 81% rejected.

This is in contrast to Harvard etc where their numbers are around 10% admitted, 77% deferred and 13% rejected.

I've heard ~50% of deferred Stanford applicants end up getting an offer--those who stay on the list.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Apparently, the rough numbers for Stanford REA are 10% admitted, 9% deferred and 81% rejected.

This is in contrast to Harvard etc where their numbers are around 10% admitted, 77% deferred and 13% rejected.

I've heard ~50% of deferred Stanford applicants end up getting an offer--those who stay on the list.

that 50% is excellent compared to what I have seen.  In the past I have seen students quote a 15% number when the deferred students go into the main pool for Stanford.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-2018/2038553-stanford-2022-deferred-applicants-discussion-thread.html

https://www.quora.com/What-sets-apart-students-who-are-deferred-rather-than-declined-from-Stanfords-early-admissions

 

[chet]

that 50% is excellent compared to what I have seen.  In the past I have seen students quote a 15% number when the deferred students go into the main pool for Stanford.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-2018/2038553-stanford-2022-deferred-applicants-discussion-thread.html

https://www.quora.com/What-sets-apart-students-who-are-deferred-rather-than-declined-from-Stanfords-early-admissions

Maybe the 50% number are those who remain on the list at the end of the process and don't pull themselves from the list.  I could be wrong though.

 

[gcoast3]

No merit at GTown (her first choice) or Nortwestern (2nd after visiting last weekend). At BC (she’ll get in, but way down on her list) it’s all of nothing, 20 or so kids get full boat Presidents Scholarship, but that’s it. Not sure on UNC & Vandy. Maybe some there.

Hard to come by even at that second tier from what I can tell. Supply and demand, it all makes sense...I was just a little naive going into it all I guess. 

We went through this trying process with our daughter last year, who applied to many schools with a 1470 SAT (780 math) & 3.99 GPA.  Got into Lehigh, BC, Rochester and others but very little merit money was offered. Ended up going to The University of Miami, studying BioMedical Engineering, where they gave her a Presidential Scholarship and is doing great in her first semester. I can tell you there are no absolute rules or reasons, no guidelines or books to lead you on this quick journey.  Other acquaintances got into prestiges schools with less qualifications due to reasons that seem not to take the most qualified applicants.  Merit money is tough to come.  Good luck. 

 

[The_Man]

Apparently, the rough numbers for Stanford REA are 10% admitted, 9% deferred and 81% rejected.

This is in contrast to Harvard etc where their numbers are around 10% admitted, 77% deferred and 13% rejected.

I've heard ~50% of deferred Stanford applicants end up getting an offer--those who stay on the list.

Sorry she didn’t get in but she’s still in the game, which is great. Just a quick question- was she interested in Chicago or any other place that has ED2? It’s at least worth discussing if you want to play that card. 

 

[BeTheMatch]

Any FBG's kids not going to Stanford, Princeton, Harvard or Yale?

 

[NewlyRetired]

Any FBG's kids not going to Stanford, Princeton, Harvard or Yale?

Yes, The Man's dumb kid only managed to get into Brown.  The shame.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Anyone familiar or experienced with any special or different treatment for Catholic high school kids applying to Catholic Universities?  After paying up for private school in high school I'm kind of hoping a public university will be in the cards.  But I have a feeling that my daughter (only a soph now) will want to attend a smaller school.  I've had people tell me that there are financial benefits available for these kids going to Catholic Universities, but these aren't parents with kids at the school and I haven't seen anything definitive.

My daughter's school has a really comprehensive college placement and counseling department that she'll start to get involved with in the coming months/years that will know this stuff, but just curious if anyone here had been through this.  

 

[bigbottom]

Anyone familiar or experienced with any special or different treatment for Catholic high school kids applying to Catholic Universities?  After paying up for private school in high school I'm kind of hoping a public university will be in the cards.  But I have a feeling that my daughter (only a soph now) will want to attend a smaller school.  I've had people tell me that there are financial benefits available for these kids going to Catholic Universities, but these aren't parents with kids at the school and I haven't seen anything definitive.

My daughter's school has a really comprehensive college placement and counseling department that she'll start to get involved with in the coming months/years that will know this stuff, but just curious if anyone here had been through this.  

I don’t have any inside knowledge on this, but I’m hoping the fact that my son is going to a well-known Catholic high school will help him with his Notre Dame application. 

 

[Kraft...]

I don’t have any inside knowledge on this, but I’m hoping the fact that my son is going to a well-known Catholic high school will help him with his Notre Dame application. 

We visited one Catholic College and there were scholarships available for students that attended Catholic High School. My Daughter didn't so we didn't look into it much but there were a few of them.  

She applied to three schools early, still waiting to hear back. I'm confident she will get into all three, it's the financial packages we are curious about. 

 

[chet]

Sorry she didn’t get in but she’s still in the game, which is great. Just a quick question- was she interested in Chicago or any other place that has ED2? It’s at least worth discussing if you want to play that card. 

Chicago's not the right place for her and I'd have liked her to apply to Northwestern but she wants to go out of state.  She likes Claremont McKenna which has ED2 but I think she should apply regular and do her best to get an offer from Stanford.

 

[The_Man]

Hey @Nigel - Georgetown tweeted around 6 a.m. this morning that EA letters are in the mail. Unclear whether they meant they were going out in today's mail, or had gone out yesterday afternoon. In years past, they've sent them out on Wednesday, so I'm speculating that they went out in yesterday's mail.

Good luck to your daughter! And if it doesn't go the way she wants, just remind her that Georgetown (unlike virtually every other school in the world) is harder to get into Early than Regular.

I've discussed it before, but for you and @chet, it's impossible to be too supportive for your kids as they go through this. For them to even be considered by these schools, they've done everything right for 4 years and to be told it's not enough can be very hard to take - especially when friends are getting in places, and suddenly tons of applications are due over Christmas break. I'm not exaggerating to say that my son's only bad time in high school was the three months between getting deferred in Early Action, and waiting to find out where he was going to actually get in. 

With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to say that these kids will be happy and successful wherever they end up. But it sure doesn't feel that way when you're rejected (and/or deferred from your "dream school") don't know where you're going to end up, and four years of killing yourself feels like a giant wasted effort. My younger kid is a sophomore in high school, and at the Winter Concert last night, I heard parents of seniors behind me talking about the decisions coming out today, and how stressful it all is. It reminded me of you guys and your kids (and gave me a preview of what I'll be dealing with again in 2 years). Wishing you all the best! Just be a cheerleader for your kid if they get disappointing news, and shield them from well-being people who get in their ear over the holidays asking about college.

 

[chet]

Great post @The_Manand also GL to @Nigel and anyone else awaiting EA decisions.

Yesterday, the school counselor convinced my daughter to not apply to Dartmouth on the grounds that it's not a social school and a decent social scene is important to her.  For the most part, I have been happy with the counselor's advice but I found this to be more than a little surprising based on what I've read and heard.  Can anyone speak to this point?  

 

[stbugs]

Hey @Nigel - Georgetown tweeted around 6 a.m. this morning that EA letters are in the mail. Unclear whether they meant they were going out in today's mail, or had gone out yesterday afternoon. In years past, they've sent them out on Wednesday, so I'm speculating that they went out in yesterday's mail.

Good luck to your daughter! And if it doesn't go the way she wants, just remind her that Georgetown (unlike virtually every other school in the world) is harder to get into Early than Regular.

I've discussed it before, but for you and @chet, it's impossible to be too supportive for your kids as they go through this. For them to even be considered by these schools, they've done everything right for 4 years and to be told it's not enough can be very hard to take - especially when friends are getting in places, and suddenly tons of applications are due over Christmas break. I'm not exaggerating to say that my son's only bad time in high school was the three months between getting deferred in Early Action, and waiting to find out where he was going to actually get in. 

With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to say that these kids will be happy and successful wherever they end up. But it sure doesn't feel that way when you're rejected (and/or deferred from your "dream school") don't know where you're going to end up, and four years of killing yourself feels like a giant wasted effort. My younger kid is a sophomore in high school, and at the Winter Concert last night, I heard parents of seniors behind me talking about the decisions coming out today, and how stressful it all is. It reminded me of you guys and your kids (and gave me a preview of what I'll be dealing with again in 2 years). Wishing you all the best! Just be a cheerleader for your kid if they get disappointing news, and shield them from well-being people who get in their ear over the holidays asking about college.

So funny. My son is a senior and he’s so done with it. He’s got one more application (to my alma mater) and one more financial aid application to a school he applied to and that’s it. I keep telling him to just get it done but I know he’s exhausted of it all.

He’s gotten in to two schools (only heard from two so far) and got an OK scholarship from Auburn and a really good one from South Carolina (a little better than in-state cost, but still waiting on merit/honors college opps). So at least he’s got his floor set at SC. UNC is still his top choice so I really hope he get’s that. It’s cheap since it’s in-state and he’s pretty frugal but it’s also a very good school and he loved it. He’s been a great student and honestly did almost all of this himself with just reviews, so I’m very proud and would love to see him go to UNC. It sucks waiting. 

 

[The_Man]

Great post @The_Manand also GL to @Nigel and anyone else awaiting EA decisions.

Yesterday, the school counselor convinced my daughter to not apply to Dartmouth on the grounds that it's not a social school and a decent social scene is important to her.  For the most part, I have been happy with the counselor's advice but I found this to be more than a little surprising based on what I've read and heard.  Can anyone speak to this point?  

Dartmouth is not a social school? That's not at all what I've heard - if anything, it's reputation is that it's the liberal arts college of the Ivy League. Very social, very school-spirit intense. If anything, that's what people say is its downside - that it's a little remote, and that the robust social life is intensely campus-focused. 

It also has the rep of being a little conservative, a little Greek (which ties into the social). Does she like outdoors and snow?

 

[NewlyRetired]

Dartmouth is not a social school? That's not at all what I've heard - if anything, it's reputation is that it's the liberal arts college of the Ivy League. Very social, very school-spirit intense. If anything, that's what people say is its downside - that it's a little remote, and that the robust social life is intensely campus-focused. 

This was my understanding of the school as well.

 

[The_Man]

This was my understanding of the school as well.

How's your daughter liking Trinity? It was highly social back in the late 80s (though I know that's not her focus). I've been impressed with the fairly new President and really impressed with the Admissions Director. I keep thinking he'll be moving on to a bigger name school soon, but so far he's stuck around.

 

[NewlyRetired]

How's your daughter liking Trinity? It was highly social back in the late 80s (though I know that's not her focus). I've been impressed with the fairly new President and really impressed with the Admissions Director. I keep thinking he'll be moving on to a bigger name school soon, but so far he's stuck around.

it is working out exactly as we expected/feared given her severe social issues.

She is doing well in school (has over 3.8 right now) but never leaves her dorm room unless she has to go to class.  She even eats in her room.  We are basically the only people she talks to every day.

These issues have nothing to do with Trinity, she had them in High School and would have had them at any college she went to.

 

[The_Man]

it is working out exactly as we expected/feared given her severe social issues.

She is doing well in school (has over 3.8 right now) but never leaves her dorm room unless she has to go to class.  She even eats in her room.  We are basically the only people she talks to every day.

These issues have nothing to do with Trinity, she had them in High School and would have had them at any college she went to.

Glad to hear it's going as well as you might have expected. I'm sure she is getting an excellent education 

 

[Nigel]

Hey @Nigel - Georgetown tweeted around 6 a.m. this morning that EA letters are in the mail. Unclear whether they meant they were going out in today's mail, or had gone out yesterday afternoon. In years past, they've sent them out on Wednesday, so I'm speculating that they went out in yesterday's mail.

Good luck to your daughter! And if it doesn't go the way she wants, just remind her that Georgetown (unlike virtually every other school in the world) is harder to get into Early than Regular.

I've discussed it before, but for you and @chet, it's impossible to be too supportive for your kids as they go through this. For them to even be considered by these schools, they've done everything right for 4 years and to be told it's not enough can be very hard to take - especially when friends are getting in places, and suddenly tons of applications are due over Christmas break. I'm not exaggerating to say that my son's only bad time in high school was the three months between getting deferred in Early Action, and waiting to find out where he was going to actually get in. 

With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to say that these kids will be happy and successful wherever they end up. But it sure doesn't feel that way when you're rejected (and/or deferred from your "dream school") don't know where you're going to end up, and four years of killing yourself feels like a giant wasted effort. My younger kid is a sophomore in high school, and at the Winter Concert last night, I heard parents of seniors behind me talking about the decisions coming out today, and how stressful it all is. It reminded me of you guys and your kids (and gave me a preview of what I'll be dealing with again in 2 years). Wishing you all the best! Just be a cheerleader for your kid if they get disappointing news, and shield them from well-being people who get in their ear over the holidays asking about college.

Thanks bud, stressful times for sure. Her understanding is that EA decisions for Georgetown will be available online 12/15 (Sat), and BC next week. Would be great if a letter makes it to us before that. We've tried to temper expectations on Georgetown citing their unusually low EA acceptance rate but knowing her she will find no solace in that if she doesn't get good news, so we're ready to help her through that when/if bad news comes. We'll all be shocked if she doesn't get into BC given me, my wife and a bunch of other close relatives went there, coupled with all her individual accomplishments. So a yes there and no at G'Town will still be a letdown in her view. I'll be happy to have one option locked up though.

Best of luck @chet and others.

 

[stbugs]

Dartmouth is not a social school? That's not at all what I've heard - if anything, it's reputation is that it's the liberal arts college of the Ivy League. Very social, very school-spirit intense. If anything, that's what people say is its downside - that it's a little remote, and that the robust social life is intensely campus-focused. 

It also has the rep of being a little conservative, a little Greek (which ties into the social). Does she like outdoors and snow?

I know Dartmouth very well. Definitely would say it’s a very social school. As you said it’s not in a city so the social life is student/campus based. It was considered a pretty big party school way back when. 

 

[Nigel]

I know Dartmouth very well. Definitely would say it’s a very social school. As you said it’s not in a city so the social life is student/campus based. It was considered a pretty big party school way back when. 

It was the inspiration for Animal House, no?

 

[stbugs]

It was the inspiration for Animal House, no?

Yes. The creator of that went there. He also came back (yes, I went there) and hung out at parties and wrote an article in Playboy about all of the parties he attended. Way back in non-PC world it was really cool to see my fraternity party mentioned. 

 

[Lehigh98]

I was driving with my 12 and 10 year old boys last night and somehow we got to discussing standardized testing, then SAT's, then college and getting into college and I thought of you guys.  We're a year and half away from even starting high school and I'm not looking forward to this!

 

[Nigel]

Looking into it further, we'll need to wait for the letter to arrive from Georgetown...no online notification.

 

[The_Man]

Looking into it further, we'll need to wait for the letter to arrive from Georgetown...no online notification.

Yeah - their admissions office is a true outlier. They seem to care more about weeding out people who aren't really interested in Georgetown, vs. making it as easy as possible to attract applications in order to boost their selectivity. Not on the Common App, 3 Subject Tests, no electronic notification about decisions. 

 

[Lehigh98]

Lastly, she wants to be an Actuary.

This is amazing to me.  I didn't have an idea what I wanted to do until I started internship interviews.  I even had to look up what an Actuary is and I'm 42.  How did she come to decide on that?

 

[chet]

Yeah - their admissions office is a true outlier. They seem to care more about weeding out people who aren't really interested in Georgetown, vs. making it as easy as possible to attract applications in order to boost their selectivity. Not on the Common App, 3 Subject Tests, no electronic notification about decisions. 

Amazing.  I've got to think that there's an 80yo dinosaur running that admissions office.

 

[Nigel]

A male in my daughter's class who makes up the other half of the consensus 1/2 (no official rankings, but he'd likely be ahead of her), who along with her received the Harvard Book Prize, found out yesterday he was accepted early to Harvard. Her reaction of course was "OMG...if I don't get into Georgetown I'm going to be PISSED!!"

God help me if this goes poorly.  

 

[Al Czervik]

Have a current HS senior and he is feeling the pressures of the college admission process big time right now.  He wants to stay close to home (MI) and has been accepted to a MSU as well as most of the near by MAC schools and a few D2 and D3 schools in Michigan.  He has been fortunate enough to be offered baseball scholarships to 3 schools so far and is talking to 4 others, which brings an added component of stress to the decision making process.

I have not read all 20 pages of this thread and I'm sure it has already been said, but #### this #### is expensive!

 

[bigbottom]

A male in my daughter's class who makes up the other half of the consensus 1/2 (no official rankings, but he'd likely be ahead of her), who along with her received the Harvard Book Prize, found out yesterday he was accepted early to Harvard. Her reaction of course was "OMG...if I don't get into Georgetown I'm going to be PISSED!!"

God help me if this goes poorly.  

Ugh.  My stomach would be in knots.  I guess we're lucky in that our son has a couple schools he really likes, but he doesn't really have his heart set on any one school.

 

[Fear The Turtle]

I was driving with my 12 and 10 year old boys last night and somehow we got to discussing standardized testing, then SAT's, then college and getting into college and I thought of you guys.  We're a year and half away from even starting high school and I'm not looking forward to this!

My advice is to get started now. Get them interested in some charity, cause, etc. that they can continue to be involved in through their high school years. It won't seem as blatant a resume pad if they start now as opposed to their sophomore or junior year. Might even give them an interesting college essay topic: "I was 10 when I attended my first Diabetes March..." Oh, yeah, it might even do them some good, too.  

 

[stbugs]

My advice is to get started now. Get them interested in some charity, cause, etc. that they can continue to be involved in through their high school years. It won't seem as blatant a resume pad if they start now as opposed to their sophomore or junior year. Might even give them an interesting college essay topic: "I was 10 when I attended my first Diabetes March..." Oh, yeah, it might even do them some good, too.  

Not too early. Let them have fun now. I know most of the academic clubs my senior son is in have a bunch of charitable hours everyone needs to complete. He’s done other things outside of those but plenty of time to get that going.

Honestly, it just seems like kids aren’t really just having those summers and timeoff I remember having. Sports were fun but not overly serious until high school.

 

[Fear The Turtle]

Not too early. Let them have fun now. I know most of the academic clubs my senior son is in have a bunch of charitable hours everyone needs to complete. He’s done other things outside of those but plenty of time to get that going.

Honestly, it just seems like kids aren’t really just having those summers and timeoff I remember having. Sports were fun but not overly serious until high school.

I'm just talking about minimal participation right now. Maybe even just one function or event a year. But something they can point to in order to demonstrate extended involvement. It can even be a "fun" cause or charity, perhaps something they can do with their friends.

 

[Fishboy]

This is amazing to me.  I didn't have an idea what I wanted to do until I started internship interviews.  I even had to look up what an Actuary is and I'm 42.  How did she come to decide on that?

She's been locked on becoming an Actuary since probably 7th or 8th grade.  While she's a gifted student, math has always been her passion.  She's flat out said that doing math problems makes her "happy".  Hey, whatever floats her boat. 

In school, they administered some testing that recommended fields of interest back in middle school.  Actuary was at the top of the list back then.  Heck,she didn't even know what one was back then either.  Then as she did more and more research on the occupation and industry, she became more and more convinced this is the choice for her.  LOL - she looks at the salary sites and keeps claiming she'll be making bank a few years after graduation.  Which is pretty accurate from all that I've read as well.  They are in high demand and are compensated very well. 

So, I have one sophomore daughter in college who is going to be a nurse that will keep me alive and one upcoming college freshman who is going to be an actuary and tell me when I'm going to die.  Let's see which daughter wins.   

 

[E-Z Glider]

I was driving with my 12 and 10 year old boys last night and somehow we got to discussing standardized testing, then SAT's, then college and getting into college and I thought of you guys.  We're a year and half away from even starting high school and I'm not looking forward to this!

Our counselor gave us some great advice as my daughter was an incoming freshman that's really paying off 4 years later. He basically told her that nothing she had done previously in her school career mattered to the future college of her dreams, but everything she did from this point on, would. He told us to keep a "resume folder" so we had a place to keep everything important from her 4-years of high school. She got so many little awards and acknowledgements and participated in all kinds of activities and events over the years, it would've been impossible to try to remember it all. Was very easy to pull out the folder and have it all there when it came time to fill out her application.

 

[stbugs]

I'm just talking about minimal participation right now. Maybe even just one function or event a year. But something they can point to in order to demonstrate extended involvement. It can even be a "fun" cause or charity, perhaps something they can do with their friends.

No worries, I know what you meant. I just know parents are probably getting their middle school kids ready for college. Knowing how exhausted by the college testing and application process my son is, I can’t imagine how burnt out kids starting that early will be and how much pressure they’ll put on themselves for a bad grade. 

 

[stbugs]

Our counselor gave us some great advice as my daughter was an incoming freshman that's really paying off 4 years later. He basically told her that nothing she had done previously in her school career mattered to the future college of her dreams, but everything she did from this point on, would. He told us to keep a "resume folder" so we had a place to keep everything important from her 4-years of high school. She got so many little awards and acknowledgements and participated in all kinds of activities and events over the years, it would've been impossible to try to remember it all. Was very easy to pull out the folder and have it all there when it came time to fill out her application.

Agree with this. We did the same although honestly my son was pretty good about remembering all the big stuff. He didn’t really sweat the small stuff, if you’ve gotten all As, there’s no need to put in each semester’s award. College’s have your transcript. 

 

[Lehigh98]

I'm just talking about minimal participation right now. Maybe even just one function or event a year. But something they can point to in order to demonstrate extended involvement. It can even be a "fun" cause or charity, perhaps something they can do with their friends.

I've been meaning to get the family involved in some type of charitable activity but we always get so distracted with sports and other activities.  This may be a good reason to try a little harder to start getting involved.  Any suggestions for best way to get started?  Not just for resume padding but for good grounding experiences for kids.  My FIL was recently diagnosed with ALS so that seems like the obvious route to start with as far as benefit walks, etc.  Family friends had their mother pass away from it so maybe we could team up on it with friends too.  Previously was thinking about volunteering in some capacity with the "less fortunate" to show the kids how good they actually have it but wasn't sure how to best get involved with having us working  "downtown".  Sorry for the side track...

 

[Kraft...]

I've been meaning to get the family involved in some type of charitable activity but we always get so distracted with sports and other activities.  This may be a good reason to try a little harder to start getting involved.  Any suggestions for best way to get started?  Not just for resume padding but for good grounding experiences for kids.  My FIL was recently diagnosed with ALS so that seems like the obvious route to start with as far as benefit walks, etc.  Family friends had their mother pass away from it so maybe we could team up on it with friends too.  Previously was thinking about volunteering in some capacity with the "less fortunate" to show the kids how good they actually have it but wasn't sure how to best get involved with having us working  "downtown".  Sorry for the side track...

Cradles to Crayons is a great organization and volunteering is very kid friendly(sorting cloths/toys/book etc.). Signing up is very low friction and they have a branch in Philly  

 

[bigbottom]

I’m a huge fan of getting kids involved in volunteerism. One pretty organized way to get your middle school/junior high age kids involved is through charity leagues that exist in a number of bigger cities. They have names like National Charity League and Alpha Charity League.  They are typically parent/child organizations, but the kids are supposed to drive a lot of the decision-making in terms of what activities they do and what organizations they support. And then in high school, there will be volunteer hours required if you join National Honor Society.  The added benefit of these organizations is that there are leadership opportunities as well. Some of the volunteer efforts my son has engaged in over the years are as follows:

Food bank (sorting donated food items, preparing lunches)

Retirement community (leading activities, scheduled one on visiting time with residents)

Charter school (organizing and leading activities for younger kids, general grunt work, cleaning out a storage unit, etc. around the campus)

Church (volunteering at the church bazaar and other events - they always need bodies)

Vacation Bible School (helping lead a class of younger kids)

Charity Events (rather than run in the local 5k, be a volunteer to help put it on - put out cones, work a water station, etc.)

Note that the above examples aren’t just one shot couple hour activities (except the last one), but rather are larger time commitments (often 40 hours plus during the summer).  But as busy as our lives are, you can always find time for volunteerism, and the opportunities are endless. And if you can instill a spirit of volunteerism in your child, you will have helped make the world a better place and improved the likelihood that your child ultimately lives a life of meaning. Will it ultimately make a difference in your child’s college applications?  Perhaps, but that’s really just a side benefit. 

 

[Nigel]

Deferred at G’Town. And I way underestimated how crushed she’d be. Inconsolable.  :(

 

[bigbottom]

I'm so sorry to hear that.  She'll have so many opportunities at other schools, but I know that's little consolation when she has her heart set on this one.

 

[Nigel]

I'm so sorry to hear that.  She'll have so many opportunities at other schools, but I know that's little consolation when she has her heart set on this one.

Thanks man. This was a big fork in the road as far as how the next three months played out for her. She’ll be taking the rougher path - that’s life.  

 

[NewlyRetired]

Thanks man. This was a big fork in the road as far as how the next three months played out for her. She’ll be taking the rougher path - that’s life.  

it is of no consolation to a teenager but when the moments get better remind her that >99% of the kids in the country would love to change places with her.