Recently I've had a sophomore parent and student ask me about a creamy vanilla envelop with a "congratulations letter" in it. It's from the National Scholars Program.
Is this letter legit?
Is it a scam?
Will this really shimmer on a resume and impress an admission committee?
Hmmm.
First. National Scholar Programs do go after promising future scholars. There is nothing "scammy" about who they recruit. Nor should you feel like a sucker if you do pay the entry fee. A National certificate of this caliber is something that you can put on your resume to underscore that you have been nationally recognized for your academic achievements.
Will it shimmer though?
Hmmm.
Here is what I've learned. If you have to pay for it, a college admissions committee will often chalk it up to privilege. If, however, you have to work for it then it speaks of responsibility.
Colleges are far more interested in honors/awards/certificates that a student earns within his/her own school. And local community.
So in the future, when in doubt, apply the "x=PoR" litmus test: Does [x] = Privilege? Or does [x] = Responsibility? This will help you weigh pros and cons of any program.
Showing posts with label Dear Mr. Bottomly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dear Mr. Bottomly. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Dear Mr. Bottomly - ACT/SAT Question
Got this e-mail this morning from a sophomore parent about ACT/SAT.
As far as test prep – he might want to do a few practice sessions either online or in a book. But not much. Don’t want to overwhelm. Just enough for your son to gain a sense of how the test and questions are structured. Then a good night sleep. A healthy breakfast. And go for it!
Once we see where your son scores strong and not so strong, we can address how we might shore those sections up. There are ample options there. As an English teacher, I must insert one caveat: reading for reading sake is a good thing, but reading can also help you augment your test scores. So read this summer. One suggested reading - From Ashes to Africa. Heard the co-authors are being considered for a Pulitzer. JK. Read, though. Read the Twilight series (or not). Read magazines. Newspapers. Online articles. Read. Read. Read. One thing we did on the Junior newsletter is provide a list of recommended books from English and History faculty. There are some awesome suggestions from our esteemed colleagues. Encourage your son to peruse that list.
Speaking of Junior Newsletter – have you perused the Spring edition?
The Junior edition newsletter is linked on the right side. Upper corner. See it? Good.
I have a question for you regarding the SAT/ACT for my son. We were thinking that our son should go ahead and take both tests on the June 2009 test date since school is out and he would’t have many other distractions.
Do you have any advice or comments regarding my son and the June testing dates? Should we go ahead and have our son take the tests in June?
Do you have any advice or comments regarding my son and the June testing dates? Should we go ahead and have our son take the tests in June?
No harm in your son taking both tests in June. I agree that this will be the most “distraction” free period all year. Plus it will be the time of year that your son is chalk-full of knowledge. All that cramming for the final exams... His "mental jar" will be as full as it can get!
As far as the test itself, I’d encourage your son not to send scores to any colleges. "Student choice" means your son can wait and see first his scores before colleges see them. The only drawback of this option is that students will not be able to take advantage of the 5 colleges that ACT/SAT will send scores to for free.
As far as the test itself, I’d encourage your son not to send scores to any colleges. "Student choice" means your son can wait and see first his scores before colleges see them. The only drawback of this option is that students will not be able to take advantage of the 5 colleges that ACT/SAT will send scores to for free.
As far as test prep – he might want to do a few practice sessions either online or in a book. But not much. Don’t want to overwhelm. Just enough for your son to gain a sense of how the test and questions are structured. Then a good night sleep. A healthy breakfast. And go for it!
Once we see where your son scores strong and not so strong, we can address how we might shore those sections up. There are ample options there. As an English teacher, I must insert one caveat: reading for reading sake is a good thing, but reading can also help you augment your test scores. So read this summer. One suggested reading - From Ashes to Africa. Heard the co-authors are being considered for a Pulitzer. JK. Read, though. Read the Twilight series (or not). Read magazines. Newspapers. Online articles. Read. Read. Read. One thing we did on the Junior newsletter is provide a list of recommended books from English and History faculty. There are some awesome suggestions from our esteemed colleagues. Encourage your son to peruse that list.
Speaking of Junior Newsletter – have you perused the Spring edition?
The Junior edition newsletter is linked on the right side. Upper corner. See it? Good.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dear Mr. Bottomly Part B
This is a continuation of a e-mail conversation I had with a 9th grade parent.
Parent's e-mail:
Would the classes he takes in the 12th grade be counted for college admission since the decisions will be made before he can have the final grades of the courses?
He has been getting good grades (A and above). What else should he do to make himself stand out? He has been playing the Cello since 6 years old and is quite good at it, but he is not very good at sports. He does not know which direction he wants to develop into at the moment, i.e., science or humanity. He likes both. Is it good for him to have an emphasis at this stage?
My response:
The "senior myth" tends like a siren to seduce many senior students. The myth is this: senior courses and grades don't really count. That's the year every student "lets of the petal a bit" and puts it on cruise control.
Wrong!
Senior course selection and grades do count - especially the more selective the school. Sometimes though students will apply what is called EA, which stands for Early Action, or ED, which stands for Early Decision. In this case, a student will apply before November 1 and hear back sometime before or right after Christmas. Typically, then, a college will make decision about this student before Casady senior grades are sent out. However, just because colleges won't see the senior's fall grades, the colleges will see on the Casady transcript the course selection - this of course which the colleges will intensely scrutinize. So yes, it is important to combine judicious course selection with exigent course performance.
In response to your other questions.
As far as what else – if your son loves the Cello then encourage him to keep pursing that passion. Colleges are not looking for breath as much as depth. Quality over quantity. “Demonstrated Passion” is what I like to call it – whether it is playing the Cello or riding a horse of playing athletics. In addition, I’d at least consider looking at summer learning programs [not necessarily “leadership” programs] either in the US at a Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Duke or outside of the US at an Oxford. There are always summer program opportunities that we put up on our college counseling board. Encourage your son to come by and look for opportunities.
I’d also encourage you to help your son find a job. Sometimes expensive programs
smack of privilege; a job, in contrast, speaks of responsibility. The Dean of Harvard, Bill Fitzsimmons, told me last summer: “A job at McDonald’s is more impressive to our committee than any leadership program a kid attends. “
I’d also encourage you to purchase the book Winning the College Admission Game by Peter Van Buskirk. You can click here to purchase the book. Peter WILL BE COMING TO CASADY IN SEPTEMBER to speak to students and parents 9th-11th grade. Mark that date when we post it. You won’t want to miss him!
Parent's e-mail:
Would the classes he takes in the 12th grade be counted for college admission since the decisions will be made before he can have the final grades of the courses?
He has been getting good grades (A and above). What else should he do to make himself stand out? He has been playing the Cello since 6 years old and is quite good at it, but he is not very good at sports. He does not know which direction he wants to develop into at the moment, i.e., science or humanity. He likes both. Is it good for him to have an emphasis at this stage?
My response:
The "senior myth" tends like a siren to seduce many senior students. The myth is this: senior courses and grades don't really count. That's the year every student "lets of the petal a bit" and puts it on cruise control.
Wrong!
Senior course selection and grades do count - especially the more selective the school. Sometimes though students will apply what is called EA, which stands for Early Action, or ED, which stands for Early Decision. In this case, a student will apply before November 1 and hear back sometime before or right after Christmas. Typically, then, a college will make decision about this student before Casady senior grades are sent out. However, just because colleges won't see the senior's fall grades, the colleges will see on the Casady transcript the course selection - this of course which the colleges will intensely scrutinize. So yes, it is important to combine judicious course selection with exigent course performance.
In response to your other questions.
As far as what else – if your son loves the Cello then encourage him to keep pursing that passion. Colleges are not looking for breath as much as depth. Quality over quantity. “Demonstrated Passion” is what I like to call it – whether it is playing the Cello or riding a horse of playing athletics. In addition, I’d at least consider looking at summer learning programs [not necessarily “leadership” programs] either in the US at a Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Duke or outside of the US at an Oxford. There are always summer program opportunities that we put up on our college counseling board. Encourage your son to come by and look for opportunities.
I’d also encourage you to help your son find a job. Sometimes expensive programs
smack of privilege; a job, in contrast, speaks of responsibility. The Dean of Harvard, Bill Fitzsimmons, told me last summer: “A job at McDonald’s is more impressive to our committee than any leadership program a kid attends. “
I’d also encourage you to purchase the book Winning the College Admission Game by Peter Van Buskirk. You can click here to purchase the book. Peter WILL BE COMING TO CASADY IN SEPTEMBER to speak to students and parents 9th-11th grade. Mark that date when we post it. You won’t want to miss him!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Dear Mr. Bottomly
Received this e-mail from conscientious parent not long ago with great questions.
Here is Part A of the parent's e-mail.
My son is in the 9th grade. He is hoping to get into one of the highly selective schools. We wonder what he has to do to prepare himself. It seems to me that many of the AP courses are only offered to 11 or 12th graders.
Here was my response.
Here is Part A of the parent's e-mail.
My son is in the 9th grade. He is hoping to get into one of the highly selective schools. We wonder what he has to do to prepare himself. It seems to me that many of the AP courses are only offered to 11 or 12th graders.
Here was my response.
"I had a chance to look at your son’s transcript – quite impressive! My suggestion for AP’s – look into receiving permission from Mr. Wiley for your son to take his AP US Government course. Your son might also look into taking Latin 3 AP course – if offered. The other option might be for your son to try and get into the AP Art History course. This course would not only fulfill your son's fine arts requirements, but it would also give him another rigorous course. What this would mean possibly is that your son will take six courses next year."
Look for Part B tomorrow.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dear Mr. Bottomly, My Daughter will be a Senior. She doesn't want to take a fourth year of math. What should we do?
Today I received an e-mail from a concerned junior parent. Here is what she wrote:
We are wrestling whether [blank name] should take a fourth year of math her senior year. She has completed AMC this year and so would enroll in Pre-Calculus if she takes a math class. We are concerned that with other AP classes (English, Spanish V, and possibly AP Euro History or AP Art History) she could have a pretty big load. We realize this is a balancing act between carrying five solids every year, and taking on too heavy a load.
The question is: are they [colleges of her choice] concerned with a student having four years of math or would they be happy with a respectable senior load that does not include a math?
Can you identify with this mother’s quandary? Should we add another scoop to this cone? Or should we allow our student to create their own academic sundae?
First, a disclaimer. I don’t ever solicit purely "blanket advice." Each student is different. One student’s triple dip is another’s chocolate sundae. And vice versa.
Okay, enough with the dessert metaphor.
To this particular concerned mother, I replied with this advice.
Dear Mom,
I heard an older, much wiser college counselor than me offer this advice to senior parents: "Ask your child: What is one thing that you want to drop? - and let them drop it. It could be the X factor in determining a sweet senior year versus a sour one."
I amen that advice.
The colleges your child is looking at value the student's whole body of academic work. There not scrutinizing your child's transcript with a microscope. Instead they are looking primarily for a steady upward trend - both in course rigor and course performance No one class, though, or lack of one class, will be deleterious to your child's chances.
The key is that your student simply does as well as she can in the courses she does sign up to take. Hopefully, then, your child will take a couple courses that she really wants to take - rather than has to take.
Sincerely,
Mr. B
We are wrestling whether [blank name] should take a fourth year of math her senior year. She has completed AMC this year and so would enroll in Pre-Calculus if she takes a math class. We are concerned that with other AP classes (English, Spanish V, and possibly AP Euro History or AP Art History) she could have a pretty big load. We realize this is a balancing act between carrying five solids every year, and taking on too heavy a load.
The question is: are they [colleges of her choice] concerned with a student having four years of math or would they be happy with a respectable senior load that does not include a math?
Can you identify with this mother’s quandary? Should we add another scoop to this cone? Or should we allow our student to create their own academic sundae?
First, a disclaimer. I don’t ever solicit purely "blanket advice." Each student is different. One student’s triple dip is another’s chocolate sundae. And vice versa.
Okay, enough with the dessert metaphor.
To this particular concerned mother, I replied with this advice.
Dear Mom,
I heard an older, much wiser college counselor than me offer this advice to senior parents: "Ask your child: What is one thing that you want to drop? - and let them drop it. It could be the X factor in determining a sweet senior year versus a sour one."
I amen that advice.
The colleges your child is looking at value the student's whole body of academic work. There not scrutinizing your child's transcript with a microscope. Instead they are looking primarily for a steady upward trend - both in course rigor and course performance No one class, though, or lack of one class, will be deleterious to your child's chances.
The key is that your student simply does as well as she can in the courses she does sign up to take. Hopefully, then, your child will take a couple courses that she really wants to take - rather than has to take.
Sincerely,
Mr. B
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