College Admission

My notes from meeting with Stanford admissions:
- kids only submit applications with input from counselor
- parents should stay out of it; counselors are key
- supplemental questions- they are meant to be a snapshot- follow directions, don’t write a thesis
- interview- parents should not be present when the kid presents him/herself
- 2-3 long term activities outside of high school
- 9th grade not looked at- too much change in a kids life
- 10, 11, 12 looked at very strongly
- mostly A’s, some B’s for highly competitive top schools
- It’s not the school they attended, it’s what they did with what was available at the school. Many Private schools offer a lot of choices so they should have taken advantage. A small school may offer little, but if the student was involved in it all, it shows they took advantage of everything offered.
- SAT’s 1400+ for top schools
- legacy- some influence, but expected to decline due to sheer numbers of graduates
- if you have a choice, pick a school with great college counselors. Does the counselor have any relationships with colleges that you might consider?