Is it too early to worry about college?

There have been a bunch of articles on this lately. You could start freaking out now.. (see the NYTimes Bronxville article)


I've mixed emotions on this - I'm antagonistic to the learning to get ahead mode as opposed to learning from interest, at teen level at least, and opposed to organized stress of this sort on a teen. And yet I can see spare time can be used wisely and reap benefits in learning, community connection, and so on.

And, alternately, whatever happened to simple creative play time. That's how design happens. People exploring on their own. If they do. Mental play is important, in my opinon.

And, alternately, I did a lot of my better designs under a gun, er, due date.

I'll be interested to see responses to your question..

Just my own impression but if she's in 10th grade you are behind the power curve but not so far behind that she can't catch up. Around here kids start that stuff the day they start high school (9th grade).

So what should I be guiding her to do?

Here too (California). Actually, my daughter is only in 6th grade now,
but we're already paving the way for high school and college.

What's her professional goal? From there you're looking into the best
universities for her, and check out what these particular universities are
looking for in their application process.

If college A emphasizes heavily on volunteer work, then this would
be something your daughter should get into more heavily.

The problem is, a professional goal at 14 may change, g'knows the rest of us change. At 14, I was dead set on being an m.d., particularly hilarious given how many women got to be md's back then, but also, and of more interest, not the best fit for me. Took me until my thirties to catch on that I was interested in art and design, and that I also had an interest in at least some technology. Landscape architecture is a melange of architecture, engineering, and horticulture, but basically an art. I never heard of it, at thirteen, nor at thiirty.

So, what am I saying, I can see channeling (channelling?) but not severely.




Here's that Bronxville article (cringe) -

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30neurosis-t.html


Me, I applied to two places, different years. One was Mount St. Mary's College, close to my house; I was accepted, went there for freshman year. I switched, for many reasons including avoidance of tuition, and the fact that no women had gone to med school from there. (My dad was, by then, bless his heart, routinely unemployed, and tuition, however little, was formidable for me).

I applied to UCLA, also close by, though something like an hour and a half by bus, me with no car, a great place even then (though the nuns wouldn't send transcripts there the year I got out of high school - it being "the little red school house"), got in with no problemo. I've no memory of what I might have written as an essay. (I do remember my SAT essay, an exercise in bravado on jazz).

So I didn't experience the competitive life that is now permeates application to college/uni.


I guess I think it is too bad, stultifying, brutalizing.

I'd like to see state universities be as UCLA was then, welcoming to those able to do the work (a giant subject I'd not like to divert to here) and near free. My fee the first semester was either nineteen or twenty six dollars, and the semester I graduated (64), seventy six dollars. Don't know what that comes to in today's dollars, but still relatively low.



(Yes, I understand we don't have the money.)


My answer in general, re-prioritizing.

Re Marty's daughter, time to pay attention.

In essence I agree, osso, at 14 the kid doesn't know what he/she wants
to be, but that's what parents are for

Seriously, nowadays even high schools are geared towards a later career
in a particular field, and one has to think about it early on.

Just yesterday, I looked up a high school that is divided into 5 smaller
sub-schools - one for international studies, one for technology, another one for arts, one for business, and last, not least one for LEADS.

martybarker ~ I find it interesting you haven't mentioned what your daughter 'wants' to do.

Yes, I can see how that must seem interesting to you. Of course in this setting it's hard to outline all the details. As I mentioned, my daughter is in the 10th grade. The details revolving around preparing college is not something that she is thinking about right now. As a matter of fact its something I'm just now considering. She's my oldest so I'm new at mothering a 15 year old who excells at school and wishes to go to a good college. My job as a mother is to guide my children into a direction that best suits them. I do not controll their lives.

And looking back, I might have been interested in all of those, CJ, except I don't know what LEADS means. So, they have to pick?

Hi, Rae...

Here are the following career choices my daughter has shown interest in: Teacher, Pharmacist or something in the music industry. i'm just wondering if anyone has recent experience with college applications. Should she be doing some community service at this early age?

I wanted to be a beautician or doctor...

well, that was at twelve, by fourteen I'd glommed on to doctor.

Marty, please, look at the Bronxville article.

Also, maybe or maybe not more helpful from me, can you talk to the school counselor? Maybe she/he/they have worked up some advice.

Pharmacist, music --


I've long noticed that math and physics folks are great at music, as a gross generalization.

heh, i remember i wanted to be a writer or psychologist when i was about 14. i also considered film directing... just NOTHING to do with politics, godforbid.
i ended up doing political science. i steered that way when i was around 18. spur of the moment decision.
but it's a lot easier in slovakia- parents don't have the daunting financial pressure of hording money for college, and are ultimately much less involved in the whole process of choosing (well, some parents will always be involved - those who want a lawyer or a doctor...). 'normal', non-obsessed parents have little to do other than supporting and advising their offspring.
but it's also true that less kids go to college. there is a much wider stratification of secondary schools- from gymnasiums, which are kinda like college track of american high schools, through specialized schools with level A exams (economy, trade, agriculture...) to vocational schools (automechanic, printer, nurse...) where kids end up with a certificate at the age of 16. which strikes me as incredibly unfair- to choose a career at the age of 13 or so and there's little you can do about it afterwards, unless you put a heroic effort into it - which most won't...
so, i guess...it could be worse.

OK I read the 1st two pages, will read the rest later. Thanks for the link.

What chance for the musician to discover he or she connects to anthropology?
(say, JLN)



I'm not railing at you, CJ, but at the wisdom of that. I predict a pretty good percentage of mischannelled kids.

Is this pervasive, or only in the 'best' schools? I'm seeing, pardon my black cloudness, child factories...

marty ~
My son is now in college earning his teaching degree in history ~ thanks to the Bright Futures Scholarship program.
He is volunteering at his old high school several days a week ~ because he wants to ~ we learned after the fact that it counts towards his college credits. But he didn't decide on his path until his junior year in high school.....and then it was still kind of iffy.
He did see his counselor, both with and without his father and me. And I highly recommend that for your daughter. Those folks are very helpful and will bend over backwards to help their students.
I don't think it's ever too early for kids to learn about community service ~ regardless of if it has anything to do with their future plans.

Hi Osso!