A ONE Institute
Jul 20, 2024
The third part of the Q & A that we couldn’t finish during the last online seminar. If you had any lingering questions from the last post, I hope you find the answers today.
Question 1) Absolute elements of academic evaluation Are elements like competitions and camps absolute in academic evaluations?
Our daughter has always been strong in the math track, but she has never participated in competitions or camps. Her Weighed GPA is 4.96, SAT 1580, and she scored 5 in all 6 AP subjects. She finished AP Cal BC in 10th grade, AP Statistics, Multi Variable, and Differential equation classes with an A in 11th grade. She also took Logic Math and Discrete Math. She just started with her research mentor. In this case, since she doesn’t have a history of competitions or camps, should she focus on being well-rounded? But she doesn’t have enough EC to fill 6 items.
Answer) Are competitions and camps absolute elements in evaluating academic students? To answer, no! It varies depending on the school you apply to. The person who asked the question is attending a Magnet School, has a good GPA, is close to a perfect SAT score, and scored 5 on all APs. She finished Cal BC in 10th grade and took AP Statistics, Multivariable, and Differential Equation in 11th grade, so she can be said to be strong in a very academic part. Since it’s a Magnet School, the level is high, the progress is fast, and the grades are good, so there’s no doubt that she’s a good math student. However, objectively speaking, under the premise that many outstanding students are preparing for competitive schools like Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech, there are many such students in high-level boarding schools and magnet schools across the United States. Almost all competitors will apply at a similar level. Plus, there are many Asians applying at this top level. Therefore, among those competitors, there are not enough things to say that they are excellent in math. If there are activities like camps or competitions in EC, you will be a more competitive student. From the information given in the question, this student is evaluated as a very strong, academic student in math, but the answer may vary depending on which university you apply to. What I can tell you is that in addition to the academic part, doing a little more diverse activities will widen the choice of college applications.
Question 2) Level of sports
My child is doing sports, and you said that he/she has to do very well at the state level, but I’m curious about that part. Among all the children who play sports, we don’t know what level our child is. It’s a team sport, so there’s no individual ranking, so it’s vague what standard to think about.
Answer) The question is about how to think about the level of sports the student is doing. At the information session, I said that you have to do well at the State level to some extent, and the standard is when the GPA or other activities are not enough to apply to a very competitive school, when you want to apply to a competitive school. There is no specific numerical value, but if you have to apply for a rank of 40-50 and want to enter the top 20, the level of sports should be at the state level, but if not, you can just show sports as one element. Also, if you have a leadership position or have maintained a grade in the team for a long time, it has value as an activity.
Question 3) Match of All-Round student activities explained in the information session Among the 8 activities of All-Round students,
Science, Technology, Engineering
Humanities & Social Science
Culture
Quantitative Reasoning with Data These 4 activities don’t match well. Especially, I don’t know what activities are in 2) and 4). Does 3) Culture include attending a Korean school and being a teaching volunteer?
Answer) You mentioned four parts of the EC activity that did not match during the information session, and there were many questions about this part, so I plan to explain it separately. You asked if Culture includes attending a Korean school and being a Teaching Volunteer, but in fact, since Korean base students are doing Korean activities, it is difficult to say that they have done other cultural activities. Therefore, although Korean-related activities are also culture-related activities, if you are a Korean student, you prefer to experience other cultures.
Question 4) Paper SAT / Digital SAT
Should I take the Digital SAT in March even if I get a good score on the SAT in August?
Answer) If you did well on the Paper SAT, you don’t need to take the Digital SAT.
Question 5) Activity list order
What is the best way to classify the list order when writing a college application? : School leadership, internships, scholarships, external National Level awards, Varsity sports
Answer) Looking at the successful cases of our academy, each individual is different, such as the first student who wrote school leadership, awards, and Varsity sports. It’s good if you have focused and worked hard on something and the result is good.
Question 6) State Guitar team member
Can I consider it as part of Art & Athletic when I become a State guitar team member? I’m curious if it’s included because it’s not an orchestra.
Answer) You asked whether becoming a State Guitar team member would be included in the art activity, but since it’s not necessarily Orchestra or traditional Classical performance, if you have been active as a State Guitar member, it can be an activity that can show passion in the field of art. Question 7) Matching of awards and majors If you have a winning record in Dance, do you have to do Dance when deciding on a major? Many schools There are cases where there is no Dance Major. Answer) There have often been students who are strong in dance or art at our academy, but there are hardly any students who have entered with a related major. It is important to objectively evaluate your level and decide which student to apply to college is competitive. Just because a student excels in a particular something doesn’t mean they need to choose a related major.
Question 8) Sports and majors
I’ve always thought that most school athletes contract to go to college, but can you go to college with a general major even if you’re very good at sports?
Answer) The question is similar to the above, and the answer is that you can go to college with a general major. Students who are recruited for sports are going into the school’s team with sports, not deciding on a major. Just because you were selected for sports does not mean that it is connected to the major. A friend who was selected for swimming also majors in physics, and a student who was selected for fencing also decides to major in accounting, so there is no need to decide on a sports-related major. Also, Sports Recruiting is decided in March-May, 10 months ahead of December when most students decide to enter, so please keep that in mind.
Question 9) AP Social Subjects vs PLTW
Is it better to take AP social subjects or PLTW?
Answer) The question is whether to take AP social subject classes or PLTW, Project Lead The Way. PLTW is a class that follows a curriculum tailored to the project. It is a class that focuses on STEM at a high level in the affiliated course. Ultimately, the question is whether PLTW STEM or AP social subjects, and the answer is that it varies from student to student. If you are a student with many STEM-related activities, of course it is better to take AP social subjects, and if you are a student with many Humanities & Social Science activities, it is better to take PLTW. Therefore, you can decide depending on the student’s activities and classes so far.
Question 10) What if there is no AP Social? What if there is no AP Social?
I took a general Social subject, but there is no AP Social.
Answer) The question is what if there is no AP Social, and the answer can vary depending on the student. Generally speaking, it is best to take English /Math /Science /Social four areas evenly. It would be good to take AP subjects in Social, but if you have to give up other subjects due to the schedule or if the GPA drops too much due to AP enrollment, it is better not to take it. It is good to compose according to the characteristics of the student. However, if you don’t have a specific plan, I recommend you to take AP in the Social part.
Today, I posted the third part of the Q&A to answer the questions that came up after the information session. Even if it’s not the correct answer, I hope you got a tip for the questions you’ve been curious about.