Does my dd need to volunteer with children in tenth grade to apply ....

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at a private college as a teaching major?

My dd's stats:

She will take up to Pre-Calc in math

A few Honors Science courses, probably will take Marine Biology instead of Physics 

Will probably take only one AP (Eng Lang) and not any Dual Enrollment credits

Will probably achieve about a 3.5-3.7 GPA depending on how hard math becomes for her, and how she does with Science.

ONly two years of foreign language, ASL 

Extra curricular involves only Pony Club, and whatever volunteering she has (so far 45 library community service hours)

I expect her SAT to be about 1150 based on past results of past standardized tests and what I know of her etc.  

So, back in the 90's she would have been a good candidate with a good GPA...

BUT as compared to today's overachievers it's a little light- a friend of ours suggested that she needs to start volunteering in the public school NOW, in tenth grade, to be competitive for the private Christian colleges my dd is looking at.  She said that what they really want is character, and longevity of community service, especially in the field you're going into.

BUT My dd legitimately does not have the time.  She has to go to physical therapy for the next three months, and has already cut way back on her horse riding time during the week.  The horse is not just a hobby, he requires maintenance and love and time, so you can't just show up on Saturday and Sunday.  But even considering that she has cut way back in order to focus on academics.  She has four outside of the house classes, plus a two hour Biology lab every week.  

Do we really need to stress about this one thing right now?  I really am an advocate of letting my kids be themselves and having them do community service in the way that works for them, not pushing them into it.  BUT if it really would make all the difference between getting into college and getting in nowhere,  I guess we could squeeze it in somewhere.

 

[Kassia]

I do not think it's necessary for her to volunteer with children in high school in order to apply as a teaching major!  And I certainly wouldn't push it if she doesn't have the time.  

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Calming Tea said:

BUT as compared to today's overachievers it's a little light- a friend of ours suggested that she needs to start volunteering in the public school NOW, in tenth grade, to be competitive for the private Christian colleges my dd is looking at.  She said that what they really want is character, and longevity of community service, especially in the field you're going into.

 

No to the first sentence quoted, yes to the second. For a teaching major, volunteering in public school to do what? Makes more sense to volunteer in a tutoring club at the YMCA, library, community college like your son. Another is to be a camp counselor during winter/spring/summer breaks because it shows that she can manage a group of kids. The children’s museum as a teen docent is another avenue. 

DS13 is looking at double major in Computer Science and Math, and we have been told doing volunteer work related to computer science would kill two birds with one stone (hobby and community service). He doesn’t want to be a math tutor even if paid.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Arcadia
The word Math got eaten up.

[Aloha2U]

My young man is currently taking an AP Computer Science course online wherein the teacher’s aids are returning students from last year’s CS classes who received a score of 5 on the exam. They also tutor the students as needed. Being that there are approximately 46 students in the class, the aids/tutors are assigned to 7-ish students each; the instructor takes on the rest. Perhaps this type of set-up could be an option for your dd after she completes an AP course/exam?

[City Mouse]

Has she done any work with children in any way? I don't think she necessarily needs to be volunteering with kids at the local public school, but how does she know she wants to go into teaching if she has never worked with children? I have no idea what the college will want, but I would be very hesitant to encourage a young adult who has never worked with kids to go into teaching -especially at a expensive private college where large amounts of college debt may be created that could easily take a looong time to pay off in the not so well paying job of teaching.

Edited September 27, 2018 by City Mouse

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16 hours ago, City Mouse said:

Has she done any work with children in any way? I don't think she necessarily needs to be volunteering with kids at the local public school, but how does she know she wants to go into teaching if she has never worked with children? I have no idea what the college will want, but I would be very hesitant to encourage a young adult who has never worked with kids to go into teaching -especially at a expensive private college where large amounts of college debt may be created that could easily take a looong time to pay off in the not so well paying job of teaching.

 

Yes, she has volunteered in the church Sunday school for over four years.  She took a break last year due to constantly getting sick.  ? We also used to have friends with lots of little kids that she would babysit the entire time I would visit, and she definitely has a gift, and enjoys children especially the K-3 age group. ? She is great with preschoolers but that doesn't pay too well and then you have to deal with potty issues.  She also loves actual books and literature and has a hobby of reading children's books both novels for her own fun and checking out new children's picture books.  

Maybe I should see if she can get a teaching position at Sunday School. ?

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15 hours ago, Margaret in CO said:

A warning about the volunteering--I did many, many hours (we were on split session and got out at noon) working in a local elementary--I did 3 hours a day. I thought I loved the classroom...until my student teaching! I did volunteer work in several elementary schools, camp counseling, etc. Turns out, I love teaching--I hate classrooms! I never worked with more than 5 kids or so! I'm really good at it. I'm NOT good at classroom management. So, I had 5 kids and hsed them all--problem solved. However, now I don't have that nice PERA retirement account...

 

Hmmm this is a good point.  Maybe teaching sunday school will be the best idea of all.  Then she will have to practice actual classroom management.  She could be an intern for a few months to observe the skills she needs and then actually take over and try it for the rest of the year.  I love teaching in a classroom but certainly not as much as I like teaching my own precious ones at home, cuddling up on a couch.  ?

[katilac]

Deleted for extreme board weirdness and reposted below.

 

Edited September 28, 2018 by katilac

[katilac]

21 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

 BUT as compared to today's overachievers it's a little light- a friend of ours suggested that she needs to start volunteering in the public school NOW, in tenth grade, to be competitive for the private Christian colleges my dd is looking at.  She said that what they really want is character, and longevity of community service, especially in the field you're going into.

1

 

I would be surprised if she is correct, particularly about the specifics. Many people have no idea whatsoever on their major as a sophomore in high school, and I would be slightly amused if a private school thinks that volunteering in a public school is crucial.

How competitive are the schools in general? You can get an idea by googling "School Name ACT range" and "School Name admit rate." If you really want to drill down, search for their Common Data Set. This will tell you whether a whole list of things such as volunteer work and demonstrated interest are considered by that school to be Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered. It will also break down the ACT scores further: what percent scored 30-36, 24-29, 18-23, and two ranges below. Whatever I say for ACT applies to SAT as well. The ACT range mentioned above will let you know whether she is in the top 25%, middle 50%, or bottom 25%. The Common Data Set scores can frequently help you narrow that range. 

Then you can take a look at their websites. First of all, does the school even admit by major? Some schools do have competitive majors and it is harder to be admitted to the school if that's your declared major. The ones I have heard most often are engineering and business. Others will admit you but then you have to apply for certain majors after a certain amount of time. Nursing is a common example of this. Look at the education department specifically, and then do searches like: admission requirements, admission statistics, about us. If schools are specifically looking for community service or leadership or whatever, you should be able to find it. 

At the end of this year or beginning of next year, she can talk to the department at schools on her short list if it's still not completely clear. I personally would not worry about this year, I'd just go with what you have planned. If she can do a one-shot here or there, that would be good, because you can then list working with children for all four years. My kids did their volunteering and activites by subject, so it was like: 

Art, 4 years: Random Art Thing, freshman year, Summer Design Program, rising freshman and sophomore; Things 1,2,3, & 4 plus this recognition in junior year; Things 1, 2, & 3 plus this recognition in senior year.

That way, you show a continuous interest even if one year is skimpy. 

[katilac]

A few more thoughts (believe it or not). 

Schools know that stuff like physical therapy and owning a horse are time-consuming. Don't just put Pony Club for her activities, put Equestrian: Pony Club, which involves this and that; Horse Owner, which involves all the things including care and takes about 10 hours per week (use an average). 

I would have her take a practice ACT or SAT as soon as possible; of course, she won't have all the needed math and such, but it will give you a more solid idea and may give you easy areas to work on (grammar refresher, etc). You can just print one and do it at home, but do follow the time limits and rules for breaks, bathroom, etc. 

Advice on picking the right test for your student: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/1305/act-vs-sat-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-the-right-test

[City Mouse]

7 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

 

Yes, she has volunteered in the church Sunday school for over four years.  She took a break last year due to constantly getting sick.  ? We also used to have friends with lots of little kids that she would babysit the entire time I would visit, and she definitely has a gift, and enjoys children especially the K-3 age group. ? She is great with preschoolers but that doesn't pay too well and then you have to deal with potty issues.  She also loves actual books and literature and has a hobby of reading children's books both novels for her own fun and checking out new children's picture books.  

Maybe I should see if she can get a teaching position at Sunday School. ?

I think teaching at Sunday School or other church volunteering is great -  something that shows her interest in kids and would give her an outside mentor or supervisor to write a recommendation.

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9 hours ago, katilac said:

A few more thoughts (believe it or not). 

Schools know that stuff like physical therapy and owning a horse are time-consuming. Don't just put Pony Club for her activities, put Equestrian: Pony Club, which involves this and that; Horse Owner, which involves all the things including care and takes about 10 hours per week (use an average). 

I would have her take a practice ACT or SAT as soon as possible; of course, she won't have all the needed math and such, but it will give you a more solid idea and may give you easy areas to work on (grammar refresher, etc). You can just print one and do it at home, but do follow the time limits and rules for breaks, bathroom, etc. 

Advice on picking the right test for your student: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/1305/act-vs-sat-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-the-right-test

 

My dd has only done Algebra 1 and even that has been several months. I am very afraid to give her an SAT this year, because I am afraid she will completely bomb the math portion and then lose so much confidence.  Especially during a year when, truthfully there is a lot of focus on her "genius" older brother who has gotten almost 1500 on his SAT and finished 60 college credits - half of them in math and physics and computer science- by age 16..

I am really trying to use this year to build my dd's confidence and keep her focused on her grades.  I know she can earn high grades, and she's taking a few really challenging courses...so my thinking is that keeping her focused on grades and not on sat scores will give her attainable goals..even in her horse endeavors she's had some setbacks that really rocked her confidence, feeling like she doesn't know what direction she's going- thank God her new trainer has awesome goals that are attainable and measurable for her, and sound really fun too.  Her first trainer basically just yelled all the time, followed up by a lot of praise...her last trainer just kept saying everything "needed work" without ever spelling out WHAT they were working on...

Anyway, I will definitely check out the SAT vs ACT link too...I think maybe taking a different test itself would be good for her so she wouldn't compare herself to her big bro.  She understands that she is talented, smart, clever, creative and appreciates that about herself but in this time of life when all the grandparents and aunts and uncles are talking 24.7 to my son about his goals/achievements...I think having her take the SAT just for practice and then staring at the low score would be a huge bummer.  

I also love the idea of really spelling out what it means to be in Pony Club- its a LOT of work, a lot of paperwork, a lot of tests.  ?  She deserves credit for sticking with it because it's definitely not all about fun.

[katilac]

16 minutes ago, Calming Tea said:

My dd has only done Algebra 1 and even that has been several months. I am very afraid to give her an SAT this year, because I am afraid she will completely bomb the math portion and then lose so much confidence.  Especially during a year when, truthfully there is a lot of focus on her "genius" older brother who has gotten almost 1500 on his SAT and finished 60 college credits - half of them in math and physics and computer science- by age 16..

I am really trying to use this year to build my dd's confidence and keep her focused on her grades. 

2

 

Important considerations for sure. I was thinking that a practice score would likely reassure her, but probably not in this case. 

You could always take a look at the stats for some likely choices to ease your own mind. Private school does not equal selective school, and education does not tend to be a competitive or impacted major. I think she will have plenty of choices and I surely would not fret over the details of her 10th-grade volunteering. 

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7 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

Important considerations for sure. I was thinking that a practice score would likely reassure her, but probably not in this case. 

You could always take a look at the stats for some likely choices to ease your own mind. Private school does not equal selective school, and education does not tend to be a competitive or impacted major. I think she will have plenty of choices and I surely would not fret over the details of her 10th-grade volunteering. 

 

Thanks! Yes with an 1100 and high GPA and maybe one AP she’d be very competitive for some excellent Christian colleges she’s looking at. ? 

I spoke with her again and she absolutely has her mind set on the public school volunteer but it may just have to wait until she’s done with the PT. 

So that’s that. There are only so many hours in the day! Especially the school day Vs weekend 

[8filltheheart]

Fwiw, there is a huge leap between competitive schools and not getting in anywhere. For competitive schools, kids need to have well-developed interests that fully represent their character outside of the classroom. For the vast majority of schools, their GPA, transcript, and test scores are all that matter.

[RootAnn]

FWIW, I am having my non- math kid work through practice sections & books of the reading, english, and eventually science sections of the ACT. She'll get to the math section eventually, but by then, she'll have two or three sections solidly down and be more comfortable with the test format.