What is your experience being a low income family and a student that got into an Ivy League/ highly selective school?

[Sharon37127]

My son is just now a freshman and has expressed interest in a STEM-related field at an Ivy League or highly selective school.  He's not particularly sure yet a more specific direction, just loves all things science.  He will most likely dual enroll at our local community college for as many credits as he can get.  I have no concerns he will have the grades and test scores for admission to highly selective schools.  For schools like this, I've read that it's the student "resume/portfolio" outside of grades and test scores that really set students apart.  My concern is this, many of these "opportunities" are not available in our area, only available for public or private schoolers, or cost prohibitive for us.  If you have a similar experience, how did it work out for your student?

[8filltheheart]

Holding a job during high school is seen as a positive EC.  ECs don't have to be high profile activities.

That said, DE for as many credits as he can get is not really a huge positive for highly selective schools, either.  He won't be able to transfer those credits in in a way that reduces his yrs at the target school.  He needs to understand that he would most likely still be looking at 4 yrs of U.  A long laundry list of classes w/o focus purpose will also not be to his benefit.  Make sure that every course he takes DE serves a purpose that helps clarify his interests and goals.  

[Farrar]

I've worked with a few kids that this would describe. Seconding all of 8's advice. Jobs are good and family responsibilities can also be important, just be sure they write it up in a way that emphasizes that it's not just "sometimes I have to watch my siblings." Long lists of CC classes on their own don't get kids as far as they want regardless of background. Kids who have really in depth coursework at home or with independent classes coupled with something else (like, a super high test score, a handful of AP's or CC courses, a pretty amazing achievement like being published or a couple of big awards or several of those things) tends to be more successful IME. Kids who can write a knock you over essay (not just a very good essay, but a true wow of an essay) also have a big edge regardless of background.

Coursework at home that you write up and document well doesn't have to be an opportunity that you have locally the way you would for a robotics team. There are things you can do solo and cheap. A lengthy and impressive book list doesn't have to be expensive, you know?

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by Farrar

[daijobu]

I don't have a similar experience, but I recommend you find a copy of How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport.  ECs do not need to be expensive, and as PPs wrote, jobs count too.  

[Frances]

On 1/10/2022 at 5:15 AM, 8filltheheart said:

Holding a job during high school is seen as a positive EC.  ECs don't have to be high profile activities.

That said, DE for as many credits as he can get is not really a huge positive for highly selective schools, either.  He won't be able to transfer those credits in in a way that reduces his yrs at the target school.  He needs to understand that he would most likely still be looking at 4 yrs of U.  A long laundry list of classes w/o focus purpose will also not be to his benefit.  Make sure that every course he takes DE serves a purpose that helps clarify his interests and goals.  

In general I think this is true, but I do know for at least awhile Cornell was actively seeking low-income students with an associate’s degree. One of my son’s friends got hers at the same time she finished high school and did landscape architecture at Cornell. So no, it didn’t shave anything off her number of years at university, but it did likely help with admissions.

[Lanny]

OP if your DS graduates with a ton of DE and AP courses and high test scores, he will be in a huge pool of applicants to Ivy League and highly competitive universities with the same background. He needs more than that...  I suggest that he concentrate on the highly competitive, but that if there are 1 or 2 Ivy League schools that have something special he is interested in, that he apply to them too. I have always told my DD that if she doesn't apply for something there is no possibility she will receive it.   If there is a Civil Air Patrol group near where you live, that might be a good activity for your DS.  He will need LORs (Letters of Recommendation) so you need to be thinking about who will write those for him.  Congrats to him and to you to be thinking about this when he is in the 9th grade. The time will fly...

He needs to have a LOT of practice writing essays.  He needs IMO to write  his own essays and complete his own university applications, without anyone helping him.  If he has the opportunity to attend College Fairs I suggest that he do that. My DD had the opportunity to do that once in the brick and mortar school ($$$$) she had attended in K4 and K5 and First grade and there were a bunch of schools there and she brought home some interesting literature, but didn't apply to any of those schools. And then, she received an invitation from UPenn to attend a College Fair in Bogota (we live in Colombia). There were 4 highly selective private universities there. The information went by very fast and the program was very short because they needed to catch a flight to Argentina (?) after the presentation.   Very interesting and then after the presentation they had about 30 minutes where we could stand in a short line and ask questions. She did apply to one of those schools. If you are low income he will probably get a Federal Pell Grant from the U.S. Government for approximately  6000 USD per year. That is a Grant and does not need to be paid back. It is a gift.  If he cannot participate in a Team sport where you live, he should go to a Gym and be in the best possible physical shape that he can be in. Leadership is the key word now, so if he can develop any Leadership skills, that will help him in many ways. Good luck to him!