Featured Advisor - College Planning Advice from Amy

This week, we sat down to speak with our Advisor Amy about her daughter's wide-ranging interests in the arts, computer science and math, and how she knew that MIT was the right school for her.  Taking cues from her daughter’s interests and needs, Amy provides insights on supporting a child with an unconventional academic path that included an international school, online classes and a gap year during high school.

Versed: When did you start thinking about college for your daughter?

Amy: We’ve always lived in urban areas and near many famous universities. I’d point out the schools to my daughter when she was really young, and let her know some interesting tidbit about them (if a relative or famous author went there…). When my daughter reached 8th grade, a few honors classes became available and this led to a conversation that to be eligible for the top colleges, her transcript would have to show that she took the most advanced coursework available. 

Versed: What did the educational/extracurricular journey look like for your daughter? 

Amy: My daughter attended the same international/foreign language school from grades 1 - 12. She skipped kindergarten and another grade. At various times she took online English courses through EPGY (Stanford Education Program for Gifted Youth) and CTY (JHU Center for Talented Youth) to supplement her school’s English program. At the end of 10th grade, we decided she’d take a gap year and undo a skip so she wouldn’t be so young during her first year of college.  

Although I tried to expose my daughter to as many extracurricular and life opportunities as possible, she was not a child who would try things to test them out. Basically, she would decide that she liked something and she would do it consistently and at a pretty high level until she tired of it. What would become her main interests (singing, fencing, art, fashion) sprang from her imagination, and as long as she chose the activity, she was dedicated to it. When she was small, she really just wanted to play at home using her toys and her imagination, and she was very happy doing that. She’s always been a voracious reader and I made sure she had plenty of books.

Versed: How did you determine what was interesting to your daughter?  

Amy: As another Parent Advisor put it, I saw myself as an opportunity-maker for my daughter. I kept my eyes and ears open for interesting experiences, activities and books, and I’d offer them to her. 

My daughter has always had strong opinions about things, so she was always clear about what she did and didn’t like. She would usually come up with her own ideas of what she wanted to do and I’d make them happen. When she was really little, she developed a passion for opera, so I took her to a performance of a pocket opera. I think she saw a flyer somewhere that advertised fencing, and that’s what prompted her to take up fencing.  

Versed: Your daughter attends MIT right now. How did she know that this was the right school for her? What process led her to apply to this school, and ultimately to enroll?

Amy: My daughter was always strong in the language arts, and wasn’t much interested in math until high school. Once she became interested in math, I encouraged her to try out some math camps, but she wasn’t interested. During her gap year, my daughter learned to code, which then led to a summer internship at a startup company and an interest in computer science. Given her interests in the humanities, CS and math, combined with the fact that she did not want to attend a school that required a thesis or had other requirements in which she had no interest, MIT fit the bill. My daughter’s school college counselor and a private essay writing tutor I hired helped her to compile a list of schools. It was not a long list since she was very picky about the attributes of the schools, but mostly included schools she could see herself attending.  

We didn’t visit any of the schools in person because my daughter traveled for fencing and there just wasn’t time available. She took the online virtual tours and attended the local events sponsored by each of the colleges on her list. MIT became her first choice school during this process because she saw herself there and was really excited by their culture and all their academic offerings. After she was accepted, she went to the accepted students weekend to make sure it was what she imagined, and it was. 

Versed: What things did your daughter do in high school to support her interests?

Amy: My daughter sang with a private voice teacher and participated in a conservatory-sponsored musical theater program each summer. She fenced with a local private team and competed in national competitions, including the Junior Olympics. She was also the assistant coach for her school’s elementary school fencing club. The summer after 11th grade, she worked for a tech startup doing coding work. During her gap year, she started volunteering for a women’s empowerment organization, and she continued this through her senior year. For pleasure, she also always read and wrote a lot.  

Versed: What resources were most helpful to your daughter when she was going through the college application process? 

Amy: She did online test prep and took the ACT multiple times. Her school doesn’t offer APs or study help for any standardized testing, so she self-studied from books for the SAT Subject Tests. Since English is not the primary language of my daughter’s school, I hired a writing tutor who pushed her to examine herself and develop her thoughts so she could convey to the admissions departments who she really was. 

Versed: Can you share with us one of your takeaways from this whole experience?

Amy: The college application process is stressful and difficult, but it does provide an opportunity for your child to really figure out who she is and what she wants her future to look like. 

 

See Amy’s profile here.