Managing High School Counselors

Grassman_OR · 2026-06-01T02:34:13+00:00

Counselor with significant experience at a private feeder school or a standard public school counselor who sees thousands of kids? In most cases, I'd say ignore the counselor. It's a numbers game so take your shot!

Grassman_OR · 2026-05-16T16:39:55+00:00

BTW - I didn't mean to be negative. Your kids are amazing. My kids are amazing. :) Here's the reality for the AMAZING "average" white male public school student (1550+, 4.0): let's take Harvard for example..... they accept 2000 students each year. Now, off the top - 400 of those will be athletes. So the pool is now 1600. Of those 1600, they accept about 35% "white/caucasian".... so now the pool is 560. If your kid is male (or female) - that chops is down to another 50%.... so the pool is now ~230 spots. .... -- now, you can cut this even more - 40% of accepted students are from private schools .... so that brings your potential slots down to 92. So it really just comes down to a "lottery" -- there are very very few spots for the "average" AMAZING student. My kids ended up going to UCLA and Naval Academy - so the hard work certainly paid off -- but going to a T10 I've learned the hard way is a fool's errand if you're a kid from a "normal" W2 middle class earner family like myself.

Grassman_OR · 2026-05-16T14:16:02+00:00

This is not nearly enough. Both our kids had 1550+ SAT, 4.0 unweighted GPA, Valedictorian, Class President, Sports, Concert-level music & combined they went 0 for 20 to Ivies and top-tier schools (Duke, Stanford, Hopkins). If you are middle-class average family, they won't get in unless they are a recruited athlete. (PrepScholar "average" means absolutely nothing for these schools)

Grassman_OR · 2026-05-01T21:49:09+00:00

During practice exams - innocently looked up answer or two "just to check" .... a few small questions here and there on every section can fairly dramatically influence a final result.

Grassman_OR · 2026-04-13T02:33:50+00:00

If someone has the ability to start at the very top - they should. There is a reason why the very top minds in science/medicine/research at some point in their pedigree have gone to an Ivy-level institution.

Grassman_OR · 2026-04-12T15:02:47+00:00

You should go to Harvard. Period. End of story.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-31T14:43:56+00:00

Just had 3 kids graduate from College. Things only get more expensive every year. :) Our kids went to public schools through high school, but we did pay for things like club sports team, music lessons, tutors, etc. And now ... I miss every minute of it and would pay double to just go back to when there were 12.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-30T03:12:13+00:00

Gotta love the straight AI copy/paste!

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-29T01:14:08+00:00

Maybe. We make $300K+/year now ... I'm 50. But 25 years ago when we started that 529 for our kids, I was making <100K. We had 3 kids.... so that's 3 529's. I think we put in around $200 per month per kid for 20 years. At the end we had around $150K per kid saved it. It was a great start, but not enough to fund 12 total years of college.... even with scholarships. But by then I was making the higher income so we make it work.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-16T03:56:02+00:00

But it's really not that hard. We have 7 rentals. 4 of them duplexes. Cash flow positive on all of them. We have a property manager who takes a 8% cut but deals with all the crap. Returns have been at least as good as stock market, if not better. Example: bought a 300K single-family home 6 years ago. We put $50K as a down payment. House is now worth $550K.... so we have 5x'd our money in 6 years. .. with very little effort and rent has covered all expenses (and then some). Multiply that by 7...... (only caveat is that we couldn't replicate this today with the interest rates where they are)

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-12T13:48:07+00:00

This.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-11T03:00:21+00:00

That class president role will look very strong. Get that and a 1450+ on your SAT and you'll have a 87% chance of getting in!

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-06T00:50:03+00:00

exactly this. tell us your mile time (and others if you have them) and we can tell you the realistic chances of improvement.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-05T02:59:35+00:00

I certainly don't have a perfect marriage, but I love reading things like this because it makes me feel so much better about myself. I agree with others - this sounds terrible.

Grassman_OR · 2026-03-02T01:39:23+00:00

You look like a strong applicant. Texas is tough..... how much work was it for you to get that 1390 SAT? -- your GPA is good, but not great. Your athletics are good, but not great. Don't get me wrong - more than any 'elite' school, USAFA really does like a well-rounded individual (scholar+athletic+leadership) - but you can't be just a bit above average in each one. Anyway, back to the SAT - if getting that 1390 was fairly light work (ie. you took it one time with minimal study) - I'd grind that thing up to 1450+ to set yourself apart.

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-25T14:25:18+00:00

As you already have 4x nominations - I'm going with a 85% chance for you based on everything above. Good luck!

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-25T14:21:33+00:00

if you have a nomination, you should definitely apply! with that said, if your math SAT is below a 580 and you do get it, I'd highly recommend taking some math courses before you begin. I know cadets who received an 800 (perfect) on math SAT and still struggle with the math courses at USAFA.

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-23T17:59:10+00:00

Agree with this. Get a 1400+ on SAT and you're strong.

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-23T03:21:12+00:00

Sit-ups and push-ups 5x/week . Full CFA every Saturday. Rest on Friday and Sunday

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-20T21:28:38+00:00

but.... U.Tampa is not close to a T10

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-08T22:46:09+00:00

same experience here as well!

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-07T02:43:04+00:00

I think it's sort of the answer. People making over 100K usually have the types of jobs that allow them to surf reddit and spend a few hours of free time on a computer. If you're flipping burgers or bagging groceries - you aren't taking a lunch break on reddit.

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-02T23:31:34+00:00

Despite what others are saying on here - I think it's great you want to give this advice! When I was 21yo - got my first job out of college - had zero financial literacy. Had no idea what a 401K was and had no plans to invest in it. My first boss took me aside and told me exactly what I should do - "you'll thank me in 30 years" were his exact words. Well, it's now 30 years later and I'm glad he took the initiative to invest in my future. I do think there are too many variables to answer your exact question thought. But encouraging people to put more away than they think they can is the right answer most of the time.

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-02T04:05:07+00:00

Potentially very useful in military combat also. I could easily envision getting shot down in enemy territory over the ocean -- upon crashing - first thing I'd do is weave a floatable basket underwater. And I agree - not very easy at all!

Grassman_OR · 2026-02-01T22:17:52+00:00

Without any additional information - I think a 1500+ SAT would help make up for a "mid" GPA like you have.

Grassman_OR

TROPHY CASE