AP Courses and Other Myths about What Colleges Really Want

Admissions officers from five Massachusetts universities will tackle the stress over getting into college and talk about what they’re really seeking in a Jan. 29 panel for the Lexington community.
 
Getting into college is an obsession for many Lexington students and their parents – an obsession that starts as early as elementary school. For too many, it is assumed that college admissions offices admit students with the “most” – the most AP classes, the most extracurricular activities, the most summer internships and the like. The result is a lot of stressed out students and parents.  But are they right – is this what college admissions directors are looking for?
 
Moderated by Linda K. Wertheimer, former Boston Globe education editor and author of recent Globe magazine story, AP Classes, A Problem for Massachusetts High Schoolers?
 
Opened by Laura Lasa, Principal, Lexington High School
 
Panelists: Lee Coffin, Tufts University dean of undergraduate admissions; William Fitzsimmons, Harvard College dean of admissions; Kevin Kelly, UMass-Amherst’s director of admissions; John McEachern, Boston University’s director of admissions, and Stuart Schmill, MIT’s director of admissions.
 
The event is co-sponsored by the LHS PTSA, Diamond PTA, Clarke PTA, Lexington School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), Youth Services Council/Lexington Human Services Department, Lexington Education Foundation and the Collaborative to Reduce Student Stress.