<p>You never order “a goat” - you order at least two so they can keep each other company.</p>
<p>(Hmmm, not seeing any goat ads on the margins of this page. Those would have been fun.)</p>
<p>I see, MidwestMom - so those “2Kids” are actually THAT kind of kid, eh?</p>
<p>Good grief, people. </p>
<p>You have to work the goats into an environmentally friendly project for it to count as an EC. For instance, my DS uses HIS goats to keep grass in the neighborhood tidy and trim. He is hoping to get a grant from the USGGA (United States Goats & Grass Association) to keep his clients’ yards up when he goes away to…well, I would tell you but it would make you all jealous.</p>
<p>He spends hours on his computer and in front of the TV dreaming up other entrepreneurial projects that you wish your kid could think of.</p>
<p>But that’s okay, not all of us can be in tune with our inner goat.</p>
<p>Goats are only a good EC if you raise them, shear them, spin the wool into yarn, dye it with hand-ground organic materials, organize hundreds of volunteers to knit scarves, and then create a non-profit to raise thousands of dollars to have the scarves shipped to children on an uncharted desert island (discovered because you designed a sextant from recycled materials found along the roadside) who were lacking them. And, last but not least, you can summarize the experience and what you learned in five words or less on the Common App.</p>
<p>Just my humble opinion, of course, based on my extensive experience, as confirmed by my respectable post count!</p>
<p>Well, of course, that goes without saying, CountingDown. I didn’t think I needed to spell EVERYTHING out for you people!!</p>
<p>Tiredofsnow, my S sits around watching tv and thinking up entrepreneurial projects too. Perhaps they can form a club and call themselves co-presidents.</p>
<p>Also, CountingDown, BTDT. Puhleez. But my S built the desert island himself, from recycled milk cartons.</p>
<p>But if they form a club, they’ll want funding. And you know what THAT means! Peddling goat cheese, scarves, cashmere sweaters…</p>
<p>My inner goat would like a cashmere shawl for its birthday.</p>
<p>Hmmm, an essay in the voice of one’s inner goat. Too risky?</p>
<p>Cashmere shawl? Pshaw. The new thing is qiviut, made from the undercoat of musk ox.</p>
<p>[Qiviut</a> Store](<a href=“Oomingmak - Original Alaskan Qiviut Handknits Store”>Oomingmak - Original Alaskan Qiviut Handknits Store)</p>
<p>Of course, they are a little larger and a little grouchier than goats. Maybe everyone doesn’t have the temperament to care for them.</p>
<p>HMW, your son can be president, CD’s son can be vice president, and I’m sure my DS would like to be chaplain of the goat club. I will get on Excel and make a color-coded spreadsheet for all of the goat products that they will be selling. Do you think we should have prizes for top seller?</p>
<p>Do you think if they wove a goat-hair sweater with “Harvard” on the front and mailed it to admissions it would help them get in?</p>
<p>Lafalum, I think you’re onto something there. Perhaps if the student included a DVD featuring clips of the entire process, start to finish, with tasteful background music. I’m thinking something like the Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup? </p>
<p>Tiredofsnow, it’s starting to sound like we could call this Goat Scouts. I have a lot of items around the house emblazoned with “GS” - maybe the guys can repurpose them? (Where’s historymom, anyway? I think she has a lot of GS material too.)</p>
<p>Aren’t there six lines for Awards on the Common App? My second kid needs more awards. Is there a goat award for him and what does he need to do to claim it?</p>
<p>Sounds great, HMW!! You don’t think it’s too - well - girly for our manly band of brothers, do you?? However, recycling and repurposing are always attention-grabbers.</p>
<p>Really like the admission “gift” idea. That couldn’t hurt, especially for those cold-weather schools. </p>
<p>MidwestMom, has your S ever seen a goat? That qualifies him for the first tier award. I have to warn you, though, admissions officers are a little wary of that one, because so many wannabes try to claim it without ever having even gone to a petting zoo!</p>
<p>He has seen a picture of a goat. It was a Canadian goat, so that counts as an International honor or award, right?</p>
<p>Absolutely, MidwestMom. And if he becomes a goat-whisperer, then it’s another foreign language, too.</p>
<p>Also, re the Sweater: If you crochet it . . . (do I really have to finish this?), well, that’s definitely a hook.</p>
<p>MWM2Kids, darn it. I wish I’d thought of the international angle. Since my DS only got 35-1/2 on his ACT he will probably need it. I think that takes you immediately to the Tier 2 award, with or without having seen a goat in person. </p>
<p>Although personally, I think experiencing goat aroma firsthand is critical to a holistic experience.</p>
<p>CountingDown, I was thinking about your S’s dilemma of not having enough EC’s. Of course, my DS had to add several additional pages to his Common App, so I can’t really understand it, but I have a suggestion for you.</p>
<p>Since my S has no desire to become a medical professional, I will pass this on. If your S by any chance 1) plays football, 2) watches football, or 3) knows what shape a football is, perhaps he could produce liners for - FOOTBALL HELMETS! Use goat methodology to pad and insulate those hard helmets! I think it could even be a service project, and think of how many colleges have football teams!!</p>
<p>I know this could be embarrassing to admit but I fear there may be others on this thread whose children do not have enough honors and awards to fill every line in that section of the Common App, even though they clearly have earned and deserve many, many honors. As long as there are no more than 11 of you, let me know; I can help you out. (My kid needed one more even after the International Goat Award.)
[url=<a href=“http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?requestURI=processProductsCatalog&categoryId=377320&BP=2110&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-datafeed-_-datafeed-_-datafeed&sku=42/2176&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=42/2176]Awards[/url”>http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?requestURI=processProductsCatalog&categoryId=377320&BP=2110&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-datafeed-_-datafeed-_-datafeed&sku=42/2176&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=42/2176]Awards[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Goat pellets. My S#2 has taken the goat pellets and turned them into an organic fuel which delivers 68 MPG in a Honda Civic. Betcha none of your DS’s has done that!</p>
<p>NOT that my child needs any ADDITIONAL awards, but I will note that these are clearly (given their provenance) INTERNATIONAL AWARDS. MidwestMom, well done. </p>
<p>Momof3sons, that’s a nice little project. I suppose you think because it’s a Honda, it’s international too? You might have something there.</p>
<p>Tiredofsnow, I like the football helmet pads idea. Definitely community service. I think some enterprising student who - unlike my S who already has had to design a special personal supplement to the common app supplement to hold all his awards - could maybe even found an NGO to carry out this important work throughout the world.</p>
<p>I kept a goat on my grandfather’s farm when I was a child. I can milk a goat. Does that give my child a “hook” as a legacy goat keeper?</p>