<p>Mdcissp --Mazel Tov! I remember that terrific feeling of relief when that first acceptance arrived. Everything else became so much easier and more relaxed going forward. Enjoy the glow!</p>
<p>Rockvillemom - I am glad to hear that our HS does’t put scores on the transcript. I hadn’t even thought of that when I signed D up to take the SAT’s, so of course I put the HS code in. </p>
<p>Also, in my opinion I wouldn’t take your S back to visit any of the schools he already likes, unless he is considering it for ED. After all, at this point, why give him a reason to take it off of the list? Unless you are trying to shrink the list. I would go back after he is accepted to help him narrow down his choices.</p>
<p>Every time I think this thread has taken a break, it turns out I somehow missed one update and, when I check, I am many pages behind!</p>
<p>MDCISSP, I am very, very happy for you and your son!</p>
<p>Molto, thanks for posting the Times article; the reference to Tulane sending out !30,000 “VIP” applications sums up every I dislike about colleges.</p>
<p>Re second visits, much depends on your child; if your child is prone to finding flaws, yes, you can wind up with a a very short list. But it can be a way to explore majors in depth; show interest; keep the schools from blending together; etc. I think an overnight visit can be helpful for getting a sense of a campus vibe; weekend activities, etc.</p>
<p>Re W&L, this must be the first time in world history that good colleges have view Jewish kids as URMs they want to recruit. W&L and Juniata are both excellent schools (Juniata was in CTCL) with long histories–getting a break on admissions and aid at such schools is a very good opportunity.</p>
<p>yabeyabe, Actually a few years ago Vanderbilt started actively recruiting Jewish kids especially those from the Northeast. I think they were concerned they were becoming too southern. </p>
<p>My step-nephew was accepted along with 14 other kids from his high school in Weschester County, NY… What is really bizarre is that he got rejected at Binghamton - even having two parents who were alum. Along with getting accepted he got $37K in institutional aid which, tbh, his parents did not need.</p>
<p>Re scores on the back of the transcrips…our GCs assure us that the college admissions counselors don’t even look at them. They have too many other things to look at, and if they’re not the scores you’ve sent, than they are irrelevant. That being said, for S1, I didn’t worry about it and he entered the HS code because we had a good feel for what his scores would be, we took advantage of the free score deliveries by The College Board, and he submitted all of them to colleges anyway. For S2, however, we probably will leave them off because he is not a strong test taker, and I would rather have the option of choosing to provide them or not.</p>
<p>Yabe, I know what you feel about being away for (a day or two?) and coming back to see you’ve missed whole mini threads. No reason to add my two cents about not bothering a second visit (until you child has been accepted and/or a year has passed. They and their views on all this change a lot over the course of Junior to Fall of Senior year).</p>
<p>Congrats to mdcissp. Although my son three years ago didn’t get into his first choice early admission, it was happiness and rejoicing when he got into his only narrowly second choice, a couple weeks later. It brightened him up, brightened the house and the family. Now a whole new phase of forums and threads visiting CC begins.</p>
<p>Congrats and mazel Tov to Mdcissp: it sounds like a great fit for your S and I am very happy and thrilled…hope it continues to work out and if that’s where he ends up going, hope it becomes a great match for him where he thrives.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the h.s. code tells what type of h.s. it is? Competitive, urban, small, large…I thought the h.s. code tells what type of h.s. it is so that the ad com can tell how ready a child may be for their particular college? How competitive that h.s. is compared with other h.s.'s…I don’t know for sure, that’s what I may have heard somewhere…</p>
<p>mhc48: was the early school your S applied to a big reach, or a small reach or a match? Glad to hear he’s happy at 2nd choice. (We’re in that boat now, and pretty nervous until we hear something in mid-Dec.)</p>
<p>chocchip, we thought my son’s first choice, Vanderbilt, was a bit of a reach, but his HS guidance counsellor was really pushing for him, his local interview went really well (the woman he saw was very encouraging and even e-mailed him a week later). Near the end the Vanderbilt adrep called his guidance counsellor who we beleive really pushed for him. He stopped working on other apps and based on the phone call, I thought he was going to make it too. So he was crushed when he was turned down. That made the U Michigan acceptance just before Channukah and a long planned family trip to Belize really a relief. BTW, he absolutely adores everything about Michigan (doesn’t even complain about the weather or the miserable football seasons)and I honestly think he is happier and better off there. He even got a great NYC summer internship from a frat brother’s dad last summer.</p>
<p>chocchip - the hs code just identifies the name of the hs - nothing else. But keep in mind that the colleges know the high school from the transcript and the school Profile. For example, say a rep has the MD/DC/VA territory for his college. He knows the public schools and private schools in his territory - at least the ones that send applicants every year. It is his responsibility to be familiar with the rigor of the high schools, the courses offered and so forth. So, it’s through this process that the college knows the background of what caliber hs the applicant is coming from.</p>
<p>Thanks, Emily, for the reference to Vandy. Susquehanna is mentioned in the article about Vandy which has been posted here a few times. I think of W&L and Juniata as part of that historic outreach effort.</p>
<p>MD,
will your son be living in a dormitory on campus, or at home?</p>
<p>mhc48: My nephew is currently a senior at Vanderbilt. He has loved it there, but I honestly think that things work out the way they are supposed to and if your S is thriving at Michigan, then that’s awesome. My nephew also has had wonderful summer internships in NYC…who knows? Maybe they met up with each other! :)</p>
<p>rvm: thanks for the explanation of the h.s. codes. 
Makes sense that the ad com for the area would get to know the high schools in their area by their strengths, duh! Now that seems kinda obvious to me! I guess I’m having a senior moment!</p>
<p>chocchip - no problem - that question comes up a lot. I see kids posting that they are worried they only have 4 AP classes - but that is all their hs offers - so the regional rep should know that about their hs and judge accordingly - they have taken the most rigorous program available at their school.</p>
<p>If you have a chance to see your hs Profile - ask to see it. I had no idea such a document even existed until my son was a junior. It’s interesting to see the test score ranges, GPA ranges and so forth. Many of us have high schools that don’t rank - but they do report deciles or quintiles on the Profile so you (and the college) can see if you are in the top quintile, 2nd quintile and so forth. This is how colleges know that a 3.2 GPA at one school is the equivalent of a 3.8 GPA at another. </p>
<p>Profiles also usually report AP scores - another fact that tells a lot about the rigor/quality of a hs. If you see a student’s transcript with high grades in their AP classes - but the average AP exam score is a 2 or a 3 - you know that something is amiss at this hs - grade inflation - or labeling a class “AP” that is not truly taught at that level. The hs Profile also typically lists colleges that students have been accepted to and matriculated to in the past 5 years - so the college can determine if this hs has mostly kids who stay in-state or many kids who go on to prestigious colleges and so forth. Profiles make for interesting reading.</p>
<p>rvm:
Thanks, I’ll definitely look into it. Is it posted on-line or do you need to go to gc office? They are quite busy now…I doubt they would want to stop to show me profile…I do know that our h.s. is quite competitive and send kids to pretty prestigous colleges. I also know that even though my S1 has a great GPA, that his class is ridiculously smart and extremely well rounded. In fact, the gc office said they haven’t seen a class this smart in a long time…great…lots of competition…I can pretty much guess what the profile would say…but maybe I’ll have a chance to go look up the info., thanks for the heads up and the explanation!</p>
<p>rvm:</p>
<p>I just went on-line and found our h.s. profile, cool! Thanks for the info., I didn’t know it existed. I would encourage everyone to go on-line and find out about your particular h.s. profile…interesting stuff!</p>
<p>I know I’m a bit behind, but congratulations to mdcissp and her son…early chanukah at your house!</p>
<p>Mdcissp: I’m really happy for you and your son. Towson seems like a great option for him. When did he send in his application? My daughter sent hers around 3 weeks ago. I’m hoping she’ll hear so so we can relax a little.</p>
<p>Many thanks again to all of your kind and caring mazal tovs. To answer some of the questions: my son applied in September to Towson. I felt the state schools would get swamped with applications this year and therefore wanted him to get his applications in early. I never expected such a wonderful, early response. Housing: unless my son decides to go to community college (now highly unlikely), he will live in a dorm.</p>
<p>I suggest that everyone on this forum should encourage their kids to submit their applications to the in state schools first priority.</p>
<p>I also encourage the parents of juniors to help their kids find their strengths and focus on those strengths for the upcoming applications.</p>
<p>Towson has a lot of wonderful majors. Thought the Business school presentation was fantastic with 500 internships.</p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for everyone’s support and may we all only hear good news to share soon!</p>
<p>Boychild had a excellent revisit day at HWS. He also thought his interview went very well. So now one interview with St. Lawrence rep on Sunday and 6 more apps and he is done.</p>
<p>Penn State has a nice Jewish Population. Pricey, though, for out of state!</p>