<p>It’s so hard not to get all caught up in the hype. But rationally, his 3 top choices all have EA, and if none of them work out, there’s always RD for his next “tier” of choices. Especially since a couple of those schools have ED and he wouldn’t be applying to them yet anyway.</p>
<p>So happy for him…the pressure is off. Thanks for the congrats!</p>
<p>Congrats Umich, great news!</p>
<p>I happen to be in Miami at the moment visiting my mom who is in a nursing home and I’m staying with my sister for a few days. She took me on a quick tour of the Univ. of Miami yesterday…really a beautiful school! So many individual colleges…Business, Engineering, Architecture, Music, lots and lots of choices! She said there’s a population of @10,000 and a very small percentage of commuters, maybe 10 percent.</p>
<p>For us, personally, it’s too far away…but for others who don’t mind getting on a plane, it’s really an impressive school to look at. You guys know better than me what the school’s stats are.</p>
<p>Btw, I know this has been covered in this thread before, but my sister told me that her older S, who went to Vanderbilt from Miami, a 16 hour drive, really matured so much in the time he spent at college, and SHE feels that going that far was beneficial for him…if my S does not get into his ED school, he’s not sure he wants to go that far away in choosing another school and I was wondering how the people of this thread thought about distance from home and their kids maturity levels. Does anyone else with seniors or kids already in college have an opinion? Senior year seems to be so tough in terms of the pressure of the child to think about moving away from home…so don’t mind at all and others are more hesitant…</p>
<p>I just re-read my post from an hour ago and I meant to say in the very last line, "some"don’t mind at all and others are hesitant…</p>
<p>Congrats Umich, how nice to be able to relax so early in the year.</p>
<p>Chocchip: When it comes to distance I think it depends a lot on what the kid wants, and their sense of independence and how much you feel you need to supervise. It also helps to feel very comfortable about the school they are going to. My S1 is flying distance and we are lucky if we can complete the whole trip with layovers within 7hours. He wanted to go and the environment seemed more right for him than his closer options. He has never been a high needs kid. His being away was harder for me than for him but now that he is a soph I am used to it. Last year would have been so much more difficult for me if I couldn’t see his smiling face on the computer periodically. Oddly enough we haven’t computer chatted once this semester, so I guess I’ve become less needy.</p>
<p>On on line HS grades: Interesting to see many of you describe your kids as irratic because I’ve always considered that my S2’s oddity. I never know what to expect. I found myself getting so stressed out about checking his grades, really filled with anxiety as I waited for the site to log on I finally learned to stop checking. Sometimes I have S check and report to me sometimes my husband checks but we don’t look daily. I found that my S might be acing several classes but my radar and discussion instantly would go to the low points. S generally doesn’t want to discuss those and I feel bad about just skirting the good news. I do try and jump in when I see a problem that isn’t resolving but I think we all do better without the day to day stress. S2 is a worker but is also laid back. He doesn’t do better with my nagging. He sometimes does better if I can show him a different strategy. I expect that if I believed my getting on him to do better would make a difference I would be there daily. On the otherhand I have heard other hands off parents just say in the middle of senior year that their kids aren’t college material and I quietly wonder how they could have stood back and watched that develop for 4 years. I know college isn’t right for everyone, but sometimes its just a matter of cultivating good habits. I have also been criticized about being too involved when I have missed social events to tutor S. I can’t imagine standing by and watching my kid do poorly without trying to turn every stone I could find to help him improve.</p>
<p>I am pretty pleased today, I just learned that S’s grades qualified him to apply to NHS! It is curious how the school calculates GPA, I don’t think I’ll ever get it but I am happy about it.</p>
<p>Umich: Congratulations! Your application strategy seems to be working out well. We’re still waiting for the first acceptance here, and it’s pretty stressful.</p>
<p>CCC: I think Spectrum gives good advice about how distance from home really depends on the independence level of the kid. It’s certainly easier on the parent if your kid stays closer. I love having my older daughter 2 hours away in Philadelphia. She has had the chance to explore a new city, but can still come home for a weekend if she wants. She usually comes home 2-3 times a semester, and we visit her once or twice. It’s nice to have the option to drive up for a few hours and come home the same day. At the same time, she is far enough away that she has built her own life at school.</p>
<p>My younger daughter is hoping to go to college in Boston. She will also have the option to come home for a weekend, but she will need to fly. She originally considered schools farther away, but decided she wanted to stay on the east coast. (I think her BF may have been in factor in that decision).</p>
<p>On distance - there was an article in the college issue of Reform Judaism magazine that I linked around August 1 that discussed this issue - and came to the interesting conclusion that girls benefited from being farther away - while it made little difference with boys. Maybe because parents are more protective of their girls and being farther away allowed them to mature more rapidly? Not sure about the validity - as some pointed out at the time - maybe the girls who chose to go to distant schools were more mature to start with.</p>
<p>I just like my kids within driving range - I think it’s a lot easier logistically with moving them in, moving them out, and all the breaks they have. Needing to fly back and forth would be an added expense and hassle. I guess we don’t fly very often - so it seems like a big deal to me - for those who are more frequent travelers - it might not be such an obstacle.</p>
<p>spectrum2 - I enjoyed your comments re online grade sites - when you wrote about your anxiety as you waited for the site to load - yup - that’s exactly where I am. If his grades were more consistent - I wouldn’t be checking daily. But because he is so ridiculously erratic - I feel a greater need to stay on top of him. If I ask him how classes are going - all I generally get is “fine”. Which in many cases, is not accurate. I do try to praise him for the good grades also - he is taking his first AP - AP Psych this year - and had a high B first quarter - which really impressed me - it also shows me he can do well when he is motivated. We are having our first weekly Edline meeting later today - see what we can come up with.</p>
<p>My strategy at this point is to have him apply to EA/rolling schools in the fall - putting less pressure on senior grades. I realize he has to keep them reasonably strong so as to send decent final grades to the college he is going to attend - but I think it will lessen the daily anxiety that we are going through right now.</p>
<p>As far as distance from home, my senior didn’t want to go further than driving distance away. I don’t even think he had moving logistics in mind, but in the event of an emergency, he wants to be able to get home w/out having to fly. A friend’s D who chose Tulane (and loves it, btw), already had an issue flying home during orientation when her plane got diverted and she had to spend the night in Tennessee. Her D did great and handled herself well and responsibly. It’s my friend who had a hard time w/ it.</p>
<p>UMich - congratulations to your son! I am sure it is a relief!</p>
<p>Mazal tov UMich! Purdue Engineering is very impressive! We are very happy for you and your son.</p>
<p>Since most of you are in the northeast it seems that there are many more options that are a drive away. S1 really wanted to live in another part of the country just to experience the change but that in and of itself would not have been the determining factor. We actually told him that if he got into one comparable instate school with comparable FA that we would probably not go for the OOS school. That became a nonfactor when he was WL’d instate. We really tried to lay out the limitations as carefully as we could foresee them. But once he got in and got the aid it did seem like the distant school was a significantly better option for him. It is a good idea to make the decision of what works and what doesn’t at ap time. If you are considering schools that will require air travel and you aren’t a frequent flyer I would suggest that if you don’t already have one get a credit card that awards frequent flyer miles to an airline that flies to the area of the school. Several credit cards will award milage to any airline but these miles accrue more slowly so it would be really good to get a jump on building your milage with your day to day expenses. This has helped us tremendously S’s commutes and our visits. If you are considering a distant school and you are not prepared for student to come home for holidays and spring break it would also be a good idea to figure that out in advance.</p>
<p>Umich, congrats on the first acceptance! Purdue engineering is great!</p>
<p>Congrats again, UMich…thanks to everyone for their input. My sister had much less choices living in Miami for top colleges nearby for her S1 than I do living in the northeast. My nephew has been very happy at Vanderbilt, but in actuality, Vandy would not even be a school for us to consider seriously, since it’s so far away. Our list consists of schools in driving distance and schools that are a plane ride away, but I have a feeling my S would choose a school in driving distance, even if it takes 5 or 6 hours to get there, rather than hassle with the expense of plane fares.</p>
<p>Yeah, our h.s. just started posting grades on-line at the beginning of this school year and it’s a double edged sword! Mainly for S2, who falls in the A-/B+/B range. I try not to check too often…I don’t want to drive both of us crazy!</p>
<p>Momjr: Your older D is already in college and now you are waiting to hear about D2? How many schools did she apply to? We have @10 in the list and have applied to 5 so far, one of them ED, 2 EA, 2 RD so far…need to have S start working on next group of essays soon…just get them ready in case ED doesn’t work out…wow, this is an intense year!</p>
<p>CCC: Yes, this is an intense year. My daughter has applied to 5 schools so far: 1 ED, 2 EA and 2 rolling. We’re hoping to hear from the rolling schools soon so she has an acceptance in hand before the ED results in mid-December. She plans to apply to 2 more common app schools if she’s not accepted to the ED school, but only one school has a supplement, so she’s holding off on that one. My older daughter got into her top choice ED, and it really make the rest of the year fun for her. We’re all pretty stressed with the waiting, but I’m trying to keep it in perspective. Good luck to you and your son.</p>
<p>Some thoughts about Vanderbilt: For those you who have an A or A- student, Vanderbilt is worth considering as long as your kid finds the South appealing. Like CCC’s nephew, my daughter has a close friend who is very happy there. She has found the Hillel to be very welcoming and went on a birthright trip for Vanderbilt students. My daughter visited and said that the facilities were amazing, but the Southern vibe wouldn’t have been right for her.</p>
<p>When we say here that someone is an A or a B student, what are we referring to? Is this weighted or unweighted and what is the criteria? I have been trying to figure out where my son fits in (on the CC scale) for a few years and still am not sure. I think (he has not taken the SAT’s yet) that I have a high"er" GPA/so so SAT kid but, we really won’t know for sure until after he actually takes the SAT’s and after the semester grades (they go on the transcript and are figured into the class rank/GPA) in early February. So, when you guys say that a school like Vanderbilt has worked out well for the Jewish “A” student, do you mean the kid had a 4.0 unweighted (straight A’s) or a 3.7-4.0 (mostly A’s, some B’s)?</p>
<p>seiclan - from what I have seen - Vanderbilt is pretty much for a straight A student who has taken honors and AP classes as well. Not to say that a small number of Bs would eliminate the school from consideration - but it is much harder to be admitted to Vanderbilt now than it was just 5 years ago. Obviously GPA will vary from one hs to the next - but I would think 3.7 unweighted and above sounds reasonable.</p>
<p>At our large public hs - last year - 29 applied and 5 were admitted. The average weighted GPA was 4.49 with a 32 ACT. The GPA would indicate pretty much a straight A student with numerous honors/AP classes pushing the GPA over 4.0. Even among the kids with higher GPAs and ACTs in the 34-35 range - there is a mix of acceptances and waitlists. So, this is truly a school for the “A” student - unless you are well-hooked.</p>
<p>seiclan: </p>
<p>My nephew did not have straight A’s in h.s. However, that being said, he was one of the top of his class in Miami (definitely top 10 %) and also an accomplished musician, which is what I think got him into Vanderbilt. Believe it or not, his SAT’s were not strong for a top tier college. I believe they were @1950-2000…something like that. But in his case, the school was very interested in his EC’s, many which revolved around band & symphony experience, so he double majored in music and then something else. (Good for a school located in Nashville!) His GPA was not top, but more of the A- range.</p>
<p>Depending on what your S wants to major in, you have good choices in the Univ.Florida and top private schools like Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, etc…</p>
<p>I just cross posted with rvm, but I will add that my nephew did take an enormous amount of AP classes, both in regular subjects and in music.</p>
<p>Seiclan: It’s hard to categorize a student based on GPA. They really vary by school. Most college admissions committees say that the most important factor they consider is the rigor of the courses the student has taken. I consider an “A” student someone who has close to a 4.0 unweighted GPA while taking a very rigorous schedule. The top schools want to see mostly “A”'s with lots of honors and AP courses. </p>
<p>Your son’s test scores might surprise you. If you’re not happy with his SAT scores, you should have him try the ACT. It is hard to select schools to visit until you know where his scores fall. </p>
<p>In terms of Vanderbilt, a student would need close to a 4.0 unweighted in difficult courses to be competitive.</p>
<p>Umich, congratulations!
Regarding “unmotivated” students: it seems like so many on this thread have a profile of a very high-achieving older sibling and a not-so-high-achieving younger sibling. How have you helped the younger sibling realize his or her unique strengths, and how have you promoted a feeling of self-efficacy for this sibling?</p>
<p>From what I have seen Vandy is really for A students unless there is a hook. With a selectivity rate of about 20% an average UW GPA about 3.7 and an average ACT about 30. I have known students with better stats to get rejected or WL’D. </p>
<p>Generally if GPA is listed as being on a 4.0 scale it is unweighted and on a 5.0 or higher it is weighted. For the purposes of this thread I have intpreted B colleges as colleges that don’t fall into the highly selective range(selectivity 40% or greater), UW GPA of the middle 50% somewhere between 3.0 to 3.5., SAT’s somewhere between 1100 and 1300 and ACT’s between 20 and 28. That is my rough guestimate not based on anything in particular just experience. Others may see some variation on this scale. But this may help you ballpark it.</p>