<p>I’ve tried to update our Congratulations List as best I can with the recent postings. I’ve also decided to add info about scholarship awards because this can be very helpful in understanding which schools may be more generous with merit aid.</p>
<p>Chardo’s S: U of Alabama
Cherryhillmomto2’s S: Rutgers (attending)
DDMLE’s S: Muhlenberg (attending)
Fourkidsmom: D1Colgate '10, S1 Purdue (senior attending with a co-op), d2 academically accepted: Tulane (Prez scholarship) Indiana (honors) waiting for MT
Ittliz’s D: Universities of Kansas, Oregon, Indiana and Colorado - Boulder; Michigan State U
Mdmomfromli’s D: Cornell University (attending),Tulane, Indiana (Honors)
MoltoBene’s S: Michigan '15; D2:Rush Medical College '15, D1:Tulane '09
Momjr’s D2: Boston U '15, D1: U Penn '12
Mom2009’s S: Universities of Indiana and Vermont (scholarship), Qunnipiac (scholarship)
Orangemom12’s DD: UF '13, DS1: UF '13, DS2: Pittsburgh, UMN/Twin Cities, UCF
Pamom59’s D2: U of Pittsburgh, Temple, Drexel ($12K/yr scholarship) (D1 Pitt ’15)
Phillyartmom: Ringling College of Art
PRJ’s D2: Tulane (D1: Brandeis '13)
Rockvillemom’s S: Elon (attending), Towson
Samtalya’s S: Elon (Engagement scholarship) (attending)
Seiclan’s S: University of Central Florida
Simpkin’s S: Albright, Lycoming, U of Kansas, McDaniel
Socaldad’s D: College of Charleston; Universities of Pittsburgh, Colorado - Boulder, Kansas, Indiana; Michigan State U D1 U Texas 2013
Spectrum2’s S: UT - Austin: Texas A&M
Srandrew’s S: U of Vermont (scholarship); Quinnipiac
Sujormik’s D: Tulane, U of Pittsburgh, Drexel ($23K/yr scholarship)
Vitrac: D1 Tulane '14
911C2S’s S: Bucknell (attending), Universities of Pittsburgh, Tulsa, St. Louis ($12K/yr scholarship)</p>
<p>Socaldad: Congratulations on another acceptance! You and D must feel especially pleased that the list of schools and the approach to applications/visits/demonstrated interest has rewarded you so handsomely! Great, great job!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Visit schools before the senior year.</p></li>
<li><p>Have at least one Rolling Admission school that is applied to by late September/early October.</p></li>
<li><p>Get the essays done over the summer. Your child will thank you for nagging them about this later!</p></li>
<li><p>Understand the benefits of EA/ED as they apply to your child and each school. </p></li>
<li><p>Prepare a “high school resume” with a brief description of your college/career goals to give to the people doing your recommendations and to attach with the applications (I kept a file in MS Word for each year in high school, so that we wouldn’t forget any activities.) </p></li>
<li><p>Have a financial safety that your child would be willing to attend.</p></li>
<li><p>If a school says something is recommended or optional treat it as required if it’s a school your child is really interested in. </p></li>
<li><p>If the first SAT scores aren’t great, try the ACT (and vice versa).</p></li>
<li><p>Use the new net price calculator tool that all colleges are now required to offer on their websites. This will give use a realistic ballpark of what FA you might receive. Better to know this info upfront - than to apply to colleges that simply will not work out financially.</p></li>
<li><p>Look at the Common Data Set for each college - simply Google “XYZ University Common Data Set” and you will generally find it. A wealth of information on acceptance rates, admissions criteria and test scores.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply to one or more schools where your child’s stats are at or above the mid-range. (You will know this after checking out the CDS). This will provide both an admissions safety school and a great chance at merit aid.</p></li>
<li><p>Start applications in August - particularly for any rolling admission schools. The Common Application becomes available August 1 each year and most other applications are available by mid-August. Anything you can accomplish in August will be a blessing in September/October.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are applying for need-based financial aid - check each college’s website very carefully. Deadlines and requirements vary considerably. Familiarize yourself ahead of time with FAFSA and CSS Profile. Don’t be intimidated by all of the acronyms - these are fairly straight forward forms.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t pay for SAT/ACT tutoring prematurely. Just as you would not head in for surgery without the proper diagnostic tests - don’t get sucked into an expensive test prep program before you know what your child needs. Have them take both an ACT and a SAT junior year. Decide which test suits them better. Decide which sections of that particular test need work. Then - you can do some paid test prep to focus on that specific area. </p></li>
<li><p>The most important lesson of all - and the one that many wise posters taught me last year - is to love your child unconditionally - despite the occasional bad grade - despite their lack of interest in their college process - despite their innate ability to push buttons. No college admissions process is worth damaging the relationship you have with your teenager. If you find yourself veering towards the deep end with stress over the college process - take a deep breath and step back. The nest will be empty soon enough.</p></li>
<li><p>Have your child pick a theme. This theme is their story. It should be what makes them unique. The theme should play out in interviews, resumes, and essays. It can be an after school activity, a charity, a learning difference, or anything. It may sound odd, but it makes sense. You want a story conveyed, that might resonate with admissions.</p></li>
<li><p>Pick two or three schools and market your child to these schools. It is important to set your applicant apart. If these schools are a reach, you need to put a name and story to your child. Don’t rely solely on SAT and GPA numbers to sell your child. Demonstrated interest can be very important. Colleges want to admit kids who are going to enroll. They want high yields. We selected two schools that were reaches for my daughters. We visited, met with admissions, followed up, and set our kids apart. The results so far have been great. In one instance, my D1 personally delivered her application and materials. She told the admissions rep she flew there to hand it to her, because she wanted her to know how much she wanted that school. It worked. Now we hope for one more good result for D2.</p></li>
<li><p>ignore those around you who give you ‘the look’ or question, why that school or comment I have never heard of it. be proud of the school. it doesn’t have to be ivy league.</p></li>
<li><p>fit, fit, fit</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t second guess yourselves. No woulda, coulda, shoulda. Do your research - make your decisions and choices - and live with the results.</p></li>
<li><p>Start taking the ACT early in your kid’s Junior year and take it OFTEN! Many schools use a “superscore” which takes the highest score in each category. Our kids did better each time they took it, confidence comes with practicing a little every day (30 minutes) and focusing on one subject each day. Most problems kids have is getting the section completed in the time allotted and practicing with a kitchen/cell phone timer each day teaches them to speed up the process.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure it’s their voice that comes through in the essay. It’s fine to have other people look it over to make sure it reads well and is grammatically correct and without typos. But it has to be their essay and don’t let anyone polish it too much.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Absolutely. My S sat in on a class at most schools we visited in the fall, and he overnighted at two. There is NO substitute for being there, both in class to get a feel for that, and out of class to get a social feel. Some schools seem to support this better than others.</p>
<p>If we are lucky enough to have more than one good option this spring, we’ll definitely arrange longer visits before we commit.</p>
<p>Congrats to all of the recent acceptances. I am wondering how many of you are putting housing deposits down at a few schools. it seems that housing at many schools is on a first come, first serve basis. If you do not apply for housing early, it is difficult to get the housing that you want. As my D2 has not made her final decision yet, down to 3, we now have housing at three schools in various parts of the U.S. This just seems crazy. I am thankful that D1 fell in love with Wisconsin, and that was that.</p>
<p>That same thought is being bandied about our house as well. We have heard that IU needs an early deposit. Thinking about coin it there as a backup. I am told it does not matter at Pitt. CofC no idea. I am not against putting down one, don’t want to do multiples. Anyone else have any perspective on this issue, or these schools…</p>
<p>Socal, I also recall from my Pitt research that there’s no need to make an early housing deposit.</p>
<p>If it were me (we already put the deposit down on the ED school) I would check into the schools’ policies. Some housing deposits are refundable, so putting ones down on these schools would give peace of mind.</p>
<p>Don’t you have to accept the offer of admission before they allow you to put down a housing deposit? Does this mean you accept multiple offers and then withdraw?</p>
<p>^^housing deposits are not enrollment deposits…you can give housing deposits to multiple schools and it is actually advisable especially for large publics…</p>
<p>If a school requires an enrollment deposit in order to place a housing deposit, multiple enrollments are “kosher” until the May 1st deadline, but keep in mind, you may lose the deposits at that point…</p>
<p>D was accepted to NYU today for BFA degree in studio art!</p>
<p>Whew! What a relief! I had the best time going into her common app page and deleting the schools she never finished her essays for. The alternative would have been a harrowing weekend, making sure she wrote all those supplements and submitted them plus her art portfolio (in various formats) before Christmas break. It would have been such fun. Thank god it worked out.</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone who has had good news for ED and EA schools. </p>
<p>And for those still waiting, I can guarantee that the time between New Year’s and April just zooms by during senior year.</p>
<p>Oregon acceptance tonight. Came in mail with official CofC letter. We are now done except for delaware. Now there is a lot of pressure for a clean sweep.</p>