<p>Kajon–well…drugs! After asking to be tested for ADD for 3 years, I finally relented and had him talk to a doctor about it. Short story, the doc felt he was a pretty classic case and put him on the lowest dose of Vyvanse and voila! DS maintains he doesn’t work nearly as hard now as he used to.</p>
<p>And, I’ll join you with the wine! :D</p>
<p>dsult: Cal L U is on my S’s list…has been since he was a 7th grader 
He attends football camp there every summer and loves it. All the things schmoo said are true and it really is a fabulous little school. The campus is lovely they have D2 fball if your boy is interested in that and the sort of service orriented, nice kids environment that is often…but not always…created at smaller U’s.</p>
<p>schmoo: clink</p>
<p>dsultemeier: Linfield College in Oregon may not be warm (cool and wet is more like it) but they offer Coaching as a minor, has some incredible winning streak going in football, may be smaller than your son wants at 1800 students, has been very generous with merit aid offered to my D, seems extraordinarily friendly and comfortable to us, is close enough to Portland for that to be a weekend draw, and draws about half its students from out of state.</p>
<p>Schmoomcgoo: sweet!</p>
<p>Congrats on all of the good news, people!</p>
<p>rodney and holliesue, don’t forget my D is a kindred spirit to yours! And she’s a junior, too.</p>
<p>Like most of these kids, she’s “officially” a 3.5 at her school, but many, many A’s are in arts classes. She’s no more than a 3.3 in academics. She’s taking some APs now, so I guess some schools will weight that, but they’ll see that except in English she can’t consistently get As in any subject. And she’s had devastating standardized test experiences. So we’re in the club, and here we’ll stay until we see it through!</p>
<p>I do have an older D, with much higher stats, so not this type exactly, BUT her personality was to pick a plan and be done with it. It was VERY hard to get her to do any of her own school research. The happy thing was she fell in love with one school, applied ED, got in, and has had a great experience (she’s a junior now). So in terms of personality, I do think that a kid who doesn’t love the “thrill of the hunt” might as well find a good match, apply as early as possible, and ride on that if they can. </p>
<p>My HS junior D tends to dream and loves to explore, so she’s been much better about doing her own looking, getting tons of ideas, and going on visits. And that’s paying off because she’s starting to hone in on what’s most important to her. True to form, it tends to be a gut reaction, but I think those are as valid as anything, in the long run.</p>
<p>I am happy to help out on Midwest schools, and stuff for artsy kids. I also grew up near Boston and have a good handle on that area. </p>
<p>Keep it coming, everyone!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the informaton on Cal Lutheran, Linfield, and Rollins. I’ll add them to the list. They all sound really nice. </p>
<p>Schmoomcgoo: Congrats on the good grades. I would be thrilled to see those.</p>
<p>Dsult,
For warm weather + football, I would look at Arizona; Arizona State; Clemson; South Carolina; LSU; Florida, U. of South Florida; U. of Central Florida; Florida State; Alabama and Georgia.</p>
<p>Note, though, that if he wants to continue to play, smaller, Division 3 schools are much easier to play for and do not become all-consuming.</p>
<p>just seconding digdig’s assessment of Linfield. DD was a 3.6 but with a 26 ACT and received more $$ there than anywhere else. Plus it is just a great place.</p>
<p>CCL, I do know what you mean about the sting (although here at our house, I’m the only one feeling it). The whole safety-match-reach thing is a bit too simplistic anyway. I know at the extremes there are obvious safeties and obvious reaches. But making distinctions in the broad middle can be tricky, and I think surprises (both good and bad) are built in to the standard process most of our kids are following. </p>
<p>Anyway, for what it’s worth, I doubt an EA deferral puts a figurative black mark on your file. I think you just get evaluated like any other RD kid. Also, if your son is really interested in the school, it does give him the opportunity to do something extra that might make his app standout when the time comes (e.g., a letter saying why he really wants to go, an additional recommendation). Also, although I don’t have the energy to go back through this thread, I think your son has some nice acceptances in hand, so I hope he’s not too bummed. </p>
<p>yabeyabe2 and northeastmom, I know our kids have some overlap in schools (and there is overlap with more than a few others here as well). I’m also looking forward to seeing where everyone ends up.</p>
<p>Schmoomcgoo, as someone said earlier in the context of a similar story, you may have to become an Emeritus member of this thread! </p>
<p>I know how you feel, since we’re experiencing a similar upward trend, not as sharp as your son’s, but still right when it counts the most (knock on wood, since we haven’t see final mid-year grades for all classes yet). To me, the best part is seeing them realize they can do it.</p>
<p>gweeta, I have no idea, but I am probably not publicly posting. We need to wait for financial aid information for him to make a final decision, although I have an idea of where he might be going.</p>
<p>yabeyabe2: thanks for the school suggestions. </p>
<p>Historymom: I haven’t heard of Linfield before but it sounds really nice Plus I’ve never been to Portland and would love to visit. </p>
<p>S has promised to discuss colleges with me this weekend. Hopefully we can figure out our spring visit schedule. Thanks for all the help. Niether of my kids want to post on CC but they seem to really value the advice given.</p>
<p>Congrats Schmoo! That is fantastic news and definitely reason to celebrate big! And what a confidence booster to your S as he gets ready for college. Wish I could report the same thing but senior son performed as he always does. The bright side is he didn’t go down and at least he is very consistent (although an upward trend sure would have been nice).</p>
<p>dsultmeier: What I liked most about it was it’s emphasis on hands-on learning. Lots of experience based field work that engages kids who like to get out and touch stuff. <a href=“http://www.linfield.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.linfield.edu</a></p>
<p>Second the opinion on Linfield. My D and I visited last July. Really nice little collegetown close by as well, and they had some really nice dorms/apartments on campus. Such a lovely area as well.</p>
<p>Good news in the mail today. My S was accepted into Endicott College (MA).</p>
<p>Congrats! When you visit him, enjoy scenic Gloucester, Marblehead and Rockport!</p>
<p>Son just got into another school tonight…that makes two this week and six in total.</p>
<p>I’m actually starting to wonder if he should have aimed higher. Although, I’m not sure what exactly what would have been higher (without being too high) given his parameters of wanting a “rah rah” school and not knowing what he wants to study…and trying to avoid too many very expensive schools. (After all, if you like big and “rah rah”…there are plenty to be found in the public school arena.)</p>
<p>Congrats!
And frankly, while many of us are reacting to acceptances with “Why didn’t we reach higher?”, as long as our kids are happy, that is the most important thing. Yours is one of the easier answers–your choices for Rah Rah are flagships and very few others–Notre Dame, Syracuse, USC, BC and Duke–very expesnive and/or very selective. </p>
<p>Every time I think I am falling back into "Why didn’t he go for reaches, I remind myself how happy he was to get into his first chocie. Maybe 4 years from now, when he hits the job market, that more prestigious credential may come back to my mind, but I hope that, if he has had a good 4 years, I will be ok.</p>
<p>re: not reaching higher. It is hard to calibrate the process. I’m feeling a little like Goldilocks. I want this to be just right, i.e., a reach acceptance and a reach denial, so we know we went just far enough. </p>
<p>Too bad it doesn’t work that way, so I’m with yabeyabe in trying to remind myself that he’s in at places we think are good fits.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this helps but if you are wondering about if your child should have aimed higher, has it occurred to anyone that maybe their child just made the cut? I’m only saying this because of my own experience with my older son’s acceptances. He got into to just about every college he applied to and I felt that was because we chose well. I’m not a big fan of reaches, at least with that son, because I wasn’t really sure he would have risen up to the challenge. If he was a B student in High School, what would make him be an A or even a B student at a much more rigorous College, where there were no slacker students to be under him? What if HE was the Slacker student?? </p>
<p>As it turns out, my B student in HS is a B student in College and he often talks of how challenging his classes are. I know, can you believe it - Here I am posting on CC and I have a B grade College student! :)</p>