<p>mathmom, I probably should have had that book about 16 years ago. My S has been “spirited” – or shall we say “hell on wheels” since he was born. I knew I was in for it before I even brought him home from the hospital. :D</p>
<p>I found the book very helpful, just in that it helped me to seethe positive side of things that were driving me crazy - and I truly had a pretty easy kid compared to some! It also showed how some traits may bother you because of the way they clash with your own traits. A laid back Mom won’t be bothered by a kid who likes to take his time, but if you are always on the go, it may drive you crazy for example.</p>
<p>Filling out those parent questionnaires is an interesting task isn’t it? I’m glad though that boiling the kid down to four adjectives wasn’t on our list this year!</p>
<p>at least our questionnaire is only one page double sided, D’s version is four times as long! She spent an hour working on it and will get back to it later.</p>
<p>The only time our GCs want to meet with parents is one 10 minute meeting early in the junior year just to make sure the student is on track to graduate. That’s it. I wish somone here had the time to care how I would describe my kid in 4 adjectives! Well, I certainly have learned a lot about the college search process having to go it alone. </p>
<p>I think we did an acceptable job of it the first time around, and this time I have an even better grasp of what S is up against, even if it is more competitive nowadays. I put so much time into this, I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself once he is off to college. Vacation to Italy sounds about right… :)</p>
<p>BengalMom - sounds like a great idea - the trip to Italy, I mean. </p>
<p>BTW, HarrietMW very kindly posted a link to curmudgeon’s thread on adjectives in college recs on the '09 thread for anyone who’s interested. She was being helpful, but didn’t want to add to our post count, so she posted it there for our benefit.</p>
<p>I just ran into an old friend from high school. Her child is a senior at my D’s school. He gave his apps to the school in early November. One of his top choices has called her three times this week to ask for the transcript. She’s called them repeatedly and her son has gone to the office countless times. Get a knife and shoot me, ok?</p>
<p>Here’s the link posted by HMW in the '09 thread:</p>
<p>on cc, connotations are the most important</p>
<p>It’s a good one.</p>
<p>Sorry, not sure why my link isn’t working!</p>
<p>LOL LIMOM! I will go over there and read it any maybe send her a PM thank you. Or I can just thank her here, hey! Thanks Harriet!! 
It is funny how we have us stalking their thread and vice versa. I’d love to hear the chuckles from them (over here if you please) on what they think looking a year into their past while reading all our discussions.</p>
<p>Here’s the link:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/36494-cc-connotations-most-important.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/36494-cc-connotations-most-important.html</a></p>
<p>I have a hotmail email account that I sparingly use. Imagine my surprise when I logged on a couple of days ago and literally found pages of emails from colleges all over God’s green earth!! I mentioned it to DW and D. D say “oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that I put your email account on the PSAT stuff.” “Why’d you do that?” I asked. Her email name includes the name of her top choice school and she didn’t want her other prospective colleges to see it. So, she brilliantly gave them mine. I’ve been sifting through it for two days now… </p>
<p>Oh then there’s all the snail mail. We got something like 35 pieces of mail yesterday. Oh man, and the postal service says they’re hurting for business? I’m not buying it.</p>
<p>Jackief - we’re all just interested in seeing how things are going from the other side…lol. They get to play remember when, and we get to see what we have to look forward to next year.</p>
<p>Keilexandra - thanks. I’m not sure why it didn’t work for me.</p>
<p>FLVADAD - my D did that to me last year. This year she used her own, so I’m clueless about what’s coming to her.</p>
<p>zoosermom: If they give you trouble tell your D’s counselors you’ll post their phone numbers on C.C and then they’ll have to deal with phone calls from all over the country.</p>
<p>zm, I’m so sorry to hear of your inadequate college counseling! Early next fall you will have to pack a bag with food and clothes and zoosergirl will have to set up residence in the counselor’s office until she gets those transcripts and recommendations out. You know what they say about the squeaky wheel.</p>
<p>momof3sons - good job on the haiku thread! I would have joined you, but I can’t seem to think in haiku tonight. Maybe the brain will be working better tomorrow.</p>
<p>Ok…i’m a junior looking through this thread, and i cannot believe parents actually do this for their kids and actually are this involved in their stuff…
I am SO GRATEFUL my parents leave me completely alone on this and dont bother me with prep/scores/school…i think it’s actually teaching me initiative as opposed to waiting for my mommy to handle it.
If i want to take an ACT or SAT, I’m the one who signs up
If i want a college visit, I schedule it.
I get all the scholarships apps myself…and guess what, i bet im in better shape than coddled kids…
Could my parents have made me take Soph PSATs…probably…but i didn’t want to so it wasn’t an issue.
Could they have made me prep? Yup, but I didn’t want to so i didn’t…
I would kill myself if there were so far up my butt</p>
<p>^^ I am glad for you, rocket6louise, that you have the initiative to do a lot of this yourself. </p>
<p>I know what you are trying to say but I wish you would not be so quick and harsh to judge. You should realize that different families have different dynamics- what works for your family may not work for mine. If you read carefully you will find that most of the parents here are deeply respectful of their chidren’s independence. We care, we make suggestions, we try to help, but our children are the ones in control of their lives. This is just a place where parents gather to talk about their chidren’s lives, and about this particular phase of parenthood. I don’t expect you to understand or agree- and that’s okay too.</p>
<p>vicariousparent - very well said.</p>
<p>So as I was getting up, I thought that one adjective I want to use is “competitive,” but I want to tone it down. She competes with herself, she isn’t back stabbing against her friends. She competes to do well in sports (her sports are more timed/individual) and to do well in classes. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>And all those haikus, although fun and witty, are just space fillers and would be an EMPTY VICTORY! DO YOU HEAR ME HISTORYMOM AND OTHERS! YES WE HAVE OUR EYES ON YOU! Just kidding, I’m glad we can all have fun here and there.</p>
<p>ZM, I just read your post.
Is there any way for you to start an informal group for juniors’ parents at your D’s school? Or exchange emails.
If many parents get together and stay on top of the school administration, that might force them to look at how the college process is been handled.
A neighbor told me, how only the top 10% of the graduating class at Stuyvesant gets college counseling. So when her D was a senior, she pestered the guidance counselor until she got what she wanted. That was 5 years ago.
Like momof3sons said, The squeaky wheel does get the oil.
Another thing you might consider whatever email you send to the counselor send a copy to the principal.</p>
<p>jackief - a little friendly competition never hurt anyone…lol. I’m talking about the 2009ers vs. the 2010ers, not your D, btw.</p>
<p>My D is also competitive, both against herself and against somewhat against others - but that wasn’t one of the traits I was planning to mention. If I think up a good word, I’ll let you know.</p>
<p>ontheedge - interesting about Stuyvesant if it’s true. I’m not sure that’s the case, but like most city schools, they’re probably short-staffed in the guidance department, especially given the number of students applying to college from that school compared to the average NYC high school.</p>