<p>pugmadkate - I really haven’t thought so much about my dream school for D. I do think about which schools I think she could be happiest at, but I haven’t gone so far as to get attached to any of them. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with daydreaming about a perfect school. Back when I was applying to colleges myself, I didn’t have a favorite then either.</p>
<p>I should clarify that the Parental Prerogative school needn’t have ANY basis in reality: cost, location, whatever. It’s just a place ds or dd wouldn’t consider normally but that YOU, with the wisdom of age, think is the perfect place for him or her.</p>
<p>I logged on last night to repeat the “Love the kid on the couch” mantra, because I couldn’t get ds – who is going to Spain this week and who turns 17 next month – to drive himself to get a haircut! It’s about three miles away, so what’s the big deal? Really, what are my chances of getting him to go to school in Minnesota??? THAT’S why it’s MY dream school for him. :)</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay – we really like Carleton also, it seems like they have a great community on campus. Have you visited? S, H and I will be visiting during S’s spring break next month. We will see Mac also, although I don’t thik it is quite as good a fit for S as Carleton. Did you say your S is interested in sciences? I almost wish we were able to visit a bit more in the dead of winter to get a real taste for it.</p>
<p>Nope, haven’t visited. I’d never heard of the school before joining cc. Ds rcv’d a letter that I loved and now he’s gotten a viewbook. What can I say? I am the victim of great marketing. Sometimes killing those trees pays off. And then I liked what I read online. I know a bit about marketing and really appreciate when a school knows itself and can convey that.</p>
<p>I’ve written on cc before about a college I was researching that had awful blunders on its website, and I just couldn’t seriously consider it for ds. Ds is a URM, and on the website there was a special diversity link. I clicked on it, and, OMG, THOSE pages had multiple typos. What a turnoff. Made it appear that diversity wasn’t that important after all if the school couldn’t bother to make those pages as clean as the rest of the website.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’ve liked everything I’ve seen and read from Carleton, hence my enthusiasm.</p>
<p>YDS:</p>
<p>Oh yes, I can understand your feelings about those sloppily edited pages on the diversity link. (I write this knowing full well that some of my posts here are not plu perfect and am happy for an easier audience … 
) I’ve felt for some time that some things suffer from our ability to have rapid fire communications and yours is such an instance. That college really should have paused to think how those pages would represent it.</p>
<p>I’ve had the opposite experience with other college web sites. The admissions link on the MIT site is quite good, for one example.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m totally lazy on here! But if it were my job to put a good face on a place, I’d sure check and double check.</p>
<p>To get us off the second page, I have a question. When using the collegeboard matcher (or one of the other matchers should D use weighted or unweighted average. They say unweighted, but the types of colleges then don’t match up with D’s school’s naviance. Anyone have any insight?</p>
<p>Okay, I have to join this thread. My son is scheduled to graduate in May 2010 from the Kelley Business School at Indiana University with a major in Legal Studies (Business). </p>
<p>It has been a growth time for him–and, to my surprise, for me as well–and I hope we both survive his senior year in good spirits and with a renewed appreciation for each others’ viewpoints, character, and tenacity.</p>
<p>Calcruzer – welcome! Glad to have you join us.
Most of us here are parents of a high school junior, FWIW.</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into a top tier college, and where should I apply? </p>
<hr>
<p>I am an African American male- Junior in High School
34 ACT
20/419-rank
5.5/5.0 w
3.75/4.0 uw
2000+ hours of caddieing March 2006-present
spanish honor society, national honor society, diversity club, amensty international, peer leadership network, math tutor, saxaphone for last 8 years
attended National Youth Leadership Forum in summer 08
interested in pre med…family is upper middle class but cannot afford high tuition b/c of 4 kids and my brother is just a year younger than me</p>
<p>I’ve been out of the house most of the past two days, but have just caught up… I’ll have to catch up in other threads over the next few…</p>
<p>FAP- congrats on the license and on the rank, AND on not being obsessed on it…</p>
<p>YDS- great news on the trip… I am also surprised on the drinking, but I think that the ideas of the others to moderate with the culture is a good idea.</p>
<p>blackbeastbomb- interesting name! You are certainly welcome here with the parents, there is another Junior student who participates… We aren’t big into the chancing but I would say you have an excellent chance of wherever you set your sights.</p>
<p>bbb, you should figure out what you like in a college (large? small? urban? rural? research u? LAC? particular major? nerdy vibe?) and pick a half dozen or so. in addition you should have a couple of safeties and at least one financial safety. You might want to check out this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html</a></p>
<p>I think you will probably be a very desirable candidate at many colleges.</p>
<p>Heh, “another Junior student”–would that be me? I’m simultaneously embarrassed by and proud of my Senior Member status.</p>
<p>I got lucky this evening. I went to the school board meeting to make my two minute plea to save the AP science/math classes.</p>
<p>Before the board took comments on proposed cuts, they had a few presentations. One was on the new science lab at an elementary school, featuring two fifth graders. Another was a notice by the superintendent on an article in the Best of LA magazine touting our local school district.</p>
<p>Thinking quickly while I was on my keister waiting to speak, I adapted my spiel to tie in with those two info items. I ended my appeal by saying, "Please don’t roll up the math/science road for Dion and Tyler (the two fifth grade boys) before they get to the HS, or they may lose that “A Ha!” (for discovery) factor we saw tonight.</p>
<p>I have no idea whether it will make a difference but some parents thanked me for saying it. There have been numerous voices over the last few weeks trying hard to save these AP classes.</p>
<p>FAP - good work, and Congrats for still being able to think quickly. </p>
<p>YDS - also surprised that they’ll allow drinking on a school-sponsored trip, though I’d also probably go along with it. We do let our kids have a tiny bit of wine if we’re drinking with the meal - but that is only on special occasions. Drinking on school trips, well that’s totally against our school’s policy, however - even if the trip is to another country where that is the custom.</p>
<p>bbb - agree with mathmom and jackief.</p>
<p>Can I just how I am so glad I’m not my son today. He is so stressed today, trying to juggle his sport, his academics and his other commitments. He has to miss most of two days of school Thursday and Friday for a tournament. He was going to skip practice today to make up a BC Cal test he was missing on Thursday thanks to the tourney. The good thing about skipping the practice was that he’ll be able to leave school at 5:30 instead of the usual 6:15 because – get this – tonight is his Eagle Board of Review. No pressure there. Leaving school at 5:30 gives him time to come home and get ready. If he has practice he’ll literally have to change in the car on the way to the mtg. BUT, last night his team lost a game and the coach read them the riot act, specifically mentioning that guys aren’t taking practices seriously. So last night he said, “Mom, I don’t feel like tomorrow is a day I can miss practice.” He’s a starter and fears this new coach will penalize him. Additionally, he has to miss some games over Spring Break because he’s going on a trip that had been planned for two years (his first time in Europe!), so he really feels on the hot seat. He might catch a break – it’s started raining, which means practice could get cancelled.</p>
<p>I feel for him. I didn’t offer him any advice but did pack his lunch for the first time since kindergarten. I’m just on call to be ready to pick him up when he knows what he’s doing.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your S. I’ll pray for lots of rain.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay – that is quite a day for your S! Good luck to him.</p>
<p>Keilexandra – we’re not so bad to hang out with sometimes, huh … for a bunch of oldies. :)</p>
<p>FAP – I’m sure that many parents are grateful that you are someone who will speak for them. I hope you are able to keep those AP classes.</p>
<p>YDS:</p>
<p>May the rain clouds come forth and catch your S a break. Clearly he’s earned one. We’ve had some days like that here. I even remember one day like that myself, when I literally just finished a JV tennis match with the debate team waiting in the van so I could rush over to hop in for the drive to the tournament across state. If they’d have had iPods hen, I would have put one on and chilled out for the drive.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay - I feel for your son as well. My D has had weeks like that, and they aren’t fun at all. I’ll cross my fingers for rain - it’s raining here, so I’ll wish some of our rain your way. Games/practices here only get canceled if there’s thunder and lightning anyway. Oh, and they’re canceled here if the field gets flooded - I forgot about that. D is missing practice today because she has a doctor’s appointment, and she is stressing about that because she knows that she’ll be missing some practices/games in April when we go to visit colleges. I’m going to try to keep it to a minimum, but I think we’ll be gone 3 days.</p>