<p>Kat Thanks so much. That was great information. Maybe I was just in denial, huh? </p>
<p>Currently working on EFC on CB.</p>
<p>DougBetsy: Have a good visit at F&M tomorrow. ED was encouraged at our F&M info session a few weeks back, but if thereās any additional information on that topic, given the discussions on the F&M forum and the ā>50% EDā thread, I would be interested, as well.</p>
<p>Regarding merit aid vs. need-based aid: D, herself, now wonāt look into any private school not offering merit. She plans to go on to graduate school and figures that sheās afraid of taking on a significant amount of student debt for her undergraduate education. Another thought thatās occurred to us with the economic downturn is how accessible are student loans going to be in the near future? I think itās kind of a shame that there are some ānon-merit aidā schools that would be good fits for her that sheās passing up, but I do understand and appreciate that sheās being pragmatic.</p>
<p>I wouldnāt rule out large state schools, necessarily. I got a fantastic education at Texas. Yes, itās a huge university (48,000 when I was there), but I was in the engineering school, and most of my classes werenāt very large. I spent a lot of my time in Cockrell Hall with a small group of students. I never had any problem talking to professors, even in large history classes. One of my FAVORITE classes all four years was US History - there must have been 300 kids in there, but the professor was wonderful and kept us on the edge of our seats. I would go into his office and have great conversations with him - he tried to get me to switch my major to history! I also got the chance to take classes from world-famous engineers and scientists.</p>
<p>I really had to bite my tongue as S and I toured small LACs and they would give us the large-schools-are-evil-and-horrible spiel!</p>
<p>interesting MaineLonghorn (give me a while, and you will eventually become ML) I went to another ābigā school, half the size of yours, but the engineering college was 900 and my major was 100 and I still had predominantly lecture classes into my senior year, except for some humanities classes. I guess it really depends. My D is currently in a small high school with 10-15 student discussion based classes and doesnāt want to lose that in a college environment. One thing she hasnāt done yet is sit in on a class. Itās great to hear how some kids really loved doing that, she hasnāt had interest even when there has been one in a convenient time and subject. Hope she warms up to that eventually.</p>
<p>09 thread is really humming these days. Iām waiting till next week to give one big CONGRATS but if any of you are reading here you know we are all thinking it.</p>
<p>congrats on the senior member status LIMOM! :)</p>
<p>Way to go LIMOM!!! First of the Junior parents to become a senior :)</p>
<p>Ok not the firstā¦ but still funny :)</p>
<p>way to pad that post count scualum! 
Weāll be there before the end of the year, methinksā¦</p>
<p>LIMOMOF2: I have looked at Geneseo several times in passing, but I have some concerns. Class size seems to be an issue despite the public LAC moniker, and given the economy, I donāt expect the situation to improve. Also, is the lack of geographic diversity noticeable? Any parents here familiar with Geneseo?</p>
<p>scualum: What, I donāt count? I know Iām not a parent, but still. Iāve been senior for a whileā¦ ;)</p>
<p>clap clap for you to Keilexandra! :D</p>
<p>Iām sure there are others also, who have their oldest in this cohort. Step forward and name yourselves!</p>
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<p>Yeah, momonthehill, those ED stats are :eek:. (Did you see the one where F&M only has a 7% yield for RD?) DH and I have already issued the edict that we will not allow ED for any school. Just donāt want to give up the option of exploring all financial possibilities. So, Iāll listen to F&M talk about it, but with a skepticās ear.</p>
<p>Keil:</p>
<p>Many apologies - The junior to senior thing just popped into my head - so I typed it - only to scroll up and see you, VicariousParent and ag54 all with Senior statusā¦</p>
<p>Of course, LIMOM is the only one to do it entirely within this thread (just kidding but she is close )</p>
<p>As for you JackieF - I learned all about padding from you :)</p>
<p>Itās true, scualum- I spend a lot of time here on the 2010 thread. And thanks for the congrats, jackief. I wouldnāt have noticed if you hadnāt mentioned it. :)</p>
<p>Keilexandra - my Dās GC suggested Geneseo as another state option for her - but D hasnāt even looked at it yet, and Iāve only taken a quick peek at their website. I believe my D has a friend who goes there, but Iām not sure they keep in touch. Iāll ask her, and if they do, Iāll have her ask him what he thinks of the school, and about the number of students in his classes.</p>
<p>In the category of learn something new every day ā¦ </p>
<p>in this thread:</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/677825-regular-decision-class-2013-statistics.html[/url]ā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/677825-regular-decision-class-2013-statistics.html</a></p>
<p>xiggi posted about looking at the common data set to see how many kids were admitted off of the waiting list in the year of that data set. </p>
<p>I never knew that information existed - but it is nice to know that it is there to use as a point of reference in the event your child is waitlisted.</p>
<p>Hi guys.</p>
<p>I posted this on another thread here, but I wanted to come āhome to my groupā to see what you guys think. The thread was about the perfect intellectual student with no ECs and how they would fare in the admissions process for the top 100 or so colleges. A parent chimed in that she had first hand evidence of kids getting dinged for not having the triangle (academics, ECs and leadership.)</p>
<p>The question I pose to you all is how is leadership defined in the context of college admissions. Hereās what I wrote:</p>
<p>Since there are only so many leadership positions on any team/club, and Iāve read that colleges prefer depth with the ECs (e.g. several years at the same thing vs dabbling all over the map), I canāt see why a kid who doesnāt have an āofficerā position should be dinged. Why?</p>
<p>I may suggest my ānon-officeredā S write an essay on how one leads without having the title, because this happens in the real world all the time. In his case, he can use one example. Heās been with mock trial since MS. However, his commitment to sports (lots of after school time for these) doesnāt also allow him to be a mock trial attorney any more, in all fairness to the team. However, heās made himself into a fine witness role (and showed the other witnesses how to do it), because he did the lawyer role before. Heās won awards for it. Heās leading all right, to the point that the mock trial members have begged him to drop the water polo and swim team so heād have the time to be an attorney next year.</p>
<p>FAP (we love you too )</p>
<p>I think your example is a good one, and I know there are several kids who are probably in similar circumstances. D has been passed over for team captain positions, and although she has run for class officer as I saw in that other thread, those elections are primarily popularity and she has also not succeeded. She has done things behind the scenes helping out with some class projects, the teacher class advisor commented to me once how big a help it was. She has also lead in a quieter as the oldest member of one sports team and the oldest in one subgroup in another. But she is not one to toot her horn and she would never bring these up. Luckily, she has other areas where she has demonstrated leadership objectively, so that will probably suffice for her.</p>
<p>Although your son might not have any leadership titles, he is involved in a lot of stuff and Iām sure some of these aspects will come through in his recommendations.</p>
<p>I am a bit behind in that other thread, but Iād also say there is a difference between no ECs and no leadership ātitlesā</p>
<p>FAP - I think you make a great point - and Iām sure that admissions officers will recognize the depth of your sonās commitment to his ECs, whether heās had traditional leadership roles or not. </p>
<p>Jackief - youāre right - thereās a huge difference between no ECs and no leadership titles.</p>
<p>S2 has refused to run for offices next year. Says kids are coming out of the woodwork as rising seniors to assume leadership roles in groups theyāve only been peripherally involved with. Cynic that he is, he feels itās just resume padding and will have nothing to do with it. Hereās hoping that what heās done in a couple of ECs over many years shows what heās really all about!</p>
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<p>DougBetsy, yes I saw those stats. And that 7% figure does make me concerned for RD applicants. My husband and I are on the same page as you when it comes to ED: We donāt D to make any binding commitment thatās going to put us at the mercy of a schoolās FA, or lack thereof. As I mentioned previously, after visiting the campus, D really likes F&M, and intends to return there to meet with one or two professors, and also to interview. Hopefully, those follow-up visits will convey her serious interest in the school, even with the RD application. Once again, I hope you and your son have an enjoyable and informative visit tomorrow.</p>
<p>FindAPlaceāIt sounds like your son took a potential admissions obstacle and effectively turned it around in his favor. The lack of āleadershipā positions was an issue for D1 when she applied to schools. Unfortunately, leadership opportunities are limited and, like jackief mentioned, so many HS clubs choose leaders based upon popularity. D1 tried to emphasize, either through her supplemental essays, or in admissions interviews, the fact that she stayed with her ECs consistently and elaborate on her contributions to each group.</p>
<p>Re Geneseo: I know its rep, but in touring many kids I know have sat in classes and found them to be more like high school classes. My S sat in on one (US History) and said he was the only one answering questions. He settled on Stony Brook as his instate financial safety.</p>
<p>I have known people to rave about Geneseo, however, so I guess one needs to see for oneself.</p>