<p>^^ Lol, I have a pretty nervous disposition nowadays since I started the college search process. ^^^So, granny-flats are ok then? Or is it better to just wear some nice looking shoes for the interview and change later? Also, will the adcoms who visit schools hold your cluelessness in early junior year against you?</p>
<p>Just a little venting here - One of the things I find frustrating is that colleges in the same city do not often have schedules that make it easy to do two colleges in one day or sometimes even two colleges back to back. We live about four hours from Pittsburgh and I’d like to visit Pitt and Duquesne. As I’ve mentioned before, my son really needs to talk to someone - Professor or student- in the department that he’s interested in for the College for him to put it on the list. It would be so nice if the area Colleges had a two or three day “Pittsburgh Colleges” so it wouldn’t be so darn hard to see more then one college at a time. I signed son up for their, “So you want to be…” event at Pitt, but it ends at 3:30 and that’s too late to visit Duquesne. </p>
<p>In my area (the Lehigh Valley area of PA) we have six colleges within forty minutes from the furthest East (Lafayette) to the furthest West (Muhlenberg) and plus two Community Colleges and a local PSU branch - lots of different tiers. It would be so nice to be able to visit two or three at one shot.</p>
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<p>You will be fine. Wear something clean, neat and not too fussy.
IMHO - look age appropriate and don’t wear too short (skirt) nor too low-cut a top—“be yourself” is a good idea. Its not a cocktail party and not going to the beach. kwim? </p>
<p>If you are a rising jr you may not get interviews–as often the AdComs are only interviewing rising Srs who are applying this summer/fall. As far as AdComs visiting your school–they expect the Jrs to just be starting the process and to have questions. I would say check the schools websites for the info you can find there (like AP credit and majors etc) </p>
<p>My pet peeve at campus info sessions is to hear the kids ask questions that are too individually specific or to ask questions that can be answered by looking at the website (like AP credit…)</p>
<p>Oh great, thanks, I’m a rising senior actually.</p>
<p>I understand your frustrations, kathie. </p>
<p>It sounds like your big Pitt visit is one of those multi-event things. That’s very helpful to go to - either if it’s one of your S’s first visits, so he can learn lots of different things about the school and about visits in general, or if it’s already a top choice for him and he wants to see as much as possible. I don’t imagine you’ll go to many of those after this - they’re exhausting and can even be a turn-off.</p>
<p>The way we’ve seen multi-schools in an area is when we’ve had several visits under our belt and know what we want to see. Sometimes it’s just to take a look at the way the campus is laid out, or the surrounding area. Sometimes we just drive through the campus, but we look closely at certain buildings. Sometimes just an info session; sometimes just a tour. Sometimes we just have an appt with the department she’s looking at. </p>
<p>This last type is our current method, because she’s honed in on a very specific major. Also, she’s never felt the dorms or dining halls are going to sway her, and she has less than 0 interest in the athletic facilities (but always wants to see the arts buildings). So we have also left tours early, or skipped them when we see the itinerary. So often tours don’t say much at all about anything but student life. And while a great tour guide gives you tons of anecdotal information about the student body, a weak tour guide can leave you wondering if you’ve learned anything at all.</p>
<p>Whether or not we do anything formal, we try to look closely at the students we see; what’s their typical style, are common areas filled with kids studying, talking, playing games, whatever. This is not a scientific study, but it gives a real feeling for the school, and you can do that on your own time, quickly.</p>
<p>I heard of one girl who refused to take tours or do anything except go to the campus coffee shop. She said she could gauge a school by the conversations she heard there. This one may sound obtuse, but I agree that after a couple of tours you’ll be able to do a quick study based on what you’ve found is important to you and your S. We’ve done one official visit and 2 self-study trips in one day. But 2 formal visits is hard, and 3 almost impossible, so these methods could help, when travel time is tight.</p>
<p>I know it sounds kind of silly to let a 16-year-old walk onto a campus and in 5 minutes say, “This doesn’t feel right to me,” when all of the other details seem right, but I feel that it is valid. First of all, I’d never force her to go somewhere that doesn’t feel right (it’s her life, her feelings), and for every school there’s at least a handful of others that might give her a better feeling, if not dozens. We can’t visit them all, but she’s gotten very efficient and knowing what matters, and I think she is very trustworthy. </p>
<p>A kid who just shrugs at everything is a different matter, or hates everywhere, or always says “This is great!” Hopefully in the back of their minds they ARE looking and thinking, just not talking to parents effectively. Or maybe they’re just not ready. Or maybe they really don’t care about those kinds of details and would be fine just based on programs. It’s an interesting phenomenon. I’ve wondered if I would let my kids go somewhere without visiting - there are people who do, and certainly in the past LOTS of people who did. I think the visit answers questions that can’t be addressed otherwise, and the subjective feel is important, in my opinion. But there’s so much that isn’t seen on the visit, and we really never know what the experience will be when they get there. Ah, the grand adventure of it all!</p>
<p>I blush to say that this is not in any way one of our first visits. More like our twelfth. But it took us quite a few to realize that the number one priority was the program. We just don’t have the time during the school year to go visit colleges while they are in session for son to meet with the professor and sit in on a class. Son really, really hates to miss school days and our school has very short breaks and some of the breaks have Robotics events during them which is son’s #1 EC.</p>
<p>Open houses and events geared toward a major make it very simple to get a great understanding of a program and meet the Prof’s and often students in the major. </p>
<p>I would love to do this during the school year but even though Son has seen lot’s of schools he has not narrowed down anything except the major - not location, not type, not size…</p>
<p>I think I’d seen you weren’t a newbie, kathie - sorry if I sounded like you were. I was kind of taking off from what you said and then got into the situation in general. </p>
<p>Good luck with your trips - I bet your S will zoom in on what he wants soon. And if he likes a range of types (my D, who loves cities, still also loves Bard), then that’s great, too. Maybe in April it will be a tricky … but it will for all of us. And these guys have a whole year still to mature and change. Yikes!</p>
<p>It’s been helpful for us, too, to have the “major filter.” In general I’d probably say that kids “shouldn’t” be so focused so young, but I do believe that in temperament and taste they do usually have an idea of what they like. Making sure that will be available is a very good thing, at least a hope they won’t have to transfer. And so many fields do make you start right away … that’s just the way it is.</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>D got her first college acceptance! Well kind of - she was accepted to a two-week program at the Robert E. Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in July (with a small scholarship). She’s very excited about the program; she loved the info she had received from them, but it doesn’t meet all her criteria for college, which she was very disappointed about. But this way, she gets to experience it for two weeks, plus get a feel for life in a small town/rural location (the last college-type experience she had was a three-week program at Northwestern a few summers ago - definitely a different locale). We’re doing our first college visit in August - Lawrence is having an all-day session which is before the school year starts (we really wanted to do visits while school is in session) but which should have some activity since there are some people there over the summer and it’s close to the beginning of school. And there will be current students participating in the program, which should provide some student perspective. Then a few more visits in late August, and a couple over long weekends. That should cover everyone, unless D’s college research turns up more than the initial list of 6. Looking at that number, I’m thinking we really should add a couple of more -it seems most people here have a larger list.</p>
<p>If
- your list of 6 includes rolling admissions schools that are academic and financial “safeties”…that your D would be happy to attend</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>2) she gets her applications in early</p>
<p>there is no reason to have more than 6 on an initial list. </p>
<p>A secondary list with few more to consider if the rolling admits don’t work out would be helpful, so that additional applications - no additional research - are all that will be needed in Nov/Dec.</p>
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<p>oh no, I wish we had a more reasonably sized list. Ours is now over 20 and S’s GC just suggested we add another few. She also mentioned a few schools that will need demonstrated interest, of course they are all over the country. I am getting nervous about getting list down and showing the schools that need it some love.</p>
<p>And cooker’s D gets an award for first out the gate! :)</p>
<p>Last day of school is Friday. D1 had only one final, and that had no effect on her grade. Her big oral presentations were delivered last week and went stunningly well (a combination of having some original historical documents related to family history and bringing really good cookies 
I would offer leftover homemade apple strudel and chocolate-raspberry bars made with a rich walnut dough, but they all got gobbled up), so this week is all R&R for her. Monday night was the big shopping trip to outfit her for her upcoming trip to <jealous tone=“”>the Bahamas to study coastal ecology for two weeks</jealous>. Snorkel, mask, fins, booties, lycra wetsuit, gear bag, gloves, big floppy hat, lots of other odds and ends. Nothing specifically related to college applications will penetrate her thought process until she returns, so I am not bothering to try.</p>
<p>In more worrisome news, the GC at D1’s magnet may be let go as part of budget cutting. The replacement would be another GC at the school (not the magnet), who would be available only half-time (in reality, probably less than that) and who doesn’t know the students at the magnet at all. The current GC has already gathered up profiles for each rising senior in preparation for writing recs for next year, including personal interviews with each student, peer evaluations, and parental anecdotes. It’s hard to imagine how a new GC could possibly recreate this kind of knowledge base, even with all the files at their disposal. Protest letters are raining down on the district powers that be.</p>
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At the interview stage, this would be fine. Later, they’re going to verify and validate everything anyway; right now, they just want to get a sense of who they’re talking to: the 4.2 GPA/ACT 34/many APs kid…or the 3.2 GPA/ACT 27/a few honors courses kid, etc. This helps them know where/how you will fit into their school, and gives them a sense of what to talk with you about. Also, it lets them be candid in giving you an early sense of where you might stand in terms of any merit aid they offer.</p>
<p>Just want to say Happy Last Day of School here in Puma land. S is totally relieved to have squeeked out with his gpa fairly intact from his most stressful semester ever – 7 IB classes plus newspaper editor, varsity sport, and DECA, underpinned by two weeks of missed school due to an emergency appendectomy followed by a surgical infection. He is SO GLAD THE SEMESTER IS OVER. <<<whew>>> Me too! His grades took a hit, and especially his rank, but it has been a very good lesson for us in “do your best, then let it go” - probably more difficult for me than for him. Happy Summer! At least for a few days until he leaves for a week at boys’ state this weekend.</whew></p>
<p>That is really rough about the GC. We were feeling sorry for ourselves because our HS switched around the GC assignments, and dropped from 4 to 3 (1200 students). But our previous GC would still be there, at least. And he told us they’ve all agreed to keep their seniors, at least for the rec letters. It only seems right! But to have the GC gone entirely … wow. Our D has had such a story these past few years, we are really relying on someone who knows and appreciates her. Good luck!</p>
<p>Really wonderful news today: Report card had 6 As., 1 B! And the B was in an AP class. And I’ve actually left a message for the GC asking how the grade was calculated: she had A’s 3rd and 4th quarters, with a B on the final. Typically the calculation here is 40%-40%-20%, which would give her a 3.8 - a B+ at least, and even an A- if the teacher were inclined (I have no idea what the number scores are). We won’t be fussy and demand a change, because we’re so HAPPY!!! But it seemed worth asking. This is D’s best semester ever, especially with 2 APs and one Honors course, and her first A in math in HS!</p>
<p>Thanks for letting me gush! I figured you all would understand. Can’t talk like this among “regular” friends …</p>
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<p>What if you’re like me and have a 3.2 GPA and a 34 ACT? haha.</p>
<p>Emmybet, congrats to your D! Great report card. </p>
<p>I get more and more depressed by the day, by the hour when I see S’s big GPA/SAT disparity. Report cards (with the exception of his AP classes) will be out by weeks end. I don’t have high hopes for any turn-a-rounds. Got and email from S’s GC telling me " I can’t stress enough how important senior grades are, especially for S." …sigh. </p>
<p>He has enough safeties on his list, it is the matches and reaches that I am worried about. As his GC said she has no idea what schools will make of him and decisions can go either way. another big sigh…</p>
<p>I will offer up some brownies, nut free, for those that would like them. 10yo just finished her zillionith batch for the month. I need to get her to try cooking dinner one of these days.</p>
<p>Aw mamom. Deep breaths and happy thoughts. I don’t remember your S’s “disparity” but I think we can’t help but hope for appropriate rewards for these very bright kids with meh GPAs. When it comes to college, they end up at the right schools for them in most cases. If their hs GPA dings them out the tippiest colleges, so be it. Health and happiness and a little fun are more important to the college years than mere name value of allegedly better schools. Anyway, I’m a big one for loving the kid on the couch. S2 worked and worried a lot this year and at his school–with high achieving kids galore–he made it to middle of the pack. At this school, there is a self-esteem price to pay even for really smart kids when the top dogs are so vividly accomplished. I try to remind him (and ME) to take it easy.</p>
<p>And on that note, I send a sane hug to you both.</p>
<p>I second that^. I think it’s impossible not to worry, but we do our best to stay sane and help them remember just how talented they are.</p>
<p>Yes, sane hugs!!!</p>
<p>Even though my D2’s stats are creeping up I don’t think she’ll reach much higher - she’s not a different person than she used to be, just a little more willing and able to meet conventional expectations. She’d like a student body that’s a little kinder and gentler. My D1 at a top school does feel people are nice there, and she chose that particular top school because she kept hearing it mixed “nice” with “smart.” But she’s much more comfortable with high-intensity and competition than D2. </p>
<p>I am absolutely confident that once past the “tippies” (also a great word, madbean!), there will be significant understanding about kids who needed to explore and mature, and who still need to explore and mature. My D seems to have put some things together this year, but she has a long way to go. She’s going to want a college that’s high on nurturing. Her first choice manages to be known for nurture and high quality, plus a decent name and reputation, but that’s not why it’s her first choice - she just loves it, although I think she’d be proud to have a little bit of prestige. Her next choices definitely drop the name and keep the nurturing and quality. That’s just not negotiable for her. She’s let go of several “names,” even those that she has a good chance of getting into, because in researching and visiting them she fears she’ll lose the “niceness.”</p>
<p>mamom, my S is in the same position. I have no idea how it is going to go particularly since we need merit. But, I remain hopeful. He had a really good semester. 4 A’s and 2 B’s which is big for him but doesn’t change the gpa much unfortunately. He is only 16 so he is maturing and it is great to see him get better grades in aps and honors classes. Oh well, it is going to be a fun and intersting ap season.</p>