<p>Our student arrived at the airport about 11:30pm…so by the time we were home and heading to bed it was almost 1am. I just got up myself—Kiddo stayed with students, slept in a common room and said it was noisey. Got little sleep–because it didn’;t quiet down til close til 2:30am each night…Went to three classes which were good. And the weather was p[retty lousy so all of the laundrey coming out of the bag at 12:30a last night stunk–so I put it in the washing machine right away…May have to re-run it all this am…Will also wash the sleeping bag.</p>
<p>Sorry to ruin everyone’s diet with the cookies–yet I feel like if I am going to undermine my diet—why not drag the rest of the group with me HA HA!!
sigh…</p>
<p>As for Profile and Fafsa–I will admit the FAFSA site practically laughs at me when I run the calculator…yet I have read that for some schools merit aid–students must have completed a FAFSA.
Kiddo’s top choice school, an EA app-- requires the Profile to be handed in early around the time of the EA app and it is one of those reachy schools that is known for large endownments…so I figured it is worth a shot…
Our " assets" are primarily the house and a piece of realestate that are upside down right now…and we dont have lots of assets outside of IRAs/ types of accts.When I tried one of the HYPS online calculators with the inform from our Profile it did find we had significant need.
Basically is you have liquid assets and/or large cash flow…you won’t get much if anything…</p>
<p>I know I’m late to respond on this one…however it’s one that always makes me laugh. Whenever it’s asked, no matter the form (keys, sweatshirt, shoes, etc.), my answer is always the same.</p>
<p>“The last time I used them/wore them I put them away.” :)</p>
<p>Hey again–Does anyone know the general rulle of thumb for testing, and apps…
menaing is there a window of time from which SATs are valid and seen by admission and when tests taken very early- say freshman year-that they are NOT seen?
In the same vein of questions, are subject tests taken before a certain date too early to count for college app testing?</p>
<p>Was wondering as there is a discussion about testing on the thread for freshman parents. we have one Sr and one Fr–and our hs frowns on early/often testing philisophy. Wondered if there was any data to support early/often testing or rules against submission fo too early a test date/result.</p>
<p>As for not putting stuff away–dont you just love when they insist they put it away–only to find it in the bottom of the washing machine because it was in their pockets!</p>
<p>When my H says it, I don’t even acknowledge I’ve heard it. After 20 years, he admitted it was just a thinking device.</p>
<p>My feelings go out to all in the FAFSA game. It’s very frustrating, a very weird system. We don’t qualify for need-based aid, did a FAFSA as a goodwill gesture for D1’s school the first year, but haven’t since. I haven’t broken the news to my H that D2 has schools that do have merit-based aid; I wouldn’t be surprised if they do ask for some documentation.</p>
<p>Cold snap in WI this weekend - our Japanese D thinks it’s “freezing.” She did get a down coat yesterday … she doesn’t know what she’s in for …</p>
<p>I’ve suggested so many ways to D to get the essay done - free association, chatting while she cleans her room, taking a walk, taking notes (on napkins, or anything around), explaining herself to the dog (well, I didn’t suggest that, but I’ve been tempted). I have whittled the prompts to something usable; hopefully that will frame what she has to do. She spent the weekend with a couple of much more obsessive types, so maybe she’ll give to peer pressure. Will she realize that SO much of her work will be done when a couple of essays are written? I hope so. I really don’t want to get into a situation of threats/consequences/bribes - but I’m ready to. Sometimes it’s one of those things they thank you for later. Plus there are 3 more weeks of ACT prep … as mnmom would say, we’re in a mudpit now, but we’ll get out soon. </p>
<p>Maybe every month will be like this, but I think October will go down as one of the more intense ones this year. Also nice things … Fall musical is next weekend. Very exciting, a big moment, for her, one of her huge “lasts.”</p>
<p>Had a meeting with the school. They tried to convince us to shorten the list, but they startres by convincing is to add two! They also wanted us to cut at least 4, but in the end we ended up agreeing to add one and drop two, so we are at 17 and don’t think we can go any lower… It is just very tough out there. Not as bad as it sounds, because one is Mcgill which is a 20 minute online app with no essays or recs. And two others, WashU and Dartmouth, basically don’t require anything beyond the common app, so really are no additional work. Coincidentally had lunch with a friend who is admissions officer for our area at top ivy (we have been friends for years) and she tried to talk me down from the ledge. Then she told me she wouldn’t be reviewing my son’s app, someone else in admissions office would do it. I guess that is fair and a good rule, but cant help being disappointed… Oh well, son a nd school promise common app and common app essay will be done by this fir, so we can move on the the supplements and MIT which is our one big non common applicAtion app. Good luck to all…</p>
<p>D has 10; 8 Common App and 2 not (one is state flagship). We would have fewer, but D is applying to about 4 “reach for everyone” schools, so who knows. With the exception of the state school, I am happy to say that she is only applying to schools she would love (including the safety). The state school has a lot going for it, too, if she could get into a certain track with smaller classes and an academically strong peer group. If she went there, she’d have some $$ available for grad school and I would be happy to have her a short drive away. Some of her friends who are aiming high will be applying to 12ish.</p>
<p>Angier, my D had 12 schools on her list, but it’s now dropped down to 10. Like mnmomof2, some of them are uber-reaches. I’m hoping (hoping! hoping!) that she gets accepted to her ED school, and then won’t have to submit all those other apps, but they will be finished and ready to go if necessary. Only one is not on the common app - it’s a state school that I made her put on the list, as a financial & academic safety. She probably won’t submit that app unless she doesn’t get into her ED or EA schools.</p>
<p>D is currently at 15 schools, but this may get whittled down a bit in the next week or so. Four of them are UCs, which is really just one application. Other than the UCs, the remaining eleven are 3 matches, one safety, and the rest reaches. </p>
<p>Since we are in CA, she knows that she is in at one of the UCs already, due to the ELC program (where they take the top 4% of each school). This is a major stress reliever as she likes this UC and has said that she would be happy to go there.</p>
<p>Our student may apply to 7 or 8…The big no common app one needs to be started.</p>
<p>Our hs GCs strongly advise that a well culled list should be no more than the 7 or 8, though they cant make you not apply to more. The list is rather top heavy and the GC suggested if our kiddo1 adds any-that another match/safety be added to the bottom. Easy enough to do.</p>
<p>Lots of snap apps coming online - however they either dont have the major kiddo wants, dont have the sport, or are in a part of the country kiddo isn’t interested in…Some are pretty great schools, with snap/preferred/fees waived—
Perhaps kiddo will use one or two of those for the safety/matches - I think one has the major–I have been moving all of that email/mail into an online folder–I think today I will cull that for something worth keeping…</p>
<p>I can see how with stress and the frenzy of the app process that it is easy to keep adding “what if” schools to the list…</p>
<p>fogfog - when our '11 kids were in the middle school and SAT didn’t have score choice, the rule was that middle school scores won’t be seen by colleges, but all the scores from grade 9 and up will. S took SAT in 7th and 8th grade as a part of academic talent search program and we don’t see his middle school scores anymore. I don’t know if they changed the practice now because of the score choice option. I don’t know about ACT scores.</p>
<p>Aniger and Camathmom, we’re with you guys – we are currently at 15, and I’m not sure we are done. Four are UCs (also ELC so I am making S apply to one of the campuses with guaranteed acceptance), plus 11 privates, almost all reaches or high matches. At least the 11 are all CA, so its just the 11 supplements…</p>
<p>Scores from before 9th grade actually get removed after a while. My child’s 6th grade scores are gone now. I remember wondering if they would confuse adcoms - and now I don’t need to sweat about that, at least. We are down to 9 schools, with one an ED. Six take the common app (all with supplements). One is a certain admit, two safeties, four reach, two far reach. That’s as many as seems reasonable, and at the upper limit of what the counselor wants to see. There is still one reach that might get dropped too.</p>
<p>Aniger, ShawSon applied two years ago to 16 schools. He was an unusual package – truly gifted and severely dyslexic which resulted in partial homeschooling, no foreign language, odd English program as well as evident gifts – so we had no idea how schools would judge him. We figured some would reject him out of hand because of the LDs or the strangeness of his schedule and some would love him and that there was no way to predict. No school was an uber-reach (per oregonianmom) – his Harvard interviewer was a former Dean at Dartmouth who told him a the end of the interview, “I’m going to tell them that they would be crazy not to admit you” but no school was in bag because of his odd profile). With partial homeschooling, we had to submit papers he’d written for homeschooling, an art portfolio, evidence of work in a various homeschool courses, a chapter of a novel, a homeschooling transcript, an explanation of the philosophy of homeschooling, above and beyond the common app stuff (which he also submitted). The two recs plus guidance counselor from the school, and then four from homeschooling, plus in some cases (and this was odd) a rec from me as the head of the homeschool program. A gigantic pain in the rear end that took all of Christmas vacation.</p>
<p>So fear not. Other people have trodden the path before you.</p>
<p>D has eight on her list, but honestly only two of the privates is she in love with. The three SUNY colleges are financial safeties. Only applying to matches/safeties for merit aid reasons (as we won’t get any needs based aid, but can’t afford the price tag without significant merit). Honestly I am starting to think she should just apply to the two privates that she loves, and if the merit aid doesn’t work out there, just go to one of the SUNY’s. I guess since we visited them all and the app fee is waived, it is just costing the money for the SAT scores to be sent. They all use the common app and only one of them has a supplement that will be any work whatsoever.</p>
<p>All of my daughter’s private schools are CA except for one (which is one I would like for her to apply to). This school came to her school recently and gave a presentation. She went at my request, and came back saying that it sounds “pretty cool” and that she might even apply. Next day she found out that it is not a CA school and was adamant that she would not apply. She has since tempered her adamance somewhat, but for this reason, the non-CA school may fall off her list of 15.</p>
<p>I guess I could “insist” that she apply, and she would do it if I insisted. But I’ve already decided that I stay with the “strongly recommend but it’s up to you” approach.</p>
<p>fogfog - The current score choice CB policy lets you hide scores, but only if the college agrees. (legally, you currently can still use score choice if the college asks for all scores, but you would be on dubious ground - and who knows how things may change.) I see most kids who are looking at very good colleges taking the PSAT in 10th and 11th, and the SAT in 11th and , possibly, 12th grade. That seems to work pretty well. The PSAT in 10th gives you good information to start thinking about how much prep you might want to do.
The other wise thing to do is to get the SAT subject tests done early if possible.</p>