<p>I am sooo glad S is done with testing. One school requires SAT2’s which weren’t the greatest, but it is not his first choice school so he is not retaking. Good luck to all those who have kids taking the SAT. </p>
<p>I am pushing for S to get all his paperwork to his GC and teachers who are writing recs on Tues. And I want his main essay done very soon, very soon. This whole process is so time consuming and confusing. I tasked H with the Profile form today. It is due Nov 1st at a few schools. We won’t get any FA but a few schools require it for merit aid so we need to fill it in. At least one of his schools wants the teacher rec’s submitted with the school info or they won’t accept it. 3 of his schools don’t do common app, too many rules, passwords, user names…arrrggghhhh.</p>
<p>I know because of his high SAT/relatively low GPA mismatch the school would like us to wait to apply, but I want the apps in now. I know my S, I know the schools calculation for GPA, it is not going up that much no matter what, so I want the apps in now. We are lucky in that S will gladly attend any school on his list, no remorse. So whatever the outcome, lets get it done, a few tenths of a point GPA wise is not going to make a big difference, imo. </p>
<p>10yo DD is in the middle of applying to private middle schools. Another headache and at least 4 days off from work. All her schools want demonstrated interest and all require at least one day off from work to do so. The very top schools always schedule open house in the middle of the week. In addition she has to take the ISEE so we have to prep for that. I am so looking forward to being done with all of this. We live in a blue collar town (but not the city and not poor) and I think schools look at our zip code and wonder what the heck we are applying to their school for. …sigh</p>
<p>I am just stressed about the whole application process wrt to S and D right now.</p>
<p>The good news is I just spent 3K on my 8 yo car with 228K miles on it and it runs like a top. So I think I can go another few years without buying another car.</p>
<p>Yesterday as d was trying to study for the SAT 2’s, I asked her are you still wanting to apply to X school? She had decided she didn’t want to since she got a bad impression from both the info night held here and the website. SHe also didn;t really want to go to a school far away from transportation. So I suggested that she skip the SAT 2. She just wanted us to check whether there was any other school that required them that she was interested in and there wasn’t. </p>
<p>It turned out to be a very good choice. SHe has an open book midterm in her college course and it required a lot of research that she has been doing all day today. She also has a newspaper to layout and finalize for Monday (she is the editor). </p>
<p>I told her to spend this weekend on her midterm and newspaper and get to the essays for college this coming week.</p>
<p>Hope everyone kids had a good experience with SATs/SAT II this morning. I just got an earful from a friend whose daughter was taking them today. The proctor was horrible, kept putting the wrong times on the board, started the test without reading the instructions, gave them too much time on one section and not enough on another etc… In another room, the proctor “skipped” a section by accident, so one friend’s son bubbled in his answers in the wrong section, and thinks he’s going to have to cancel his scores. Not sure about that, I would think College Board could hand-score it in that situation …
S is feeling cheerful because this morning he finished scoring a musical composition that he is submitting with his arts supplement. The deadline is next week so he was getting close to the wire. He has also added another school to his list – we are up to 16! I am hoping that when push comes to shove and he has to write all those essays, some of them will fall away.</p>
<p>D2 wasn’t very positive about her experience with Chem and Math2 SATIIs, but she is usually too hard on herself. If those scores end up preventing acceptance somewhere, that will be the school’s loss.</p>
<p>fogfog: my oven isn’t working, and my husband and I are procrastinating on fixing/remodeling/updating…so thanks for the crockpot desserts! I for one am going to be trying some of them.</p>
<p>Wow, Mamom! How stressful to have to worry about middle school applications and college applications at the same time. Most of my stress is over because 2011 son has completed his applications to the two schools that he is likely to seriously consider. One has already offered him full tuition. 2012 daughter and 2014 son completed their summer study abroad scholarship applications and submitted them so I think we can just wait and see for a while…</p>
<p>My D wasn’t positive about Chem and Math 2 SATIIs today either; she didn’t finish either test, but finished Lit (normally a harder subject for her). She is so tired of taking standardized tests for college that she might not apply to colleges that require them if these scores aren’t as high as she would like; she has plenty of colleges on her list with which she would be happy. </p>
<p>One would think that colleges could make decent decisions with 3 1/2 years of grades, ACTs or SATs, APs and teacher recs. I am not inclined to push her to take any more standardized tests!</p>
<p>Olderwisermom, so sorry to hear about your son’s illness in the night. How frustrating after you’d gone to all the trouble of doing the driving the evening before, getting a hotel room, etc. I hope he’s feeling much better by now.</p>
<p>Spent my day driving all over creation looking for the perfect dress for one of my D’s costume changes in the fall musical. She’s a lead and has 4 wardrobe changes. They’ve got all but 1 covered. I’m not “officially” on the costume committee, but I do know of at least a half dozen resale shops in the extended area, so I set out at 9 this morning and came home around 4 with 9 dresses in hand. She thinks 2 of them are possibilities.</p>
<p>Yes, I know I was supposed to be prepping for the FAFSA and Profile today. Can I help it if this costume thing came up? Tomorrow, I think I hear a closet or two begging to be cleaned, and I really should try that crock-pot berry cobbler recipe fogfog sent. Also, I think it’s critical that the garage get swept out right away.</p>
<p>Well, our son made it through the SAT just fine–no more sickness. He was asleep nearly before we left the parking lot. We drove the 50 miles home, picked up my husband, switch cars and suitcases and drove to our state flagship (180 miles) where we have season football tickets. Made it in plenty of time for kickoff. </p>
<p>Our son thought the SAT went well–that his practice tests had helped some. So, we’ll see.</p>
<p>Next week’s tasks: financial aid essays for state flagship, completing app for local cotillion for achievement. getting essays for the major reach back from LA teacher so we can hit “submit” on the last app. Then on to studying for SAT IIs in November.</p>
<p>I will do a happy dance on November 6 when all the tests are over and the applications all done.</p>
<p>Woo Hoo - teacher recs are now loaded into school system. What a relief. I appreciate the teachers and the time they take to write them, but the early deadlines are getting close! </p>
<p>Thank goodness for CC. I now know that I need to check the schools’ websites to see what paperwork we may need for merit aid. I thought I was off the hook (in a sad “since we have been saving for years, we have no hope for financial aid” way) with the money paperwork. </p>
<p>One step at a time and still praying for good health and stamina. These few months are RIDICULOUS! At least the fall sport is winding down - no more weekday away meets. </p>
<p>I think that berry cobbler recipe might be a good one too. A few of them seemed like a nice way to do a dessert, even that cheesecake…though I do not have a small springform pan–I only have large ones… ;o(</p>
<p>I realize those recipes are not diet frinedly- however thought the link and ideas helpful with the cooler weather and holidays coming</p>
<p>Re SAT2s, our student took them in May and retook them in June. Math2, Chem, Physics,
Dont be afraid to have them retake them if necessary. Our student went up 70 pts in each of 2 tests and going from high 600s to mid 700s made a big difference. We think the first time kiddo was just too tired after with AP exams right before the SAT2s…there wasn’t more prep going into the second round, just less stress and more sleep the night before…
Hope all goes well and its not necessary, however my pt is, don’t be afraid to have them retest.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how to handle the Profile --and whether the college FinAid offices see which other schools the student is applying to? Or can it be sent one by one so there is no potential for that?</p>
<p>Another SAT kid here. Just his second try. First go in May was fine but he focused on one section to try to bump. I didn’t see nearly the studying this time. He said he felt really good. He had not reviewed the vocab so that prob tripped him up, but he felt really good about the M & oddly the essay. We’ll see. He felt good, so I’m happy for him. He is retaking one SAT2. He did his first set in June in the middle of his first set of SATs, APs, state testing, ACTs, and finals. Not too much pressure there! He did well in Chem, but could have done better in Math2. Only his first choice required the SAT2 so I’ve pointed out the effort he puts into prep is his choice…HE has to decide how bad he wants it.
All teacher reqs are in, and student/parent papers back to GC for rec. I’ve tasked his father with the financial end. I just don’t have the brain real-estate for it. Not happening. I did ask DS to take one more look at schools he may have overlooked on first review and make sure he doesn’t want to visit or send in an app. I told him I don’t want to push him, but don’t want him to look back in 5months wishing he’d looked at a few more schools. Right now his list is at 3, safety, match, reach. All good schools that he’d be happy at. We just want to make sure he isn’t missing something. Funny, everyone else is trying to shorten their lists! :)</p>
<p>blue iguana: we are in the same boat. List is only three: safety, match, reach. And we keep asking, are you sure you don’t want to look at “X, Y or Z.” </p>
<p>Our son has a pretty narrow criteria: the campus must have a nuclear reactor on campus so he can potentially do the research he wants to do. And it cannot not be southern. He loves winter and doesn’t see himself going to school in the south.</p>
<p>Nuclear reactor…that would be funny to any parent who wasn’t involved in this process! I get it. For us it’s aerospace/engineering research. Do they have a tunnel? A tank? Competition teams. Undergraduate research opportunities? What are they working on currently? Schools that fit the bill AND we can afford are not too plentiful. Then there are the little things…like getting in!
If I didn’t think it might backfire I’d love to ask DS if he’s checked about a reactor in case, y’know, he changes his major.</p>
<p>I had the same giggle re: nuclear reactor, but it makes perfect sense once it is explained. My S has a relatively short list, just 7. He has a strong chance at many; however most are small so the odds are tough. He’ll be happy with any except financial safety, so he refuses to increase his odds by adding to his list at this point. He will find out about one school in mid-Nov and another mid-Dec so if he panics, he has some time before Jan 1 to add another school.</p>
<p>We had out-of-town family in for the weekend so not much time for college stuff. It was nice to think about something else for two days. Got to show of my newly renovated house so that was great.</p>
<p>We’ll keep our fingers and toes crossed for this weekend’s test takers.</p>
<p>phbmom: We know about Oregon State. (We have spreadsheets of schools with reactors and their research.) We have friends whose son has just started his freshman year there in environmental engineering. It was on the list for a while for that reason.</p>
<p>But this son (as opposed to his older brother) is incredibly practical. He crossed it off his list because OSU doesn’t offer enough merit-based aid for OOS students to fit our budget. Not to mention travel costs.</p>
