<p>^ O.M. That makes perfect sense to use those forms…and would be far simplier than expecting the teachers to come up with their won thing…</p>
<p>Our hs doesn’t use the Naviance for the LOR either–its a pain as those go snail mail…</p>
<p>ohiomom - it should be fine if you use CA forms. But teachers can also write their letters using official school letterhead.</p>
<p>fogfog - I am not sure, if I interpreted your post correctly. But if you think that I am the same poster as keylime I am not. There are no athletes in this family (and there is no pride in this statement). But we love our kids for who they are.</p>
<p>My daughter’s CA apps and the teacher/counselor recs have been downloaded by the three colleges she has so far applied to, but the supplements have not. And the ED agreement I signed for her ED school has also not been downloaded.</p>
<p>
- You can log into Common App and it will show what has been downloaded by the college (as discussed above my post).
- I don’t know! We’re in the same boat. It might even be the same school (same dates). Looking at last year’s acceptance thread, my D’s ED school mailed their replies and applicants received them a few days ahead of the Dec. 15th date. Going to be a long wait at our house too…!
- I would hope they would notify, or maybe give the applicant a link to their site where they can check on their application status. Each school does things differently, though.
- Check to make sure they’ve received everything (transcripts, test scores, etc.) and wait. As Tom Petty sang, “the waiting is the hardest part.” No kidding.</p>
<p>Oregonianmom - Univ of Puget sound by any chance?</p>
<p>Thanks for the information, I checked and 2 of the 4 schools have downloaded the application, would have preferred it to be the #1 pick though!
I have no idea how people survive this till Spring! Lots of chocolate and cocktails perhaps?!</p>
<p>No, but I tried to get D to visit. Too close to home, she said. Hmmph!</p>
<p>Chocolate and cocktails, yes!</p>
<p>MOSB - what a wonderful response from the AdCom. Certainly sounds like there is strong interest on that school’s part.</p>
<p>Welcome to new members.</p>
<p>MOSB, what a wonderful thing for your D to hear! </p>
<p>I’m now remembering that one of D1’s friends applied ED last year for Columbia or Barnard, but a piece of the application didn’t arrive in time so the app slid over to RD. It was something that was supposed to come from the applicant, not the school, which is perhaps why they were so persnickety about it. </p>
<p>oregonianmom, the Tom Petty quote and the Simpsons quote (“and now we play the waiting game…ahhh, this game sucks, let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippos”) are the two waiting quotes that keep going through my head. Time to go googling for some others. </p>
<p>“All things come to him who waits- provided he knows what he is waiting for.” (Woodrow Wilson)</p>
<p>“It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck, even while waiting for it.” (Baltasar Gracian)</p>
<p>“Waiting is one of the great arts.” (Margery Allingham)</p>
<p>D1 is working on the final supplemental submission for the ED school. She is really lucky to have a parent who has some wicked Excel graphing skillz. :)</p>
<p>Is anyone out there tying your willingness to pay for an expensive school to behavior/attitude? D’s favorite school will cost twice as much as her second favorite. I have now let her know that unless her attitude improves, she will be attending #2. It’s not a threat. I don’t feel like making financial sacrifices for someone who does not appreciate them.</p>
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<p>Doesn’t sound like a threat to me, missypie…just good parenting and a nice touch of age-appropriate reality. You go, girl.</p>
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<p>Hi KeyLimePie…oops–no I was trying to recall if it was you on the athletic board–or if I had you mixed up…
No subliminal anything by my question—abut your dear students nor mone etc etc
just trying to pluck out of my brain if its the same poster…</p>
<p>For example, there are posters here also with freshman…so I am just trying to recall correctly…</p>
<p>Our student got an email with an ID # etc from The school today–The app was sent last Fri and we knew it was downloaded. Later when our dear one comes home–we can check to see if all of the parts are there… :D</p>
<p>Thanks for your very nice feedback on songbird’s Adcom email commenting on her essay.</p>
<p>It is nice…don’t think me blase…but the truth is, she’s almost sure to be accepted at all 6 schools she’s applying to because she’s one of those kids who is deliberately applying to schools a notch or two down from her super-stats…in an effort to draw some very nice merit aid.</p>
<p>I’m even fairly confident she’ll be accepted into the School/Dept of Music at all 6 – with the possible exception of Lawrence. That’s a pretty competitive conservatory, and she’s a vocal soprano…the most competitive “instrument” in the world of music. That one is a wild card, and they don’t “stack” academic and music scholarships, either, which I’m not thrilled about.</p>
<p>So I do love that she got this email (especially because it made her happy), don’t want to sound ungrateful…but I’ll have to wait until after the holidays to find out what it means in terms of merit and music scholarships.</p>
<p>Ah, well, keep the chocolate and martinis coming. (BTW…how are your diets going? Anybody else like me having 2-good-days-1-bad-day cycles? At least it’s better than the other way around.)</p>
<p>Welcome, new members!</p>
<p>Also…fog, I think that was you who posted about us waiting to see who goes into labor first?</p>
<p>I feel like we’re already in labor…now we’re waiting to see who gets the EPIDURAL first and who DELIVERS first!!! 
</p>
<p>We just can’t seem to get away from these childbirth metaphors, can we???</p>
<p>fogfog - We are good. </p>
<p>Just in case I ever make any comment about athletes / athletics (small chance), I don’t want you to think that I know what I am talking about. ;)</p>
<p>Speaking of diets…I had my annual physical yesterday. I only weigh myself when I go to the doctor. I freaked. I’m 10 lbs over a weight max I never thought I’d see. Soon I’ll weigh more than my hubby. I don’t eat a lot, and I think I eat well, but since I use a wheelchair to get around, it is tough to burn the calories. I do have a trainer 2x a week, but that it mostly to keep the flexibility and limited mobility I do have. My doctor suggested we have a nutritionist come to the house and check out our cupboards and see what we eat. She’ll even go food shopping with us. It is worth a try. Otherwise you all get to see me on the GREATEST LOSER!</p>
<p>mosb - congratulations on that email. Sounds great!</p>
<p>missypie - Had that same “attitude” conversation with D a couple of nights ago. H thinks I shouldn’t have since I won’t be enforcing it - but I think we can and should enforce it if things continue this way. Of course, who knows how I will feel like the time actually comes to enforce it !</p>
<p>Hi all,
I’ve been lurking and almost never post, but it’s good to feel like we’re all in this together. I really feel for my D, who’s just buried with school (APs, the play, a retreat) and can’t seem to get enough sleep or get ahead enough to find time to write that dang essay! That’s right, she hasn’t even started it. She’s tried a couple of times and got nowhere, and now is thinking she’ll punt the rather serious lofty topic she was going to write about and do something much more lighthearted. That’s tomorrow night’s plan… she has to have a draft to her GC by Monday, since she’s applying EA to a school by 11/15, and it’s one of her top schools. The weekend will go by in a blur with a birthday-party theme-park trip and homework, so Friday is Essay Night.</p>
<p>My D is like yours, momofsongbird-- she’s applying to 6 schools, and she would appear to be a slam dunk for 5 of them, although I know you should never assume anything in this wacky world. I think she might well get into all six, and get merit aid at two or three. She did not want to reach for her reaches (Vassar, Wesleyan, etc)-- it just made her too anxious. I can see her very happy at all 6 schools, so that’s great. </p>
<p>So she’s done with her research/list/visits, done with testing, done with the Common App basics, just has to write the essay and fairly modest supplements. She should be easing up on the stress, but not yet! Poor thing’s face has broken out, and she’s exhausted. First semester senior year is brutal.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any thoughts concerning home value calculation. Collegeboard directed me to the [Federal</a> Housing Finance Agency - Home](<a href=“http://www.fhfa.gov%5DFederal”>http://www.fhfa.gov) website. I plugged all the necessary information and was given a value. I figured I could reduce the figure by 4% to account for the declining housing market and then reduce again by 4% for sale commission costs(I would have to pay when I do sell the house.</p>
<p>missy, you go right ahead. I think there’s a lot in this equation that has to do with maturity. </p>
<p>We don’t want to hang cost over D’s head during the app process - we decided long ago that we would pay for an expensive school IF it were the best for her. But that includes her being fully invested in it herself, and she knows it. </p>
<p>I’ll tell a D1 story that some of you may have heard before: We visited a top private that she was considering but found she didn’t like so much. She said, “Well, I could always go here for a year and then transfer.” I said about the only harsh, controlling thing I ever said to her in her whole college app process - “You will NOT go to an expensive private school unless you love it and are ready to commit fully. If you’re thinking you’re going to transfer, you’re going to state flagship.” </p>
<p>For us, the flagship fortunately is a top-ranked school, so it wasn’t punishment. But I wasn’t going to pay $$$ for less than full enthusiasm, and I won’t pay it for less than full cooperation and consideration for us. This is a huge gift we give our kids - whether we feel it’s our duty, something we do out of love, something we’d never think of not doing, it’s still a gift, and I feel they should be grateful and considerate in return.</p>
<p>I would guess you won’t have to exact that kind of deal with your D in the long run, but it sure doesn’t hurt to let her know you’re paying attention and would act if necessary.</p>
<p>Researching4, sorry to hear your D’s having such a rough time with that #*@ essay. It’s so frustrating because it sounds like she has everything else taken care of, but is just staggering toward the finish line, running out of steam.</p>
<p>And schedules are insane right now. Lots of us have kids in the Fall play/musical, the APs, extra leadership positions, usual ECs, etc, so I know how weary and anxiety-ridden she (and you) must be.</p>
<p>Not sure if you wanted any advice, or just to vent a little, but I’ll offer a suggestion, in case it could help.</p>
<p>If I were in your situation, I would make tomorrow afternoon/evening ALL ABOUT HER.</p>
<p>She’s like the super-talented athlete who has to get in there, do one thing, do it very well, and score the point, without fail. You’re the coach/trainer/manager/coordinator who’s taking care of EVERYTHING else in life for X hours so that she can deliver this game-winning achievement.</p>
<p>So…I would pick her up from school with a nutritious (but delicious) snack and take her home where her work space is neat and ready (as best you can make it), her most comfortable sweats/jammies are laid out for her, soothing background music is playing (if she likes that), the house is quiet (if she works best that way), and all distractions are minimized. If she’s a text/facebook maniac, I would gently but firmly rescind those devices so as not to be a distraction.</p>
<p>Then I would help her craft a do-or-die micro-agenda. Something like this:</p>
<p>4 pm - commitment to topic - no turning back.
5 pm - outline or simple list of elements/points to include in essay.
6 pm - Opening paragraph.</p>
<p>Then a “comfort-food” dinner (which you serve in her favorite place…but not in front of TV or movie that could suck up too much valuable time.</p>
<p>7 pm - dinner done, write body of essay</p>
<p>8:30 Break (with ice cream or brownies served by you).</p>
<p>10:00 conclusion finished. She goes to bed and gets good night’s rest.</p>
<p>Sat or Sun she re-reads and revises (1-2 hrs), and it’s ready for Mon morning.</p>
<p>Don’t know your D’s style, but my D always responds beautifully to this kind of pampering. Once she realizes I’ve got her back on EVERYTHING except the academic task facing her, she gets into the zone and turns out amazing work.</p>
<p>If that doesn’t sound right for your D, maybe it will spark another approach that will help you help her. The main thing now is to cross the finish line. She’s so close! Best of luck.</p>
<p>Mosb, you are a doll. I think my D needs that kind of nurturing right now as well. She too has struggled with the essay writing. And she’s a good writer! I have never seen her freeze up from stress but that is exactly what she is doing and shooting herself in the foot in the meantime. I’ve played bad cop the last 24 hours, now its time to play good cop. </p>
<p>On the plus side we have some of her theater auditions scheduled (those that don’t require the apps to be in first). And today is voice lesson day. Her voice teacher is the sweetest, most positive person ever. D always leaves there glowing.</p>