<p>good luck olderwisermom!</p>
<p>Fingers crossed for you O.W.M.
Your son needs it to break his way on this one for sure!</p>
<p>OWM, Good luck! We, too, will be waiting for results, but S2 didn’t really put any effort into preparing, so I’m not expecting much change in the scores. In fact, I’m wondering why he bothered to re-take.</p>
<p>D2 will be checking her SAT II scores in the morning. I’d almost forgotten about them. She is running district cross country today, the play opens Friday night, and there are three applications that need to come together by Monday. Somehow, I know she’ll get it all done.</p>
<p>Yes, waiting on SATs here too. Just have to say ds’ GC has been totally on top of all the paperwork. Keep telling my son to ck in with him to make sure the 11/1 deadlines will be met (they are still paper-based) and to my surprise, yep - all gone within 4 days of asking for them. God bless that man. He has something like 100 seniors to deal with.</p>
<p>Glad the marching band competitive season is over, too much practice and too much stress on an already stressed out kid. Ds is still struggling over the essays and spent about 4 hrs staring at the computer without a clear plan. It’s the Michigan “community” essay that has him stymied. First, it is on the supplement to the common app. Ds’ common app essay is marching band - it is beautiful, I am not touching it. But then this “community” crap - something along the lines of “people belong to many communities defined by interest, race, religion, geography…tell us about a community you belong to.” My boy don’t belong to no community beyond the band! That is it, myopically focussed on one EC and its various side ECs (pep band, jazz band, private lessons…) Sorry, beyond the xbox live community, he doesn’t see himself that way. Ugh. Then there’s the “why a chair” thing…</p>
<p>Amanda, maybe he can think of one of his music groups as its own community - jazz, for example, might feel like a pretty distinctive subgroup.</p>
<p>I actually was trying to get him to write on the drum major community, they have their own guru (who tragically died this fall), their own summer camp, keep in touch on fb, see each other in competitions. ie we host a competition every year and he knew a bunch of the drum majors because they spent this 1 wk camp together and there he was presenting awards to his friends. He doesn’t think there is enough substance there and doesn’t want to exploit the death either. When he tried to write about band geeks in genl, it had alot of mirroring the common app one. I suggested he write about being biracial (1/2 chinese 1/2 american) with this whole chinese community following his success like a poster kid for the american way. He wrote it, and it’s ok but it doesn’t sound like him. I read something on the Michigan forum that the adcomms suggest keeping all these essays below 250 if possible because they get too many apps. They want succinct. Ugh.</p>
<p>Good luck to those waiting on SAT’s. </p>
<p>Looks like S is done with his essay. 3rd teacher reviewed today. All have liked it, or so he says. (maybe because it doesn’t knock me over I am predjudice) I like the topic and would like to tweak it a little, but will let it go at this point. I mentioned to S & H that others are finding it slow to submit CA so I think we may try to get that done in the next day or two and not wait til Sunday night. whew, so nice to be so close to finished. Of course, then there are the scholarships apps, one step at a time.</p>
<p>fog- I am not an expert, but I believe the kids keep the work study money for personal expenses. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from requiring your kid contribute some of that to tuition, but it probably won’t be much.</p>
<p>Amanda - I can’t quite let go of your son’s essay :-). Does he know other biracial kids? Is that its own community, if only a virtual or imagined one?</p>
<p>ShawD and best friend had head lice the summer before last. Possibly picked up while staying at an Appalachian Mountain Hut. Not clear. Really a pain to get rid of. You just have to brush every day, if I recall correctly, with a special brush. We also went to a professional nitpicker a couple of times.</p>
<p>At her smallish private school, each senior gives a talk to the school about their reflections on life (or something). Her best friend and she have been attached at the hip since freshman year. Her friend gave her talk yesterday and said that they were like a pair of shoes. Both were good separately but they were a lot better together. Very sweet. But, the shoes are going to be separated as the friend is a best in the class kind of student applying to the strongest LACs and ShawD will be heading up to Canada.</p>
<p>ShawD filled out the online application for school #2 and was waiting to do the essay. Nowhere could she or I find the length, so I called the admissions office. Oh, they are revamping the online form and no one can fill it out until they post it. The admissions people don’t know how long the new required essay is going to be until the revamped form is implemented. When? Not too long? (Do you think it would be useful to post this on the website?)</p>
<p>ShawD got her interim reports. Still wobbly/inconsistent in English but stellar in math (pre-calculus), physics and AP Environmental Science. The difference between math and physics this year versus two or three years ago is huge as the Ritalin helps her focus. English and history remain a bit inconsistent because the issue is not just focus, but whether or not she’s seeing the big picture (not as much a strength). She’s also got great reports in dance (beyond glowing recommendation) and fine arts. But, I’m so proud to see her doing so well in math and physics because she’s now able to work at her potential. Since she’s going to be going into science in college, this is good.</p>
<p>First Acceptance! Son got in at Drexel - but he doesn’t know it! He got a form letter today saying his application was complete but he didn’t bother going to the website to check it. I logged on just in case… I don’t think he realized it would tell him the news because his older brother and sister got their news snail mail. Yay!</p>
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<p>What a job!</p>
<p>I’ll have to tell my daughter about it. We have been joking because the PLAN results suggested, among other things, that she could be a night watchman or a cabinet maker. With her 35 ACT, we think she can aim for a career that requires a little more advanced education.</p>
<p>Of course, the professional nitpicker is probably worth every penny she is paid.</p>
<p>Congratulations, kathiep and son! There’s nothing like that first wonderful, “He’s going to college!!” feeling.</p>
<p>Congrats!! We’re really starting to roll here!</p>
<p>Congrats Kathiep!!!</p>
<p>D is submitting a rolling app right this minute!</p>
<p>Congrats to the recent acceptances! And good luck to all of your kids expecting SAT results tomorrow!</p>
<p>And I will try NOT to think about head lice <em>shudder</em>.</p>
<p>calreader - the biracial essay answering the community prompt was how he’s living his lil american hs life while a whole village of relatives he’s never met is posting his report card on the wall alongside his pics (no exaggeration) - kind of like big brother…not that there is this community of amerasians he hangs with.</p>
<p>Congrats to those getting in</p>
<p>OWM, I remember your post about your S being sick in the hotel room the night before SAT. Keeping fingers crossed for him and all the other kids awaiting scores in the am. Good luck!</p>