<p>Hi all,
I’m back from hiatus of Musical Weekend with out-of-town houseguests. I’m about as tired as a person can be, but also very happy because songbird’s show went so well. These 3 shows were her last performances on the hs stage (though they have asked her if she would come back and sing next year at a fundraiser for the school). She got really lovely feedback on her performance. One man told her, “I’m really a vocal snob, and never thought I’d say this to a high school student, but I was enchanted by your singing.” An older gentleman (somebody’s grandfather?) told her he considered it a bargain that his ticket cost $10 because he would happily pay $100 to see her perform again. Pretty heady stuff! She’s very happy that her go-to community theatre company (she’s done musical theatre with them since she was 9) has announced they’re doing one of her all time favorite shows next summer, so she looks forward to that audition in April (AFTER the college decision will have been made, hopefully).</p>
<p>I’m a few days behind, but LeftofPisa, congrats on the app! I DID feel that slight tilt and knew somebody’s kid somewhere just hit Submit! Very happy for you and your D.</p>
<p>Blueiguana, all I can say about that early-morning pajama run is WHAT A WOMAN!!</p>
<p>You guys are distracting me nicely while Mom’s in surgery right now. They expect it to take 2-3 hours, so I’m catching up here and will next create the list of Final App/Audition Loose Threads…just a few things to take care of this week and then we are done. Amen!</p>
<p>Fingers crossed for all of you awaiting ACT scores tomorrow!</p>
<p>ohio, D is submitting an “Additional Information” sheet. But, she is only mentioning items that did not fit on the CA. For example, she has taken a total of 13 APs and SATIIs, but there are only 8 spaces. We entered the extra tests and scores on the Additional Information. We also added her additional awards and honors (there were only 5 spaces on the app) and a few activities that did not seem to fit the “Extracurricular Activity” mold.</p>
<p>MOSB, my gosh, what wonderful news! Your daughter sounds so very talented. I loved reading the compliments she received. It’s so nice that those gentlemen took the time to tell her what they thought of her performance.</p>
<p>ohio, re: the activity sheet. My S’s school college counseling dept requires that all students submit an activity sheet. on the CA, they suggest listing the activity w/ some basic info and then on the uploaded activities sheet the activities are grouped by interest, and the info description does not repeat what’s already on the CA. In other words, the info doesn’t duplicate what the ad com has already read. they restrict the page limit to 2 b/c they feel that beyond that it becomes too long, however they’re not using the Hernandez, Cohen formats but rather the traditional resume format. it’s probably easier to get more on a page.</p>
<p>My son has not submitted an activity sheet and will not be doing one. I can just imagine the admissions people’s eyes glazing over as they read page after page of hundreds of activities. I think it’s better to just mention the activities that are important. My nephew got into Cornell without being in any clubs, no job, no research. Just good stats.</p>
<p>I think you need to use common sense. My son applied to a school where the activity section on their on-line app was truly check the box…music, theater, sports. You could have had the lead in every show, or could have sold tickets at one show, and you would check the same box. For that school, he definitely uploaded a resume.</p>
<p>My D’s two main ECs were discussed in her short answer and her essay. Adding a few more pages of random volunteer activities or clubs would not yield any important info. But if there is important info that just isn’t captured on the common app, by all means, add more.</p>
<p>Re: activity list. Every college is claiming that they are looking for depth not breadth. Unfortunately the common application’s format is not designed for depth. S only listed 5 activities, but for 4 of them he couldn’t fit even half of the awards that he has. The Honors section has only 5 spots; after listing NMSF and AP Scholar, only 3 honors are left. And I have very hard time to figure out what honors are more impressive than others. Is the NMSF (national award) more impressive than the 1st place at the regional foreign language speaking competition? Well, there are 19 NMSF in our HS class of 2011 alone, but only one 1st place winner of the speaking competition in the whole region. </p>
<p>And S’s essays are more about WHO he is vs. WHAT he does. He thinks that writing about any of his activities would sound like bragging. In other words, his application would be missing a lot of information w/o an activity list. But, it provides additional information, not just lists the same activities/honors that are already on the CA. I don’t think every student should attach resume/activity list to their application, either. If the CA already has everything that the student wants the adcoms to know, repeating the same information again in a different format might seam annoying.</p>
<p>D is going a bit crazy waiting on honors college decision on already “accepted” school. Any suggestion how to make the waiting easier. (I am not a good source on this one…lol)</p>
<p>Just caught up while a half dozen pages while ripping CDs to upload to my hubby’s iPod. Is it only moms who have mastered multitasking? MOSB - Your daughter sounds like a rare talent. I don’t think any of us will be surprised by her future success. It gives me chills thinking about it. On the mom front - add our prayers. Keep us in the loop.</p>
<p>Ohio - my son included an attachment. It included some things not covered anywhere else in the application and expanded on his various awards, honors etc in a more logical format. I think it added to understanding who he is.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping- We are in the same situation. Received acceptance a few weeks ago and even offered a scholarship last week, but no word on acceptance to Honors College. Also, has anyone heard that if you get all of your information into Trinity University by Nov. 1 if you are applying EA that you will hear much earlier than Feb. 1?</p>
<p>We also submitted an extra information form on honors, extracurriculas, etc. on the CA. This is so different than when we applied to college!</p>
<p>Sending prayers to all who have ailing parents.<br>
Congrats to those receiving acceptances and making progress.<br>
We are truly the sandwich generation. </p>
<p>We are at a “plateau” for the moment. Quarter end is this week and D wants to have great grades for any transcript requests. AP Physics is taking some work. The remaining two apps are RD, so I will give her a pass for the week. I hope she is not missing too many scholarship deadlines while I intentionally keep off the topic. </p>
<p>Tonight the school board recognizes the NMSF students. The kids invite two teachers (one pre high school, one high school) and publicly thank them. There seem to be about 5 teachers that most of the students pick. It must be a lovely evening for them! I am trying to locate the camcorder and hoping for a fully charged battery. Wish me luck and hand me some kleenex.</p>
<p>That is sweet. A couple of years ago, the school actually called all the NMSF and commended students out onto the football field pre-game. That was a nice touch. Now the SF just get their pictures on the disctrict web site and nothing is done for Commended.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who responded to my question about the activities list! What a great source of information you are. I think I’ll have him pare down the list that he has to include only those significant things that don’t appear anywhere on the CA. So, student government, band/music, varsity sports can be included on the CA form. But there are some things – he contributed a chapter to a book that was published, he makes Spanish videos as a hobby, etc. – that just don’t fit into their format. Also, awards that don’t fit in the space allotted. That should cut it down to a reasonable length and still allow him to add some missing information without being annoying. He didn’t cover any of this in his essays, so it won’t be repetitive. I’ll feel better about him sending off an abbreviated version of what he has.</p>
<p>I’m so impressed with the schools that have double-digit NMSF. Our son is the only one in a class of 408. Last year’s class also had one; year before two; year before that three. Three is the most ever.</p>
<p>I dropped off the College Board blue book at the guidance office today, along with the Math and Chemistry SAT II subject books from Princeton Review. Maybe next year’s class can make use of them.</p>