<p>Happy64 - Congrats! My dd takes flute in Madison and so I hang out there once a week, sipping a latte for an hour. Absolutely lovely town, wish I could live there, nice coffeeshops, even a cupcakery. Have you visited? I can take some pics for you and pm you if you’d like.</p>
<p>Congrats to your D happy64! It is always nice to have one in the hand, even if it isn’t a first choice.</p>
<p>Holliesue and MOSB, We are another family that will be comparing financial aid offers but son does not have the tippy top stats. Wonder what it’s like to just have the kids go where they want without money coming into play at all?</p>
<p>My daughter got her second acceptance to Towson University yesterday. I love rolling admissions.</p>
<p>Congratulations Happy64! The first acceptance feels great.</p>
<p>Momjr - How nice to already have choices! Congrats to your D.</p>
<p>happy64 and momjr…congrats!</p>
<p>kathiep-ahhh, my fantasy! But I think there are very few families for whom money is absolutely no concern!</p>
<p>Put me on that “show me the money” list, ds can have all the dreams he wants but he knows it’s going to come down to where we get the best deal unless I get a job and soon! Anyone else find the Kate Middleton ring kind of creepy? The word “cursed” comes to mind.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good wishes. I was glad to have been on this thread when the discussion was ‘to open or not to open’ the envelope, she had said I could open anything and so when it arrived it was barely stuck down (no, really!) but even so I could read CONGRATULATIONS!.</p>
<p>I did take it out and read it but sealed it back up properly so she could do it all herself. As I mentioned not her first choice but she did visit and liked it so it was a good back up if #1 doesn’t play out. She says the whole getting the envelope and reading the result was far more exciting and thrilling than she expected. </p>
<p>She is a very happy girl right now and I really do think it just takes the edge off knowing you are going somewhere, anywhere! I wish everyone had the chance to have an early acceptance while we wait patiently (or not!) Of course now I want the other 3 to respond IMMEDIATELY!!</p>
<p>AK-haha…I thought the same thing about the ring!!</p>
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<p>Yup, I know the feeling. I have checked the mail and websites more times than I want to admit the past two days. I feel like an idiot and know I just need to wait.</p>
<p>Congratulations to momjr and happy64! Nice to see the 2015 acceptance thread rolling. </p>
<p>S’s EA decision will be posted on the web. So, I can look all I want and no one will know. ;)</p>
<p>His EA school got his SAT scores that I rushed, so there is a big sigh of relieve. I still didn’t hear from CB about what happened to the report he sent in May.</p>
<p>Morning All</p>
<p>Hope everyone is rolling into a peaceful Thanksgiving so that apps wont be the only topic of conversation (whats left to be done etc etc)…
Perhaps a good response to inquiring minds is…“sally/sam has lots of things to consider and it will be nice to let her/him consider the options to select whats right for her/him”…</p>
<p>As far as the “ring”, I suppose for any young lady there is some of that “creepiness” feel given the history of how the royals treat the married in"s (Diana , Sarah) and D’s tragic end.
Interesting that Wm and Kate have been living together for so long and “Practising long enough” according to Prince Charles…
So different from the “proven virginity” of Lady Di when she was engaged to Charles…
Gosh that was so long ago–Do you recall how the news stations covered it in its entirety…?</p>
<p>amandakayak - I can’t believe that you said what I have been thinking - “cursed” was definitely my first thought!</p>
<p>Now that my family is done with applications and the first couple acceptances in hand (yeah!) I am begining to think that this whole college process is a huge scam. There is so much anxiety over admissions and financing, I have to wonder if there is a better way. There is such a huge industry surrounding higher ed - tutoring, study abroad programs, etc. as well as huge salaries for college presidents - some making over $1M - I mean how hard can it be? They aren’t curing cancer…or saving the kids in Africa.</p>
<p>We have visited alot of schools, some have welcomed us warmly and others have treated us like we were just bothering them - it just emphasizes the need to visit the school and speak to the people in the programs that you are interested in attending. Rankings, smankings…here is another item that just floors me. We have found that some of the top ranked schools in my D’s major to be the least innovative and have the most unhappy students. I just don’t get it…it is one big game. </p>
<p>We have seen alot of dorms and most are every basic which is fine with me. But this one particular dorm was literally falling apart - in disrepair, filthy - not just from the kids - but from lack of attention. I asked about it - the snarky answer, “Are you going to make your decision based on the dorm?” - of course not, but based on her attitude and a $52K price tag, I would say that school is now off the list.</p>
<p>Ok - so I am very disallusioned, and I needed to vent. But our kids are very lucky to have parents like everyone on this board that are fully vested in this convoluted process. I just have to wonder about the kids that don’t have that support or that have parents that really just don’t care.</p>
<p>Congrats to Momjr and happy64. I know students at Towson and Drew, all on track to graduate on time. The two students I know that are at Towson or graduated from there both did study abroads and have or will be graduating on time. Both are from my area so paying OOS tuition and that’s important.</p>
<p>^ The College Admissions Mystigue
actually addresses the marketing/ranking and anxiety of the process and what that means…</p>
<p>Lets face it–its a HUGE money maker
AP tests
SATs
SAT2s
apps fees
tutors/or test prep books etc etc
“enrichment” programs,
camps, Math camps, TIP camps etc etc…</p>
<p>Consider Hobson’s who OWNS this site! They make a bundle!</p>
<p>Our student looked at whether the students on the campuese were happy…did they seem worn-down, or generally content. Was the area some place our student could envision being for 4 yrs…day in and day out…climate, food, dorms etc…</p>
<p>MomofBoston
In the end–many schools are the same and whether you have a decent meal, a good nights sleep and a decent dorm does make a difference in how you feel in the waking hours…and what the evening hours look like daily!
Those snarky comments and how the colleges receive visitors is telling.
Several schools were eliminated for various reasons–and in the end–our student was trying to choose between two schools that had been at the top fo the list for a long time. It was a overnight stay that helped determine #1.</p>
<p>Momofboston: I agree with you about the college application racket. I’m really glad I found CC with all it’s free wisdom and information.</p>
<p>In terms of dorms, don’t forget that students only live in the freshmen dorms for one year. It’s worth considering the options for all four years. When we were looking at colleges with my older daughter, I preferred schools that had housing available for all four years. After two years on campus, my daughter has happily moved to an off-campus apartment. Her school has good off-campus housing options near the campus, and campus police patrol the area so it’s still pretty safe.</p>
<p>I didn’t find giving Kate Diana’s ring creepy at all. I would have thought it strange if he had not as it means a lot to him as it was his mother’s.</p>
<p>My neighbor stopped in yesterday and we talked about college choices, her ds now a soph at Cornell. I’ve seen the disillusionment grow in her, “they really don’t care” she said in talking about the profs and how weeding out the pre-meds continues, lectures with 400 kids, discussion sessions with 100 kids…how kids are turning to comm colleges to get in those tough classes closer to home over the summer rather than risk failure back at school in the fall. This is the one reach app my son has to complete, has to take SATIIs for and I really don’t know if it is worth the trouble.</p>
<p>MomofBoston - you are right that this is an “industry” that could use some shaking up. I think one way to do that is for people - like many on CC - to look beyond the “usual” schools and reward innovative, friendly and quality colleges that aren’t getting the attention. But then what always happens is that those schools become popular, and join the rankings game and raise their tuitions … I don’t think anything is ever going to change.</p>
<p>D generally didn’t look at dorms and dining halls much after her first tour or so. She found them all pretty similar, and didn’t think that cool new suites would sway her away from programs she likes better. She figures she’ll spend most of her life in the theatre building, so she looks carefully at that! And it’s not just about being cool and new, but about feeing “right.” Except now I wonder when she’s choosing between schools if she’ll start looking more at dorms and dining halls … </p>
<p>We got a letter from the president of one of her colleges - the one we’re hoping for a rolling answer from - but it was clearly junk mail. I think schools shouldn’t send ANY mail to kids who have their applications in (and they knew it, since the junk letter mentioned “now that you’ve applied”). It’s a tease! But of course nothing tops the “Birthday Greetings”! (hollie, wasn’t that you? Has she been accepted at the Birthday School yet?)</p>
<p>Talked to one in-law yesterday about Thanksgiving, and got the “where’s she going to school” question, but that was to be expected, and we’re ready with our answer. And no one in this family will say “why that school” or “why not that school.” They’re just not that into it. But D has a cousin the same age, so I’m sure there will be interesting contrasts - I think he’s looking more into instate, maybe for engineering. </p>
<p>I still laugh - and cringe - because my MIL continues to think that my D and her cousin who is a model are in the “same” profession … should we be flattered or miffed? I can never decide. Of course I am well aware that the model could end up a famous “actor,” and my D could pay her rent doing commercials, so maybe MIL is right?</p>