<p>Oh my! 15 NMFs here! Wow! The list keeps growing. Cyber-bubbly and a 20-pound ballotin of Godiva chocolate for all!</p>
<p>Big list of Parents of HS Class of 2011/College Class of 2015 NMFs:</p>
<p>32578233
aniger
cooker
dignified1
FlMathmom
fogfog (if “Fot” means “Got”)
mnmomof2 (official!)
momofsongbird
ohiomom24
olderwisermom
Pepper03
phbmom
SlitheyTove (the spy)</p>
<p>waiting for official word:</p>
<p>Schokolade
UT84321</p>
<p>We all recognize that our wonderful kids are much more than one number from one day in their lives–however, when that number is magical–I say celebrate!</p>
<p>Great post madbean - SlitheyTove will forever be “the spy” to me now! Here’s to more good news for all our kids in the next few months. Is it premature to say that we are in the “home stretch?”</p>
<p>In MN, cars need to be home by 11 on weeknights and midnight on weekends. We sometimes have a word or two about Friday night timing, but I can blame the legal system if she has the car. Between D’s sport and her church obligations, late nights are rare, thankfully. I still don’t sleep soundly until the kids are in their beds.</p>
<p>Shout out to all of the NMFs!! We are proud of these kids!</p>
<p>We’re still in IL but done with auditions. D is proud of herself, for surviving and for knowing she did her best. We knew she wouldn’t get even a tiny inkling of results, but for now she knows she’s done the hardest part. The next two auditions will be easier (from being experienced, if for no other reason) and different (on campus, personal appointments).</p>
<p>As a mom - I did hear her through one door and I thought she was terrific!</p>
<p>Tomorrow we have a college visit, and then she can get back to her regular life on the weekend. </p>
<p>And everything went very smoothly - she used up her bad karma in the first hour when she realized 45 minutes toward Chicago that she’d forgotten her dress clothes! Luckily a wonderful friend got them from our house and met us partway. And I’d built a ton of time into our schedule, so we got there just when we wanted to anyway. Once we’d checked in, we could laugh about it.</p>
<p>Slithy Tove–Thanks for posting that link, but I’ll have to look tomorrow. I’ve already had one good CC cry today (death of a contributor’s father) and now I have my mascara on!</p>
<p>Madbean–good list! Congratulations to all! My D still hasn’t heard yet. If I didn’t have CC I might be concerned, but I know from reading it here that if she hasn’t received a rejection letter already she’ll eventually get the official word. </p>
<p>My D received a card from an admissions officer saying how much she enjoyed her main essay. I don’t think it equates to a likely letter, but it was still an encouraging sign!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the additional NMF’s. This is a very impressive group. It’s a good thing that my daughter was already accepted to her first choice, or I’d probably be breaking out in hives right about now. Seriously, I’m very happy for all of your kids.</p>
<p>Emmybet: I’m glad that the audtions are going well and that you handled the clothing crisis without a problem.</p>
<p>I’m very thankful that Maryland sets a weekend curfew of midnight for drivers under 18. It’s helpful when the whole group of kids has the same curfew.</p>
<p>When I was a wee bairn one of my favorite features in Mad Magazine was “Spy versus Spy”. So just imagine me with a sharp pointy nose, hard dark eyes and all dressed in black or white. :D</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the NMFs. Madbean - great job keeping up the list. Perhaps you can be our official “list-maker”! On the 2010 thread, they had compiled a list of all schools that the kids finally decided to attend!</p>
<p>shawbridge - I’ve had the same question about FAFSA. We won’t qualify for need based aid and I really really don’t want to go to the trouble of filling it out (I know this sounds horrible). A friend told me that he had to fill it out for his son to get a merit scholarship at CMU - as far as I can tell, none of D’s schools require it. I’ve also heard the story that blue mentioned about needing it for future years - but don’t know how that can be enforced. H is currently looking around for a job - so I guess it might make sense for me to fill it out just in case…I find excuses every weekend to put it off :)</p>
<p>Emmybet - glad that the auditions went well.</p>
<p>proudmomof2 - we had the senior night out here as well for D’s winter sport. Did make me cry - so proud of her accomplishments over the last six-eight years of playing. She won’t be continuing to play in college - so this is the last time we’ll see her play competitively (we have a few more games left even though senior night is done). Sad! Was a beautiful night, she did well, her team won and qualified for the state tournament! We have another of these to look forward to since she does play a spring sport as well.</p>
<p>Our GC told me today that the school received NMF notice for my son. She asked me not to say anything to him, but there will be “some kind” of presentation of his certificate. He’ll be embarrassed by whatever they do, so I’m not sure whether to warn him or not! </p>
<p>And we’re in PA, so the 11pm curfew works for us.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove: Thanks for the Chinese Skype ad. This year I have three Chinese exchange students, and it made me think about how far away from home they are and how much I appreciate their presence in the classroom.</p>
<p>Madbean: Thanks for the NMF list. Just have to say that my oldest wouldn’t have made such a list three years ago during her high school senior year, but that hasn’t prevented her from finding success in college and a niche where she is learning and enjoying herself.</p>
<p>Ohiomom, keeping you in my prayers. And congrats on that NMF! Glad you have this happy news in the midst of difficult days right now.</p>
<p>Madbean and all the others sending out congrats to the NMFs…THANK YOU!!!</p>
<p>Every kid on this board is a winner in my book because of the wonderful, clever, sometimes off-beat, caring, delightful things they do…AND because they have a parent on this thread. What a great circle of kids and parents! Proud to (virtually) know you.</p>
<p>EmmyBet, glad to hear the auditions went well. Have been thinking about your d. Nice that she’s got these first ones under her belt.</p>
<p>Congrats to all with NMF’s in their families. None of that here but S did receive an award letter from his #1 state safety school (Miami OH) that gave him a 50% merit tuition award for all 4 years.</p>
<p>He also had a surprise call back from his #1 reach school alumnai interviewer who informed him that he had passed along information on a local award that S had received after apps were submitted. He indicated that admissions was pleased to have the additional information for their file. This was the scheduled 30 minute interview that went nearly an hour and 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Filed the CSS last Sunday and got the IDOC package completed and mailed today. 37 pages of tax returns, W-2’s, verification forms, business financials, etc. What a royal PITA. Filed the 1040’s today online as well. Turbo Tax’s Schedule A went through but they said they won’t start processing unitl February 14th. Guess I can thank Georgetown and Vanderbilt for getting my taxes done so early by wanting documents in early February.</p>
<p>From what I have read, you are better off to file FAFSA even though you may not qualify for federal aid. It creates a basepoint that any changes or future years can be based of off. Other than being a nuisance, there is no cost. CSS, well, that’s another matter. I think between all the testing fees, app fees, CSS fees, etc., I could have funded half the first semester.</p>
<p>Oh, will March 31st come soon enough to get this over and done with? (Then the real decision comes - deciding which school is the right one for him (and us - $$).)</p>
<p>S has his yearly physical coming up in April. And of course, he will also need to get the shots required for college at that time. My 6’3" S is still going to the pediatrician! I plan on asking his pediatrician next week when I take lil sis for her yearly checkup what he suggests: do I move S to an internist or stay with the pediatrician? Am I the only one whose kid still has a pediatrician as their primary care doc?</p>
<p>I had been thinking about finding an internist for my college age daughter, but hadn’t gotten around to it. When she came home for winter break, we headed to the pediatrician with what turned out to be mono. We had to go back several times for mono checks during the next few weeks. She felt a little silly waiting with the babies and toddlers, but I couldn’t have asked more for better care while she was sick. She just turned 21, and our pediatric practice said that she can stay with them until she graduates. I realized that it makes more sense for her to wait and find an internist wherever she lands after graduation. </p>
<p>Students can also go to the Student Health Center at their college. I would check with your pediatric practice to see what they recommend.</p>
<p>mamom - I asked our pedi the same question - they like to see your kid right through college send offand sometimes after depending on the kid. Then they transfer them over to an internist once they enter college. Our pedi said they like to finish up the immunizations and give them the various “talks” about sex drugs and alcohol without the parent present to finish up their program. They also welcome them through college specifically if they have a chronic condition that require continuity of care.</p>
<p>My D still sees her pediatrician and probably will through college. They just love him!!! His office sees them through age 21 and a lot of patient still see him through college. They have separate waiting rooms for kids and teens so it doesn’t seem so much like you are at a kid’s doctor.</p>
<p>Mostly lurker, occasional poster, sending congrats to all the NMF folks!</p>
<p>The NMF thing is a little bittersweet for us, as D missed the NMSF cutoff by one point. Not a huge deal, but it’s one of the few things in the whole process where there is a “bright line” of achievement that separates the ins from the outs. Much of the rest of the process is imbued with at least some ambiguity and wiggle room for interpretation. So missing by one point led to a lot of “what ifs” (what if I hadn’t had a cold that day, what if I had answered one more question right, what if we lived in a different state with a lower cut-off …). It was a good opportunity for discussing the whole process and how to see yourself in the great mass of seniors applying for college, but still a tiny bit painful!</p>
<p>Happy Friday to all! One week closer to final decisions for those that are waiting on 4/1 returns. I think all of our kids are into the second semester and I for one am breathing a sigh of relief to join you ‘on the other side’.</p>
<p>I’m so thrilled and totally impressed by the number of NMF we have here. I have loved hearing individually about every one of these kids! Bluejr is not a NMF and I have to say it is quite possibly the best thing that could have happened! I am not usually a ‘glass half full’ type of person, I have to say that first. He generally scores very well on standardized tests, has worked hard through school, etc. The PSATs came back and two sections were pretty impressive. One was low enough in comparison to his grades (and where we both knew he could achieve) that I laughed when he gave it to me. Yes, I laughed at my kid, who then laughed and said ‘I know, right?!?’. I then had to ask ‘What the heck happened to you…did you bubble wrong? Take a nap? Go out for pizza?’. We had tears rolling by this point. It was absolutely clear that although he knew the material he simply didn’t get the way the almighty College Board was asking the questions. He needed to learn their language…learn to take the test. I am fully convinced that if he’d brought back a solid score on this section (which may have eeked out NMF based on the other two sections) he wouldn’t have put as much emphasis on this section during SAT prep. During his first go he got a score well beyond what we had hoped for and he was able to put that section to rest as his schools used score choice. On retest he focused on the other major section, which wasn’t bad at all, he just knew he could do better. So, the lousy PSAT was really a blessing…and source for a pretty decent laugh. </p>
<p>I know we have a strange sense of humor around here, it may have reduced another student to tears, but it wasn’t another student, it was mine. I love hearing about the personal relationships between parents and kids here. They are so unique. There is a TV commercial right now for valentines day. The basic premise is it’s not about love, it’s about saying I love us. I have to say this is one of the best messages I have heard in a very long time and feels so current to our family. I do love all my guys, but more then that ‘I love us’, I love the special relationships. What could possibly be a more personal message?</p>
<p>Totally switching gears here to the decision of when to swap Drs? Our family sees a family practice Dr. The boys are really comfortable with the Dr. they see. They switched over right before their teens simply because we moved several states. The area we moved to was really considered ‘the sticks’ at the time and it took several years before we even had a grocery store. Now we have five within 3 miles! For a while I drove them into their original ped. (that they had as babies before we moved out of the state to begin with) but that got very old. Anyway, it works for us.</p>