<p>I feel your pain, oldfort. D is applying to a program with 6 essays, and she’s been drraaggiinngg her feet. It’s driving me crazy!</p>
<p>Conrats gnusosaurus’s D! Lots of happy news :)</p>
<p>Conrats gnusosaurus’s D
When S found out that the summer program he is applying for required 6 short essays, he rolled his eyes so far back that I thought I would never see his pupils again. Looks like it is that season. his physics teacher has nominated him for some program this summer but like the trooper that he is, he hasn’t brought home anything, and all he can remember is that is is south of here (could be anywhere from Bloomington Indiana to Mexico) and that he will need to go in place of summer school for government or economics. </p>
<p>Can’t wait to actually figure out what this program is, if I have to pay, etc.</p>
<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>S is a 2012er and chugging along well in high school…need to plan for upcoming summer…any suggestions in biology/med area welcome…he is done with SATs (for now) and qualified for NMS in CA with PSAT</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Hi everyone! Haven’t posted for a while so I’m catching up! Sorry about the leaky shower, or more like sorry for the scattered son! Sounds like you have it all under control!</p>
<p>Welcome new posters and congrats to gnu’s D and Apollo’s D. Very exciting news for you both. Excellent find Oldfort - 6 essays? Wow. My fingers are crossed for you and Mizzbee’s son too. </p>
<p>DS has been nominated to apply for a summer research program. Eight from his school showed interest, three were selected to apply. Now the application process and then we wait and see. It is highly unlikely he will be accepted, but you never know. I’d love for him to get the internship, but it means that he will not be able to join us on our extended family vacation. Also, I’d like for him to get a job and earn some money. I am hoping he gets the internship, but at least <em>I</em> won’t be totally devistated if he doesn’t. He will be though. Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Exciting news about the summer possibilities! I’d like my S to find something cool like that, but he has a pretty good summer job that he’s been doing for years, and it would take a really incredible opportunity to lure him away. Good luck to those applying!</p>
<p>Congrats to latest good news about scores! </p>
<p>Yesterday we got a summer program flyer from Harvard and Stanford. Pretty sure they are both “pay to play” so we won’t be doing them but it’s the first thing we’ve ever received from Harvard, so I was impressed. Our school just started back up today and I have been nagging DD about making sure she talks to her teachers about getting rec. letters quickly. She can be a space cadet when it comes to these things…all brains but no short term memory!</p>
<p>My S was lounging in his pajamas today working on his SCA application for this summer. He is also doing a 2 week Canadian Wilderness trek that combines canoeing and conservation. He did one last summer in the mountains of New Mexico. My S prefers to spend his summer on outdoor adventure instead of academic stuff. Next summer he may work as a beach lifeguard… the pay is excellent for that age. He already has a part time job at an outdoor adventure store nearby. </p>
<p>The reason he is in his pajamas and not at school is because he leaves in a few weeks for a school called The Mountain School for a semester. His home school has already started it’s 2nd semester, but The Mountain School doesn’t start till the 29th… he is gloriously happy. Who is NOT gloriously happy is his brother who DOES have to get up early and is, as we speak, doing mounds of homework… sigh</p>
<p>In applying to colleges that do not honor score choice, do you have to send all the SAT 2 scores in all subjects or do you send all the scores of any two subjects? I mean if one took tests in more than two subjects.</p>
<p>I’m sure that policies vary all over the map, but my understanding is that schools that want all the scores also want all the SAT II scores, unless you are only sending ACT scores. Or at least that’s what the guy at Yale had to say last summer. (He also said that in your essay, you should not spell Yale H-A-R-V-A-R-D :))</p>
<p>5boys:</p>
<p>Your S is going to love Mountain School! D’s school participates, and the girls who did it first semester got back recently and began posting their photographs. It looks positively life altering. D didn’t apply because it interfered with her science sequence, which is a shame, because – unlike your S, I suspect – she’s one of those city kids who think food comes from the Bread and Circus.</p>
<p><a href=“He%20also%20said%20that%20in%20your%20essay,%20you%20should%20not%20spell%20Yale%20H-A-R-V-A-R-D”>quote</a>
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<p>Over the span of a dozen or so nearly identical college tours so far, I’ve developed a list of things that drive me up a tree (the word “sustainability,” the building that the kids mistakenly think looks like Hogwarts, the body part on a statue that is shiny from being rubbed for good luck, the library with a clever nickname, etc.), and one of the ones I’ve grown to really hate is “colleges that are not Harvard, but can’t stop talking about Harvard.”</p>
<p>Meh. I guess it’s still pretty good advice.</p>
<p>IJD, Thank you for clarification.</p>
<p>Hi All-</p>
<p>I’m new to this forum but have been on the Prep School/Boarding School forums for the last few years.</p>
<p>I have 3 S’s-
S1 is at an all boys BS and will graduate in 2012.
S2 is at the same school and will graduate in 2014.
S3 is in elementary school and will graduate in 2017! Wow I had to figure that on my fingers it was so far away! Just kidding of course. </p>
<p>I have not read all the posts on this thread but am amazed at how far in the process of college selections, sat taking, etc you all seem to be. Plus everyone’s kids appear to be really smart!</p>
<p>S1 has taken the PSAT and scored ok. He has looked at Embry-Riddle in Florida and that’s it so far. He wants to be a pilot so is looking at aviation programs. I guess we have a lot to do! Fortunately he has 3 weeks off in March and will be home again so we can spend more time figuring out what he wants and where he wants to do it. Right now it just seems daunting.</p>
<p>Thanks for listening and I’ll keep reading.</p>
<p>Welcome Scotland!</p>
<p>I so agree with you AngryDad, not every kid or parent is interested in Harvard even if they can get in! I also agree about the repetitive nature of tours which is why if we have only time for either a tour or an info session we always choose an info session and tour the campus on our own. I find info sessions, if done right, really give you the philosophy of the school and that is really important in my opinion. </p>
<p>On another matter, younger daughter is starting to look into SAT II tests, yea!!! She’s not a test taker, thinks they’re dumb and don’t really show anything (don’t totally disagree with her). Many of the schools she’s looking at are SAT optional but there are a few (two I think) that recommend SAT IIs. Plus I think Brown would be a great school for her but it’s definitely off the table if she doesn’t take the 2 required SAT IIs. Of course she can’t understand why a school that is so progressive in so many ways (grades not required, create your own classes and major, etc.) should be so archaic in their admissions. It’s going to be quite an interesting year!</p>
<p>Welcome Scotland! amtc, my D would agree with your-- her quotes dismissing the SAT’s etc are priceless…but I doubt the colleges would appreciate a lacerating teenage wit as much as a simple group of 800’s (which they won’t be seeing from us!) </p>
<p>Yesterday a friend who teaches at Harvard told me they make 1 million a year from app fees. So they definitely want us all to apply! Every kid who just throws in an app on an off chance sweetens the pot. </p>
<p>I just made appts for tours over Feb. break. Yikes. I mean, she used to be a baby! But into the educational/industrial complex we go–more like over Niagara Falls in a barrel.</p>
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<p>These cracked me up, mad dad! Because it’s so true - it took me right back to all the tours from S1’s college search last year. The other thing i got tired of was being hauled through the fabulous shiny new athletic buildings that look nicer than any workout center I’ve ever belonged to. All it makes me think is that I’d rather my dollars go toward the library or profs or labs or something than a fancy workout center.</p>
<p>Scotland - welcome! We have three boys with the exact same spread in ages as you, although my oldest finished high school in 2010 and is a freshman now. Looking for aviation adds a whole new layer to the college search, but if you’ll find experienced parents and students who’ve been through the process anywhere, it’s here on CC. </p>
<p>amtc - your D sounds just like my older son! He is not a game player of any kind and that’s how the SAT/SAT II process felt to him. He did take the SAT twice but didn’t study for his subject tests - just took them and let the chips fall where they may. </p>
<p>Gwen - your D must get a longer Feb break than we do! How many schools are you visiting? The visits were by far my favorite part of the whole process - any excuse for a road trip for me and just one of my boys alone is great in my book! Plus I really liked seeing all those campuses and being around the college vibe. Good luck - I hope it helps your daughter find some schools she’s excited about!</p>
<p>We’re planning a week over spring break - probably out toward the east coast but not 100% sure about that yet. I guess we need to figure that out sometime in the next couple months.</p>
<p>I follow the high school class of 2011, college 2015 thread too, and watching them get all of their decisions makes me feel like, “gulp - I guess we’re up next!” I feel like we’re on deck in the college app process!</p>
<p>Yes, PN, major gulping here. We toured the safeties, close to home, last fall, but this is stepping out into the glare of reality. We have a week off, will visit friends in NYC, see 5 NY area schools…and some shows… Honestly it is my favorite thing to do, just spend that time and have all the conversations these things bring up. But trying to find a great fit, a place where D will really be able to get comfortable and involved and…yes, well-educated–has a new weight now I see the 2011ers going off.</p>
<p>We’re getting into “tour mode”, too. Next month will be taking my daughter to two schools where we think she would be admitted, but could only attend with big $$$ help. We call these our financial reach schools. We will be visiting our financial safeties in the spring. </p>
<p>She has been reluctant to even show any interest toward the financial safeties, but as the time draws nearer, has become more accepting of our fiscal reality. I have delayed making any tour plans until she showed willingness to tour and attend schools that we could afford. I wish we were made out of money and could send her to one of the expensive elite schools, but unfortunately its often difficult to match dollars and dreams.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support, all. The idea of my daughter spending two more years before college and spending those two years in Hong Kong, Singapore or India if she gets her wish, is a little overwhelming. People think its crazy enough that I have encouraged her to apply for a state department critical language summer program (NSLI-Y) to South Korea, China or elsewhere. She is an adventurer, that girl. </p>
<p>Mountain School sounds great! Good luck on the summer research opportunity! I am always looking for free or reasonable summer programs for my kids. My kids do well on the ACT so we are hoping to avoid SAT IIs as much as possible. D’12 had planned to take Spanish with listening in November but it conflicted with a UN Conference so she skipped it. Too bad the only time you can do listening is November. I hope she remembers the Spanish she learned as an exchange student so that she does just as well next November. We sweat the finances, too, since we have 6 kids to put through college with the first heading to a state school next fall (his choice) and no news of merit aid so far, unfortunately.</p>