<p>lake42ks said: IJustDrive, that means that the CB has sent out the May scores and you’ve got responses from targeted Us. I thought we won’t get any responses until July/August. </p>
<p>Um, yeah. That’s what I said. More than once, I think. There’s certainly nothing special about a college sending email in response to receiving scores that the student actually sent to the school. My only points were that 1) this was the only acknowledgment we’ve had that the scores were received (as opposed to sent – the CB sends an acknowledgement that the scores have been sent) and 2) sending scores puts you on their general “prospective student” email list. While the email she’s getting is not individualized in any way, shape or form, it’s clear that it was NOT generated by the usual practice of CB selling names (which D has opted out of).</p>
<p>We are studying for the act in our house today. ( after coming home from the pool of course!) D realizes now what a little studying can do. She is sending act scores to schools for this test, she didn’t for the sat.</p>
<p>Last day of school was last Wednesday and younger D14 has either had friends over or been to friends houses every single day since. She and her friends are on some quest to get as tan as possible. And Yes I know that is unhealthy and I tell that to her everyday plus buy 45 spf but she continues to tan and spend all her money on Victorias Secret swimsuits. And D12 had one swimsuit from last year that is lost in the vortex of her messy room so is now wearing her sisters old bikini.</p>
<p>Enjoying what I feel like is the last remnants of a relaxing summer for D12. She is going to girls state Sunday through Saturday next week and then we have several college visits. July starts cheer practice and of course good ole AP English and Spanish.</p>
<p>Came home yesterday to find D14’s summer Spanish homework spread out on the coffee table with a solid chunk completed. Too funny. </p>
<p>Question: when is a good time to start writing college essays? When the common ap is released?..and when is that?</p>
<p>Mizzbee - I was happy to hear Texans are not expected to visit the campus to show “motivation”. We have been meaning to visit but something or the other always comes up.</p>
<p>Texas: interesting article. Thanks for posting. We have not received any college mailings aside from places she visited and others she visited at a college fair …</p>
<p>Edit: I lied. We have received from bowling green, Kent state, and akron.</p>
<p>I think it’s good to get a start on essays this summer, if your kid will do it and has time. Odds are they have more time this summer than they will once school starts.</p>
<p>The Common App system won’t be available until August 1, but they have a PDF preview of next year’s application already available. The essays are the same, but they’ve put a maximum word limit on them this year.</p>
<p>Daughter fell behind when they started the trig part of the class, she was okay with algebra. Then she just gave up which is the real problem. She grunted when I suggested she speak to her teacher but maybe she will, it’s out of my hands now.</p>
<p>I can’t believe the Regents would be that hard; I’ve always said how useless a test is that has to be designed for the South Bronx, suburbs, and Salemanca. How can an honors class student (not mine) not do well? My daughter however, will fail it just to prove a point (that she didn’t belong in the combined AlgebraII/Trig class). If she passes the class and fails the Regents she’ll just meet with her tutor 3 days a week until she takes the Regents again in August. If she fails the class, that will be interesting! Summer school is 4 or 5 days a week for three hours I think starting at 8AM, you reap what you sow. And of course the math Regents is her last one so this will be hanging over her head making her angry, not giving her extra time to study, just angry. </p>
<p>I predict your D will do fine on the Regents, amtc. D sweated bullets before MCAS last year (geometry is literally impossible for her)-- she scored in the “advanced” group. Regents might be harder-- but as you say, it’s targeted to a huge array of kids.</p>
<p>D wrote a draft of college essay in a gust of enthusiasm yesterday. It’s 10 pages long. But I think that’s a good start, there will be plenty of condensing time ahead. (I think 500 words is a ridiculous limit, btw-- short and pithy is great, but these kids have just this one chance to show the full self behind the numbers, and they deserve to be able to go onto a third page. To shorten the essay at just the moment when the common app is ramping up the competition enormously is…wrong, I think.)</p>
<p>PS-- I just discovered that 500 words is only the suggested limit. The software will not cut anyone off and you can go on longer if you need to. SO relieved! (NOT that D will be sending 10 pages…)</p>
<p>Gwen, that is awesome. I too think 500 words is too few for certain kids…my daughter being one of them. :)</p>
<p>I just found out that a 2011 graduate from our highschool was accepted to Cornell and will be majoring in engineering of some sort…Whoohoo! Also was shocked to find out we had a boy waitlisted at Harvard. And one more thing, the sohomores from this recently completed year did amazingly well on Ohio grad. Tests. Supposedly passage rates in the 90% for one subject and the highest overall passage rate the district has ever seen. Just have to say Congrats to our school district. I know they have been working with some federal programs for which they received grant money so maybe that is all paying off.</p>
<p>Very proud of our Cornell boy. This district has only sent one grad to Harvard and that was in the late 1980’s.</p>
<p>After pulling an all-nighter, Ds had his last two finals today. We just have the theater banquet tonight, then he has his last day of school tomorrow to turn in books, goof off in each class tomorrow.
I am suddenly the worst mother in the world because I am expecting him to put in extra volunteer hours if the job search doesn’t pan out. He has a job lined up for July, but they let him know that with budget cuts, he may not get in after all. No problem, I say, you van just put in more hours at your internship or volunteer at the library. You would think that I was forcing him to put in 60 hour weeks as an indentured servant. Hopefully his attitutude will change after a good sleep, but right now it is very hard to love this kid on the couch.</p>
<p>Mizzbee, my daughter isn’t getting a job this summer because 1. Way too much AP work, cheer and dance and college visits. And 2. Not a lot of jobs out there that seem to be flexible. If they hire you then they want you to work the same schedule once school begins. That is not going to happen . However, she will be helping out her great- grandparents at least once a week. They are 90 and 83 and their health is failing. They still live at home but only because my mom moved in to help and they have great Amish neighbors who check on them when my mom is at work and they also do all the yard work.</p>
<p>D’s job is to help with laundry, light cleaning and take my grandpa to his monthly haircut…which he loves because it means he gets to spend time with his girl.<3 She said she is going to write about her grandpa in her college essay. He has some dementia but always tells her “you can always get a job digging a ditch but if you have an education at least they will give you a shovel.” Lol. </p>
<p>Good luck to your son, hopefully he has a great and productive summer…just think in a matter of months our kids will be sending in college applications!</p>
<p>Just got back from theater awards night…my eyes are so red from crying, but I am so proud of these wonderful kids that I watched grow. Next year we will be working on The Crucible and Hairspray, so as the costume person, it will be a busy and wonderful year.</p>
<p>I just found this link from Allen Grove, who is a dean (former?) at Alfred University. He writes a blog about SAT scores, college apps, etc. Looks like the 500 word limit is real! Seems that this is meant to help adcoms to get through all the extra applicaitons that all colleges are receiving thanks to the wonderful success of the Common App.</p>
<p>“D wrote a draft of college essay in a gust of enthusiasm yesterday. It’s 10 pages long.” - GwenF</p>
<p>Let that be inspiration to all - just get started writing! There is plenty of time to edit.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Evaluate a risk you have taken and its impact on you</p></li>
<li><p>Discuss some issue of personal, local national or international interest and its importance to you.</p></li>
<li><p>Indicate a person who has had significant influence on you and describe that influence</p></li>
<li><p>Describe a character in fiction or an historical figure, or a creative work (art, music, science) and explain its influence on you.</p></li>
<li><p>Describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community.</p></li>
<li><p>Topic of your choice.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sally_Rubenstone posted the above yesterday. It would be nice to have confirmation from the Common App folks – is 500 words a limit or a suggestion?</p>
<p>I understand it is a suggested limit and if you do 600 or 700, it won’t bomb. OTOH, people were writing 10 page essays when there was no limit in the past?</p>
<p>It is already 9:35 AM and DS is still sleeping. He has the day off, between Monday and Wednesday’s Finals because he was able to exempt one of today’s finals and the other was a Final project, instead of a test. I don’t believe that he intends to study for tomorrow’s exam so he is practically done. </p>
<p>He spoke to his AP Lang teacher yesterday and got more information about AP Lit. He is still not sure now if he wants to do it or not (and stay in the Honors English class that we had put him in). I told him that it was entirely his decision but that he must make this decision by Thursday am since this is the last day of school and we would need to go in to the guidance office with a signed override form by that day. </p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up everyone about the Common app essay. This is DS’s project after school ends (the common app essay and the Florida applications…which all have similar and probably interchangeable essays). Honestly, my son will be thrilled with a 500 word maximum. As a typical math/science male who hates to write, I believe every word and sentence will be torture for him.</p>
<p>The link from Allen Grove is terrific! Thanks MizzBee!</p>
<p>D has been pondering her essay topic (having written one for English class about 6 months ago) and trying to decide what should be the focal point, and what should be decoration. It’s tough!</p>
<p>I can totally see how students who are understandably anxious to set themselves apart in the common app frenzy could get VERY long-winded with their essays! So I think a guideline is essential–partly to save those students from themselves. But yes, 6 or 700 is necessary for some. </p>
<p>D was nearly run over by the AP Lang teacher in a coffee shop parking lot this morning. Stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Excellent confirmation of D’s decision not to take AP Lang!</p>