<p>High of 91 today and 0% chance of rain. We could use some, so you’re welcome to ship your rain south.</p>
<p>Did more net price calculator stuff last night. Not pleasant. It appears none of the NPC calculators I have used attempt to estimate merit $$ (which makes sense). Do any of you know (perhaps from older children) how schools treat merit money against the FA based on need? I guess what I wonder is if the merit money is used to reduce the EFC or the need based FA they would give you otherwise? I imagine it may depend on the level of merit $$ (full tuition, 1/2 tuition, a set $$ amount, etc), but, in general, does the merit money replace FA or is it stacked on top of it (reducing EFC, I think)?</p>
<p>In my experience, merit was considered to meet need, so it would reduce need based aid. It worked well for us, as the merit aid amount was higher than our need.</p>
<p>Info about buying dorm sheets, etc. A couple of years ago I went to Target after the college kids had gone off to school and the twin xl sheet sets were marked down anywhere for $2.74 to $7.54 - all 90% off. I bought several packs because of S going off to camps. I’ve marked on my calendar already to check target the end of August. </p>
<p>I’ve already started trying to save pennies just thinking about college expenses.</p>
<p>Sorry, I’m not a parent but I just have a question. I want to ask my teachers for recommendations before school ends, but how many/which teachers do I need them from? Also, what’s a “brag sheet”? Like a resume?</p>
<p>Merit money almost always replaces any need-based aid.</p>
<p>HSClassof2013 - Ask a teacher who you think will write a great recommendation. If you are interested in writing, then ask your English teacher. Love science? Ask the science teacher. You will need one or two teacher LOR’s plus one from your guidance counselor.</p>
<p>HSClass2013 - It can vary depending on the school, but I usually see one LOR from the guidance counselor and 1 or 2 from teachers of academic classes. If you use the Common Application, you can select which recommendations to send with each application. And a brag sheet is more like a list of every award, recognition, honor, office, activity, etc during your high school years. Both inschool and out of school stuff. The brag sheet doesn’t get submitted with your application but just shows your awesomeness to people who are writing LORs so they have knowledge of what you do. It also serves as a reminder for you in case you forget about something you’ve done.</p>
<p>Reeinaz- OMG!! Your anecdote about “call me PITA” just made me laugh aloud. That is absolutely and totally hilarious. I ADORE that!!!</p>
<p>Laurendog- We’ve been having the same rain (and rain and rain.) It had stopped yesterday morning so I sent S10yo out to the bus stop. I was doing chores. Looked out the window about six minutes later and it was POURING rain. Poor kid went to school looking like a rat that had been hit with a firehose!</p>
<p>Perazzimom- Thumbs up for your S!</p>
<p>CBGMass- BRILLIANT idea about stocking up this fall for what our kids will need for next year. I think I’ll buy a Rubbermaid bin and start tossing stuff in there. What month would be best for that? September?</p>
<p>HSClass- A brag sheet is just a brief resume of things that you have accomplished. My D is going to give one to the teachers that is school related and one to her pastor that is affiliated with those areas. And then one to the GC b/c she probably doesn’t know squat!</p>
<p>Good Morning All…Pouring here in NY…But the water supply for NYC is really low…so for those who live down there…we /You need this rain…</p>
<p>Wow so much to catch up on…
Hope I get everyone…
Sorry about the Asthma attack…Hope he is better!!..Food Poisoning Yuck…hope you are feeling better too…
Congradts on A’s in classes, and Sports Successes…
Glad the proms went off without a hitch…
How sweet is the Yugioh cards story…I’m not even sure what they are
I Love Disney…hope you all have a great time there…
Thanks for the LOR reminders…
And the tips from the Road Show…Very helpful…
Meal plans…more concerned here for a Gluten free vegetarian who doesn’t eat dairy …:)…so salad bar with untreated veggies is more my concern…</p>
<p>Thursday is almost here with those SAT and Subject test results…
I hope we are all HAPPY with them…</p>
<p>If I left anyone or anything out…I’m Reading and smiling and crying…
And my best thought are with you all…</p>
<p>You know this thread would make a great book…
any writers out there???</p>
<p>Thanks for all the well wishes. S’16 got out of the hospital yesterday and is back in school today (with an inhaler)!!! He is feeling very good and is getting tons of attention and love from school mates so all is good.</p>
<p>S’13 got his packet this weekend saying he has been accepted to Boys State and our local American Legion sponsored him. YAY! He also got a letter from HS saying his Strength Training and Conditioning teacher nominated him for student of the month. I love that my straight A kid with a very rigorous schedule (accept STC) gets nominated by his gym teacher! LOL He gets taken out for breakfast, which he is actually really looking forward to.</p>
<p>HSClass2013: I just recently met with a friend who is pres. of a foundation that gives away $200,000 each yer in merit scholarships. He recommended asking a teacher if they were “comfortable with writing a GOOD letter of recommendation”. He also suggested telling the teacher the most difficult school you were trying to get in, so they would realize you need a strong letter. Also if you know what you want to study let them know or if you don’t know exactly tell them some of the programs your interested in so they have some direction.</p>
<p>momma- So glad your son is better and back at school. Good news for him to come back to also. Yay!
That’s great input for the LOR that you gave to HSClass. I’m going to cut and paste it to my daughter. :-)</p>
<p>LOR - when S asked his favorite teacher he asked if she needed a list of activities, etc. She told him that what she was writing was a reflection of what she knew about him and that the colleges were looking to see her thoughts and if they matched the rest of the LOR and application. Then she told him “you know I love you it will be the best recommendation you could ever get”. We are counting on that.</p>
<p>So make sure whoever writes your LORs likes you. If you aren’t sure ask if they would write a good rec.</p>
<p>If you have an opinion on this please share. DS took SAT back in March. He had taken the ACT on Tuesday, the MME on Wed and then the SAT on Sat all in the same week. We didn’t really want to schedule it that way but HS scheduled the ACT and MME and the May date for SAT was prom and the June date for SAT is the state track meet (which he is running in). He said nbd, the ACT and MME will be like studying for SAT. He did well in the math 750 but only got a 690 in CR. His PSAT had predicted a 730. He ended up getting a 34 on the ACT. His thought is he will just submit his ACT score and not bother with SAT. He took SAT mainly because it is required for NMS. What do you guys think, just submit ACT and not worry about SAT or have him retake in fall, which I know he doesn’t really want to do? Are there schools that only accept SAT?</p>
<p>Momma - son has only taken the ACT and doesn’t plan to take SAT. All of the schools we’ve looked into take either and many require two SAT II tests if you don’t take the ACT. Just remember some schools require you to send all test scores. That is a great ACT score and personally I wouldn’t test anymore after that. S got a 33 and is taking one more time. If he had a 34 he wouldn’t test again.</p>
<p>Good morning all!
Mommaof5, so glad yor ds is feeling better. Re the SAT, the only reason you might need it is for certain scholarships so you might want to double check that. For what it’s worth, the march cr scores seem to be low across the board. Everyone we know scored lower than expected on it.</p>
<p>Good advice on the LORs, if I can just get DD to ask!</p>
<p>Anybody else feel like an ATM? I feel like all I am doing is writing checks are giving money or one thing or another (end of year tennis banquet, end of year drama banquet, summer ASB camp, prom, etc…).</p>
<p>Busy day indeed!!!
Sorry for not giving the update on Jr’s race this weekend, H INSISTED that I actually work yesterday ;)</p>
<p>Jr’s Coach held him out of the race feeling that he hadn’t “regained his speed back”. (Insert *<em>**ed off Mom face here with a </em> coming out of my mouth…) Coach instead kept someone in who had a pinched nerve in their back and could not even tie their own shoes. He proceeded to run almost 3 seconds slower than Jr. Needless to say, our boys placed 6th (while they were ranked 2nd coming into the race) and are not moving on.<br>
At school yesterday, several of the boys felt that the Coaches actions kept the team from moving on to the Masters Meet and then hopefully to State.</p>
<p>So, Jr has moved from being a ****ed off teenager to one that wants to prove his Coach that he made the wrong decision. Sunday started his double day workouts as he preps for a meet at UCLA on June 2nd. </p>
<p>It’s funny…his Coach also made a comment about how “hard it would be to get a 32 on the ACT” to Jr right before his test. Again, Jr proved him wrong by getting a 35. As frustrating as this has been, I do see a silver lining :)</p>
<p>So, thank you again for your thoughts and for asking (TX5 )</p>
