<p>anniezz- I thought DD would LOVE Lafayette. Not so much. Bummer. Having just finished this process with DS’12, I far less concerned. I know she will go somewhere wonderful for her!</p>
<p>Good morning! </p>
<p>Quarters/semesters: D1 was on the semester system. The nice part was when everyone starts to go away to school you are going too. This was especially good when she was a freshman leaving her high school boyfriend. For summer you are home early and it is easier to find a job. S2 is on the quarter system. He doesn’t start until late September, but for us in Southern California September is a much better month than June (June Gloom) so that isn’t so bad. But the first year when all your friends are going away it was kind of hard. Academically, he kind of had a rocky start, was in a major he wasn’t suited for,and after 2 not so stellar first quarters, he was able to “right the ship” the third quarter. Had he been at a semester school he might have wasted a whole year. Quarters are good for him because he can be a procrastinator, and with midterms started right up after a couple of weeks it really forces you to not fall behind. And if you don’t like a class, it is over in 10 weeks. You do have to go through finals three times, but during spring break you are between quarters and you really get to enjoy it whereas on the semester system you may have a project or paper to write. I don’t think having a school on semesters or quarters would be a “deal-breaker” but it might be something to think about if you were choosing between two schools. For me, I liked having D1 and S2 on two different schedules because I could enjoy them more when they were home without the other (and their was less fighting over the car).</p>
<p>Happy Monday??!!</p>
<p>Wow, the talk is heating up on the “List” around here…
Jr will be finalizing his “list” with his CC later this month. His GC at school looked at his top 5 and told him that he “shouldn’t have a problem getting into any of them”. Shoot me now…</p>
<p>As of now, his “safety” school is USC and his final fall back is UCLA. He wanted UofMiami, but H talked him into something closer to home for a “fall back” school. And to be perfectly honest, I would LOVE for him to go to USC. But the more I insert my input, the closer to Cambridge, MA he wants to be 
So for now, I am backing off and letting his CC earn every damn cent we paid her…</p>
<p>And I have a stupid question…what is STEM???</p>
<p>MDM - STEM - Science, Engineering, MAth and Technology.</p>
<p>lvvcsf - we are also in Ohio - does Miami have Chemical Engineering? We are on that campus a lot because my dd swims and big meets are held there so she doesn’t think she wants to go there because of familiarity. It looks like they just changed the wording of their automatic merit scholarships - I think it is better? My dd qualified for the largest in state before but now it says “up to full tuition” - it used to only say $6500/yr I think.</p>
<p>Bernese Mtn: No scores today! Today I am impatient & hoping everything is ok with them.
Our List: All matches in Georgia & we need merit aid:
Georgia Tech
Univ of Georgia
Emory
Mercer
Georgia Southern
Georgia College & State</p>
<p>DD needs an excellent music program and an excellent communications or English department. Any comments or experience with these schools? Music will not be her major but may be her minor. She is a mezzo soprano with lots of training & experience.</p>
<p>DS just informed me that he doesn’t want to go on any college visits, because he might like a school a lot and if they don’t offer him a close-to-full-ride merit scholarship he would be completely disappointed. So I asked him if he really loved a school would he consider working or loans to make up any financial difference. He said he wasn’t really interested in that. What is that pass-word to get us into the basement to drink?!?! Vodka shots anyone!</p>
<p>Ahsmuoh: Thank you!! Looks like my D14 falls into that catagory as well :)</p>
<p>Mommaof5: I am thinking Jello Shots… ;)</p>
<p>Social Drama Mama, ARRGH, no scores here either for May 5th. Now it doesn’t even say “Not Yet Available” it just says nothing. So I called this am and they said 5 to 7 more days. ARRGH. Glad we can commiserate, but sorry for the delay.</p>
<p>LOL that the June 2nd scores might beat the May 5th scores for timing.</p>
<p>ahsmuoh, I was under the impression that grad programs in STEM are fully funded. At least 25 years ago, I don’t know anyone who paid for grad school in science or engineering.</p>
<p>My son’s school on quarters is switching to semesters in fall 2013. I wonder how that will affect their co-op program, as until now they had a quarter of co-op as well as summers and still graduated in 4 years.</p>
<p>ashmuoh: Miami just updated their scholarship info towards the end of May. D’s scores prior to that gave her a flat $10,000 scholarship while now it says “half to full tuition.” (We’re out of state.) I’m hoping that D will add it to her list. </p>
<p>Socialdramamama: the only feedback I can give you is that Emory has a great English department. Last I checked, Salman Rushdie was the writer in residence. Unfortunately, D didn’t like it at all when we visited…</p>
<p>I’d like to give ACT kudos. I’d mailed them about 2 weeks ago asking them to add D2’s March ACTs to her record (she took them in school & didn’t give her SS# so they weren’t online.) I asked D if she’d gotten an email from them (no) so logged in and poof! 2 sets of scores. Very quick attention to the matter.</p>
<p>Proud of DS today… He’s been studying for the reading section of the ACT. The other sections he did really great on. Today’s test shows reading at a 26. I told him that he will take a different reading test every day this week…he’s less than thrilled!</p>
<p>List question for everyone: How many are on your S/D’s? And are you limiting the amount of “reaches” they can have?</p>
<p>Thanks MommyDearest13 for that resume outline.
Now - is is worth to list activities that were only one year long? In S’s case Debate and Robotics come to mind. He was testing the waters, in the end crew became more important.</p>
<p>S’s list will be long - at this point I am just trying to make him formulate one 
In the end he is not going to apply to all of them. And no, I am not limiting anything at this point.
Big problem - only one true safety…</p>
<p>Kelowna, if it helps tell his story, then I think it could help to list even just a one-year commitment.</p>
<p>Of the eight schools on the short list, I guess three are reaches, but his SAT score puts him above the avg acceptance in Naviance for all three. It’s his GPA that hurts him. And, we’re talking schools with really low acceptance rates, so they are reaches for everyone.</p>
<p>MDMom- I’m currently at a list of 12. Two reaches, seven matches, and three safeties. For me, location is everything. </p>
<p>I want to be in Manhattan, but I’m also applying to a couple of schools in Boston. I’m applying to three in Connecticut also. The reason why I’m applying to so many in Manhattan is because, well, I want to go there for college because my dad and I have decided that if I want to be in the journalism business then there is where I will have the most opportunity. </p>
<p>But, the only way I can go there is if I have enough money to do so. Thus, I will be needing a lot of financial aid. My dad has not put a cap on the amount of colleges I will be applying to because it’s me doing the work. Him and I made a deal that if I apply to 200 scholarships (I know, a lot, but I need all the money I can get and I’m willing to do it), then he’ll pay for the CSS profile fees, app fees, transportation to tours, and deposit for whichever college I end up going to. Oh, and some gas money on top of it. It’s all he can afford to do, and I’ll take that. I’m very content with that. I mean, writing all of those essays is going to be a major pain, but hey, it’s what I need to do.</p>
<p>Lvvcsf - For chemical engineering, you might want to check out U-Akron for an in-state safety. I know they are really big in polymers and they do a lot of bioengineering research. A recent grad just got into MIT for grad school, so they must be doing something right. S13 hasnt shown any interest in Miami-Oh or OU. I havent recommended them since theyre rural and I think hed prefer easy access to a city, plus he has Alabama as a safety (more geographic diversity, big sports, better weather, etc.) I didnt think Cincinnati offered guaranteed merit for stats, except maybe NMF. Id read that about lots of high stats kids getting very little, like OSU. For chemical engineering, U-Minnesota might be another good one if your D is a likely NMF.</p>
<p>MDMom 12 on S13s list 3 are admissions reaches. We know they will likely be unaffordable if he does by some miracle get in, so I dont see any reason to pay for more for apps. I dont think hed be interested in doing many more essays anyway. If we could use the NPCs and we knew they would be affordable and S13 wanted to write the essays, Id say go for it.</p>
<p>Kelowna we left the one year stuff off since he had plenty in that section that showed longer term commitment, but we did one line at the bottom of that section that said Hobbies: a, b, c, d, e, etc where we included those activities if appropriate. I had to do some creative formatting to keep it to one page. </p>
<p>Terinzak WTG, S! I have a couple pointers for ACT reading. Ive got to run now, but Ill post later.</p>
<p>Swizzle: I am impressed with your focus!!! And it looks like you have a great support system from you Dad in this process. Good for you! Looking forward to seeing where your journey takes you.</p>
<p>Mommydearest: You bring up a very good topic…the Essay’s! Is it bad to use the same or similar Essay as much as possible? (Assuming that some of the topics warrant.) Jr has a pretty good topic set aside and has practiced his Essay in his Hnrs English class, but not sure if I need to start to help him brainstorm some more…</p>
<p>My DD and I were laughing last night at possible essay topics - she really wants to stand out - she has been a competitive athlete for 11 years and she has heard it is taboo to write about what you learn from sports - which is probably true but a shame for kids who really have learned so many life lessons from sports. My dd has come a LONG way in her sport (from coming in dead last in a race to being a national competitor) but she won’t write about it. Any kids have great ideas that you are willing to share?</p>
<p>I think ds1 broke all the essay rules. Not only did he write one essay about his sport, but he wrote one about his grandfather. :eek: The horror!</p>