<p>I am desperate to know how D’s visit is going. I need some magical transforming powers to become a fly on a wall for the weekend.</p>
<p>I dropped her at the airport yesterday and hadn’t heard anything. Finally this morning I texted “ok?” she wrote back “yes I’m fine” Darn it. that doesn’t tell me anything (although good to know my main concern was answered- that she is alive). </p>
<p>The test will be what she brings back from the weekend. I told her only buy a sweatshirt if she LOVES it, otherwise get a t-shirt if she likes it :)</p>
<p>Is she on an athletic visit? Send her a text asking for DETAILS!!! Ask her what her favorite part of campus is so far—maybe you will get more info!!! Kids…</p>
<p>I’m tempted to write down all these things that drive us batty about our kids so when they are going through this with their kids I can say, see, remember when I was badgering you about getting your apps done and WHY??? :D.</p>
<p>Asmuoh if your counselor sent the transcript right away, you should see the student tab soon. S13s GC finally mailed it last Thursday the transcript showed up on UA this Wednesday, then the student tab was there the next morning . . . so exactly a week!</p>
<p>SteveMA I think some common app schools send you a login/password to their system so you can track your app. The only one S13 applied to so far is CWRU they havent sent anything, so I have no idea if they have his test scores, etc. </p>
<p>Spackler I created a spreadsheet with the list of schools S13 is applying to, plus scholarship competitions. I went through each admissions page to find the application deadline to be considered for scholarships, then put the schools in order of deadlines. Then I went through and copied all the supplemental essay questions onto one document. Each Sunday I email him a To Do List . . . it has the list of 20 essays. As he completes them, they get deleted off the list. I had him start with the rolling admissions schools that are known for being more generous early in the application season, then he moved on to common app schools. He requested transcripts as soon as the school offices opened and I went ahead and sent ACTs/SAT IIs to each school. Five down, eight to go! Im very involved in keeping him organized because theres a lot of $$ at stake. He cant afford to miss a deadline!</p>
<p>HMFR I like to say XHMFR since S13 doesnt have any hooks! </p>
<p>COMMON APP I didnt realize you couldnt just make a change and submit the changed version to the next school. S13 wants to change the writing section about his EC. I guess well have to figure out that alternate version thing this weekend as he should be ready to submit CA #2.</p>
<p>CALCULUS Our HS teacher is supposed to be really good and kids do well on the AP exam. S13 said hes moving at a snails pace right now because a lot of kids are having a hard time with the concepts. S’13 feels bad for the kids that are struggling, but at the same time doesn’t want to get behind and have to scramble at the end of the year.</p>
<p>RURAL v. URBAN We live in an Amish pie kind of area, so S13 wants urban preferably warm, but hed make an exception for MIT.</p>
<p>VACUUMS - I need to get my vacuum fixed . . . puppy chewed through the cord of my Dyson. I LOVE bagless!</p>
<p>S2 has submitted four Common Apps. Three of the schools were very responsive - sent us emails and logins for their sites to check applications. One has never acknowledged anything - and that’s the one that he needs to get an email from in order to sign up for an audition. S2 says he’ll wait another week and then email them. And…still waiting for LOR to get sent.</p>
<p>As Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.”</p>
<p>Steve- yes, its an athletic visit. and I know she should be interacting with the team and visiting classes, and observing the students, and not texting me. So I am going to try and be patient, even if it kills me (and I think it might). But Saturday night, when she gets home, I want every detail!</p>
<p>89wahoo- Speaking of Guides, I’ve been planning to write a “Guide to Life” type of guide for my D as she heads off to school next year. I was thinking of things like laundry, some favorite recipes, conversation starters, info about cold medicines and the like, etc.
It would be awesome if we could brainstorm some of that too.</p>
<p>"…puppy chewed through the cord of my Dyson…" I cannot imagine the horror. So sorry for you, MD13. I loved my Dyson, may it RIP.</p>
<p>BTW, I have read that you are limited on the number of colleges added to your CA (20, and you cannot delete one to add another if you hit 20) and number of alternate forms you can do (10 max). Of course, the intent of the Common Application is to make it so it works for most if not all your colleges. Most kids do only 1-3 alternate versions; colleges expect the college-specific essays only to be in their supplements. The alternate form could be useful for a change in data or to correct an error, however.</p>
<p>Longhaul- Hugs to you and DS. That is so terribly sad. :-(</p>
<p>Welcome to psblstnr and spackler.
Congrats to SteveMA!</p>
<p>Swizzle- I agree, love your attitude. I think that is a wonderful place to be and I hope the same for your daughter. I’ve kind of fallen into that place too. My D loves several of the schools she is applying to equally well and <em>should</em> be accepted to all of them. So now to finish getting everything in so that she can enjoy her senior year, as she should.</p>
<p>Calculus: Our teacher is not good, BUT, D1 (who graduated in Math), is home getting her masters/teaching credential. So I figure if S3 needs help we have a built-in tutor. I thought that all math teachers were math majors, but have found out that in California, actually a lot of them were other majors and just passed some sort of test to be able to teach math. </p>
<p>Homecoming: S3 wants to go to 3 Homecomings, three weeks in a row. His and two other schools in the area (with girls he met at ASB camp). We are currently negotiating. I don’t want to shell out the money and I know he doesn’t have time. So we will see.</p>
<p>Cromette- Congrats to your D! That is amazing news. Do you think she will actually attend that school? If so, then are you done with that part of the college search?</p>
<p>Amazhon- Big hugs to you. I cannot imagine losing a sibling. That must be horribly painful. I hope you were able to remember some happy times with her and smile between the tears.</p>
<p>AP Calc and AP Physics- D seems to be surviving pretty well thus far but I am watching closely. I don’t fall in the “you must get an A” camp but I want her to do as well as she can and preferably not go below B range. I’ve told her that she must tell me the moment she feels like that might be tenuous.</p>
<p>Part of the reason I say the above is that I have heard my daughter say several times recently that she “has to be perfect” and “can’t make a mistake” and honestly, I think that is an amazingly unhealthy attitude and it frightens me when she says it. How in the world can one go through life that way with any joy whatsoever? In the scheme of life, that is not the way I want her to live it and if she feels that way, something is wrong. </p>
<p>I <em>think</em> she says this mostly when she is in some kind of freak out, melt down mode b/c otherwise she seems pretty okay but still…</p>
<p>This is an important thing to be sure, college, but in the whole scheme of life, it’s the person I am growing that is my biggest concern… and I am concerned right now!</p>
<p>Vandy: You described my dd. I make sure that I emphasize how proud I am of her if she studies hard for a test yet the grade comes back crashed and burned (happens a lot in AP Calc/Chem/Physics). If not well taught, these subjects can destroy kids’ confidence, many of them girls who were cautiously wading in to begin with. Come to think of it, any one really poor teacher can destroy a kid. In my experience, the teacher affects my daughter’s attitude and ability to learn more than the subject’s difficulty. Are girls more likely to blame themselves for poor grades, in contrast to boys, who may be more likely to blame the teacher?</p>
<p>No, i don’t think the phenomenon of self blame is gender specific. My very bright son will beat himself up first, even as he admits the teacher is sorely lacking in certain teaching skills. (btw, he too has waded in carefully to AP calculus and AP physics…so far, so good … But he has worked harder than ever to get As on his tests, esp. compared to AP English and AP govt)</p>
<p>Vandy and DDHM - My dd is exactly the same. She often says “its not good enough” and we always say “good enough for what” and she says “me” (same exact conversations about several things). Her ACT is in the 99th percentile and she said this!!! I finally talked her off that ledge!!! Now S15 on the other hand - celebrates his B’s in honors classes!!! Amazing how “I got a B” sounds so different from my two kids!</p>
<p>Yes, for sure she is going to A & M. She didn’t even bother with other applications. Once she visited there she told me to cancel all future campus visits. We’ve applied for housing too. So we’re on to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Doing well this year in school - just to keep that gpa up there for scholarship purposes, and of course, just to keep solid in math and science especially.</p></li>
<li><p>Applying for scholarships - letters of recommendation, community service, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Working on math placement test - requirement for her major</p></li>
<li><p>And just following her portal for other things that need to be done. She can’t register for a new student conference until Feb. I think. It’s a little while off.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>AP Calc - After using the study guide, my D made a 96 and a 100 on the last 2 homework assignments! So things are looking better in that department. She went in early for tutorials today. I also told her about the online stuff. We are kind of like you - we don’t require an A either - but I really really want her to UNDERSTAND it, because she will have to take CAL I, II and III in college - so I want the foundation to be solid.</p>
<p>On the perfection thing - My D2 is like that. She’s a vocalist - and her voice teacher is ALWAYS telling her not to be too hard on herself. Not this one though! LOL. She’s pretty laid back. It’s scary when they really BELIEVE they have to be perfect. If it’s something that they strive for and it’s important to them, but they know it’s a little imbalanced to actually EXPECT perfection - well…these are the people that are usually really successful! And if she can learn to relax periodically: exercise, yoga, etc, she will probably be okay. :)</p>
<p>Big Pitt envelope in the mail today with “Congratulations” across the front. Of course I opened it - I cleared that with S along time ago. The only problem in . . . the acceptance is dated 9/17 and he didn’t even send his essay until 9/18. I hope they still put it in his app file for scholarship purposes. I was assured by two different people in Pitt admissions that he had until 10/15 to get them his supplemental materials.</p>
<p>I am pretty new to these boards and had posted an issue we currently have with our S that will affect his applications on another thread, but felt I should stop lurking and join your discussion as I find it very informative!!</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with Early College programs?</p>
<p>My S is in an early college program. He will graduate in May with his HS diploma and a AA degree (general studies). I know some colleges will let these kids enroll as a freshmen and experience all that has to offer even though they are really more of a transfer student. Have any of you experienced this and know how his college classes are viewed in comparison to AP classes? He never took AP due to his college class load, but did take many honors classes at his high school. Our state has a matriculation agreement where most of his college classes will transfer if he goes to a public state university. His high school is located on the grounds of our local community college.</p>
<p>So far most of the state colleges we have visited really do not have a lot of information to share about this except that they have that agreement and how an EC student would be admitted. Not sure how how many other EC programs are in our state, but I know we are not the only one. We have some visits planned with some private schools and I am hoping they will accept at least some of his college credits. </p>
<p>Just wondering if anyone has any insight into the application process when it comes to students in EC programs. How do his college classes compare to AP classes when looking at 2 different applications?</p>
<p>His classes are actual COLLEGE classes - and each college will transfer different classes from your junior college. You can’t really compare it to AP - because colleges accept those credits differently from one college to the next as well, and different test scores are required at different colleges in order to receive credit.</p>
<p>Best bet, as far as credit goes, if the junior college and the university are in the same state is to look for the class transfer information on the university website. Usually they have a pull-down menu under admissions somewhere that will let you see which classes transfer and how from your particular junior college.</p>
The only problem in . . . the acceptance is dated 9/17 and he didn’t even send his essay until 9/18. I hope they still put it in his app file for scholarship purposes. I was assured by two different people in Pitt admissions that he had until 10/15 to get them his supplemental materials.</p>