<p>OMG, too much girl drama. I am praying for you all!</p>
<p>Today D had to sign a form at school identifying her ED choice. I then had to tell my area chair I couldn’t interview this year for my college b/c D is an application mode. Test scores sent and CA almost done. It is all too real. Oh, and D is like a roller coaster of emotions --girl drama is indeed in this house.</p>
<p>With all the talk about CSS, I went ahead and got online to open an account. I don’t know why I thought CSS was a simple document!!! I was under the impression that FASFA was the long and complicated one, but get ready, CSS will take a LONG time to fill out!!! Don’t wait until the last minute. Instead of worrying about all of those essays that aren’t getting done, you can worry about the CSS that isn’t getting done, because YOU, the parent, have to do it!!!</p>
<p>For anyone else with twins, do we really have to fill out two separate CSS forms that are basically identical, and pay twice??</p>
<p>Looks like I’m the only west coast person up past midnight! Just wondering how much everyone is paying for Calculus BC tutors and how often do they need to work with your student to make a difference? Any feelings whether same sex tutor is preferable or if it really doesn’t matter? Around here they will all be graduate students, so I’m thinking maybe a cute girl would not be a good idea for my sons! Or who knows, maybe that would motivate them!..</p>
<p>Greekmana - nothing gets sent if the test isn’t taken. My S was registered for Biology and World History but never took them.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about all the meltdowns. Positive spin…at least it shows they care?</p>
<p>Is anybody else having problems printing out forms from the Common App? I tried yesterday and again this morning. All I get is a blank window. Tried it from two different browers.</p>
<p>DD and DS got a call from one school that they both were accepted and to look for their package in the mail. This was a school where they had to mail their transcripts. So far only schools with mailed transcripts have received them. This is DS’s #1 choice after his lottery school so he was very happy. DD was kind of blah about it. She really liked the school but knew she would be getting in so it was kind of anti-climatic for her. I am happy that she for sure has one school to go to :D.</p>
<p>Hopefully we start hearing from the common app schools…some day…</p>
<p>No drama here, THANKFULLY. I feel sorry for those struggling with essays. Sometimes just taking a walk, going over to a friend’s house to write the essay (or the library or somewhere) will get the juices flowing. Have them go to Starbucks or a favorite cafe/restaurant with a friend and have them set a goal to write a paragraph. Once they do that, the rest will probably follow. As a good friend of ours reminded us before we started this process, he got into a top 5 school with a handwritten essay, in pencil, with the fuzzies from the notebook still attached :D. Yes, things have changed but the reminder was more that they want these essays to be natural, not forced, and they should just write from their hearts.</p>
<p>YEA SteveMa… :):)
Bet you feel better!!!</p>
<p>Why is it my D only has ED or RD schools…oh yea that’s because they aren’t any in the 3-4 hr parameter she has set :(…Not even any of our State schools 
So Folks …I am living through your good news…Please keep it coming
Seriously hearing about acceptances gives me hope
I know our day will come…I just wish it was sooner than later :)</p>
<p>congrats on all the acceptances & scholarships. </p>
<p>S13 is still “fine tuning” his list. One application to our state flagship has been submitted. At this rate he may go to the only school that has an application from him!</p>
<p>He keeps taking schools off the list but not adding any better fits. If he applies to all the schools currently on his list, he will apply to 5 schools. Of the 5, only 2 are super reach (what was the expression HMFR?) 2 are decent fits, and 1 is a financial safety. I guess that is o.k. if he actually applies to them!</p>
<p>Essay question: He did a 300 word essay for state flagship application. Good essay. He tried to expand it to a 500 word essay for the common app but the 300 word essay is much tighter & reads better. Should he submit the 300 or 476 word essay? or should we start over?</p>
<p>Still struggling with the which person influenced you essay for non common app college. Any suggestions for how to approach this one? Teacher? Author? prominent person in computer engineering who is not Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?</p>
<p>too tired…who has influenced Him? ask him to sit and come up with a list…I’m sure there will be one that stands out…they are looking for content of thought and essay…not prominence of figure…</p>
<p>If the short essay is GREAT…Leave it alone…
Just my 2 cents…</p>
<p>DD is also seriously procrastinating her essays. She had to turn in her short essay for the CA to her English teacher 4 weeks ago! And she still hasn’t received it back! I told her that if she doesn’t get it back she is just going to have to use it - I really don’t think it is a big deal - she is a good writer. She has one deadline of Oct 15th and after reading some of the issues with things getting delivered in a timely manner, she HAS to press submit this weekend. She has already had her transcripts, LOR and test scores sent - she only has to finish the application - has anyone had trouble with the schools getting the electronic CA in a weeks time?</p>
<p>Our hs counselor didn’t do a whole lot except furnish us with sealed transcripts. We pretty much did everything. We got the LORs, we submitted all documentation, etc. for all 3 Ds. Is it that there are universities out there requiring that correspondence come from the counselor?</p>
<p>Our GC has 400 other students to process. I just didn’t trust her (she’s a wonderful person - it’s not personal) with my D’s!</p>
<p>Cromette - some colleges have evaluation forms that must be filled out and included with the transcript. A GC evalution is part of what gets emailed from the common app.</p>
<p>ahsmuoh - S’13 has only submitted the CA to two schools - both downloaded his app/supplement/LORs the following day. </p>
<p>TTTC - the CA essay is supposed to be 250-500 words - it it’s better at 300, I’d go with that one.</p>
<p>ESSAY HELL! They are multiplying - I kid you not. For everyone he gets done, two new ones pop us. He did do one that will work for three schools with a little tweaking. </p>
<p>I was critiquing an essay for a kid on the CC essay board - S’13 saw and told me to stop helping the competition! lol I told him I’d be editing his if he would get some written! He did come out of his cave to ask me a question about one, so at least he’s “thinking” about them.</p>
<p>“Cromette - some colleges have evaluation forms that must be filled out and included with the transcript. A GC evalution is part of what gets emailed from the common app.”</p>
<p>I guess we didn’t have any of that. On the back of the official school transcript, I think it has a box for “most rigorous”, “rigorous”, etc.</p>
<p>I’m glad we were able to do everything ourselves. That would have made me a nervous wreck! They already hate to see me coming at the hs because of scheduling issues - which are a NIGHTMARE.</p>
<p>Tootiredtocare – I believe the CA essay needs to be 250 – 500 words (he should check this for sure!!!), so the 300 word essay should be perfect, especially since it reads better! SO I agree with AMA – leave it alone :)</p>
<p>Walker1194 – We had trouble previewing the CA and therefore printing, in fact, never got to preview one of them before submitting. But we were able to print the school forms. Perhaps go to the help ? and look for an answer there, including looking at the bottom of the “help answer” page it takes you to, and keep clicking different questions that may seem somewhat close, and look at the bottom of that page for more questions. It’s hard to describe how to find it. You said you tried different browsers - chrome worked for us. Also, it tells you to accept cookies always, as opposed to “this time only”, and a myriad of other things to try. Restarting your computer is always a suggestion (ugh).</p>
<p>I agree with mommydearest …, we are in ESSAY HELL as well!!! D has to finish her essays for GATech and the same essay has been revised like 5 times. Now its too long.</p>
<p>/rant/ In addition, because of schedule conflicts, she had to take honors Economics & Govt (2nd semester) instead of AP. Well this teacher has them watching Dave Ramsey & other videos for about an hour a night plus homework that seems more like busy work than constructive work. I told her she’d have been better taking virtual school since dual enrollment wouldn’t work with her sports & our 1-car house. There are only 2-3 kids in that class even applying to non-local schools and only one besides her who is currently living in essay hell. Can’t teach them to work smarter, not harder?? AND he will only see students before school for questions/issues but my D is in a zero-period class before school and cannot come in at that time. He won’t answer questions about work or class issues during the schedules period either. So, I told D to email him and if he doesn’t respond to resend it and cc his supervisor and me. So frustrated and we really don’t have time for this right now. /end rant/ … breathe … </p>
<p>D is spending the week trying to catch up with the work she’s fallen behind on and studying for the SAT subject tests this weekend (math 2, bio, and French). Oh, and hopefully essays the rest of the weekend. I want them sent before she leaves to the CalTech visit. Agh!</p>
<p>okay, I have a financial aid question/net calculator question: if, even with two kids in college overlapping one year, the calculator for one school indicates “no aid” (so I suppose loans?) and another indicates “10,000” (but I think for 4 years? not all 4 years)…is it better to not bother with telling the schools you need aid? I am getting such mixed messages: It is better these days to not tell schools you need aid (especially if you are realy on the boarder…and not needing too much) and thus risk admission, versus trying for that 10,000, but maybe not getting in, because you say you need aid? my DD’14 is attending a school that gave merit, and we were totally floored by that, so this time I am more nervous, because many of the same schools are saying “no merit” this year, and some are no longer Need Blind…<br>
anyone else puzzling this out?</p>
<p>Yes, yes, yes, I need the same answers as Drmom! Also, I remember hearing something about even if you don’t qualify for FA that you should fill out the paperwork in order to try for merit aid… any help is greatly appreciated!!!</p>
<p>drmom123- someone else may have a better answer, but my understanding is that the people most impacted by need aware policies are the ones with the biggest needs. I think its more likely that they would deny a borderline need candidate aid, than admissions. It seems worth filling it out for $10,000.</p>