<p>Older son, the Alabama grad, gave Son '14 a present when he got in the car following cross country practice yesterday. An envelope from Alabama. It was Son '14’s acceptance letter. It’s Son '14’s No. 1 choice for schools. He’s not done applying yet, but it was nice to know that he had a place to go next fall. ROLL TIDE!</p>
<p>Rollins is not coastal. That’s a “need” for this son… 
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<p>Eckerd was his definite #1 until they came in at #4 on Reefer Madness… They also scored high on one of the green ones, but that fits him. He’s just not into that kind of “reef” and he wants peers. Hopefully a visit will help him feel out the place to see if it’s just hype or if he’ll feel out of place. There’ll be no problem if there are merely some who opt for their pleasures (like at any school including high school). But if it’s a culture…</p>
<p>barnardmom - my son is also super anti-drinking and after a year at college - super anti-pot. College will be tough anywhere you go, and my son seemed to have gotten on a particularly “indulgent” floor. Hindsight, I should have put him on a substance free floor. The funny thing is, people view him as the one with the problem and not the drunk/stoned 18 yo’s. He doesn’t talk about it with anyone and this is hard to believe, he’s not judgmental about it, he just doesn’t like it.</p>
<p>So my suggestion is when doing tours, check out the substance free floors and what they’re really like.</p>
<p>Well it’s coming along here with DS14 apps…6 done (5 with supplements) and so far only one submitted typographical error…this despite multiple readings by writer, 2 parents, and his college advisor. I’m sure at various junctures the error wasn’t there, but with all the copying, pasting, and glitches with Common App typesetting it just happened. I used to chuckle when a college rep would talk about applications with the wrong school name buried somewhere in an essay, but now I can totally see how this might happen. Essays get tweaked/revised/shortened/lengthened, etc. And all the schools’ names are bantered about in household conversations so much that they become overly familiar by the time the submit button is pushed. Thankfully, it was not a name error, but a word drop, and just in one school’s shortest supplement essay (1of 3 submitted for this particular school). Hopefully DS14 will get 3 more out, including ED in next couple weeks.</p>
<p>Eyemamom - too bad your guy didn’t get the same floor/dorm my guy had. Mine prefers not to bother with substances too and found plenty of peers. It’s wasn’t a substance free floor, but those who chose to imbibe went elsewhere. I’m curious as to what his freshmen this year will be like… They’re moving in today.</p>
<p>But yes, this is the concern with #4 on Reefer Madness. Is it some or a culture?</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son, momreads!!!</p>
<p>Wonderful news Momreads!</p>
<p>S14 was up late working on drafts for his UC personal essays that are required writing in his AP Lit class. I stayed up along with him for brainstorming and feedback. I am glad the class requires drafting these prompts. He may not continue to refine and use them for his actual ap, but it is clearing the writer’s block.</p>
<p>Tonight we attend last Back To School Night ever. This is a year filled with lasts.</p>
<p>Roll Tide Momreads! great news!</p>
<p>Just checking back in, very new here, but I ordered the How to Write a College Essay book, hoping it helps for applications. Got D registered for the 1st ACT & the 1st SAT of the season. She just did graduation pictures last Wednesday. I’m not sure what type of support her school will be giving with the whole application process as she doesn’t even go back till September 9th. I would love for them to work on the essays at school, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen. D does know what teacher she will be asking for her letter of recommendation from and plans to talk to her the 1st day.</p>
<p>Still haven’t heard from the college coach if he has heard back from Admissions yet. I do know he was on vacation last week and wouldn’t of heard anything then. D gave her club coach the college coach’s cell number and she said to D last night that she might give him a call on her way home. D will not see club coach until Wednesday, hopefully she will get some kind of an update when she does. </p>
<p>That’s all I really have right now. We do not have a ton of schools she is applying to, actually I can only get her interested in applying to her #1 choice, no back ups or anything right now. Baby steps, I don’t want to push too hard, guess I should be happy that she knows her #1 that she wants to apply to.</p>
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<p>But is has a lake with a shoreline … LOL :D</p>
<p>momreads - congrats on the 'Bama admission for S2. :)</p>
<p>Ugh, been so busy, haven’t had time to keep up with this thread very much. Nothing here to really report anyway – S started his Senior year yesterday, and we’re still waiting for A&M @ Galveston to “close out” Fall '13 admissions so they can move on to processing apps for Fall '14. The adcon told us that changeover should happen pretty quickly after classes started there (also yesterday.) So hopefully he’ll have his acceptance soon. </p>
<p>They did manage to screw up his schedule somehow, and put him in AP environmental science instead of AP Physics. For engineering, it’s kinda critical that he have that Physics – Env. Science, not so much. Hopefully they’ll get that straightened out today.</p>
<p>Momreads, congrats to your son!! That is awesome news! :-)</p>
<p>My DS met with his college counselor yesterday. His comment was “You would make a better college counselor than her, Mom. She didn’t know half as much as you about some of this stuff.” Funny how you can gain such a level of expertise by using CC! </p>
<p>The list is still at 15 schools. It doesn’t look good for trying to bring it down to 10. As a matter of fact, it may go up if he makes NMF and we get some offers we can’t ignore. We should know in a couple of days.</p>
<p>He is making one more round of getting input on his CA essay. I’m hoping he can finish that up by the weekend. By then we should know about NM so he should be able to submit a couple of apps.</p>
<p>My d tells me all the time I should be a college counselor - no thanks kid. Just by breathing in and out I could do a better job than her counselor.</p>
<p>Anyone getting absolutely bombarded with college emails offering free apps now? I like that they start off with - thank you for your interest in xyz college - when we’ve never expressed any at all. </p>
<p>Sure is tempting though during the anxious times to toss in a few more, but then I realize, it’s just going to make decision time rougher.</p>
<p>I like the ones that act like they’re offering my kid the exclusive opportunity to apply for free, until you realize that it’s always free to apply there if you use their online application ;-)</p>
<p>Good to have you here with us Zebradome! It is always good to have a back-up. Is her No. 1 a “reach” or a “match” or a “safety”?</p>
<p>Good morning and congratulations to your son, momreads! Just curious, as it is his #1, what would motivate him (and you) to continue the application process? How fun that your oldest could deliver the news!!!</p>
<p><maudlin rant="" follows="" -="" read="" at="" your="" own="" risk=""></maudlin></p>
<p>I’ll say it straight out. I’m sad. Really, really sad. Not that anything’s wrong. On the contrary, DS has a great start to his senior year. </p>
<p>But I’ve been walking around for the last few days with what I can only describe as an “ominous” feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m pretty sensitive to emotions and a few times asked DS how he was doing, thinking something might be going on with him. I realized this morning… it’s me.</p>
<p>I’m grieving how MY life is changing. Scouts, for instance. I was den leader to these boys from 1st - 5th grades, and involved in S1’s den before that. Now that S2 is in boy scouts, I’ve become very involved in parent committee positions. I love the other adults in the troop. I love watching the boys grow and mature. In a couple of months, when he turns 18, he will be out of the program. I may stay on marginally as a merit badge counselor but it won’t be the same. And the parents that I am closest to are trickling out of the troop as their sons age out.</p>
<p>On other fronts, I’ll miss the experience of getting together with other moms and discussing the day-to-day activities of our kids, comparing notes and giving support and advice and occasional shoulders to cry on. We’ll still get together, sure. But it will be different. </p>
<p>I guess right now I’m missing the days of playgroups and park time. I’m missing his childhood. I’m missing my role as someone who puts bandaids on boo-boos, goes to back-to-school nights and tucks children in bed.</p>
<p>I think the impact of how my life is changing is really beginning to hit.</p>
<p>I need grandkids. (KIDDING!!!)</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for reading. I needed to get it out and figured this group would understand.</p>
<p>glido - I think it’s a match school. She meets the requirements that they are looking for according to the Admissions guy at the info session & their website.</p>
<p>Plus she would be a member of their gymnastics team.</p>
<p>calla1 – I understand how you feel. It’s like in the midst of all this exciting stuff for our kids, something feels deeply wrong. They’re our babies. We’re here to take care of them.</p>
<p>Check out the empty nest thread in the Parent Cafe. </p>
<p>I too miss the early years when they were little and cute and any problem could be fixed with enough ice cream.</p>
<p>Hang in there.</p>
<p>Thanks, Classof2015. I will definitely check out that thread. I didn’t think I belonged there yet but I guess I do!!!</p>
<p>First Acceptance. </p>
<p>And first notice from another school that there’s a piece missing (GC rec, which he said he mailed the 14th).</p>