<p>A $50k difference would more than rankle. Aren’t there usually other routes to roughly the same amount of merit aid, based on SAT or ACT scores?</p>
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<p>This is actually the only reason I’m glad middle son didn’t make it. If he had, we may very well have let the $$ do the talking and quit investigating other schools sticking with the known financial option. Since he didn’t, we pressed on and he found a school that is a much better fit for him both academically (what he wanted to study) and general lifestyle fit. </p>
<p>I always recommend top stat kids keep looking. Perhaps Alabama is the best choice for them, or perhaps not, but don’t stop just because the app is easy and the $$ are promised. You don’t know what you might be missing unless you look at the options, then decide.</p>
<p>Thanks for re-posting that explanation of the different state cutoffs, CT1417. </p>
<p>My D is convinced that it’s all a ploy to get more kids to pay for and take more tests which will then require additional $$ for score reporting. Since kids who qualify for NMSF have to have a corroborating SAT score to become a finalist (even if they are an ACT kid), maybe she’s right.</p>
<p>Our school announced VA’s cutoff score which as had been rumored, is 222. The school saw a drop in NMSF to 132 students this year. Not surprising given the high cutoff. </p>
<p>There’s a college process kickoff meeting for senior parents tomorrow, which irritatingly conflicts with back to school night for my younger child and a sporting event for DS. There is a kickoff event for students too but as luck would have it DS is missing school that day for a recruiting visit. They did distribute a PowerPoint that included a flow chart of how to request transcripts, etc so at least I’ll have the nuts and bolts.</p>
<p>Oh well, I have the best resource around with you guys anyway!</p>
<p>Dodgersmom: ED school will let you know whether you are admitted in early December. RD schools will let you know April 1st (or maybe a few days earlier). </p>
<p>Rolling Admission schools are not part of this equation. If you get accepted to the University of State via rolling admissions in September and the school offers you a full ride - then you hear December 1st that you got into highly competitive DREAM SCHOOL, but their FA calculation of your “demonstrated need” is unaffordable, you just tell them and go to your rolling admission state school. Dream School does not consider University of State Rolling Admissions U. a competitor. They are not going to call the Dean of the State U. and ask them to rescind your admission. They will call if your RD school and let them know. They may very well rescind, but not in every case. </p>
<p>If you are admitted ED, you are expected to attend, but not if you cannot afford it. There is an appeal process. If the appeal is denied, then there is no aggrement. Your highly competitive dream school is not going to try to keep you from enrolling in your rolling admissions home State U.</p>
<p>An ED application is not a contract because the material term of price is not agreed upon at the time of the application submission. Without a meeting of the minds as to all material terms, there is no contract.</p>
<p>An ED application can be a valuable opportunity for some students, but it is not always the best option for those who need FA.</p>
<p>Wow novamom - a drop to 132! That’s still an amazing amount! The local paper had an article this week where there was one from our town and one from another local town. While Mass is 224, I don’t think that’s a difference of 130!</p>
<p>Waiting for DS11 to arrive home from the wake for his friend’s mother. While it will be nice and unexpected to see him (and our puppy will be beside himself!) I really wish it was for another reason. Of course, given the incredibly unseasonably hot, muggy day it was today, I’m sure he’ll sleep much better tonight in his air conditioned room than in his hot room in his house at school! Kind of hard to believe that 95 degrees in Boston today was NOT a record! I think I’m ready for fall.</p>
<p>We found out few days ago that my daughter published 2 novels and several short stories online. Her total number of readerships is in excess of 200,000. They must be good since she’s getting good reviews, mostly 4/5 stars (out of 5). (I read some but can’t relate. Her target audience is teenage girls.) I asked her what’s her Instagram username and googled it. Google led me to the site where she published them using the same username as her Instagram.</p>
<p>When me and my wife “confronted” her. She wasn’t happy. She said that, it supposedly her “secret” and only her 3 best friends know about it.</p>
<p>I’m actually impressed. Where did she find the time? She said that she started the first novel when she was a Sophomore, but majority of them, she wrote it last school year. She was taking 5 APs and an Honor plus an online Spanish class last year. Plus she had Fall and Winter sports, Church Youth and main band on Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays, volunteer in a local hospital on Saturdays, etc… You get the idea.</p>
<p>My question to this group. Can she put this on her ECs? I told her that she could and her response was "College will look down on it since it’s published in a “Boy Band Fan Site”. What do you think? The amount of work/time she spent on these writings is significant. Both novels are in excess of 30 chapters and they are actually part of a series and right now she’s starting on the third series.</p>
<p>If she decides to put this on her app, how can she word it so that colleges will take it seriously? Online author? Blogger? How can she submit a sample? Refer via hyperlink/URL? Anybody who heard or has an experience with this?</p>
<p>Of course she can put her writing down as an activity. Good for her - 2018dad!</p>
<p>I agree. She should put her writing down as one of her EC’s.</p>
<p>2018dad - She can say exactly what you just said: she’s published two novels and several short stories online. She can provide a link if she wants to, but isn’t obligated to.</p>
<p>You have good reason to be proud . . . I hope you told her. :)</p>
<p>(And if she pulled all of this off without either you or your wife noticing, aren’t you glad she decided to be an author and not a drug dealer? ;))</p>
<p>2018 dad</p>
<p>That is VERY impressive. Absolutely include it …
What a very self motivated talented dd you have there.</p>
<p>Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Wow, how impressive, 2018 Dad! That is some surprise for you and your wife - I’m sure I’d still be in shock. Congratulations to your daughter! What an accomplishment, all the more amazing considering her schedule. No experience with anything like that, but I’d say definitely list it, and I would think a hyperlink would be good, as it would give credence to her work and readership.</p>
<p>That is wonderful about the writing! I’d definitely mention it. I believe any reading and any writing is valuable. Think about how much initiative and creativity that shows! My goodness that’s more impressive to me than school clubs or AP’s. </p>
<p>Next question - one of the schools with that darn self reporting classes and grades is requiring we upload her transcript, not the school. Well our report card shows all sorts of little errors that were fixed, as well as study halls, clubs and is kind of a cluttered confusing looking mess. It shows all semesters and we just want to show the end of the year grades not every quarter and mid-term and final. Not to mention, it’s just printed off of powerschool and cuts off in weird places. What do we do here about that? I asked the transcript person if they’d give me a copy of what they have so we can upload it. We’ll see what she says. What would you do?</p>
<p>Eyemamom, I would do exactly as you did. Ask for an unofficial transcript and send that in. My DS has gotten them before for summer program applications, etc. Our school provided him with two versions - - one with final end of course grades only, and another with semester grades included.</p>
<p>My son took the transcript stamped “Unofficial” with him on college interviews this summer. Our on-line transcript is also a confusing mess (perhaps using the same software program) so I would not want a college to have to try to sort through it.</p>
<p>Can you scan and upload a PDF?</p>
<p>So, S’s school switched to (started?) Naviance this summer, but from the school’s opinion, it is still in a training phase and has not had “roll out”. However, CA considers them to be a Naviance school and expects recommendations submitted as such. S sees others dropping the ball as a justification for slow walking CA stuff.</p>
<p>= #Frustration-all-around</p>
<p>Anyone else have to navigate this issue recently? Naviance that is, not S being calcified.</p>
<p>wait – if your school has Naviance, LORs get uploaded through Naviance?</p>
<p>Here’s my Frustration formula:
GC who doesn’t respond to emails/was inaccessible from June 26 on/has only 16 seniors to deal with/told S to look at W Va and Bucknell in the same breath = #Frustration-all-around</p>
<p>@eyemamom</p>
<p>We got an un-offical copy of the transcripts (which is easier to read than the “official copy”…for whatever reason). You need to make sure the grades you enter match the transcripts, if not, the school could rescend the offer (after the official transcripts are sent in). Our college (in-state) required semester grades, but that also happen to match our transcript.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I have a question I’m hoping you can answer:</p>
<p>If you apply/applied to a big state school with rolling admission NOW and then in a month decide you want to apply to another school ED, can you? Will the ED school ask you to rescind your application or acceptance before they’ll consider your application?</p>
<p>My D really likes two schools equally and one offers ED with substantially better odds of acceptance. </p>
<p>Thanks for your advice.</p>
<p>Okay - issue resolved with the transcript - I emailed the assistant - who is so on the ball she should be the GC and she emailed me over her transcript and schedule for this year. </p>
<p>We also have the naviance recommendation issue. The teacher wrote it and didn’t understand she had to upload it.</p>
<p>We’re now having issues with them being able to upload into the common app site. </p>
<p>The school is just now embracing technology and there seem to be hiccups. And reason number gazillion and eight why we got things going so early.</p>
<p>Mom - yes you can do that. We did that two years ago with my son, it wasn’t rolling but he found out about another school before the ED. We did ED because it was his number one choice, we weren’t concerned about FA. Also, it was something like 38% admissions for ED, but 25% for RD and we thought he could be in that 13%.</p>