<p>If I see someone from “our” thread over on the other boards I try and make sure to throw out a supportive comment. I really hate even posting over there because the tiniest thing can be blown into accusing you of mental issues, needing counseling and tons of nefarious things when all you had was a question.</p>
<p>I don’t think my d even cares about her other acceptances now other than anecdotally to see if she could get in.</p>
<p>college4many - I’m going against the grain here but I’m just tossing out what I’ve seen and heard. 90% of kids going into college change their majors at least once. So while the individual program is important, I think it’s important that the student also like the school itself. I also don’t think that is much of a grade drop. D applied to a dream school, she now doesn’t consider it her dream, because to me I don’t want her to wonder next year or 5 years down the road if she should have gone for it. So I say go for it, but know there isn’t one path or one dream.</p>
<p>Seniors often drop grades (my youngest included). I wouldn’t stop any desirable college apps over the type of drop you mentioned. You have an adequate safety. Apply to any your student would rather attend if they got in and it was affordable. Ditch any they wouldn’t rather attend than the safety.</p>
<p>Just my two cents… and don’t take too much stock in any non-ivy level admissions stuff on here. The school I work at is an average public school with slightly below average stats (mainly SAT). An Ivy or equivalent acceptance is rare. But acceptances to other schools are common. Rejections/waitlists happen too, of course, but one need not have a 2200+ to get accepted to the vast majority of places. If so, students here would all be heading to work after graduation.</p>
<p>eyemamon, that is the reason I don’t like to venture out of this thread too much. Particularly, English being my second language, I can’t out-argue any poster who decides to come after me. This is really like a home in cc.</p>
<p>@college4many, my son’s grades are not finalized yet, but they are teetering a bit and appear that they might be somewhat lower than we would have hoped. Such is life.</p>
<p>When my son stresses about it, I remind him that adcoms, if anyone, understand that senior year has many stresses that can affect grades, that the rigor of the curriculum counts for a lot, and finally, if a school doesn’t accept him because of a slightly lower grade, well, maybe that’s not the kind of school he wants to go to (i.e., the dodged a bullet argument ).</p>
<p>College4Many- I am keeping an eye on grades as well. We are concerned with DS14’s Physics Teacher’s grading. He weights homework at 20% of grade, assigns daily homework, yet has only collected 2 if the assignments this quarter! Bet you can guess that DS got a zero on one of the two, thus a 50% average for homework. He complains that the class is boring- PowerPoint after PowerPoint. His tests, quizzes, and labs average 94% or higher yet his class average is 83.5% because of one missing assignment worth 12 points. The teacher is a young guy… Princeton graduate. Ds14 spoke with him yesterday and teacher said he would be collecting more homework, so I will wait a few more days before contacting him. I am not excusing DS for not turning in a homework assignment, but truly he is not the kid who doesn’t do homework. Good example of why “Zero Tolerance” has its flaws.</p>
<p>I just have to chime in that I think this Class of 2014 parents are awesome! Incredibly supportive and more importantly, give us a chance to laugh at ourselves and our students! I find it so comforting every morning to turn to the page and hear everyone’s ups and downs. It’s life, isn’t it? We have great kids who for the most part, do their best. And sometimes they fall down and we’re there to pick them up. Perfection is so highly overrated! We’ve all had our fair share of nagging, cajoling, bribing (yes, I’ve gone that far! Nothing like the 1/2 yearly sale at Nordstrom to get those essays written) to support them through the process. I know go2girl will look back years from now and know that I was there to support her during this stressful time. I’m betting your kids will, too.</p>
<p>She has her first acceptance under her belt (Presidential Scholar at Tulane) which not only means she’s going to college, but we can pay for it! She’s expecting two EA decisions in a couple of weeks, but again, the scholarships will be key to entertaining them seriously. My guess is that she will be making her final decision May 1 when all of the pieces are there to examine. Grad school will be in her future and money saved on the undergrad end will collect interest for the next few years.</p>
<p>eyemamom and 4beardolls – thanks for your comments on the Cafe. Glad I’m not alone. Things ramp up out of control and pretty soon the posts get very personal and very mean.</p>
<p>college4many – those are still awesome grades!!! Is she taking more APs this term than last year? I don’t think you need to explain the grades at all. Every school is different – some ask to see them; some don’t (everyone correct me if I’m wrong here).</p>
<p>One kind of funny bit – got a panicked call from HS photographer – yearbook can’t use the pic S selected. Why not? Because he had a pipe in it. What kind of pipe, you might ask? One of his father’s old pipes he had in college. I guess he thought it had a certain look. Well, the school doesn’t like that look. I told him to get a PG-13 pic over there pronto.</p>
<p>My DS had lower than usual first Q grades too. We are praying that ED school does not request them:) AP Physics was the worst drop, but at our HS that is a TOUGH class, even for the very top students. He is holding his own now, and I am sure his semester grades will be up, as he always is a slow starter, and the first Q he was buried in his play.</p>
<p>Classof2015, hope you get an acceptance soon. Even if it isn’t a favorite, it certainly helps. My DD had been a ferocious grouch this year until that first acceptance.</p>
<p>thanks, lab317. We have a lot of stuff going on at our house and S isn’t happy about moving midstream senior year. I keep telling him: you will go on the senior trip; you will go to college. Can’t have everything.</p>
<p>:( Full ride at Philadelphia U fell through (But still some generous merit aid maybe a bit more than 50%?)</p>
<p>:( ED announcement date is next Tuesday at Webb and DS hasn’t been invited to the required interview (so maybe not only a deferment but a no) </p>
<p>Ugh. Mostly dread the waiting until April now to make a decision. If either of the above situations would have turned out more favorably we’d be done.</p>
<p>College4many: Have they considered something like Air Force reserve while they attend college? Get to go to the Presidio at Monterrey to the Defense language school. Probably the best training in the “high-need” languages. They would have to score high on a test called the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) though. (and get a guarantee from the recruiter up front)</p>
<p>Ditto on the extremes here on CC. I hate the chance threads most. I will say, however, that I do appreciate the threads where the kids give their stats and the college’s decision. It makes me better able to see the remarkable diversity of grades, scores, and activities that kids bring to the table. Although I’m always amused by the kids saying their essays are amazing (how do they know?).</p>
<p>Has anyone read the book Early Decision by Lacy Crawford? She’s also in the news recently talking about her under-the-radar lucrative career as essay coach to the very wealthy. It’s enough to make you very, very cynical about this process.</p>
<p>I would not be overly concerned with dropped grades in senior year unless they fall to below a C in more than a few classes. Senioritis is alive and well in all HS so nothing to worry about. Still waiting to Dec 15-20 date for ED announcement. Glad that so many kids already had acceptances.</p>
<p>There is so much today to comment upon - let me just say that there are several of us on this thread who have been through this before. I find it a lot easier the second time around . . . because I know it comes out alright on the other end. There are so many wonderful schools and they all want wonderful students. Your kids are the students. It works out. Our DS’14 has been pretty good about getting the essays completed. DD’12 was NOT! Grades go down sometimes. Not all essays are spectacular, but you know what? The admissions officers will know hired guns didn’t write them. Our kids are all getting into perfectly good schools. Our kids are going to make fabulous friends that we will hear all about next year. They will have classes that they love and several that they don’t. They will like their roomates or they will not, but they are going to love telling you about it either way. There is no perfect application for each college spot, so don’t fret that your wonderful, special kid doesn’t have one. Know in your hearts that there are college admissions officers that are going to be reading your child’s application and thinking to themselves, “what a cool kid, I hope she picks us.” It all works out. Peace.</p>
<p>Heh, glad to know I’m not alone in bribing my son to finish his essays. Never did anything like that before, likely never will again. And let’s just forget 1st Q grades. ;-)</p>
<p>KaMaMom, I am having the same problem. Son is an only child and an easy one to boot! We LIKE him. ��. In trying to decorate for christmas, i find i am crying over every ornament and craft he made. i am getting on my own nerves!</p>
<p>The only way I could let go was to remember myself at their age - how ready I was to fly - and how I couldn’t understand WHY my mom was crying. Now I know. It’s the end of a fantastic era for us, but the beginning of one for them. </p>
<p>It did not stop the feelings of loss - heck - I still get them occasionally NOW - but it did make it mentally easier.</p>
<p>And for the nuts and bolts… allow yourself some time to grieve, then get active. A new normal does begin - and parts of it are nice (less tied down schedule, etc).</p>
<p>And yes, glido, great thoughts! We’ve done this twice before ourselves and I’ve seen literally thousands of students go through it at school.</p>
).</p>