<p>Oh @sbjordlo! I hope something positive is just around the corner. It sounds like maybe they will let your son know before the regular admissions notification date?</p>
<p>@Threesdad, love the stealth application. Not likely to happen here, although I have found D working on revising her CA essay without fanfare, not likely she will actually complete and submit an app without the entire house knowing about it, accompanied by much gnashing of teeth.</p>
<p>D is working thru her remaining apps, additional apps for scholarships/special programs, interviews, and regular school work. She is way beyond the “point of no return” with college stuff so she’s trying to work it thru. Expecting first rejection next week from her #1 school. So not looking forward to it. </p>
<p>Re college tech, my daughter lugged around her Dell 6 pound laptop for a year before she prevailed upon me to get a her a thin and featherweight Macbook Air. Ultra book PCs are similarly easier on the back.</p>
<p>She also has a Kindle reader, light and portable for reading and noting texts. I just bought a Fire Hd 6" for $100 about the size of the kindle plus you get color for color textbooks and the full functionality of a tablet, so I’d consider that as an alternative to an e-reader.</p>
<p>@latichever…I love my tech gizmos, but I can’t drag myself out of the stone age when it comes to the idea of textbooks and taking notes on anything but a paper textbook and notebook. For the life of me I can’t figure out how students are able to take notes faster on a tablet than they can write, but they all seem to swear by it. I know our D1 uses her Surface 2 to record audio of some of her lectures so she can go back and “plus up” her notes (electronic and/or paper) as necessary. It certainly wouldn’t work for me…but lightweight laptops or tablets are on the shopping list for both D2 and S. $$$igh…</p>
<p>And since I live my life constantly re-running movies and TV shows in my head…I’m reminded of the scene(s) from “Real Genius” where one of Mitch’s lectures progressively morphs from students taking notes to a room full of tape recorders to a tape recorded lecture being recorded by student tape recorders. :)) </p>
<p>@Wolverine86 - LOVE “Real Genius”! It’s one of my all time fav movies. I love that scene and can’t get over how some of the kids actually brought “boom box-sized” tape recorders…classic! And the last song of the movie, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, by Tears for Fears, still blast that in the car with the windows down!</p>
<p>MOOC’s. It is the future. And “the future” is a lot closer than we realize…</p>
<p>College DD ask for an Android tablet for reading on last winter. All or almost all of her textbooks come in ebook format and are much cheaper that way.</p>
<p>AND I should proofread before hitting “post”. That should be “asked”, not ask. Sorry!</p>
<p>I’m actually reading an old-style kill the trees book now. Back to the future for me. Since I got my iPad have not read a physical newspaper. </p>
<p>With my daughter buying most of her assigned reading for Kindle, since she uses my Amazon account, I have a whole new bunch of books to read. But some of those academic press books are frankly boring. </p>
<p>D13 rarely took her computer to classes with her last year. A few of the profs strictly forbid the use of electronic devices during class - even for note-taking. H has offered the use of our old iPad, but she doesn’t seem to be interested in it. </p>
<p>D didn’t like her IPAD prefers her laptop and can’t live without her smart pen. I wish that was available when I was in school…I could have put it to good use since I was such a daydreamer…
Technology has been a saving grace for this family… especially audio books may those who record them have a place in heaven…they have allow my D to stay the course in school.</p>
<p>Audiobooks saved us when D was learning how to read. There was a huge gap between the books she was able to read and the books she wanted to read. </p>
<p>I think a tablet with a stylus and recording app would be ideal in class.</p>
<p>@hoosier96 I’ve never heard of a smart pen before. I googled and still am not sure what it does or how it would be useful. Can you elaborate on how your daughter uses it?</p>
<p>The pen uses special paper she is able to take notes with it and if she gets behind it places the (audio)where it needs to be in the written notes that she may have missed. She then is able to down load the lecture with the notes. What is so cool is that she can go to any page of her note book at any point it goes to that part of the lecture. The correct name I believe is called livescribe.</p>
<p>Wow the smart pen sounds pretty cool. Is it difficult to keep the special paper on hand?
@latichever, I like the sound of the Fire HD6, I will be looking that one up. What can it NOT do that we D is likely to want?
Newspapers! I hadn’t thought about reading those on a tablet! I cannot read a newspaper (or some of the new, cheap paperbacks) something about the paper/ink on them makes me start sneezing, eyes itch…followed by a headache…so a tablet would be great!</p>
<p>@hoosier96 can you share more info/make/model of this pen?.Pretty please. </p>
<p>On the essay writing front, my darling child is working on their dream school app. He says the ‘Why this college’ essay is like trying to hit the side of a barn, from the inside. If that’s the case, why don’t we have a full draft yet??? I can’t decided if I’m wishing for Jan 1st so this can be over or an extra month to get it all done. </p>
<p>Happy Thursday!</p>
<p>My son had a 250 word essay for “why do you like us” and we told him 20 times to note that he went on a campus tour. He printed the final copy of the CA, and nothing about visiting and liking the campus (which he did). He did go back in and add to it. Funny thing is, he was content with just under 200 words for a 250 word essay, and he was stressing over being 25 words short on the main CA essay.</p>
<p>Oh, and how about this for a discussion topic, especially in light of how many acceptances are out there (yay!)?</p>
<p>My son mentioned he doesn’t want to know if he gets in to his ED school 9 days from now. He says he just wants to graduate HS in June and plan to go somewhere in September.</p>
<p>I don’t know if he is being facetious or frustrated. I do think there is a chance he’ll want me to look at whether he is accepted or not, because he is too nervous. It’s not even that he will be crushed if he doesn’t get into his ED school, it’s just the milestone aspect of it I think.</p>
<p>FWIW, they have mid-terms in January, so it’s not like I should withhold info from him until December finals are over (which I would consider doing).</p>
<p>Similar story at my house. The anticipatory stress of the looming decision is getting to the kiddo. She veers between wanting to know right this minute and not wanting Dec 16th to ever get here! And the overwhelmingly most likely outcome is a deferral, which just means more waiting. 
She keeps telling me things I need to prepare for her anticipated rejection. (I hope I get chocolate in my advent calendar on the 16th…save that movie on the DVR for the 16th…) I trust this is an important psychological defense mechanism and will stock the pantry with chocolate and ice cream.</p>
<p>We were going to get the special pen for my older daughter- the school told us about it at orientation. We decided against it because the special paper is very expensive. It’s basically a way of filling in missing information as you are taking notes. The pen somehow records ? the lecture and allows you to go back to that spot in your notes and fill in the missing details. </p>