<p>3girls3cats - My daughter ended up applying to 7 schools. She knew (well at least at this point she “knows”) that she wanted to go to Pharmacy school and some of the original schools didn’t make sense. She is at the University of South Carolina Honors College. She lives in the Honors dorm and she feels it is a good mix of kids that are serious about school but still like to be social. She applied to mostly schools that she could get a PharmD in 6 years (some schools you have to go 8 years).</p>
<p>So I just checked the parent portal and my daughter’s US teacher entered the wrong grade for her on part of her research paper. Her grade is a 25 out of 25 and it was entered as a 15 out of 20. She will show him her grade tomorrow and it will be fixed without a problem, but it is taking every ounce of my being not to email him. I will NOT send an email because I know my kid can take care of this on her own. It’s a minor mistake that could be fixed. </p>
<p>It makes me realize that people need to pay attention to their grades because mistakes happen all the time.</p>
<p>
this is just wonderful! 
My D. once wanted to be a spy, then she changed her mind. I’m glad she did. </p>
<p>She did a math competition a week ago. It’s the kind like mathcount, no calculator. She came back and said out of 30 problems (or something like that) she did 9. We all said oh well. Then today she said the teacher told her she placed very high. So I guess most people did like 5 out of 30 or something? sounds terrible. </p>
<p>She was in mock trial freshman year. Last year she missed the sign up so she didn’t do it. This year she’s doing it again and absolutely enjoys it. Two years ago, since she was one of the youngest, she was one of the parents in the case, a small role. Now that she is a junior, and is kind of famous in her school’s this kind of activity, maybe she will be one of the lawyers in the team.</p>
<p>We’re firmly in the camp of the “regular” university with (hopefully) participation in an Honors College or similar program. Our kids like the idea of academic rigor combined with the full college experience including multiple major sports, etc. and state flagship level public universities just really fit the bill that they’re looking for. I tend to bristle when anyone claims that a major public university won’t provide the “academic challenges” that they/their child desires. They act as if state publics are the haven of academic mediocrity, and private LACs are completely populated by superior intellects. You hope that every child finds their “fit”, but I think too many schools get ruled out too early in the process.</p>
<p>Finding schools that offer nice merit scholarship packages fits our parental financial “niche” as well…so at least the whole family is on the same page. We’ve told them that any school that fits within our affordable range is on the table for discussion, but so far we’ve been focusing on nailing down safety schools. Adding in some “take a shot and see what happens” schools will happen later, if they want, but as of now they haven’t mentioned anyplace in particular. We’ll see if any surprise names pop up in the next several months. :)</p>
<p>Mihcal - can she take her subjects test in June?</p>
<p>Mihcal – If she has a conflict that will keep her from subject tests in May, you can get approval for a Wednesday test administration. This is an annual conflict (June, not May) for ARML, so take a look at their page on this.<br>
[The</a> Official American Regions Mathematics League Web Site](<a href=“http://www.arml.com/arml_current/public_sat_conflict/sat_conflict.php]The”>http://www.arml.com/arml_current/public_sat_conflict/sat_conflict.php)</p>
<p>PinotNoir – she really needs to take the SAT subjects in May, when she’s all studied-up for APs. She cannot postpone till June because we’re keeping that date for the regular SAT. </p>
<p>I know some of my D’s teammates face the same conflict. Probably also true for HSers on the other teams. I’m hoping the event organizers are aware it’s an SAT weekend and schedule the different age groups accordingly (i.e., they don’t schedule the HS-aged kids for Saturday morning). If not, then my D won’t be the only one to miss the competition.</p>
<p>Our older D is a freshman in the Honors College at a very large state school and is having a great experience. Her honors English and humanities classes are half the size of any class she had in high school, including APs. And she seems to have great professors for those classes. Some other classes are quite large but she doesn’t seem to mind. And she seems to be really thriving with the variety of opportunities at a large school. Not for everyone but it is certainly working for her.</p>
<p>DS will almost certainly also go to an OOS public. Not a big sports fan, but wants to do a serious marching band. Plus he is planning on engineering. I know there are exceptions, but older D is also in engineering and we have found that there just tend to be many more options for both majors and electives at larger schools. Engineering majors don’t have a lot of slots in the undergraduate curriculum for electives but it is still nice to have several choices for them.</p>
<p>Mihcal it stands to reason that as soon as the event organizer realizes the conflict they will switch the day, otherwise there will be too many juniors from all the HS’s missing the competition. If everybody calls voicing their concerns I am sure something can be changed, and if not, there will be a lot of 16 and 17 year olds absent. Just one more thing to worry about…</p>
<p>I don’t understand how the kids on CC can study every single night for the SAT for two hours and then study and take practice tests every Saturday and Sunday for 3+ hours each day- Plus do all of these activities that they claim to have. My kid does 2 hours total during the week and 4 hours on Saturday mornings ( she recently increased it a little because she has both tests coming up) and I thought that was a decent amount ( I know… These CC kids are not typical). How do these kids find the time to do all this SAT work and still maintain their GPA? I have a smart kid who attends a competitive HS and she can’t do all of that SAT work every single night in addition to her other work. There are simply not enough hours in a day. Like I said earlier, I am not aiming for perfection ( despite my kids personality)… I am aiming for " good enough." Once we get her final scores we will sit down with her GPA and test scores and finalize " The List." I am not concerned about her writing ( essays) or teacher recs. I suggested to her that she begin to think about who she may ask- she will get two just in case, plus guidance. I am beginning to really like the idea of honors colleges in state schools. She will have some privates on the list as well. It will be funny if, after all of this, she ends up attending our top state school ( we do not have a " flagship"- I am not even sure what that means, exactly). Honestly, if she looked at me and told me that she wanted to ED Binghamton and just get this process over with, I would be relieved. They have an early assurance medical school admissions program that you apply to in your sophomore year- not sure of the details- but it’s affiliated with SUNY Upstate med school and SUNY Buffalo medical school ( I think). Of course that plan may go down the drain when she gets a big break as a talk show host… Or decides to change her career plans in some other way.
SUNY Bing has a great study abroad program - a cruise to several countries that completely intrigued her when we took the tour. </p>
<p>Happy Thursday!! My favorite day…</p>
<p>So funny Twogirls bc I also don’t understand what a state flagship is…us poor New Yorkers!! Schools like Michigan and UVA certainly aren’t slam dunks for in-state kids so does that count as a flagship?</p>
<p>Another NY woe…there are only 18 test centers in Connecticut for the Feb ACT and none of them are near Mohegan Sun. No craps tables for H during the test ;)</p>
<p>Atlantic City works Keepme!!</p>
<p>Keepme I guess UVA and UMich would be flagships? We toured Bing ( she liked it) but did not like Geneseo ( too quiet for her). I will have her put SUNY Buffalo on her list as well because it really meets her criteria: football, big, she can do research if she wants and she would get into their honors program ( I am guessing). It’s in an area with lots of malls, restaurants etc. UB is really an under-rated school that gets little publicity. It has a lot to offer, with a medical school, dental school, law school, and graduate programs. </p>
<p>I looked up the stats for the honors program at Bing and getting in is no easy task- 1500 CR/math and 35 ACT ( approximate) with top 5% GPA. Not too shabby. Can’t we call that a “flagship?” The regular school is easier to get into, although still not easy. Naviance places it at a 3.9 with a 29/1950. I guess it’s similar to Maryland-CP(?) and I believe that is a “flagship?” </p>
<p>I suggested a few small schools to her such as Lafayette, Davidson ( stumbled upon it) and Washington and Lee. All too small for her. Says she refuses to go to a school with fewer kids than her middle school. I think we have to start at 5,000- although we will be looking at Richmond which I believe has about 3,500.</p>
<p>When I talk about “flagship” state universities, I’m just referring to any recognizable name major public state institution. Some states don’t really have one…other states have more than one. In our state I would consider UMich and MSU to be flagship schools. Schools like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Bama, Kentucky, UMinn, UTA, TX A&M, etc.</p>
<p>States like NY have a much more widespread system with the CUNYs and SUNYs and don’t really have one or more flagship schools. States like CA have the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>The schools that we’re primarily looking towards are larger-sized state publics that offer a great combination of academics, research/internship opportunities, Honors type programs, non-academic interests (sports, clubs, etc.), but also are able to offer significant merit scholarship packages to bring the cost down to what we can afford. Our kids feel like they can get the “whole enchilada” with these type schools; academic rigor and smaller class sizes in the Honors program, professional development, personal growth, school spirit…pretty much everything we could envision in the “full college experience”.</p>
<p>I hope that every one of our kids is able to find that perfect “fit” school…whatever form that school takes. Public, private, “elite”, “selective”, flagship, satellite, directional, cc…I think we all just want our kids to be happy. If our bank accounts don’t get drained in the process…even better!!</p>
<p>And now I’m hungry for enchiladas. :)</p>
<p>Bing itself is such a top school I would think its honors college would be Ivy-difficult to get into. I could never convince D to look at Buffalo, that’s just way too much snow for her. And that may be too far for me. My brother went there for 2 years and it was hell to get him there and back. Although the wings are a plus :)</p>
<p>twogirls - from UMD-CP website “For students admitted to the University of Maryland for the Fall 2013 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1260 to 1410, and 28-32 on the ACT. As a result 25% of the admitted students scored below a 1260 on the SAT and 25% scored above a 1410.” (they only consider R/M) I seemed to remember reading somewhere avg GPA for incoming class was slightly over 4 (wt). To get merit $, scores have to be significantly higher than that for those kids with no hook.</p>
<p>The wings are amazing and flying there is an hour ( not including traveling back and forth to the airport). Not sure how much money flights are. </p>
<p>I suspect my bank account will get drained- it’s just a matter of how much! </p>
<p>I am always hungry for enchiladas!!</p>
<p>From- Maryland seems to be getting more and more competitive. OOS is not cheap at around $41,000- my kid would need some merit aid as that is too much $$ for us.</p>
<p>We’ve also tried to take a practical (aka materialistic) approach with the kids when they make their final decision. We have a known amount of money that we can contribute towards each of their college educations. If we don’t have to draw on the full amount to cover undergrad costs that money can now be put towards grad school if they choose or towards a starter car for them. </p>
<p>And now I’m hungry for wings too.</p>
<p>Wolverine we have that same plan- we have a number that we can comfortably afford based on what we have saved. If they spend less than that then they have some money left over for grad school. My kids can go to SUNY with total COA at 18,000-21,000 depending on the school. I am willing to go somewhat above that if necessary ( but not $41,000) if merit aid brings the cost down. My older daughter got money to an OOS private school which brought the price down to about $6,000 a year more than SUNY. I was willing to do it if she loved the school, but thankfully she liked SUNY better. She loves her school, and at $18,000 we love the price! Many of the SUNY schools give significant merit money- some give full rides. My D12 got some merit from a SUNY- not a lot, but every bit helps. Of course she chose a different SUNY!</p>
<p>My D15 is a different breed. She is a top 1% kid ( GPA) with an unweighted GPA above a 4.0 in a good HS. She will get in to many ( NOT ALL) of these schools. Getting in is not the issue for us, for the most part ( I realize that schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Ivy League etc are highly highly competitive and she may not get in). It’s the cost that becomes an issue- that is why I am encouraging several OOS- state schools honors programs in addition to some SUNYs and privates. I have absolutely no clue what will happen as this all unfolds. Should be interesting. All that I know is that one day I would like to retire! At the end of the day I want her to be as happy as my older daughter is at a school that is a good fit for her, whatever that school is. We are not into “status”- we just want our kids to be happy and healthy wherever they are ( as we all do). I may allow her to apply to one Ivy just for kicks- with the understanding that IF she gets in and IF they give her FA, then we will talk. Two very big IFs. Of course the fit has to be there as well.</p>
<p>I will not discuss this with my SIL. Every time I mention a school she says " that’s a B school ( as opposed to an A school? What does that mean, exactly?) and then she tells me that my kid can do " better" in terms of school ranking. I am not interested in rank or prestige- I am interested in finding the right fit. If that fit happens to be SUNY Brockport, then so be it. I need to go back to that " smile and nod" thread. </p>
<p>My daughter is getting tired of me always discussing college. That’s why I come here.</p>
<p>twogirls…A huge AMEN on the whole “A” school/“B” school thing!!! Some people get so wrapped up in the USNWR ranking garbage, when the only thing that ought to be wrapped up in USNWR rankings is fish…or garbage. :)</p>
<p>Our family went through the whole “why is she going THERE??” rigmarole with D1 (Class of '11) when she chose UMinn. “Why would she go anywhere else besides UMich?” Well…for starters…she felt a HUGE connection with UMinn when she visited there (completely on a whim BTW) and felt no connection whatsoever with UMich when she toured. Financially, we thought with her stats (3.99UW/4.2W/36/2400/NMF) schools would be throwing merit money at her but UMich offered her $1500 one-time, and even at IS rates full pay at UMich would’ve been beyond our capability with D2 and S coming behind her. Pretty disappointing that our IS flagship (sorry 
) wouldn’t try a little harder to keep high performing kids at home. UMinn offered her a GREAT scholarship package and she turned down UMich (including preferred admission to their School of Pharmacy) without a second thought. Since she changed her mind about Pharmacy (now doing genetic counseling ) the decision looks even better!!</p>
<p>She is thriving at UMinn, and we couldn’t be happier for her. I couldn’t care less how many people think she should’ve gone to a “better” school…how exactly would they know what would be “better” for my kid than our family would? I’m always open and interested in hearing suggestions from anyone, but judging her choice irritates the snot out of me.</p>