He is filling them out. He has never filled out a resume before , so he’s asking for clarification every now and then. I don’t fill out his applications for him.
Actually I use word OUR a lot too. It is our project as a family to get DD in a school that will be a perfect fit and will give her as much merit aid as possible. And it is very typical for our family to work on large projects together.
Stupidest thing ever! D asked me to drive to the CC today to pickup her parking permit. She has to go directly to her CC class after high school and they aren’t open early or late enough for her to pick up the permit herself. She paid for it online and printed the receipt for me to take to the office to pick it up. When I got to the office they told me I could not pick it up without a signed “proxy form” from her. They handed me the proxy form and I read it and it said that it must be signed by a parent not the the student if the student is under 18. I explained again that I was the parent and D was only 17 but the clerk would have none of it so I had to stand there and fill out a form giving myself permission to pick up D’s parking pass!
We also use the first-person plural when it comes to many aspects of the college application process. Let’s face it. If you’re on this thread you’re part of the process.
S16 is fiercely independent, and his preference would be that I don’t even see anything that goes on to any of his college applications. That said, he does appreciate that I have something to contribute to the process. So every line of every everything will be vetted by me. At times I offer suggestions, which he’s free to consider or to ignore. Other times I tell him that what’s on there just won’t fly. Fortunately it has, so far at least, not been a contentious process.
S14 was as dependent as S16 is independent. I wouldn’t say that I actually filled out anything on an application, but much of this was a ‘cooperative’ effort where he sat in front of the computer and did the typing, and what got typed ranged from something he filled in by himself, to me prompting him for a response and continuing to prompt until he got it, to what an observer might have thought was me dictating what I thought should be in there. When I was dictating he would sometimes like it (and put it in there), and other times it pushed him to actually think about the question and form a response. The essays were written by him, but there was a lot of give and take (and yelling and screaming).
S14 had the most fun with the USC (southern California, not South Carolina (for the benefit of @carolinamom2boys)) “quick takes”, where they give a prompt and the applicant gives a very short response. Stuff like, “favorite movie”, “favorite musical group”, etc. For the prompt “greatest invention ever”, S14 entered “sliced bread”. He got rejected.
@3scoutsmom – Loved the anecdote. Hopefully the CC clerk wasn’t an OU grad.
@Themommymommy Whitman is on our list, thanks! And yes I said our because I am paying and driving everywhere!!!
@3scoutsmom Your experience with the parking pass “escapade” was absolutely crazy…and gave me a good chuckle as well! Perhaps it was good practice for what lies ahead? I wonder how often all of us will have to go through crazy red tape in the next year?
@LKnomad Between all my reading of various threads on CC and occasionally interjecting comments…as time goes on I don’t remember who I responded to and what I said…I am an older parent and I suppose “some-timers” is kicking in! Anyway, I apologize if I already commented to you on Whitman, but in case I didn’t…
We visited Whitman with S16’s two older sisters (D13, D14) when they were doing preliminary college searches. I believe S16 was in 8th grade at the time. All of us really liked Whitman, the tour guides and student info sessions were very good, the caliber of students and the level of engagement by students was very evident, and the campus/facilities were very nice. I especially liked the stream that runs through campus and the shady areas adjacent that would be wonderful areas to peacefully study! My S16 made a comment at the end of the day that he wanted to go there! Now that we have come full circle several years later to the college application process for S16, Whitman is not an option ONLY because he is pursuing engineering and Whitman only has a 3-2 program in engineering. He STILL mentions that he wishes he could apply there! Our small high school is a few hours away, and a student or two from our HS attends Whitman every couple of years. I have run into those students on occasion and asked them about college, and they always share that their experience at Whitman has been absolutely amazing! Perhaps I could talk my S out of majoring in engineering… ;
I sat down with S to fill out applications because he needed social security number, information for residency (“when did we move into this house?”-- he was in kindergarten, I doubt he’d remember), and a bunch of other questions. It was easier than shouting back and forth from room to room, and less annoying to Mr Petrichor, who was doing schoolwork.
We only paid the fee for yearbook photos, since we have a professional photographer in the family. Just as well, because the photographer provided by the school has been pretty dreadful. My daughter’s photos make her look like Wednesday Addams. They haven’t sent my son’s access number, despite several emails, so who knows how his turned out. Yearbook shots have to be in by the end of next week, so I’ll have to call them.
The essays I ended up proofreading, because they were done over summer. All indications from my posts aside, I really am reasonably competent in that area!
Our English Department does read them - if there is time. It is just the beginning of school and they are very busy. UNDERSTANDABLE :). DD is just ready to get everything completed. She is going to have someone else look them over.
I have always assumed that most of the application except the essays is clerical work and I have followed the policy anyone call fill them out. 
I do review essays and provide input and I have done it for some kids in CC in the past.
Application via the common app is in progress, goal is September 12 (first marching band contest). Cap and gown are ordered as are some “senior” things (t-shirt, sweats) from Josten’s, Senior pics are completed. I need to check the graduation date. This is getting real!
@petrichor11 – My son has kept his hair pretty short since he started swimming seriously, but in middle school that wasn’t the case. In his school photos from that era he looks like Cousin It.
@texaspg are you volunteering :).
Anytime D has an essay or major paper due, she has her dad look it over. He writes for a living and she trusts his professional opinion. This year her school will have a college readiness counselor who can also look over applications and essays. I’ll be lucky if she even lets me see the apps. She isn’t looking at any Common App schools (which sound like a terrible time suck, so whew).
Oh, the irony! At work, the student interns do the clerical work; at home it is the highly-educated professionals! :0
Not judging, by the way. It is the same here. But I love the irony!
The redundancy factor in terms of the amount of repeating information that is being requested when filing multiple apps or many supplements is some what ridiculous.
I envy those parents whose kids have decided to apply to less than 5 schools here.
Filing out forms efficiently is a skill many high school students have not yet developed. I did much of this for my ADD and borderline spectrum S14 (“What the heck are they asking for here” times 50, such that each box could take half an hour). I’m optimistic S16 will do much by himself. Already, one school wants to know the graduation date of my son’s grandmother (an alum). Ummm…
@texaspg and @crowlady I agree with both of you. Between all the college apps, common app, and scholarship apps my son is going crazy. How many ways can they ask you to present the same data. For volunteering for example, some want to know how many hours total, some want it broken down by school year, some calendar year, some by volunteer activity and then weeks, days, hours, etc… And then multiply that for every volunteer activity. And then you have to do the same thing for every sport, job, clubs, award.
One of my son’s applications required my place of employment’s phone number , address and the number of years I have worked at that company , the same info for my husband, my DL number and car registration information to establish residency. Some of the info requested would be very difficult for a child to access without the assistance of an adult. That’s why I’m an active participant in the college app process. Thankfully , we’re only applying to 5 schools , and 2 are on the common app, but the 3 honors applications are another experience all together.
The only thing our son said he didn’t know was the years my wife and I got our degrees. The last one was 7 years before he was born.
@4kids2graduate Thanks for the Whitman info. At this time it is not near the top, but it is a contender. We spoke to the someone from admissions when we were at the CTCL tour and she really helped to sell it. He is interested in the SLACs and it seems to be up his alley.