Thanks MidwestMom for the peek at the prompt. My daughter is thrilled because she will definitely be able to modify one of her Common App essays for that purpose.
@AsleepAtTheWheel, you are right on, of course. 
@MidwestMomTo2 thanks for the info on the prompt. My D hasnāt heard anything yet from her school about NMSF, but hopefully she will Tuesday. Sheās been working on a Common App essay, but I havenāt seen it yet so I donāt know if it will work for the NM prompt.
Woohoo! Another application submitted with only CA schools to go! I know the CA will be a bigger hurdle so I have to celebrate these smaller bits of progress. At least now I know that his two most likely schools are into the pipeline. Now weāll just have to make sure the rest of the materials make it by the deadline.
Good luck to all those struggling with the CA this weekend. May the character count be always in you favor.
Congrats @Cheeringsection . DS16 is has requested all additional info to be sent to his 2 top choices. Heās currently working on honors apps for both . Still needs to do CA . Things are moving very quickly . ACT this weekend and Eagle Project the following weekend. November will be here before he knows it.
@carolinamom2boys good luck with the Eagle Project. That is a big accomplishment!
The requests for all additional info will go to the GC next week and then stalking the college web sites for receipt to be confirmed, will begin.
This whole process still feels a bit surreal but I am so glad to have completed the list making process long before now. I envy no one that is still deciding where to apply.
We went to a senior information night last Monday , and I was amazed at the number of people there whose children had yet to tour, contact any schools or take any standardized tests other than the mandatory ACT they took last April. Many of them had no clue about our stateās scholarship levels or deadlines for applications to qualify for merit aid. It helped me to realize how far my son is in the process. I recommended CC to quite a few parents.
I am in the middle of finishing parents survey GC asked. Thinking about how GCās LOR should shape to present DD properly. DD is also wring her summer survey for GC to read to write LOR. Time flies and will be done soon.
DD had emotional up and downs last couple of days regarding college admission - whenever we see the acceptance rate, we are scared.
@nydad513 that is exactly why we encouraged DS to start with two schools where he is very likely to get in. It takes the pressure off to know that the application need not be near perfect but simply great will do. If she has any schools that have shown her love (fee waiver, shortened application, lots of e-mail, etc) start there. It will get easier each time she hits āsendā. If she has not yet identified a very likely school, do so ASAP. It will reduce everyoneās stress. Good luck!!
@carolinamom2boys, last year in May I ran into a friend of mine. We started talking about how my school does a decent job on having kids turn in applications, watching for deadlines etcā¦the friend told me he has a friend whose senior daughter hadnāt even applied for college yet because she didnāt know when she was supposed to do it. This was in May!!! After decision dayā¦
@NYDad513, I think we are all scared when we look at acceptance rates.it will be especially heartbreaking if after all this hard work our kids end up in colleges that didnāt require the amount of work they did. I keep telling S that he may not end up at the college he wants, but maybe another college will give more aid.
There are lots and lots of great colleges. Donāt worry if DC does not get the most selective schoolsā admissions.
Folks, dyiu is correct. There are nearly 4,000 colleges in the US. Many well down the list from the ātop tierā are perfectly good schools that produce successful young people. Also, May is actually NOT the last possible day to get into college for the following year. Obviously itās better to apply sooner, but some rolling admissions schools actually take applications through the end of May. And those who are still looking to fill their freshman classes may take even longer. One of Dās friendās financing fell through and she was able to get into a school last week for this fall. Iām sure you guys all know this, but it helps for me to remember that there are actually many options.
Several of Dās school are rolling admissions, though some are still selective and have early deadlines if you want merit aid. But with others weāll have an answer in as few as two weeks.
Thanks for all your words and my DD will be OK in the end. Her school has high expectation and peer pressure is extremely high. What I can do is lowering peer pressure and make her feel better even though she cannot get into her choice of school and we support her in any case.
I second @Cheeringsection approach - my S16 has applied to 2 schools that are definite safeties ( and will apply to one or two more in the next few days), and that have fairly easy applications. They have the program he wants, the financial aid he needs, along with good merit aid options as well. He should hear in the next 2-5 weeks from those schools,-and he definitely should get accepted - which will take some of the pressure off. Those schools are not on the common app but have separate applications with no essays. In some way we considered those āpracticeā and he intentionally did those first since they allow for more of a margin of error if something is inadvertently is omitted.
These schools are not necessarily at the top of my sonās list, but he knows he would be okay attending and he would be successful at them as well. Also, they may end up being at the top of the list regarding affordability as well.
As @dyiu13 and @sseamom mention- there are MANY schools that are great, and will allow a student to be successful. I would encourage all students to apply to at least one school that is a sure thing, and that tells you their decision very early in the school year.
The point I was trying to make is that @carolinamom2boys was posting about how many kids were behind on the whole applying to college thing. On another note, it makes me appreciate all the information I have learned from all of you here on CC.
My post was specifically regarding people asking about scholarships and merit . Most of the students at my sonās school will be attending college in state and deadlines for merit considerations at every instate school are between Nov and Dec. So in that specific circumstance , they are way behind because many have not even tested yet. I can only speak about my state specifically. I know other parts of the country are very different , so I wouldnāt begin to know how things work there.
Thank you @GoodGrief16 ! Congrats to you!
^^Congratulations to families above who have done so much with the Common App. We are starting it this week (ugh). I wish we had done a little more on it over the summer.
DS has already been accepted to a safety, so that was a nice way to start out the application season.
My D finally started an online app last night for a public school. She just needs to fill in her SS# and have us go over it. Then request a transcript and test scores. Her goal is to submit the app by today.
I may have her look at another app, her absolute safety school, and complete that today, too.
D is applying to mostly safeties, except for one. But itās a high match. Iām confident of her being accepted to that one.
Just last night, she told me she is reconsidering a couple small LACs, and she may take advantage of some of the free streamlined applications she was sent.
D16 just checked the financial aid application deadlines for all her targeted colleges. Guess what? None has an institutional financial aid application. Each simply requires FAFSA, and weāre aiming for Jan. 1 for that. If admitted, she could apply to a few institutional scholarships if eligible, but most grants/scholarships for which she meets criteria seem to be automatic and donāt require a separate application.
So, for D16, it seems that, in the main, once her college apps are submitted, sheās done. (Except for a few community-based scholarships.)
Hi everyone. Iām newly signed-up, although Iāve been reading CC for a number of years as Iāve helped friends navigate some of the processes for their kids. Iām part of an online community of moms thatās been going for >20 years, and as I live in the Bay Area, Iāve hosted a few other kids and have taken them on tours.
My DS is - not exactly resistant, but not really enthusiastic about beginning the process of applying to colleges. Heās done the mandatory stuff - heās well above the NMSF cutoff in our state, but weāve not heard from the school yet. ACT 35, SAT 2280, 3 SAT subject tests (750 Lit, 800 Math 2 & US History). 4.0 UW GPA, and I donāt remember how to calculate W, but itās up there. Heāll have 7 APs by the end of the year. ECs are decent, if not stellar, because he (and we) have made a point of striving for balance. Recommendations from counselor and teacher are both stellar.
Andā¦ heās not AT ALL into the idea of getting started on applications. I think heās filled in some of the common app, but little more beyond that.
I heard him talking with his gf the other night, and sounds like he does have a handful of possibles sorted out - one Ivy (maybe two), and a few LACs. Heās not interested in any of the UCs, or rather, doesnāt want to have to fill out an entirely separate application for the UCs.
We wonāt get need-based aid. Iām hoping heāll get merit, but the schools heās most likely to favor from his list (the Ivy and a couple of the LACs) offer very little of it, so I guess we cross that bridge when we get to it.
Iāve only read part of the thread, but will go scan it now for ideas to motivate the unmotivated. Iāve learned a lot from everyone here already, but not that one key tip. 
Iād love for him to have applications in by the end of the month, but not sure thatās going to happen.
Welcome to the group, @2manybooks!