Parents of the HS Class of 2016 (Part 1)

Go Tigers!!! Feeling some Clemson love. Undefeated.

I was just signing in to see if you’d watched the game!

@petrichor11 My family has become quite the football family over the past several years . The rivalry is always the game of the year. Way too close for my

Giving thanks a couple days late for D16, buckled down and writing a scholarship essay, due Dec 1
 Hopefully to be followed by work on several short answer essays for another Dec. 1 deadline.

She spent two weeks alternately “dreading” and “avoiding” it but finally knocked out a great outline in about half an hour. Fingers crossed.

Turns out CB didn’t send scores to S’s safety even though it was one of the free ones he listed when he took the SAT. They have rolling admissions, an the scholarship is automatic for NMSF, but it’s annoying to shell out another 11 bucks. S18 will need to check early and make sure they were actually sent.

Wondering if I could get some outside opinions – I’m feeling ambivalent about pushing for something.

D planned to apply to 7 schools – 6 have EA/rolling and 1 only had ED, so she planned to apply RD. Early apps have all been in and done for a few weeks with 3 acceptances already in hand. (Yay!) Last app needs to be in by 1/15, but must be in by 12/1 for scholarship consideration – although we can find almost no information about possible scholarships.

This last app is for 1 of only 2 in-state schools on her list. D looked mostly into OOS schools. All have the possibility of being cheaper than in-state. 2 of the acceptances already are, and the 3rd may well turn out to be. I wanted her to apply to some IS schools just to have options in case she should decide she wanted to be closer, so we found 2 that would be good fits. (They are 4 and 5 hour drives away – not crazy close – but closest OOS is about a 7 hour drive.) Both schools get lots of students from our area and kids tend to be happy at both. She prefers all of the other schools to the 2 in-state choices and she is feeling done with applications.

Should I push for her to complete the last in-state application? This school is an arguably ‘better’ school than the other in-state choice and I think it would be a good fit if she should change her mind. On the other hand, I don’t really think that she will change her mind!

Any advice?

Options are always good.

I “pushed” my son to complete the honors app to his super safety "just in case " something happened to prevent him from going to one of his more expensive schools, for example loss of one of our jobs, medical bills etc.

I wouldn’t force her, if you have other reasonable options. After all, 5 hours is pretty far–not that different from 7. My kid is determined to go OOS so I understand.

D is supposed to submit her college list next week and there will be no modification later. Naviance will be frozen and any private college after 8th will be removed from the list by GC. DD is a little bit nervous about her college list without notification until mid-Dec.

@MostlyDolores – As I wrote in a note earlier today:
We’re dealing with teenagers here. They’re unpredictable. Decision time, in April, is six months away. All sorts of stuff could happen between now and then. As @dyiu13 wrote, it’s really really good to have options.

My S14, who is a boy and therefore by definition a bit of a knucklehead, had his list prioritized in the fall, but when we did some re-visits in March/April all of a sudden he was basing his decision on tangibles, not theoreticals (like distance away from home). We went to an Admitted Students Day at his current school, and it was his interactions with the other kids that helped him appreciate that it was the best ‘fit’ for him. In November he never could have seen himself there.

Again, just one family’s experience, but why not have as many choices as possible? Because she doesn’t want to bother with the application? Not such a good reason.

I would strongly encourage, but not force, completion of at least one IS application. I know several kids that did change their minds and it was totally unexpected. One was valedictorian. None of this feels real to our DC yet. To some it will not until they are in their dorm room in the fall. Having options as late in this game as possible, is necessary.

Honestly, I’d let it go. For me personally, once I’ve driven the first few hours five and seven hour distances are pretty much the same. She has acceptances, she’s happy, they’re in range of affordability
it sounds good to me as it is. And since ultimately it’s down to her-- her choice, her efforts-- now’s as good a time to give her the reins as any.

@MostlyDolores are they easy apps? As a parent I’d always want more options, but if the extra apps require essays, and she’s pretty certain she doesn’t want to go, I’d give in.

If they are super easy apps, and the schools are financial fits, then I’d push to go ahead and apply.

We are struggling with this question right now, too. One of my D’s Dec. 1 deadline schools requires multiple short essays. It’s one she’s less sure of and is asking whether it’s worth it. My answer: You’re not busy this instant. You never know how all this will look in the spring. We don’t have financial awards yet from other schools
so, why not?

I’m with the “more options is better” camp. I’ve talked to many friends whose kids changed their minds in between fall applications and spring decisions.

While I agree wholeheartedly that more options are better, if your D simply isn’t interested in the school and is already happy with several of her options, then let it go. My D wavered between applying to another in state school (and that was just a matter of me paying for the additional app fees - there was no additional application to complete). In the end she didn’t apply to the additional school, because she felt that if she did get in she wouldn’t have any interest in attending. So what is the point?

@MostlyDolores My son applied to his 1st choice and was accepted very early. He was determined to go OOS. He originally intended to apply to several schools, but decided not to once he got his acceptance. I “encouraged” him to apply to one of his safeties because it was a very easy application and he had already started it. I didn’t force him to apply anywhere else because we are all comfortable with the chosen school. I would only have your daughter complete the application if there’s a possibility that she’d consider going there or if there’s potential that scholarships/aid would bring the school into serious consideration.

It looks like our S is applying to two schools, a financial reach and a safety that guarantees tuition and room. He seems to be gravitating toward the safety a bit; I figure he may be insulating himself against possible disappointment.

This morning I tried to talk my D into a last minute financial safety on the west coast that’s near extended family. No luck. The fact the majority of her schools are on the east coast is bumming me out more with each passing day. Why does she want to leave me?? :((

Kidding. Sort of.

If DD will get in any of her east coast schools I want her to visit them during winter. It is 64 here now it is almost impossible to get out of bed in the morning because it is so cold.