@palm715 I am exactly where you are regarding wanting these next years to be as wonderful and transformative as they were for ourselves. My kids have so much more going for them then I did at their age but even so it was a great time in my life. High school was god awful for me, but the college years were really great. My kids had a somewhat better high school experience than I did and my S14 is now having his quintessential college experience! I am so glad for him and wish the same for D16. This is such an exciting time in their lives - I hope the live it to the fullest!
Another happy Northeastern parent here, if anyone has questions (I realize Iām a couple of pages late, but this forum was busy last night!). My D is a 4th year computer engineering major, about to go on her 3rd (and last!) coop.
My S16 still has 2 more applications to finish. He should hear from 2 EAs next week, then it will be March or later for the rest. I canāt believe how quickly this year is flying by. I
We tend to hit the bookstore at every school we visit and pick up shirts and stuff as souvenirs of our visit, though we tend to hit the clearance racks since DD and I are both value shoppers. I have a very nice collection of T-shirts and a sweat shirt and hat thanks to our trips. If we donāt hit the bookstore and buy something that is sort of a death knell acknowledgment that the school isnāt going to make the cut.
It is also amazing at how some schools we initially thought would shine have really done a poor job in the recruitment/enticement/application process, while it is really neat when an underdog/unexpected school really rises to the top ranks. It has been a fun ride, a bumpy one at times, but definitely enjoyable. I think @MidwestMomTo2 ran into some of the same problems with one of those schools that just really disappointed, primarily because their administration was screwing around with things, which fit with online reviews of the school we read here and elsewhere.
Our youngest is only in 7th grade, but he is going to be an interesting case when his time comes. Brilliant in math and science, can verbally impress the heck out of any adult with the things he knows (reads tons of non-fiction), but also has high functioning Aspergers and ADHD and the social issues that go along with that, so we have been checking out schoolsā support programs for things like that as we go along to get an early, early start, plus him thinking about college now really helps when the homework struggles (he has difficulty with written expression, but definitely improving) arise. If he tells me one more time that future materials engineers really donāt need to know anything about European Literatureā¦(-;
We also have t shirts from every school that we have visited to chronicle our college quest. (Only 5) Several have been given as part of a "scholars program. Another thing that we started to collect was Christmas ornaments. Our tree is a representation of my sonās college search and how we spent the last two years of our lives. I plan to give them to him when he moves out to remember this whirlwind process.
@Cheeringsection Sounds like your son is moving closer to a choice. Thatās great .
@petrichor11 Good luck to the twins. Iāll be more than happy to share my alcohol, but Iām pretty possessive with my cabana boys. 
DD did not have any āofficialā college tour as she denied any attempted to bring her to colleges. No shirts or souvenirs for her. She knew a lot about one school which is my alma mater. She also stayed 6 weeks for summer camp one school and 2 overnight conference another school. She crossed out my wifeās alma mater a minute before turning in college list and it was surprise because the school stayed long time and she knows well about the school. We are planning to visit the school accepting DD.
She looks like to have list of what she like and what she does not like for each school. Sheās preparing for both results.
Iāve been swamped at work and have missed a bunch, so congrats on acceptances, scholarships, and just generally surviving this process.
DS still has four apps with essays to go. He wonāt even touch then until after finals. Right now weāre all so stressed out about those that weāve forgotten about college stress.
hi all. have been reading this thread off and on the last few months. good luck to all! have a kid graduating in 2016 and might be asking questions at some point.
but i think iām confused! ive always thought d17 as daughter/age 17; and s19 = son @ 19 yrs; and so on; now iām thinking the kids mentioned in this thread are going by HS grad date . ā¦ not age. eg: d16 = daughter graduating in 2016 and not age 16 . . . .?? can someone clarify? itāll make things easier for me to figure out! thanks~~!
@palm715 Iām totally with you in excitement and have to guard my enthusiasm, because itās my DSās journey, not mine. I also have to play the other side of the card and be guarded in my worries, because at least in my case (and most folks I know) that growing up also meant a fair amount of pain, worry and troubles. Nothing major (knock on wood) and definitely a part of the growing up.
As for the shirts/sweatshirts themeā¦ many of our campus visits involved significant travel, so they were as much a memento of the trip as any homage to the particular institution. For the school that he ultimately wound up committing to, he made a point of picking a hat that an alum of the school might recognize, but that no one up here would, just to avoid needless explanations or having to defend the choice. Now though, that heās committed, the school has sent two different tees with clear name branding and he wears them with school pride.
On this forum D16 is high school class of 2016. I was confused at first to be cause my parents forum D16 means daughter age 16. It makes sense though because there are kids ages 16-18 in the high school class of 2016.
@bgb4us It took me a while to parse that out, too, but I believe the number represents the graduating class. That way it doesnāt change over the yearsā¦ D16 = Daughter, class of 2016ā¦ 
@palm715 I too am with you on the excitement over the upcoming opportunities and adventures the kids will have. I sometimes get a little carried away though. I recently was trying to talk my DD into applying for in internship for this upcoming summer. This is the last summer she is eligible to apply and it is really a great opportunity. If accepted you get sent to a top research center somewhere in the world (you donāt know where until you get the call) and all your expenses are covered for the 8 weeks you work there. So I am reminding and reminding (aka nagging) my daughter she needs to finish that and get the application attachments etc when she says well I am not sure I want to. I say oh who cares if you miss graduation. The point is to graduate not stand up on a stage and have a piece of paper handed to you ā¦blah blah blahā¦ and she says no this will be the last summer we are going to get to be all together (b/c DS will start dental school next year). She is absolutely right. So no application for an internship. Summer of fun and togetherness is now planned instead.
She has all her apps in and has heard back on all. Just waiting on some honors college acceptance/denial news and merit scholarships. She has one more set of essays to write for merit if she gets into one of the honors programs. I feel like I must be forgetting to have her apply for something. My DH suggests perhaps I need a new hobby.
@bgbg4us it is confusing! Because on some parenting forums, DS2 would mean your second son, neither two years old nor graduating in year 2. But yes, as others have said, these on CC refer to HS graduation year.
We have actually chronicled our college search and tours in similar (tee shirts) and oddly different ways (dog toys). We feel horrible when we leave our beloved Shih Tzu Toby so we always bring him back a keepsake (a Tiger from Clemson, a monkey from UPenn, a ram from UNC Chapel Hill, etc). So we chronicle our college odyssey a bit differently. I wish I would have thought (or knew all you guys on CC) sooner because I love love love the Christmas ornament idea Kudos @carolinamom2boys!
Another take on the college sweatshirt bit:
My son just got the annual talk from the college counselors, directed at kids who may get ED acceptances in the next week or so. Those kids are asked to stay sensitive to the kids who either get rejected or who, not having applied anywhere ED, wonāt know their fate for a few months. Kids who get into a school ED are asked to NOT wear any gear from the college that theyāll be attending. Having been on both sides of this (with our two kids) I think itās a pretty reasonable request.
And totally free-associating, S16 is still wearing shorts to school every day. Hasnāt worn pants yet this school year. This, despite some morning temps in the low 30ās.
With only 1 exception, Dās schools all start in August, some as early as the 1st week. I donāt think sheāll want to go away anywhere, no matter how great the opportunity will be, in favor of a last summer at home, so I am on your Dās side, mommymommy. I hope you all have a great time.
When we did our tour in the summer of 2014, D collected shirts and sweatpants at most of the colleges.The shirts no longer fit, but one pair of sweats are her winter go-to pair, and she wears them often, even though she no longer plans to attend that school.
Her school, as Iāve mentioned, has a ādoorway to collegeā where the kids put up acceptance letters as they come in. Right now itās the āSseadaughter Doorway to Collegeā since hers are the only ones on it. But all the acceptances get up there, no matter where, and last year I think they had a 98% acceptance rate. The perks of being at a small school with lots of one on one help with the process.
@AsleepAtTheWheel Is your son at a public or private HS?
@labegg Private, with a political slant to the left of Marx (Karl, not Groucho).
@AsleepAtTheWheel DDās school did the same thing a couple of days ago. Sending out e-mails saying what should be avoided during this week and later regarding ED/EA results.
On the Tshirts, at the end of every tour I asked DS if he wanted to get a shirt. If he said no, it was a pretty good bet he didnāt want to apply there.
@AsleepAtTheWheel, I really like that. I wish DSās school would do that.
@Themommymommy too too funny, my hubby and kids keep asking me what am I going to do once the college research, applications, tours, and dorm room decorating is all completed? I am not sure BUT I think it will definitely be something relaxingly fabulous and all about ME! That will be a first!