Welcome @greeny8 . This is a nice place to be during this time of flux!
Welcome @greeny8
Great place to learn a lot while you wait.
@readingclaygirl - that is so funny!
@carolinamom2boys @Cheeringsection @2filles @bookmom7 thank you! I am truly addicted to CC and it has been such a big help this year when my DD was applying. I wish I knew about this thread a few years ago when she was a freshman. Better late than never. You guys are all so sweet and supportive, itās a great place to be a part of. I hope all of your children continue to do well and get into their number one choice!
Welcome @greeny8! I am fairly new to the group too and I definitely wish Iād joined a few years ago. I have already learned so much and now my S will say ādid you find this out on College Confidentialā whenever I tell him something about a school!
Iāve only been a member since May, but have learned a lot and developed some great relationships with some great people. Because of that, Iāve already joined the parents of HS Class of 2019. Iāve got a freshman.
@CAMidwestMom thank you! My sister in law is an admissions counselor and they all call this site college crack! So many friends will ask how I know so much info and I tell themā¦but theyāve never heard of it. It seems my friends kids are all going in state so maybe they donāt need all of the info. (Or they donāt care). I canāt believe how they donāt know when decisions come out or things that are important they are clueless. I thought maybe I was just too involved but this site makes me feel at home with the other involved people.
Welcome @greeny8 Your comment about the admissions counselor saying CC stands for College Crackā¦so funny!
My S16 and DH know I ālookā on CC occasionally, but most of the time I make general comments such as āI was reading something on one of the [many] college forumsā¦ā so they donāt know most of the information I glean is from here!
Always room for another stalker, @greeny8 ! Welcome!
I just joined the HS class of 2020 for my 8th grader.
No Powerball winner here. DH did win $4. 
@bookmom7 We are big $4 winners too 
Just read there was no winner. (guess they know already- ?) Could be $1.3 billion on Wednesday.
Welcome @greeny8!
We won nada, and our EFC from the FAFSA gave me a mini stroke. Iām hoping that some of her RD schools are generous with merit aid.
I need to join the 2019 thread, too. It seems so far away, but I know itās not. S19 is very different than D16, it will be another adventure.
I was shocked not to win the jackpot - or anything. I bought my first ever ticket today - I figured that we could splurge the $2 for D to be able to attend the college of her choice. Oh wellā¦
Catching up with posts from today -
Dās school does give academic letters. Earliest you can receive one is spring of sophomore year - based on the previous 3 semesters. D has 2 of those. I know you can get them for band - D got one freshman year - so I assume that they are also available for chorus and orchestra.
Dās school has SCA as a student governing org. Sheās a happy SCA officer. Her love for SCA is what caused her to abandon a previous (fairly niche) EC that she had been involved in for over 10 years. She just didnāt have time for both.
Iām not aware of her school ever having more than one valedictorian and one salutatorian. Pretty sure they go out to the thousandths for it. Final decision is made after final exams for seniors second semester. They usually tell the top 5 to be preparing a speech. Last year the student in 8th place going in to finals ended up as salutatorian. Itās very tight! Class sizes tend to be about 500.
I donāt think H checked the two tickets he bought, but I guess we didnāt win!
Our school does not have sports or music but some non-traditional ECās, so no letters here, but the kids can all tajke sports, music, etc. at their āhome high schoolā because ours is a āchoice schoolā. If that school awards letters, then of course the kids are eligible. Last year the captain of the cheer dancers-Iām not sure what those are called-at one of the traditional HSās was actually a student at Dās school.
The school doesnāt rank, so no val, sal or anything else. The class elects a few speakers for graduation, plus the class president speaks. The founder of the school also speaks. These are āher kidsā and she always gets choked up.
Funny thing about my HS graduation. It was a little unusual We actually HAD 2 sals-good friends who both went on to our state flagship (Iām from back east). They did a funny riff about going away to college together. They were both nice kids-and I canāt remember either of their names. The val was a good friend of mine who went to Harvard and dropped out after the first semester. The third honors-the last rank that got any kind of honor at graduation was 9 months pregnant at graduation. The principal had to help her out of her seat for her speech. That was quite a scandal back then! She was another friend of mine-married the father, who was a few years ahead of us, and they stayed together for a long time before I lost track. The Seattle HS where all the gifted program kids are placed had 20+ vals a few years back.
@carolinamom2boys our school awards varsity letters for all forensics (debate, mock trial, model UN) and drama along with sports but no strictly academic letters.
Itās a very competitive charter school and does not rank in an effort to decrease stress/competition. Also no weighted grades, even for AP/honors. Iām not sure thereās a single kid who has managed straight As ā and there are 7 NMSFs in a class of 41.
Our grad speakers are chosen based on kids who apply/submit speeches. Graduates wear special cords if they are: NHS, summa cum laude GPA or if their senior thesis project was judged exemplary.
And we do have senior superlatives. They range from traditional to very amusing. The senior class votes on them but arenāt revealed until the yearbook comes out.
Welcome @greeny8!
Welcome @greeny8 ! Great place to be.
Anyone elseās DH/DW strangely annoyed by the schools your DC has not yet heard from regarding either admissions or scholarships? DH does not seem to undersrand that each school has their own deadlines and notification dates. It is NOT personal that U of X Has not yet let DS know his status?!?
@Cheeringsection Sounds like your DH and my DH could have quite the conversation . My DH wants āall info in so DS can make his decision so all of this college discussion can get put on the back burner for awhile.ā Again, another laughable moment. Honestly , he really is a considerate, involved father who loves his sons very much, but he is clearly out of his element, and not feeling comfortable being on the " outside " I keep having a picture of him in my head, singing Adele 's Hello which makes me chuckle which doesnāt help his feelings of exclusion from the Secret Society of the College Search that my son and I have organized.