Thank you, @eandesmom ! I’m happy he was accepted. UMass has a good engineering program, its affordable and not too far from home. And Purdue is still certainly a contender.
Villanova is a deferral, but I don’t think he’ll mind too much because he did not love it when we visited (I thought it was a good fit and asked him to apply). He is out with friends so I’ll tell him later.
Still many possibilities with 8 more apps to be decided. Anticipating lots of twists and turns in the road ahead!! We need a race car emoji!!
So excited…D17 just got in to Goucher, which is a top choice for her! No idea on merit yet, this was just an email admit and the portal hasn’t changed, so have to wait for snail mail. But so happy for her.
@kt1969 that’s awesome!!! I wasn’t expecting anyone to see a thing from them till Jan/Feb. I am not telling S, he is definitely awaiting that one, it is very high on his list. Congratulations!
Congrats on Ithaca and UVM. We thought about Ithaca but the numbers were so bad that it wasn’t worth the cost of the application. UVM is gorgeous - right across the lake from my D and middle son’s SUNY school. The area is lovely, even for someone like me who hates snow.
to everyone else - it is so exciting to share this news.
@snoozn - I love the title “struggling sons of calc” and I wish my son was mathematically capable of being in the group. He is the struggling son of barely passed algibrish.
All S17’s progress report grades except IB French are out. So far all A/A- ish except for the aforementioned AP calc which is a C-ish (we’re in NYS where grades are percentages, not letters…). IB Bio was a bit scary, too until he turned in his labs–someone is battling senioritis. But courses he likes and cares about, like IB History and IB Psychology are at 98+. And he has 3 weeks plus midterms after break to get the calc grade up before it lands on his transcript. Plus, he’s somewhat close to having a draft of his IB extended essay–something about Syria’s political system, the topic has changed and refined a few times since I last saw an outline… I’ll be happy at the end of this semester, but hopefully he doesn’t think he’s all set at that point.
Happy Holidays everyone. I know it’s a bit early. We go out of town tomorrow and I’m not sure how much I’ll get onto CC while we are away. The computer I post this on isn’t coming with me…
I’m just super busy, I work at home and today has been crazy trying to finish up some work stuff I can only do AT home. (Although we did go out last night for dinner & to see Rogue One) Spend the day alternatively working & doing all that stuff one needs to do to get out of town. While the whole family was home asking me questions except when I sent them on errands. (Send S17 to get the car filled with gas and cleaned.)
S17 still has two apps to get in, as well as a TON of AP Physics homework and online heath. I’m not even asking how he’s doing. His problem… I have enough of my own.
@CoyoteMom and Coyoteson congrats on Allegheny! And @mackatarinasmom on Kalamazoo and @kt1969 on Goucher.
@“Queen’s Mom” congrats on St. Mary’s and affordability! @tacocat333 congrats on Case Western and Catholic University, and
Sending good vibes to @Sailinghedgehog and others for much success in the RD round…
Reporting the not-so-great news along with the good news, first rejection came in today, from Colorado College. It wasn’t unexpected–was a long shot school, and my son took his shot–all fine here. Thank goodness for early acceptances that take the sting out of things.
@eandesmom Thanks! Have your son keep an eye on his email, because that’s where she got the news…no update at all on the portal. Or you can just wait for the packet, I guess. It is hard knowing that some people have heard and others haven’t [case in point College of Wooster where I think @klinska’s D heard like 3 weeks ago]. Fx that he hears soon and it’s good news!
Funny about Allegheny…my D is on their mailing list because we went to the CTCL fair and she checked the box for Allegheny on that form. She isn’t applying, and hasn’t sent scores or started an app or anything. Nothing whatsoever. Yesterday she gets a card from an alum, long and handwritten, about how glad the alum is that Allegheny is on D’s list and how great it has been for her, blah blah blah. How many of these are they making the poor girl write, to people who probably aren’t even interested? Yikes.
Last day of the semester for son today! Took the calc final yesterday and he thinks it went well - prayers that he keeps that B. Today is an easier day, finals-wise, and then when he’s home we can all let out a deep sigh. Maybe older MEng son will give him some calc knowledge over break!
Question: the scholarship competition is two parts, an essay and a dialogue (what I’m reading as interview). It’s an all day affair with parents included and a luncheon to celebrate the kids invited. I’m thinking suit is probably too formal but khakis and polo not formal enough? Getting son to wear anything but jeans and a 3/4 zip pullover is pulling teeth. What would you put your son in?
Sorry, @93pilots ! Even if it was expected it probably still stings.
Don’t know if it’s been mentioned here before, but on the other 2017 parents thread someone came up with the idea of using the “Helpful” tab to send virtual hugs. I think it was @thshadow , but apologies if I am not crediting the right person. In any case, it sends a message of support so perhaps we can carry it over to this thread.
@93pilots Thanks and sorry about the first rejection. Luckily it was a long shot school and there were acceptances as well. We saw them at a CTCL type conference and I was impressed but D was afraid if she had a class that she didn’t care for one semester that it would seem eternal lol.
@kt1969 We are hoping to hear from College of Wooster next and Beloit. We have received letters and Christmas cards from a couple of schools but one we visited and she was not interested in the least. I thought Goucher would be a good fit for D. She never did apparently! Congrats on the acceptance!
@eandesmom I wish it was 60K every year. Of course her bubble burst when another kid in her grade (small charter in NC) was accepted with 92K. Oh well!
She won’t take her midterms until AFTER break so grades won’t be finalized for this semester until then! Good news, she submitted the essay for the study abroad at Beloit. That could mean 5K a year. It’s something!
@techmom99 Thanks! yeah, the Ithaca numbers aren’t pretty. Then again, none of our numbers really are and all are really close with total COA’s at $40.5k, $41.5k and $43k respectively lol. We will see if any toss more aid our way (unlikely really…probably just offers of subsidized loans for a bit) or if any of the additional scholarships come though. I find it fascinating how the merit awards “magically” bring all of these very close to our EFC. Which of course is more than we want to pay! Still though, if we do decide to push the budget that 3K less between the top and bottom offer does make a pretty huge difference over 4 years to me.
I meant to post a while ago, I am so sorry for the travel struggles with your H. I can’t even imagine, where you live, working around that kind of constraint. It does put his “keep S close to home” requirement really in a new light. Hugs!
@93pilots I am sorry. Even when it is expected it is still a bummer.
@mackatarinasmom $15k is a year is not a small amount but i know what you mean. Either way a lovely boost in self confidence is a wonderful thing!
@kt1969 nothing from Goucher so far…unless the email is bouncing. Grr. I received a UVM email today and S did not and usually they send a parent and a kid version of things so…another call may be in order. Of course he also received three FAFSA emails from Allegheny today so I know his email is working…and a holiday email from Goucher so…if they send it, he should get it.
It would be awesome for him to hear from Goucher before xmas. Plus selfishly if we hear from both I can then officially plan and book our trip which would be really nice!
Isn’t it interesting how the merit money becomes funny money after a while? “Yeah, he got in with just $21K merit a year; pretty lame.” Which is exactly what I said to my husband after one of TacoSon’s acceptances this week! I’m sure it was different BITD when we didn’t have College Confidential to tell us that Kid X got $38K per semester and a unicorn.
I love hearing about all the notification news, good and bad! I think we’re done here at TacoHouse until the RD season, when we’ll hear from Franklin & Marshall, Dickinson and Virginia Tech. TacoSon is pretty much checked out of the admissions game already, having acceptances from his favorites in hand. #goearlyaction
@tacocat333 LOL at the unicorn. Dammit, my D hasn’t gotten a single piddly one yet!
I was just doing my 3rd daily portal check and saw that D17s Wooster decision was up. She apparently hasn’t checked her email so I’m going to let her do that on her own time and not spoil the surprise. She was admitted with the Dean’s Scholarship of 26K. She has now heard from all of her EA apps and is 9/9. Proud mama here. COA for her schools with merit ranges from 32-39K, with one outlier at 47K [UVM], and don’t know merit on two schools yet [Lewis & Clark and Goucher]. Prices in the 30s just seem so much more manageable than ones in the 50s/60s, somehow…duh. Will have to see how many of her 3 RD apps she manages to deal with. She could skip them all and it would be fine with me.
Another interesting tidbit. We didn’t file for financial aid. Son17 received a merit award for 13K to UVM. Son’s friend also applied there, has a worse GPA, worse test scores, maybe slightly more involved in some EC stuff, but really very similar kids. The other kid filed Fafsa, got 15K in merit. Makes no sense, but it shows that the schools definitely think about who is getting what amounts. They must think I don’t care about the extra 1k per semester, ha.
Well, I was pretty darn excited about the Wellness Environment at UVM. And I was already planning which restaurants we would visit during our next trip to Burlington (UVM-ers, be sure that Bluebird BBQ is on your list!). But things have changed in the past 24 hours… D was admitted to her top choice school, WPI, and she is over the moon. I’m glad I didn’t jinx her with the school hoodie I secretly ordered from the bookstore! I was happy to be able to give it to her just after she got her news yesterday evening.
I cannot believe it – we are DONE, and before Christmas! Best.Present.Ever. (OK, Worcester isn’t Burlington, but WPI is an awesome school and she’ll be a lot closer to home!)
Wishing everyone a beautiful holiday season and all good news for those of you still waiting!!
But courses he likes and cares about, like IB History and IB Psychology are at 98+. And he has 3 weeks plus midterms after break to get the calc grade up before it lands on his transcript. Plus, he’s somewhat close to having a draft of his IB extended essay–something about Syria’s political system, the topic has changed and refined a few times since I last saw an outline… I’ll be happy at the end of this semester, but hopefully he doesn’t think he’s all set at that point.