Parents of the HS Class of 2017 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Parents Forum
1401

@endesmom In my few minutes of lucidity this afternoon, I did ask S17 what happened about the appliation. (I’ve been on a very long exhausting Skype meeting since 3:30… somehow dinner got made & I ate it…) He said the stress & exhaustion just got to him. He also knew it was EA… He plans to get back to it after Saturday (when marching band it over.) And will get it in this month. He is also swamped in Physics homework, right now that grade isn’t looking too good.

We worked hard over the course of several years, for S17 to recognize his stress level. And I knew it was high. I’d prefer a emotionally healthy kid. I though those short essays would be harder than he thought. That’s the reason he got the UofO in, he already had an idea for an essay and had written it. I hope taking the break & then going back to it will help.

I just don’t want this to happen of the UC essays. It’s now 4 short essays (300 words) and I’m not looking forward to his attacking those. I know he hasn’t even started.

1402

@curiositycat333 can he use any of the OSU ones for UC?

I agree, healthy is better. Always.

1403

Catching up–

Great news @Snoozn on the OSU acceptance! It’s still on my S’s (still too long) list. I don’t know if it will stay on as S is looking to reduce the list given he pain of getting the supplements written for the first school he has applied to. I really liked OSU (actually more than S17), and really liked the honors college tour we did there. We won’t qualify for financial aid though, and I’m not aware of OSU being generous with merit money, so this may be one that falls off. Yes, I would say S17’s list is in flux, but his list is way too long anyway, but deciding which schools to cut seems to be an exercise in randomness. The original plan was to take the shotgun approach and apply to alot of schools since S17 is one of the very lopsided GPA/test score kids, so the match/reach analysis is almost impossible to predict. And the pain of getting the first app in makes the idea of applying to alot of schools seem unrealistic now.

Questions for all–So many of your kids are applying EA. Is that simply to get a decision and ease the agony, or do you all think that it helps increase the chances of getting in and/or getting merit aid?

Is anyone considering Montana State University? It is on my S17’s list as a safety–loves Montana, decent engineering, cool town, and it might be the best school for proximity to world class skiing (which if every thing else were equal would maybe be a deciding factor for S17–he loves to ski/snowboard).

@eandesmom–S17 has also gotten a couple of “wait, we’ll extend the deadline for you” emails. One of the schools is on his list–SMU. Ultimately I’m concerned it may not be a fit for him as far as the social aspects there. S17 hasn’t visited, but I lived in the are looooong ago (grew up in the area) and if it’s still the same I think S17 may be turned off by the wealth/preppiness of the school. He’s a really down to earth kind of guy, and has grown up in a super laid back atmosphere (though a competitive prep school). Does anyone have info/view of SMU these day?

@tacocat --we visited Case Western. I really liked it–alot. Cool campus, right in the museum district with a lot going on. The dorms were bland, but that was about the only thing I didn’t like. Cleveland seems to have a whole lot going for it these days. My son thought the students were a bit too quirky for his taste so it didn’t make his list, but I didn’t get that vibe at all. I guess everyone sees things through their own lens, and the tour guides really do make a huge impression on the kids!

S17 did make the call (yes, on the telephone!) to make the arrangements for the fly-in visit offered by one of his schools. It’s a reach school, and unfortunately will be the first interview he will be doing. It would have been so much better if he’d done one of the interviews done at his school, but alas . . . . S17 is not the most comfortable in the one on one situations. If he is “on” he’s good, but most of the time he comes off as uncomfortable (because he is!). I’m thinking of having him practice, but he’ll hate that and I know will push back and it is unlikely to happen. Any tips that any of you have on interviews and what to expect would be helpful. And attire?–thinking khakis, long sleeve shirt, belt, dress shoes (no tie).

1404

@Hankster1361, my D decided to go EA on a couple of schools at the last minute–only a couple of her schools had additional writing supplements, so when she finished her CA essay she was ready to submit almost everywhere. We decided to go EA on one of her likely schools that shot up to near the top of her list, and a couple of other matches/likelies (free apps). We left the schools where it was a little more iffy and a boost from first semester grades might help as RD (of course, first semester grades have to actually be good, and that’s a black box right now–new school grade portal that hasn’t rolled out yet, and, according to my D, most of her teachers are really bad about handing back graded work/tests, so she really doesn’t have any idea of how she’s doing in a couple of classes). My D also has an ED school–a reach, but applying ED dramatically improves one’s chances of acceptance at this particular school, so fingers crossed there!

Interviews: My D has done 6 interviews, but they were all very low-key/warm and fuzzy meetings (some with AOs some with alums). Even so, she definitely got more comfortable with them as time went on and she had more experience. More selective schools (like Case) might be more intense with the interview, I don’t know. If your S is resistant to outright practice, maybe he’d be more receptive to working with a list of potential questions on his own? I think he should be prepared to have a strong answer to why he’s interested in that particular school and be able to speak to his academic record and extracurricular activities. I think the attire you’re planning sounds perfect.

1405

@Hankster1361 My D17 is applying EA to everywhere that offers it for a few reasons…the main one I think being that it gets everything out of the way earlier so she can be done. She is not enjoying this process and finishing earlier seems like a good idea. Think she will try to get her RD apps in early once the EA ones are done. Secondly, she will have answers earlier, and I think it will help her state of mind if she has some admits in hand by the new year. Third, for some of her schools there really is an admission advantage to applying EA. I’m not sure about merit, but it can’t hurt! :slight_smile: She isn’t good with interviewing either. The less competitive schools seem a bit more relaxed with their interviews and don’t ask anything super hard, but she has Smith and Mt Holyoke interviews on Election Day and I am worried that they are going to be much more challenging. However, she would be full pay at both, I think–no merit–so if she doesn’t get in I won’t be crushed [she does really like Smith, though].

1406

S17 received 15 “we’ll extend our deadline for you!” emails on Nov. 1. Including two to schools he applied to in October, one of which (Case Western, incidentally), added a PS: “Hey, if you’ve already applied, thanks!” Come on, Admissions, you track your prospects better than that.

@Hankster1361, he applied EA everywhere it was offered mostly to get it out of the way! At my urging. We worked on the CA and all essays over the summer, and the list was finalized by July, so he was in pretty good shape. I’m very happy it’s behind us and that he has three EA acceptances that will help us through the push of the rest of senior year.

1407

At some schools if you apply by the EA deadline, they waive the application fee. For my D, it was mostly an anxiety reduction strategy - get the apps done, get some responses early. She had everything submitted by Halloween, including the RDs because she’s a dancer and her rehearsal schedule really heats up at around this time.

1408

@Hankster1361 we did EA for a few reasons. One, it seemed to either be neutral or perhaps a slight advantage admissions wise to do so. Two, for better chances at merit monies. Three, to get it all over with. LOL!

All of S17’s schools offer it, none seem to hurt him by doing it so he will be done with apps by 12/1 and then can focus on scholarship apps.

At least, that’s the plan.

We know many kids to go to Montana State, it’s a popular choice for OOS from our area. My brother went there as well. Good solid school and the kids we know there enjoy it (two top music kids and one amazing athlete from last years class)… If they would have had S’s programs it might well be on the list. Or would have been originally until he cut out the rockies and focused east. We discussed it as an option quite a bit. I would say SMU and Bozeman seem like polar opposites… Does he have Colorado State on his list as well? Not as close to the skiing as Boulder but a better financial option for OOS and solid engineering.

OSU will give 3-5k OOS merit to kids in this general stats range, you can check the site but it’s published and based on gpa/test scores. Those charts drive me nuts as many of them change the about at a 3.5 and with our 3.45 I feel like we are staring at what could be helpful many places but just out of reach…

Interviews are a tricky thing. I think S17 is quite good but that’s just my gut instinct knowing him. Doesn’t mean he likes them. Although, when it clicks it can make him pretty excited about a school. He needs to do 2 more. One I can make happen and while he isn’t thrilled about it I think he gets it. The other is trickier.

I’d really like him to do the first on veterans day which is an in service day for us but he’s in the middle of tech week now, that’s the first week of the play and I know that day will be shot. Plus he will be snarly and mean. LOL! I think I need ot check around thanksgiving weekend instead.

1409

@Hankster1361 The idea behind EA was for S17 to get a decision early and ease some of the anxiety. But if getting it in EA is going to cause so much it’s not worth it. And my son did get a school I wasn’t expecting in EA. I had just suggested 1 school that I thought he had a very good chance of getting in, and somehow he decided the UofO school needed to be in by then.

For my son more than half of the schools he is applying will be California public schools. And both those applications will need to be in by Nov. 30th. The original plan was to spread things out a bit… The Oregon schools EA by Nov 1. The CA schools by Nov 30th. And the last school that uses Common App by it’s RD deadline Jan 15th. But looks like that might change. Because the Common is almost completed I may just suggest he get his part of all the college apps in over Thanksgiving. Then the only thing to take care of after that time would be to get LOR’s handled. (He has asked the teachers.)

@endesmom Not sure if he can use the OSU ones for UC. OSU is 6 less than 100 word answers. UC is choose 4 out of 8 questions, 300 word max. He might be able to take his OSU answers and expand on them a bit. Some of the questions do overlap. My guess is 1-2 of the OSU questions he doesn’t know how to answer. When I last looked at the questions I knew what I would say (if I was writing them for him) in 5/6 of them and was stumped on one myself. And he probably really needs to talk it over with someone. I think I’m going to need to be tricky/sneaky about getting him to talk with me about it… just wait till after next Sunday.

1410

@Hankster1361 We are focused on EA wherever it’s available b/c S plays spring lacrosse. If we have early decisions we can possibly visit schools over Feb break rather than April when he would have to miss practices & a game. Just as important, there is often the benefit of merit consideration for applying EA.

1411

@Hankster1361

As far as interviews go, that seems to be a standard recommended outfit. That said, it is not an outfit my child would be caught dead in. He has dressed neatly and cleanly but in his own style. He is very fashion conscious but wishes to present himself as the student and person he is. And if that’s not what they want his feeling is it is not the right school for him. Is that maybe too casual? Perhaps. Or, does it show a strong sense of self and comfort in his mind own skin. I’d like to think so.

We will see.

1412

Thanks everyone for the feedback/info. All good stuff, and really appreciated.

1413

Stressing a little over the UVM stuff. Still not showing that the transcript has been received. I emailed the GC and he said not to worry about it, it went and it should be fine. [probably I mentioned that already] I also emailed UVM admissions and they got back to me last night saying that it’s likely to be “in the office but going through the data entry process”, and that if it doesn’t show as complete by Monday my D should contact her for “next steps”. I’m hitting that refresh button pretty hard. :slight_smile: I obviously don’t understand how all of this works, bc if her CA and Naviance are linked and all her info is in there, and submitted, I’m not sure how they could have it but not attached to her file.

1414

@kt1969, when you go into the Common App and look under FERPA and Recommenders for UVM, does it show that the GC materials have been downloaded by the college? If it just says “submitted” then the college hasn’t downloaded into their system yet.

1415

@klinska Yep, it says downloaded 10/28, which is why I can’t figure out why they don’t have it showing up.

1416

@eandesmom -

I love the khaki preppy look but my sons lean more towards black cargo pants (EMT style) and black shirts, T, pullover or button down. S17 is going to shadow a student at a theater department on Monday and he is somewhat enthused. He is also planning to wear black, which he informs me is a theater tech uniform color so you can’t be seen backstage. I am trying to get him to wear a button down shirt with his emt pants. What look has your son opted to go with?.

The good news is that he went to dinner and a movie with two of his closest friends, both of whom have done an ED application. S17 even told me the schools his friends applied to. He said he wants to get his app to Purchase in this weekend. YAY! Purchase lets you defer in certain situations.

1417

@techmom99–my son has thought about deferring as well. My nephew did, loved the experience, but said it was a little hard to get back into the study groove. He’s doing fantastic though at a top school, so I think the year’s maturity was good for him.

1418

I think he will be fine and that he will look like everyone else. Neat and clean required, but the black attire is fine.

1419

UGH!

Still zero word on a portal from one of last weekends applications. Should I call? that seems really odd. No email confirmation that they got his application other than the one that came from the common app.

@techmom99 Black is the theater tech uniform. Typcially black tee…long sleeve. I would probably want to see in in a long sleeve shirt that wasn’t a tee but I’m sure he’ll be fine.

My son wore what he wears to school which is typically slim/skinny tailored ankle length pants either khaki or grey, some type of dress shoes which could be blue suede, camel wing tips or the like, a patterned long sleeve button down with either a cardigan, a tailored jacket or pullover sweater. He is very much a Seattle hipster kid, likes his fashion and his clothes. Wears natty socks and makes sure they show, messenger bag etc. But he’s cheap. Digs through goodwill, buys stuff from the drama department all the time, that kind of thing. He looks stylish and put together so I leave it alone.

1420

@twoinanddone -

Neat and clean is not a problem for this kid. He’s the biggest clothes horse of the four boys. The main problem I have now is that D was supposed to take him to this shadow day but her bf had to have an emergency appendectomy last night and she doesn’t think she can leave him at home on Monday. His sibs are in college out of state and his parents live overseas. I will have to ask S14 to drop S17 off and pick him up in between his own regular routine. D was going to hang out and check out the school but S14 won’t do that. H is also in the hospital and I have no more time off left this year.

It’s always something…