While the preppy look is fine and should not offend anyone, I agree that as long as the presentation is neat and clean, whatever the kid is comfortable in, whatever expresses his/her personality, and reflects the image s/he wants to project within the context of the setting and purpose of the meeting is going to be fine and will likely work to the student’s advantage, since looking the part/looking good is a confidence booster.
Good luck, @techmom99 – sorry to hear of the logistics issues! Hope all who are in hospital/convalescing are better soon!
@eandesmom, we haven’t gotten anything from the ED school, but because we got that strange message on the portal (set up before applying) about the application being complete before D submitted anything, the GC has confirmed with the school that they do, in fact, now have everything. D also hasn’t gotten anything from one other school (public)–all others have at least acknowledged the application and most have confirmed that the application is complete. The one that hasn’t acknowledged yet is an EA school with an 11/15 deadline, so I was going to give them until middle of the week and then will have D follow up (she will love doing that, lol). Is the school you haven’t heard from a large public? If yes, I might give them a few more days (depending on the application deadline).
Your son’s look sounds unique. I am sure it will set him out amongst the masses. My son has been known to rock a bow tie to school on occasion, with a button down shirt.
It turns out that the hospital is monitoring D’s bf to see if he really needs surgery. He will be in a few days. H is resting but begging for junk food, which he’s not getting.
Can I toss this out for your consideration, since I already feel like I am in the Twilight Zone with this college stuff -
S17 has finally looked at the common app essay prompts. He wants to use the one about challenging a belief or rule. Last year, his USH teacher tried to confiscate cell phones in class because some kids (NOT S17) were using them. S17 protested and it got ugly. Long story short, his class was changed and H and I learned alot about how each of us viewed certain things. Essentially, I agreed that the teacher should be able to control her class as she chose and H sided with S17. He wants to write about this episode. Do you think that it will backfire in that the AO will think he’s someone who will foment trouble or will they see him as a boy who follows the original rules (no cell phone use in class, which the teacher acknowledged) but stands up for a principle that he believes in?
@klinska the school we haven’t heard from is private and it was an 11/1 EA date. Since we know UVM bounced I thinking if we don’t hear by Monday I’ll call on Tuesday. I’d probably call Monday but am out of town lol.
If your son is going to defer, make sure the school will permit it. One school told him not to apply this year if he was going to defer, one said that a decision would be made if he was accepted but that they usually grant the request and another said no problem.
@eandesmom we submitted a RD app to Clarkson and rec’d a letter about 9 or so days later with portal info. I was a little worried about it being a letter of doom at first! 8-|
@techmom99, I think, just by virtue of the fact that there is a prompt that provides an opportunity for a student to write about a time when they challenged a convention or a belief, that any AO who is put off by someone writing about a time when they did just that probably shouldn’t be an AO. I get why you think it’s risky, but I also think that’s what would make it a compelling read. If your S approaches it right, and talks about what he learned from the experience, it could be a very successful essay.
As I posted on the other board, I was a bit freaked out by a letter from UofO yesterday. Turned out to just be the “thanks for applying” here is your portal info letter. I worried it was an early ‘letter of doom’ as well. @jmek15
An hour after I noticed the letter, I went through a thought process that even though I do want S17 to get an early admit in say Dec. Most of his apps won’t be done till late this month and I’d actually prefer he not hear until then. Despite an early admission being exciting, I think it might affect his enthusiasm for finishing the other applications. I want him to have choices comes spring. And the school he did apply EA is one of the most expensive on the list.
My big pet peeve with him right now is he has control of his email, I can’t get in. And while I snuck a peek at the portal information for this school, he’s be annoyed at me if I logged in & made him a new password. So I can’t check this till he has time. Today is the LAST MARCHING EVENT for the season. I am a bit teary about this…
I’ll talk with him this week when things get a bit calmer around here.
@techmom99 he is definitely unique. Not in an obnoxious way though but not cookie cutter. If it somehow didn’t play right with the schools he’s spoken to, they aren’t the right school. I hope the news about your H is good, whatever direction you want that to be (surgery or not). Thinking of you.
My son actually started with that prompt. His original essay was much more social justice oriented with some specific things he was challenging. More along the lines of a lot of little challenges to add up to one big one. But he wasn’t really answering the prompt clearly enough and changed prompts. Which then ended up turning it into a larger social justice statement. Which is risky as well but it is him. It really does depend on how it it is framed. Being an advocate for change can be a good thing.
@curiositycat333 I’d be a bit freaked out as well. Heck, I’m away from the mailbox for 5 days and hate not knowing what is in it! S17 will not tell me if anything came while I was gone, that’s for sure.
None of my kids is a cookie cutter. Sometimes, it’s very frustrating, but at the end of the day, I think people who are unique have a better chance of making a mark. Your son sounds like mine in so many ways, except mine is not musically inclined.
H is coming home shortly, sons 1 and 3 are picking him up. D’s bf is the one waiting on the surgery. Apparently, his appendix is too swollen to take out now so they are keeping him on meds until they decide what to do. H is supposed to have his other knee replaced in December and I pray that can go forward.
S17 just surprised me. He had a draft of an essay using the prompt on an incident that helped you feel like an adult. He wrote 649 (lol!) words about Hurricane Sandy and how his volunteer work made him recognize how important that is and how volunteering got him respect and made him feel good. He decided on his own that the controversial cell phone essay might not go over. This one is much more reflective of him overall. It’s not killer but it’s certainly a decent essay from a kid who struggles with writing. I am going to proofread it and then it will be uploaded.
Once that’s done, I have to figure out if the free ACT scores from the September test also included his prior scores. He upped his math by 5 points in September but the effort that took caused everything else to go down, so if the schools didn’t get the April test, I have to send it separately.
I feel like things are finally starting to come together.
Well, @techmom99 you have at least an audience of 1 who is standing up applauding your reprieve with your son’s change of essay topic. Too tricky to work otherwise.
D just called me in tears. Worst case scenario is her bf may need a partial colon resection if the antibiotics don’t take down the swelling. She thinks it’s HER fault that he chose not to go to the doctor sooner. I had to give her a stern talking to about that. We are all praying for him. His parents are coming to the US for Thanksgiving. I don’t know if they can get here sooner. I’ve offered to speak to his doctors if he wants me to given that his parents are thousands of miles away.
For those whose kids who are dreading the six 100 word essays for OSU, I’d say don’t sweat it too much if you’re really interested. D wrote hers in a few hours and refused to show them to me for any editing. I think like with many big publics, they just want to make sure you can answer questions at a normal HS writing level. Another thing – they sent an email after the acceptance saying she should consider the honors program, with a link to the honors app, even though she’d already filled out the honors essay (included as an option in the regular app). But then they sent an email confirming that her honors app had been received, so no separate app needed after all.
@Hankster1361, my D is getting everything done ASAP because that’s the way she rolls, not due to any strategic thinking. I think her gpa will be higher at the end of this semester, so technically I guess it would be better to wait. But less stress is worth it. D had Montana State on her list. She talked to their rep at her hs and went to a local pizza event and had a good impression. (How can you make a bad impression with pizza??) It only came off the list because it doesn’t have any focus on renewable energy, but seems like a good school to me. On your S’s interview, I agree with the attire you suggest. I would not worry too much about prepping unless your S wants to. Between two D’s who’ve probably had more than a dozen college interviews, it’s not been that bad. Both D’s are introverted and not the best at social situations. From my experience, college AO’s are very good at putting kids at ease and making the interview go smoothly. All the bad interviews oldest D had were with student interns. Good luck to him!
@kt1969, my D interviewed with a Smith rep who was in town a few weeks ago. They talked at a coffee shop for about 45 minutes and from D’s description it was pretty low-key. And yeah, it probably won’t be an affordable option anyway! So weird – we have a “missing transcript” at UVM too, even though all the other schools sent at the same time received it.
@eandesmom, my oldest D had the same attitude about interview attire. No way was she going to wear anything that had the whiff of “business casual” about it. She went with “mild Bohemian” which seemed to be fine. She also just got her first “real” job as a dancer at a circus, so she’s successfully avoided business casual for the time being. She’s with your S on the thrift store thing too – amazing what she can find between thrift shops and the frequent “clothing swaps” she has with her dancer friends.
@techmom99, I’m glad your S was able to find a prompt that worked for him. If the essay reflects him and his way of thinking, your work is done. (Well, his work is done. With more to come!) I’m sorry to hear about your D’s BF’s medical troubles – his poor parents being so far away must be taking a real toll on them. Hopefully your D will be able to recognize that her guilt is understandable but not rational. Good luck to both the BF and your H with their medical issues.
@jmek15, I’m glad you mentioned Clarkson taking so long – I was beginning to get worried but it looks like they’re just slow.
@snoozn That makes me feel a bit better that your D’s transcript is missing too–well, I’m sorry that it happened to you too but makes me think that it will sort itself out. The AO who wrote me back made a point of saying that my D should contact her on Monday if it hadn’t shown up, which she isn’t going to want to do, so I’m hoping we get lucky and it just shows up.
@techmom99 Yikes, colon resection doesn’t sound fun, especially with the parents out of the country. Hopefully won’t end up being necessary. Glad the essay thing worked out!
@snoozn Thanks for the advice on the OSU Essay. I’ll try and relay it to my S17. I’m hoping he will get to it this week. Marching Band is over (mixed feelings about this) , no extra curricular going on this week. Friday is a holiday. I’m hoping he can finish the OSU application. And get his Cal State finish this week.
My son has a real serious block where writing is involved. He writes well once he knows what to write. But it has to be perfect in his mind before he will put down a word. And he takes prompts too literally. And can’t stand writing anything he believes to be false. He basically doesn’t know how to bullshit.
My guess is he is having a tough time answering #4 Community service question. If I were have to answer the same questions about him I’m not sure what I’d say about this one. Honestly, he really hasn’t done that much of what I’d call community service myself so I’m not sure how he should spin that one. (But IDK there are things he’s done & school or camp.) He probably needs to talk the questions through with someone.
@curiositycat333 My D doesn’t know how to bull%&$* either. It’s annoying. I definitely knew how by her age. And when I suggested something about it she said she “didn’t want to lie”. I don’t want her to lie either, but there are ways to say things that sound better than other ways, you know?
We have been working with him on this for years. It’s been a real road block for him and one cause for him to get low grades. We have gotten him some help, and I’ve gotten him special writing help, and it has gotten better. But it’s a struggle because most tutors don’t really understand the problem and want to go back to basics. He wrote a “common app” essay without a big struggle because he’d already figured out what he was going to say.
We’ve worked with both of our boys on “selling themselves” for years. Not sure how well it’s worked on DS2. DS1 caught on in middle school but DS2 is slowly getting there. It really helped when he casually mentioned an award he’d won for CS outside of school. His CS teacher, who was writing a letter of rec, was shocked and said, “That’s awesome. You should be really proud. Tell me more about it.” Until then I don’t think he thought anything of it - just something he entered and won. It didn’t have a prize or anything so not a big deal to him.
