Congrats on all the good news: acceptances; scholarships; honors et al! Hugs to all on the disappointments. S17 is slowly weeding through options. We’ve visited a few of the schools he’s been accepted to, he’s turned down one offer, has removed one or two from his list (one acceptance - not yet rejected but will be; one still waiting to hear if he is accepted RD) and re-ordered the ones he is considering. We will visit one more that he is waiting on an RD decision from during February break, then hopefully make the choice. Ready to be done with this process.
Fairly quiet here-I figured out why D18 was using me as an emotional punching bag on Tues/Wed, she had a huge test in precalculus that she was really worried about. Turns out she got a 95 on it! Studying and going in for extra help really does make a difference-who knew??? 8->
Celebrating D17’s 18th birthday tomorrow, finally! It was actually last year, but trying to find a quiet weekend, wow. She’s actually going to share the day with her uncle, who had his birthday back in January. Trying to get everyone together for a family birthday is really tough!
We’re just in a holding pattern right now-we don’t seem to be able to make any decisions. I still have to ask her if she wants to check with NEU about taking act’s late. It just feels so onerous to get back in the testing saddle when you feel like you had it all behind you (except for a bazillion ap exams, there is that). Some days I don’t need the I Swear Not To Talk About College Jar-none of us wants to talk about it every now and then.
@LoveTheBard it was for USD (San Diego), but at this point I still think he has other options he likes better.
We need to visit UMD & NEU which are both scheduled and he is still waiting on others from RD.
JOTD:
Two cows are out standing in a field chewing their cud. They begin to chat:
Cow 1: Are you worried about mad cow disease?
Cow 2: Not at all, I’m a helicopter.
@sdl0625 I have a senior and a sophomore too. My senior is pretty anxious about keeping her grades up, I wish she could relax a little now but she won’t. It’s a weird time of year for seniors.
My sophomore is my huge headache though! She wouldn’t be ivy-bound like yours even if she was more motivated, but she’s bright and just only into doing things that make her happy, like surfing, playing the ukelele, and doing her only in-school EC which is theater tech (what we used to call stage crew). If she paid more attention to detail in her homework she’s be doing much better academically, and maybe have a shot at a second-tier UC like UCSB (where she could surf). I really need to know how to better deal with her without squashing her naturally happy and happy go lucky personality. She’s such a delight, interpersonally, but a little more studying/attention to homework wouldn’t kill her!
@sdl0625 {{HUGS}} I feel like we might be living parallel lives. I have had the exact same thoughts about my D17 and S19 just this week. I told my husband I would like to trade them in for babies…because right now I think that time was easier. 
@stlarenas and to think we fretted over potty training back in the day
thanks for making me feel like I am not alone.
I know this isn’t an option for most people but it sounds like a number of your kids would benefit if you had more choices for high schools and could find a better ‘fit’ for your child like we try so hard to do when selecting colleges. Raising a child in a large city has a number of drawbacks especially in finding good schools but one of the benefits is having options for high schools that can help mitigate that for many students. No school is perfect but having a Creative and Performing Arts HS is a great option for those kids just like Science and Technology school is for those kids. My D goes to a school with a project-based curriculum and it’s a great fit for the kids that go there.
Also I’m not trying to get into the political aspects of school choice - just pointing out how for many people how 1 high school is supposed to be ‘one size fits all’ and many kids aren’t maximizing their potential because of it.
@sdl0625 I am sorry there is strife. As the mom of many adults, parenting older teenagers and young adults is 1000x harder than little kids bc their choices can be life-altering, not bumps and bruises. There is so much truth to the old adage that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. We let our kids live with the natural consequences of their decisions when they make decisions they know are counter to what we believe or recommend. We can tell them we love them, but we cannot be responsible for their choices. (A student putting no effort into high school would be limited to the local CC or directional university. It is what it is.)
@Dolemite My kids have all attended the exact same high school, but not one of them has even close to the same education. Each one has had a 100% individualized educational experience. Yes, it is priceless bc they are able to thrive and “maximize their potential because of it.” Love it!!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I’m going to send my S23 to that high school - tuition is free right? 
@dolemite Tuition might be free, but dh would warn that the hidden costs are what get you! 
Are any others being bombarded with obnoxious phone calls and mailings reminding their student to pay the enrollment fee etc etc? How do we get this to stop? Don’t these school’s realize that ultimately it comes down to merit aid & they should really dial it down until after those decisions are communicated to the students? It has all but put one particular school in the NO category for my daughter…
@rscgrad, we have caller ID and don’t answer the phone if we don’t know the number. That cuts down on part of the annoyances at least.
Well the week ended weirdly, by son getting a strange email this afternoon from Northeastern to let them know if he was still interested in going there. He was deferred EA, so we pretty much wrote it off. So, now son17 says he still has a shot. Some of the kids on the NEU thread got the same note a few weeks back and were accepted. So who knows NEU was the reach school on his list, as the school has gotten more selective, and being from the area doesn’t seem to help as the school seeks more geographic diversity. But who knows, maybe they’d just like to take our $, lol.
That’s a great sign, @rightcoaster! Good luck to your son!
@RightCoaster – that’s a good sign I would think! What is his intended major?
Fingers crossed @RightCoaster !!! Hopefully you’ll get some good news soon!
D got accepted to U Michigan this week after being deferred in Dec, without any effort from D. So yes, @RightCoaster. You never know!
@RightCoaster – I think it could be a good sign for NEU! Fingers are crossed.
DS just got accepted to WPI (EA2) & a partial scholarship. It seems like such a nice, supportive and easy to navigate school - enjoyed our visit - except dorm was not great.
Thanks everyone, no bad news is better than bad news right? lol.
@CA1543. WPI is a nice school. My son has a good friend that will be playing a sport there next fall. We live about 25 minutes from there, and have visited numerous times for soccer games and robotics tournaments. It would be a great fit for my younger son19. But he says it’s too close to home and wants to get away. Dorms- who cares. Maybe I’ve visited the wrong schools, but I have not been super impressed with any freshman level dorm situation. They all seem pretty gross, ha.
@carachel2 Son17’s major is business, and I think he wanted to get into their entrepreneurship program if I remember. I didn’t spend a lot of time on Northeastern, as it’s gotten harder to get in there as an average unhooked smart white kid from the Boston burbs to get it. He’s in the lower side of the mid-50 percentile, so I’m still skeptical about whether he’ll get in or not.
@SincererLove congrats on Michigan, that’s great news!