@Ynotgo D was considering the online MV class for next year and the DE office persuaded her to go with the in-person class instead, even though it is an evening class. Sounds like good advice based on your S’s experience.
@mtrosemom
That’s a great idea to have her do applications in order from safeties to reaches! Definitely adding to my bag of tricks.
otoh: I MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO FREAK OUT ABOUT – WHY NOT SAT’S?
But you are right in theory and I will take a chill pill (as we used to say back in the day).
Interesting reading about working in college. I have no idea what D will do. She has done well working this semester but I think I will encourage her to get her feet wet at school at least for a semester before working.
I worked a little bit in college. The best job I had was working for the campus food department, specifically in their marketing department. I could go in and work any time I wanted and for every four hours I worked I got a free meal anywhere on campus. I was living off campus so a free meal at least 3-4 days a week was pretty awesome. On campus restaurants were the new big thing at the time and I would order a take-out meal that would last me at least two nights. SCORE!
I started checking with college consultants and first one I contacted quoted $15K+ to help with essays for 10+ applications. I guess better than $40K by NYC lady!
@srk2017 I’m in the wrong business.
I worked 20-30 hours a week all through college and 2-3 jobs (70-80 hrs) in the summers to cover tuition, books and all non room and board expenses.
While I cannot say they were remotely related to my major, the fact of the matter is they allowed me to graduate with minimal debt, move up the food chain in the restaurant business, earn far more money right out of school than anything I could find in my then desired field (which was not a self sustaining income) and ultimately was really the launching point for a largely rewarding career where each move has led to the next.
While none of it would have been possible without my degree, you really can’t underestimate what a HS fast food job, spraying perfume on unsuspecting strangers at Nordstrom or a college waitressing job can help take you.
@2muchquan - Most of us can become college consultants once we are done with our kids 
@srk2017 Wow! What’s the educational background of these college consultants? I may have to switch careers. lol
@carachel2 Great college job - free food! In college, I worked at a hotel chain reservation center - no free food but we got free nights in area hotels so that we could answer questions and really know the locations. Key college job!
@srk2017 Holy moly! 15K, 40K?!?!!
@srk2017 Yikesters! That NYC lady is my kids’ entire 4 yr college budget!!
Ah, D17 just found out about another program she applied to but didn’t get in.
And so it goes…
@carpoolingma sorry about not getting in. Hopefully when one door closes, a window will open,
15 and 40???
Ugh. I have one friend who paid 30 for one kid…and that kid was hand held starting in 8th grade. She paid 5k for the next one, he wasn’t as worthy apparently.
Another one paid 5k each for her 2 so far.
In both cases it was a lot more than just application and essay help, these folks did the full search etc.
For the last one to announce, it looks like the investment paid off, presidents scholar at USC.
I’ll stick to my $75 an hour essay help guy
I cannot help with essays. :((
If I were able to help, it would be even more frustrating because DS won’t listen to me nor share his writings. :))
$75 sounds good to me. Time to shop for an essay helper I guess. 
Since I have never seen it, I wonder if you can do different essays for different school in CA? Probably too stupid of a question, but wouldn’t it be nice if we would? For schools that D is applying engineering, she wants to have a STEM related essay for those schools. For business schools she applies, she wants to show a business related CA essay.
Can you apply EA to multiple schools? Particularly CWRU, UChicago and Georgetown?
Can’t keep up with the posts!!
@eandesmom Do you know where the kid who got 30k help ended up?
@HiToWaMom George Washington, full pay. Business major (started out as history so a good change) and was employed pretty much immediately following graduation in PR.
That said I’m not convinced her folks aren’t helping out a bit with the Manhattan rent but it is a shoebox with 2 other roommates, full of Ikea furniture that her mom assembled
She’s a great kid/young lady, I’m just not convinced she couldn’t have gotten there without all of that.
@SincererLove you can apply to them all early action. It’s not binding.
If I remember correctly, you can change the common app essay up to two times… It isn’t straight forward and you’d have to have all of the schools you want essay one to go to lined out, then send. Replace first essay with second essay, line those schools up, then send. As most common app schools have supplemental essays it is probably best to target the school with those essays.
I think Common App changed so one can edit the essays as many times as you want.