@payn4ward Do you happen to know if, now that the essay is ‘fully editable’ at all times, that you can change the prompt that is being answered? So, can you submit an essay for prompt A to one school, and then for prompt B to another school? Or once you’ve selected the prompt you have to stick with it?
(not sure why you’d do this, but I’d like to over-analyze anyway)
@paynforward Thank you for that link. Those are good changes. I had to learn to navigate the CA as guidance counselor and help ds get everything uploaded correctly. Easier to use is always better!
I wish there were a couple of schools that used the CA vs their own system. I have a strong dislike for the self-reporting system that some schools use in place of transcripts. It makes it very difficult for my kids to navigate since their courses are not traditional and easily quantified in a drop down menu box.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek which schools don’t require a transcript?
@itsgettingreal17 We have encountered self-reporting transcripts at several different schools. NCSU and several FL publics stick out in my memory.
http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/ugrad/ssar.html
https://admissions.ncsu.edu/newsletter/2013/09/05/new-nc-state-application-procedures/
Students do have to ultimately submit an official transcript, but the SRAR is a filter. (I am not positive, but I am pretty sure that they use the SRAR to generate a pt system for classifying students.) It makes it hard for my kids like my dd b/c it is impossible to classify courses like her French studies via their system. No, it is not AP. No, it is not DE. But, she was recently told by a French high school French teacher (as in teaches high school French in France) that her French composition is on par with what she receives from her French high school students. The system doesn’t allow for anything nontraditional.
@2muchquan I don’t know the answer.
I don’t feel motivated to investigate the answer to the question. 
The consultant I talked with yesterday graduated from an Ivy league school.
@srk2017 I’d charge you the low low price of $10k. lol
So I woke up at 6 am this morning feeling like I needed to do some research.
So, the Binder of Destiny now has three categories for scholarships-automatic scholarship based on test scores, competitive scholarships that are full tuition or full ride that you have to apply for, and NMF/NMSF scholarships.
The last tab shall remain un-looked-at until they announce in Sept, but I started tabbing some of the colleges on those first two lists for D17 to look at in the Princeton Review book. I have the Fiske book as well, but it’s not set up as clearly and easily for tabbing.
Some criteria were: East Coast no farther north than MA, co-ed, more than 2k students, not in the middle of nowhere.
I have 12 tabbed, and one school that’s on my list that’s not in the book. I’ll share my list next year after she gets in to one :).
So, that’ll give her a place to start vetoing, at least. Six are private, the rest are public universities. I used the Yola site someone mentioned on here as the scholarship list.
@MotherOfDragons what is behind each tab for each school?
@itsgettingreal17 they are little sticky tabs in the book for each school, so she can read about them.
The Binder of Destiny has separator folders for each section, like test scores, report cards, awards, scholarships
I realize I wasn’t clear about tabs, lol. I’m on my mobile now while younger d is at the eye doc, so my typing is so slow now, argh
@srk2017 Seriously? It’s time to give up the spy business and become a college consultant, especially since writing is my super power. 
Is this on the east coast? Is this in line with the rest of the country? I’m aghast at the price tag.
I worked through high school and college waiting tables at a nice dinner house. I lived off campus so it was especially nice that we got at least one free meal per shift and often were allowed to take home desserts. And tips were good.
Are the scholarships in the Binder of Destiny given by colleges @MotherOfDragons?
Spyboy was turned down for a law mentor program :(. He has a busy enough summer but he was looking forward to this.
So I’m currently reading The Price of Privilege for my moms’ book club. Very fascinating book that I think many of you would appreciate. It’s about how parental pressure and material advantage are creating a generation of dicommected and unhappy kids.
Hey, I have a kid attending full-ride and people automatically assume I am confused and don’t know the difference between full tuition and full ride bc apparently learning about dept and competitive scholarships takes a magic power. (Nothing like being accused that it isn’t possible.) Think that qualifies me as a consultant?
@Agentninetynine and @Mom2aphysicsgeek We should team up and open a national college admissions consulting business. We can undercut the competition and make a killing.
^ Cut me a killer deal and my DD will be your first customer.
Our essay reader is $200/hour. We are grandfathered in at a lower rate until fall. Still lots more than I bill as a contract technical writer. She went to Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.
She billed 2.3 hours to review 6 essays of about 200 words each. But, that was only a one time review. DH and I reviewed the essays a couple times after the consultant did and DS revised them (and one summer program increased the allowable length significantly).
I’ve talked to moms who used her who said she suggested entirely different directions for essays that ended up working a lot better. Their kids went through multiple review cycles. I guess $200/hour could add up to the amount @srk2017 was quoted if she edited a whole bunch of essays multiple times.
She also does general advising about college selection, testing choices, class and EC choices, etc. I’ve asked her occasional strategy questions, and she bills much less than an hour to answer them. She has free webinars online for general advice.
I’m in @itsgettingreal17. I’ve been helping friend’s kids so why not make some $, right? But how am I going to get that Ivy degree…
@Mom2aphysicsgeek: Anyone paying the bills certainly knows the difference. Definitely join us!
@Agentninetynine - No, it’s from west coast. @Ynotgo - $200/hr seems to be reasonable. I think local rate is around $150/hr (NorCal). yes, with plans to apply around 15 colleges, hours will add up quickly.
@Agentninetynine …I don’t think you need any Ivy degree! Just get a few success stories under your belt maybe?
The guy who did the presentation at Ds school has a degree from a small regional/directional school here in Texas. He charges around $3k for the full package of advising, essay reading, etc. We are not using him but I know lots who are.
@ynotgo. $200 an hour? That seems fair.
I can’t remember how many college essays I’ve read over the years. Most of them terrible, to be honest. But kids in our rural community schools are not taught how to write, including my own. My high achieving TAG D was placed in regular english in 9th grade. Thankfully the teacher was a hard ass nun who assigned writing every day. And it was graded (covered in red pen) the next day. This imo is the only way to teach writing. You have to write and rewrite. Over and over.