That reminds me! I need to go online and update my DD14 school healthcare info, before I get hit again, in the fall, with that awful healthcare fee!! :!!
Question regarding an EC listed on application.
One of my son’s interests outside of school is snowboarding. We’ve been season pass holders for the last 10 years at a mountain in New England and get about 25-35 days in per season. He doesn’t really compete, only sometimes when there is a more casual fun event going on at the mountain. It’s a great way for us to spend time together, get outside, get out of town, etc. How does he mention it without sounding like a snobby spoiled brat? He wants to convey that he is actively involved in the sport and not just a kid who goes once in a while. Thanks for any tips.
@RightCoaster It sounds like your son has a hobby that he is passionate about, to spend 8-10% of his time (not just free-time) snowboarding is quite a commitment. I’d spin it as a hobby, and the fact he doesn’t feel the need to ‘compete’ to feel validated is not a bad thing, either. If he ever ‘organizes’ trips with friends, or teaches other people how to snowboard, all the better.
@RightCoaster, have him list it as a recreational sport. If he has to discuss it have him talk up the exercise, the love of the outdoors, and the family time. My older D skied and ski raced. It was a big part of her life. She learned a lot about time management because a day spent on the mountain is a full day. She had to have all of her school work done to be able to ski. It gave her planning skills. All kids are different and yours was able to have the wonderful experience of snowboarding. He doesn’t have to come off as spoiled or snobby, he can sound appreciative and respectful of nature.
OK, thank you.
I wasn’t sure if listing that he spends his winter weekends on the slopes as cool, or snooty. I think it’s cool. He’s not snooty at all. He’s certainly lucky and fortunate, but does not come across as a snooty spoiled kid. He does use a lot of his free time doing it.
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@262mom I also worry about my DD asking a teacher that doesn’t really like her for a LOR. My daughter says her AP Lang teacher has a reputation for writing great letters, but I know my daughter is not one of her favorite students. I keep telling her to ask her AP French teacher who 1) really likes my DD and 2) my DD is the top student in the class.
Hi all. Catching up on the thread.
I’m in DC for work this week so I went and looked at Georgetown since it is one of the school’s my DD is applying to. It is gorgeous! Now being from the West Coast, we don’t have the history or architecture like they do here and I am amazed and awed by it (even just downtown where my job is I think it’s so beautiful and much cleaner than SF!). I wasn’t able to take a guided tour and school has already let out so there weren’t many students. They were setting up different areas for graduation ceremonies so there were some tents and chairs that otherwise wouldn’t be there. But it was just so pretty. I went to the bookstore and got my DD a t-shirt (she currently has a UCLA t-shirt and a Columbia sweatshirt and Stanford shorts). I may go check out Howard after work, at least to get another t-shirt and snap a few pics 
Vaccines: Her doctor mentioned at her last visit she will need a meningitis vaccine before she heads off to college next year.
LOR/Counselor: Our school does not have Naviance. My DD has been thinking about what teachers she is going to ask for her LOR and I believe they get those when school starts in the Fall. Hopefully they have no issues getting them uploaded to the CA. She hasn’t even met with her counselor yet, as that is not done at her school until early Senior year (crazy, I know). I have sent her a few emails and called her once with some small issues so she at least knows my name (and my DDs). She seems very nice so I’m hoping we won’t have any issues with getting everything completed on time, especially since DD is applying ED to Columbia.
Health Insurance: I’m not sure if our plan is adequate, but if it is I plan to get a waiver. Someone mentioned they had to switch to a PPO so that may be an option as I currently have an HMO; I’d have to weigh out the costs and whether it is worth it to pay more and get the insurance waived or not. DD is most likely going out of state so not sure if my insurance will work (even if she stays in-state she’ll likely be in Southern CA not the Bay Area so not sure if that will work either). I’m assuming the cost of this is factored into the total cost of attendance and may be partially covered by financial aid? Not really sure but it’s definitely something that will need to be looked at.
Howard is very, very urban, @MSHopeful, and totally different than Gtown. It is an HBCU with a unique feel, but with school out for the summer you likely won’t see the great diversity of students there. The bookstore is on the main road, Georgia Ave. If you want pics, you will need to walk up to the main area of the campus where the administration building and classrooms are. Dorms are spread out a bit. If Founders Library is open, it might be worth peeking in there to get a sense of the history. If you are not very comfortable in the city, then Howard at night might seem a bit daunting. It was to me on my first visit!
There is also Catholic U, American and George Washington in DC. The Naval Academy (well worth the look if you have never been to a service academy) and Johns Hopkins are a short ride away in/near Baltimore. DC and Philly are my favorite college visit cities as we can hit so many in one visit. Enjoy!
I just popped in on this thread. We have 2 in college (one at Howard, one at an Ivy), one graduating high school in 2017, and a few thereafter! Glancing at the last few posts, I am now reminded of all son class of '17 needs to get going with. Here we go…again.
@RightCoaster I guess if it were my/mine, I might try to understand what it is he wants to show by including it. Is it that he is well rounded, does things outside of school, is active or is it wanting to share the passion he has for it and what he gets out of it? That might influence how it is is referenced in an app and how it shows in the common app, versus what other schools look for could vary as well. Is it something he wants to expand upon or a possible topic to use in responding to an essay prompt? Seems to me there are a lot of ways it could be incorporated, some which could be advantageous and some which could look like filler if not careful.
I believe on the common app you stack rank your EC’s/work experience so think about what else is being included. I think you also have the choice to expand on one. Some apps what more of a narrative on EC’s either as a supplement to the Common App or as part of their own app so there is flexibility there as well.
To me, anything that is sincere, and presented well, is not going to come across snooty. That is like saying a kid who has a passion for travel, and has been lucky enough to be able to travel and dives into that somehow on their app, is spoiled simply because their parents were in a position to facilitate the travel.
Of course, I haven’t actually done an app with my kid yet (skids mom did theirs) so what do I really know. LOL!
We have Naviance and have a good bit of data in there but it still isn’t really that helpful for reaches where kids who all have the same stats and 1 gets in and 4 don’t. It also isn’t helpful if you are chasing merit aid. It really was only helpful for us to be sure we had some good safeties that were a good fit academically. It was interesting to see which schools we have had a few or no kids get into too. For some reason our school has never had anyone get into Stanford for example.
We have a national health insurance plan so it works pretty much everywhere. We still have to pay the health fee for the college clinic which is a few hundred dollars per year but they also won’t charge our insurance a co-pay when our son uses their facilities so that’s a decent trade I guess. We have to fill out a waiver form though or get hit with the full $2000 school policy. A lot of schools send that to the kids who many of whom don’t realize it’s really important to get filled out on time. I know a number of people who got stuck paying it for the first year because the kid never filled out the form. I’ve told my kid he is dead meat if he doesn’t email me any insurance or financial aid forms the same day they arrive to his email box 
On the topic of health insurance and taking care of medical issues: Last summer S went to a summer program for six weeks. During that time he had to fill a prescription. Luckily there was a national drug store chain and he logged on to our account, filled the prescription, took the train and picked it up. I was so proud of him. I’ve looked into our PPO and our coverage is pretty comprehensive nationally. Crossing my fingers that nothing changes.
On LOR: His English teacher mentioned that kids are already asking for recommendations for next year. Ugh.
We have Naviance as well at DS school. We find it helpful to a point, we don’t obsess over it. My son looks whenever a new parameter (gpa, test score, or new school de la jour) comes into play. I find it helpful for son in a sobering way when he sees the reality of elite reach schools are just that…3 of 4 denials even for the kids with the very best stats. It’s a good prep to the whole notion of shooting for the moon in a couple instances, but being well grounded on the mantra of LOVE THY SAFETY! Also Naviance is very helpful to see what lift ED may give for shooting for the moon attempts…Cornell admits, for instance, go way way up at the school for ED.
@ReturningFavor I just got back from Howard. It is indeed very different than Georgetown but I felt completely comfortable. I live in Richmond so used to an urban environment. I didn’t get to see the library (darn) but I did get a few pics and was able to make it to the bookstore before it closed and got a t-shirt for DD. Howard is kind of new on her radar once I pointed out she could possibly get a full ride with her stats and still be in DC/East Coast so it’s her new ‘safety’ per se. She hadn’t really considered a HBCU but once she started researching it she was intrigued. How does your child like Howard? I’ve heard nothing but good things from students about the school (except for the administration which seems to be an issue). I wish I had more time to explore nearby areas and more schools but since it’s a work trip I’m only here until tomorrow evening and worked all week so probably won’t be able to see more unless they send me back.
@MSHopeful , D will have to tour Washington DC colleges herself when she goes here this summer. Any must see and do for G Town?
Also she is going to go visit Emory and G Tech when she is in Atlanta for FBLA in June. Any tips? She possibly will go with a friend. For both cities, I suppose that she can take public transit to get to the schools.
I am in shock! The school actually approved S17’s PE waiver for next year. The kid will actually get to take one classi in HS, as a true elective finally, that isn’t music or language! Very happy for him. And while part of me wishes that class was going towards something more academic, it is senior year, the schedule is rigorous enough and I’m glad he gets to take something fun for once (Theater Tech) and it does supplement theater tech job opportunities during college so that’s a good thing. It does also back up his EC’s nicely so that can’t hurt.
I really really didn’t think they’d approve it. A much better use of his time IHMO. I really hated the idea of 2 periods of his day, for one semester senior year, being PE!
@2muchquan – to answer your question about Naviance & CA syncing…I don’t think so. AFAIK, our school uses Naviance to upload LORs (and I do not know what else) to the CA, but I do not believe there is any communication between the two systems at the student level.
@RightCoaster – there are only ten spaces on CA for all activities, sports, volunteer & jobs, so your son may find himself running out of space. The thing I thought was the biggest challenge was adequately describing the activity, and then coming up with a title/award, etc to fill in the second line. Sometimes one was just a team member, not the captain, but w/o something on that second line, the white space looks obvious.
I should probably log into CA and stop offering advice that is two years old, as the CA format may have changed.
On the topic of the day, health insurance: I will just give everyone a warning on what to look out for if your kid IS covered under your plan while at school. My D11’s university tuition is set up so that the school insurance (about $1200/semester I think) is automatically included. Each semester she has to go wait in a line before the deadline with proof that she has coverage. Luckily when she was late one year (by just a day), they did send a refund, but they probably don’t have to.
Okay, now that I’m caught up more I see others have already brought this up! Another thing D11’s school has is a much cheaper plan you can buy if you have insurance. This one just covers standard sorts of things at the student health center, probably with a co-pay. We’ve never used it since she’s local and has stayed with her same doc. But I think it could be nice for an OOS kid, then they don’t need to drive around an unfamiliar city looking for a doctor’s office when they have the flu.
@eandesmom Sorry there’s so much stress for you and S right at the end of the year. But congrats on the PE waiver! My D17 and S18 will both be doing “online PE” over the summer. D got credit for her martial arts, so between that and the “online aerobic walking” (ha!), she’ll get away with never having had an in-school PE class.
@262mom I agree that “liking” is a strong consideration on which teacher to ask. To me that’s sort of another way to say that a student has much stronger relationships with some than with others. When I go to teacher conferences, I can certainly tell which teachers really know my kid(s) and not just know them but “get” them. (I’m tempted to say “grok” since we’ve been talking SF!) Other teachers may say that kid is really great but there’s just not that same oomph. If kids aren’t sure who to pick, I’d ask them “which teachers would you be sure to visit if you came back to your HS after a year of college?”
@snoozn sometimes it’s the little things. I’m just shocked they approved it. He did 2 team sports, one season each but still. It bodes well for S19 though. He will have one semester of PE, I think in 2nd semester, but it’s a pretty fun senior off campus rec class that the kids look forward to for 3 years.
Reward I guess for also having to take Senior Civics the first part of the year lol.
Part of me thinks we shouldn’t bother with the ACT again but the other part is kind of what do we have to loose…other than the next 4 weeks. I am sure that isn’t helping. I really am not trying to pressure him, I think it’s mostly self induced or peer induced as well, it’s 2nd semester junior year but I’m going to try to really back off even more.
Well, when priority deadlines for certain scholarship programs (not to mention ED/EA) are 1 December, and in some cases even earlier, one must.