I shall now go and create a tab labeled “Purgatory”. I think it should probably be purple.
D17 will argue that it should be called “NFW”.
@CA1543 are you finding that some schools say they won’t allow double majors? Where can I find that information?
If the school falls in the “NFW” category, no way I would include it on any list.
(Ole Miss would fall into that category for dd. They only have 1 Russian professor and no way dd wants anything to do with her. She is the prof that told her she would have to start at their 101 level. Dd was so insulted that she would not attend Ole Miss for anything. Ironically, the prof at USC, after watching the video dd entered into the international Olympiad, told her via email she was surprised her tutor doesn’t have her rated at a higher level and that she would be in their advanced levels.)
But keeping schools in mind that are arbitrarily eliminated is prudent bc sometimes schools are arbitrarily kept and “application remorse” hits and they wish they had applied to a different list of schools instead.
@itsgettingreal17 I was shocked when reading one school’s website that stated kids could not double major in 2 languages. I don’t remember the school now, but I was shocked. I don’t understand the rationale.
@MotherOfDragons here’s hoping your D18 kicks butt on her final and secures her spot in the IB. So much pressure!
For anyone who may be curious…CB will not be releasing SAT II scores until they release SAT I scores from the May exam, so June 15th.
Now I am ticked. There is NO reason for this change since the SAT II format did not change.
Just had our school’s Junior College Planning session and I want to say that because the fine citizens of this thread and CC I was pleasantly well aware of what needs to get done, and have a decent understanding of the college app process. Thank you all !!
My biggest take away from our session was getting alot of the essay stuff done this summer, especially if you plan to ED/EA any schools. My son17 does not have a super packed summer so I think he should be able to get fairly organized and be ready for the application season early. That’s going to be our goal.
@MotherOfDragons I like the NFW category, at least you know not to waste any time on it. My Fiske 16 college guide is basically highlighted with NFW across 99% of the pages, ha. It is somewhat refreshing to pin your hopes on a select few and just go with it. We don’t need no stinking binder, white board or folder in this house!!
@CT1417 I agree that it is ridiculous to wait on the SAT 2 scores. Now the kids won’t know how they did until after the June 4 administration. CB is not particularly concerned about customer service, are they?
Awesome news @dfbdfb !
@2muchquan We’re maintaining a secondary list similar to what @Mom2aphysicsgeek mentioned. I’m noting the reason(s) why each school slid so we don’t forget…
@MotherOfDragons Best wishes to your dd today. That kind of pressure stinks :(. Purple for purgatory :))
We know lots of kids at Temple (and Drexel too, for that matter). My only concern would be with off-campus housing.
Yesterday’s QOTD re compromises-----nothing yet since our sorting was by program (Arabic and IR) and finances (high EFC which we do not want to pay). D knows that she may need to compromise in number of Arabic courses (ideally 8 semesters above advanced) or in IR focus. Dh has said to me, not to D, that we could increase the amount we’d pay over what she was told (the COA of our state flagship) if she were to be accepted at a very good fit.
I wish we’d just learn those freaking state cutoffs for NMSF already >:P
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Udel offers a triple language major! Both girls have lots of friends doing that, with a very wide variety of languages.
Students do have to enter with a lot of AP or DE credits to make it work, though.
Congrats to your D @dfbdfb and good wishes for yours @MotherOfDragons !
Ah, I was speed reading last night and missed the QOTD lol (better answer before a new one crops up!)
In terms of what compromises we’re making when deciding on the list… Well, to be honest I wish we had more of a list to begin with! D’s initial feeling is that she doesn’t want to be more than a day’s (long) drive from home. I’m defining that at roughly 400 mile radius (or, basically, the distance I am willing to drive to come get her if she’s having a crisis.) So geography is the main one - it probably means eliminating what could be some great options for her.
D was feeling fragile last night. It was the HS “awards night” where they give out gold and silver certificates to the kids with the highest and second highest average in each subject. I know she was really hoping to get something in AP Chem and Precalc and instead wound up with silver in APUSH - which is not a subject she particularly enjoys. Worse, is that the kid who won the silver in AP Chem is a kid she loathes (she calls him “the grade grubber”) who apparently spends class time playing on his phone and copies all his homework from the kid who won the AP Chem gold.
D is usually pretty easy going about academic stuff - she does what she has to but she’s not one of these kids who is super motivated to do the most possible at school. The lowest final grade she’s ever gotten on a report card is a 94 and her cumulative average is 97 by doing the basics (showing up, paying attention, doing the homework/assignments.) She doesn’t really study - she’s always been able to get by without it. But last night on the drive home there were tears. She knows she probably missed those other awards by a tenth or even a few hundredths of a point. And maybe the grade grubber cheats (a lot of kids do.) Or maybe he goes home and works his a$$ off to make up for the “cool kid” persona he wears at school. I told D there was no way to know, and all she can do is take care of things on her own end. Did she do everything possible to squeeze every last tenth out of every grade? No. That’s just not the kind of student she is. But she has her integrity, and she spent time with her friends, and she did ECs she enjoys, and her teachers love her. I told her it doesn’t really make sense to get upset about an award she didn’t even really think about until she saw a kid she doesn’t like receive it.
She was feeling better this morning, but it is making me think about the kind of school environment she will most likely thrive in down the road. We need to find a place for “laid back intellectuals” where relatively high stats doesn’t necessarily translate to high competition. I’m not sure how her burgeoning interest in engineering is going to fit in with that. Any suggestions?
@MotherOfDragons I would love to see a Pinterest board dedicated to your Binder of Destiny. 
I just “hide” the rows or columns on my spreadsheet of over analysis so that the ones taken “off” are still there. I also have a backup larger list that is a hidden tab entirely that preserves some additional data. I put one back on the list today using that sheet lol.
Not that I love the school but it’s mostly affordable. I had to balance out the 3 I love that there is no way the numbers will work in any scenario cuts I made.
NFW
Purgatory
There are a few schools I’ve mentioned that S would put into those categories.
@thermom I’ll try to do one and link it here someday 
I look for terms like “collaborative learning”, and I see it come up a lot with regards to Swarthmore, but I also have read that Swarthmore kids do a LOT of work, so I’m not sure that counts as “laid back”.
Same with Harvey Mudd, esp. for engineering-very strong honors code, very strong commitment to women, but wow do they work their butts off.
@RightCoaster I am afraid to mark out any of the colleges in Fiske because what if she suddenly wants to go to an all-girls Jesuit school with 50 girls in the upper midwest and major in music?
I just put a lot of removable sticky tabs everywhere. The books are starting to look like fluffy rainbow porcupines.
My first band in HS: Fluffy Rainbow Porcupines
If it were me, I would look at the secondary state school honors programs and jesuit or private universities with strong engineering. A flagship, even in honors might not be laid back enough for her to thrive and still be a bigger fish, unless it is a lesser known and smaller one and some of those could be really good fits. Many of those programs are pretty cutthroat. What is on her list right now? What type of engineering?
Just my depressing thought of the day…nothing is worse than when your child corresponds with depts and their responses include recommendations for other schools to consider (instead of theirs), especially when every single school they recommend is out of budget. 
Fwiw, for those interested in language acquisition, UMD is apparently a good school for that focus.
@thermom One of my selling points to D16 for UK was academic diversity.
She is currently at a small private high school, where kids think they aren’t good enough because they “only” got a 31 or 32 on their ACT. Life can get skewed in The Bubble.
Now, having said that, if money weren’t an issue, she’d be going to a selective high pressure university. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say for sure, but my gut tells me it would not have been the best environment for her. Maybe I’m rationalizing because we can’t afford it? I don’t know.
High school definitely had its bumps, as in needs therapy, from the high pressure and competition to be the best of the best.
@thermom, your D sounds like a friends S15. Everything came pretty easily and he really didn’t have to study much (classic gifted kid). When he started college, his grades were not all that good because he never learned how to learn. Hopefully your D will kick it up a notch to get that gold certificate next year, and in the process also develop study skills that will serve her well in college.
FWIW, I saw when I registered S for the SAT subject test in May that scores wouldn’t be released until mid June. It doesn’t impact whether we signed up for another test because he is taking the new SAT on June 4.
D15 is kind of annoyed because her college changed the rules last year so students could only get up to 2 majors and 1 minor (or 1 major and 2 minors). No more 2 majors and 2 minors, which she was counting on. But 2 majors is OK at her school. Cal Poly will not let you do 2 majors within the same college. S could not get 2 different CS majors, but he could get a CS major and Math major.