Dd has made the spontaneous decision to see if she can DE in bio 2nd summer session. No idea if there are any openings. I’ll call in the morning.
I do have fears for Dd. She has 3 autoimmune disorders. She was so sick last May that she couldn’t even sit up. Stress triggers flares. I just pray she will be able to cope with the stress.
@2muchquan. That video was phenomenal. Most of the ones I have watched have been pretty awful.
Brag Sheet- tell me more. Is there an actual sheet with questions on it or is it just a list of your child’s accomplishments?
Loved the Zeemee video! I haven’t seen others, but very interesting tool if done well and I think many kids could make a compelling video if they put the time into it. After all we do record and take pictures of everything these days.
S will likely get his main application completed before school begins, or shortly after, but the honors college apps with their tough essay prompts (at least tough for S) will probably be down to the wire. For us, nothing will be sent until after the NMC announces cutoff score as NMF potential plays into affordability at some of the schools.
And payment is not until the app is sent.
@2muchquan yeah her video was phenomenal (as was she). As someone with good video editing & photography chops, I’m fairly sure I could make a solid video for my D’s. I just run up against the not tooting one’s own horn disability that I seem to suffer from. There is some serious, professional-level tooting going on that video :D.
Speaking of which, I have to go photograph people in the neighborhood who have rescue animals-my assignment this week is called “Generous Hands”. I can start at home, we have a rescued cat, a rescued dog, and a rescued gerbil :).
@MotherOfDragons I have a rescue-kid! :))
I know what you mean about horn-tooting…neither D or I are good at it. The whole “I’ll lead by example” thing, I think. Can’t afford to be that way during application season, I’m afraid. Time to push that comfort zone, especially with competitive scholarships. Go kick some ass! It’s not like you have to lie or anything, or even embellish. Just set it to a nice jam.
I mentioned D will be doing some art supplements (piano pieces) for several schools (non-music major). Those videos will NOT be highly produced, but will go nicely in a ZeeMee format I think. I don’t know…it’s definitely not for everyone…just another tool for the toolbox!
Had time to check out ZeeMee for a few minutes. I could see this type of supplementary stuff being the " wave of the future". I just checked their partner list and none of the schools my kid is thinking about takes it. Yes!! Less stuff to do 
I am a little concerned about future applicants being subjected to this kind of supplemental info though, as it may lead to picking the " prettiest" type of applicants. Right now, the schools don’t have a lot to judge you on except stats/scores/letters/awards etc. Unless you interview they really don’t have a way of judging your looks, style, etc.
@RightCoaster Agreed. The trend could have its un-intended consequences. How can a school distinguish from a student made original video from a professionally made/polished one? I am sure the visual impacts are different.
@SincererLove I think it depends. Son started his app to Georgetown. Part I is the profile which takes 10 minutes to complete and then you are directed to pay an app fee. After you pay the app fee, it says it will email instructions for completing the app.
@dfbdfb I’m not a fan of facebook but in a crisis, it is a very effective tool. Glad to hear your friends are safe. Congrats on the successful appeal.
@2muchquan I have no experience with common app but I believe since the transcripts / LOR are sent in directly we don’t need to wait for those before submitting.
@jeepgirl Brag Sheet is a thing that some schools have in Naviance (which is a thing that some schools have for managing college stuff, LoRs, and more). If you don’t have Naviance, you might still want to think about whether your kid will provide a resume or some other form of information about themselves to the teachers and GC writing recommendations. We talked about Brag Sheet questions around page 424.
Move along. Nothing happening here. 
Are you guys ready for this… SENIOR pictures time!
Because DD will be away attending a summer internship for 7 weeks, we decided to have her take her senior portrait photo shoot before leaving for her summer intern. We thought we will get it done now so she can concentrate on getting her college apps done when she returns home before school starts.
On one hand I felt a little sentimental for pushing the timing of this process forward. On the other hand, I am glad we are doing it now. It took us several evenings this week to shop for clothes and accessories. Today, she had a photo session for 5 hours. But the photographer told me that they ran out of time today and will have to schedule another session next week. After they are done with photo shoot, we will have to sit down to view all of the photos and make selections. I went to the same photographer for DS14 and she didn’t spend nearly this much time on his senior photo.
The thought of DD17 going college is starting to feel real! :-S
@4beardolls Is this a photo for the school yearbook, or is it a family picture? It sounds a little more elaborate than what goes on around here. Interesting!
DS already got a voice mail (@ home #) regarding senior portrait. I didn’t expect that they will call within a week of school ending. I believe it’s for year book (DS doesn’t know)
The senior photography/graduate portrait session is for the graduating senior but not for school year book. The photographer generally take many pictures at various locations and background (both indoor and outdoor). Some students will include their sports or music instrument in some of the pictures. Most of graduating seniors around here will have their portrait done sometime in their senior year. (It costs a lot of money when it’s all said and done.)
I thought everyone does it like rite of passage thing. Maybe not? (I am an immigrant and didn’t have one done.)
Hm, there are only 1 or 2 schools D is thinking about that are “partners” with ZeeMee. I’m still not clear on whether an art supplement makes sense for her as a prospective engineering major. I guess it really depends on the school. Some places seem to really welcome supplements as a way to get to know more facets of your kid, and some schools have very forbidding sounding language regarding them that make it seem like if you’re not ready to be shown in the Met, don’t bother. Guess we will have to weigh each case carefully and maybe get some input from GC on it.
@4beardolls Hm, no I don’t think our HS has senior portraits like that - they do nice ones for the yearbook, but I don’t think there’s a separate session. It sounds nice though!
Just to add for clarity. The Sr. photography is done by private photographers and not through school or affiliated with school.
@4beardolls No elaborate photo shoots here. But, high school isn’t something anyone in any of our extended families feel strongly connected to after graduation. I don’t think any of my nieces or nephews have done anything special. Their graduation announcements have included pictures of them wearing sweatshirts of their college choice.
I can see how some people might want to mark it as a right of passage, though.
(Our budget is a family member with a camera.)
Senior pictures are a thing here @4beardolls. I’ve been looking at photographers and need to get a session booked this week for fall. Looking forward to spending less time and money than we did for DD14!
@thermom We do have specific requirements for the yearbook photo, but that one will be part of a package arranged independently outside if school, like when you do wedding or family photo sessions. It’s crazy, and I’m not sure why everyone does it, except rite of passage. When I was a senior, everyone exchanged wallet size photos with the classmates, writing “I can’t believe we’re done!” or whatever on the back. With social media, it seems like seniors don’t exchange anymore, but they still get sent out with grad announcements and parents typically order portraits to display at home. We decided to have them done with our kids since we don’t have good portraits after they turned 4 or so.
Senior pictures exist here too, but nothing elaborate. The school has a package with a local photography studio and the kids go in during the summer to take a picture wearing either the “drape” for girls or a tux for guys. Usually just a few photos so you can choose the best, and the picture goes into the yearbook. D will probably end up getting the slightly more expensive package that includes a picture in the graduation cap and gown with fake diploma.
Some kids do the more extensive photo shoot at a meaningful location with their instruments or sporting equipment, but it is very uncommon. At D’s school, most kids put their senior portrait as their FB profile photo for a while, but the pictures aren’t really shared except on grad invites.