Days absent are shown on our school district’s transcript, with separate columns for total and unexcused absences (the latter being a subset of the former). As far as I can tell, an absence is having been marked absent from any class period during a day, so being out of school for an hour and a half for a doctors appointment counts as an absence (though not an unexcused one).
Intro
I am a single mom to D17 and S20. I am stuck in a big donut hole with an EFC of 34K and a budget around 15-20K. We are hunting merit. We are in Oregon.
D17 is one of those kids with a raging drive to learn. She pours herself into her studies… school and otherwise. She is happiest when she is challenged to the point of almost breaking. It wears me out to watch her. She is planning to major in math, and either double-major or get multiple minors. The extra subjects might be physics, astrophysics, cs, finance, economics, or ?. She’s interested in everything, so she needs a school where she can try many different possible areas of study before narrowing her focus. She has great grades and test scores, and is ranked 1 of 600, but no major awards or anything like that. We are counting on NMF.
S20 is more of garden variety smart kid. He brings home mostly A’s, but if given the choice, would rather not go to school at all. He spends a lot of time gaming (more than I would like). But he is also interested in music, and spends a lot of time “composing” in music software. He has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up. I predict a much simpler college search for him; I think he would be very happy at either U of Oregon or Oregon State.
I know I have missed posts I wanted to comment on but…this is all I’ve got!
I am quite sure we will never see the Yale book but it sounds pretty stinking cool!
@RightCoaster I am so sorry for the loss, how incredibly hard!
It’s an odd time when teammates and friends start to verbally commit. Perhaps the 2nd kid got a nice $$ offer that really made sense for his family? Some kids choose the sport, at any school that wants them. Some kids choose the school and will drop the sport or go club, to get the school. Some really lucky kids get both.
@srk2017 French Laundry huh? Does it include anything off the wine list? YUM!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek ugh! I had just added Temple to the list…
@carachel2 I feel your pain. I’ve been laid off twice since 2008. Stable for the last 6 years but it really really put a dent in the college savings. I’m not sure that is horrible planning or just…life.
I agree, I too felt the Greek System brought a very large school down to size. I am still close to those women today, we have dinner together every other week! It saddens me that not one out of four is interested when 3 out of the 4 parents involved were, and had very positive experiences.
Kids alone
Forgot to answer that one! We have not done it yet. Until recently I was not comfortable with it at all. However, while it would not be my preference, it might be ok for a night. S19 would just play video games, I worry far more about S17’s friends. Except I don’t. They are good kids and respectful and I don’t honestly think there would be an issue. Well, other than the fact S would leave my kitchen a train wreck. He has mad cooking skills but not so much on the cleaning side. Still, if I can get coverage so I don’t have to put my kid in the position of saying “no” to anyone else, I will.
Mom to D12 and twins D17/S17. Mid size private high school in the Bay Area. D17 is undecided/stem and S17 is business/econ. Both good students with very good test scores. S17 is leaning towards ED… we will see. D17 has no idea where she would like to go…Likes mid sized suburban schools. Currently has about 4-5 school, all high matches to reaches. She needs to cast a much wider net. Trying to find more safeties/matches for her. We have visited many schools on both coasts. Full pay… husband will work till 90. Not looking forward to doing this again x 2.
No, not going to give our kid alcohol. She hasn’t had experience dating or drinking and isn’t particularly concerned with either. So, we won’t push them. We will have some talks. Maybe a trip to an AI in Mexico when she turns 18 to observe her when it is legal and freely available.
Birth control - yes probably since it helps with cramps and acne and the interest in boys might change with maturity and better options.
@curiositycat333 CSU is a safety for most yet super high stats kids in our district choose it over Mines and Boulder for Engineering.
Intro- We are obviously in Colorado too. NPCs of tippy top full need schools put our EFC around 30K making us a bit less than half pay which we could swing if admitted. I wonder if you can get a loan from a full need no loan school to help with EFC. That would make it easier.
U Nebraska - I find this school intriguing for the IB and NM scholarships and for the Raikes program, but you don’t hear much about it on CC.
@nw2this IKN about Colorado but most states I know about it’s perfectly legal to server your own teen in your own house as long as they stay home till it’s out of their system.
So if I interpret what you say about CSU is that is a good place to go for Engineering? But not necessarily for other majors?
Will need to keep an eye out if either Colorado school comes for a vist to our H.S.
@endesmom Yup doubt we would see that Yale book either. But but the amount of paper U of Chicago keeping sending us, they must think he’s a good match. 
I don’t think they know his GPA… must be going off his SAT II Math & PSAT scores.
Misc info –
Ds’s report card shows tardy/absences but I don’t think his transcript does. No ranking either - 100 point GPA scale and the profile indicates numbers of students at each GPA level – typically only a few at the top GPAs but could be 8-10 with a 97 GPA & another 12-15 with a 96 - all unweighted. This profile goes through junior yr only & that’s what goes to colleges but of course students can get updated transcripts and mid-year reports with their grades - but the official “Profile” school chart is not recalculated. Not sure if GCs indicated in their LoRs what percentile the student is in.
I am making the BoD – but @Gator88NE’s folder with the Chinese take out menu might be more used by DS - think the binder & the master info chart to track college process & timing, importance of various pieces (interviews, visits, deadlines, etc.) are helping me stay somewhat sane - at least so far - but still too many schools I think on the list - 18 or so at last count. Need to visit at least 4 but likely will see 6 or more before submitting applications - fingers crossed some EAs come through - doubt DS will want any EDs but too soon to tell. Are your kids likely to apply ED??
@eandesmom – your physics kids wants to be a screenwriter - wow that’s pretty different - love the breadth of interest.
Our School District is a large suburban public with lots of clubs and strong programs but APs are only available starting junior year - so DS will finish with 8 or so (Econ might count 2x & BC calc will have an AB score). I was shocked a few pages back that GATech boasts that its average students have 10 APs/college level courses coming in!!
So sorry to hear about illnesses affecting some of our 2017 kids – hopefully with this amazing parent group they will land in good places with access to the care they need - thank goodness a number of schools do have outstanding medical facilities on campus.
Brief Intro: Living in the Midwest, small very well regarded independent school with excellent college counseling. I feel so lucky that we have a 2 day essay seminar in the late summer for the seniors, access to Naviance and lots of hand holding. Looking at small liberal arts schools and our state school as a safety. D17 is my oldest - good grades, okay test scores (trying one last time in September!) 3 sports, lots of volunteer hours, a little leadership, and a couple ECs that may be unique. We will need significant FA and many of the EFC results have been within our ability to pay so I’m hopeful we can manage. Looking at pre-med so know this four years is just the beginning.
QOTD: I’ve never left my kids alone overnight, never offered them alcohol! Keeping them perhaps overly sheltered!
Transcripts: Just grades, test scores, and school awards. School does not rank, or do a weighted GPA.
I’m not sure how word this, but here goes, maybe a cautionary tale…I have been reading some stories about the summer plans/jobs of the college kids of people I have known for yrs. And the more I read, the more I am clarifying the direction I want to encourage my kids to take and cautionary tales of what I want them to avoid.
One is about internships. I am going to encourage them to not accept any internships unless everything about it is in writing: hours per week, responsiblities, type of training they will be receiving. There are too many horror stories of unpaid labor, high costs associated with even managing to complete the internship, and very low rate of return of value. (I am becoming a huge NOT fan of internships. Co-OPs I love. Internships I think need to be vetted very carefully to protect our young people from wasting their time and money on something with little ROI.)
The other is finding those summer positions that are high value and worthwhile. I am convinced that this is one place where Malcolm Gladwell’s big fish theory really makes a huge impact. Bc of $$, my kids have always been big fish bc we can’t afford to send them to top schools. But equally, my kids have always been recruited for paid positions with professors, hired for Co-OP, and now Ds is thriving in his REU. Reading the stories of other sophomore’s summers is not so encouraging. Many read like high school summer jobs or lack thereof or unpaid internships. (Though not all internships are equal. Some do offer great training. The unpaid part, though, is a huge disadvantage. We can’t fund our kids with supplemental housing for a job in the summer that does not earn any money.)
Anyway, those are images that are filtering what I am reading on websites and forming questions for dept visits. Not just what are your students doing when they graduate, but what are they doing during the summers.
Opps, never had a post double post on this forum before!
@nw2this Nebraska is one school that is on our list of schools to investigate. We added it last week bc it offers Russian and NMF scholarships. We haven’t progressed further than that, though. Definitely doesn’t meet 2MQ’s no pants criteria! Those temps are making me think twice! Their fall/spring temps are our winter ones.
@Gator88NE I love that new information resource you’ve got going for S17! I honestly never wanted to live in FL until I began this process. Tuition at our IS flagship is ridiculous.
I was just thinking of the amount of detail I have in one of my little-used spreadsheets is just remarkable. Wish I used it. The latest one, however, has less info and is similar to what @CA1543 mentioned: app dates, honors app dates, # essays, send all/send best scores, CA/Coal/School App, link to app, login/pwd, etc. I’m pretty happy with ‘our’ list, as is fake-kid. I’m surprised at the number of schools not on the CA, though. Kind of a bummer.
Happy to say that D17 actually logged into the CA yesterday and filled out a bunch of stuff and looked over the essays. She’s not decided which prompt to answer, but said she hated all of them. I told her write whatever she wants in response to one random prompt. I’m sure the readers are sick of reading the same old things over and over. If she can tie in the prompt in one spot, she’s fine. She likes the “Tell us about spiders” prompt for URichmond, and is eager to do that one. I think she’d love the UChicago prompts, but it’s not on her list. Or ‘our’ list, either. The pants thing, ya know?
I’m hoping your kids are not representative of the general competition out there, and it’s true about the CC ‘bubble’. Holy crap, they’re all so accomplished.
I asked this on another tread, but I will try here. At what dollar amount do I need to be careful with how much my D17 has in her savings account. We will not qualify for any need based aid. We are full pay and have encouraged our daughter to work hard and save for her future. We plan to fully fund her school and have her contribute to her spending money, but that is it. Our focus for her is putting as much money away as she can for when she graduates from college.
Thanks, @Mom2aphysicsgeek. I added that question about what kids do during the summers to my list of general questions for Bio departments. Also, one of D17’s schools that are on the list by her choosing is Case. That is certainly a pants-wearing location. We visited on the coldest day of the year…it was about 4 degrees. She still really liked it.
I compared OK City (close to Norman) to Atlanta, GA (I forgot what state you’re in) and was surprised/shocked at how closely the average temps track (https://outflux.net/weather/noaa/). I think your DD will be fine there! Well, plug in your own city, and check it out.
D is on a very short break between summer sessions. We separately flew to Dallas yesterday, then on to San Jose to visit her older brother and all my extended family 
In an hour we’ll be meeting our son at his workplace for a tour and breakfast on the campus. He works at one of the Big Names as a site reliability engineer; not bad for a cs graduate from a state school
@2muchquan I’m right there with ya! The caliber of kid represented on CC (pants-wearing or not) is intimidating.
** Brief Intro **
i’m a rare unicorn here. i’m a mom to two-an older S with disabilities and a D17 from the jersey shore. my D is the queen of the nerds with a passion for artsy animation type stuff who is looking at exactly one digital arts program at exactly 1 school–according to her its do or die trying (and if need be, go community and transfer if she doesnt get in first round). Mid sized, average surburban school with exactly 14 AP choices. she will have 1AP upon grad only because she has a freak talent for a critical language.
bright creative kid with decent scores and good grades, but by CC standards is lucky she can put pants on. Her end game is to be the producer? designer? animator? of a childrens tv program. she will either succeed beyond anyones wildest dreams or live in my basement forever but we are letting her live the dream.
we were just about to trek out to temple until i saw the post. i was hoping to add a second school to the list. i wish she would spread her wings and GO (anywhere!) but its not to be–geography significantly limits the discussion as she wants to be close enough to have lunch with me if she wants to.
full payers because we are apparently independently wealthy…if only my checkbook knew it—i promise that no one has ever mistaken us for being rich until here. hoping for a few bucks to offset the insane cost of state schools here.
summer is spent mainly on portfolio development (well, she draws a lot) and keeping her tumblr up to date. there are also “asks” to answer. she is volunteering at the library for no real reason other than for NHS hours, tbh. ok, that and because she couldnt get a paying job.
will finish the summer by having everything done to apply to her holy grail by Oct.1
so we lowly ordinary people do exist. the rest of you can come out now…you arent alone and i know you are here… =))
@kac425 You definitely aren’t alone. My kids are all over the place. #4 and #5 just happen to be extremely high achievers. Our 24 yr old son is an incredibly intelligent Aspie who is crippled by his inflexibility, anxiety, and lack of executive functions. He works full-time as an unskilled laborer. We are celebrating the fact that he has now lived alone in an apt for 7 months and wakes himself up on time to walk to work and is heating up his own meals. (Can’t say cooking bc he refuses to touch anything raw.) Our oldest Dd has a 2 yr Allied Health degree and works as an occupational therapy assistant. (Though she makes incredibly good money. That is a degree with a huge ROI. And the job suits her 100%.)
My rising 9th grader will most likely live at home when she goes to college. She is an extreme introvert (painfully so at times). She has zero desire to go away to college.
Our rising 5th grader constantly proclaims that she is not going to college but is going to be a pastry chef.
Our 6 yr, otoh, is freaky smart and our 20 yr old son teases that she is going to be his Rodney McKay sister experience. (Genius physicist whose sister is his rival in genius physicist “stuff.” )
BTW, I nominate @Gator88NE’s tax folder/Chinese take-out menu as the epic post in this thread!
Re Yale book. S got it, but we don’t get much of the other stuff that folks on here mention. Maybe they saw the Iowa address and thought they could sucker us into an app? S was mostly amazed they used a whole spread for just a headline; otherwise, no comment.
Re official transcripts. I have requested a transcript from S’s school. Will it be official? IDK. The person answering the phone (whose name I didn’t recognize) asked if it had to be. Apparently, that would be hard. I said I wanted to see exactly what colleges who requested his transcript and school profile will see. She said she would put it in the mail as she wasn’t sure if it would work for S to stop by and pick it up. That was Monday. I haven’t seen it yet. (I live almost exactly 1 mile from the school and the USPS is usually pretty efficient within our very limited city limits.)
Re University of Nebraska. H has mentioned this a couple of times as a possibility for S. S’s cousin is a rising senior in Lincoln, and she’s been very happy with it as a pre-dental student, although she is looking to go elsewhere for grad school, just to change things up. I’m afraid I don’t much else about it, other than it being a big football school. For now, it’s tentatively on the list, and it would be closer geographically than anything else.
@nw2this I second @curiositycat333’s question re CSU. S will be doing a camp/visit at SD School of Mines this summer, and we’ve briefly talked about Colorado Mines. What do engineering students like about CSU over Mines? The only other school like that we’ve visited is Missouri Science & Technology. The location and food there put S off, but he didn’t seem to mind the rigor or limit of possible majors.