@MotherOfDragons, I am a bit behind, but saw your post about Miami. Wanted to share that Miami is known for front loading first year Merit money. Meaning, their offer does not hold up for all 4 years. It happened to my cousin and a neighbor. We attended an info session last year that included UM, Tulane, NYU, Georgia Tech. When the subject of Merit came up, NYU and Miami reluctantly admitted to front loading. Tulane sort of outed them, and they acknowledged it. Do your homework, and buyer beware…I agree with your H, that is a very nice campus, and filled with happy students. I think of it as USC(so. Ca) light…A bit easier to get into, but good weather, rah rah, and nice campus…
Talked to son today about getting some stuff ready for app time. He told me to chill, he said he needs to save his energy and focus for a lax tourney this weekend. Ha.
I figured since it was hot and he was just sitting inside that he might as well get some school stuff done. He said that he had previously agreed with me that the starting date would be 8/1.
I guess I will just lay off and cut him slack.
Add American to the list of front loading.
@MotherOfDragons His gifted teacher and his band director are our top choices for LOR (known him 3 years, his leadership is all in band, etc) I just worry that if he submits multiple LORs to one school and none of them are STEM that it would reflect badly on him? I could be overthinking.
@flatKansas, I’d be inclined to go with the weird teacher who thinks more highly of your S. I think an off-beat LoR beats a vanilla LoR. You could also ask the GC. S/he probably knows which teachers write the best LoR’s. S/he might even be able to talk to the teachers to get an idea of which benefits your S the most. A STEM teacher is usually recommended, but I don’t remember your S’s major, so it might not be a huge deal.
I am noticing that although RD deadlines might be Jan 1 or later that for a chance at merit aid, Dec 1 is a common deadline (e.g. Boston U, USC …)
We just got back from Georgia Southern. It seems like a nice university with a lot of options for students. DS17’s current ranking preference is
- UA
- Georgia Southern
- Ole Miss
- Central Michigan University
We still have a few colleges to look at but right now we are hoping the post on the UA forum is correct and that while some of the lower scholarships are changing the Presidential isn’t.
Sending applications early to merit schools is a good idea since some schools tend to run out of money if they are giving it based on scores and GPA combinations and have rolling admissions.
Submitting RD apps early works if you are not worried about money or have fee waivers. The main reason to submit them early is because the kids get stressed out later in the semester and if one applies ED, EA or SCEA, they are sitting around waiting for a result and not focusing on writing essays for the rest of the essays. They also get hit with a lot of school work as semester progresses, will have finals etc. So if the ED, EA SCEA don’t pan out, they are left with between 15-10 days especially based when the finals are to finish their other apps. My suggestion is to get all your essays done, apps filled out and ready to release - lot easier for me to say it than get a teenager to actually to get it done. D was still working on a bunch of apps on January 1st night at 11 PM with a midnight deadline after having this plan in place a year in advance!
I don’t know what it is like in your householdd, but dd and I are the only ones really talking about college stuff. Only very once in a while do I talk to my husband about it. Tonight we went out for dinner and he asked about the schools she is considering and I just started to cry. Talking to him about it made it all so real.
I’m going to miss her so much.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek – I feel for you !! Hopefully she will stay in good contact & it seems if kids are not so far away there are possibly many visiting opportunities. And I have a hunch she is very connected to you and will share her experiences, ask for advice and make you proud!
I am trying to get my husband more engaged - this is such a Rubics Cube for us – he is supposed to do some of the college trips soon.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek …STOP! lol! If we start that now we will never get through the year.
Seriously though. I hear you. Love this kid so much. She is for real a true friend and we are buddies. I just told her the other night if she will travel with me/us as we get older we will always pay her way. Where did that come from? I don’t know!!! I just always want her with me.
:-S I have a confession…
We don’t plan on starting any applications till August. This upcoming week, DS has a week long Cross country camp at Berry College in Georgia, then we’re vising Georgia Tech on the 7/25, and going to the Vanderbilt local roadshow on 7/31. I figure we’ll get started, working on the apps and essays in the first week of August, which is about 2 weeks before school begins.
He’s already completed the essay for the coalition app. Based on how he did on the SAT, will determine if he’s done with testing, or if he wants to try the ACT for a 2nd time.
@carachel2 Your description is exactly how I feel. It doesn’t help that our oldest ds told us a few weeks ago that he is considering a job change which will cause them to move. If he does, not only will dd be going away to college, but my ds, the best dil in the world, and 3 of my grandbabies will be moving too. It is almost to much to think about.
It shouldn’t surprise us about our ds, though. We moved his entire childhood, so staying in one place is a completely foreign concept to him. It is just so much harder on this side than when we were the ones moving away.
I am normally not this emotional, but man, tonight I am just a blubbering blob.
@snoozn It really can be night and day between places from “oh well I’m not really sure how we would handle you”(and that was a director) to “Its so nice to meet you. This is our process for setting thing up, these are the documents you need to bring us, we will get you whatever you need.” The 2nd reaction is from where I am attending and the director of disablity services is amazing. She had an hour long phone conversation with my audiologist to determine the exact FM system I need.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek @carachel2 You’re making me cry too! We cannot go there yet.
@Gator88NE We may not start apps til mid-August. It will be fine. Right?
I think we might just have to get one of those RVs when we retire. None of the kids will want to come back here once they have careers so we will just have to go visit them.
^Ohio State’s merit deadline is Nov 1 I believe.
I think August is a good time to apply, before going back to HS, but once guidance staff is there to send transcripts.
@IABooks …it’s such a weird feeling of wanting them always with you because you just enjoy them so much but also NOT wanting them to just stay here and do the same thing. I totally want her to go and DO!
–therefore we will probably just FOLLOW lol!
@flatKansas I guess it would depend on how weird they are and if it seems like they would be a good writer. I think people are far more likely to read a rec in its entirety if it’s unique so it could be an advantage if it’s not just a positive rec but also memorable and an interesting read. Even if they included something silly like his funny shirts it adds a human touch to the rec that I think many recs lack.
Transcripts in summer: For those of you with kids in public school but no guidance counselors working, you might want to try calling your school district offices—that’s where we just got copies of my daughter’s transcripts from.
And the big, fun news: My daughter just checked her University of Kansas application status online, and it reads “admit”. So Hurrah! for stats-based auto-admit schools. (And you could see the stress wash off her face when she saw it. Yes, it’s one of her deep safeties, and probably not a place she’d actually go if she doesn’t get into the honors college, but still, as she said, “At least now I know I’ll be able to go to college somewhere!”)