I couldn’t agree more @Atyraulove '17 received books from both Princeton and Yale and there is no way that those schools want anything from us other than application fees.
As far as college essays, we are in California and in 11th grade English, the kids were required to write either 500 words on a UC prompt or 650 on a CA prompt.
@carachel2 We have Naviance, but for most of S17’s schools there is not enough data to be useful. A majority of students in his school attend college locally.
College application presentation at the HS tonight. They put up a slide that said “1. Apply 2. Consider Costs 3. Find the right fit”
I had the urge to boo.
I need to thank D once again for opting out of sharing her personal info on all standardized tests. She had only received mail from schools she has contacted 
In stalker news, American is 3 for 3 for daily emails this week!
@flatKansas I probably would have asked (obnoxious) questions at a presentation like that. Seriously? My older kids attended private high schools that did address finances during all the college presentations.
It’s all in the context. If they put up a slide that said “consider costs” maybe they did address finances during the presentation. @flatkansas Did they discuss finances during the presentation? The only thing, from a 10,000 feet bird’s view, that I can make of that slide is I think they got the order wrong. I think Apply should be #3. Placement for ‘consider costs’ or ‘find the right fit’ I think are dependent on each family’s circumstances.
Editing to add: When our school has the college meetings, they broadly touch upon ‘consider the cost’ by providing the current cost of state vs private colleges and asking that the parents have a discussion with their child about the budget for that child. They discuss that current cost x 4 years = $$$ and to consider how many children in the family are currently in college or will be going to college cost mom and dad even more $$$. Then they move off the topic and address this with each family. Last year, we did have one mother who asked many questions and several of us found it rather awkward. I felt as if I were eavesdropping on a conversation I had no business being a part of because it was quite a bit of personal information. Maybe that’s why I find a brief overview of ‘consider the costs’ to be in line with my expectations. I am all for an open discussion on scholarship money though 
Side note, I still can’t believe @2muchquan has not yet surfaced. Hope he and his family, including fake kid, are doing well.
@paveyourpath the content of that section of the presentation was pretty dire as well. They encouraged people to apply early and FAFSA early so you could find out even earlier if you could afford your school. Zero mention of EFC or NPC to get your own hint of whether you can afford that school or not. Oh and their suggestion for how to deal with your kid apping to to a financial reach was mostly just to hope they don’t get in. Zero mention of looking for merit aid (other than defining it). Zero mention of ever saying “no” to your kid.
They did make the solid point that our non-flagship state schools would be more affordable than the big ones, which was refreshing as people in our district generally look down their nose at those schools or pretend they arent there.
In that context, they deserve a BOO! A real loud BOO! There are many general topics that should be covered and it’s a disservice to not share that information with families.
@2muchquan and @Mom2aphysicsgeek … Both of you… Hope all is well. You are missed!
I think @2muchquan must have enrolled and left for college. You know, all the fake accounts he created as a student. I am thinking he applied and got full merit scholarship to Bama. I think he must have rushed, and is in hell week now. They took away his phone…I am sure his intention was to check it out for his daughter.
I’m concerned about @2muchquan as well, it’s been quite a while! Hopefully he’s on vacation with his D, somewhere she doesn’t have to wear pants.
:)) Rest of post below
@bigpapofthree that is funny!
I decided to take all of those flyers and turn them into the first mixed media assignment I have for my mixed media class. I’m going to have them start out at the bottom of the piece as “fortune teller” origami, and then morph into flying cranes towards the top of the piece. All built with flyers from the colleges :D. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Now I have to go google how to do all those origami folds…
I’ve been good this week with not filling the I Swear Not To Talk About College jar. D18’s last two grades in on-level US History have been 0’s, so there may not end up being a lot of college talk there, anyway. :-<
D17 is chugging along with the app. I need to give her a list of all of my colleges-we decided that was the best thing to do-just put them all down and not try and interpret what the app is looking for.
Our school naviance upgrades once over the summer to include the class of 2016 and drop the class of 2011’s information. The college counseling office inputs all information. My daughter’s GPA was just updated yesterday. i really like the compare me screen.
Add me to the list of no college essay assignments and also no common app boot camp or writing workshops offered.
Soccer started today. 7:30 am check in. Reality check for my 2 who have been frequently sleeping in. They were not eager beavers this morning.
I find it refreshing they are out of the house for a bit though
First day of school, D’s teacher (I forget which subject) had everyone fill out a time management sheet. It scared the bejeezus out of her. :)) She finally saw in black and white (actually colors since it was color coded) how much time she wastes and how busy she is. So she’s trying hard to be more efficient with her time. So far so good. Here’s hoping it carries all the way through to college. She’s even working on her weekly college essay assignments. Happy mom here.
@MotherOfDragons I am now busily thinking of how those many college catalogs could be turned into craft projects! D was planning a big bonfire upon graduation but …
My D finally got the Harvey Mudd cards and her and little bro were busy cracking the code and watching the videos. Both excited about HMC now so score one for HMC marketers.
D17 has most homework done now and yesterday, I saw, with my very own eyes, her working on her EE!
I don’t want to brag or anything, but DS and I sat down last night and started a spreadsheet for possible college applications. :)) By the time HS graduation rolls around, we’ll have caught up to you all.