@longwood - My DD has not finalized her list. She still has at least one more college visit to complete, Also, she has no true safety on her list which makes me very nervous.
@longwood our list was never finalized, plus a few more may go on after NMSF announcement.
@Ynotgo we are also looking at Materials Engineering. We are trying to broaden our search but finding fit, affordability and majors that he is interested in has been challenging. He still has Alabama #1 even without some of his preferred majors due to fit and cost which definitely relieves alot of stress. Knowing he has a great school that he is excited for takes away alot of anxiety. We are still refining our list. So unvisited schools will likely be added to our list.
No senior trip here either.
@longwood We’re sitting down today to go over the list. Arizona and Ohio State are most likely off as they do not defer admission/scholarships for gap years. IU is probably going to be added. We need to come up with a plan for initial visits (Oklahoma, Indiana) and revisits (driving distance DC area schools: American, George Washington, Maryland; Ole Miss in full session). If we fly to the three faraway schools this semester, D will need to miss 3 Monday Chinese classes! We might wait until January when the university here has its winter session (unless she decides to take the next class in the sequence then–oh my).
I need to press her on visiting before applying vs visiting after acceptance. We have money and southwest credits set aside, thankfully. All those November 1 deadlines are so close :((
Just signed up for Turning Tartan at CMU in October but on campus accommodations already taken. No school Oct. 10th so this should be a good time to visit! Trying to make it to Case & WPI (both EA schools for us) before school starts - all depends on wisdom teeth healing well!
I’ve asked DS17 to go met his new GC. He’ll introduce himself, let her know he’s applying to a few selective colleges and scholarships and that a few will require letters from the GC (school reports, etc.). Basically I want him to get a sense of how she will want to handle letters, transcripts, etc. We also need a hard copy of his transcripts, to help with UF’s SSAR (self-reported academic record).
My son joked that if he ran into any issues, was I about to turn into a “helicopter” parent. That’s the first time I’ve heard him use that term. I told him I was at DEFCON 1 and was ready to splash down in his GC’s office like a huge Chinook helicopter! :-bd
@longwood We are still revising our list. I have actually been adding some back to it so she can see the essay prompts. I have a feeling she may choose to apply to the ones who’s essay prompts relate to her the most.
However I am laying off the college app pressure completely for a while. D met with the new CC yesterday at school and came home very stressed and frustrated. D said the CC was no help and gave her ZERO inputs or comments on her list or any of her concerns. However she now feels she is way ahead of everyone else at the school who haven’t even started considering colleges. But I can tell she feels completely overwhelmed and stressed out right now. I told her we would not talk about college apps or visits at all until after the Sept 10 ACT. I told her that we just need to hope that I - and all of you 
- know what I’m talking about. D ended the conversation with “I think we’re ok”
@longwood we are still revising our list as well. School doesn’t start for 11 days and I’d like to have it more finalized than it is, from an LOR perspective since many of his schools are EA and they want kids to ask when school starts and I can see those teachers being swamped! So…over the next 11 days I am hoping to get the CA account made, link it in Naviance so that the LoR’s can be requested through Naviance AND narrow the list a bit.
But it’s a moving target and I expect there may still be schools added and ones taken off. We are looking for a 3 headed unicorn (affordable, S can get in, has his area of interest, meets my requirements and his geographical/size/fit ones).
@Gator88NE, nice avatar
dig the new avatar @Gator88NE! Made me chuckle.
Had to scroll back up to see it @Gator88NE :))
One of these days I’ll create an avatar.
Today son17 was able to pick up new “unofficial” transcript with senior course listing included. He has to send a package of info to a coach this week, maybe for some sort of pre-read I guess in case he decides he wants to offer my son an official spot on the team vs a walk on. My son would be happier with a guaranteed spot for the 1st year. I think he’d get better treatment at school and it would probably help him to fit in better at the school from the get go. I’m getting the sense Son17 would like to be just done with the college process. If he could get in early and have all year to enjoy senior year with less stress would be good. Less stress on parents too. I’m hoping it works out.
GOOD LUCK to all kids starting school this week. I hope they all have successful years and enjoy it.
Robotics: Thanks for all the consolation. The team wasn’t exactly shut down over money. The program still has plenty of money. The change was over project-based learning philosophies and the issue that FRC is compacted into 12 weeks or so from January to April, but these are full-year classes. Also, the program grew to 100 seniors, which is too large for an FRC team. Anyway, that was last year’s disappointment.
This year, further changes were made that make the project feel less like a “capstone” and more like a continuation of last year’s students’ work. Also, lots more paperwork/red tape, because that is a “real world” experience. DS says he’s determined to make the best of it, anyway. He has plenty of other ECs, and this was not the 1st listed one. (Technically, it’s a couple school classes, not an EC.)
The List: I’m pretty sure his list is final for Nov 1 and Nov 30 applications. The early January set of applications may grow if he is just deferred (as expected) from the 2 EA schools and is nervous about his other options. We have not visited the majority of schools on his list.
Senior trip: Oh, I forgot, they do go to Grad Night at Disneyland. I did that 33 years ago. Just keeps hitting me that this is his last year in HS…
@RightCoaster It is for a pre-read. My daughter has done two of those. The will have someone in Admission look it over and tell them if they will admit you and if there are any concerns.
Yes, @NCComputernerd thanks for info. Son17 had supplied them with some unofficial data prior. Coach said he’d take info to admissions and see if he would qualify for any of their merit awards. I’m not worried about him getting in, he is in the 75th percentile for stats. But it would be nice if coach was able to influence some merit $$ and hold a spot on team for him. We’ll see how it goes, sending info over this week.
The list is currently at 13 with the possibility of 3 more depending on visits. List is very reach heavy but she likes Pitt and eliminated a number of safety/matches due to that. She’s basically done CA essay and the essays/short answers for 9 or 10 schools so she’s in good shape. School doesn’t start until after Labor Day so she has time though her Calc class at UPenn starts next Tuesday. Meeting with Advisory teacher to look at essays and fortunately her Advisory teacher is an English teacher and amateur writer.
@Dolemite – curious – what is you D interested in studying? You visited Pitt - forgive if reported earlier - anything to share or refer to a previous post?
@CA1543 Neuroscience. She liked the urban environment and the possibility of the Bachelor Of Philosophy degree.
@ynotgo - Does your son compete in Science Olympiad? This year they have Material Science event. DS is thinking of competing in that.
@srk2017 Yes, but his school team has not been large enough to compete in all events even with kids doing several. He won a couple gold medals last year, but not competing in all events hurts the team a lot. His plan is to recruit more people this year. He did flyers and free cookies at the freshman orientation for Science Club and the hacking team. He’s hoping advertising liquid nitrogen ice cream at an early meeting will draw more people.
I’ll remind him to look at the Olympiad list of competitions this year. Thanks.