Yep, I’m discovering the same thing here-I am going through the process of requesting transcripts, which leads me down the payment rabbit hole, which leads me down the “fill in the student profile here even though you’ve already sent it to us” which leads me to “put the link from the college you’re requesting the transcript for for the counselors” and I come to a screeching halt. I don’t know if D17 has gotten far enough in her first application (MIT) to have this available.
Soooo, it looks like they REALLY want your apps complete before you request transcripts. (insert headbang emoji here).
About all those passwords-D17 uses dashlane and it is amazing it fills in and remembers all the passwords for her. I need to get it.
Yeah, that’s why I made it sort of thought question-if you could ONLY use it for school (any school, grad or undergrad), would it change what schools your kid is looking at it. I think most of us probably have some metaphorical money stuffed in the mattress that could be used for school or a new fridge :). (I need a new dishwasher!)
QOTD: Am I happy with D’s choices? This made me kind of laugh because I created the first list and she knocked a bunch off. The three schools she put on the list were Drexel, Swarthmore and Tufts. Tufts and Swarthmore came off after we showed her how much it would cost her. Drexel is still there, she’ll visit if she gets accepted and gets good merit for it. I don’t love Drexel, but I don’t mind it, either. She would like co-op, she’s got that temperament.
@srk2017 You stole my answer! I like my list. I just hope my D does. She is still so very hesitant to get excited. Too big of a decision for her. I am still uncertain about the chances at some of the schools on it, however after Sat ACT I may (or may not) feel better about it.
To answer my own question, after more than a year of research, I’m very happy with D’s list (which I created). I think I’ve located every school that fits all of D’s requirements and only 2 such schools didn’t make the list due to cost (UMich and OU). I’m thrilled that she likes her automatic scholarship school so much. So I now feel really good about her playing the lottery with respect to the other schools on the list. Her worse case scenario will sting a little since she won’t get to pick between multiple schools, but she’d get over that very quickly and happily attend the auto merit school. In fact, I’m fairly certain at this point that she’d only pick 4-5 schools over the auto-merit school and only if they show her the big money (no admission reach schools on her list).
I am very happy with D’s list. She only really wants her top 2 schools, with UA being number one. She knows she will be happy at any of her choices, which is really important to me. I truly think she will be going to UA, but love that she will have 4 solid choices.
@payn4ward If you are even a little bit spreadsheet proficient I would HIGHLY recommend setting up a Google Sheet for college info. I set one up, called it College Worksheet, and gave my son sharing privileges. The first tab has the list of any school he is interested in with all relevant data. This takes time to input. The list shrinks and grows over time. The second ** most important ** tab has all the newly created User IDs, user names, PINs, passwords, and links to the schools he has registered and applied to. You can add as many tabs as you like - I’m up to seven. Its a life saver. And the beauty of Google Sheets is that its always with you, whether it on your computer, or your smartphone.
My wife is amazed (and worried) how quickly I can access info no matter where we are. Its a bit over the top, but its so helpful.
Are you unhappy with your student’s college choices? No. There are some I’d like to have seen her keep on the list (e.g., Miami-Ohio) and some I wish she’d taken off (e.g., Earlham—though, I hasten to add, for that one it’s not an issue with the school itself but based on other stuff), but on the whole, it’s a good list, I feel. (I think it helps us that, even though this is our first time through the process, we have the cultural capital that comes from being deeply embedded with or connected to—depending on which parent you’re talking about—higher education, and that filters down to the kids.)
@STEM2017 In my mind there is no such thing as an over the top spreadsheet. It only gets more awesome as it grows
@Tgirlfriend if you want to PM me your email address I will share a copy of my spreadsheet with you. Be forewarned it is likely way too much. But it would give you something to start with.
@Tgirlfriend I’d send you my spreadsheet but with it’s 8,000 tabs it would scare you. Check out LastPass for password saving, it’s been a lifesaver for me.
I actually made S a word doc instead, he’s not a spreadsheet kid, they make his eyes bleed. Super simple, in 3 sections.
A weekly to do list by week, with items that gets him to the finish line (which is all apps, EA. by 12/1). Complete with check boxes, very easy visually.
A to do list by category for each major item with all of the sub tasks. Applications, Essays, Activities List/Resume, LOR, Naviance, Financial.
A check list of all of these items by school. This one is a table so not much different than a spreadsheet.
But basically he can check off the items on the weekly to do list and then just cross reference in the appropriate sections, mark off and he will be on task.
It made it a LOT less overwhelming for him. We are going to meet once a week to go over and I leave him alone in the meantime.
Any of the other NMSF parents confused on this confirming score thing? Should I just assume if his SAT score is almost his PSAT score then it should be ok? Its really the cherry on top of this process that they wont tell us what the target is. How many people are in for a hasty scramble in December?
QOTDs - We ask ourselves this all the time. There are probably only a couple of places that would come off and/or be swapped with non-merit possibilities, but, I think D has a pretty solid list of reaches, matches and safeties that are good academic fits…as for the social and economic fit-ness of these places, we need more data. We are casting the proverbial wide net…
New QOTD - how many of the schools on C17’s list have you visited or will you visit before applications are in and/or decisions are out? We have thus far not been able to see too many schools and only ones we have driven to…not even a quarter of the schools on the her list (more like a fifth). We are hoping to see a couple more before applications go in…and alumni interviews on the others, if possible…
Ditto!
I am not sure if I am happy with myself though. :))
@STEM2017 Yup, I have tons of Google Docs in shared (but never accessed by DS17) Drive, named Early College List (with Net Price Calulators), Colleges Lists 1,2,3, and then Application Checklist. In the drive are the maps of the colleges and routes I planned for the visits as well as itineraries for college visits and Essay prompt documents for each college.
App Checlikst has tabs up to A-Z and then some more up to AH (how many letters in alphabet? so yes, more than 30 tabs - required tests, number of LoRs, superscoring, deadlines, etc). I need to make a Simplified App Checklist.
I also added Regional Rep names and their emails. Over the top mom for the Slacker child. CASPer. [-(
QOTD- we have visited all of the schools that D has applied to, most of them twice. We have not seen her number 1 went students were there. Hoping it is not a big mistake. I just can’t see spending any more money at this point, seeing it is 15 hours away. My D has done a ton of research and watched as many youtube videos as she can find.
@flatKansas, call the NMC and ask them flat out if your S’s SAT score is high enough to confirm him as a NMF. They will answer you.
QOTD2: I wish S was more interested in schools in other parts of the country because there are some that would match with his skill set extremely well, but he is not. He is happy with his list, so I am happy with his list. It is NMF scholarship-focused. If I had to guess now, I would say he will end up at OU. He likes the honors college model and thinks a smaller environment within a larger environment is just right.
I like my list. I just hope my D does. She is still so very hesitant to get excited. Too big of a decision for her. I am still uncertain about the chances at some of the schools on it, however after Sat ACT I may (or may not) feel better about it.
