@fun1234, maybe your S can take petty revenge by filling out the form in his non-dominant hand. >:)
S17 has clicked submit on the Naviance Brag Sheet with its 12 essays! Finally! Now I guess he can figure out how to add recommenders or something.
He didn’t hear anything from his school today about NMSF, but he is listed on California list. There were 4 from his HS on the list and 2 from each of the other HSs in town. He searched that list for friends from his summer program and found several.
2 from my old HS this year. They’d never even heard of NMSF back when I got it in the '80s, but the demographics of the town have changed dramatically.
D still hadn’t heard anything from her school about NMSF, so she went and asked the counselors and principal after school. She was told to “come back tomorrow”. Seriously??? The principal did call me at 5pm and verify that yes, she made it. <:-P
She is the only one at her HS, 550 kids in her class.
Congratulations to the growing list of confirmed NMSFs and to those who have already received college acceptances!
Nicely done!
@aida, USC’s reasons for not having EA/ED as an option can be found in this blog post from 2014 http://admissionblog.usc.edu/guest-blog-ea/
Accepted students: I think it depends on how you treat those visits. With my daughter she visited after acceptance 2 schools that she got early acceptances into (rolling admit places) and we hadn’t had a change to visit that part of the world. Second when she thought she had decided, I sent her own her own to visit. Since it was across the country and it was partly a test to see if that was going to be a problem. I think it helped, but visiting in weather did make the two early admits less attractive.
Went to back to the school night. And S17’s English class had a common app essay to turn in today. So it seems he has a draft of his common app essay, he says it will need more work the the basics is there & his teacher will read it over. Progress. 
@Ynotgo Just found out we have a new staff in charge of the college & career center. She’s in charge of the profile and it sounds like she is buried with getting everything rolling for the college season. Don’t think she has worked on this yet.
@TimEnchanter I’ve learned a few new things about LA public transportation & USC in the past week. And It seems it’s quite easy to use public transport to & from USC and one can get to the train station & other Metro lines easily. Downtown LA has really really changed in the past 20 years.
Last night was Senior College night here, too. They spent a good portion of the night explaining simple terminology like Early Decision and Early Action - bless their hearts. Honestly, I felt like I knew more than everyone in the place…even the guidance counselors. My questions were specifically about how son’s high school was going to help him in the process, not about how much it costs to send ACT scores to colleges (really???).
I did hear something that I found very interesting and I hope all you FAFSA experts will chime in with thoughts.
Lots of people were complaining about how this year’s FAFSA will use 2015 tax data - 2 year look back. I am very worried about this myself because I had a one time (never to happen again) income spike in 2015.
Guidance Counselor said that she feels strongly that ** after your 2016 tax returns are finalized, you will be able to go back and make some kind of adjustment for a significant change in income. ** Now, I don’t know how this is possible but it gave me some hope. I will get ZERO need-based aid with my 2015 income. I will qualify for FULL need-based with my 2016 income. The difference for me is that big.
Any thoughts?
@STEM2017 you are probably going to have to state your case in regards to fafsa and financial aid. Probably a letter of explanation and 2016 tax info.
The financial aid process seems like such a pain the rear. I hope everything works out for you and the others in here seeking aid.
@RightCoaster You are probably right. Unfortunately, that means I will have to state my case at every potential school. It adds another layer of waiting and mystery. Good times.
** Proud parent moment: ** S19 is one of eight kids chosen to be a National 9/11 Museum and Memorial Ambassador! It was a pretty competitive process with essays and interviews. Very few deserve this more than him (with the utmost heartfelt respect for those who have lost loved ones.) We’ve lived in Battery Park City since early 2000. He was born just a few days before 9/11. He, along with his brother S17, my wife, and I inhaled the dust-cloud from the towers as we scrambled to evacuate on a tiny barge/tugboat. A month later we came back and never left.
He’s such a great kid and the perfect community representative for the museum. Anyone one would be lucky to have him as a guide.
Proud proud Papa!
Congrats to your son @STEM2017! What a well deserved honor!
@STEM2017 I’m sure others have gone thru the same scenario. Maybe post a question in the financial aid thread.
I don’t read that section, my head would explode. My family income changes year to year. We’ve had 2 incomes, no incomes, windfalls, unemployment…literally everything. Having to fill out the css profile would stink.
I think a good letter and proof of actual incomes will help you get what you need and deserve, it might just take a bit of extra work on your end. Be proactive about it and it will all work out.
So my son’s english teacher said that there is a way to link the common ap to all the other individual common ap individual college applications so you don’t have to recopy anything. Anyone here know how to do that so you don’t have to copy for each one the same information?
How do you get the testing history inputted in navience. His isn’t listed nor his gpa
@fun1234 I’m not sure what your son’s teacher is talking about. The common app has a section that is sent to each member school your student is applying to and school specific questions and supplements. I recommend opening it up with your child to better understand how it works.
Each high school handles inputting of testing data differently. Ask your child’s GC.
Hey stem2017, that is a great honor for your son and family, congrats! I’d like to take that tour sometime, would be great to have your kid be the guide.
@STEM2017 Here’s what the gov’ment says about income changes on the FAFSA at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/next-steps/correct-update#updates: You should speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend if there will be a significant change in your or your parent’s income for the present year or if your family has other circumstances that cannot be reported on the FAFSA.
So, unfortunately, it looks like you will have to contact each school separately.
And congrats to your S19; that is quite an honor.
@STEM2017 – Congrats to your son on that honor. That must mean so much to him and your entire family.
My SIL’s sister was one of the readers during Sunday’s ceremony. I watched the smoke from more than 30 miles away that day, but am still in horror.
No advice on FA. Hopefully a gap year does not enter the picture.
@STEM2017 I’m in awe of your 9/11 experience and so very happy for your son to receive this honor!
Thanks @IABooks Helpful link. I was hoping that GC had some inside info that I didn’t know about. Alas, I probably was the most informed person in the auditorium…now that’s a scary thought.