@fun1234 I think a lot of kids struggle with this type of essay writing style.
Has he looked at sample essays?
I LOVE this essay. https://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays-that-worked/2019/#essay1
@Ynotgo …ranking is also a big deal in Texas and I would just lose all trust if that happened to D.
D doesn’t even have a huge list of completed apps but we have already learned that someone needs to be checking the portals almost every few days.
App progress—FINISHED the two required essays for the ApplyTexas application yeahhhhhh! Only doing this she has hopefully an IN-state option. I WISH I could say they were safeties but they are not. Such a crazy thing to consider!
can anyone help me i need advice! im applying to university of alabama and university of south florida.
my unweighted gpa is 2.9 and my weighted gpa is 3.65. i got a 25 on the act and im applying pre med. any one know if i have a good shot at these schools?
@Ynotgo oh that would be so frustrating! I am glad that it doesn’t seem like it will impact you but it really could be an issue for some. While part of me is very jealous of states with auto admit and guaranteed merit, I am glad we don’t have the stress of rank.
@CT1417 When my D15 applied to UMD a few years ago, we paid the application fee and then received a check back in the mail a few months later. I’m not sure how they verified her status. We didn’t know about the fee waiver, and she was worried that she had been rejected when she saw the check!
Today my S17 finally sat down with Naviance open and added a few schools to his list. His 3 schools has finally expanded to 6. I’m SO happy that he was willing to do this. I’ve been very worried that 3 (1 reach, 1 match and 1 safety) was just not enough. You NEVER NEVER know what’s going to happen. And, he does NOT want to go to his safety.
So, finally, I can breathe a bit more.
Next step is essays for him
And FAFSA/CSS Profile for me (mostly). UGH!
@phoenixmomof2 Good news, but you just doubled your score sending costs. 
Those costs are on my mind, because I just sent an ACT score to 14 schools today. Still have to send SAT score(s), but that’s harder; I have to figure out 0, 1, or 2 scores for each college.
@Ynotgo - I’ll have to suck that up so that we don’t wind up with a bummed senior who didn’t get into schools we thought were “matches”.
@phoenixmomof2 3 makes me nervous, I’d breathe a lot easier with 6 as well!
@CA1543, D has visits to Gonzaga and Western Washington U next month. These are both schools of high interest (and WWU is a safety), so we’re both pretty excited. We visited RPI and WPI last spring. I think I did reports on both in case you want to search the thread. We were impressed with both schools, though RPI is off the list now. Don’t miss their performing arts center – one of the most impressive buildings we saw at any school.
@SincererLove, No real fee waivers yet – D just gets those silly “special snowflake app” invitations that are no different from normal (if it’s free, then the regular app is free). But CO School of Mines nearly fooled me. They sent a big envelope that listed right on the outside the special benefits including a free app (“savings of $45!”) It’s not even on her list, but I had to check. Their regular app is free for freshmen! 8-|
@snoozn Kalamazoo fooled me that way. I think it used to have a fee but doesn’t now. I have to give them credit it though, it was on the list for a few minutes and had been taken off for cost reasons. After seeing the free to apply that wasn’t really a waiver letter, I re-ran the numbers and they were a lot more favorable. Which didn’t put it back on the list but it’s in the back of my mind as a possible financial backup now. S17 did actually get a fee waiver from a school that had been on his list. But of course, it is no longer so it’s irrelevant! LOL.
@ynotgo, whatever the error, it is better it is found out now instead of later. Btw, I believe the costs for sending the SAT scores are the same, no matter how many scores.
Ahhh… @greeny8 I wanted to drop the $225 housing deposit bomb on @STEM2017 …
Trust me when I say the $25 dollar fee is the least aggravating thing about UF. 
My first year at UF (back in the 80’s) I spent my freshman year in a temporary triple, so I happily paid the $25 fee for my DD.
Of course, I think the positives far out way the negatives (for us), and I also have a very happy DD14 at UF. Over the last week our conversations have been around internships (which ones to apply too), the up coming career fair and which of the many employer sponsored events should she attend before the fair; should she go to the SWE (society of women engineers) conference or not, should she join the Industrial Engineering honor’s society or not (Alpha Pi Mu,yes, she will), and will she be getting tickets to the Florida/George game (yes, she will).
Luckily, this year we haven’t had any of those discussions I really dislike (Dad! Send more $$$!).
PS: UF limits it’s freshman enrollment to about 7,500 on-campus students. Sophomores can apply for housing, and usually get preference for the nicer suite style dorms (over the freshman). However, relatively few students want to stay in a dorm, after their freshman or sophomore years. Gainesville has plenty of affordable housing, though my DD14 taste run a little bet more expensive than I would like. Currently she’s staying in a very nice two bedroom apartment that cost about the same as the standard dorm at UF (and less than the nicer suite style dorms).
I guess this is a recent trend, but a lot of the apartments have 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms, and each roommate signs their own individual lease. You’re not responsible for your roommates and pay your own rent and utilities.
@kingcharles101 - I don’t know much about the odds for specific schools. You might have more luck on the individual boards for each school, or on the “college admissions” board.
It’s the short answer questions that cause the most angst here. Not sure why it’s so hard to write two sentences! ~X(
@fun1234 Your son probably feels as overwhelmed as my kid with the essays and NMSF etc. We have weekly chats, a bit like @MotherOfDragons, with our respective calendars and talk about what has to be done until when. Little bites at a time.
The NMSF app is like a watered-down version of the Common App. Most essays should be tweakable to accommodate the lower word count for NMSF. And I believe the essay doesn’t have to be as polished and perfect as for Common App. Why not sit down and talk about specific little tasks until Wednesday, until Sunday … and then talk on Sunday again for the following week?
And I agree, reading essay samples online are a great way to get ideas. Good luck! Our next milestone will be a first app in next Sunday. Fingers crossed!
@payn4ward What horrible news. I am so sorry for the family and your community!
@phoenixmomof2 If your S would not want to attend his safety, maybe find another safety that he would like to attend? I don’t think a safety is a safety if the child wouldn’t be happy attending.
I agree w @itsgettingreal17 A safety is only a safety if the student will willingly attend. (And on our case, is affordable w auto merit scholarships.)
@itsgettingreal17 - One he added today is also a safety. Believe me, I’ve been trying to get him to add SOMETHING. else that’s safe.
BTW, the one he already had was the one in-state option I made him have on his list. So, in reality, his original 3 was only 2. He doesn’t want to stay in-state at all. But, who knows what happens in life… he may need it.
@phoenixmomof2 A safety doesn’t have to be in-state. What does your son want to study?