@eandesmom , THANK YOU!! I was so confused about LOR.
D asked two teachers for recommendation in June.
D emailed them to remind about it in September.
D signed and waived FERPA in CA
D completed the list of “Colleges I’m Applying to” in Naviance.
This is it? She is set to go as far as LOR is concerned?
thanks to all that have shared the wonderful advice. I actually saw it in action. My shy kid that doesn’t like to brag took the advice here and sent his reseme that he had made up from the ideas here. At first he said I can’t seem to think of something to add to her recommendation, but then said you may like to read my reseme with a bit more imformation. Boy she souned shocked. Sounds like an excellent recomendation coming. She is the one who told him now is the time to brag. i am glad he listened to her,
@HiToWaMom almost! She needs to go to the letters of recommendation section in Naviance (link either on the main colleges page or at the bottom of the colleges I’m applying to page) and then she has to assign the teacher(s) to each college. It’s weird as there is a drop down and the teachers aren’t alphabetical at all lol but they all seem there it just took a little searching. I don’t think the teachers can actually upload them to the common app (via Naviance) until the student submits the common app but you’ll be ready for them to upload the minute you hit submit.
@eandesmom Ooooooh, I see. We select teachers’ names not in Common App but in Naviance!! Got it! Thank you so much! We shall try!
QOTD:
Applications complete/acceptances/applications to go: 2/2/4
Common App: Partially completed, but essay not started grrr
LORs: D2 hasn’t submitted her requests for them yet. grrr
Essays: 8, I think? None done grrr
Interviews: none
Testing: D2 is scheduled for SAT subject tests next Saturday; she’s just begun to study for them. grrr
Visits: UMD and UMBC last March, UAH last April, planning the grand tour of schools next spring.
Oh yeah, and the two transcripts we paid for haven’t been sent; the GC’s office lost the forms. grrr
D2 was supposed to work on apps and SAT studying today, but she may have had a reaction to her first Remicade infusion and has been nauseous/vomiting all day. I’m swinging between anxiety for her health and anxiety for her college apps. She’s got one deadline of 10/15 and the other three are 11/1, with a LOT of time commitments between now and then.
Your anxiety level (1-low, 10-high): can I say 12?
D2 anxiety level: not sure. Any anxiety she has going is probably due to my nagging.
What is the deadline for the child to complete the national merit information and essay and submit is it October 12. My son still hasn’t done his essay.
I am raising my stress level (now DEFCON 2) in sympathy with some of your progress reports. 
JOTD, in memoriam:
This duck walks into a bar, and asks the bartender, “Do you have any grapes"?
The bartender says, “No we only sell beer here”. The duck leaves.
The next day the duck walks back into the bar and asks the bartender, “Do you have any grapes”?
The bartender says, “No I told you we only sell beer, and if you ask me again I’m going to nail your beak to the bar.” So the duck leaves.
The next day the duck walks back into the bar, and asks the bartender “Do you have any nails”? The bartender says “no”.
The duck asks “Do you have any grapes"?
Applications complete/acceptances/applications to go: 1/1/14
Common App: Complete except waiting on ACT Writing score as self-reporting ACT
LORs: 2 Teacher’s invited - Advisor/Counselor Brag sheet completed
Essays: many essays completed - big supplements left include BU, Rice, Columbia, UPenn
Interviews: MIT/Princeton look to be the big 2
Testing: Biology SAT2 This Saturday
Visits: Maybe a couple of schools not visited if accepted
Your anxiety level (1-low, 10-high): 4
DS/DD anxiety level: 2
Question regarding Additional Information section on Common App:
My D has to create a Senior Capstone which is a year long self-selected independent project. I told her she should us the Additional Info section to further highlight that her school is project-based with no APs/IB and explain in detail her Senior Capstone.
Does that sound like a legitimate use of the Additional Info section?
@Dolemite Should that be part of the school profile provided by GC?
yes, but not her specific Capstone. The main information would be her specific Capstone and just re-emphasizing the project-based nature of the curriculum.
@Dolemite …that is exactly where I would put that information
QOTD: Progress report i*
Applications complete/acceptances/applications to go: 2/0/2-3
Common App: Complete but need to start the essay. Coalition app is complete (but looks like only one school on his list accepts it…what a waste…)
LORs: Counselor has “brag sheet”, will invite 1 teachers (all that’s required for GT) on Tuesday, after DS17 has a chance to talk with him.
Essays: Still needs to start the Common App essay and a few written supplements
Interviews: None yet. Only one on his list will require it.
Testing: All done except for a physics SAT2 test (he’s already done the Math 2 test).
Visits: We still need to do an engineering and honor’s college tour at UF. Otherwise we’re done unless he gets accepted by one of his reach schools.
Your anxiety level (1-low, 10-high): 7
DS/DD anxiety level: 1, any lower and he would be dead. ”But Dad, no one else has applied to any colleges!” ~X(
**JOTD/b:
A duck walks into a pub and orders a pint of beer and a ham sandwich.
The bartender looks at him and says, “Hang on! You’re a duck.”
“I see your eyes are working,” replies the duck.
“And you can talk!” exclaims the bartender.
“I see your ears are working, too,” says the duck. “Now if you don’t mind, can I have my beer and my sandwich please?”
“Certainly, sorry about that” says the bartender as he pours the duck a pint. “It’s just we don’t get many ducks in this pub. What are you doing around this way?”
“I’m working on the building site across the road,” explains the duck. “I’m a plasterer.”
The flabbergasted bartender cannot believe the duck and wants to learn more, but takes the hint when the duck pulls out a newspaper from his bag and proceeds to read it.
So, the duck reads his paper, drinks his beer, eats his sandwich, bids the barman good day and leaves.
The same thing happens for two weeks.
Then one day the circus comes to town.
The ringmaster comes into the pub for a pint and the bartender says to him:
“You’re with the circus, aren’t you? Well, I know this duck that could be just brilliant in your circus. He talks, drinks beer, eats sandwiches, reads the newspaper and everything!”
“Sounds marvelous,” says the ringmaster, handing over his business card. “Get him to give me a call.”
So the next day when the duck comes into the pub the bartender says, “Hey Mr. Duck, I reckon I can line you up with a top job, paying really good money.”
“I’m always looking for the next job,” says the duck. “Where is it?”
“At the circus,” says the bartender.
“The circus?” repeats the duck.
“That’s right,” replies the bartender.
“The circus?” the duck asks again. “With the big tent?”
“Yeah!” the bartender replies.
“With all the animals who live in cages, and performers who live in caravans?” says the duck.
“Of course,” the bartender replies.
“And the tent has canvas sides and a big canvas roof with a hole in the middle?” persists the duck.
“That’s right!” says the bartender.
The duck shakes his head in amazement, and says: “What would they want with a plasterer??”
@Dolemite Yes, the Capstone does seem like a thing she should describe in the Additional Info section.
DS has a fairly long list of things he wants to cover in those sections, and luckily the word count seems like it will be enough to do it. One on his additional info list is the engineering program at his school, which the school profile covers in 1 sentence. He has about 150 words on it right now.
Other things he plans to cover are why he can’t say for sure what classes he will take in winter and spring quarters (UC class schedules not yet released), and why he isn’t a criminal for participating in hacking competitions.
I’m not sure my daughter is going to be using the additional information section at all. I didn’t think it was for random stuff (not that the random stuff isn’t important, mind you). Interesting to hear how people are planning to use it. I could see a use for it for my daughter, but now she will be addressing what I thought might go in the Additional Info section in her CA essay instead. I thought the section was to address things like illnesses and family situations that may have affected grades and/or ECs…things of that nature.
The prompt is:
The CA does not give much guidance in the use for this section, which maybe makes sense…so as not to limit the type of responses.
QOTD: How do others plan to use the Additional Info section?
Anyone else here who had a kid who is refusing much help from you or another adult? I really have very little idea how far he’s gotten with any of the applications except for comments from him that he’s gotten them started.
My S17 is going through a “I’m taking care of everything myself” stage. Which is mostly good but it still feels weird. Grades even look mostly good so far this fall so I’ve been refraining from commenting. I’ve been taking him up on it by asking him to do his own things, like take his own tux to the dry cleaners. Insisting he attend the counselor presentation of college application process hasn’t helped either since they emphasized that the job search was the students responsibility. And S tends to take this kind of proclimation very litterally.
But it’s a bit worrying with the college application stuff because there is so many pieces to make sure you get done on time. And he’s a kid who’s still know to not get a piece of homework in on time here & there. (Yes it’s why his grades aren’t higher.) On one hand I’m glad he’s doing most of it himself. And he is the type of kid who waits until the last minute to get things done. It’s just a relief & strange because I was much more involved with my daughter applications. I had all her logins & sat with her doing all the data entry.
I am mostly concerned about two things. a) That he manages to make deadlines. b) That he not undersell himself. What makes me less concerned is he is VERY motivated to move out of the house & out of the local area. And has figured out that college is the best way to do this & get parents to pay for it. 
Even if he isn’t sure what he wants to study, he has other plans.
@rtidwell Our Additional Info section is blank right now. D’17 finally let me take a peek at her CA. Just realize that she is a minimalist ( wrt college applications)
@curiositycat333 when my D got like that, I hired someone to take over for me. It didn’t last very long, but it made a world of difference.
QOTD: Progress report
Applications complete/acceptances/applications to go: 0 / 0 / 8-10 (out of 18 - the list is still evolving)
Common App: Everything that is less than 150 words is filled in for all schools and then some. I think all of the schools on the list are on the CA
LORs: Counselor and teachers have “brag sheet” and have all been invited personally and via CA. It looks like the GC has submitted her part already to the common app. When I checked this morning it says: School Report Submitted: 09/21/2016 Counselor Recommendation Submitted: 09/21/2016 Optional Report started 9/21/16. Can anyone tell me what this Optional report is?
This is good news - probably means she is also researching the schools from the email I sent Thursday. Fingers crossed she comes back with some good feedback. I think we might have to gently remind her teachers again. D is also still considering asking her boss at work to write a LOR - not sure she needs it though.
Essays: CA essay is still in very very rough draft one. She also has rough drafts on a couple more of the shorter supplements started. Should have some time in English class to work on college essays next week.
Interviews: 1 done, 3 more scheduled for Oct. Attended college nights for 2 that don’t interview that we can’t visit before spring. D added back to the list one more school this weekend that we won’t be able to visit so I need to check and see if they interview.
Testing: All done.
Visits: We are planning to visit 3 (maybe 4) of the safeties on her list in Oct/Nov. Registered for 3 and will only visit the 4th if she doesn’t like any of the other 3. All are driving distance. Of the matches/reaches she has only visited 2 - the rest she has contacted to interview locally or attended a local college night. If she gets accepted we will visit in spring.
**Your anxiety level/b: 7 (only because I am not sure any of her matches are matches. Otherwise I think we may be slightly ahead of the timeline) However she is talking and asking more questions about the safeties on the list. After those visits I hopefully will feel much better.
DS/DD anxiety level: either 0 or 11 depending on the day. She such a emotional roller coaster right now.