The MIT app is done, and she sent it off with a wistful sigh last night. So much work went into it.
We’re focusing on fafsa stuff now and h doesn’t see how it would help us. I said that if you don’t do the fafsa and css stuff now you are shut out for the next four years of college money wise, even if your finances change. I’ve been directed to get confirmation one way or another on that.
Am I right?
D17 is also doing a lot of scholarship hunting today at school, I’m not sure for what class, but boy is she on it!
I need to do the ua housing with her tonight. I don’t think she’ll communicate with potential suitemates because this is just a placeholder if she needs it. No point in creating bonds and expectations with other kids that may not happen.
I completely forgot to do a PowerPoint presentation that was due today. Sometimes 4 classes+parenting results in school or my husband getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop
DS had an almost panic attack before school this morning about how much he has left to do on his 2 EA apps and how “The work I do in the next <30 days determines my future, and at this rate I’ll just be crunching to get them done in the last 5 days and do a lousy job.” I think it’s mostly from feeling like he “wasted” 3 days on a field trip and got behind on homework.
I didn’t know how much stress he was internalizing. Poor guy. It was so much easier when we were kids.
@dfbdfb@Mom2aphysicsgeek I agree with you both (“undermatching”), so maybe I’m using the term improperly. I’m not even sure what it means, lol! I was thinking it meant something along the lines of poor fit. That’s my worry, not prestige. I completely agree that there are huge benefits to being a bright, motivated student at any school. We’re experiencing some of that now just in dd’s dual enrollment classes at our local Uni (where she is likely to end up.) Her math prof wrote an awesome LOR, for instance. But there have been some problems too. She would love to have some similarly motivated peers, and so far she hasn’t had that (this is her third year of DE there.) Her linguistics class this semester has been on the same chapter for the past 3 weeks, and the students in her class still don’t understand. Luckily, her math classes have been great, and that’s her intended major. Still no like-minded peers there, though - mostly older students going back for second degrees.
Health issues are limiting our college search to a short drive, so we don’t have a lot of options (she has applied to 4 in-state schools.) Dd doesn’t seem too worried about it, but when her Russian prof made that comment last week, it made me worry. I just want her to be happy! She has been through a lot. Just need to have faith that all will be well.
@RightCoaster - If you want/need to send the applications in now, I’d suggest adding a statement to the apps such as “Nominated by (business teacher or school name) for the National Business Honors Society based on outstanding academic achievement” (or something along those lines). The nomination alone is a feather in his cap and something that would stand out on his application since you said he doesn’t have other academic awards.
@MotherOfDragons It is school dependent. At some schools not filing now means no future institutional aid, but that is not true at all schools.
Fwiw, I personally think searching for those outside scholarships is a waste of time. They are usually only 1 yr (not all 4 yrs) and small amts. In turn for your effort, schools are likely to reduce your FA $ to $.
@lemetz We are way beyond listening to outsider comments about undermatching. We do, however, reconsider when depts essentially state, Don’t come here."
Does anyone know about enrollment fees? When my S was applying to OU it said something about not being able to put an enrollment fee down at other colleges. Issue is to get on the housing list at UA you have to put an enrollment fee down. What is everyone doing about that?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I completely agree with you re: under-matching. D is looking forward to being a “big fish” on campus. She will be plenty challenged with her programs and the added benefits are why we are pursuing our current strategy (in addition to merit). If folks would look at the opportunities at a big school, there are in an abundance. A top student will be in a better position to find out about and take advantage of them.
@RightCoaster Is there any downside to waiting to hear about the business honor society?
I would do A or C, but not B. Might the college be aware of the honor society’s general deadlines, if they are a business school? Or, you could say that he’s nominated for the honor society, which he is.
undermatching: I wonder about this. My daughter really wants to attend a school with other students who are intellectually curious, passionate about learning, and will do the work. She wants that excitement in the classroom where the majority are excited about the material. The quality of the other students matters a great deal to her. But she does not want to feel as though she’s at a place where everybody is smarter and/or better prepared or more accomplished than she.
Like Goldilocks, she’s trying to identify “just right” and if it’s an “undermatch” it should be pretty close to a match.
So I am trying to figure something out… When I looked at the UA housing roommate finder kids are supposed to tell stuff about themselves and what they want in a room mate. I get it. But then a number of guys are saying they are white. So I’m trying to figure out if they are just using that as a description… I don’t want my son to pick a racist as a roommate… What do you all think?
@Tgirlfriend, our basic answer, at least, is not telling anyone. Also, since only one school on D17’s list—not that we’re mentioning Alabama by name here, of course—requires an enrollment deposit before placing a housing deposit, we figure that if she doesn’t go to that school we can cancel her enrollment and then deposit wherever she does end up going.
