** Prestige drama ** This is a huge big deal to S17 even though he will tell you it isn’t. (He at that I don’t care attitude.) It’s one of his causes of anxiety, and one I’ve really worked hard to combat since he was a freshman. He was in a class in upper elementary that actually named all the desk clusters after Ivy League schools. Many of the kids he was in elementary with will be going off to one Ivy or other top school. It’s one of the reason’s I’d hoped he’d make NM. I think he’s dealing with it OK, I’ve been playing up that there are many great colleges he CAN get into. It’s one of the reasons I’m not having to nag him too hard on the college stuff (we will see), because most of his friends are also working hard on them as well. And it’s a huge topic of conversation at school & with his friends.
@picklesarenice Jaw surgery is tough I know. Jaw surgery was a possibility for D12 and I’m glad we got to avoid it. Most of her surgeries
I’m about to head out for a long weekend with family. And a last (before applying) college tour with DS to my alma matta. Should be a fun long weekend. I don’t have to think about work for 4 whole days!!! Just have to get out of the house and on the road.
@stlarenas --Re: FAFSA and ordering a tax transcript. Just curious: what is a tax transcript? I understand why the data cannot be loaded automatically, but just am wondering why one cannot manually enter the info from your own tax forms?
These are not mutually-exclusive. But, I guess I would have to agree with you. Personally, I don’t care about other peoples’ reach, it’s when debt comes into play that I admit to smh. (@STEM2017 that means ‘shaking my head’ )
@ct1417 Honestly I am not sure. I just know when I called IRS (as the FASFA error prompted me to) they told me that I would need official transcripts for the schools as backup. So I figured I would just wait until I had a copy in hand to use to enter the data - just to be sure it matches.
Diversity is very important to us, and it was one of the reasons U Richmond dropped from D’s list, and she’s not applying to Vanderbilt because of what she perceives to be a lack of quirkiness and diversity. When we were at UA we saw a lot of caucasians and kids of african descent, but not very many indians or asians. We’re hoping that the upward trend of more asian/indian kids continues. We did count three girls with crazy colored hair at UA, so there’s some quirkiness going on as well. She’d like more nerds, but you can’t have everything.
@jmek15 if I were in your shoes I’d set up a face to face meeting with the GC, with your kid, and go over your concerns with her, then send a follow-up email. Hopefully that should resolve the (in my opinion) unforgivable fuzziness she’s exhibiting, and if it doesn’t, you’ll have a paper trail to escalate your issues to the vice principal (who is always my favorite person to actually git 'er done when stuff goes wrong on the administrative front).
Only their parents, and only the elite/ivies. >:) It’s hard for a kid to see all those gorgeous brochures and not be lured. The parents should know to look beyond them and see what they’re really getting themselves into (both good and bad), especially if they have no personal knowledge of what it’s like to be at those schools.
@longwood I like the idea of a private facebook page too because sometimes it would be fun to post something like a picture. Although I can also see the point without it.
I went to our high school’s FAFSA and Scholarship night a couple of days ago. One of the reasons that kids from our school are applying to Bama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, LSU, and OU is that she explained guaranteed merit and the fact that these schools can be cheaper than the state flagships and you can get into engineering or business. Lots of kids want that big state flagship experience but are locked out of their major by our own state flagships.
The way the GC put it was that the admissions staff at one of our state flagships said that they don’t really give scholarships because their gift to you is your admittance to the school. Our state flagships are considered affordable compared to many states and they really don’t give many merit-only based scholarships.
prestige: Our area/school is all about keeping up appearances and the prestige. D has had a hard time avoiding daily discussions and keeps saying that she is still working on her lists - she has some anxiety about it because she can’t escape it. The teachers are involved and it comes up almost daily at school in some form or another. (class discussions, kids leaving for college visits set up at the school, practice interviews set up in class, running admissions statistics in AP stat, etc…) Most of her friends are only applying to top ranked schools and I imagine that several will get shut out. I have learned from here to just smile and nod. No one IRL knows about her test scores except for her GC - who was very excited for her. GC liked her list and her reasons (big MAC) She has endured many brag sessions by peers in classes about their exceptional scores and how that is allowing them to look into “the best schools in the country” D and I have both been cornered, questioned, and judged for looking at big merit schools instead of Ivy and others of the same prestige- there was no hiding that we were on a college visit trip. Neither of us has mentioned any aps submitted or acceptances gained yet and will not until after application season just to preserve our privacy and try to keep the negative comments at bay.
With that said, she does have 2 ivy schools on her list “just to see if I could get in” - She says mainly to counteract the shock and judgement when her peers realize that she is going south to U - but i imagine she is curious to see if she could actually get in. She is so excited about Bama now that she really has no interest in following through with those apps – we will see if she changes her mind but we are not pushing it. We are pushing at least one close to home school application - just in case she changes her mind late in the game she will have choices.
Diversity: Diversity was huge for my D – we live in a diverse area and she rejected more than one school because of diversity issues. Some on paper - some from what she observed during the visit. The diversity that she saw is one reason that UA is #1 for her. What she noticed when she looked around was just kids with other kids – she didn’t notice the cluster of hispanic kids, the cluster of white kids, the cluster of black kids – there were just all different kids all around together. She noticed this in the class she sat in, walking around campus, and even when talking to a group of sorority girls that our Honors guide introduced her to at lunch – while the group of 5 girls were from 3 different sororities they were all friends from class and 3 different races.
I have to say am very happy with our guidance counselor. We are at a public high school and each counselor has about 400 kids. While we have not needed her much she has always gone the extra step. DS has applied to a college that requires a counselors report. Instead of just filling in the blanks she contacted him and is having a meeting with him tomorrow, she wants him to bring his resume so that she will be able to write a good recommendation. This is her job but still it’s nice that she puts in the extra effort.
I have not seen the Alabama video being referenced but did just happen upon a recruitment schedule slide show. I imagine I should assume that the video is along the same lines…as in not 1 drop of diversity (unless being a brunette is considered diverse?)
I think what troubled me most about it was the claim that they’ve upped their diversity enrollment by 91.5% since 2012. And didn’t bother to have one “diverse” student in the image that accompanied the text! As a sorority member I was embarrassed for Bama and the entire Panhellenic association!
re: Private FB groups. I’ve been part of a few groups that have been created from other message boards and it’s been a wonderful way to connect. I can understand folks wanting to, as well as not. I’ll likely be in if it happens.
I think maybe my son is being seriously considered for North Eastern. His grandfather went there and he did check it out once. After he checked it out he knew it just was too big for him as he walked around campus. He went there just to compare because obviously schools bigger than that would not be of interest. They just sent him a letter from the president saying they hope to be welcoming him on campus. I was wondering if anyone has done raise me. I guess that is how they found out about him. We have sense stopped following all but WPI. Apparentley he is still on the mailing. Are these common occurances? My son seems to think everyone gets these. I am sure he will roll his eyes.
I feel pretty fortunate that, while many of the seniors at S’s school are applying to “prestige” colleges, the kids, counselors, or other parents are non-judgemental about what schools other kids are applying to. S is not getting strange looks or questions about why he doesn’t have a reach school on his list. His peer group is very supportive of his choices as he is about their choices. That removes a lyer of stress many of your kids have to go through.
I joined a CC class of 2015 private FB page and it has been fun to get to know, and even meet, the other parents who joined. That group is diverse both geographically and by school choices. It is fun to follow the kids as they start their sophomore year. That group is suportive and not snarky, so it work’s for me.
@eandesmom … Oh I would never go so far as to say the sorority scene at UA is diverse! I picked up a huge sorority brochure — thick with glossy pics of both individuals and huge group/house picture. This was shortly after rush so I’m assuming these were the first big group pics??
I really did search for faces that were not white… But I didn’t see any. Admittedly i kind of stopped looking and didn’t finish the back pages.
Haven’t checked in for a while, but you all have been so busy with applications and acceptances that D17’s lack of progress over the last month has been frustrating. However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. D met with her CC yesterday and they had a long talk about her CA essay. She had a first draft finished months ago, but was really struggling with making changes/fine tuning it to the point of analysis paralysis. She was stuck, but after talking with her CC, she now has a whole new direction to go with her essay. D really needs to crank it out quickly to meet the NMF deadline. She has a completely different essay to write for a scholarship that is due 10/15 that hasn’t been started either. On the bright side, they also finalized her list of 4 schools. D was worried that her list wasn’t big enough, but CC went through the positives and negatives of the schools on her list and everyone is satisfied. So here is the final list:
UKentucky - financial safety (Patterson for NMF means almost $0 for 4 years)
Chapman - safety (has business, and is in CA, though merit aid is uncertain)
USCal - target (Business and Cinematic Arts joint program she most desires, NMF at least 1/2 tuition)
Penn - reach (Wharton for business, though still don’t know if affordable since their idea of EFC and mine are different)
A number of other schools fell off the list when she compared them to Kentucky, by saying if she were accepted to both, she would still choose Kentucky, so why waste the money applying. Hence, only 4 schools, 4 application fees, 4 score reports. Maybe D has a head for business after all. $-)
Homecoming is not this weekend, but next weekend. D is going with a group of friends, though she has not gone dress shopping yet. Maybe I’ll let her, if she has her essay done.
Alrighty, I need opinions. My patience grows very thin with D’s GC. After my quick explanation of the current situation, please tell whether you’d jump in at this point:
D submitted all but a couple of apps at the beginning of September and requested transcripts. At that time, she talked to the GC about the LOR, which is needed for about 4 schools, and dhe told her to send her certain info to help her write it and promised that she’d have it ready within 2 weeks. To make a long story short, not only has she not submitted the letter, but she also has not hit submit on D’s transcript to any CA school. For some reason the school uses a bifurcated transcript submission system - the college office sends transcripts to non-CA schools and the GC sends to CA schools. Note that sending transcripts requires no effort at all. In fact, D submitted an extra app yesterday and the college office sent the transcript within 2 hours of D letting them know she applied. D has emailed the GC 2x now about the transcript and no response except to say she’ll have her letter ready early enough. If I get involved, I need the GC completely off D’s college apps because I don’t want any retaliation since she’s already waived access to the rec. But with a deadline of Oct. 15 (but not to a school that requires the GC letter, only a transcript still missing for those), I think it’s time.
@itsgettingreal17 Have you complained at all yet? A very polite, diplomatic, "I know you must be really overloaded but… This October 15 deadline is really important to meet because of …
If that doesn’t work, then think about escalating.
@itsgettingreal17 I’d be all over her, but I’m not known for my subtlety or restraint. Especially if she specifically promised you something in writing and it didn’t happen. If she says “early enough” I’d email her and ask, since the deadline is October 15, what is “early enough” in her book?
I’d start off with a lot of friendly, to the point of overwhelming, attention, though. Like lots of smiles and setting up meetings with her and just generally sucking up all of her time until she gets it done. But again, I don’t think my methods always work, it’s just how I tend to (steam) roll…
Bama Talk: I enjoy all the chatters and details about acceptences!!! When EAs/EDs start rolling in, it will be time to celebrate all the acceptences, and offer comfort for any deferrals. Can’t wait to hear every kid’s story!
I met up with D’s GC this morning. She confirmed that D will have the “most rigor” box checked. She also told me that she think D’s essay are very well written. She has done her part of the package, GC LOR and school profiles are all submitted. What left are teacher’s LORs. She said it is very rare that GC has to remind teachers, they mostly do these on time. So I am going to trust her!!!
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My patience grows very thin with D’s GC. After my quick explanation of the current situation, please tell whether you’d jump in at this point: