Apologies if this has already been posted but I don’t have time to catch up and want to get the word out… S17 just told me that UNC-CH deadline has been extended to Sunday, October 23. I’ve seen the email. He said he heard earlier in the day that NC State has also extended their deadline.
My thoughts are with those of you still coping with the devastating effects of Matthew.
@paveyourpath - I don’t think anyone posted about UNC-CH deadline extension. My DS is applying. I don’t remember anyone discussing UNC-CH on this thread :-). We will meet the 10/15 deadline. DS is finalizing the two short essays tonight.
Lot of interest in FB group on first day 
My 3 step process is working fine so far :))
@stlarenas Wow, that is a concerning reply from the english teacher. Clearly, they have no clue.
@hadmeathello Congrats on UMinn and really appreciating the JOTDs!
QOTD: No zeemee here, although we did hear about it at an admissions open house this weekend. First time I’ve heard an adcom mention it. They were giving the option to use it. S is not an artist or musician, so it doesn’t make sense for him.
All 80 bazillion IU-B/Wells essays are polished <:-P She says she’ll read them once more tomorrow before uploading.
Whew.
:))
@WhereIsMyKindle D is almost done with the Wells essays. Will probably submit tomorrow. Good luck to your D!
Scholarship applications are just a killer. D keeps getting invites to apply for additional scholarships at schools on her list. And of course they require at least 2 essays. I swear she’ll have written about 40 essays by the time all apps are completely done.
@itsgettingreal17 It’s crazy. And my Dd agonizes over every word. Her essays have definitely shown it. They are excellent, but goodness, it is overwhelming the number they have to write.
Kudos to your Dd and @WhereIsMyKindle’s.
@srk2017 Id like to be added to the facebook page not sure how you do it
My D is getting essay fatigue. The last couple of short answers have been much lower quality than before. I’ve had her rewrite them almost from scratch. The BU Honors college one is also giving her some trouble. She’s heading to a visitation program this weekend and will have her first interview. I’ve been lobbing questions at her for her to write down an answer to prepare - Why are you interested in X? Why would X be interested in you? What are some of your favorite pieces on the piano and why? etc.
The school GC sent her an email saying she uploaded the NMSC app today and logging in confirms it. Yay.
I am almost glad we are not NM candidates here. I seriously remember nothing of this when I did it in 1987. I remember having to declare my school in the fall, and make a confirming SAT score and that’s it. Was there an essay? Handwritten probably?
@VickiSoCal Well, I guess you had Macintoshes but not the Internet back in 1987. I also don’t remember any of the process from 1983. All I remember is the principal calling me in to tell me about NMSF and getting a letter from A&M (in the spring, I think) saying college would be free. I don’t recall how we sent SAT scores to colleges back then, though I recall taking the test.
@fun1234 - send me PM with your FB id.
There was a bubble form to send scores. Yiu had to look up the college code and bubble it in then mail that in with a check!
But nmsf is a blur. I know that I narrowed it down to 3 schools with good nmsf packages from their literature? From books? Somewhere! Then applied to one of those 3 plus a couple of UC’S. The private with NM was cheaper so I went there. Done. A whole 2 apps.
Woo hoo-u Maryland app is done and submitted! She said the hardest thing about it was finding where to apply on the webpage.
Three more to go, all common app. Grandpa emailed back, our guess was off by 1 year.
@VickiSoCal The NM essay is something that could be reused from the Common App, so not really a lot of extra or wasted work
I have no recall of knowing about any National Merit scholarships when I was a kid. I just remember having to take the SAT twice to get my English score up to make finalist.
The UGA app has been submitted. Now if he would just get those essays for Ole Miss scholarships done…
ugh…I get nauseous just thinking about these portfolio showcasing lockers, zeemees, sliderooms, etc.
Personally, I doubt that adcoms are going to take much time to look at them (I seem to recall a thread about one school’s full-ride scholarship application requiring semi-finalists to create and upload a video to youtube. Posters were complaining that the counters and stats showed that the videos had never even been clicked on by the school!)
Frankly, I think the reason these platforms exist is to give the illusion of a thorough, holistic consideration of students’ entire existences, but unless it’s a specific department or school is looking at performance skills or artistry, most adcoms are not going to bother rifling through videos and pictures of high schooler’s amateurish nonsense (I know I wouldn’t!). And the thought of all the portfolio builders-for-hire that will be cropping up everywhere for the people that have the money to pay for it (when ostensibly these systems were originally designed to have been created “access” and “affordability”) sickens me more. (And let’s not forget to throw the potential importance of physical appearance into he mix!)
Glad we’ll be done with apps by the time these become the norm (and hope my snarky resistance to do it won’t bite us in the butt).
Rant over.
Do you know where to fill National Merit Commended on Common App? Thanks.