@socalmom007 — you may need a longer spreadsheet! It just makes the decision-making more challenging as the decision is not just in her vacuum (if you know what I mean—probably not making sense—it is past bedtime here in CT). Hopefully they will both be able to choose a school each really wants to attend that is also close to the other. Yikes! Is one of them applying early? That could be messy also. Yikes again. Makes me feel better about my simple non-essay writer here.
@dfbdfb I vote yes for the mental health day to work on essays and see nothing wrong with it! I let ds do it once last year when he was just run down from all his activities but not sick. That 1 day made a huge difference for him for the next few weeks!
Thanks @Mom2aphysicsgeek for the suggestion but our situation is complicated by the fact that my husband owns his own small computer business. The CSS profile has a whole other set of complicated questions for small (barely profitable) business owners (e.g., what is year’s depreciation of business assets and other great gems that leave us scratching our heads).
Neither is applying to any early. They’ve agreed if he gets into any of his top 6 then there’s no decision to be made, that’s where he’ll go. She’ll have to then decide if she’ll follow. She has top choices of her own adjacent to 3 of his top 6, so that would be an easy call. If he stays in California for one of his top choices she’ll have some big decisions to make.
Sharing: We’re pretty open (if asked) that she’s applying fairly widely, and has gotten into the honors programs at two schools (Alabama and Kansas). No social media sharing, though.
How many applications: Eleven, including one that’s not just a reach but a financial impossibility she’s doing “for fun” to see if she can get in. She’ll probably also submit a pro-forma application to our in-state flagship even though she has no intention of going, since she has a full-tuition scholarship there that her high school gets some sort of bonus somehow if those who qualify for that scholarship apply.
ED/EA/rolling: Zero ED (insert my usual rant about my objections to ED here), two EA (neither in yet), three rolling (two of those are already in and complete, the other is awaiting the GC report and a LoR), six RD (one in but awaiting 2 LoRs and the GC report).
QOTD: I can see I’m an over-sharer. If someone asks me, I tell them. And, they get a whole lot of backstory too. 
I can’t tell some people, and not others because then I just screw it up and forget who I’ve told what. But, by now people tend not to ask me, because they know they are going to get a whole lot of information if they get me started. Stuff they never wanted to know. The only thing I guess I’ve held back on a bit is the scholarship info. I tend to keep that a little closer to the vest, and don’t discuss that with anyone outside of our immediate family.
So, D got very excited about Case Western tonight. The interviewer was very good. Very dorky, but good. Hey, an Case engineer, what can you expect. I was thinking that was slipping off her list, but I think tonight put it firmly back towards the top.
@chillkitty Welcome (back?). My daughter is going to apply to what I would consider a lot. Not 20 (!), but I would say 12-15. She’s already put in 7 apps, and heard back from 5. No clear number 1. That will be the hard part come next spring.
Wasn’t Dean J on that podcast that someone mentioned a few months ago? (Oh, wait, I wasn’t around then)
@chillkitty Is your student only applying to meet need schools? You might be able to call their FA offices and ask questions. If the schools don’t meet need, those would be more likely to be $0 packages.
Yea! We got to add another entry in our portal spreadsheet :-B
Submitted to Case at the beginning of the week. Tonight they send us info to setup a login to the portal to check status. Has a very nice checklist of what’s been received. Shows that the CA, Secondary School Report, Counselor Rec, Transcript, and Test Scores have all been received. Awaiting Teacher Rec, FAFSA, and (crapola) CSS PROFILE.
It also shows that they are expecting an Arts Supplement, which they asked about on the CA. D is planning to record three pieces on the piano per their requirements. Definitely the best portal to date!
Yes, @Mom2aphysicsgeek, most of the schools she’s applying to do not offer merit scholarships, so I’m not too hopeful. I was hoping that having 2 kids in college at the same time might sway FA in a positive direction for us, but it is what it is, I guess
16 applications here. 15 submitted already with the last one to be submitted tomorrow or Saturday. GC says all students should apply to 5-7. Clueless! We’re chasing a full ride so D is casting a wide net. Her 16 make me nervous and I keep thinking about adding one more, but D has applied to all the schools that fit her criteria so there are no more to consider.
Ditto ^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^
Love our school. They figured in mental health days!
No school on Wednesday 10/19 for seniors (Juniors and Freshmen take PSAT and sophomores go to local college tour field trip). No school on Friday 10/21, teacher in service day. No school on 10/31, charter school day. Well, we had school on Columbus day to compensate.
How many… between 9 and 11. Depending on EA outcomes, we might add a couple. 3 submitted. 3 more by 11/1, 1 by 11/15, 1 by 12/1, the rest 1/1.
@dfbdfb I am all for mental health days. I took them when I was growing up and my kids get them now. I will say that taking a mental health day to me is getting a break from everything. Suggest it!
@chillkitty I feel your pain (well, actually, my husband more than me since he fills it out) about filling out the CSS as a small business owner. My S15 is at a school that meets full need, and my S17 will also be attending a meets full need school. The way it was explained to me by the college FA office for S17 is that the college determines the EFC, and since we will have two in school at the same time, the amount we would pay for S17 would be 60% of the EFC.
@WhereIsMyKindle - Out of chocolate – I can’t get through this season without it.
I will go back & read what I missed - this board is so active - a good thing.
I guess we have been very fortunate with GC help & LoRs - no issues - school has a very professional and organized approach for the most part & teachers are quite supportive too about the essay etc. Had some transcript issues. Submitting via Common App seems straight forward. I notice here some kids are seeing the LoRs - did not sign away FERPA rights? We did as counselor recommended so do not feel like we can/should inquire. Son is strong math / science bu the STEM teacher seems to right matter of fact LoRs. English teacher -said her LoR for DS was the longest she had written. Sweet bc DS has grown more confident with writing but sometimes still hard for him in certain genres - AP Lang though was a very good course - lots of arguments (and excellent teacher)!
D shared last night that she is feeling a lot of stress. She wishes she could just start college full time without this application mess.
We talked about her list and where she truly sees herself (still haven’t visited 2). American is now off the list–just not enough languages (Arabic and Chinese) for three years, assuming a full year abroad. It was a financial long shot anyway.
She’ll hit apply for 2 schools on Common App today and will wait for (automatic) Honors app invites. No work over the weekend. Maryland’s app will be done next week and Ole Miss’s special programs will be finished. She’s hit a roadblock on one essay. I’m hoping the weekend break will help.
@WhereIsMyKindle The stress these kids put themselves under can be overwhelming. Hope the weekend is a good one for her!
Thanks @Mom2aphysicsgeek She may only apply to 4 schools after all, all EA/for scholarship purposes. In that case, acceptance will not be an issue, just scholarship amounts.
Hitting the gym now!
My son is also under a fair amount of stress. Mostly about what he wants to do. He really struggled between engineering and business. But I explained that they are basically separate trees. You do need to pick one because college is too expense to be able to find your way while you are there. Switching majors can be costly even at a large school. He prefers the smaller specialty schools like a WPI and RPI for engineering and Bryant or Bentley for business. The problem is doing two years at one and then switching to the other will be costly. He has settled onto business now and he seems calmer. Now it is the same game as everyone else. Applying to schools and hoping his first choice school comes thru with enough scholarships to make it work. With a Cost to Attend of $65+ at these schools, he will need quite a bit of aid. Aid that is rarely there unfortunately.
Just bought a couple boxes of locally made high end chocolate, “for S14 to take back to school” (he’s home for fall break); already did the requisite quality taste test…I’m certain I’ll have no more (!