@CT1417 and @hadmeathello it is 17. I was thrilled last year when I renewed D’s.
Passports: All the kids are recently expired (oops) and we’re hoping to do a few weeks in Europe next summer before S17 flies away. Thanks for the reminder. Better get to it.
SCEA submitted last night which brings the total to 4 submitted to date. We are going to give DD a break and not talk about applications for a week. You folks are lucky that your kids allow you to do the portal checks. I have not been granted the privilege.
@Fishnlines29 @Calimom3 Minor correction, UCLA’s housing guarantee is 3 years (unless it’s changed and not on their site yet). Each campus is a little different. All but one of the UCs our son is applying to are at least 2 years. UCSB has a 2+2 program where if you live in the dorms the first 2 years you are guaranteed university housing in apartments for 2 more years.Irvine and UCSD have 2 year guarantees - Davis is the only one with a 1 year guarantee (I’m pretty sure it was 2 years a couple of years ago).
Re: My proof of citizenship rant, I guess at some schools every student has to submit proof of citizenship. Oops! Sorry for jumping to conclusions! Both Case and IU have asked for it. 
And, thanks for the note about 5 vs. 10 year renewal. Hopefully it IS at age 17. I don’t want to wait until she’s 18…
@Calimom3 maybe it’s guaranteed for all 4 years, but are they cramming too many kids into the rooms? i.e. 3 in a 2 bedroom, 4 in a 3 bedroom… etc.
RE: housing at UCs. I thought the Berkeley only guaranteed the first year but I confess that I was put off by the Berkeley tour & info session experience, so may not have noted the housing info correctly.
RE: Passport at 17. Thanks @jeepgirl. Probably still on calendar for after Jan 1 apps go in, but good to know. No travel plans but easier to renew while still valid as opposed to after expiration.
@hadmeathello --Re: citizenship…interesting…you may recall that I refuse to provide SSN, and have gotten away with that, to date. UMD-CP was the first bothersome one.
Well D told me this morning that she has no motivation to finish her essays. I told her to make sure she has the one that is due by Nov 15th to me for review by tomorrow night and if she wants her Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks off, she better finish the rest within the next two weeks. Almost, but not quite, time for bribery. This is the downside of early decisions.
The 10-year passport age is not 17, it is 16! https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/16-and-17.html
Thanks for the passport reminder. I will check D’s when I get home.
@hadmeathello – Regarding Case asking for proof of citizenship – where is that request please? Is that for the common app, a scholarship??
D’17 just needed me to leave town to make some progress.
She completed four apps this weekend while I was at a lacrosse tournament for S '20. We drove through the same Friday evening/night traffic on I-65 as @hadmeathello. New asphalt pavement without striping can be “interesting” in the dark. I shouldn’t joke because heading back Sunday afternoon there was a bad accident just in front of us. Two flight-for-life helicopters landed in a field near the road. We drive a lot for vacations and most of the serious accidents we have been around have occurred on I-65. It’s pretty evil.
I got to learn how to edit and comment on the essays in google docs using my phone. For those scoring at home, D’17 has completed 6 of 9 applications. Remaining deadlines for the other 3 are 12/1 for full merit scholarship consideration. Goal is to finish those this weekend, but they may slide. I would just like her to be done with all the apps before Thanksgiving.
Then 3 (or maybe more) scholarship essays due by 1/1. Done before Christmas and semester finals? At that point, I hope my senor parentitis infects her with some much needed senoritis. Seriously, I may bribe her to skip a few homework assignments.
Onward and upward…
@CA1543 I think it was for adopted children.
@hadmeathello I recently read there are tens of thousands of adopted children without citizenship because the parents did not file for their citizenship. Maybe that is the reason the schools ask for proof. It breaks my heart to read what the adopted children without documentation have to go through and possible deportation.
I got kids passports at 0, 5, 10, 15 yrs old without gap. It has been quite a hassle as both parents have to be there (or get a letter notorized.) Almost a summer ritual.
I am just glad that this phase of my life is over. They can finally get their own passports on their own without us when they are 20. 10 year passport is also a perk.
We also got Global Entry this summer good for 5 years $100 each meaning $$$ for family. TSA Pre that comes with it is so good. Traveling almost feels like pre-911 days. :))
Great weekend! After weeks of trying to pare down a 650 essay to 2,500 characters my D finally conceded defeat and wrote a new essay (the one she should have written in the first place). It came out great because she had been writing in her mind for more than six months, she just needed the proper motivation to put it on paper.
Current Status:
-All applications submitted (only 3)
-One acceptance
-Portals are being diligently monitored (by me 
)
Ugh! Football team made the playoffs. That means marching season is extended another week with a five hour round trip bus ride to an away game on Nov. 11. D was hoping to be done with marching after their district assessment this Saturday so she could get some time back to catch up on school work. Hopefully the band director will back off with the practicing.
@dfbdfb wrote:
Except that you are more intelligent, more articulate and probably younger and better looking
I do wonder if they may have been putting something in the water though.
@Fishnlines29 Yes, the UCs I’m most aware of (UCLA, UCSB, UCSD) mostly use triples for freshman now in rooms that used to be doubles. 2nd year housing at UCSB will be doubles or singles. I don’t know if they use triples for the 2nd year at UCLA and UCSD. Our son was in a triple last year and it wasn’t a big deal. Unfortunately, that’s the reality at the UCs now. Our family has prioritized housing guarantees over triple vs double.
@STEM2017 - No nuggets here. I still haven’t seen DS17’s Ole Miss essays… He knows they are due Nov 1st…I’m starting to think he doesn’t care about them since he believes he is going to UA.
Long ago I sent LSU DS’s ACT/SAT scores… It went off the list as being too far. The scholarship deadline is approaching. I was thinking about having him apply. Then today he got an email for the fee wavier for today only…
He might as well apply since there is no essay and all he would need to send is the transcript.
@MichiganGeorgia Son probably applied to 3 “no fee, no essay” schools. They weren’t perfect fits, but there’s really no downside and they may provide added options.
@CA5143. The request for the citizenship verification showed up in the Case portal today, after they received our FAFSA. It was another item added, with a red X next to it. Simple to upload the doc once I scanned her passport into a PDF file. A very nice portal by Case. They are winning the portal wars.
It could still be related to D17’s adoption, so if you don’t see it, don’t worry. (ETA: Just saw @payn4ward similar response. Maybe true. State of Indiana requires it for all students 18 and older, other states may be similar (just an example, I know Cleveland is not in Indiana =)) )
Very sad news about @fallenchemist for any of you who have had interactions with him in the past…
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/1932445-fallen-chemist.html#latest
S will be applying for his adult passport during winter break because his current passport expires in March (thanks for the reminders). He will be a newly minted 18 yr old. The good thing about waiting until they are 18 and “legal adutlts” is that you do not need both (or any) parents there when you turn in the paperwork. D15 got her adult passport this summer in the brief window that she was home. She plans to do study abroad in 2017.
Edited to add that is sad about @fallenchemist. Thank you for bringing that to our attention @STEM2017