I would say that my D doesn’t know enough about the schools on her list to truly have a favorite yet, BUT I do know that she is casting a very particular eye at one school on the list. She really liked one specific club they had that was rare enough of an offering that it’s only at one other school on the list (I couldn’t cast a wide enough net with her many other limiting factors to find more than that). Then again, we recently got a brochure from that school, she glanced at it only briefly and derisively shook her head while muttering “brick…” She has somehow got a thing about brick now 8-| Not sure where that came from except when we were wandering through USCal last year she really hated it (apologies to @droppedit’s D) , and especially all the brick “inappropriate for So. Cal.” I believe she said. And “who are they trying to pretend they are?” was another pithy quote at the time. Now suddenly all colleges with brick are somehow pretending to be ivys or something. Nevermind that she has never even been to the east coast let alone visited an ivy league campus!
I did explain that brick was popular for constructing large buildings during a certain period when many of these schools were built and that the presence or absence of brick in no way indicated the level of quality of the school, so she’s just going to have to get used to it. So I will be interested to see if she can get over her brick-hatred, or find a campus sufficiently brick-free for her liking.
At least that implies your D has actually picked out some schools she’d like to visit! I recently reminded S that if he does senior year abroad, spring is literally our last opportunity to visit schools in session. I keep promising myself to stop worrying about it. Haven’t kept that promise yet…
@droppedit, wow, I can’t imagine being at that point! Obviously a safety is necessary (if USC isn’t one for her – wouldn’t be for my kids!) and a few targets give her options if her love for USC dwindles a bit. But I wouldn’t add a single reach – just seems like a way of adding stress!
@RoonilWazlib99, I probably mentioned it before, but Gonzaga is D17’s top pick out of her acceptances so far (she mostly applied EA) and luckily it juuuuust squeezed into the “affordable” category. She’ll be applying to VA Tech before the impending deadline if not overcome by essay fatigue.
@1822mom, your D’s anti-brick sentiment and comments sound hilarious! H and I went to GA Tech where students constantly mocked the ubiquity of bricks, so she’s not alone in hating them. (In GT’s case I don’t think they were going for an “Ivy” look – if they were they failed miserably.) And good luck to her in finding a sufficiently brick-free campus!
LOL “brick” was DS18’s issue with OU (where his sister attends) though he called it “architecture” he could not get off that campus fast enough! He was much happier with the new modern buildings at UTD. I honestly never thought he’d care what a campus looked like but boy was I wrong!
@snoozn – USC is a match stat-wise but a reach overall because it only has a 20% rate. She’ll do two safeties (I’ll make sure of that). I want her to do one moonshot, which will probably be Stanford. D18 was looking at Northwestern but I’ve been giving her weather reports for Evanston this winter and that ended her desire to go there.
Love the brick-hater. You never know what things will trigger a reaction in a kid.
^^lol yes. Her revulsion of brick comes from my H who is a native Californian, and has told her that brick + earthquake = crumbled building/death… which explains why she doesn’t like it in CA schools, but not why she is so offended by it in the out of state ones! Even H has said brick is fine out of state, and even here in CA it’s fine because it’s either retrofitted or just a facade. Ironically (or not), our alma mater, UCSD, has no brick in sight, and she hates that too… hoping the upcoming visits help her come to a happy middle ground on the architecture issue!
Keep options open - many kids think they know what they want Jr. year (and many do), but do not close doors. I am always amazed how preferences change senior year. Applications get started over the summer and many get completed in the early fall, but February - ideas and preferences can change. Just a thought.
It’s so funny what strikes kids about colleges, that parents never see coming. Definitely underlines the importance of visiting the schools if at all possible, because you never know what might make a student love or hate a campus. We had that kind of surprise with Rice; it’s a great school and I loved the tour and thought S would too. Nope, he hated it although he couldn’t really articulate why.
To be clear, @snoozn, I have picked out some schools I’d like her to visit! My D has picked out exactly one school she’d like to look at, and I’m pretty sure she did it by opening the Fiske Guide to a random page. (We’re visiting it though.)
It’s funny to see where different kids are on the spectrum: some know exactly where they want to go at this point and some kids have no clue or are even actively resisting the process. (I suppose some parents are the same!)
As I research and find potentially useful info that might spark D’s interest in colleges and professions, I’ve tried to casually sprinkle it into conversation in a low-pressure way. But she just told me it’s making her anxious as she has no idea what she wants to do in the future or what college she might be interested in. I don’t want to stress her out so I’m not sure what to do.
She qualifies for free CC in our state but hates the idea. I don’t think it’s such a bad plan if she were to transfer to an in-state public afterward. I’d feel differently if there were thoughts of a transfer to a private uni and missing the freshman merit opportunities.
It was so much easier the last time around with a kid who had a clear career path from early on. There were few schools that offered her major and they weren’t selective so she got great merit awards. It was so simple.
It was so much easier the last time around with a kid who had a clear career path from early on. There were few schools that offered her major and they weren't selective so she got great merit awards. It was so simple.
That’s my Son Its hard to actually get qualified colleges on the visit list. We went to some within driving distance just for Dad! When his first comment on Princeton is “its nice but they don’t have what I’m looking for” you know you’re in for a different experience than most other families.
@MACmiracle, @JerseyParents - count us in with the undecided crowd! D18 has no interest in any particular major right now & just broaching the subject (of anything to do with college) elicits an instant defensive attitude from her.
I’d venture to wager that there are many, many more of us in the same situation than we think there are.
I think (in our case) that D just took on way too many hard classes, EC’s, & additional projects in junior year and I think she’s just too stressed-out right now to deal with anything else so I’ve just decided to give her some space right now.
even though (in my head) I'm thinking she should be getting ready for her ACT test & looking at potential colleges, etc, etc...
That’s surprising she got a call. I thought direct phone contact was restricted until July 1st following junior year. Did they change the rules recently?
We’ll be touring several schools over S’s spring break, so I thought I’d join the thread. We’ll be visiting UNM (ABQ), OU, UT Dallas and Texas Tech if we can squeeze it in. We’ll also try to hit Michigan State and Tulane in separate trips later in the year.
S is thinking premed, but is undecided about his major. Maybe something in bio/neurosci/ BME, maybe something in professional / creative writing and communications. Maybe both for a double major.
Advice requested: S is taking the SAT in school April 11. He did way better on the PSAT than the SAT, so it’s the one he’ll be going with. I want to leave open the option for him to take it three times if necessary. The other possible test dates are March 11, May 6, and June 3. Any advice on which two of those goes better with the April date? I don’t want to count on him being able to take it in the fall since there’s the possibility he’ll do senior year abroad.
@MACmiracle, in hindsight I wish my oldest D had followed the community college transfer path and she agrees. I’m not sure how big the differences are in freshman vs. transfer merit, but two free years of schooling might make up for it. Plus she could work part-time. Although if she really wants the “college campus experience” I can see where CC wouldn’t be so appealing.
@snoozn I don’t think it matters except for his own personal schedule - like if he is taking a lot of AP exams he might not want to take the May SAT. On the other hand, if the bulk of his finals are early June, he might not want to take the June SAT.
However you do it, if he ends up taking it three times he will at some point be doing back-to-back testing and prep with no rest in between. But maybe that’s good - he will be in the “swing” of test prep and hopefully will retain what he learned for the following month. Good luck!
There’s also the (sigh) SAT Subject tests to consider if your kid is going to take them. Those are only offered during certain SAT dates, and not all of the subjects every time. (Although looks like June has most (all?) of them.)