@arinuma It sounds to me like you WILL be all set either way! Most students jump at TASP because of its supposed prestige, but since you are conflicted it seems like you may prefer the other course. Regarding the prestige, there is a great piece on the MIT admissions blog that addresses the correlation between attending elite summer programs and gaining elite college admissions. The article discusses that the resume boost is not what leads to admission success, but the personal characteristics that got the student into the summer program to begin with. So try not to be swayed by which option you think will seem more impressive, and follow your gut.
Robin Attack…
As I arrived home after dropping D18 at the bus stop this morning, I noticed a bird nest had fallen from the tree in my front yard. A little baby robin had its foot stuck in the branches of the nest and couldn’t get itself free. I put on my work gloves and attempted to help the little thing out of its predicament. When I approached the nest, the little bird let out a shriek of sheer panic and immediately 4 adult robins attacked me from every angle. These things were shrieking so loud, it sounded like a riot or something! DW witnessed the event and said it looked like something out of “The Birds” movie.
I don’t know much about bird behavior, but I thought it was amazing that they all banded together to defend the chick. Well, the birds won the battle and I retreated into the garage. I’m happy to say that when I left to pick-up D in the afternoon, the baby bird had been freed.
Happy ending & no hard feelings on my part…
Well, I’m being positive and hoping the little bird was freed by its protectors & didn’t actually wind-up as some other critter’s “catch of the day.” :-S
GAH! I have friends posting pictures all over FB about the nests and baby birds on their porches, etc., and I’m all like, No way, Jose! I’ve spent too much time dodging mama birds dive-bombing me. I’ve now made my porch very nest-unfriendly. So I guess I’m the spring grinch.
I have trained my D well.
Me: You got mail from NYU today.
D: I don’t want to hear from them unless they are offering me lots and lots of money.
:x
lol @ShrimpBurrito my D is the same way, but she gave up trying to figure out which schools were “too expensive” and settled for “here mom, are my criteria, please provide me a list of affordable options” which I did. 
Embarassingly enough, she doesn’t even feel too compelled to know the names, though she has gotten better about that after visiting a few. I just think the names are the least important thing to her, which is probably a good thing.
We are on the no debt train as well. H and I were both given the gift of a debt-free undergrad experience by our parents, and I don’t truly think it was until much later that we really understood how amazing that gift was. Given the costs involved today, it’s already been spoken of often. College-debt is (or can be) house-level debt, you just can’t expect to pay that off quickly, it’s crippling. We are committed to providing a debt-free education for our kids. But there are limits. We set a budget and we told her what it is. We talk a lot about what the numbers involved mean in terms of actual money, how many hours were worked to earn it, etc because I feel like the numbers get bandied about so often that we almost become numb to them, and the kids, who’ve never had that much $$ in their lives have no concept. One interesting side effect of these conversations is D had a suddenly horrified thought about how much it might cost for her own kids to go to college one day! 
$-)
@planner03 Could you give me the link?
MOSTEC was going to be my original decision and I wasn’t considering TASP at all at that point until I discussed it with other people and my interviewers who told me that it was the best experiences of their lives. I want to feel like I’m not the smartest person in the room- it’s a humbling and at times terrifying experience, but it is something you grow from. All in all, I will tell you in the next week or so what my final decision is.
@ShrimpBurrito - truth! It’s such a tease getting mail from all these schools that my daughter would LOVE to go to!
AP USH Exam today! Best of luck to all.
D has AP German today. She’s been sick this week, but got through AP Psych okay. Hoping she’ll have the strength and focus she needs today. No rest anytime soon–SAT Bio subject test in the morning, then three more APs next week. Good practice for getting through life, I keep telling myself.
Good luck to the kids taking SATs tomorrow!
Thanks! @odannyboySF
D18 is taking it tomorrow and could use the positive vibes.
So, are there any housekeeping things we as parents can do during the summer to prepare for the admissions season?
Get a common app log in - is that a thing? Just for the student?
Get a FAFSA account, both parent and student?
Just thinking about little stuff that might need to be done before we fill out all those online forms.
Can you tell I just organized a bunch of college paperwork in order to hit visits hard in the summer? 
Oooh, good questions, @bearcatfan. I’d like to hear the answers, too.
I can’t remember everything, but what I can think of:
For FAFSA, the “main” account holder is actually the child, which I know is counter-intuitive. Then I think you will be issued login information as well. It’s dumb though, because you are the one that will enter the info. Anyway, it’s very easy to set up the account.
If you haven’t already, I’d set up an email account for your kiddo just for college things, and that you know the password to.
The student signs up for the Common App account, and I don’t think the parents get access. My D shared her login and ID with me.
You can check the websites of some schools to see if/what the supplemental essays are. (Be sure to make sure they are for the 2017-2018 app season.)
Also, check to see if all of your schools are on the Common App. One that D is interested in is not.
If I’m wrong about any of these above, someone chime in!
Some students make up a folder for each school to which they apply: go through the website admissions page and make out a check list. (This is less necessary with the Common App, but many still do it, just to keep everything organized) You will want to have the password and login codes written down somewhere that is easy to find. You just check off all the required items as they are accomplished: ACT/SAT scores sent, essay written, edited and uploaded, FAFSA and CSS, etc. Write down the deadlines for potential merit aid applications and EA/ED applications - that sort of thing.
I traded emails with D18’s GC and she recommended asking her teachers (2) for recommendations prior to end of semester as they will be bombarded in the fall - not that they will be written any sooner but it’s one more thing out of the way. Our school also has a student “resume” form that she will complete to give to teachers writing the recommendation which is one more item that can get completed over the summer.
D18’s school (large public) won’t allow any LOR requests prior to Spring Break Junior year, which was a few weeks back. Thankfully, D18 has already received commitments from 2 (AP) teachers, since due to the size of her HS, teachers specify that they’ll only write LOR’s for “X” number of kids in each class.
The student can sign up for their FSA ID (username and password) in the summer, and one parent needs to get a FSA ID as well. But the FAFSA for 2018/19 won’t be ready to file until October 1.
S was notified yesterday that he’s been accepted to UCR’s Future Physicians Leadership Program. It’s just a summer thing, but it helps build ties to UCR, which is a strong med school option for him. Summer after junior year is the earliest anyone can participate, and once he’s in, he can do it every summer if he’s home during the summers. There are lectures, clinical / service opportunities, shadowing once he’s 18, lots of good networking, etc.
He’s feeling overwhelmed and snarly at the moment due to finals and APs, so hopefully he’ll be more excited one his schedule clears a bit.