The last time I asked our S he was thinking he’d ask his AP English (who he also had for Literature to Film) teacher and his Precalc teacher. That should provide some balance.
@3scoutsmom, @mommdc, @my2caligirls thanks for the input on the small number of applications. DD is the type to get an application done early, so I think if I can encourage her to submit the 2 early to ensure she has a school to attend next year :), she should be in good shape. The one thing I still worry about is that I think most schools typically award merit scholarships to the early applicants, so if her top choice doesn’t send out decisions until after EA ends, she may miss out on those at other schools. I don’t think she’s in the running for merit $$ at her top choice because it’s so selective, but I anticipate she would get some merit $ from her second choice, which is a match/safety.
One suggestion about college tours - we found that S16 was much more positive about schools that we toured during the fall semester than those we toured in the summer. We realized the difference was the lack of students on campus during the summer time. The campuses didn’t seem as active, I think, and he couldn’t picture what it would look like because it often seemed so quiet/deserted. We also tried a spring weekend tour for our D18, and the campus has several commuters so again it seemed like a ghost town. Having the opportunity to tour during the fall semester, when students are milling around, helped our kids see what life would be like living there.
Generally my kids have had positive responses to the preview days. But they take a full day, so I wouldn’t do it unless the school is high on the list.
I think my spouse kind of regrets taking my son to the preview day for Miami University in Ohio. Son loved it, but husband was less thrilled. Now I think every other school is getting compared with Miami. Husband is concerned about the drinking, fratty culture.
We also attended preview day at Miami of Ohio in early April, and wish we had toured on a non preview day. It was overrun with tour groups that followed the same route and therefore hit all the stops at the same time. It was impossible to really have a good look at anything or to hear anything the guide said. We also have some of the same concerns mentioned by @Booajo. There was evidence of the previous night’s partying on campus, and a house party was going strong (complete with a band playing in the yard and cases of beer stacked up on the porch) when we left campus around lunch time.
Thanks for the input on the preview days!
Only a couple of the colleges on the list offer them, and they are rather small, so hopefully it won’t be too much of a zoo.
From what I’ve heard of Miami - we live in Ohio - it does have that reputation. But YMMV. My alma mater, Syracuse, had “best party school in the country” locked down for the years I went, but there were still a ton of serious students who put school first.
@bearcatfan What you said about Syracuse is what we are hoping is true for Miami, since we are in state and it is a likely school for our both of our sons. Whatever its party rep, it also has a rep for good academics.
Seems like there are plenty of colleges that have party scenes AND good academics and most can negotiate both . I think the notion of a “party school” is overdone because even at schools without a partying reputation there will be many, many kids doing stupid stuff that you can join in with or ignore . We’ve told S18 that kids who want to party will do it, no matter where they are, and kids who want to study or work can do that too. I know plenty of kids who’ve had to skip years at Ivies because of alcohol and drug problems and kids at massive state party schools who’ve done nothing but excel academically.
One advantage of a larger school is that even if non-Greek, non-party kids seem like a small percentage, it’s still thousands and thousands of people. But a smallisolated college with a big Greek culture may leave one with fewer social options.
Just like life after college. No shortages of bars, liquor stores or drug dealers in the “real world” and kids have to learn to go their own way.
Just curious, is anyone else’s kid getting sucked into the prestige quest? Mine has some good affordable safeties in mind, but now everything is about top tier expensive places. I’ve run the NPCs and don’t like what they say. My older child somehow avoided getting into that rat race. She’s always been more money conscious so maybe that helped.
We may have had a breakthrough on D18’s college essay. I thought it was going to be tough to get the procrastinator started on her “this is me” essay and figured it would be finished at 11:59:59pm the night applications were due. Anyway, her HS GC is retiring this summer and asked D18 to fill out a questionnaire so that she could write her a LOR. One of the questions was a short personal essay and D18 finally got cranking on it. When she finished writing it she had tears in her eyes and said, “I think I just wrote my college essay”. This is from a kid who almost never gets teary-eyed.
From what I’ve read here, D18’s essay topic is not the best (it’s about her severe grass is always greener on the other side mindset for many years and how that led to unhappiness … then how she overcame it last year). Her realizing this right now is more important than any college. If some college admissions person reads it and throws her app in the reject pile because of its topic, they can go to Hell. I don’t care.
Good for your D, @droppedit! It’s all about the journey, not the destination, right?
Absolutely. My D is dead set on large universities, mainly for this reason.
My H needs to plot out his time off work well ahead, so we’ve started planning 2018. Talk of a graduation party, senior trip, and college move-in is making it very real for D. She seems a little nervous.
@droppedit I think that’s a great essay topic! Handled the right way, it could be very compelling.
I made four college visit appointments today. Three were preview days and one was a fairly personalized one (meeting with a college advisor, lab tour and then general campus tour). For some schools the only way we could meet with some faculty is during the preview days (it’s summer, after all).
It’s begun!
@Booajo, I set a budget that I could pay for both of my Ds, one of whom just finished her sophomore year in college. I then helped them craft their app list from that. If the school is affordable, and if they are admitted :), then they can attend, whether it’s a prestigious school or not. Doing something like that may help manage your D’s expectations.
I don’t think prestige figured in, but good reputation of the program.
It’s a good thing that Pitt has a very good pharmacy program, is instate (we get a state grant), not too far from home, and the environment one my D thrives on.
With the merit scholarship it became much more affordable for us and means less loans for her.
Now for my son we will be looking for a good music education program instate, that is also not too far from home, and possibly a bit smaller school.
@droppedit - the most important aspect of the college essay is that it be in your DD’s voice . . . sounds like she nailed it!
@suzy100 this is essentially what I’ve done (crafted an affordable list). For my D, she applied to a few schools that gave merit and one dream school she couldn’t give up, but knew she almost certainly couldn’t afford (Columbia). She didn’t get into Columbia, and got big merit from some places (including Pitt where she attends on merit scholarship @mommdc )
My S18 is the problem. I’ve made a similar merit-possible list for him, somewhat different because he isn’t wanting such an urban environment. But he has come up with a list that includes Stanford, Princeton and Yale! He is a better student (in terms of grades and test scores) than his sister was; he’ll be NMF. So he will apply to Oklahoma and Miami U, but I was hoping for some other merit friendly options. We believe this sudden urge is being driven by one of his friends who is full bore prestige driven. My S18 has always felt the need to beat this kid and this is no different I guess.
@Booajo would he consider applying some of the prestigious schools that offer competitive big merit, under the stipulation that he’d have to get COA under a set amount? WashU, Vandy, USC, even Duke and Hopkins?
@ShrimpBurrito Indeed, this was my plan. Going for Wash U, Emory, Vandy, U So Cal, Rice and hoping like heck one of them comes through for him.
Tell him he can go to Stanford for his fully-funded PhD.
@ShrimpBurrito ha! Well his dad did exactly that! And we are working on him. Right now I think it is more fantasy than anything. Still time to get him redirected I hope.