I wish I had Naviance to use when I was applying to schools. But we were still using chisels and stone tablets. And Al Gore hadn’t invented the Internet. :))
Catching up on posts and I noticed someone mentioned sons registering for the draft at age 18. When we filled out the FAFSA a few years ago for S16, that process automatically Registered him for selective service when he turned 18… No extra forms to fill out because you agree on the FAFSA that the child will register. Just figured I’d mention it since my friend realized her son didn’t register yet, and we figured out that it was because they didn’t complete the FAFSA for him.
College Data, Niche, Capped have some very nice scattergrams that we found fairly accurate for DD’16.
I wish Naviance was more useful. The schools D is looking at had maybe 1-2 apps in the past 3 years from her school, so no data to see. I kinda wish in those situations they would pool the data from across the district. Even though the data wouldn’t technically be as “accurate” it would be better than nothing!
@labegg I’m from Wisconsin. People here think you are absolutely insane if you don’t apply and usually go to UW Madison. Neither of my kids has any interest.
S18 took ACT for second time last Saturday. Hoping to bump his science score up 2 points, which will at least bump his composite superscore up one point. He is pretty confident and thought it went well. He took Latin, French and Math II SAT subject tests the week before that. He thought math subject test was harder than SAT math section, but he has not had calculus yet. Three more college trips set for this summer. Will spend some time at a summer program at Miami (FLA). Later in the summer we will tour Furman and drop in South Carolina.
@vistajay He took Latin and French subject tests on the same day?! I’m wholly impressed. D studies multiple languages and gets them mixed up…she has to compartmentalize her studying.
@ShrimpBurrito , it probably helps that Latin is not a spoken language, at least in the way they study it at my son’s school.
I think they have to register for selective service within 30 days of their 18th birthday.
The FAFSA is available to file October 1.
Waiting until October won’t work for us.
Hey you Latin studiers, @ShrimpBurrito and @vistajay
Have your kids ever pursued and received medals for the National Latin Exam? Wonder if they are worth listing on apps, and if so at what level? I think mine has ‘Silver medal and maxima cum laude certificates’ for the last 2 years. Wonder if they are only valuable at the ‘perfect papers’ or ‘gold medal award’ levels.
That’s a good question, Puddy. D has silver medals in German. She just took the AP exam and is expecting at least a 4, so I don’t know if mentioning the silver medal would be be helpful or not.
@DavidPuddy , S18 has a few Latin gold medals. Yes he is listing them on his resume/apps but I could not say if they make any difference to a college. I probably would not list anything below silver but I think silver is worth listing.
S reported for his first EMT class today, and has already texted to say he’s loving it. We had to buy him his own stethoscope and bp cuff, plus special EMS pants, polo and boots. Total geek-out heaven over the steth and bp cuff, plus he’s always liked tactical-looking clothing.
The whole thing was this poignant combo of kid-at-Christmas from the look on his face, plus looking so grown up in the uniform. If we hadn’t been so rushed trying to get everything together and out the door by 6:30 in the morning, there might have been tears.
Good afternoon everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. I feel like I have so much in common with you all! My S is class of 2018 (where did the time go?). He is interested in several schools but Furman is his dream one. We toured it this past spring and we’re very impressed. He is in the 1300s SAT, he’s homeschooled, A average, 99th % ranking ITBS annual tests.Tons of community involvement. Nice to meet you all!
@apraxiamom , welcome! What does your son want to study at Furman? Furman is on my son’s list because of their music school. He met several of their reps at a music convention recently. They were very nice and the school sounds great.
@DiotimaDM, that makes my heart so happy!!! So proud for your S. He is in his happy place!
Welcome @apraxiamom!
I just had this random memory of having to include a photo of myself with my common app way back when I was applying to colleges. Does anyone else remember that? They don’t still do that, do they?
D18 has her last day of class tomorrow. Finals start Thursday and go through Tuesday. She had 5 AP exams in early May so she just has 1 final…but still needs to go to school. Happy that Junior year is almost over! Senior year here we come! She leaves for her Camp Councilor job the day after Finals and will be there for 8 weeks (except for her day off each week). This will be her 9th year at this sleep away camp so she was thrilled to be hired. So she really won’t get going on college apps until late August. My experience with S14 is that Senior year flies by! We may have a few remaining college visits to do in the Fall. She is thankfully done with testing. I don’t post often but I really enjoy this site and this group. I can tell that this “is getting real” by the number of posts each day!
Thanks for the welcome. S wants Japanese Studies. He is taking Japanese as his 2 years foreign language requirement and really likes the culture and language.
I mentioned this post to S and he clarified his major: linguistics/translations with a possible minor in mathematics. He IS studying Japanese though, and likes the culture. I was right about that. 