Hi everyone - haven’t been around in a while and need to catch up but I just wanted a place to groan for a second. My son did well on his PSAT’s last year but not as well as he did on the SAT’s (1390 vs 1500). We knew he would never be a NMSF - he wasn’t even close to NJ’s cutoff. But we were really hoping he would be commended. He feels like he has no honors to post for his reach schools so he was really hoping for this. And it’s true - he’s ranked number 1, he’s in ever honor society, has tons of leadership roles - but no big honors. Last year the SI went up 7 and it was 209 - DS had a 210. It didn’t occur to me that it would go up 2 points - and somehow I just never followed any of the info. But I just found out that it’s 211 - and he missed it by 1. Not the end of the world and definitely not the only disappointment he’ll face this year but I feel bad for him. Ok, whine over 
We told our DD’18 to forget the Common App. for the day. It is overloaded and giving students across the country fits. She will wait a few days and then give it a try.
Some of my daughter’s schools that take the Common App haven’t even loaded their questions yet so it’s definitely early for some.
The tip of the fall college marketing iceberg perhaps? RPI sent a letter with a personalized code for its Candidates Choice application, which I guess is shorter than its regular application through Common App. It still costs $70 to apply though, so it’s probably just one level up from the regular RPI marketing.
@vistajay yep, he’d be shooting for a Johnson. It is a longer shot than some, but he might be competitive? I really don’t know how to know these things.
@DavidPuddy we visited Trinity as part of our Oklahoma trip. Guaranteed merit is a good thing! And he can shoot for more of course.
@Booajo , W&L uses at least 50% of the Johnson scholarships to increase its diversity, so good if your kiddo fits that tag but if not then that much harder. But it is a great school so go for it and good luck! I wish I could get my kids interested.
Calling @DiotimaDM
Couple UNM questions for you:
- It doesn’t appear that the UNM NM scholarships (Amigo plus NM) specify any awards for study abroad and/or research. Is that your understanding?
- I can not recall, did you get a chance to tour the Honors Residence Hall (Hokona?) Any idea how many rooms there are single, if any?
DS18 finished his common app essay (or so he said, we have yet to see it) and then left to go on a 64-mile backpacking trip with some friends for the week. He left Sunday and will be back Friday. I’m glad he’s getting out and just relaxing with friends and doing what he loves.
When he gets back, things will kick into gear as he will have all the little essays to go along with the main essay of the college applications. Then he also has to complete his Extended Essay for IB diploma. That is due in September for his school. Blergh.
@MomtoCon - we also saw that the Commended score had gone up two points, and that most websites are now estimating this year’s cutoff for semifinalists to be at least 1-2 points higher. The highest cutoff estimates I have seen are 224s in MA, NJ, and DC. They even have WA (where we are) moving up to a 222-223 from a 220 last year. We are now crossing our fingers that S18’s 223 holds up and he will be a NMSF!
Next week he has his final school visit until admissions decisions are in. He is visiting MIT and was lucky enough to be able to get a private tour and one-on-one meeting with Dr. Balles, the Director of Transportation and Energy at MIT’s Draper Laboratory! He had to get special security clearance and is excited because Dr. Balles is working directly with automotive technology development for autonomous vehicles, which is something S18 is very interested in! Wish him luck!!
Turns out you are not alone in not considering OSU.
College Confidential doesn’t even seem to have a sub forum for them. :))
Re: research / study abroad - I’m not aware of any funds for research, at least not as part of the NMF package. For study abroad, the tuition portion of the NMF package can be applied to study abroad costs though it’s unlikely to cover the full expense. I’m not sure about room & board costs, and I believe that summer study abroad isn’t covered unless the summer portion is an overlap of some sort from a regular semester.
Re: Honors dorms - I found Hokona to be light, airy and quite nice. Large for one person, about as expected for two. Each room has its own thermostat, so no one is at the mercy of whole-building climate control. Community bathrooms. I know there are singles available, but I’m not sure how many there are. We’ve been told to apply as early as we can for a chance at singles.
Re OSU, my friend told me they really rolled out the red carpet for her son. Most meetings were just them and the faculty/staff member, and it was hot so the student tour guide drove them around in a golf cart. The tour guide even followed up by mailing a handwritten note on OSU stationery with specific personal details of their visit and encouraging him to apply. The family was really quite impressed with the school and the NMF program.
Hi all, I’m new here! Getting off my island and joining in. Finding the college build up pretty overwhelming so I’m enjoying all your musings and wisdom. Looking forward to the next 12 months with lots of mixed emotions sprinkled in.
Welcome @CatBee!
Common App’s been giving me fits. As his homeschool counselor, I have a counselor profile. I could fill it out fine when I was playing with the 2017 edition. But now that it’s 2018, it says I have incomplete info. I’m missing some green checks even though all info is filled out. I’m going to give it a few days and try again.
Kids return to school Thursday in my district! I’m not ready!
My news tonight: S18 received a spontaneous application fee waiver from College of Charleston. We got the email today. Whoot!
Oops - forgot this - for UNM NM students who don’t live on campus (such as students studying abroad), the room / board portion of the scholarship is paid to the student as a stipend, meaning it would be available to help defray other study abroad expenses.
@snowfairy137 yes! We didn’t get to physically see them like at MIT, but on their Brochure, it said they had 10+ tunnels. We found it amusing, since it seemed they didn’t know how many they actually have. I believe the schools in Rochester have tunnels as well.
Too funny! I saw @Booajo’s comment “shooting for a Johnson” and thought to myself, oh darn, yet another colloquial term I’ve never heard of!
DD hit the submit button on 5 apps today after the Common app stopped being glitchy. Clemson (via Coalition), High Point (via Common with a fee waiver), Fordham (via Common), College of Charleston (via their online app with.a fee waiver, University of Colorado -Boulder (via Common). She requested all of her teacher recommendations via Naviance today as well.
We received some app fee waivers unexpectedly today as well…Temple, College of Charleston and High Point (but we had already gotten a waiver when we visited).
Just have LSU, U of Washington-Seattle, Florida State and Auburn left when they open Sept 1. A&M, but still no movement from her on the optional Texas C essay. Loyola Chicago but she is waiting on that until we visit in Aug 18th so we don’t repeat the USCe incident and waste some $.
@Booajo W&L and the Johnson - I recall reading about 10% of each incoming class receives. Compared to most competitive scholarships (long odds are typical), those odds are pretty decent.
Disappointed DS didn’t want to apply there.
Forgot about a fun tidbit I got from Northeastern. If you are from the Dakotas, they want you!!! Apparently, those are the only two states not represented at the school.
Yes, the Johnson is the W&L scholarship.
And yes, supposed to be 10% of class. As far as diversity goes, he’s a boy (oddly to me usually good in this scenario) from a rural HS in the Midwest. We’re hoping for a rural bump because he has no opportunity to do the kinds of enrichment stuff that seem second nature to my friends in more urban areas. We’ll see. School size is the real question. So far he tends to prefer big beautiful campuses–Vanderbilt and Miami U are favorites. Going to google “D3 schools with lots of land”!