As usual, @traveler98 beat me to it.
Checking in again. My DS who is auto admit to A&M and UT, got A&M application done first week of July and UT done second week in August. There was a small hiccup with getting Distinguished Level of Achievement on the transcript. Funny that I can say that now. First week of August it was A BIG DEAL. That is all he cares to apply to. I think he’ll be fine but seeing 17-20 apps from some of you is making me feel like we are underachievers.
Now we wait. Seems like we should hear from A&M any day now…
@sushiritto re the Spanish SAT2, I’ve heard that for non-native speakers, it’s hard to get a good score since so many native speakers take it. Don’t know if that’s true or not, just something for you to look into (like you probably don’t have enough on your plate). 
For those parents whose kids are going to apply ED, I think most results will come back Fri Dec 15th. If your kid has exams the week of Dec 18, are you going to “let” your kids look to see if they got in?
I’ll let my D look @melvin123 - I think it would be more of a distraction for her wondering about it, so she may as well find out and get it over with!
Congratulations to all who have already submitted the applications and are well into the process. Our S18 always does everything at crunch time which makes me really stress full. If he is going to submit the applications in late Oct for EA, is it too early to send the scores and transcripts now. At least that would make me feel better.
@gettingschooled DD had a couple of friends that only applied to the flag ships with auto admits, they had a pretty stress free app season lol. The biggest angst was which one to choose or waiting to see if they got into the school #:-S
@melvin123 Re: Spanish SAT2, I’ve heard the same, but about the language tests with listening. The language tests w/o listening are allegedly for non-native speakers like my D. But does anybody know differently?
@MACmiracle With respect to Naviance deadlines, we were told by our school that we should contact the counselor with any “special” deadlines such as for merit, etc. The counselor will change the deadlines manually for us in Naviance so that the high school will know to send transcripts, LOR, etc., by that deadline.
An admissions counselor for one of DD’s schools called her yesterday (I listened to the voice mail). That’s after emailing her the other day.
He wanted to let her know he got her application (and the supplemental stuff she emailed him) and they would look at applications next week. It’s a small school, but I’m still kind of surprised he called. It was a fun moment though … we both looked at each other with a mix of excitement and nervousness while she played the voice mail. I can only imagine the butterflies when it comes time to log in to portals and open envelopes for actual decisions!
It’s the school both my husband and I loved, and would love for her (shhhhh…). It’s in her top tier. I guess we will see how this all plays out. I tease her that she can’t just major in something “normal” - she has to choose an impacted major where there are direct/indirect admission issues. 8-}
Is anyone else giving the side-eye to the FAFSA?
I don’t think there’s been much discussion about this year’s form on CC. I’ve filled out international adoption paperwork twice, including working with Consulates, and other paperwork including college applications. But the one thing I refuse to do is my own taxes, and this one is making me a bit nervous. 
The FAFSA really isn’t that bad - it’s just plugging in numbers. Have your tax return and your bank account records handy.
@ak200008, my D won’t hit the apply button for awhile, and I’m also considering sending her test scores to some schools. Her transcript won’t be ready for another week or so, but that gets loaded through the Common App and isn’t sent directly to any of the schools on D’s list.
I don’t know about sending transcripts early but I sent the free SAT reports from the June test date to schools and to National Merit and it was fine.
@bearcatfan The FAFSA is pretty easy. If you’ve been hearing horror stories about financial aid forms, you may be thinking of the CSS Profile, which many of the private schools require on top of the FAFSA. That one is not for the faint of heart.
@suzy100 One of the schools our S18 is applying is not part of Common App. So should we ask the school to send the transcripts directly
I thought you’d find this interesting…
The GCs spoke to D’s English class yesterday to discuss how to get transcripts, rec letters, etc. They said that they will only write 8 letters per student, because 1) They are very busy and have to accommodate many students 2) Any more than 8 college applications is too many.
D’s list was at 8 at the time (she cut OU last night, so we’re down to 7!), but 8 seems awfully restrictive for those chasing merit or financial aid packages at elite schools.
I’d know, I bet they might make an exception for a very strong student chasing merit. You have to remember it’s not just the rec letters for the school, many outside scholarships require GC rec letters too.
@ShrimpBurrito Do the letters necessarily need to come from a guidance counselor? Could a teacher be substituted?
@ShrimpBurrito, do the Common App schools count as one? The counselor’s report and teachers reports only have to be submitted once for those by the counselors and teachers.
@bearcatfan From what I understand, the GC letter is the one that puts the student’s achievements in context. They provide the school profile, discuss rigor of courseload, explain any scheduling conflicts that may have kept the student from the path they intended, etc. The teacher rec is a more personal account of the student. I would think that if a college wanted a counselor rec, a teacher rec could not easily be substituted.
Do I have this correct?