@traveler98 I think it is absolutely wonderful that your S knows where he wants to go and has been accepted. This gives him so much free time to ENJOY his Senior year and get the most out of his HS experience he can.
Personally, I’m so annoyed at this college application process, I’d love to be in your shoes. @DavidPuddy had mentioned burnout. Well, I’m burned out and I’m not even the one doing the work! All these essays are a tremendous time-suck for our kids, and I really don’t like how they have to bare their souls on them. Then when you read how AOs are SO tired of reading the same old “this is what my problem had been and this is how I overcame it”, it’s really disheartening because you feel as if your child’s soul baring is trivialized. Or the AO comment of, “if I have to read another essay about a kid who went to a foreign country on a service trip and learned how much he has to be thankful for, I’m going to puke”…that doesn’t sit well with me either. While an AO might be tired of hearing about these experiences, for the applicant, these really were life altering experiences that have helped them grow as a person and were meaningful to them in their lives. There is just such a disconnect between an AO who has to read tens of thousands of applications and so becomes a bit weary of them, and each of the kids who have poured so much of themselves into this. I wish there were a better way…
Getting crazy here too. School is going smoothly, but all else is on hyper drive. Twelfth Night auditions are tomorrow, along with a voice lesson. The College Fair at his HS is tomorrow night too. I was trying to get him to go by it just briefly to show some love to a few of the schools there, but he is resistant because he also has a prep mtg for a weekend retreat he is helping to put on this weekend. Added to all that is daily voice practice, filling our applications, working on his prescreen submissions for voice auditions and for vocal competitions. Then also this week his major focus has shifted just slightly, requiring some adaption and addition of his college school list (new dark horse candidate-Arizona State!). He and his mom are booking travel and figuring out the voice audition schedule (many conflicts there). Whew! But somehow, he found the time to go to Ultimate Frisbee practice twice so far this week.
Application fatigue has already hit D, and she hasn’t even submitted an app! She’s removing a safety because there are too many supplemental essays. So how many safeties does that leave? One. ONE. :-SS
D seems to be doing okay with it all, but she’s only applying to six schools. She may have them all submitted by the end of the weekend. She’s eager to get it all done and focus on enjoying her senior year.
@melvin123, I agree completely about the essays. These kids slave over them and the entire application probably gets at most 15 minutes of an AO’s time. It’s not the kids’ fault that the colleges ask the same dumb questions in their essay prompts…you know, ask a stupid question and you’ll get a stupid answer.
Edit to add: but it doesn’t help when the essay prompts attempt to get cute either. Then instead of the “how do I make my why-this-college essay stand out” panic, the students get “how the heck am I supposed to answer THIS oddball question” panic. Of course if the prompts were just completely open and said “we want a sample of your writing, use this space to write about anything at all” then a lot of students would panic because they can’t decide what to write about. It’s a no-win situation. Students don’t want to write the essays and AOs probably dread reading them.
Definitely a trend. We thought we had a head start but alas, we have too many apps, and have been mired in the work, and somewhat burned out. In terms of supplementals, DS completed 4, needs revisions on 8, and moderate to major work on 3. And we are awaiting some feedback on the main essay and app (it is interesting how to to group or categorize certain activities for conciseness yet remain effective in painting a picture).
Do most people take advantage of the “portfolio” section of some supplementals even if they are not going into the arts? For example, if you are going into history, would you attach any essays or research you are proud of? Also some schools allow for recommendations from family… did anyone dare pull that trigger?
@vistajay You bet! We will be on campus Monday, Oct 2. D visited her sophomore year with H and they both loved it. It will be interesting to see how her perception changes, if it does. She’s visited a lot of schools since then.
One of my issues with all of this soul baring and trying to get the essence of who they are across, is that the kids are really putting their most inner selves on the line. So if the kids fit the school’s data requirements and get rejected, it feels personal. I’d much prefer one essay of “why us”, and another “if there is anything else about you that you think we should know, tell us here” (with the schools making it clear that they really don’t want you to desperately make something up, and expect most kids to not answer the second essay).
I’m feeling burned out, too, from doing nothing and feeling shut out.
GC must have given out a copy of an article which stated never let parents look at your CA essay and I almost went ballistic when she told me, especially since this isn’t her GC who has known her for three years. It’s a sub while the GC is on leave.
Then I was given a hard time for insterting a phrase or two in an essay she was working on.
Ahem.
The context was she asked me to read it and I was pointing out areas where she might want to revise. Then her friend stopped by and D got up so I quickly jotted down a couple of thoughts so she would remember to look at those sections when she got back to it. She interpreted my notes that as me taking over her essay and now I’m on the bad list.
In the old days, I would have written a note in the margin or put a sticky on the section, and I would have been safe. I guess I could have written notes in the margin to revise with editing software but I was rushing and didn’t think of it. My notes in the text were not received well. I’ve learned my lesson.
But she did go back and shift around her activities to be able to include more things of significance which might help for scholarships at the schools that value leadership and community service and make determinations holistically.
I think the stress is getting to her. She’s particular about things but always very calm. Lately she’s been prickly.
And as we finished three week quarantine for exposure to kennel cough which puppy did not catch, puppy was attacked by a pit bull while we were taking a walk and got punctured in the throat area. Puppy got a rabies booster and just finished two weeks of antibiotics. And this morning I realized she is in heat. So she she can’t go out for another month. It seems like it’s always something.
I am in awe of my kid right now. It’s the middle of his sports season, a sport he has played since kindergarten and played year round since sixth grade. This year is his last hurrah and he was really looking forward to it. But for reasons nobody seems to be able to figure out, the coach benched S last week and has yet to put him back in. I’m generally a pretty honest critic (S plays same sport and same position I played in college) and I thought he was playing well. Others have said the same thing. He was also providing strong leadership, particularly for the underclassmen on the team. So to be benched suddenly and without explanation was a real shock. I really thought this would kill S, and judging from what I see of him at home, he is pretty torn up about it. However, he is putting on an enthusiastic face in front of the team - still trying to be that leader. giving everyone high-fives as they come off the field and supporting everyone, including the junior who is now playing in his spot. I couldn’t be prouder of the strength and class he is showing. I just wish it would rub off on me.
@Booajo sorry to hear about your S’s injury. That’s a hard way to end a senior season.
Sorry for everyone’s school and application stress. S’s classes are going fine. Hubby and I had a long talk with S, because S would literally quadruple check every problem in both Physics and Precalculus, Virtual school classes) He’s been losing sleep and the whole academics has been taking so much of his time. We got him to promise to only check things over TWICE. His grades since our discussion are as high as they were before. He grudgingly admitted it appears we were right. :-*
Next application hurdle: the FAFSA. Then in November, a phone interview for homeschool students. Then finally s’s application will be complete.
@chippedtoof I’ve heard AOs say “the thicker the file, the thicker the student”. I would be very hesitant to do a family recommendation or to have my child add a lot to their application unless it was something truly extraordinary.
@booajo I know the feeling…S had a cast put on today for a broken thumb, and just like that the sport he has played since 1st grade is finished. The season will be over by the time the cast comes off so no last hurrah, no final accomplishments and memories, no all star team. Just over. But of course he will need to sit at every practice and game for the rest of the season. Its’ such a disappointment.
Oh I so agree and feel the pain of essay fatigue! And there is not even one complete in this house. :-SS I am starting to feel that if she can just get one of them done (preferably the main common app) she’ll feel so much better and it will give her such a boost of confidence!
But I am just sitting here nodding my head at everything that’s been said. My D is an intensely private person and now she is asked to share her inner thoughts with strangers around the country, who will judge her on them? Ugh, it’s like her nightmare come true. :-& But she’ll get through it. They all will. Somehow they will find a way. I’m going to choose to remain positive and believe that absent criminal or unethical behavior revealed in the essay, or grossly flagrant grammatical errors throughout, no essay is going to keep a kid OUT of a school, if all other factors point to an acceptance. It’s just that a really phenomenal essay might sway to help get kid in where they sit on the margin.
I don’t see my kid writing a phenomenal essay. But I don’t think she’ll be on the margin for any of her schools. Hopefully a “good enough” essay will do for merit aid. [-O<
@bearcatfan I almost went by Trader Joe’s on the way home for a little tub of Begian chocolate pudding. Instead I’m settling for chips and pumpkin salsa from Aldi. It’s yummy and might be making me feel a little better. ;
@bearcatfan I don’t drink either, but my workouts are getting more intense.
@melvin123 Is the opposite true with AO’s, the simpler the file, the simpler the kid? Because I don’t think my D’s file will be too big. I think you can count her awards on one or two fingers. =))
