@traveler98 ; @DavidPuddy ; @melvin123 ; @chippedtoof ; BURNOUT - count us in!!! There must be something going around. I was actually going to post something about it yesterday but didn’t & then I see all of these posts about it today!!
I like how @suzy100 put it: Application Fatigue! We’re going through it right now as well. D has zero interest and zero motivation to do or talk about anything college right now. Her school just had homecoming week activities all of last week culminating with the big football game & the dance on Saturday. Lots of fun and reminiscing with friends & on Monday it was like all of the motivation was drained out of her.
She pressed the button to submit her NMF application last week, but we haven’t submitted to any colleges yet. The good news is that we can do that any time now & everything is pretty much done - just need a few tweaks to the different applications for most of the schools she’ll apply to. I’m glad we got mostly everything (essays, etc.) done early (mostly over the summer) because I have the freedom right now to give her a bit of space until she’s ready to get back into it. I told her to let me know when she wants to work on stuff & I also told her that I’m always happy to help but that I won’t do any of it by myself.
I’m sure senioritis is a real thing for a lot of kids & I don’t know exactly when that’s supposed to start, but I wonder if that’s a part of the equation also?
@LMHS73 I hope Senioritis doesn’t kick in until Spring semester!!! And I really question how much can kick in with all the AP work, it’s not like that’s going to slow down.
So far this week my older daughter lost/misplaced her physics folder (found at school). Today my younger daughter lost/misplaced her history folder, and of course there is a test tomorrow. She picked up another review packet and luckily took pictures of the stuff they’d been doing in class, so the information was recreated. Folder is still MIA but she will ask in every class tomorrow.
But, REALLY KIDS?!?!? Two lost folders (with accompanying panicky texts home) in one week? And it’s only Wednesday.
I think there is a lot of September fatigue going on for all of us.
Sometimes I panic when I hear my kids special ring tones go off on my phone (DD2016 is Harry Potter, DD2018 is The Road Runner), I am thinking “OMG what now?”. Honestly senior year should be so much more fun that it is for these kids.
We are currently avoiding doing some scholarship/merit applications. Why do some schools still have separate merit scholarship applications? Surely the regular apps and essays ought to provide enough info.
Any why did we get everything done so early…6 months is a looooong wait to hear an answer.
I am sorry for the rash of sports injuries, that is such a disappointing end to whole childhood of commitment.
DP Jr. is legitimately over worked right now with school, sport, and school related “mandatory ECs”. I don’t mind this per se; although it is not a recipe for a tranquil senior year, it is legitimate work that needs to be done. There is no senioritis at play, nor longing for it. Just a lot of real work with a class schedule that is probably needlessly demanding and almost entirely self inflicted.
But.
Add the applications and essays, and the extra essays specific to a major, and it’s become the proverbial straw(s) on the camel’s back.
And here is where I am: I don’t want him spending more time on them.
They could be better, but I don’t think they should be. He wrote them. They fulfill the requirements. They were not cobbled together without thought. They address the questions being asked, and by virtue of the fact that he wrote them, they are “in his voice”, which is a phrase I am beyond tired of hearing. More importantly, he will be schooling for “four years” at whatever place he decides to go. Whatever that place is, should they judge him on an essay that is 650 words but takes 40 hours and 6 revisions to write? That’s absurd.
So I am letting go. And he will own submitting them whenever he is ready. Hopefully soon.
And then the guilt arrives. Should we care more about them? Are we selling him short by not recrafting them all? Are we missing an opportunity to draft a unique essay for the Honors application when a re worked one already written will do?
I think the recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma didn’t help. Not just damage, but routine disruptions, closed schools. Not to mention the hurry-up-and-wait stress of waiting for a storm to make landfall.
Ugh - I hear you all on the burn out. We have been in school for 6 weeks and D18 is already over it. If it isn’t something to do with actual school work (calc teacher omits one section on the test that D18 scored perfectly on and keeps other section she didn’t do as well on because other students didn’t do as well on that section, which affected her score negatively) to personal (school blazer doesn’t fit and that will be CATASTROPHE for senior pictures on Tuesday), to classroom drama (D18 was chosen for lead in school play and one of the other students who didn’t is making rehearsal miserable). All this to say, I personally have become the figurative punching bag and I am OVER.IT. Trying to be supportive, but I am getting a bit tired of being treated like a personal assistant, here at her every whim. Devil Wears Prada, anyone? Sigh.
lol “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” was actually the topic a college app adviser at the hs of a friend’s kid gave last year and the essay garnered an acceptance to a very competitive college and the first choice of the student. The student is an awesome candidate but really struggled to find a personal story and in the end went with advice given, although it was a standard family cruise and not a service trip. Still, it was an essay to submit that got a positive result. S has written 0 words. Maybe I should book a trip?
@BuckeyeMWDSG, or perhaps you and your spouse could book a relaxing trip WITHOUT your S. You can have your nice time to get away from the madness and he can write about the time he got left behind alone while his parents went on holiday…
@amominaz ; “figurative punching bag,” “tired of being treated like a personal assistant at her every whim,” YES you nailed it for me also!
When D decides that it’s time to do something related to the college process, she approaches me immediately and expects me to drop everything and help her NOW; and when I do drop everything to help, she still acts like she’s doing me the big favor! And (many times) when I give her some advice or info that it’s taken me weeks, months, or years to learn, she interviews me like I’m her employee to see if I really know what I’m talking about and if she wants to act based on my “sketchy” advice. It drives me nuts!!!
I’m so glad we’re taking a little breather right now, because I think I need it more than she does!!!
@traveler98 - I guess there’s still plenty of time for your S to decide if he wants to go forward and finish his McDermott essays (Nov 2nd for early submission deadline & Jan 3rd for regular submission deadline I think - right?). Before My D’s progress came to a screeching halt, she actually had all of her McDermott essays done. For her, it’s that 2-minute video that she doesn’t want to do.
I kind of feel the way that you do about the whole thing & I just told her to do it if she wants to & maybe they’ll fly her in for the finals (if nothing else) or (if she’s that adamant about not doing the video) then don’t do it - it’s all good with me!!
@amominaz - She just popped her head in the den & asked if I’d like the opportunity to help her with one of her applications & I said “not right now; maybe we can get together on Sunday and look at some things together.” Wow - that felt liberating!
Whenever D asks me a college-related question, i tell her what I think I know, but instruct her to confirm the information herself online. This way she knows what to look for and where, but ultimately the responsibility is on her.
Just when we thought things were going so smoothly…rumor around school is that D’s (excellent) AP Physics teacher is leaving next week. I can’t blame him, as he’s overqualified and probably got a more appropriate job offer, but what in the world will his students do? Our school district has a really hard time filling teaching positions, and qualified AP Physics teachers are hard to come by, I am sure.
ah @DavidPuddy you are speaking my language. We are not even at the same point yet, but I feel it. That wanting to let it go so they can move on, and at the same time questioning if you’ve done enough. But yes, I agree, let it go, and then, let it go.
@BuckeyeMWDSG I think your anecdote is a great reminder to not overthink it with these things. Sometimes you just gotta go with the cliche and it will be fine.
OK, I’m commiserating with everyone here while simultaneously having a convo with D who think she wants to add some schools to her list. This is the child that is dropping a safety because there are too many extra essays.
“I just googled Brown 2018 application and there are no supplemental essays!”
“Uh, try Brown 2017.”
keyboard clicking
“Damn.”
Hang in everyone. Maybe it’s time for a breather. There really is time before most apps are really, truly due.
Sending the Cabana Boys out to all who could use a drink and/or a distraction
Well, @MACmiracle, D just heard confirmation from a school administrator that he is leaving. D was on the fence about taking the AP Physics test, so she definitely won’t now. It’s not a huge deal for her, but I really feel for the junior IB students who are taking this class. Next year’s HL Physics is gonna hurt.
