Parents of the HS Class of 2018 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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I don’t really have a satisfactory answer to your question @melvin123 & @ceomommy21 but I don’t want you to feel ignored >:D< I honestly think each college probably has their own way of handling it. Some wait until after the deadline to start reviewing, some begin as soon as they can, because why not? My guess is, in the fall before EA/ED deadlines many reps are busy travelling to high schools and college fairs in their assigned geographic area, but that may not be true of all schools.

So yesterday (before homecoming, it was a busy day!), D and I drove to one of the schools on her list that’s nearish for a “discover” day. It’s been a topic here and in general on CC as to whether these types of days are better/worse/comparable to a regular visit day/tour. As it happens, we did a regular visit/tour of this school last spring, and I was glad we got to go to this event to make the comparison.

My takeaway was that the discover day was a great “one stop” shopping opportunity. They offered campus tours, admissions & financial aid workshops, faculty panel, a student life panel, and some presentations on some specialized programs. Now, some of this was cross-programmed so you had to choose, but you could divide your party, if you wanted. At the end they had an “info fair” with various campus offices represented so you could easily ask questions of admissions, career services, health services, athletics, disability services, etc. in one place. We didn’t find it too crowded or overwhelming, but this may have been because it’s so early in the year. They are holding a 2nd event in Nov. and our tour guide said they expect more people will attend that event. Maybe it was the marketing, but the school really did show a bit better at this event than I felt it did when we visited in spring and I’m not sure why. Perhaps because we got to hear more student and faculty perspectives on the panels? I don’t know. But D, who already liked the school, now really likes it. I think if they give her enough $$ it will be hard for other schools to compete honestly.

The one drawback I saw was that the tour they gave during the morning session, was a shorter tour, and didn’t include a dorm visit. We had already seen a dorm on our spring visit so it was no big deal. I suspect the afternoon tours, given after the end of the event, were full tours including dorms. Since we had homecoming that night we were on a quick visit and had to dash out after the last session to make the drive home.

Anyway, we’ll be doing 3-4 more “discover” days this fall, but this time for schools we’ve never seen, so I’m glad I got to see the difference. I do think it’s important to poke around a school on your own if you can, but, at least from this experience, I think that could have been done on this day. Especially since the event wrapped up by 12:30.

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Wow - I can’t believe I read the whole thing :wink: Spent this weekend catching up. So much useful info, so many joys to celebrate, and some sadness too.

@1822mom – I feel you - that describes our son’s approach to dragggiiinnnngggg every thing out.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20857195/#Comment_20857195

Which brings me to the important question. Is there ANYWHERE that provides 1 stop shop for due dates/links for the honor colleges, the scholarships, etc. While the Early Action Apps might be one date, a different date must be met to be eligible for scholarships or … And the honor college may or may not be a separate form and supplementals … AND
My son and I are getting a headache trying to figure out what is do when.
He has a good list of colleges (10+) that he picked based upon his desired major. So trying to find all that info out on each college site is a dissertation in itself.
Help!

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@Mom2Son welcome and congrats on reading the whole thing!! ;))

I don’t know about a one-stop shop, but if it exists someone will chime in. I think though, that most of us have gone the DIY route and created our own one-stop shops via spreadsheets etc. I have an enormous multi-tab spreadsheet in google sheets that I share with my D. Not that she ever looks at it. :)) One tab is specifically “application stuff” with dates and requirements for each school, links to websites, etc. I even added color! Red for not done, Green for done! But you are right, it is a slog going through each site looking for specific info. I just realized today I neglected to add specific info about an honors college to mine, so back to it I go!

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We are combining a discover day for accepted students with a first time visit to UAH. Last fall we did same at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. DD also attended a accepted at Hofstra. These were more individualized to her.

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GIT has a pretty good sense of humor on this stress thing…
http://info.admission.gatech.edu/recruitment/aarg.htm
although they create a new stress trying to grab the website the cute video mentions. Nothing on the website is super useful, except this nice reminder:
http://www.aarg.gatech.edu/find-the-formula

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@apraxiamom @SnowflakeDogMom @gettingschooled

Thank you for the health care proxy answers and advice! We will get this done ASAP.

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@melvin123 & @ceomommy21 We went to a meeting with a bunch of Admissions Officers (from mostly private universities) and they all said the same thing: They don’t start looking at applications until after the deadline. Before the deadline, not only are all the pieces still coming in (transcripts, test scores, etc.) but they are all busy doing school visits, college faires, and being on the road to really read applications. There’s no benefit to getting your application in early.*

  • Nothing to do with Early Decision/Admission, just before the deadline
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@odannyboySF Good info and it makes me feel better, since my D believes in the “Just In Time” method of completing her applications. I fully expect my D to finish her early app somewhere around midnight 10/31, her UC app some time before midnight 11/30 and her RD apps, you guessed it, before midnight 12/31. =))

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@sushiritto I have been told by multiple CCs that you should get your application in at least a day before. Apparently the system gets overloaded on deadline day.

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@odannyboySF Again, good knowledge, thank you. Though I’m hoping my sarcastic lament was just that and not actually going to become true. D is a hard worker, but her penchant for waiting until the last minute drives me nuts. 8-}

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Just be careful about things like this.

From U of K honors program:

“The application deadline is December 1st 2017 (12:00 midnight EST) for admission in fall 2017. However, we actively encourage applicants to submit their applications as early as possible.” (the reason is they start filling slots before 12/1, and many who apply near the deadline find themselves competing for the few spots that are left around at 12/1)

Also make sure you know all the deadlines for scholarships, programs you are interested in, not just the regular admission deadline.

From NC State’s scholarship page, next to the big merit award descriptions:

“To be considered, students must apply for admission by October 15 and indicate ‘early admission’ on the application.”

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Thank you @odannyboySF and to @1822mom as well for answering my question. This whole process is so new and daunting for us. I appreciate all the help from this community.

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@sushiritto Love it, maybe she will end up in logistics and become a just in time procurement professional, its an art that many cannot manage!

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My DD just did her first college interview with an alumnus. The first thing he said to her: “I’m not sure these interviews count for anything at all.” :))

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@odannyboySF to quote a movie, “You’re killing me Smalls.” Her 1st interview, that’s awesome. You’re giving me an inferiority complex. :))

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Just a word about the alumni interviews - as always, it really does depend on the school, but the interviews are often more informational than for evaluation purposes. I have done it before for my college and my wife has for hers and it seems to me to be more important for her school than mine. In the end, I do not think it’s all that important and should be viewed as an opportunity to learn more from someone who has been there, even if it was not recently. I also think these things tend to help in most cases as it is just another data to get to know the “real” student. Of course, if the student is rude, disinterested, etc., that cannot help.

The instructions I have gotten over the years are very clear, don’t discuss grades or test scores, don’t ask where else they have applied, do ask what interests them about the school and, by all means, try to leave the student with an impression of what going there meant to you both while you where there and after. We are not asked to say whether they should be accepted, just what we learned about the kid.

So, we will be telling our son to dress presentably (not over dressed), show up on time, be prepared to discuss what they like about the school and what they wish they had more room to say on the application, and ask sincere questions about what it is like to study and live at that particular school.

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I know I have gripped about this before, but I really need to vent…

I realize that I am an impatient person and often it tumbles over into other peoples lives. I try to keep it contained and am not always successful…but right now I am completely exasperated with DD’s guidance counselor.

They had a “senior” meeting today. It lasted all of 5 minutes max according to DD. The GC went over DD’s transcript and told DD she will have 27 credits in June and has already completed all of the “mandatory” coursework to graduate (she has 21 right now and you only need 18 to graduate). She is projected to graduate Summa Cum Laude. And then promptly reminded DD to make sure she had all of brag sheets and resumes done in Naviance. You may recall the GC met with DD briefly last week and asked if DD had completed the Naviance stuff, which DD had and again today reminded GC that it was done and had been done since June. Told DD to order her transcripts from the registrar, done, multiple times. It’s like it is a brand new conversation with GC every time and nothing is ever accomplished, emails go unanswered or at best only partially answered and the unanswered questions that she is supposed to get back to us about are not completed. I know they are overworked, but seriously how difficult is it to keep notes on a student and to quickly review those notes before a meeting so you do not repeat yourself and maybe give the kid the feeling that they and their future is important?

At this point it has been over 2 months and multiple reminders since DD submitted a request for GC report and recommendations to be completed for U of SC and College of Charleston. It has been since Aug 1 that DD filed her common application school and generated requests for the GC reports for another 4 schools. DD’s teacher recommendations have been complete and ready to be uploaded since mid-August (according to the teacher and Naviance). When is it ok to say enough is enough?

I will admit to having a bad attitude about her since DD2016 and am certain that it colors all of my interactions with her, I do not want to anger or upset GC because, frankly, we are at her mercy until the GC reports and recommendations are complete, but I really would like to go over her head to the lead GC and complain. 2 months is excessive I think.

So, do we just suck it up and deal or take the next step? There are a few EA deadlines looming Nov 1 and at least one is Oct 15. I mean technically as long as she hits the deadline she is doing her job, but it really shouldn’t take 2 months. (Yes we had a hurricane in there and that doesn’t help).

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Ugh, @labegg , I hear you. We are coming up on a month of waiting on the GC here, too.

Have you tried talking to her yourself? Maybe she thinks she can blow off the kids.

I think I will call the guidance counselor tomorrow myself and see where things are. We are waiting on Common App and two paper forms, both of which were given several weeks ago. Thank goodness most of the colleges don’t even need her to do anything.

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OK you guys are seriously freaking me out here! @-) We are dealing with the GC going on maternity leave in a month. And honestly, D dithered and only finally, finally sent her her resume this past weekend after they talked last week about how the GC would handle things with her leave coming up. (She’s going to work closely with another counselor on it and pass everything off to him and he is going to handle things while she is off, I think). The whole thing is very confusing and stressful for me. D on the other hand is cool as a cucumber. It’s fine mom, I’ve got it handled she says. Meanwhile she hasn’t even talked to her teacher recommenders yet! :open_mouth: :!! The only reason I haven’t raked her over the coals for that lapse is at her school the vast, vast majority of kids are either state school or CC bound, and don’t require teacher recommendations, so I don’t think there is going to be an issue with any of her teachers being overloaded by the handful of kids who need them. Still, I think it is polite to give sufficient notice and the clock is ticking…

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@labegg - that is so annoying! Before taking it to the next level, why not have your D send her a friendly email as a follow up to their meetings and copy you and the head counselor. Copying the boss is a pretty common practice at my company when someone’s slacking off and its amazing how it lights a fire. Have your D put together a timeline of things the GC needs to do, and the date for each. Be sure she mentions that she has turned in everything needed of her already. Have her ask for a confirmation back that they are in mutual agreement. When a date gets dangerously close, then escalate immediately.