@kayak24, regarding keeping track of test scores sent/received, we sent S18’s test scores a before this school year started because his testing was completed and people on CC said the schools will start a “file” for prospective students if test scores are submitted. So far, so good. A few schools sent emails saying that they received the test scores, but most did not acknowledge receipt. It’s possible to go on College Board to check finalized transmissions of SAT scores. It is a lot to keep track of! TBH, I think it is more than most kids can reasonably keep track of on their own, especially if they have a lot going on.
Once you get access to the portal, you might get a nice list of items received with green checkmarks. At that point, it’s pretty quick to verify each one. But I suppose it varies by portal.
Ok D would be super jealous of all you free morning/day for seniors on PSAT day people! Fortunately, she lives in ignorance of such wonderous places ;)) Regular school day for her!
Well, D and I talked last night and her 2 RD apps have fallen off the list way before I anticipated! She’s knocked them completely off, one with regret, the other not so much. The regret was a school we had planned to visit next month (but now will not) that she likes a lot on paper, but unfortunately I got to running the numbers again and I had to tell her that based on their posted COA, and their posted max merit awards, it wasn’t going to work. She was bummed, but glad we figured it out before she visited and fell in love. And she had a very practical attitude about it that really boiled down to love the school that loves you back. Lately she’s loving the school that told her they’d give her enough merit aid to come, before she even applied. :x I’m loving it too, because it means I don’t feel too stressed that she only has 6 schools of the type (small, LAC-style) she wants on her list, and except for that one, we have no idea what we’ll see in merit aid from them or if they’ll be affordable. I guess the bonus to all this is she should be completely done with apps by Thanksgiving (or sooner if she ends up ditching her UC safety, the next school on the chopping block [-X )!
Now, if she can just get those essays done and complete the apps, she’ll really be getting somewhere!!
Now, how do we track the application to see if and when they receive the transcript, recs and scores? (We sent scores to this school at time of testing).
The college website says there’s an application Tracker,but how does she gain access to that? This was a Coalition app school (University of Maryland).
Yay for Astro77 D! For the tracker, have your D regularly check the email address she provided on the application (including the spam/junk folders); soon she should receive her login credentials for the university system and once she sets up her account she should be able to track the progress of her application.
@traveler98 thanks so much! I’ll have her check her email. Right now she is doing Physics homework. It’s hard for these kids to do all these apps, homework, etc!
DD has not yet submitted an application to Northeastern though I believe her SAT scores were sent there. Parents received a letter from the president today looking forward to welcoming her. It did not suggest she visit or consider applying. Is it some type of “likely letter”?
UT Austin posted auto-admit notices on the portal today. So he is 2/2 on admission- UT and A&M- he has definitely chosen one of the least dramatic college application processes, but it is still hard waiting. He’ll hear about his major at UT sometime before Feb 1. Now we wait some more…
@gettingschooled That is awesome regarding UT Austin! Congrats!!! I know it’s weirdly anticlimactic when the portal gives you the heads up. Happened with us for Pitt too haha. We’re waiting on Merit though…that’s the real worry for us!
@homerdog - schools can buy lists of contact information for kids that score in ranges and meet other criteria.
So if a kid opts in (or doesn’t opt out, not sure how it works) to the selection service, the colleges can the go in and run reports like “females from NC with a score of 1400+ on the PSAT” or males identifying as Hispanic from ND with a 1380+", etc. It will give them lists of students and contact info, but they don’t actually get the exact score. They just know those students on the list had the minimum they requested.
Good Evening, All. Are these schools kidding me with the manual course name and grade entry (don’t miss entering each grade from each class Semester One AND Semester Two) from 9th grade on? Enter EVERY class?? I mean, have they heard of something called a
T R A N S C R I P T? ~X( :-t
@kayak24…if only it were a joke. Lol. I think 4 or 5 of DD’s schools required self reported grades. That was my job in the application process, data entry work.
Today I believe another school has fallen by the wayside! We were supposed to go to an admissions info session tonight. We registered to attend a while back. It’s a school that tracks demonstrated interest and we have not done an official campus visit due to distance (although we were on campus 2 years ago for other reasons) After some “what would you do” anxiety and almost teary eyes, DD decided not to go tonight because…
She feels the school is too expensive (It is one of the top 3 most expensive on her list)
She doesn't feel, realistically, that she will get in (It is one of her reachy-ist schools)
Her priorities are changing (distance/locations/size)
She just isn't feeling it/can't envision it and says she would rather attend one of the schools she has already been accepted to, over this particular school.
All valid reasons, so we did not attend. Pretty sure that bridge has been burnt.
We had a brief discussion about how we (hubby and I) walked with her this far, we helped her to construct a college application list that we felt was affordable and attainable, but, from here on out, the decisions are hers to make. We stressed that we have confidence that she is going to make the right decisions for herself. We would be happy for her to attend any school on the list. She is sure to succeed at any of the schools she picks. Things change and priorities shift and it’s ok to change her game plan. That seemed to soothe her anxieties.
I am not in the least bit surprised that the schools she is honing in on are different than what she said she wanted 3 months ago (which is why we cast such a wide net), but I think she is! Reality is sinking in for her and I think she is feeling a bit overwhelmed. She is a different kid now than what she was just a few months ago.
Right now, the only regret I have in this whole process with DD2018 is that we got the applications in a bit too soon, meaning that we could have saved ourselves some time & trouble, but she has repeatedly said she is glad to have to applications out of the way. It’s difficult balance.
@labegg what a beautiful discussion you had with your D!
Re the GC, IMO, it’s time to go to the principal and demand a new GC (I think I remember you said your school has several), and demand that your D’s stuff be fast-tracked. Bring with you proof of GC’s missing a deadline for your older daughter, and the soon-to-be missed deadline for this D, along with copies of the x number of reminders and other emails you sent. This is crazy!
@labegg , I can’t believe your guidance counselor issues. Is this your last child there? At this point, you do what you have to do. Surely she’s done this with other families.
It only took me a couple years to figure out what teachers and departments are bad at the high school. Math is very good. Science, it depends who you get. Literature and history, by and large, are horrible and I’ve had to supplement at home. My older DD’s literature teacher last year slammed through Macbeth in three weeks and then, when asked a question in class, told the kids to Google it.
Lest anyone think I do nothing but complain, lol … my older DD’s first year in high school she had a brand-new honors algebra 2 teacher right out of college. I was nervous about it. She turned out to be WONDERFUL. At the end of the year, I wrote her a glowing letter thanking her for the school year, and copied the principal on it. It is only one of two letters I have ever written in my daughters’ k-12 years.
She was one of my older daughter’s recommenders. This year my younger daughter has her and she wasn’t a fluke. It’s been a great year so far in a subject my younger daughter is less confident in.
@labegg , I can’t believe your guidance counselor issues. Is this your last child there? At this point, you do what you have to do. Surely she’s done this with other families.
It only took me a couple years to figure out what teachers and departments are bad at the high school. Math is very good. Science, it depends who you get. Literature and history, by and large, are horrible and I’ve had to supplement at home. My older DD’s literature teacher last year slammed through Macbeth in three weeks and then, when asked a question in class, told the kids to Google it.
Lest anyone think I do nothing but bitch, lol … my older DD’s first year in high school she had a brand-new honors algebra 2 teacher right out of college. I was nervous about it. She turned out to be WONDERFUL. At the end of the year, I wrote her a glowing letter thanking her for the school year, and copied the principal on it. It is only one of two letters I have ever written in my daughters’ k-12 years.
She was one of my older daughter’s recommenders. This year my younger daughter has her and she wasn’t a fluke. It’s been a great year so far in a subject my younger daughter is less confident in.
And HS submitted NMF paperwork yesterday afternoon. Nothing like hanging in there until the last minute, but I am grateful that it did go in on time. School was closed for over a week due to Irma and has been playing catch up ever since. I think they sent them all in as a batch and I’m guessing they were waiting on some of the stuff to get to them. With the PSAT administration yesterday morning as well, I think it was a very busy day for the guidance office. Still, it stressed me out a bit.
She was bummed, but glad we figured it out before she visited and fell in love. And she had a very practical attitude about it that really boiled down to love the school that loves you back. Lately she’s loving the school that told her they’d give her enough merit aid to come, before she even applied. :x I’m loving it too, because it means I don’t feel too stressed that she only has 6 schools of the type (small, LAC-style) she wants on her list, and except for that one, we have no idea what we’ll see in merit aid from them or if they’ll be affordable. I guess the bonus to all this is she should be completely done with apps by Thanksgiving (or sooner if she ends up ditching her UC safety, the next school on the chopping block [-X )!