@GertrudeMcFuzz Congrats to your D18 :). We are anxiously on pins and needles awaiting Pitt merit package. It’s my D’s #1 choice but we need them to be fairly generous. Not sure what to expect the kids on CC that are showing acceptances seem VERY high stats to me. Lots of high SAT/ACT scores. My daughter is competitive but I’m still nervous. Sending lots of good vibes your way and hoping we all hear sooner rather than later on the $$$.
May the merit odds be ever in your favor!
Congratulations @GertrudeMcFuzz ! D just submitted there a few days ago so we won’t hear for a while but if you don’t mind me asking, how were you notified? Portal? Email?
@AmyBeth68 , the other night I was reading through last year’s Pitt acceptances on CC and it seemed like the kids with the highest stats (e.g. 36 ACT) got notified first and then down the line eventually to the kids with the next highest, etc. However, it didn’t seem to show a clear pattern as to why some kids were invited for Chancellors and some weren’t.
Also, I had to call Pitt today to inquire about their portal not reflecting that we paid the App fee. The woman told me that they got slammed by the Nov 1st EA deadline from OTHER schools. So I’m not holding my breath on a quick turnaround for my D. Good luck to all of you!
@kayak24 There is an email/video notification first and a letter follows 
Good luck…hopefully they won’t be too backed up and hopefully that Nov 1st slam doesn’t impact the merit notifications. I had read the same thing so we’re not really holding our breaths just on the notifications. High stat kids first. We’re good stat not high stat…34 ACT. Soooo…she’s further down the line 
@kayak24 There is an email/video notification first and a letter follows Good luck…hopefully they won’t be too backed up and hopefully that Nov 1st slam doesn’t impact the merit notifications. I had read the same thing so we’re not really holding our breaths just on the notifications. High stat kids first. We’re good stat not high stat…34 ACT. Soooo…she’s further down the line
@kayak24 - @AmyBeth68 beat me to it, but yes, we just got an email with a congratulatory video. D has not received the letter yet.
@AmyBeth68 - ACT 34 is definitely high stat!! I’m sure they snapped her right up.
Lol. Can colleges see how many times a day you check their application portal?
If so, that will definitely “demonstrate” our kid’s interest in this school! Morning and night it gets checked.
@RoonilWazlib99 if that were the case DD would be auto admit at some of her schools…
Another question - lots of schools S18 applied to asked for honors and awards at school/local/national/international level. We just got word today that he was selected as the Athlete of the Month for a local monthly magazine. Would that be something to update the colleges with? It is nice, but not a national or international honor, so I’m not sure if it would really make a difference or if the colleges would care.
Thoughts?
My D: What’s a portal?
@labegg you are braver than I wading into the health insurance mess! I admit I’ve been putting it off, but it’s starting to feel like I really need to get it figured out. It’s especially tricky when D has applied to schools in several different parts of the country and at this point I could easily see her heading out to any of them. I see another complex spreadsheet in my future…
Thanks for the tip on submitting common app supplements @pickledginger I think only one of her schools technically has a “supplement” the rest are just questions on the school’s part of the app. Her first school didn’t have any supplements or questions, beyond the basics, so we didn’t hit any snafus.
I’m riding that FAFSA fence with you @katstat1, don’t think I need it, don’t want to deal with it, so kind of in “wait and see” mode.
Congrats @amominaz and @GertrudeMcFuzz on acceptances!!
@RoonilWazlib99 I see no harm in sending an email off to his rep to let them know. Let them decide if it’s something they care about or not. I personally think it’s pretty cool and would want to let everyone know! Congrats to your S!
D’s next hurdle is the 2 essays for the honors college at her safety, they are due 11/13 in order for her to be considered for additional merit $. Essays are not her thing. She’s dragging her feet and I decided I didn’t want to be the nagging enforcer. So I just told her, this is the deadline, it is 2 weeks away, here is the url to the school’s website where you can find the app and the prompts, I expect this to be done on time, you won’t hear from me about this again. However, I also told her if she did NOT get this done on time, I would take that to mean she intended to instead write the four essays necessary to apply to UC Riverside by Nov. 30. So we’ll see which path she chooses. But I am going to work hard to keep my nose out of it! 
Cross posted on UT Generic (because no one reads it any more since it’s been renamed from UTD)
So for those that make the Nov 2nd early consideration dead line for the McDermott Scholarship, when should they expect to hear anything?
To answer my own question:
http://www.utdallas.edu/mcdermott/deadlines-dates
They must have up dated their web site recently.
@RoonilWazlib99 it’s better for your son to email the schools than you. You want HIM to show interest.
@RoonilWazlib99 Congrats to your son for being named Athlete of The Month. That’s very cool. I don’t think it’ll do much in terms of admissions, but it certainly can’t hurt to let them know.
I would definitely send the article and/or a link to the article to the admissions rep/admissions office @RoonilWazlib99 ! A nice honor to be spotlighted.
@melvin123 - That’s a given. The only reason I am the one that calls admissions is because he is in school and then at practice and is never available during phone hours for the schools!
@RoonilWazlib99 what a great accomplishment for your son. These kids work so hard and to be recognized in their sport is fantatic :). I would definitely have him forward the article to his admissions rep!
@GertrudeMcFuzz aww thanks…yes a 34 is fantastic but watching the accepts at Pitt roll in here on CC the kids are all amazing lots of high test scores etc. Pitt is my D18’s top choice without question, she’s ready to sign on the dotted line but we’re cautioning her that merit is not a guarantee. My stomach is in knots because she’s mentally/emotionally committed to Pitt after her acceptance but we still need a little love from them to make it possible :). Congrats again to your D for her acceptance!!!
Congratulations @RoonilWazlib99 ! What an honor!
Question on how to handle acceptances - are you (or are you planning to once they come in) having your child basically determine “I would rather go here than there” and eliminate schools, or are you having them follow up on each one to keep all their options open?