Kiddo is currently reading The Great Gatsby for fun. I ask if he has homework, or if he has done any ACT studying, and he holds up Gatsby and says that he’s working on general literature knowledge and 20th century American history. So far I have let that excuse slide.
@payn4ward we aren’t bringing S19 to any cold weather school in the winter or spring! We live in cold weather so he gets it but it would not make the schools show very well. We aren’t in denial but, if we want him to like a school’s first impression, we are going when we have a better chance of good weather. Hence the trip to NC in late March!
@dfbdfb Cleveland has the Rock n Roll hall of fame museum. 
DH and I enjoyed the day trips to Cedar Point, the roller coaster capital of the world, and Kelley’s Island, etc.
Our cardiologist would no longer approve roller coasters though. sigh.
@Paynforward If we visit Ohio this summer, we will definitely end up at Cedar Point. We’ve been talking about it for years - it would be nice to actually go!
I could be wrong but some schools update their supplemental questions on their admissions websites so you can see them before August 1. I guess it’s kind of a pain to keep checking each school’s website but it’s better than waiting too long and having to write these supplements after school starts again. I’ll probably just have S19 check each website every week or so. And he can call in July and ask when they will be released if the websites aren’t updated.
Thanks for your perspective on Case, @payn4ward . On paper it looks to be a great fit for D, and she LOVES the idea of being able to visit Cedar Point & R&R Hall of fame. I really wish we would be able to travel all over visiting colleges, but it just isn’t doable for us. So it really helps hearing different views.
@homerdog My D did still seem to read a lot for fun in high school but that was because she didn’t start doing social media until senior year! (a blessing). However, after that first semester of college when she had 4 classes and 25 books, she’s temporarily lost that love.
For those that don’t have time to read much, it is good that Davidson lets them count school novels as well.FYI, we did two visits to Davidson, including a scholarship weekend and liked it a lot.
@elena13 good to know! I’m not kidding when I say there is little time to read. Like most athletes with four AP classes, S19 is home at 6:00, eats dinner, and does homework straight through until 11:30 or so. Sometimes I have to turn off his phone because it’s plugged in in the kitchen and it’s dinging over and over! I don’t know how kids get anything done if they are near their phone. Don’t get me wrong, he still sneaks a peek before bed and looks through Instagram in the mornings before school. He’s been trying to read The Secret History (Donna Tartt) when he goes up to bed each night but he would get too into it and be up way past midnight unable to put it down. We decided he would only read for fun on weekends because he wasn’t getting enough sleep. This is a sad state of affairs when kids have no time to read for fun.
We will have to compare Davidson notes in April. S19’s guidance counselor thinks he’s going to love it.
I was thinking of trying to knock out some interviews for the colleges that recommend interviews this summer, and forcing the kid to draft his “why college X” just before he goes into the interview so it’s all fresh in his mind.
If the college wants that essay he will have it in hand, if they don’t then he will have done the writing practice and he will have thought of some things to say at the interview. Win win.
@elena13 My son does not do any social media. And he reads for fun all the time. Never leaves the house without a physical book in his hand, “just in case.” Guess it shouldn’t surprise me that he wants to major in English.
Wow so many posts to catch up on. @ninakatarina I was thinking about the Pomona prompt about the imaginary superpower. I like the idea of a prompt that lets you be creative and use your imagination. So many prompts call for an expository essay about yourself, and then kids fret about how to make themselves sound unique while still being truthful. AO’s must see the same themes over and over (e.g., “I encountered Obstacle X but I overcame it and am a better person now”) and yearn for something different.
I still like Alabama’s Computer-Based Honors (or whatever it’s called now) program’s prompt, and the one I kind of wish had sold my D17 on it: Take an 8½×11 sheet of paper, do anything you want with it, and submit that.
@InfiniteWaves my D21 does not do any social media either. I thought she was the only one! D19 on the other hand is always snapchatting away.
So, am I right that the prompts for supplemental essays will most likely not come out until August 1st 2018?
I am behind once again reading this thread.
Regarding older sibs’ application experiences and choices: D16 applied to 1 super-reach, 3 reaches, 1 match, and 1 “likely.” She had another 5 or 6 applications, a set of reaches and super-reaches, that were all ready to send if she got bad news from her early choice (the super-reach). She was a strong candidate and was lucky to be accepted to her early action choice along with the other five schools, and she didn’t send the second wave of apps.
I am not sure that I would limit kids to 1 or 2 lotteries if they are strong candidates. There is a reason why they are called lotteries, and you never know what will trigger your child’s acceptance to a school. In the big picture of what you pay for college, the app fees are a very small percentage. You can also ask for waivers, which are often granted, especially if your family qualifies for free or reduced lunch.
@homerdog - Your son’s schedule sounds a lot like my son’s with sports and difficult classes.I do wish they had more free time but it sounds like your son puts a lot of effort into his work (can’t say quite the same for mine). I definitely want to read that book too. I loved The Goldfinch. Will respond to your PM.
@InfiniteWaves - I can definitely relate to having a book lover kid. D always had multiple books going all through middle and high school and the stack brought on vacations was ridiculous. She’s an English major by the way. It was great to not have her caught up in social media, but she finally started with Instagram at the beginning of senior year. It was a distraction for sure but I can’t complain.
Count me as another Goldfinch and Donna Tartt fan. I have some avid readers but have been disappointed so far that out of four kids, none is or plans to be an English major.
@elena13 and @EastGrad you have brought a smile to my face with your support of the English major. I was the kid who always carried around a book and loved to read the newspaper every day. In college, I went the journalism route. And I’ve been gainfully employed as a journalist and marketing copywriter for the entirety of my still-going career.
S19 seems to be following in my footsteps. And I’m an advocate for the Humanities being a “viable” major. I work with English (and art!) majors every day. The creative “day job” is actually a thing. 
@3SailAway My S21 is a social media maniac while S19 could care less. Go figure!
I was a medieval history major but my career has been in computers. Back in the day they were willing to hire anyone with a vague knowledge of coding at quite ridiculous salaries for a kid just out of college. I often wonder what my life might have been like if I’d gone into teaching after all. Probably a wash.
Got into a long family argument last night about how world history would or would not have been different without the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. So, yeah, that history major still shapes my life.
I need to get off of Youtube. If I don’t log off now, I will be doing this all morning. I just spent 30 minutes watching college videos and I now have a new favorite. I also think I may have eliminated two reaches that S19 doesn’t even know I have on his list. :))
I should’ve done the npc before watching those youtube video tours - UCLA has a very very pretty video tour on their website @homerdog - almost makes me want to spend $70k/yr…but not if I stay unemployed. Lol!