We tried to get the Elon account set up this afternoon but it isn’t sending a pin to S19’s email so it’s in limbo.
I learned today that the Common App has a limit of 20 schools which sounds like more than enough except if you’re applying to a lot of audition programs + a few regular BA programs. He may end up having to do the Coalition App as well, we’ll see how the numbers shake out. I now appreciate the schools that give you more than one option for methods of application!
@mindatwork I think you can submit the application to 20 schools with the Common App, then remove the ones completed (i.e. you have received the school portal, etc) and add new schools to submit more Apps. The Apps at the schools are not removed once submitted.
When dealing with expected pins, sign ins etc., remember to check your spam. D had problems with important things from colleges ending up there.
Meet the Teacher Day is today. This is the first year I don’t go into the school. Yeah! To be fair, 2 out of the 4 years, D was out of state on Meet the Teacher day, and I was the stand-in.
@jellybean5 One last AZ person here skimming through the thread after being away for awhile. Echoing what already’s been said about ASU. Summer months are hot, but I’ve done the Texas humidity thing, and frankly, except when it’s above 110 here, I think the miserableness of Tempe and Austin are about equal, at least during the heat of the day. November through April are lovely.
ASU is very popular here in AZ; while technically speaking it’s not the flagship (U of Arizona was first), it has been, from my perspective, way more successful in raising its profile in-state and OOS. Barrett is very popular with high-achieving students around here, and we know a number of older siblings of D19’s friends who have gone there and been satisfied.
I am not sure I’d be as interested in ASU if my child wasn’t in Barrett as I think it would make getting the right classes harder, but in Barrett, I think it’s a quality education. While I doubt D19 will end up there (she’s targeting small LACs and Barrett, at 8,000 students, is at least 3 times larger than each of them), if she did, I’d be fine with it (and she would too.)
@3SailAway - I hear ya! I’m so close to just dragging DS19 up to Penn State, asking for a thumbs up or thumbs down, and if it’s thumbs up, good. We’re done. I have one more year with him - I don’t want it to be taken up with paperwork and essay writing and stress. That said, I’m trying to look on the bright side. We’re headed to Cornell tomorrow, then to a family reunion, then will hit a few more upstate NY schools. Leaving sister home with her Dad because she’s had enough of traveling this summer, and it will be mom and son bonding time. So, that will be nice.
Wish I remembered how Beowulf got wet - he only swam one time, probably to please his sister on her birthday. Other than that, I don’t think he even set foot on the beach! Lol.
Making progress toward the application list!! Latest dilemma, though, is whether to try the SAT one more time. D17 is pretty sure that she will apply ED to one of two schools, both of which are test optional. So taking the SAT again is meaningless for the ED application. But if she doesn’t get in to whichever of those two she applies to, then her longer list of schools are all test-required. She has a bunch of reachy-reaches where on the one hand, she couldn’t possibly even begin to get in unless she brings her SAT score up by around 100 points, but on the other hand, even if she did get it up that much, she still almost certainly wouldn’t get in! I’m pleased that she (of her own accord) seems to want to take the SAT again and do better, just to feel like she conquered it. But then again, it would take some serious tutoring to try for that improvement, and I’m just not particularly sure it’s worth the effort since (a) it may not make much difference anyway, and (b) she does have a couple schools on her list that she likes and would likely get into without raising the SAT.
So I’m tempted to say she should just be done with the whole testing process and let the chips fall where they may, but I also don’t want her to feel like she’s “settling” for something less than she could potentially achieve. Sigh.
Also remember when your kids are applying to Hail Mary reaches, if they actually got in and decided to attend - would it be the correct fit for them? In our case my S16 put a handful of those types of schools on his list. Some he was denied at. A few he was deferred at. Ultimately he ended up at a match school - and it’s perfect for him. Now two years later he tells me it was crazy that he tried to get into those Hail Mary reaches because (he knows now) that they would not have been a correct fit for him at all. Sometimes the kids (and parents) get caught up in applying to those types of schools. Just my two cents as we enter the application period".
Have your children check their junk or spam folder . DS16 checked his today , and there were quite a few “specialty applications” and several with free applications including a free app from CofC .
D19 has a list of 8, a list which, to be honest, hasn’t moved much in the last 3 months. She is taking the SAT once more in August. She is already near (or above) the 75th percentile on 5 of the schools, so the test won’t do much there to improve her chances. A decent improvement would put a couple of schools within shouting distance of a 50/50 shot (assuming, of course, the rest of her application is strong), and would move the reach-iest of schools out of the Hail Mary category into something not entirely inconcievable. (It’s this last school that to my mind justifies the retake.)
Some similarities in the schools, but I’d also be somewhat surprised if there were many kids who were applying to all 7 of the places she’s applying to (setting aside the state school auto-admit safety). Regardless, at the moment, I think she’d be happy at all 8 schools (and we’d be fine, too). It’ll be more interesting if/when she gets into 4 or 5 of them and has to decide – they each have differing strengths and personalities…
Wow, the Common App was sent to me to review progress.
I have a GPA question. Our high school adds 10 points for AP/IB classes. The numerical average includes the extra points, and there is an explanation on the transcript of the procedure. The GPA on the other hand, floors (caps) at 4.00. So, it doesn’t give any weight to a pure A. Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t know if they are capping the individual A’s or the final GPA at the end.
I pulled out her “weighted” A’s and treated them like the pure B’s they originally were. Then recalculated the GPA. This comes out to a slightly lower GPA than the “weighted” one on the transcript. Is it reasonable to use this on the Common App and call it unweighted GPA, and the let each school use their own procedures based on the transcript? Do schools even use the self-reported GPA?
@soxmom How many times has she taken the SAT? It is pretty do-able to raise it 100 points between the first and second taking just in gained experience with the test as well as more knowledge, of course. I know that doesn’t apply for everyone but it is not uncommon. Also, has she taken the ACT? Some kids have a marked different experience with that. If you hope for any of the reachy-reaches to come through, it can’ hurt to have all the options on the table.
@peachActuary73 - I’m not sure I understand how the GPA calculations work at your school, but I don’t think I would go recalculating anything. Can’t you get unweighted gpa from the guidance counselor?
:(( :(( L-) Looked in spam/trash etc. No CofC app waiver. I had him start the application also and save. Nada. We have no luck. 
Could you just call and ask CofC? I don’t think they would be offended, as they seem to sprinkle waivers around liberally. And if they say no, oh well!
@bobo44 definitely going to do. Will wait a little longer. Kinda want the fun of hearing him say he’s saving some money haha!!!
@cakeisgreat was there an application email? It was in there.
Trying to decide if S19 should go ahead and send his Common App applications in. He’s finished his activities section wording and his essay. He’s got four schools that don’t require anything else. He also has two schools where he’s completed the supplements. I’m not sure about him hitting send because (1) he will be sending an art portfolio that won’t be ready until maybe Oct and (2) he’d like to include NMSF status if that happens for him and we won’t know about that until Sept.
Does it make more sense to just hold off a little longer? How does one update a school with new awards if they come in after they send in their application?
We just returned from am out-of-state family gathering. Apparently, there is nothing like being questioned incessantly, in person, by well-meaning relatives to kick a kid’s motivation into high gear. During the long drive home, an announcement floated through the air from the back seat of the car…
“Mom, I want to write my essay, submit the Penn State app, and get the Common App ready by the end of the weekend. I’m going to be swamped once band camp starts next week.”
Me, in my head: “REALLY, YOU THINK? BEEN TELLING YOU THAT FOR WEEKS NOW!!!”
Me, out loud: “That sounds like a great plan!”
If you all need me, I’ll (hopefully) be over here editing an essay while banging my head against the nearest wall. 
@homerdog if you’re waiting for NMSF status, then I would hold off these last few weeks. The wait won’t make any negative difference in his application, but it could mean a positive difference.