S19 came back from summer program at Emory questioning if he really wants to go far away for college. This was never an issue before, but I guess this is normal. Right?
Now he’s focused on the state flagship (great school for his major), even if he’s a Questbridge Scholar. Oh well, maybe he’ll have a change of heart again.
D also wants to go on a road trip with her friends to the Keys. Luckily they never got around to planning it this summer because I’m not sure what I would have said. We did let her do two overnights with her friends this year. We were nervous but they are all great kids who have never given us a reason to worry so far. I did make her put the Life 360 app on her phone while she was away so I could see exactly where she was (seems to work better for me than Find My Phone.)
The first time they went to Universal to do Halloween Horror Nights. It is a 3 hour drive and they met one girl’s older sister and her boyfriend there. They shared a 2 bedroom suite across from the park. They had first booked a cheaper hotel almost 25 minutes away and I said no way - they wouldn’t get out of Universal until well after 1am and I didn’t want them driving all around that late. The next trip was earlier this summer, they went to St. Petersburg to see a concert, about a 4 hour drive. Both trips were just for the night and I was still worried.
It’s hard to know how much freedom to give them at this age. I had a ton because I was at boarding school. I somehow convinced my parents to let me go to Cancun for spring break with about 8 friends my senior year of high school - I don’t know how I talked them into that! I am not that lenient but I am trying to give her more independence
little by little.
@brentwoodmom I have never really been to St. Thomas - we flew there and drive across the island to catch a water taxi to the BVIs but did;t have time to see much. D is having a great time - I figure it must be extra fun being there with a local! Her friend is heading to college this year so I am hoping he is giving her lots of good advice. 
My S17 has done nearby (ish) roadtrips and camping. 5 hour radius. Across the country is a different story and it definitely depends on the group and their driving ability.
@momtogkc ok I went to Jamaica with friends when I was 19 and I still can’t believe it really happened. We literally lived in a shack with no running water. We had to go to a different shack where we could shower outside. We ate who-knows what kind of meat from stands on dirt roads. We bathed topless on some beach until we realized that there were boys there from Boston and then lost our nerve. (I guess we thought we were the only Americans there?) I got so sunburn the day before we left that I spent the whole flight back throwing up with my face bubbling up with burn. I’m sure there was a ton of drinking because I can barely recall the trip. So…I guess I survived but not looking to have my kids do ANY of that!
Ugh, meet the teacher night is tonight. Last one, last kid. We don’t consistently go to the HS nights and S19 is not going- knows 3 of his 5 teachers already. I don’t think I’m going because I am afraid of making a fool of myself. Getting teary just thinking about it. D18 leaves for college Tuesday. I’m a mess!!!
@romns116 I think that is completely normal. You are fortunate that you have a good instate option . It is possible for a student to attend an instate public and receive an excellent education and lead a successful life contrary to what is often conveyed on CC.
@romns116 Did he like Emory? Are any of the QB schools good for his major?
You might be in for a roller coaster ride. I suspect our process will go right up to April 30th.
@carolinamom2boys the in-state option is actually his #2 school. He’d be ecstatic if he got in! Problem is we likely wouldn’t be able to afford it (UT Austin is notorious for giving mostly loans, even to high achieving, in-state auto admits)
@peachActuary73 he really enjoyed Emory, and could see himself there. He won the Dooley award! The faculty from the film dept (his major) met with him and made him feel welcomed. It’s still an academic reach, but the writing faculty liked him and said the Dooley award made him stand out. Financially, it would be a safety
@peachActuary73 as for other QB partners, there are a few that have his major (film): USC, Northwestern, Wesleyan…but all are single digit lottery picks (except maybe Wes).
Ugh, you all are stressing me out with how much progress your kids have made with essays and the Common App!
^^ Realize that CC kids are NOT typical!!! Lots and lots and lots of rising seniors haven’t given the Common App a thought. A VERY good number of them still don’t have any sort of a college list in place. Lots have no idea of what EA or ED are,or of the differences between them. Deep breaths.
Also, just about every Senior English teacher I know spends some time the first weeks assigning the Common App prompt essays.
Keep in mind: even if this child is your fist to apply to college, it’s not the first rodeo for his teachers or guidance counselor.
Do not stress @JenJenJenJen ! Any progress made on my S19’s end has been because his top choice is rolling admissions (no teacher recs, SRAR) and he is motivated to get that one in early. Although, that motivation truly kicked in about a week ago.
If he was looking only at EA and RD, nothing would be started yet.
@JenJenJen I can’t get S19 to even read the essay questions. So far, he has just mindlessly entered his grades and demographic info into the apps while binge watching something on Netflix, and that was only because I put a Chromebook on his lap with the page open. I would try that tactic with the essays but I think he would throw it across the room.
He hasn’t even turned on his own computer for several weeks because there are “too many clothes” on his desk chair, which is sitting right next to a dresser that at this point must be nearly empty.
@InfiniteWaves What is SRAR? I keep seeing that term and don’t know what it means!
My new strategy is to start telling people that Twin A will be going to Com. College (ours is NOT a good one) because she can’t get her Common App. completed. She is always motivated by someone telling her she can’t do something.
@homerdog Self-reported Academic Record (SRAR). No transcript required. Applicants enter all of their courses and grades themselves.
If accepted, our state flagship requires a transcript at the end of senior year. So one can’t “get creative” with the SRAR. Our state flagship is also ginormous. So I imagine that SRARs make things more efficient for admissions purposes.
There really is a lot of time still to go on getting the common app done, even for the earliest early decision. Some kids really do need deadline pressure to focus. And for some, getting back into school routine and hearing what their friends have accomplished could spur them on. At this age many kids are more peer-motivated than parent-motivated.
I learned last year that the more I pushed, the more annoyed with each other we got, and still nothing got done. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2007354-i-need-to-back-off-p1.html
At the end of the day, she got to it all. She got some acceptances and some rejections, and in 13 days leaves for a school we had never heard of until January-- and she’s quivering with excitement.
It will all get done.
@JenJenJenJen We are in the same boat - the only time the Common App has been opened here is when I made a parent account to see what it looked like. I think D might have an account but nothing has been started. The Coalition Application won’t open on my computer for some reason so I haven’t been able to see that one - hope it works on her computer once she finally checks it out! No progress on essays either. She comes home tonight and starts school on Monday so who knows when this will all get done. Probably around 11:59pm the night before the due date like many of her other assignments!
@homerdog I think the only way I talked me parents into letting me go with my friends to Cancun was that one girl’s mom was a travel agent and she got us a great deal on a very nice hotel. That still makes no sense to me but I guess I begged enough to wear them down! We were definitely up to no good on that trip and I would hate to think D and her friends would make the bad decisions we were making or be as crazy as we were. So far she has been much better behaved than I was in high school but there is still now way I would let her go to Cancun with friends as a 17 year old! Maybe my parents let me go because I was the third child and they were too tired to fight anymore. :))
If you do have an 11:59 procrastinator, maybe tell them about the DDOS attacks on the common app last year that had people missing the deadline by minutes when the servers shut down due to application traffic overload.
(I don’t think it was that drastic, but a little white lie exaggerating the effect could be a positive spur for procrastinating children)