I’m starting to realize that every meeting S19 has with a rep helps him define more of what he wants in a school. His meeting with the Lafayette rep yesterday got him excited about some club where the kids get together and try to work out real world problems like sustainability on campus or clean water in the town. He also liked the one where kids created and raced a formula one car. So, I started thinking that clubs could be important and another way for him to gain experience once he hits the job market.
I just spent a little time looking at some of his schools’ clubs. I was surprised how much they differ in offerings. One has mostly service and political type clubs with some athletics thrown in. Very few pre-professional type clubs there. Another school has all kinds of pre-professional clubs from consulting clubs to environmental science clubs to finance clubs. That seems important at a liberal arts school so that kids can maybe find out what really interests them post-graduation. I was a bit turned off by the school that didn’t seem to have those. That school has plenty of research options for kids and summer internship options but it does seem like having a year-long club would be terrific.
I guess this is just another way to judge how a school will fit a student. I won’t bother S19 with these details now but I’m glad I spent some time on this this morning. I think looking through the campus activities might be one good way for him to differentiate between schools in the spring.
@homerdog my S19 is also interested in Lafayette. He spent the day there in August, Info session, campus tour, engineering tour and then ended the day with an interview. My only question after any tour is ‘can you see yourself here?’, he answered yes, so he’ll be applying. Since it’s undergrad only there are more opportunities to get involved in research and with activities such as formula one and steel bridge. I just started lurking here now that he’s started applications, so I have not read through all the posts, but FYI Lafayette ‘strongly recommends’ the interview, its on their CDS as ‘important’ and on their website as one of the “Factors considered in evaluating each student’s application”.
You may not be able to find anything about about the SUPA course. But then again you may. It is really going to vary by school. Some schools will have transfer portals that can look up courses they have given credit for, before. If they have that and some one has submitted that course, it will be available. If they do not you are likely out of luck as the only way to really confirm is to send in the transcript, which they will only evaluate for credit, after they have matriculated to the school. I would not suggest taking it for the sake of getting credit, but if they do take it and do get credit, then it is a bonus.
As for AP credits, all colleges generally have a credit granted policy and table on their website and it will show the score needed, by test. It varies by test. It will also show what type of credit is granted, some are more useful than others.
@jimbobcharlie Our S was invited to interview this week while the rep was here. He emailed the rep and said he couldn’t fit it into his schedule (he’s an athlete and the only possible option given was 5:00 or 6:00 and he would be at practice). The rep got back to him and said no problem, that they could just get to know each other when he came to their school. Three kids showed up yesterday for the school visit and S19 got plenty of time with the rep. We are counting it as an “interview”. From the email S19 received today, it sounds like the rep thinks he’s a good fit for the school and he enjoyed getting to know him. That meeting will have to be good enough!
My son is a sophomore at Lafayette. He loves it. Went in as a possible biochem major but he didn’t really take to the bio and a bunch of his friends are in engineering so he switched with no problem into chemical engineering (YMMV, however). It probably does fall a bit more on the sporty/preppy/greek side of the nerdy vs sporty spectrum but it’s really pretty moderate relatively speaking. There are only a few fraternities, kids don’t rush until sophomore year, only 30% join , they are typically socially inclusive of the student body as a whole and greeks do not dominate the social life. It is D1 so sports matter but it is Patriot League so it is more of a student - athlete school than vice versa. It stood out for me as having great school spirit and the rivalry with Lehigh, while mutually respectful, adds some fun.
Holy heck this SRAR thing is a pain in the you know what. None of the courses line up to our HS. So I enter everything and then have to go back and edit them all. I know I know…the kid should be doing this…but I’m willing to take this one for the team. (He is out mowing the lawn.)
I ended up filling out the SRAR for S also and it was a huge pain.
Even though U. Richmond doesn’t typically do interviews, an admissions officer who is from our area and is home visiting her parents agreed to meet with S19 this evening after his water polo game. Unfortunately his game ran long and he had to throw on his clothes over his wet suit, hair wet etc. and hurry to meet her. I guess the meeting went well and he was able to ask a lot of questions about the school. She asked about his Extended Essay for his IB program and also indicated that they really like well-rounded students at UR. Overall, it was a good experience despite the wet butt.
@homerdog Lafayette is my favorite. We did tour info session in August. They are very into Dem. Interest and said in the info session that an interview is ‘not required’ but required. Trying to get the other twin up there this fall.
Anyway, the campus is stunning. Did not see a dorm though. The good size town is walking distance. The library is beautiful. It really is top notch.To me the school seems exceptionally well run and has so much to offer. I think I did a full review on this awesome and lengthy thread.
Collegedata doesn’t really have anything that you can’t find in googling the individual college common data sets, but they set it out in a much more attractive and intuitive way and it’s much easier to compare apples-to-apples.
My last back to school night was last night. If I’m this emotional at this point in the year I’m afraid of how much of a basket case I’ll be by the end of the year. I was watching the seniors wander by, and the teachers I’ve known for the past three years, and thinking that I would miss seeing them.
I so much want the college applications to be done and over with. I want the decisions, I want to know how much it’s going to cost. But I also want to stop time and wallow in the present, hang out with these kids, get to know the new freshmen.
I just logged in to the the application portal for D’s first choice (it’s rolling admission). I was curious to see if they post anything online, and apparently they do. There was a highlighted note saying “An update to your application was last posted September 11, 2018.”. I clicked the update and it’s a Financial Aid Letter stating she’s the recipient of their Trustee Award which is a significant merit award. Is it time to get excited yet? Can I assume the acceptance letter is forthcoming? This could be great news as it will surely take a ton of pressure off D - especially as it’s currently her first choice!
@eb23282 If I were you, I’d make an anonymous mom/dad call to the admissions office and simply ask. Good luck…hoping you get the answer you are hoping for!
It’s rolling admission, so I really think that’s a done deal. I don’t think they would be giving her a signicant financial award if she weren’t accepted.
Congrats to your D @eb23282, that is great news, especially if it is her first choice. Now everything else will be gravy.
Having such an early decision will provide a great relief for her, and for you too since it’s affordable and she likes it.
@eb23282, no reason to call anybody—a lot of schools send out admissions letters in batches, and they have to put together the packets and all, so it can take a couple weeks.
But yeah, that’s basically a done deal. (ETA: Depending, as always, on the school.)
Very excited to have S19’s first official acceptance! Although we knew he would get into to Alabama, it is nice to see it in writing! It will be even nicer to receive the scholarship letter! Having S19 get excited by his financial and admission safety has taken much of the stress out of this process. 4 more schools left and we really won’t know where he will be heading next year till about mid-March I guess.
