I feel for the AOs next year.
@evergreen5 Heck yes. Selective schools that are TO are going to have a bazillion apps. What a mess. Good luck to them. Still waiting for Vandy to go TO. Wash U is BIG on test scores like Vandy so maybe they too will come around.
I think it will depend on how familiar the college is with the high school for the 4.0, I can see them taking a 3.7/1520 from a school they are familiar with vs a 4.0 from a school they normally do not get a lot of apps from.
S was lucky enough to be able to take the SAT at school in March and is happy with his score, so he will be sending to his reaches and UT is not TO. He has decided that since he really likes UT and is auto admit, he will be applying there and a handful of reaches. I tried to find some target schools for him but there were none he would pick over UT.
I donāt know if this has already been posted here, but Caltech will be test blind this year. I think that is the only school that has gone from requiring scores to test blind.
ED1 seems the way to go, if appropriate, for less competition at schools beyond top-10, though I suppose that was the situation regardless of TO-related app number increases. Is ED1 even more important, perhaps if chosen wisely, than it already was?
@evergreen5 - yes, but only if you are full pay and/or very confident about their need-based financial aid and your ability to meet their EFC, IMHO. You donāt want a financial aid package surprise after ED.
Well itās been a while. Itās strange that since working remote Iāve been waaaaaay more busy at work than when going into the office. I guess with everyone being shut in they are getting to their backlog. Yay
Well DD21 received some GREAT news. Her medical internship sheās been waiting 3 years to apply to (Itās only for rising seniors)just to be cancelled Due to COVID after her interview with 2 school Admins AND the hospital physician was relaunched as a virtual internship. 3 days with various hospital departments and 2 days of some sort of seminar/reflection with the school.
Sheās happy as itās something to keep her busy. Itās down from a 4 week internship to 2. Oh well
Well our schoolās Science Bowl team came in 3rd in the Nation and 3 members of the team have been accepted to MIT, not bad for a title 1 school in West Texas. So proud of those kids that work so hard all year long.
@TVBingeWatcher2 That it awesome!
@TVBingeWatcher2 thatās fantastic! @EGHopeful Iām glad your D will get something out of the internship, still.
ugh - school district for my D23s (doesnāt apply to S21 who attends a private homeschool hybrid) just sent out a survey essentially asking us whether we prefer 100% in person (masks encouraged but not required, lunch in classrooms) or 100% digital. I had really hoped theyād come up with a hybrid - split the kids/teachers somehow to allow either some classes to be in person and others to be remote or maybe all classes to have some in person days and some remote days. They only āhybridā option theyāre offering for feedback in the survey is K-2 100% in person and 3-12 100% online.
Ugh. I just read the most depressing email from my kidsā high school district.
It was a very lengthy letter from the superintendent listing all of the current CDC requirements for school to start in the fall. The tenor of the email was not at all positive (ie - we are ready for the challenge and will work creatively to get the kids back). In fact, though it didnāt come out and say it, it was pretty much the opposite - specifically stating that even though the guidelines are āsuggestionsā and often say āif feasibleā, etc that for liability purposes, it was important that the district follow all the guidelines to the letter.
If, yesterday, I thought the kidsā chances of being face to face in the fall were 80% - 90%, Iād put it at 10% after reading that email.
Iām so disappointed for them.
@3kids2dogs UGH! Did the letter say anything about extracurricular activities?
We are supposed to find out end of June what the plan is here. I spoke to a friend that is an administrator and it is looking like we will be back 100% in person, but with a modified calendar. The district will follow the TEA recommendations and have a 2 week break in October and end mid June.
@homerdog It did - that was about the only āpositiveā component of the letter, which is not surprising. Football is just a little important around here (sarcasm intended), so sports shall go on even though classes will be impossibleā¦
The letter said: We must plan for significant safety modifications including: ā¦Keeping student gatherings, including activities and athletics, at appropriate size to maintain social distancing.
@burghdad is right.
My impression.
Pittsburgh is one of Americaās great cities and a completely under the radar College town.
I donāt live there but it could be one of the safest feeling, arts oriented, museum, zoo and park rich medium city in the nation.
Huge UPMC vibrancy and a unsung big tech and startup culture.
Lower cost of living. Tons of students. Pro sports and d1 sports.
Itās world class and still a bit of a secret. The people are just so down to earth and not impressed with things donāt really matter in the big picture.
Imho.
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Wow!! Way to go!!!
@3kids2dogs ha. Hear you about football. I hope the kids are able to participate in all extracurriculars not just sports. Academic teams like Science Olympiad, Mock Trial, etc. I guess poms could still dance, six feet apart with no kick line!
Weāre supposed to find out mid Julyā¦Iām hearing that weāll start and end the same (mid august to end of may) but it may be 3 days in person 2 days at home for something hybrid like that.
@homerdog I think they will. Most groups, especially smaller clubs and activities should be able to meet in person with no social distancing issues.
It just cracks me up, in a depressing way, that Iām 100% confident they will bend the rules for football to go on (clearly no way to socially distance the entire time - and between both teams, coaches, officials, the band, cheer team and poms will be well over 50 people) yet the rest of the letter explains how they canāt even consider putting more than 12 kids on a bus due to cdc guidelines and how a 4 minute crowded passing period is a problem (though the cdc says anything under 15 minutes is low risk).
@3kids2dogs my understanding is that Illinois wonāt come out with Covid rules for school until next week. Thatās what one of D21ās teachers told me yesterday. The guidelines youāre talking about must be national CDC guidelines. If buses need to have 12 kids, very few districts will open. Our grammar schools only use maybe two buses each since we have neighborhood schools and most kids walk. Middle schools have a few more buses each, maybe five. But high school? Forget it. A lot of buses. 12 on a bus is cost prohibitive! I donāt know if they could put a survey out there asking if parents can get their kids back and forth from school themselves if it meant school could open. And passing periods? Just put masks on!