For those of you with students interested in applying to UT Austin. In addition to requiring test scores, they are changing the way the application process is structured with new deadlines and application supplementals.
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Thank you, all. I know itās a tough time for all of us and weāre super stressed out and we all want the best for our Kids. I just want to say thank you for letting me vent.
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@kidzncatz iām trying really hard not to but I think Iām feeling miserably at this.
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It has been hard at our house also. After seeing the last couple of years with the UCās I expected a rollercoaster of emotions and results and even after that it has been hard. Our S24 has few good options from the EA colleges he applied but most of them are OOS.
Ideally he would like to stay instate but it will be ok if he has to OOS (I keep telling myself this) .
I cant wait for the next couple of weeks to be over.
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I love that some kids are eliminating options and narrowing things down. Itās slowly happening here. Some are due to finances - she did not get enough scholarship from U of Kentucky, so likely that one is out. We will wait on financial aid to completely eliminate it, but it is very unlikely at this point.
I think itās between U of Tulsa and UA in Huntsville. Weāre waiting on the results of the scholarship competition from Tulsa. Hoping it comes before the March 20 housing date. It says ābyā April 1. And she retook the SAT hoping to raise her score by 20 points and up the scholarship level at Huntsville. But she said the math was ridiculously hard - way harder than any practice test. She didnāt finish. Iāve read on Reddit that many seem to have the same thoughts. So we will see. Maybe sheāll try the ACT - Iām not sure the scores would get in by the May 1 deadline though. We are crossing our fingers for the SAT score to hit the level!
I think either are a good choice. I think Tulsa probably has more programs that fit her interests in case she wants to change her mind. And definitely more language depth.
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I donāt expect this will be over for a while given all the waitlists. I expect more waitlists and S24 probably wants to wait it out for some of them.
Last year, a close family friendās kid went from NE ā Middlebury (off from waitlist) ā UMich (off from waitlist).
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Interesting changes!
- EA will now be an option with a deadline of 10/15
- fewer short answer questions
- modification of essay requirement
- theyāre adding a wait list
- now they want you to submit letters of rec from sources OUTSIDE your high school.
- plus mandatory submission of SAT/ACT test scores
Glad D26 doesnāt have UT-Austin on her list. this all sounds like a royal pain in the neck!
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Rhetorical question:
What is up with the over-the-top dorm room decor?
While anxiously awaiting FAFSA aid notifications, I stumbled this past weekend upon some ādorm room tourā videos. Holy cow, some of those are really over the top. I mean, padded head boards? Futons? Extra furniture? Coordinating your ācolorsā with your roommate before you move in? Covering everything in āpeel and stickā wallpaper (Iād love to see what the furniture/walls looks like at the end of the year after itās peeled off, though)? Bed skirts (donāt those make it a pain to actually access the stuff under your bedā¦like lifting it up every time you want to take something out of a drawer)?
Dude.
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Oh boy I have been following these on facebook since last year.
Those rooms look better than my own 
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It does seem to be more of a southern school thing. The dorm rooms I see in the North are fairly ugly just like when I was a student.
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There are even dorm room interior designers charging thousands of dollars for their services.
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Yes! Those dorm decorations are very popular, especially in Southern flagships! They really are very cute! WAY nicer than anything I had in college! I am glad neither of my kids will want to do that because it seems like most of the time the students only use them for one year. My D24 is in boarding school, and has become more minimalist each year. It is easier not to have to deal with so much stuff.
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We are a boarding school family, so weāve gone through dorm room ādecoratingā several times. While neither of my kids (one boy, one girl) have any interest in coordinating colors with their roommates, or using peel and stick wallpaper, I am a huge fan of either an upholstered foam headboard (for my daughter) or a supersized pillow (for my son). Itās not just about looks. Many of the beds donāt line up with the wall (radiators, funny outlets, etc), leaving a gap between the bed frame and the wall. With a headboard or oversized pillow, the regular pillows wont fall down that gap, and it gives the kid something to lean up against if they want to sit upright in bed. Iām also guilty of buying a tall bedskirt for D24ās room. It was maybe $15 on amazon, and hides all the junk she stores under the bed, making her room look less cluttered. S26 would not entertain the idea. 
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My D24 is just as gobsmacked by the over the top dorm decor as well. We arenāt doing any dorm shopping until there is a decision (we did buy two things that could be used in a dorm or apartment or our actual house already, one a small air purifier and the other is the woozoo fan) and we have a shared checklist in notes for when there is a better idea for where she will be in the fall.
My D28 is very different from her sister, and I think by this time in 2028 there will be a lot more knowns than unknowns if she continues as she always has. She is actually awaiting a decision to the semi-private HS that D24 attends this month as well, and I remember 4 years ago in the midst of shutting down I worried about the delay in decisions (as it wasnāt a sure thing for my eldest then, either!) but this kid it will be a formalityā¦ but we have added it to the family memo board of Pending Decisions. 
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Soā¦D20 was pretty chill with her room decor; she did have a color scheme (white and gray with pink accents) but overall, it wasnāt what I would consider over the top by any means. DH was able to move her in during Covid in less than 3 hours, including getting all her stuff from the car to the room. She put up a couple posters, made her bed and was done.
D23? It took us 8 hours of solid work to get her room together at move in; thankfully she moved in early so her roommate wasnāt there to have to work around or be horrified during.
She had a very clear vision of what she wanted: a consistent color scheme (white, natural wood and accent color - I teased her about her āsignature colorsā being blush and bashful!), a lofted bed with about eleventy billion throw pillows, wall of curtain lights, storage furniture (under the lofted bed), a step stool system so her 5ā nothing self could get into lofted bed, a floor to ceiling photo wall that would put any photo wall to shame, window treatments, coffee bar set up, etc, etc, etc. Much of the time spent was putting up command hooks/strips and letting them cure before trying to affix lights and decor with them. It also included an emergency trip to Target.
Every other girl on her dorm floor said, āIt looks like Pinterest threw up in here!ā when they saw her room. I am told that is a compliment of the highest order. It is very pretty, comfortable, highly coordinated & organized. She was in high demand the first couple of weeks helping other girls arrange their rooms once they saw hers.
I am not looking forward to move out day at all.
Every kid will have a completely different idea of what they want for their dorm room. You might be amazed by what you are willing to do when push comes to shove. Her face when we were done made all 8 hours worth it - we got huge hugs and, āItās even better than I could have imagined!ā.
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The rooms look great for the pictures, but I bet in many cases, they are hard to keep up with. We go minimalist which was much easier on us.
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You do need to be the kind of person who makes their bed daily, puts clothes away after doing laundry, and likes your space to be really organized.
If you are that kind of person, it is easy keeping your room looking that good on the regular.
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I have boys. S22 just wanted his jerseys and pennants hung up, and added things throughout the year. That was pretty much the way it went during his 4 years at boarding school, too. I expect S24 to be low key in room decor as well. He has his room at home decked out with all his favorites, maybe a few of those items will follow him to college. No color coordination whatsoever 
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My sonās BS dorm room has gone from pure basics to a totally pimped out room with LED light trimming the room and shelves and ugly wall hangings. Heās slowly accumulated this stuff from Amazon. Underclassmen are already calling dibs on some of this stuff because Iām not shipping/driving any of it home. He can start from square one next year.
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lol I feel a little better now! With D22 it also took us 8 hrs (including Target trip) to move in. Not to frighten you, but move out took multiple days. The issue was that she hadnāt started packing up any decor. And a large part of set up (and tear down) involved hanging shelving and displays of art and origami, cabinets of arts supplies and yarn, etc. Also that she went to school a 2 day drive from home, so thereās no swapping shorts for parkas during the year. She brought everything.
She didnāt take quite as much stuff this year. Although we did her move in over 2 days, so it was much more relaxed. She promised to start packing this year before I get there.
Next year might be study abroad. It will be interesting to see what she takes for that.
S24s move in is going to be a breeze in comparison!
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