My D25 has finals through Thursday next week. She then starts her college classes the following week plus volunteering for VBS the same week. So hopefully she’ll start on the essays mid-late June. I’m hoping she has a good draft done before the start of school, but I also want her to enjoy her summer.
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My student received an email today from the gc that their senior year course schedule will only work if they swap their desired PE class for a different one. By senior year, a lot of courses are singletons therefore conflicts are common and a student has to make tough choices about which classes to prioritize. I’m thrilled my kid’s schedule worked/fit everything in with simply swapping PE!
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If you get the chance, go see a showing of the musical Come From Away, it’ll make you wish you lived there.
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That’s great. We haven’t gotten anything from our registrar yet so hopefully things worked out for my D. She does have to take 2 classes over the summer (strategically chosen non- honors classes) to get all of her grad requirements in.
I suspect this is based on demographics of parents, to a great degree.
Lots of very highly educated and pretty wealthy parents in our town, so kids have traveled too..I would think more kids, than not, have passports and have been to another country, etc.(often to visit grandparents, etc). Majority still stay in northeast/mid-atlantic but do think more than typical go far!
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We just randomly watched a news segment about that story, too. Its a fantastic idea to see the play too, which we haven’t…
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One of my all time favorite plays!
It is currently on tour. We saw it last again last month. Come From Away | Tickets: Tour | Official Site
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We saw it in Anchorage this past fall! There’s a comic relief bit at one point about moose crossing the road that got a huge response from the audience here, and I really do wonder if it gets the same reaction from audiences in, say, Texas or even NYC where the closest analogue is deer (which behave very differently, and are nowhere near the size anyway).
Re: letters of Rec - I can confirm that VaTech definitely doesn’t take them (and there’s no way to submit them). But if ANY school you are applying to needs them, then it really makes no difference to the gathering of the letters. The teachers and guidance counselors write one letter and send it to everyone, it’s not personalized per school. And I can see why schools may not choose to read them - first, no one asks a person to write a recommendation unless they are reasonably confident it will be a good one, and second, with large schools the teachers and counselors simply don’t have the time to get to know all the kids in detail, and tend to write based off whatever the kids and parents have provided (might as well just read the kids essays). So what really is the gain or how does one glowing rec differ from another? (I’m clearly wearing my cranky and jaded hat today…)
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Re: Canadian colleges - my son is likely adding McGill to his list. The reasons are, not my favorite really. First, he likes the idea of Montreal (he has never been to Montreal); Second, the price is right (ok, that’s good); Third, very few people from his school go there (not a good reason); and Fourth, if admissions are really just based on grades and scores, then this is likely a safety, and he needed to add a safety (ok reason). The problem with these is that they, in no way, speak to the specifics of McGill and why it would be a good option. I honestly think he’s just banking on getting in to one of the schools on his list so he doesn’t care about adding more and is just doing it to placate me because I said he needed more safeties and matches. (Also in this category, UCONN, JMU, UTK.)
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I believe pricing at McGill has changed recently and French literacy is now required.
Hoping someone has more info for you.
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I always go with “city mouse” vs “country mouse” – although that doesn’t precisely capture the “indoorsy” vs “outdoorsy” aesthetic.
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I’m thinking no news is good news when it comes to the Registrar. 
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Thanks for the confirmation on VaTech not taking the letters of recommendation. (I second guess myself A LOT when it comes to info I research myself, so hearing from you about this is very much appreciated.)
And I totally understand about having the letters at the ready for any application. For me, the counselor letters seem like a waste, but that has a lot to do with my interactions with the HS counselors to date, and my impression that they are overworked when they are covering all the kids with last names A through G in a high school with graduating classes of 500+. It can’t be fun or easy for them, for sure.
It’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one to stock a cranky and jaded hat in the wardrobe. I’ll have to tell my husband he was wrong when he said I got the only one available…
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FYI about Purdue: “Although not required, a letter of recommendation is strongly encouraged, especially for students who want to be considered for scholarships, the Honors College or who are applying for highly competitive programs.” Purdue University :: Find Your Counselor - Undergraduate Admissions - Purdue University.
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It looks like French literacy is almost required… From the admissions FAQ page: https://www.mcgill.ca/undergraduate-admissions/important-updates-fall-2024-applicants
"Do students at McGill have to learn French?
Students beginning their studies in the Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 semesters will not be required to achieve French proficiency before graduating. We can confirm there will be no French language requirements for these students throughout their degree, even if future policies come into effect.
The Quebec government has proposed French-language requirements for students enrolling in 2025-26 and beyond, and negotiations are ongoing. We are doing all we can to ensure a McGill degree remains accessible for students across Canada and the world."
International students have four year guaranteed tuition (https://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/files/student-accounts/bachelortuitionguaranteerates_communications.pdf) and here’s the most recent tuition (which varies sort of significantly by degree type) https://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/files/student-accounts/new_students_admitted_for_2024-25.pdf
The tuition has gone up JUST ENOUGH that when you add on housing and food (not included in the chart linked above) that this would now be out of the price range we’ve talked about, unless he got one of the bigger merit scholarships (they have up to $10k for US residents, I think).
He does have four years of French, so he wouldn’t be starting from scratch, but it was four weak years, and he’s nowhere near fluent. I’m guessing that he won’t want to spend a lot of time taking French classes instead of classes in his major, so this may end up being a deal breaker for him.
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Well, D25’s last regular day was today. She has 2 finals next week and has to do some things for senior activities committee that has started already (they sell food during exams because the cafeteria is closed).
She has her SAT tomorrow and is off at some pre-prom parties tonight. She was invited to 2 different friends parties. They call them Prom Send Off parties. We had never heard of them until about a week ago. Prom is only for seniors at her school (unless you are invited by a date) so I wasn’t expecting any sort of party for her to attend this year. Hopefully she has fun.
She got information regarding painting her parking spot for next year. It’s a cute tradition that the seniors get to do. It’s costs $40 and they have to submit their design for approval. They paint the spots the day before school starts. Now she just has to figure out what she wants to paint!
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How is it that I forget, at the beginning of EVERY summer, that when you sign up for AP’s there will be boatloads of work to finish before school starts. Add a summer course. And a job. And college tours. And college apps.
Poor kid. We were just so relieved junior year was over. Well, there’s always Christmas break to catch a breath… 
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Planning our first college tour trip. Very exciting! Looking at doing a trip to Minnesota during Minnesota private college week at the end of June. Traveling from CA and looking at touring Carleton, St. Olaf, and Macalester. I’m hoping that touring schools when it’s for her and not an older sibling will result in more than just a shoulder shrug!
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Ugh. That’s rough! Our school did away with summer AP work after Covid. I think they found it was all pain with little gain.