Back in the day I had an MIT alumni interviewer tell me point blank that I wasn’t smart enough to get into MIT. And he was right, lol, but life turned out great anyway!
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We fight with S25 about haircuts all the time. We try to let him do what he wants with his hair but he doesn’t comb it. Drives us nuts.
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My S got his haircut over Thanksgiving and the person cut it way too short. It was NOT a good look and he was really pissed because the next week was pictures for the fraternity, so it’s memorialized like that on the big composite picture on the wall. (My blonde haired blue eyed kid does not look good with what was basically a high and tight. He looks like a member of Aryan Nation. It’s not a good look.) I’ll be thinking better haircut thoughts for your household.
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Well, after much drama the hair is cut. When I texted to ask if it looked okay, he responded with “Yup.” So I guess it must not been too catastrophic!
But I know what it’s like to be a teenager with a bad haircut. I had a bad perm in the 80s that resulted in being called “sheepdog” briefly…so I understand the angst!
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Me too! My mom had my very thick hair permed and I looked like cousin It. I was so bad that I was staying over at a friend’s house whose father was a big deal stylist in our city and he took me to his salon late at night and chopped off my hair, added a relaxer, and my mom picked me up the next morning and I had a cute straight bob 
I think she was upset that he had ruined my expensive perm but she admitted it looked 1000x better.
S25 also has super thick hair but wavier and he looks like an alpaca when he doesn’t cut it.
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I had a Yale interviewer pretty much tell me that I was too sheltered to handle New Haven.
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Random question about extracurriculars. My son has one extra space on his EC section and wants to include his dog sitting/ house sitting business. He has three families that he regularly stays at their homes while they travel (two are retired couples) and takes care of their pets, homes, etc. He does it for probably 8-10 weeks a year, often for up to 3 weeks at a time where he sleeps at their homes. He also works two days a week during the school year lifeguarding, is taking 5 AP classes, and plays a competitive sport, the kid is BUSY.
Should he include this in his ECs? He doesn’t pay taxes for this business, it’s just a neighborly arrangement like babysitting. Thoughts?
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If he has the slot, I would include it! IMO it highlights that he’s responsible and mature enough that people trust a HS age student to stay in their home and care for their animals.
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Absolutely include it. I agree with @momofboiler1 on all that it says about him. Like I have said before, don’t overlook the value of scooping ice cream. People get caught up on having to show “impressive” ECs. IMO this add much more value to an applicant than interned at fancy company where dad obviously knew someone.
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D25 does this work, too, and is absolutely including it.
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I’m going to be a outlier here. Our daughter did not include house sitting/babysitting in her EC’s 3 years ago. She didn’t feel like it had any real impact, and would not make the difference to an acceptance. She only filled about 5 spaces in the activity list, and got accepted to all her colleges. Go ahead and include it if you want, but it probably won’t move the needle. Just my opinion!
There is a paid work category on the Common App, and this totally fits.
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First college visit today… she’s an athlete so this is soooo much different than my 2023’s journey. She’s really excited! I don’t love the fact that this school is a 12 hour drive away, but it does look like a great fit for her. She’s talked to 7 college coaches and the others want her to visit in the fall, but she’s thrilled to see this one now. She is hoping to commit somewhere sooner than later and enjoy her senior year/season with the college search done. Of course our flight just got delayed though… 
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Best wishes!
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Yes, I agree. S25 is an instructor at Mathnasium and he was recommended to include that work experience in his application by his school counselor. It tells the AOs that he’s responsible and that he has a paying job. He has been on the job for 3 years, so that shows that he’s dependable and that he’s sincere. So yes, please include the jobs, whatever that may be as that says a lot about the student in addition to their academic accomplishments.
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Thanks all! He was planning on including his lifeguarding job, we just weren’t sure if the informal nature of house/dog sitting would look like he was just filling spaces on his app.
He did make several thousand dollars though last year and it is a big responsibility, in September he’s spending a month at one of his client’s homes. I think I’ll tell him it’s good to include if he wants to.
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Cue some screeching of brakes: D25 thinks she might pivot on the type of dance program she wants. At least the new top program in her mind was already on her list, and I’m proud of her for not being rigid and really thinking through what she wants. And we went to a college fair last night and she talked to the two reps who will be reading her file. Beforehand, I had mixed feelings about going–she’d already danced from 9-6 (extra long day at the intensive), and she already knew she was planning on applying to these two schools, so did we really need to spend an extra couple of hours in the city? But I’m so glad we went; I feel like having them see her, having her be able to ask a question or two, to be able to say she’d already emailed or visited and was still showing up went over well.
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That’s exciting that she got to talk to them. Reading your post, I’m so glad that my D25 doesn’t have to narrow her program down so much. We just need a general area of study. That must be so hard.
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So, Common App is open. Anyone have a kid ready (and wanting) to go?
My guy is applying to one school where housing lottery numbers appear to be assigned by how early you apply (no, not when you make your deposit, when the application is submitted) and one rolling admission school, so he wants to get applications in early, but I don’t think it will be TODAY.
We go on vacation 8/12, so I’m hoping for before that. Of course, his teachers don’t get back to school until a week after that, then who knows when they write their recommendations, but hopefully his stuff will be done, at least for those two schools, in the next two weeks.
(I am madly knocking on wood and crossing fingers as I make that statement.)
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My son logged in last night to complete his FERPA form for recommendations, his teachers need that before they’ll complete them.
He’s spent part of today entering in the essays he’s already written and answering questions but there’s a lot more to do. His high school office doesn’t open until next week and he doesn’t have a firm schedule yet so he’s waiting to hit submit until his class schedule is confirmed.
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