I have heard the phrase “soiling the nest” to refer to this situation, in a way for all parties to feel like it is time for that fledgling to soar/move on along…..
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I’m actually more worried that my S25 is having a fabulous senior year. Everything is going great for him and he seems less ready for college than he did six months ago.
D23 had a miserable last half of senior year and was thrilled to graduate. She’s having a wonderful time in college and she was so ready to go.
It’s really normal to be done with high school. That’s how it’s supposed to be 
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So today I received emails from two EA colleges that S25 applied to yesterday that said they’ve extended their EA deadline - one to today at midnight and one a whole week extension. Is this common? It kind of rubs me the wrong way considering how much work it was to get it in on time for these kids. But maybe I’m still a little punchy from the whole experience. 
Yes, there are a number of schools that do it every year.
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Yes I am familiar with a student in Canada who is currently a junior in a university in Ontario who did everything on her own. Parents were completely uninvolved but they pay the fees which are low though actually not hugely different than some regional universities in America, excluding exchange rate. The student applies to some number of programs in the province through one application but there can be supplemental materials depending on the program. However, my understanding is that students tend to apply to no more than 5 programs so even if all of those programs had supplemental requirements, the application isn’t the kind of grueling process many students in America face.
Similar to the UK. One application with one essay and one reference and the student chooses up to 5 schools. For a few schools, there will be additional requirements like testing but it’s a much easier process than the American system.
I agree that parental involvement is partly dictated by the much higher costs here but also there are differences in how students are treated. In many of these countries, students are treated like adults with no communication to parents. Parents pay the bills and that’s it - no family weekends or orientation events to welcome families. Students are expected to figure everything out on their own as well.
I expect that is what I am talking about. I don’t think anyone you are talking about - either the kids or the adults - would find it hard to apply in the manner these kids do. Basically, all that they do is get the application (and it’s usually one) for the state schools and check off boxes on which schools they plan to apply to. There isn’t even an essay involved for most though there might be one for some schools on the list and the students also have to submit their transcripts. That’s it. They hear back in a few weeks. Getting a driver’s license is actually more difficult and far more time-consuming so not sure what can be considered difficult about it. Again, we’re not talking about people who need financial support to pay for the school as their parents can fund the regional school. By the way, I think if one were to apply to CSU’s and only CSU’s with no need for financial support, the level of difficulty would be similar to the above but someone correct me if I am wrong.
My DS for her first decision on Friday. She applied to SUNY New Paltz and got accepted with a merit scholarship. I thought she had applied EA, but I guess it was rolling. Even if it’s not her first choice, it’s nice to know she has a good option academically and financially.
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Yes but I was responding to this:
“But also, I’m not certain that it’s possible to create a system in which that isn’t the case, at least to some extent—it can be minimized, but eliminated? I don’t think it’s possible in a system that involves any level of gatekeeping, which is ultimately one of the purposes of credentialing.”
If you read my first post I said that this is not for schools that is the focus of this board and I excluded low income students who need to look for funding. Instead I pointed to students who are applying to regional schools like the CSU’s - and I know quite a few who did just this and only to those kinds of schools - who don’t need funding. In other words, there are such systems such as some state schools along with systems in other countries that actually fit the process the poster said would not be likely to exist. In other words, I was not saying that the process of applying to college is easy but that there are some situations like the one I listed where frankly it is easy. People may quibble about the word easy here but it’s certainly easier than almost anything that involves bureaucracy such as getting a passport or a driver’s license.
D25 just qualified for district orchestra through an audition today. She is the first in recent memory at her high school to qualify all 4 years of high school. To be sure, she’s not the best violinist at the school in recent memory, but apparently she is quite consistent.
This did not happen without hijinks. Her kryptonite is waking up on time. I’m usually the backstop to make sure she is up for early morning important events, but am overseas at the moment. She woke up too late for the school van to get to the audition so she had to rouse wife up to take her (she had to go back on the school van so couldn’t drive herself). She made it just in time apparently.
Wife is a foodie. But, we live in a town with 3 restaurants. The silver lining is that wife got to enjoy breakfast at a great restaurant in the town that held the auditions. I thought it was all a win-win, but I just got glares over FaceTime at that.
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Don’t have any experience if it’s common or not. Is it in an area that had some of the hurricane effect? I’ve seen a bit on the extensions there when S25 was exploring schools online.
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Got back from a campus visit yesterday. This all happened really fast — S25 went from school not on radar to wanting to ED at school. So we flew out and back in 36 hours. S did the tour, sat in on a class, and did some athletic team activities. Loved it. Has until 11/15 to decide if he’s applying ED, coach said it was the only way he would be able to gain admission. Would love to share what school it is because we are all very excited about it but I am going to wait until decisions are out. S has one more athletic visit next weekend to a school he’s already applied to and then he will make up his mind about ED.
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Good thought. If not I wonder if they always do this or if maybe they didn’t get the response they wanted in numbers of apps or what.
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On senioritis: has not hit yet, thank goodness. Thankfully, his classes are tough enough that he’s engaged, but I will say that now that his ED/EA deadlines have passed, he is more relaxed. Less snippiness and snark at the moment - I’ll take it! I think his schedule will be tough enough next semester to keep him on his toes, or at least I hope so. Being in a new school helps keep things fresh and different, and I think that will help keep the senioritis at bay a bit. I can feel his relationship towards his parents shifting though, and it’s bittersweet.
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Perhaps. Probably any number of things, IT department reporting issues, etc.
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We’re Not in an affected area nor are the colleges.
Yes, some schools do this every year. Come April you will find some schools up their merit aid the week before their required acceptance date.
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D25 finally got her honors college essay complete and turned in. She said it was the longest essay of all the things (scholarships etc.) she still has to complete. I really hope she’ll be able to knock of the last of the essays by the end of the week. She has to get through AP psych and AP chem tests first.
Also Mock Trial starts this week so I will never see her. 
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Gah. One of my IRL acquaintances is REALLY overdoing the humblebrag and the not-so-veiled talking down or putting down of other kids. This is part of what I hate about college application season. I’m trying to decide if I want to extricate myself from this group because of one person who is Too Much but I really like the rest of the people, or just ignore and let it ride and know that this will be over soon enough. I hate how weirdly competitive some people get about their kids - whether it’s travel sports or club leadership or test scores or college plans. I don’t care how gifted your kid is, I just care about whether they are a decent human to my kid.
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“I’m hearing that you think Joey is somehow not as worthy of a kid as your Johnny. Do you mean to say that out loud?”
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I wish I had the balls. I dream of saying something like that!
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