I hadn’t thought much about this wording, but you’re right, it is kind of icky.
VA Tech acceptance included a $2,000 scholarship given to everyone who is in Corps of Cadets who applied for FAFSA 
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But just checked his RPI portal and he got a $34,500 Leadership scholarship and 8k grant. Making it cheaper than OOS VA Tech.
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Yeah, VT is super stingy with merit aid, so that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t honestly understand how their model is so successful - other state schools that are similar give more merit to OOS students (example, we got enough merit aid for out of state UTK that it’s cheaper than in state VT). And yet, VT does well with filling its student body every year. Their yield rate isn’t stupendous, and that might be part of why, but it seems like they aren’t spending the money because they feel like they don’t need to.
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Lately I’ve been feeling a little sad that my son has been kind of detached and pulling away from me. I know it’s totally normal, and healthy but it’s still stings a bit.
Tonight, for the first time in a long time, he came up to me and gave me a huge long hug, told me he loved me and was sorry he didn’t say it enough, and he really appreciated me.
My heart is so full I could burst.
Our kids really are paying attention to all the things we do for them.
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Things I wasn’t planning on dealing with today… That’s in my backyard. It’s a nearly 100 foot tall white pine, and it’s now listing at about 30 degrees, aiming towards my house.
So yeah…
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My D25’s tiny arts-oriented charter HS doesn’t even offer calculus, as no one would take it. They only offer Algebra I, II, geometry, and pre-calc. She’s in pre-calc as a senior and is one of three students in the class. Her best friend at school wants to be a math teacher, so she took pre-calc as a junior and as a senior is taking calculus through a local college (where she’s the best student in the class). No APs at their HS either, so my D25’s college search has been surprisingly similar to mine, even though I graduated in the mid-80s (I went to a very small rural school). She only applied to LACs RD, so we’re in the waiting period now. Will be interesting to see what happens.
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So glad your son connected with you and gave you some care and affirmation! What a gift!
I am right there with you. S25 and I are really, really close. He tells me things that I never would have told my parents, and I feel like we have a great relationship. I can feel him pulling away a bit now, though. It’s so hard, but I also know that it’s what he should be doing developmentally at this point in life. I will just miss this kid so much. I hope I’ve laid the foundation for him to always come to me, but only time will tell.
We had a relatively low key weekend. S25 had the All West TN honors band event that included practice all day Thursday and Friday and a performance at the convention center on Saturday. The performance was amazing! Even though he’s been a bit snarky and disinterested in band recently, I’m so glad he had the experience.
Hope everyone has a good week!
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Is it super windy where you live? We have crazy winds here today.
Yep, it’s been really windy. The crack has gotten both wider and taller in the last hour. We’ve had two companies give quick estimates and it looks like we can get it taken down tomorrow, so we’re just hoping we make it that long. We’ve put straps around the tree now to try to give it some more stability in the hopes that that will be enough to get us through the night.
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Update to my oldest son’s job hunt - he received an email this morning that they went with another candidate. It was only one week from the trail, but they shouldn’t have told him he would get a final decision last Wednesday. He is bummed, but he is back to sending out resumes this morning. At least there is closure.
Youngest’s 18th birthday this week is a good distraction from the loooooong wait for RD decisions. I can’t believe we have to go nearly a month until the next decision, but I am guessing he might have some weeks when he hears from 2-3 in a single day. We are still glad he submitted a bazillion applications since the decisions and merit+need packages have been all over the place. His application season and the process would make a good study on which schools TRULY have holistic admissions reviews, meet full needs, are need-blind, etc.
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This is how I’m feeling too. It feels like a long wait, but when mid-March gets here, it could be a wild ride. Hoping for highs and lows, not just lows.
I’m very worried about the need-aware part. Quite a few of the RDs are target. D25 is either very similar to their typical candidate or has higher stats, plus good ECs and I presume good letters. However, all but the reachiest of the RDs is need-blind. The rest are need aware, which might work against a student who is typical and not higher performing than their students. So far the private colleges have been fairly generous with financial and merit aid. I just hope that she’s competitive enough for one or two of the target RDs despite the relatively high need.
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My son is a sophomore at RPI. He is thriving. Virginia Tech was a finalist for him and financially competitive with RPI. VT has a beautiful campus, but I was glad my son chose RPI over VT and our in-state flagship. I got a definite party vibe at VT that worried me. Having said that, for my son VT was a frontrunner right until the end. I think both are great schools.
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My son got his permit a couple of weeks ago and has had 2 driving lessons so far.
I took him out for the first time today.
My hair is now just a little bit grayer and I could use a stiff drink. Not looking forward to this phase. 
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First Tour de Blizzard update here.
It has been hard to get S25 to engage much on the topic of what he’s looking for, how he might make his decision, what he liked/didn’t like about the first school, etc. I find this unnerving; my laconic husband seems less concerned. S25 did express regret that we couldn’t go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while in Cleveland and honestly – if he’d evinced one iota of interest during the planning process and raised this idea then, I’d have figured out a way to fit it in. I guess we’ll play it by ear tomorrow. All work no play etc. (On the other hand, this is his future we’re talking about, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is – I can say with some confidence – not in the cards for him.)
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Well if he doesn’t go to CWRU then Cleveland is a surprisingly lovely place for random weekend getaway. If you are in the East coast plane tickets aren’t too expensive or maybe it’s drivable, it’s got great food, lots of sports, and the Rock hall. We went their for one of our first weekends away without kids a million years ago - I was dreading it - we were going because my husband has a life goal to see a baseball game in every home stadium and, as it so happened, we saw a random deal for cheap last minute plane tickets. We had such a great time! Maybe because expectations were non-existent, but it’s a nice little city with some great random visiting and exploring options. If he doesn’t go to CWRU he can make it a random destination some other time. 
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Well, S25 was admitted to his first choice, Virginia Tech, and we’ve already accepted the offer, paid the deposit and filled out the housing form! Even though he still has 2 deferrals and 2 more RD decisions to wait for, this has been his dream since he started researching schools 18 months ago. It’s so nice (for both of us!) to feel a bit more settled about his future. Good luck to everyone still waiting.
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I drove through the wind storm 4 hours in the dark after working 8 hours with a 2.5 hour commute to go to the Susquehanna admitted student day. I was frazzled when D and I got to the hotel. We got up early to head to the school and it’s snowing with the wind whipping around. We spent the morning talking with faculty for her major then went to some panels ran by different faculty members. The most interesting to D was the study away. It’s actually a graduation requirement.
Next was a catered lunch and a bunch of tables were manned by mostly students representing the clubs plus some like the health center director. D went to just about every table whether it was something she’s interested in or not. She came away pleasantly surprised by a few she on paper would have skipped but really liked. During all this you kept hearing a cow bell sound then clapping whenever someone paid their deposit. By the end of the tables D said she wanted to commit. I reminded her she doesn’t have all her financial info yet and was she sure. She very seriously said yes. She only liked the music department at UD where she liked everything that Susq had to offer outside of music. So after getting the blessing from dad who couldn’t come we paid the deposit, she got some swag and rang the bell. I only cried a little.
Afterwords she went to the music building and found the clarinet prof to tell him. He seemed genuinely pleased. Before we left we bought a couple more shirts. So now we’re the proud parents of a. Susquehanna Riverhawk!
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This is one of the only good things I’ve heard coming out of that windstorm!
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Hot dang! That must feel amazing. Congratulations!
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Same! Talking to my daughter about her decision process reminds me of those first few pandemic Zoom calls, where everyone was off camera and on mute. It is like staring into the void. I did press her more about admitted student days and (she didn’t say this but) I think she’s just feeling shy! She finally agreed that they might be helpful in her decision process, so we’re back on for attending these events.
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