Between my work, school, my D’s part-time job, and her rehearsals, I hardly see D25 these day. Last night she came bounding in after rehearsal and out of nowhere announced she’s applying to one more state school. This is a school she refused to consider early on in her search. She and her good friend were both starting to get worried about their chances at the rest of the RD schools and decided why not throw in just one more state school.
And then today before she left for work she showed me an email from another college telling her to expect good news with a link to admitted student days. It’s a college she applied to as a likely, so I’m not sure if it will make the cut for a visit. But you never know. If they throw enough merit aid at her, it could be a contender.
But more than anything, it was nice to see her in a good mood. This process has really been a rollercoaster already. I know she really prefers the RDs over her current options and it’s been stressing her out that she won’t get in.
I’m ready for this to end and to move on to different conversations, like what bedding to get for the dorm.
I’m proud of her and I don’t even know her! She, and you, have done an incredible job on this journey. Lots of thoughtful analysis. You can tell her the ‘parent board’ is very happy for her!
Ok, folks, just laugh with me. I have spent (far too many) hours doing research on dance programs for my kid. Every single school (minus two that are on purely for academic reasons and one that doesn’t have ballet) on her list of --cough, cough-- a lot has at least a BA in dance. I worked hard to give her options so she could choose where to apply and audition.
Yesterday she tells me that someone she met at a summer intensive has been posting where she’s auditioning and/or checking out dance programs. Lo and behold, Hope is on this person’s list. D25 turns to me and says, “So I guess they have a good dance program.” And suddenly she is more willing to visit Hope than anytime we’ve discussed it in the last few months.**
Gee, thanks, kid.
**No one need point out that it is unlikely to launch her into a pro career. I know. If she doesn’t get the BFAs she wants, she will need to pivot but won’t want to give up dance entirely.
Thanks. Dont make me cry. Its been all me. My ex has made our lives hellish for over a decade and questions everything but expects me to do it all. We have a better relationship now because I have to pretend I forgive and forget. My focus is and has always been the kids. My husband is very supportive though and does his best to help the kids make good decisions and ensure their voices are heard.
Someday maybe the kids will appreciate all Ive done. Someday.
I’m certain that they will even if they don’t right now. Even if they don’t say it, you’ll see it in how they treat others and how they raise their kids, if they become parents. Your daughter already sounds so thoughtful, conscientious. Sounds like that’s coming from you.
We drove down to UNC Wilmington on Friday for a second visit and to drop in for the honors college open house. I asked my daughter afterwards what she thought and she said, “Well, UNC Wilmington has skyrocketed to the top of my list.” I mentioned up thread that I didn’t really see the fit for her at UNCW but I definitely see the fit for her in their honors program. My very shy daughter spoke easily and happily with the students and professor who were hosting the open house, and she seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the program. More schools to visit (and still one more decision) but I’m so glad to know that no matter what else happens she’s got this option (and in-state too!)
The strange thing is my kids applied to many of the same schools. My oldest who had only 2 APs, 4.1 W gpa, 33 ACT got scholarship money from places. My youngest who has 8 APs (all 5s on what he’s taken), 4.0UW/4.57W, 1570 SAT has gotten basically nothing, even from some of the same schools. And I’m sitting here like just flabbergasted at what is going on. He also didn’t get the honors program at several schools and there again I’m like WHAT IS HAPPENING. I asked his college counselor what he could have done differently and she’s like truly? Nothing. It’s because he’s engineering, which I’m sorry also doesn’t make sense to me. So I should have chosen basket weaving and then these schools would throw merit at him? come on.
I feel you on this. So unpredictable and seemingly incongruous results. Very stressful for kids and also parents, who expected some curve balls but not to this extreme (at least for me).
maybe?! could be?! i also love cake so I would have been happy to have that be my icon. I found CC around this time a few years ago when i was wading through my own angst on the countdown for boarding school M10 decisions for my S25. so yay back on the boards the last year or so as my S25 and (step)D25 are running the college app gauntlet
Thank you for this insight on CalTech and MIT. Your thoughts perfectly summarized my worry for S25, who’s done very well at his STEM-focused high school–but MIT appears to be another magnitude of difficulty in coursework. For what it’s worth, I gave a talk at MIT a few years ago and found the undergrad students to be delightful, not at all like the stereotype. So, S25 will wait for MIT/Pi Day admission decisions in two weeks, along with many others here on this board, I suspect.
Absolutely. Our financial planner went to Princeton and he told us the connections he has thru that alumni network has basically gotten him to where he is. It really is who you know as much as what you’ve done— for better or worse. He’s leveraged that degree for a lot (and repaid his loans).
I want to help my D25 prep for her scholarship weekend interview in two weeks. What types of questions are usually asked? I’m thinking ‘why do you want to attend xx school?’, ‘tell us more about xx activity on your resume.’, ‘what are you planning to study?’, ‘how will you contribute to xx campus?’
What else am I missing? The panel will be a mix of faculty, staff, and alumni. I know she will do better and feel more confident if we have practiced ahead of time.
If it’s a scholarship for something specific, there might be questions tailored to the scholarship goals. If it’s for an academic area of interest, they might ask about something related to the field that they found inspiring. They might ask what your child is hoping to accomplish and how they’ll take advantage of available resources. I would be prepared for some questions that involve self-reflection, e.g., tell us about a difficult situation/mistake you made and what you would do differently and why.
D18 had some out of the box questions, some general knowledge (“who is your congressperson?”) and some to see how you think in response to an unexpected question (“who would you nominate as Time Person of the Year?”). This was for a cohort scholarship where they had an “Intellectual Traditions” class together each year. They wanted students to have a basic level of awareness of world affairs, but also to be able to explain how they thought and to bring different perspectives.
It definitely helped in getting selected that she was a ballet BFA major and that her scholarship essay had been about cheating in sumo wrestling (based on the Freakonomics chapter). She suggested Kylie Jenner should be person of the year (this was the year before Forbes named her the world’s youngest self made billionaire)!
