<p>I missed this thread last year, but it made me laugh and cry remembering going through this same process with DS. It sure feels different knowing where all the kids ended up, and my son, too.</p>
<p>He refused to apply to Haverford because he didn't like their honor code essay. </p>
<p>I found making the arts supplement tapes the worst part. Three CD's for each school -- burned, labelled. Thirty CD's, and that's after the practicing and recording.</p>
<p>All these kids had it in hand the entire time.</p>
<p>My favorite thing DS wrote (for a school that rejected him) was in answer to the prompt: Describe your neighborhood. He wrote: "I live in the Universe. It's a big place, but I feel comfortable here." And I think he does, and he went on from there.</p>
<p>Fortunately, that wasn't a favorite school, but the essay will always be a favorite of mine.</p>
<p>This resurrected thread has come at a good time for me. D is not procrastinating, just totally swamped with classes and EC's and an attempt to maintain her social life. Let's just say she rarely gets to sleep before 4 a.m. during the school week. She is just too exhausted to write essays right now. We're hoping her teachers will hold off on papers and exams over Thanksgiving. In fact, I'm thinking of begging them and I'm a mom who has never once crossed the line and interceded with teachers on child's behalf. Worst part is that, of course, I know D brought this situation on herself. Five AP's -- all tough ones. Grrr. . . .</p>
<p>Now is the time for all good parents to come to the aid of their (scaled down) party. </p>
<p>If you have any hugely competitive or difficult December holiday entertaining plans, cookie recipes everyone swears they need to live to January, etc. it is really worth considering a scale-down...just for this year.</p>
<p>An easier holiday season is your "safety" and you all might need the time in late December. </p>
<p>My family did, that's for sure. Just a thought now, while you can avoid saying "yes" to all those requests at work to chair some office party something.
Tell them "next year." </p>
<p>Good luck to all. I was having a hard time last year and it was our third go-round. It's intrinsically, innately, tooo much work. The supplemental arts essays were the real killer here.</p>
<p>However, all is well. Actually S's college just called a few minutes ago asking for a "donation." Hahahahhahahaha. And I gave, just to participate. My H couldn't believe it. </p>
<p>S is so much better at college doing work as soon as it is assigned. He says I'd hardly recognize him. He says it is just easier that way. Well, duh. </p>
<p>But at the same time I would say... BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. D's essays were saved on our hard drive with no paper printouts anywhere. They were due at the college on Friday and our computer died on Tuesday. After lots of anguish I was able to get it partially restored in a reckless manner on Wednesday. It has never been the same.</p>
<p>Oh yes and this is when I chime in with my upstate NY mantra: ice and snow cause regional power failures in many Northern and Midwestern regions during winter. As MaryTn says, it is essential to keep printing out hardcopies of draft essays, so all is not unavailable when work could be done. Our city lost power for a week here last October, for example. Those kids with hardcopies could keep working, others just lost time (and schoolwork backed up, too).</p>
<p>If you're applying to northern and midwestern colleges, consider that they could be down for power any day this winter. Kids might take this nag seriously because it plays into their understanding of the grid as a life-force. So if what I just wrote helps your child procrastinate less, use it. It's even true. </p>
<p>It can affect phone lines or computer access and such if you have last-minute questions. Sometimes employees are short-staffed if people can't get to work due to severe storms. </p>
<p>Actually if the school itself has all computers down, they'd understand why apps came in past deadline. But if you live in one of those regions applying outward, maybe the excuse sounds less credible to the region not experiencing that same difficulty.</p>
<p>It worked out fine but it was a lot of stress last autumn.</p>
<p>^^^timed out, Bethie is reminding everyone too that sometimes the kids are actually making progress when we don't perceive it as such. They might be making a shift in their thinking or approach to the essays. Sometimes they actually ARE thinking and that's different than procrastinating. </p>
<p>Yesterday, I heard a teacher of teens preparing for a big task say this, "I tell my students that their parents WILL bug them until they begin to take over responsibility. So if they don't like being nagged to do the work, they have the power to stop it by beginning to take on the tasks themselves. When they realize they hold the power to actually change parental behavior by being more diligent and reporting on their progress, that's a huge realization for some teens."</p>
<p>Good luck to all. Thanks to Bethie for sharing it. I can recognize every name from last year and all had good outcomes, though you wouldn't know it from this piece of archaeology!</p>
<p>That's it--I learned to trust my kid, I knew that the internet might go --electricity might be gone--we had several big snowstorms--but there was a point when he had a few apps in and I realized I was a burden if I kept harping at him. He was working on his apps internally. And if he wasn't it didn't matter at that point. I was NUTS last year and I wish I could help one parent sleep tonight or next month or the month after without giving your kid a hard time. Or without you having a weird relationship with your mailbox. I had a definite love/hate relationship with our mailbox. It is just a metal box. Now at least.</p>