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<blockquote> <p>Having D get the application essays done was perhaps the most aggravating parent-child friction in 18 years.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Amen here, TheDad!!</p>
<p>What is an ed parent? A parent in education?</p>
<p>Yes agree about essays - torturous!! I did try to get the application process started earlier but S was very stubborn - probably should have just put foot down. The essays truly take a lot of time and effort - especially if you have schools who don't accept the common app. Also, in hindsight, I would have arranged to see more schools during March vacation when schools were in session. Seeing schools in summer without the students was not as helpful.</p>
<p>ED parent is Early Decision parent.</p>
<p>Our son only wrote about 3 application essays and he did each in one evening. We didnt ask to see them until they had been sent out. Result? The work was totally his own, he spent a reasonable time on each essay and there was no angst or aggravation.</p>
<p>I do have to say that for any paper or major assignment he spends a lot of time just thinking about it first so that by the time he is ready to put pen and paper to the task, most of the prep has been done. I suspect that he was thinking about each essay some days before he actually wrote them.</p>
<p>I think regrets are another word for panic that the decisions will not go the way you want for your child. I experienced this is December while waiting for my D to hear from NYU ED for Musical Theatre. We had set up auditions and send applications for other schools but I feared that they were not all the "right" ones and that she would not get accepted anywhere. For me it was much like childbirth - soon after it is over you forget and are happy with the result. (She was accepted!) . I have gone through this process with a number of friends and almost ALL of the time, the school that the S or D ends up at (even if not the "IT" school) is perfect for them! Good luck to all and my your children excel wherever they land!</p>
<p>For the last year or more I've been pretty philosophical, thinking that if S did not get into this college or that one, then it was probably for the best. In fact, I've been known to say that the admissions people at each college know what they are looking for, and know what kind of kid will succeed at each institution, so just do your best on the application and let the chips fall where they may.</p>
<p>S did the best job on his applications that he could do, so all of my criteria were met. But somehow just waiting for the results is exhausting my sanguine outlook. And I think a couple of schools have already acted like idiots (one lost his entire application file), so my faith that the admission people "know what they are doing" has been severly undermined.</p>
<p>Now I'm back to thinking it is a crapshoot. And as a self-confessed control freak, I don't like crapshoots...</p>
<p>On the funnier side, I sometimes think S should have applied to Yale, and let his (politically conservative) hair down all the way in the application. For those wondering what this might mean, imagine reading Xiggi's application to Yale, if he had decided to not hold anything back in the essays...anyway, it was a funny thought, but there was no time to do anything like this. But it could have generated a legendary rejection letter...</p>
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<blockquote> <p>For those wondering what this might mean, imagine reading Xiggi's application to Yale, if he had decided to not hold anything back in the essays...anyway, it was a funny thought, but there was no time to do anything like this. But it could have generated a legendary rejection letter...<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Or maybe not, wouldn't that have made him a URM, politically speaking ;). Or do they all become conservatives in some distant, misty future?</p>
<p>RD, I wrote an essay about this time last year and wouldn't rest until it was published! I just woke up one morning and understood something about what was happening. It is like going fishing. Kind of like a crapshoot, but well, not really. Weather, bait, patience.......patience!</p>
<p>I'm still waiting for results, but I probably could have worked harder.</p>
<p>My biggest wish is that I either didn't take the SAT I or worked harder on it. My ACT score of 33 should have been sufficient, but I guess I wanted to see what I could do. I went in with no prep, no clue what to expect, and a cold the first time. Ended up with 1320. I took it a second time again with no prep, hit 1400. I was still very disappointed with myself as I'd gotten perfect scores on the Math ACT, Math IIC, etc. and figured at the least I could get an 800 in Math and hoped I could improve to 700 in CR. Took it a third time with quite a bit of CR prep, ended up with Math 740 (same as last time), CR of 680(up 20 from last time). My only saving grace was my 770 writing score, giving me a decent combined total of 2190.</p>
<p>But I still feel if I worked harder I could get at least 1500. I still want to take the SAT one more time, even though it won't matter now, just to satisfy myself.</p>
<p>R-dad,</p>
<p>No regrets here. We did two years of research. S wasn't clear on what type of school he would like best as we approached the time to submit applications. Although it took a little bit of prodding, S completed all apps by the EA deadlines.</p>
<p>S has engineering as a declared major, but because he wasn't sure of "fit", he applied to 3 privates, 2 large publics and 3 hard-core engineering-only type colleges. Several decisions/scholarship offers are already in, so the big picture is becoming a lot clearer. We will be visiting one of the hard-core tech colleges next weekend, which I believe will help get his decision making process totally in focus. </p>
<p>By beginning our research and college search process in the summer between soph and junior years, we were able to plan and prepare for all steps involved, thanks to a lot of help from parents who post here.</p>
<p>gnusasaurus ~ Excellent! I'm interested to hear how it all comes out. Has your son picked a discipline (electrical, mechanical, etc)?</p>
<p>We actually started about two years before you did, and are lucky that S knows exactly what he wants to do, and has not wavered in this desire for many years. Of course, lots of kids do waver, and then change thier minds when they are actually in school.</p>
<p>I'm surprised there aren't more parents regretting the "other" schools, or the money issues, now that the decisions are almost upon us.</p>
<p>r-dad, he's applied for mechanical, though I detect a pretty strong interest in civil. </p>
<p>I should have tempered my above comments by saying that there are no regrets YET. When the final decisions are in, we may have $ome regret$ $$$. :)</p>
<p>Gnu
If you'd care to post the schools, some of us might be able to share info.My S at one of the tech schools.</p>
<p>regrets:
1.being unorganized/having communication issues with my parents</p>
<p>2.procrastinating on final 3 schools</p>
<p>3.applying to too many private schools</p>
<p>Though right now everything has turned out better than I expected.</p>
<p>I think that it would've been better if i left the option for dorming on the table instead of completely dismissing it. Right now I wish I had the option. Other than that I did start quite early. Though to make the experience less stressful I would've wanted to be more organized.</p>
<p>I regret applying to Yale. I sorta got my hopes up before I realized that I didn't really have a chance. I also regret not applying to schools in warmer places like Atlanta or Cali.</p>
<p>For any parent who is worried about cost, tell your son or daughter at the Ivy League to make a friend with a really rich kid.</p>
<p>Well, I kinda regret not taking any preparation courses for the PSAT and the SAT, or at least studying a little more, although my scores did increase by at least 200 points in each sitting. I think if I had prepared more, I could have gotten at least recognized by National Merit. </p>
<p>School wise, I think I should have looked at and applied to more schools, especially those east of where I live. I only applied to four and now I have completely eliminated two from my list. Of the other two, one would require major financial aid and the other would mean living at home. </p>
<p>But regrets are regrets and everyone must live with them. I try not to think about them too much because I have my whole future ahead of me, so why let the future be held back by the past? There will be a lot more things to regret in the future, so better stop counting now, lol.</p>
<p>One of the first colleges that we visited and attended the Info Session for was Quinnipiac in CT just across LI Sound from us.<br>
When considering regrets think about the words of wisdom from the AdCon, she advised that there were more than a thousand undergrad schools and that there is not just one perfect fit but several. </p>
<p>You see the truth in it when you hear of anyone not being able to go to their 1st choice, and supposedly settling....then finding that their number 2,3,or5 choice ended up being perfect and they could not be happier. </p>
<p>The notion is that maybe all the years and experiences leading up to college and beyond is what is important, and what lets us become well adjusted and make good and satisfying connections, not necessarily one particular campus nor one certain administration or local.</p>
<p>Needless to say, in the beginning Quinnipiac was at the top of the list -- and did slowly fade to #8; others, including Bowdoin, Bates, Univ. of Richmond, SUNY Geneseo, Trinity and Williams -- all good schools and possibly good matches -- never even got on the list.</p>
<p>We are waiting to hear still, but #1 is between Hartwick and Rensselaer, while we wait to hear from Colby and William & Mary.</p>
<p>Yet, we do believe that wherever DD ends up will become the best choice. If not, just like the rest of life we still have options. It's not the end; until we are no longer breathing we still have choices and are able to alter the course of our lives.</p>