Concerned Navy Mom

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm the mom of a 16 year old daughter who is also a Navy Brat and a junior in high school. Ever since my daughter heard the word "college" she's been obsessing about it. Recently, I've become concerned about her because of all the stress she's been putting on herself when it comes to college admissions. She's convinced that our constant moving will help instead of hurt her. It's a lot of words I know, but please bear with me!</p>

<p>We move pretty frequently as the result of her dad's job, almost every 1 and 1/2 to 2 years round about. We moved when she was in 8th grade to Seattle and enrolled her into a small private IB school. Despite the extreme and stressful nature of the IB lifestyle and classes there D did will there socially and academically and made great grades. After her 10th grade year ended we moved yet again. </p>

<p>D is convinced that because her overall GPA was a 3.5 (both 9th and 10th) she's somehow messed up her whole admission to the colleges that she wants to go to, even though top GPA at the school she went to for the would-be valedictorian (school didn't rank) was also a 3.5. </p>

<p>At her new school (large, poor performing public) she has done very well and has taken the most rigorous coursework allowed (the other kids say she's on overachiever). Her current GPA is 3.8 UW and 4.2 W. </p>

<p>Daughter is also concerned that because the one summer that we were not moving father and I basically made sure she got to have a fun non-stress filled summer (meaning no summer volunteering etc.). She's also worried that she has a lack of EC's and doesn't stand out as an applicant even though Dad and I keep trying to tell her otherwise. </p>

<p>Here is a list of what she has done:</p>

<p>ECs:
Soccer (11 years) <em>though she had to take a break because of her knee and it's been really hard on her
Knowledge Bowl (9th and 10th grade co-captain 10th grade and they took 3rd at state both times)
History Bowl (1 year) *Captain and they took first at state and went to Nationals</em>
Piano (11 years) </p>

<p>Job/Work Experience
She's very passionate about school and literacy so she tutors once a week in reading and is soon starting a book drive by herself that will send 1,000 books to Africa. She also hopes to raise over the amount of money needed to help send girls to school in developing nations. </p>

<p>She is also has started a small babysitting business that she is trying to grow. </p>

<p>She wants to take on more community service and she's looking at an internship at either a law firm or historical society for the summer. She is also considering just staying home and volunteering and interning at her local library as she is a HUGE reading enthusiast. </p>

<p>I see this as a lot of hard work but D wants to do more community service on top of studying for her SAT, this book drive, and her demanding coursework. I'm telling her that she is doing too much, but she feels that she could do more and wants to "make up" for the years that IB consumed her life. </p>

<p>We haven't got a definite list yet but she's a big fan of schools like Georgetown, Villanova, Wake Forest, Cornell etc. </p>

<p>Bottom-line, I'm very worried about all this stress taking a toll on her. D has always been a high-stress person but ever since she's gotten into high school it's become much worse. She eats much less than she used to and her migraines have come back with a vengeance. </p>

<p>I has hoping the experienced people on this website would be able to help her out and hopefully relieve some of her stress as her friends and family are very worried about her. Does she have the right to be so concerned about her college future, and if so what can she or I do to help. </p>

<p>Any help is appreciated!</p>

2

<p>bump ^^ anyone?</p>

3

<p>Your DD needs to calm down. lol</p>

<p>She has enough ECs. </p>

<p>When will she be taking the SAT or ACT. That will more largely determine where she’ll get in.</p>

<p>How did she do on the PSAT?</p>

<p>What will her major be?</p>

<p>Have you given her a budget as to how much you’ll spend each year? Have you ran the Net Price Calculators to see if these schools are affordable?</p>

4

<p>Lol exactly what I’ve been trying to tell her! </p>

<p>Regarding cost it’s definitely something we’ve thought about. She plans to be really aggressive about going after scholarships local, state, and maybe national because she knows that her ability to go largely depends on school financial aid, and the money she gets from outside scholarships. Unfortunately, the financial crisis in 2008 wiped out a large portion of her college fund. We also have her dad’s GI Bill ( it has about a year and a couple of months on it) as back-up.</p>

<p>She takes her SAT in June and her US History Subject Test in May and then her Literature Subject Test in October. She will not be taking the ACT. Its really only her math that need significant improvement, it’s always been the one subject she’s had significant trouble with. Reading and Writing are both in the high 700’s to 800 range. </p>

<p>As for her major she’s not quite sure yet since she hasn’t talked to anyone in her field yet. Right now she’s pretty in love with being a crisis manager/pr specialist as in Kerry Washington’s Scandal job lol. </p>

<p>I just want her to stop being so worried, but she’s so worried that she won’t “stand out”.</p>

<p>bump again?</p>

5

<p>Except for a few very large outside scholarships, most outside scholarships tend to be small compared to the scholarships and financial aid grants offered by the colleges themselves. For example:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>But also check the net price calculator on the web site of each college under consideration to get a need-based financial aid estimate.</p>

6

<p>DD and I are definitely aware of this, but we think every little bit helps no matter how small. Thank you for the links though, definitely helpful. What do you think about her ECs and volunteer work, should there be so much cause for worry</p>

7

<p>If cost is a concern she needs to be casting a much wider net. She should be including a few financial and academic safety’s (usually rolling admissions starting in early fall). Getting one or two early admits can really take the stress off. She should also include some privates where she will fall into the top 25% and be most likely to receive generous merit and preferential financial aid packaging. Privates have bigger sticker prices and generally more money to offer the students they really want at the top of their admit pile. </p>

<p>As far as ECs I think she’s fine. To be honest, I’m a very strong proponent of students getting part time jobs the summer prior to Sr year, and if at all possible keeping that job throughout Sr year. This can look better to a college then attending a random club meeting or two. Your daughter has really already ‘checked the box’ for community service. There can be a point of diminishing returns. One hundred more hours isn’t going to get her more recognition, but a job, especially one held for any length of time, shows commitment and responsibility in another area of their lives. It’s also very helpful when they go to apply for their first internships. I know more then one employer that will not interview students for internships that haven’t held any sort of paying job prior to college. As a practical matter, our boys are responsible for spending money and books at school so having the job before school and saving money gave them the luxury not to work during school.</p>

8

<p>I 100% agree with Blueiguana. The community service/vol hours obsession that some HS students have is completely misplaced. Many accepted students to rigorous programs have ZERO hours due to circumstances. Your daughter is simply mistaken about piling on more hours just b/c she feels it’ll enhance her further. It won’t.</p>

9

<p>@T26E4 </p>

<p>I agree with you I think DD should just focus on the activities that she has instead of trying to stretch herself thin. I think she wants to do all of this volunteering not because she just wants to pad her resume but because she truly afraid that she won’t be able to adequately articulate her military circumstances will be a black mark against her. She’s also doing this us history her in march (academic bowls are kind of her thing) and I don’t want her taking on too much that won’t give her any leg up in the end. Most of the work she does now is because she loves it and it doesn’t make any sense her to take on more. However, teenagers can be an awfully stubborn bunch lol. Hopefully when I show her these posts she’ll be a little less obsessed and stressed. </p>

<p>@blueiguana
A summer job is a great suggestion, we’d have to work around the fact that DD can’t drive yet and public transportation isn’t so good but I’m sure it could be done. She’s been begging us to let her work anyway lol. Do you think the military thing will help or hinder her?</p>

10

<p>"Do you think the military thing will help or hinder her? " Certainly college admissions officers are familiar with the lives of military families so that shouldn’t be a hinderance. However, her sense of responsibility& independence will probably shine through and serve her well throughout her life. No doubt, some of this was gained by her frequent moves. A silver lining, in my opinion. Best of luck to you and her!</p>

11

<p>High schools usually send a profile of the classes and grading scale to the college along with transcripts. Her first high school was more rigorous, Asking that school to also send a profile and a separate transcript to the colleges your daughter applies to would be more decsriptive of her as a student than one profile from her current school. It would show that she was at the top of that class with a 3.5, and not have a 3.5 averaged in with the profile of her current school.</p>

12

<p>She’s gonna be just fine. She’ll have her pick of schools…I would just suggest, if FA is a factor, as it is with most of us, that she not lock in to any one “dream” school. Compile a well rounded list. </p>

<p>Are you worried Mom? Cos, and I may be very off…but it sounds like YOU are worried. And if that’s the case, even a little bit…she’ll pick up on it.</p>

13

<p>I live in a military area and there are a number of scholarships just for children of military. They aren’t necessarily big, but tuition here at state schools is not big either. Some are for specific majors, like engineering, but others are from the VFW or American Legion. Our school has a list of them. </p>

<p>The school my daughter is going to is private, but has a big ROTC program. I also noticed that it accepts or matches or does something with the GI bill funds.</p>

<p>I do suggest the ACT. My artsy-fartsy-can’t-add-or-subtract kid did much better on the ACT than on the SAT in all subjects.</p>

14

<p>@T26E4 Thank you for the well wishes, I want her be assured that her military background is a strength instead of a weakness. </p>

<p>@JoBenny That’s exactly what I’ve been telling her all along, but she’s a worry wart (something that she gets from her dad lol) I am worried, not so much about her admissions to college but for her health. She spends an inordiante amount of time thinking about college, so much so that it worsens her panic attacks. You’re probably right though that she picks up on my worrying and now my DD she’ll interpret it as worrying about her chances too. It’s just hard for me seeing her so stressed, unexhausted and sickly. I mostly just want to get her to a place where she can relax sometimes. </p>

<p>@twoinanddone She’s been thinking about the ACT, but she’s sort of on a time cruch since she’ll be taking her US History Subject Test in May and her SAT in June with possibility of a retake. And then she has her literature SAT in october If she doesn’t have to re-take the SAT she just might study for the ACT over the summer. Thanks for the suggestion about the military scholarships though we’ll certianly be on the lookout!</p>

15

<p>also @JoBenny she does have a pretty balanced list of colleges I just chose to list those 4 or 5. She has a pretty good mix schools e.g. WashU, Delaware, William and Mary (which we think is a pretty good match) and she’s instate Southern VA, Fordham, NYU etc.</p>

16

<p>My DD did 2 years at a public magnet and 2 years at an International IB school.
No, she didn’t get into Ivys but did get into Honors programs at the state schools she applied to (she wasn’t interested in LACs). If she does well on the SATs she will have many many many fine choices.</p>

17

<p>Those are good choices. Some on your list are possibly costly though. If your D is open to some interesting suggestions, there are some great choices out there- including some women’s colleges if she would consider them.
She might qualify for merit aid at Agnes Scott, in Atlanta that had agreements with Georgia Tech and Emory. Emory is also a good choice if affordable. Elon in NC is also reasonably priced for a private college. Furman in SC.
As a VA resident, I assume that UVA and Virginia Tech are on the list as they are a good value at in state costs.</p>

18

<p>@bopper that’s definitely what we’re hoping for. She’s forming her SAT study routine right now to prepare for it in June. She’s nervous for the math section especially, but with good studying she’ll do just great. </p>

<p>Since I’ve showed her these posts she’s definitely calmed down some lol. She’s just worried that colleges won’t understand how she was limited on how much she could do with IB and moving around. DD has pretty much focused on her literacy book drive and related fundraising, tutoring, soccer, piano, academic competitions, and some volunteering when she can with this group she’s joined. Her babysitting business growing slowly, but surely. Do you think that colleges/universities will hold it against her that DD is doing this stuff basically in her junior and senior years? Should she be concerned that it will look like she’s just trying to pad her resume? </p>

<p>@Pennylane For awhile she did look at Emory, but then she decided that she really didn’t want to be anywhere farther South than North Carolina. And yes UVA is definitely on the list, DD isn’t such a fan of Tech though so she won’t be applying there. She will be applying to UVA and W&M however, simply because they are good schools with good state tuitions.</p>

19

<p>It’s not possible to know what colleges will think, but they can see that whatever she did before junior year, she may not have been able to continue, and would have started new activities after she moved.
UVA and WM are great schools, and your daughter should apply. They are both so selective that one can’t predict who gets admitted. It might alleviate the stress on her- and you- to add choices that are both affordable and less selective to her application list if you have not considered some already.</p>

20

<p>If you think William and Mary is a good fit, great. The key is just that – “fit.” </p>

<p>The truth is that Ivy quality schools do not necessarily give a significantly better education than lesser known schools. They do have huge name recognition and thus get more applicants; which means the students have to “stand out” more.</p>

<p>I suggest that you and D also explore lesser known schools. Especially small “liberal arts” colleges. Look into, say, University of Richmond (sounds like a state school but isn’t), or Emory and Henry College, or Sweet Briar (all female), or Roanoke College, or Wofford College. All good schools.</p>

<p>Also, go to the library and check out the book “Colleges That Change Lives” by Loren Pope. Very thought provoking and designed to keep you calm but hopeful.</p>