@cinnamon1212 - Pretty sure they haven’t pulled the trigger on applying at any schools yet. If you had read the entire thread he’s been giving a pretty detailed blow by blow of their progress. He’s been doing a ton of detailed research, but there hasn’t been much going on in the actual applying department. People are just telling him to get the easy sure things taken care of and off her plate, as they’re wanting to apply to upwards of 20 schools.
And the daughter is trying to start senior year, practice and get ready to play her sport, and do well in classes. And hopefully have some fun along the way (and I realize her sport and teammates may help in that department) . And chill some. Expecting her to also focus on potentially 20 + applications on top of that sounds pretty brutal , AND unnecessary.
Yep, but actually I said Pitt would be in the first round of applications, Alabama would be in the second. But after looking at Alabama’s app, it seems pretty easy, so I think that’ll be the first one to knock out this weekend. And maybe some of the other easy ones.
As for Pitt, that seems to be more involved, in which case I need to verify that it is indeed worthy of burning one of our “complicated applications” on. That being said, I think my daughter is nearly done with their essays.
Another school that has a super early deadline is Georgia Tech. And then there’s about 13 others to evaluate that also need immediate attention, of which about half need to be eliminated. And that’s just round 1 of applications.
It’s great to get all of these recommendations of schools from people, but then again most everyone is saying it’s way too many schools to apply to. In my (crazy?) goal of 25 applications, it seems that about 10 or so are in the “easy like Alabama” category, so in my mind those don’t really count. Thus, it’s really more like 15 semi-complicated to very-complicated applications that we’re shooting for (of which Pitt is one).
By the way, it was mentioned that her school’s teacher and counselor letters of recommendation usually aren’t completed until the first week of October. That’s what gave me the impression that students there usually don’t submit applications before then. But then again it looks like Pitt doesn’t want letters of recommendation, which is unfortunate because I have pretty good feeling that her LORs will be very very strong.
So yeah, lots going on, lots of distractions, and the clocks a tick’n.
Pitt will want letters of recommendation if she is invited to apply for the Chancellor scholarship (full ride).
The short answer questions and essay questions will be used to get to know your D as a person, in addition to her stats.
If she is almost done with them, she can submit them as soon as possible, SAT score report and transcript can be sent now.
Admittedly I have not read all 31 pages of this thread, but in my many years on cc, posters will typically inquire what the STUDENT wants and why the student isn’t owning/driving this process. Usually the OP gets reminded that its not “we” who are applying to college, its the student. Many/most parents have financial constraints/limitations and hopefully make that known to the student at the outset as they (the student) complete their applications.
While we parents certainly ask for help, ideas, suggestions and guidance, its ultimately got to be the student who takes the reins and owns/drives the process. So I am curious, what part of this process has she done, @KevinFromOC? Has she looked at the websites of all these schools and seen which she might like/not like to attend? If she really does not care in the least where she goes (which is a blessing for you), have you had the “money” talk with her and told her what you can afford, and then let her take it from there. If she doesn’t get applications in in a timely manner (though its doubtful the 6 counselors at her BS would allow that), or doesn’t get enough scholarship money to make school affordable, then she can take a gap year and earn money or do something else meaningful and reapply.
If she isn’t engaged in the process, it will likely show in her essays, and for the elites and for top scholarships in particular, this can work against her.
Is she back at BS on the E coast or in CA for your mom’s funeral (if thats where its being held)? Have you given this list of schools you’ve generated to her and let her look into them? Has she identified a plan for when she wants to complete the applications and in what order? You have gotten a ton of helpful information here. Yes, you are proud of her and her accomplishments and you want the best for her, but part of that is backing off/letting go and handing off much of this process to her. What are her thoughts? When does she start her conditioning/practices for her winter sport? Senior year is a crazy busy time for all students, and hopefully she can manage her schedule, research the schools (has she visited other than perhaps played hockey on some campuses?) so she can write meaningful essays for the apps and scholarships.
https://oafa.pitt.edu/financialaid/academic-scholarships/diversity-scholarships/
https://oafa.pitt.edu/apply/admissions-process/short-answer-questions/
It says the three short answer responses are submitted after the initial application.
I think there are two extra essays if you are interested in being considered for honors college, but they are optional.
The honors college process changed last year, all high stats students used to be honors eligible, but that process became competitive last year when honors housing was made mandatory for honors college students.
An engineering student will have plenty of challenge in the curriculum and few take honors courses, there is an engineering LLC and they can live with other engineers if they want.
Another thing to understand is that for some schools, the deadline for what the student has to get submitted and what the HS counselors have to get submitted may vary by a few weeks (though this isn’t always made known to the students). BUT it is the STUDENT’S responsibility to make sure all materials are submitted and the applications are complete.
We made an excel spreadsheet for all of this. It was really easy to take a look and see what was due, when. Most schools had “similar” deadlines but not all.
Just want to point out that some schools will send their invites to apply for scholarships and honors after the initial application is submitted so there will be more essays to write. Do not think that the work is all done after the common app is submitted.
Have you asked your daughter how much time she has to work on these applications now that the school year has begun? What does she say about all of this? How involved has she been with the crafting of this list? Is she willing/able to put in all of the time? As a reference…my daughter worked on her 20 essays several nights a week from the end of June through the end of August…and she is a good writer, the thoughts easily flow, etc. The essays take a long time.
I would suggest that your D apply to 2-3 automatic huge merit schools now so that she has choices come the spring…happy to hear that this is the plan. After that…I would leave the ball in her court. If she wants it, she will do it. If not…she will have 2-3 schools to choose from that she will be happy with. The fact that she can be happy anyplace is a blessing.
Maybe you can set up a weekly meeting to “check in” and discuss how the applications are going. The Pitt app is really not that complicated …relative to others.
My son applied to all easy application, no essay schools, but now after getting accepted the mailings are coming for applying for honors and scholarships. Most appear to have Dec 1st deadlines, but some are Nov 1st. That’s only 6 weeks from now! And they DO require writing. Plenty of time for us yet, but if we hadn’t applied to the school yet and still had to wait for them to get transcripts and test scores and make their decision, then mail out the info about applying for everything else, it could get pretty tight for those Nov 1st ones. The honors college app says the faster you apply, the better your odds.
Wouldn’t it make sense to do the applications to the Arizona schools (UA and ASU) early as well? (I know “Alabama” is the default answer on these forums, but the Arizona schools may be less expensive.)
I agree with @ucbalumnus Not only could the Arizona schools be less expensive, but they have pretty good US News Engineering programs rankings (Arizona State #38 and University of Arizona #55). Furthermore Arizona State Honors College (Barrett) is rated 5/5 by John Willingham (the only reference I found on the matter). And University of Arizona just opened its new Honors Village dorm that looks spectacular on the pictures posted on its website, and might help attracting top talent next year.
It’s important to meet the early deadlines for the Arizona schools (~Nov 1). University of Arizona honors college is more competitive for admission than ASU Barrett. Both can run out of space for admission and also for housing if you wait longer to apply.
Since the affordability of the school hinges on merit scholarships, also research what GPA has to be maintained to keep that scholarship.
Even a 3.0 can be challenging to maintain for a (chemical) engineer.
Also check if there is direct admission into engineering program and if there is gatekeeping regarding certain engineering specialties.
Visits and more research into a particular program can follow after acceptance and merit notification.
@mommdc This is confusing - we only see the 2 honors essay questions on the Common App. Does this mean you submit the 3 short answer responses AFTER you submit the application? How do you submit them - In the link you provided, they list the questions but don’t tell you how they are submitted.
It would probably be easier to use the Pitt application as I would bet that it is very clear on what needs to be done.
Have your daughter check that.
Has your daughter (not you, your daughter) looked at the CA steps for Pitt? Has she completed the questions about which semester, which campus, which college and major, whether she is applying for auto admit, and whether she is applying to the Honors College? Its pretty straightforward. It will also then take her to the 3 short answer questions (max 750 words each) and these are in ADDDITION to the personal statement for the CA. This is her work to do, and will answer many of the questions you are asking. Please- no more “we”. This is HER application work and her responsibility.
“Since the affordability of the school hinges on merit scholarships, also research what GPA has to be maintained to keep that scholarship.
Even a 3.0 can be challenging to maintain for a (chemical) engineer.”
Though that depends critically on the GPA percentiles by major and the typical admitted student profile. Try to find data like this: https://www.obia.utah.edu/data/student-data/gpa-percentile/
A student winning a scholarship awarded to the top 1% of admitted students shouldn’t have too many concerns about staying in the top 30% of the class.
Oh, forgot to mention- it looks like in addition to the 3 (any or all, they are "optional’, haha) “short answers” ( maximum 750 words is not short, IMO) for Pitt’s application, the Honors application, which can be completed with the CA or later (though due Nov. 1 for priority consideration) has 2 more short answers to complete and additionally 1-3 (any or all) “optional” (imo nothing is optional) short answers. LOTS for her to do!
That said, if she selects “yes” on the CA to do the honors program app now, different essay prompts come up.