<p>It’s great to have this thread to share with parents (and kids) in similiar situations. My son has been pretty laid back and much more optimistic than I have been through all of this. He’s happy with his acceptances and thinks that he has some great schools to go to. </p>
<p>Since it is in my nature to over think everything, I keep wondering if he should apply to a couple reach schools to see what happens. He doesn’t think this is necessary and he’s probably right. I keep wondering what if…</p>
<p>wb, same here. Those first five acceptances came so fast. I asked D if she might always wonder if she should have reached higher. There is still time . . . she admitted that the thought had crossed her mind but wasn’t concerned about it. She has two more apps to do, and those happen to be good schools (high matches) where the merit money is rumored to be less. It will be interesting to see the results going RD with these.</p>
<p>Everyone has to make their own decision, base on their own facts, but I would respectuflly suggest the key is to determine what you hope to accomplish adding some reaches. If it is taking the chance to get into a school which offers a better experience or outcome, and you are not worried about your child being too upset if he/she is admitted to the reach but you can’t afford it, I think that is a very rational decision.</p>
<pre><code>If applying to the reaches is instead triggered by a desire to impress peers or parents’ friends; or because a GC has said “If you are not rejected somewhere, it means you are not reaching high enough”, consider if the outcome is worth the effort.
It is very difficult–especially in affluent towns or on CC–not to get caught in the fable that the school ranked by US 1 spot above yours, or 10 slots, or 100 slots, is automatically “better” for your child. Although I have benefitted enormously from having Ivy degrees, at the Ivy law school there were dozens of kids from lesser name schools who had prospered from the effort lavished on them by professors as superstars at those schools.
In addition, I think a happy college student usually outperforms an unhappy student. If a lesser ranke school has a quality which will make your child happer–smaller classes; a less competitive atmosphere; kids mor elike them; fun sports or other events in or near campus–that may well be the better choice for your child, although the harder choice for you.
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<p>yabeyabe2 - The GC’s comment does make me think twice but isn’t the real motivator.</p>
<p>The biggest reason that I am thinking about having my son add schools is because of the type of student my son has evolved into. In the beginning I was worried about whether he would get in anywhere. Now that I feel more confident, I want to be sure that he has applied to schools that will be a good match. He’s very much an intellectual and enjoys intellectual discussion. He cares about health care reform and Fair Trade and a variety of social issues. For him, it isn’t about the grade but about the learning and the experience. I could continue but I’m sure that you get the picture… So when I read about schools such as Oberlin and Bard I wonder if he should take a chance. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there are schools on his list (he hasn’t heard from all of them) that might provide this opportunity. (Suquehanna is one of those schools that my son was very impressed with.) Sometimes it’s hard to know what a school is really like. He knows that there is drinking at all schools but he wants to be sure it isn’t the mainactivity on campus. He really liked it that the tour guide at F&M mentioned that they work hard during the week and so alot of kids just get together and hang out.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m babbling now, but basically my insecurities may have limited the schools my son chose to apply to…</p>
<p>WB, I think you are being very reasonable. </p>
<p>Of course, the intellectual discussions can vary a lot even among “intellectual” schools–it may be that Oberlin or Bard kids would be more interested in intellectual discussions of literature while American be better for health care reform or Dickinson for Fair Trade. And the first year at Ursinus, where they all read books by Plato, etc, is yet another type of intellectual emphasis.
The % of students going on to graduate school in his potential major might be a good indicator.
The sense I have so far is that Susquehanna students would have less of an intellectual bent and more of a business bent than F&M or Juniata.</p>
<p>WB - To help answer the same kinds of questions for S2 as he makes his choice among the acceptances, I just purchased the “Insider’s Guide to College”. They discuss a lot of the intangible stuff that is hard to glean from the web-site or a short visit.</p>
<p>By the way, because I thought S2’s college list was “hit or miss”, especially at the top end, I did not force him to rank the schools in order (except for his clear ED choice). I thought, “Why go through that bother if we really don’t know where he will get in or not?” So, after all the letters and merit money are in, he’ll have to narrow it down. At that point, I’ll have to decide about the importance of scholarship vs. full pay. To me, a lot depends on the school. Some are worth full pay; others, I’m not as sure.</p>
<p>mom2sons - I’ll have to pick up the book you suggest…</p>
<p>So an alien has taken over my son’s body or I’ve backed off and he’s taking over !!!
He’s been checking out websites and has a couple reaches that he wants to apply to. (Has he been secretly reading my postings on CC??) Wonders never cease… Hopefully, his GC won’t freak out.</p>
<p>My son is doing exactly the opposite of wb’s son. He is into several colleges (six as of now, I think) and has spent this entire winter break out with friends when not working. (He has been picking up a lot of extra hours at work too, but that’s because he loves that paycheck.) He has told me that several friends in college have told him that he should enjoy his last vacations as a high school student and his aim is to do just that. He has no desire to even look at the website for another school.</p>
<p>I guess a little part of me has always wished he was more like I am (researching everything out the wazoo) but I do admit that he is much more laid back that I will ever be and a generally happy person…so I don’t think that he will have any second thoughts about wherever he chooses to go. But geez…would it hurt to at least make some plans to visit some of the schools that accepted him?</p>
<p>Parents of seniors I am feeling pangs for you. I am also beyond grateful that you started this thread for those of us with kids who are younger.</p>
<p>Peps, you have received better worded advice and comfort from others but I want you to know that I am in your corner (and your S’s too)</p>
<p>warriorboy hope the alien that has inhabited your S’s body gets the job done.</p>
<p>r2r…thanks for your honesty it gives the rest of us permission to do the same. I think your S sounds delightful and it is because you “talk” about him so lovingly and admiringly.</p>
<p>Is anyone on here familiar with this school? I know of 2 seniors who are B students who applied in October and were very quickly accepted. I don’t think it is a top choice for either of them, more a safety school, but it might work for some on this thread. It looks lovely on the website, decent write up in the PR college guide, but I would love to hear more from anyone who goes there or considered it. Thanks.</p>
<p>That click of the mouse you heard last night was the last of the college applications being submitted and the end of the college search at this house. Part of me can’t believe it and the other part is glad to be done with the guide books, the seminars, the info sessions, the college fairs … Macalester wins the prize for the funniest promo literature (from their FinAid people). The U of Evansville wins for early and persistent contact and for their Harlaxton College in England. <sigh> Emerson has wonderfully creative brochures. Love Trinity U’s dorm room web tour. The U of Puget Sound seamlessly handled a technical snafu at their fall preview event, sending a message of competency that resonates to this day.</sigh></p>
<p>Best wishes to everyone for a successful and content 2010. It’s gonna be momentous!</p>
<p>First, thanks for this thread. I am encouraged! </p>
<p>My son is a sophomore and is one that I worry will struggle with the ACT and SAT exams. He does not love to read nor does he love to write. We have to really sit on him to get him to read outside of his school work. He picks up concepts really quickly and loves math and science but also does not really worry about his grades–just takes them as they come. He dislikes humanities and gets great grades when he remembers to turn in his work–but that is not all the time–which is a big worry to me for when he goes to college.</p>
<p>So, since he is just above the 50th percentile in class rank, and has a GPA of about 3.2, what do you recommend for studying for the entrance exams. I think those could show his potential. Should he start studying for them now ( he has the time as he does not have a lot of homework each night). Also, any recommendations on how to get him to care a bit more about his grades and all? I think the suggestion of doing college tours early as a motivator would really help.</p>
<p>His ECs are weak–just some JV XC, and 4H stuff. He likes to participate but does not like to lead.</p>
<p>Liljay, congrats on being accepted!! and dig, congrats on being done!
Rockville, I have never heard of FL Southern College. There is a USFL, but it may not be the same school. I imagine all the FL schools other than Miami are potential safeties. In NJ, Atlantic Coast (the region, not just the conference, although it helps) southern schools have become increasingly popular for weather considerations, or weather + big time sports, making schools such as Elon, Clemson, UNC, Duke, Wake and Miami all more competitive than 10 years ago (when some were very competitive to begin with).</p>
<p>TKsmom, as this thread shows, there are a lot of good options for your son. If motivation continues to be an issue, perhaps a small nurturing school is best, although that limits your public school options since most are large.</p>
<p>If he is a big sports fan, perhaps a visit to a basketball or next Fall football game might motivate him to work harder to gain admission to your public flagship or similar schools.</p>
<p>Getting him involved in SAT prep is tempting, but, from your description, getting him focused on something he dislikes and seems far away will be difficult. Perhaps you can come up with an incentive program (money; videogames; gift certificates)? And/or start with short preparation tasks, such as the SAT word of the day emails?</p>
<p>As for ECs, my suggestion is not to take on too much at a time, unless you can think of 1 more he would really enjoy, rather than just be a resume enhancer. The only exception I would make is that kids should do community service for reasons beyond resumes.</p>
<p>I posted on June 26 on this thread about my hopes and fears for my son starting college this semester. He’s done better than I expected – not without some challenges – but the issue of transferring has come up. Rather than repeat everything here, please see the thread I started (within the Parents Forum) about “transfer options for a 3.0 (more or less) student” today if you’d like an update. </p>
<p>Thanks for the quick reply. I agree with your thoughts about motivation. Seeing his sister go through the application process is sparking his interest, but he just had his worst semester ever—all Bs. He wants to take some AP courses next year and we will support him doing that–maybe he will like it better. He hates busy work. I think he would enjoy a very hands on type of school with small classes and a nice campus atmosphere. So I welcome ideas of schools to put on the list.</p>
<p>I did read CTCL but most seemed to be liberal arts focused more than math/science focused except for Reed which I know is not the right fit for him.</p>
<p>So if my son is interested in engineering and I am looking for a small school where he will get some good one on one attention, what schools do you suggest? Any area of the country is fine. My husband is from rural upstate NY so I think my son would not mind being up that way. We live in Colorado but have access to the WUE schools at in state prices.</p>
<p>Here are some I am thinking of:
Lafayette --reach?
Bucknell --reach?
Lehigh (a stretch)
Clarkson (husband went there)
Colorado School of Mines
Syracuse University
Alfred?
University of Rochester
Colorado State University in Ft. Collins</p>
!!!