<p>I so agree with Slumom and I’m only working on #2. I was far more stressed during my oldest son’s freshman year just hoping the grades would be good, he would be happy, didn’t know whether I had the stamina to deal with “transfer talk”…very happy none of that came about and hoping Son #2 will pick an equally good choice for himself. The “my freshman is unhappy” messages are far more gut-wrenching to me than the “will my kid get in at blah blah blah.”</p>
<p>^^^how about “my sophomore is unhappy”?? If you think the former is gut-wrenching…
didn’t mean to hijack thread though…carry on…</p>
<p>Thanks digdig.</p>
<p>RTR, I liked the Mamet joke–although Mamet dialogue would involve a lot more cursing!</p>
<p>And folks are right, all our work will go for naught if our kids do not get a decent roommate; find one class they like; and make one good friend</p>
<p>Sushi, my neice went to Catholic - they have a very good Poly Sci program, and she has done very well for herself. She is driven and took full advantage of everything the school & DC had to offer.</p>
<p>My son is just starting the college visits. </p>
<p>In addition to the larger universities, I’d love him to also consider small, more nurturing schools. I see a lot of info about LACs and schools on the CTCL list, which sound great, but most don’t have his major interests. He is not looking for a liberal arts program. His interests are science or architecture. Are there good small private schools in the NorthEast (or further afield) that we should look at as we start visiting schools?</p>
<p>Hoping for a well-rounded education, not something that is only an art school or commuter school. </p>
<p>Something with a campus feel, and a number of class choices and activities.</p>
<p>Take a look at [Architecture</a> Schools - How to Choose an Architecture School or College or University](<a href=“http://architecture.about.com/cs/schools/bb/schools.htm]Architecture”>How to Find the Best School for Architecture)
Although many LACs are strong in science, architecture is traditionally a large school program (Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, etc). You may find an LAC with a cooperative agreement with a larger school</p>
<p>Catholic University made a big deal of its architecture program when we visited. I know nothing about the field, but the facilities were impressive and it seemed to be a fairly popular program</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! yabeyabe2 - I appreciate the link. At a glance, Roger Williams U caught my eye, as it has architecture but is still pretty small.</p>
<p>Anybody have any experience with Roger Williams? (in Rhode Island) </p>
<p>Any other suggestions are welcome, as we are planning to visit a wide variety of schools (both large and small, to give him the full range of choices.)</p>
<p>MacTessa,</p>
<p>Contact SoozieVT on this forum…her oldest daughter had similar interests and is pursuing a graduate degree in architecture now, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>mactessa,
With science programs, be alert for signs that the classes which are part of the pre-med curriculum are cutthroat. To my surprise, I have read some claims that some CTCL schools which boaast of their high med school acceptance rate do so by weeding out kids who might not get in.</p>
<p>My son got a large envelope from Pitt today that said “Congratulations!” on it. I didn’t know he had applied there so I texted him to ask, and he said he did it because the app. was easy, it was rolling, and a friend of his (whose parents went there) has a lot of good things to say about the school. (He hasn’t seen it.)</p>
<p>Looking at Naviance, it was another safety. But still nice to know there are colleges out there for him!</p>
<p>Congrats to RTRson !!</p>
<p>I visited Pitt with S#2 and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It has a vibe all its own.</p>
<p>Congrats! You might need to change your screen name to “He’s on a Roll”. :D</p>
<p>RTR,
Congrats–Pitt is a fine school. And it will be hysterically funny if, after all your hard work, he winds up going to a place you did not even know he was applying to!</p>
<p>I had to share this with my B student friends. At the end of the school year, my son took the ACT and SAT. He was sick for the SAT but took it just to see how he would do. His scores were OK but his ACT score was much higher. </p>
<p>So my son and I had our senior meeting with his GC. After our meeting she sends me a copy of her letter of recommendation. She writes about how well he did on the ACT and then lists his SAT scores. I was ready to cry!!! I emailed and called her. (I know she thinks I’m nuts!!!) She didn’t quite see the big deal, but it would not have helped him, especially at his top 3 choices that are all reaches.</p>
<p>The good news is that she changed the letter and then she was even able to pull it from one of his top choices before it was mailed…</p>
<p>I will be soooo happy when all the apps are in and I can relax ( my ds isn’t stressed at all! )</p>
<p>Wow…and what made her send you the letter? in most cases, that letter would have gone out without the parent seeing it…lucky on your part…</p>
<p>She sent me the letter because my son was sick a lot during his sophomore year and she wanted my opinion as to whether she accurately portrayed the problem. It was a great letter and truly described the intellectual type of kid that he is. She even wrote that he could have taken an easy course load but that he valued the learning experience. I’m hoping that this will help offset the lower GPA.</p>
<p>One great thing about his school is that we get to see all of the rec letters. No worry that someone wrote a mediocre or average recommendation.</p>
<p>I have a quick question, how important are mid-term grades? I ask this because I will be applying ED to my top choice and am a little worried about my grade in AP French as I have not been doing as well as I have in the past. I am worried my grade will drop down and be rejected by the school because of it. I want to major in Int’l Relations, but I’m kind of scared that my possible lower grade in AP French would bring my chances down.</p>
<p>sushi, i would be surprised if a grade above D in AP French made a big dent in your chances.</p>