<p>Hello</p>
<p>I just stumbled upon this board/forum and it appears that everyone has great information and advice. I skimmed through a few threads but honestly don't know where to begin! </p>
<p>I do participate in another board but different subject (cooking) so I don't know a lot of the abbreviations used on this site.
Any other tips on searching or anything else is appreciated!</p>
<p>TIA,
Suzy</p>
<p>here are at least a few acronyms you are likely to encounter here:</p>
<p>ED - Early decision (binding)
EA - Early action (non-binding)
SCEA - Single choice early action (non-binding, but can only choose one school)
AdCom - admissions committee or Admissions counselor
rec - recommendation
LAC - Liberal arts college
SAT - doesn't actually stand for anything! It's that pesky standardized test.
ACT - similar to SAT, some people like it better/worse
stats- a summary of grades, test scores, extracurriculars, etc.
ECs - Extra curricular activities
HYPSMC (or some variation) - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech
BA/MD - combined degree prgram offering a bachelors and a MD in 6-8 years
GC - guidance counselor
rep - a representative from a college or university
URM - underrepresented minority</p>
<p>I'm sure I forgot a whole bunch, feel free to add</p>
<p>Ah.
Thanks jenskate :-)
I was truly clueless.</p>
<p>most people here avoid use of names to preserve anonymity, so
D - daughter
S - son</p>
<p>I don't know what DD is even though I see it used sometimes.</p>
<p>USNWR - US News and World Report - the magazine that does the most famous ranking. So when a school is referred to as a Top Ten LAC or a Top 25 University, or third tier, or #24, etc., chances are good that the person is talking about the USNWR rankings. Some people love them, some peole hate them, some people just use them for a general idea of a ballpark range of SATs, class rank, etc.</p>
<p>GC - Guidance Counselor. To add to the above definition by jenskate: Some people love them, some people, etc!</p>
<p>DD, i believe, stands for dear daughter. Similarly, DH is dear husband, DS is dear son.</p>
<p>DD= Dear Daughter when they are sweet and all is right with the world
Same for DS =Dear son</p>
<p>DD= well, for when they are being stubborn, obstinate, pig-headed, rude, disrespectful....you get the idea, well that is d*mn son/daughter or darn, your preference</p>
<p>Ask away DrDrewsmom, we will help as much as possible and</p>
<p>WELCOME!!!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>DD has always been "darling" daughter to me. Just a little more effusive, I guess. Welcome again!</p>
<p>Yes, on my cooking board (well, not really "mine" but I've been posting there for over 3 years) it's always DH, DD, DS, etc. So I did assume D=daughter, S=son and so on. </p>
<p>And thank you for the welcomes! How nice</p>
<p>A little about me:
We moved to Idaho from the Seattle area almost 5 years ago (DH's job).
I have a S who is a HS junior and looking at some elite colleges. He is also an athlete and hoping to continue at the college level (baseball).
I have a question about SAT scores. S plans to major in engineering. He scored very well on the math portion (740) but a little closer to average on the verbal. Does anybody know if schools care about composite scores only, or will they look more at the score which is more closely related to your major (if that makes any sense)? Or does that vary from school to school?</p>
<p>You're in IDAHO!!! Yay for geographical diversity!!!! :) :D</p>
<p>I was thinking the same thing Nedad!!!</p>
<p>IDAHO!!! And baseball!!! With a 740!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>OK, now that the fun answers are in, here's a first take on how the scores will work if you (in some misguided swoon) leave Idaho or ground him from baseball.</p>
<p>They will look at both and you can find stats for each school separately for M/V and for the total. It will vary by the innards of the admission process at a given school how much "extra" attention they pay to the more "relevant" score for an intended major, but I would typically expect it to have some influence.</p>
<p>What schools is your S considering? You will find on this board there are posters v knowledgeable in general and others with much specific knowledge re given schools/programs. So, if we have an idea of schools S is considering, you'll get more specific feedback.</p>
<p>It's all about context. I have seen "DD" used to mean "damn dog" :)</p>
<p>No but seriously, DrDrewsmom, I think it would depend on the particular school, and the specific engineering. And of course the verbal score, how average?</p>
<p>I too have a DS, a high school junior looking at more selective schools as are many of the parents of the board. And some of them are very familiar with stats necessary for particular schools. My DD a senior this year, is also a recruited athlete and her school search has been very different than her brother(s) has or will be.</p>
<p>What are his other interests, although baseball can take up a majority of his free time. Does he want to play DI, II, III ball? Has he thought about it? Will finances be an issue? His other stats, GPA range, course load/rigor, class standing, public/private/prep?</p>
<p>I am sure the other parents will chime in soon enough!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Yes I know....and here I was crying for a year after we moved here. Since I certainly never had my own sights set on such schools when I was that age, I never would've guessed that would factor into the equation at all! Whodathunk that being in a small state would give him an advantage (well, for some schools, anyway). </p>
<p>OK, verbal was 590.
Class rank 1 of 459 (public school)
GPA 4.25
AP calculus, chemistry, and other honors classes over the past couple years. He'll take those AP tests in a couple months I guess.
NHS</p>
<p>His first choice is Stanford. He has an open mind about other schools as well. Honestly, and I'm sure this is probably true for many kids, he just doesn't want to go to school anywhere in the south or southeast. The boy has a problem with extreme heat/humidity (can't say I blame him!) ;-)</p>
<p>Does he have the ability to play for Stanford?</p>
<p>If he's looking at Stanford, he'd do well to improve his verbal score. I'm not sure how the complication of the new SAT I will play into this... The other stats look good: he'll take the APs in May, has he taken any SAT II tests? Has he identified a couple teachers who would likely write excellent recommendations for him? Other than baseball, does he have any other ECs or community service, especially anything where he's had a leadership role? It's a good time to be putting together the "interested" list and figuring out where to visit. Welcome!</p>
<p>Not only Idaho - but he's number one in his class? And you're worried? Mwahhh ha ha ha ha! :)</p>
<p>DrDrewsmom,</p>
<p>My D is an athlete and has applied to academically elite D3 schools. Many of the top Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs) are D3... Amherst, Williams, Carlton, Vassar, Wesleyan, Trinity, Pomona, Haverford, Grinnell, etc.</p>
<p>There is a wide range of "D3" in athletics-- from really mellow programs to others just a hair less competitive than the D1 schools. </p>
<p>Once you determine your son's ability level (HS coach should be able to help here) and decide on the amount of time he wants to devote to his sport in college (D1 can be intense), you will get a clearer picture of where to aim. You can look up the rankings (regional & national) of the various teams in D1 & D3 on line.</p>
<p>My D wanted tennis to help her get into a higher-tier school than would have been likely without her tennis. Thus she focused on the academically excellent D3's, but those without the very highest national rankings. </p>
<p>It has been an interesting ride. See my thread "Is Enthusiastic Coach Call = Likely Letter?" for lots of info on sports & admissions.</p>
<p>I'd like to offer one small caution about athletics at the D3 level - they are very time intensive, even at those schools that treat them casually. Youngest is on a D3 team at school and finds she has to plan her day around the practice schedule. There's usually an hour or more first thing in the morning and up to four hours in the late afternoon.</p>
<p>In addition, the seasons are much longer than high school and travel often requires a night in a hotel - and more than a few missed classes.</p>
<p>In her case, she loves it and it doesn't affect academics (4.0 last semester). However, it does force her to be a lot more structured than most of her friends and to make some tough decisions on her social life.</p>