<p>Congrats on the acceptances, historymom & eddiodessa!</p>
<p>Congratulations all around - this great news is just wonderful to see!</p>
<p>And best of luck to all those taking the ACT today, too.</p>
<p>northeastmom, my D is taking the ACT today. As she walked out the door I chanted UCF! UCF! UCF!</p>
<p>Even though that is her #1 school, I don't think she's convinced she'll want to attend for Summer 2009. Classes start June 29th, just a few days AFTER she graduates high school. With the acceptance of East Carolina in her hands for Fall 2009, she's leaning heavily on that offer. She received another offer from a smaller Florida U but it doesn't have football which, believe it or not, is a priorty to her. :insert mom's rolling eyes:</p>
<p>Funny how you can read my PMs, I'm not concerned at all, it's just PMs from other parents giving encouragement, etc. :)</p>
<p>So now that D has 2 acceptances, what should we do? Hold off on sending in the non-refundable registration fees until we apply for FAFSA? D still has 8 other schools we are waiting for admissions decisions on. Money will be a factor in her decision.</p>
<p>We are new to this, D is first generation college.</p>
<p>Just dropping in to vent. </p>
<p>I am so sick and tired of nagging my daughter on writing her essays. I'm fed up. She seems to think she can approach this like a paper for English class, written at 2am on the night before it's due, or perhaps on the very morning it's due, without review or revision. She's got so much going for her and I'm afraid she's going to blow it by doing a shoddy job on the essays. And I really don't like what this is doing to our relationship. We're usually really close, now I'm getting eyerolls and storm-offs. I've offered to stop nagging and she tells me no, she needs me to nag her, she really wants to get going but there's always some excuse.</p>
<p>This is not fun.</p>
<p>electronblue, sending you much sympathy. It is <em>not</em> fun, not one bit. I'm betting your D will pull it together and write the kinds of essays you're hoping she will, but getting there is hard on the whole family.</p>
<p>JSM, I'll bet your D's ACT score is higher this time, since she did not have to get up with the crows to get to PA to take it! As far as depositing, I can't really recommend a solution. I would read what each school says. Some have seperate housing deposits, and choices might be first come first serve. For our older son we did not send in a deposit early bc it was not necessary. I would contact each school, tell them that you are OOS, that you need to compare FA offers, and how waiting would impact your daughter. Definitely ask them so that you can make an informed decision.</p>
<p>electronblue--I totally hear you and am in a very similiar situation with my DS. He had some science thing due to be submitted online this week by 7:00 p.m., got home from school at 6:45 p.m.--dashed to the computer and submitted at 7:01 p.m.--it was accepted. So this is the SOP he's developed and it makes me crazy. I've told him we just cannot wait til midnight of the due date--he's got 2 early actions due next weekend. He has a few sentences written but not the entire essays. Today he's off at a 12 hour quizbowl competition....will be exhausted tomorrow. I suggested essays might be more important and got a mumbled response. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't have extremely competitive schools on his list. Like your DD, he's got a lot going for him, but this little (Big?) piece is his achilles heel. On a positive note, he raised his math score on the SATs this week and he got a call from a University of Illinois at U-C student asking if he's still interested in applying (he'd sent scores there earlier but has since changed his mind about it), so there are of course plenty of things to be thankful for. And he'll still talk and joke with us, so it's not like the cold war or something. I guess I'm saying that while I know we will get thru this, it's right up there with our most "challenging" parenting times. I cope in part by spending more time on CC than is needed--Hanging in there with you electronblue!</p>
<p>Hey--Congrats on the acceptances--Historymom, that's terrific for your first twin! (I live in Portland, so am eagerly watching where they end up!) Sympathies for those still duking it out over apps. Though we have one in the bucket, S2 is not moving real fast on the other two due Dec. 1, which comprise a few essays and a specific recording. argh. </p>
<p>The procrastinating is the worst....sorry for those of you hitting your head against a teenage wall....</p>
<p>electronblue, I guided to towards finishing her applications. We'd sit down every so often where I would encourage her to do this next or that. In the beginning my D was very resistant about starting apps and essays. How you taken her on college tours? Once D started going to college tours, saw how MANY other kids were at the open houses and realizing that this might be a competitive year, listening to admissions say to apply early, she finally sat down and took college applications and essays seriously. One of her projects in class was to prepare a resume, which she asked to be sent with her HS transcript. Good luck.</p>
<p>Historymom & eddieodessa - congrats! How very exciting for them. And while I don't know if they are their first choices, at least they are very good choices! When you get an acceptance letter this early, does it include all the financial stuff or does that come later?</p>
<p>JSM, my D is with yours at the ACT this morning. She has taken it before, and got decent test scores, but decided she wanted to try again. At first I was resistant to that, but she convinced me that a chance at higher scores was worth the $$ & effort. (By the way, I also grew up on the Jersey shore.)</p>
<p>electronblue,</p>
<p>I am soooo feeling your pain. My S is in the exact same boat. Great grades, test scores, EC's, and he's unable to capture any of it in his essays! They are, at best, So-So.</p>
<p>I have been taking the hands off approach, but that Nov 1 EA deadline is creeping up and he is away this weekend for one of his ECs. When, exactly does he think it will get done?</p>
<p>I'm also a little worried about the common app site getting bogged down as we approach the deadlines... but he thinks he'll hit send at 11:52 on Oct 31 and all will be fine.</p>
<p>SJTH The same D should hear from your alma mater in the next couple of weeks.</p>
<p>JSM -- son sent in a registration fee to 'secure' his place in line for housing at one school (UofFL) even before admission. As far as I can tell, the other schools only require deposits after you've accepted their offer. Maybe others have a different experience?</p>
<p>ahh I think I found it! This thread that is... New Yorker here... specifically, Queens, NY.
Senior h.s. son. He's undecided at this time on what to major but does have several interests. For example, music/guitar (3 years of private guitar lessons; 1 college course on how to create music), computer/programming, video game development, and is a great writer (another college course Eng Composition). Therefore, has earned a total of 6 college credits free thru the college now program in NY for nyc public schools students. </p>
<p>I am so happy to have found this forum to chat, share and inform! Will write more later.</p>
<p>Mar20090--your son sounds very similar to mine. :-)</p>
<p>Welcome Mar2009. Long Island Mom here.</p>
<p>'09er has finished lots of apps. Not great essays. Short and to the point, but that is him. Interested in Computer science (like Jolynne's son) and engineering. If you fill us in with sons stats and any info pertaining to schools, ie size/location..., those on this site will be happy to suggest schools for you to consider.</p>
<p>I think Jolynne's son and mine have some of the same schools on the lists. Will be interesting to see where they get in (and if they get some important merit $$!!)</p>
<p>Mar2009 - welcome! You have definitely come to the right place :)</p>
<p>electronblue, mom in virginia and crm86 - I'm in your shoes. DD submitted 2 apps in late Setember, both to schools that did not require essays. She is now bogged down - has made no progress on the Common App, other than registering. She is definitely a "do it at the last minute" kind of kid. But I've imposed an artificial deadline of Thanksgiving to get the apps done - I keep telling her she will like me a lot better when it is all over!</p>
<p>I worry because, although she has strong grades, test scores and ECs, so do lots of other kids, and it is her essays that will or won't make her stand out.</p>
<p>On the positive side, we did have a good trip last weekend to visit Clark Univ. and Brandeis - I was hoping that would kick start her, but no such luck :(</p>
<p>PRJ - DS is very interested in Clark as well, but coming from SoCal, it's a long way to visit. What did you think?</p>
<p>My son is procrastinating too with his essays. He got a good draft of the main essay done which is a little quirky, but definitely speaks in his voice and it's with his APEngl teacher for review, but he's done nothing on the supplements. Because his ACT score is good and his grades average, we're casting a wide net of about 10 schools so there is a lot of work to do.</p>
<p>Our agreed upon date is that all drafts are done by Halloween so we can hit send by 11/12. It would be fabulous to have a little break in the pressure for BOTH of us.</p>
<p>cpelz - D really liked Clark and I was impressed as well. Very friendly students, excellent tour guide, GREAT food in the dining hall (D joked that she ate so much, she was starting on her "freshman 15" early :)) The only drawback, which I'm sure you know, is that Worcester is a pretty depressed city and the area around campus looked and felt a little rough. You can check out my campus visit report. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/clark-university/5825928.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/clark-university/5825928.html</a></p>