<p>Son has had his apps done for a while, but I've been dragging my feet on the parent recs. Of the two schools that wanted them, one went ahead and admitted him without the rec. I just sent the parent rec to his favorite school. YIKES! As I mentioned before, they ask for "outstanding character traits" and "areas where applicant needs strengthening." I'm so afraid that if he doesn't get in, it will be because of something I said or didn't say. Too much pressure!!!</p>
<p>missypie -- That does seem like too much pressure. None of the schools my daughter is looking at require a parent reference. It seems like a silly request....I think it's fair to assume that a mother or father has a certain favorable bias!</p>
<p>I never heard of a parent rec! Really--bias can pretty much be assumed (for most parents!!).</p>
<p>D got a call this afternoon from a college rep congratulating her on her acceptance. She has been accepted two places and received a phone call each time. She just said that she thought she would get acceptances by mail rather than phone; to be honest, I did too. I guess things have changed somewhat since my older two went through the process; or maybe it's just different schools. IDK - still waiting on something in writing.</p>
<p>Not complaining, though. She was officially in a college as of last Friday and as of today she officially has a choice. :)</p>
<p>Wow, Ignatius, so cool! Congrats!</p>
<p>I think my "areas where applicant needs strengthening" might turn into a rant rather than a rec...I just picked up THIRTY soda cans in various stages of emptiness from the applicant's bedroom floor and desk. Those were in plain sight; I haven't even moved the heaps of applicant's dirty laundry and paper. But the poor senior is so stressed out....I'm sure these issues will vanish once she moves into a dorm room!!!!</p>
<p>Muffy333--it is always interesting to see what color the carpeting actually is in their bedrooms--although 30 is quite the number--wonder if anyone can top that! I think S's has only been up to 15--unless you count the 8 that sit on top of the bookcase with holes in them from junior high from an airsoft gun target shooting day. He just can't seem to part with them. Hey, maybe I will pack them quietly next August in his bags. Or send them in his first care package??</p>
<p>Good thing muffy and oregon do not need to send parent recs.. lol</p>
<p>Muffy333 and oregon101 --- Funny! My daughter's room is horrible too! I'm sure she'll be a good roommate because she's a respectful kid and I look forward to seeing her actually take care of a room next year. Funny - and yes lucky that most schools don't need parents recs!</p>
<p>Congrats, ignatious! That's great.</p>
<p>LOL at kids' rooms--son's is a colorful disaster, also. I feel guilty for picking up clothes/doing laundry (he'll need to learn to incorporate this into his schedule next year! Maybe I'm depriving him of the exper?). But, I keep telling myself--as soon as all his essays are written, I'll leave some of the 'life maintenance' stuff to him. He did pick up mess in the kitchen, last night. </p>
<p>I'm trying to extract a (very difficult, very 'deep') honors college application from him. Plus a few scholarship essays. I think I'm definitely going to try a (stress-reducing?) yoga class this weekend!</p>
<p>LOL Jolynne - yesterday someone suggested I try yoga because my shoulders are constantly hunched :( And have I mentioned my latest ailment - chronic jaw clenching?</p>
<p>All of your room descriptions make me feel much better. Today I noticed a layer of crumbs on top of the layer of clothes covering her floor. How does that happen?! Did she empty a box of cracker crumbs on the floor on purpose? Did she dump them in the trash can and then kick it over accidentally? And why doesn't it bother her?!</p>
<p>AdvicePlease - I wish I were as confident as you that her dorm room won't look like this!</p>
<p>D's room is a not a disaster - I do a pretty good maintenance job, but please note the "I" in the sentence. Seriously, homework and ecs take up much of her time and adding the apps into the mix is more than enough stress at this particular time in her life. Once the fall semester is over, her ecs lighten up and all the app essays will be done (hah - somehow I truly envision the essays never being complete). She can then start with room maintenance again, etc. She made the comment that she really didn't know how to do laundry - and I made the comment that it was actually a brainless task. I don't intend to do any of her laundry this summer and she'll be perfectly capable of handling it on her own both here and later at school. (Third child, so I tend not to worry so much about whether or not she'll have those basic skills. Older d and son managed when they left home to read the clothing tag with washing instructions on it and then follow the directions - duh.)</p>
<p>Like Jolynne Smyth's son, d has to finish some app essays (scholarship) this weekend; her essays so far have been great, but I promise that childbirth (in the far, far future :)) will actually be an easier process for her. </p>
<p>Jolynne - I'll look for a post from you at the end of the weekend. It'll be nice to know how the weekend goes on your end. Good luck!</p>
<p>D was accepted at her first college. No big surprise; she's only applying to state schools where she will be offered big scholarships but it was nice just the same. Got the letter on Wednesday and that same evening she got a call from a student in the honors college, encouraging her to apply for that as well - she said she will. We're expecting the second letter any day now. Neither of those apps required essays. Two more apps to go. The essay is complete and can be used for both but it needs to be edited down about 100 words for one of them.</p>
<p>Son hasn't applied to any honors colleges yet. I don't know if he will. It will be hard to motivate him to do additional essays and ask for additional recs for the schools that are near the bottom of his list.</p>
<p>I'm actually getting a sense, both here and at home, that the process is actually going to come to a close, and soon...S has all essays done but one UC personal statement, and tonight we're sitting down to review and send 6 applications. I was shocked, but he actually brought the subject up this morning, asking if he needed to find out anything from his teacher regarding the request for recs this morning.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you, thank you for the comments on the messy bedrooms! I thought my son was the only sloth, and never dreamed girls were just as bad. My DH is convinced S is the sloppiest kid around, but I think it's just on the bottom of a long priority list right now (well, for the last 5 years?!).</p>
<p>Missypie, I totally agree - I can't imagine S sitting down for another round of this misery!</p>
<p>In my family of 5, I'm the only neat one...I have a stay at home husband who has the ability to be around a mess all day and not touch it. Although Son's bedroom is bad, it pales in comparison to his sister's rooms. Sometimes they spend the night on each other's trundle beds because their own rooms are so covered with stuff. Of course, the worst thing is when Husband goes on a "clean up your rooms" tirade with the kids because that is when the folded but not put away clean laundry ends up in the dirty clothes as a quick fix!</p>
<p>Now, don't tell me the H's are all the same too! Mine goes on his "this is a slop house" tirade a few times a year when paperwork, magazines, etc. start to pile up. DS and I wink at each other as we're placating him.</p>
<p>I am truly bothered by the constant mess in our house....I'm a very tidy person....but I'm also painfully aware that there will be a time when their rooms stay neat as a pin...when they're out of the house for good....wah! makes me sad to think about...</p>
<p>D cleans her room every Sunday afternoon. Somehow it's trashed by the time she leaves for school on Monday. She's such an over-achiever! Whenever I seem to be running low on spoons I have D check her room, car and backpack. ewww!
Both my kids have always denied putting clean clothes in the hamper rather than putting them away, until the time I found the birthday present shorts with the tags still on them.</p>
<p>Both my kids have always denied putting clean clothes in the hamper rather than putting them away, until the time I found the birthday present shorts with the tags still on them.</p>
<p>LOL! Last Saturday was the All Region choir concert and I bought Son an All Region choir t-shirt. On laundry day, there it was, still folded exactly as it was when I bought it. Of course, I save my tirades for things like when the choir TUXEDO ends up in the hamper!</p>