<p>Thanks red, for all of the great gift ideas. D has already thanked her recommenders with a card. She also thanks them again with every acceptance for which they wrote the rec, but I would also like to give them all something when the entire process is over. The iconic photo idea sounds promising…</p>
<p>Good morning -</p>
<p>Another day in the house of many daughters … </p>
<p>Had my first phone call with JD2’s mom last night. They are very glad she is safe and of course very grateful for our help. I am pleased that they are in a safe place now, staying with relatives. They have no idea how soon their house will be habitable. JD2 had a nice birthday, with a cake (my H taught her how to blow all of the candles out with one puff!). Today a friend invited us to a spring flower show. Now THAT will be NICE!!</p>
<p>Yesterday JD2 said she doesn’t want to go home yet. We now have decided to keep her here indefinitely, stop worrying day-to-day if she will get a flight or not. We’ll start thinking about that next week, maybe. </p>
<p>But now I have some sibling rivalry going on! Mostly jokes, but really we’re not used to having 3 daughters. And Friday our D1 comes home for spring break, so there will be 4. Yikes! JD1 said she’s going to start acting like the dog, bugging us for attention so she can get some.</p>
<p>D2 was pretty angry about that letter - we have indication that an acceptance will follow (school says it already sent rejections) but really!!! I can see getting dumb junk mail, but not this one they sent. May it be the last screwup like that for anyone … sadly, not likely.</p>
<p>Congrats on the great news, and my sympathies on the disappointments. These next 2 weeks (thanks, AvonDad!) will be SO full of them.</p>
<p>I’m really, really, really looking forward to our “decisions” chats. SO much more real.</p>
<p>So much news - and much of it good!
OWM:resilience = e-mailing MIzzou. I think your S is amazing. Perhaps he will turn down MIT for grad school and do some crazy amazing research for CalTech!
RenMom - my D is in the same boat as your S. She has decided to play for college only if she is at a DIII. She will do club if she is at a DI (unless it is the really sloooooow DI on her list). She has been in the middle of her high school team (which could beat almost every DIII team) and has had to work so hard just to keep up. It has “cost” her so much that she is looking forward to the chance to do other stuff. She was careful about chosing schools with club teams (not just intramural). They practive about 10 hours a week all year and play other schools within a certain geographical area. PERFECT. No missed classes, time a normal college experience (and work, if needed), and she gets to keep doing what she loves.<br>
D wrote thank yous and gave gift cards after the recs were done. She will be doing some more thank yous at year end. I love the gas gift card idea.
I also love the towel (not too thick is right given the power of most college dryers) idea for good friends and the thank you card with a picture (at admitted days is even better). You guys are brilliant!</p>
<p>I like the vineyard vines idea. S’s school has their auction this weekend and they have ordered a bunch of stuff in the school colors from vineyard vines. H & I will have to take a look at it.</p>
<p>On a much different note, for those with sons who will need a suit or other dress attire for Graduation but don’t own one, it’s not too early to shop. The men in my life typically shop at the last minute and we end up paying extra for rush alterations.</p>
<p>camathmom - congrats on the Cornell likely!</p>
<p>Momjr - just last week D1 was crying on the phone about an internship she didn’t get and was sure nothing would work out. I bet your daughter hears good news soon! Last year D1 didn’t hear about her internship until after spring break, which is next week for us. </p>
<p>RenMom - I was reading your post about the WashU travel offer to D2 last night, and she said “Where’s mine?” It spent the night on the porch! We came in through the garage last night, and H found the envelope when he went out to get the paper this morning. Thank you for your lovely offer regarding D2 and her internship. Hate to say I’m not exactly sure how to PM, but when I get a chance to figure it out, you’ll hear from me!</p>
<p>I like fishymom’s hershey kiss suggestion, at least for the guidance office. This is my last child and the GC and the office secretary have been so helpful. I can’t decide on the timing: now since all their work really is done, or after son decides where he’s going so he can write that in the note. I also think a card and gift card is best for the teachers that did the letters of recommendation. I can’t imagine son actually carrying wrapped gifts around the school. Something to guidance, yes. </p>
<p>Son got one more acceptance yesterday - Elon. This one brought a big smile.</p>
<p>Still waiting on financial aid packages from several schools. Funny waiting for yet more envelopes, and these are just as important! Son does have one more school to hear from acceptance wise but unless they include a big chunk of finaid, it’s probably off the table anyway.</p>
<p>Just got an email with a listing of events being held during senior week, April 11-15. So exciting that it is right around the corner, it really cements how real this all is. </p>
<p>S will not be exchanging gifts with any of his friends. He says none of his friends do. They don’t give each other anything for bdays either. ;-(</p>
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<p>Something not quite as bad happened to my son. He had been admitted to this school but we were waiting for merit info. He received a very promising-looking envelope. It contained a letter bragging about how many NMFs they had and what great merit aid the NMFs received. Of course, he wasn’t a NMF…was that their inartful way of saying “don’t expect much” or was he on the wrong mailing list?</p>
<p>Owm: Your son will thrive at Mizzou…he’s already hit the ground running.</p>
<p>many congrats to those who are holding likely letters and acceptances. It is exciting to see so much effort being rewarded.</p>
<p>I think someone asked earlier about what to say to a friend who doesn’t get the desired outcome, and owm (always wise) responded “I am sorry for your disappointment.” I think that’s perfect. </p>
<p>Just a word about gifts for teachers: not all school districts allow parents to send any kind of gift, homemade or otherwise. Check the protocol so that there is no potential conflict of interest, particularly if you have younger kids in the pipeline.</p>
<p>There is a great thread (can’t look right now) on grad gifts. I’m ordering soft, fleece throws/blankets and having their names and the school names monogrammed (in school colors) on them as gifts for S’s closest friends.</p>
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<p>My '09 son didn’t want a graduation party, but he made the rounds of a few. I’m a person who always brings a hostess gift to a party, so I made him bring a small gift to each grad event. I got gift bags and tissue in the school colors, and in each bag I put a package of Hershey’s chocolate miniatures and some fun chip clips. Really just a token. He said he was the only one who brought a gift to any party.</p>
<p>So I’m totally obsessed with this thread and all the wonderful parents who are riding this rollercoaster with me. I think my son isn’t even at the park 
. He will be very disappointed with any rejections (which will surely come within the next two weeks) but he’s got some great options so far and I know he will be happy and fit at one of his acceptances.</p>
<p>Mamom–Thank yous. I made son write thank-yous and included Panera gift cards at Christmas. I wanted them to know we appreciated their help no matter where he ended up (he only applied RD). I’ve been pondering what to do to thank them when he makes his decision. Since 2 were women, I was thinking flowers in school colors with a huge thank you, but I’m still open to options. Not sure what to do for male GC, but hopefully will think of something (although some of the school colors don’t lend themselves well to flowers).</p>
<p>Redshoes–Thanks for the vinyard vines suggestion. I’ve never seen that site, and will definitely be checking out all their offerings. Thanks for all the other suggestions too.</p>
<p>Canathmom-Congrats on the Cornell Likely. Those likely letters are a big boost and relief at the same time.</p>
<p>Phbmom–just click on the screen name of the person you wish to send a private message to (at the left of one of their posts) and a list will come up and you can choose “send a private message”!</p>
<p>Have a great day and thanks for keeping me in the loop!</p>
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<p>Even though I don’t post a huge amount here, this thread is a refuge for me. No one else here IRL seems to be as caught up in the uncertainty and the anxiety in waiting as I. My expectation is that it will be far from over on April 1–I think some waitlists will keep our family in limbo well out into May.</p>
<p>I also am reading this thread daily, waiting in agony, and celebrating and commiserating with all of you! D (guitarist’s younger sister) is a senior waiting for decisions, and like some of you, she is blissfully unaware that over half of her schools have sent early likely letters (and she has received none)! </p>
<p>I am a nervous wreck, primarily because I don’t feel like she has any safeties on her list. She is handling the waiting and anticipating the results with a very mature calm, however; she has a very analytical approach to it all - that’s just her nature - and she knows that the odds are steep and the decisions are not personal. Also she did not apply to any school (9 total) where she knows she wouldn’t be completely happy, and she does not really have a favorite.</p>
<p>btw, Her class Val just got rejected from first choice MIT also.</p>
<p>Kathie - congrats on Elon! </p>
<p>We are still waiting to hear whether S is receiving more merit from the school he is most likely to attend. He wants to hear back from all his schools before making a final decision, but it is unlikely that even if he gets in that he will get any merit from those final few. It looks like his “most likely” school will not be sending out those additional merit awards til the very end of the month. I am very frustrated. The school is affordable now, but additional money would be icing on the cake.</p>
<p>S has had a terrible experience with his GC. Same one (except when she was on maternity leave) since freshman year. We have approached her 2X to ask her to look into something for us and both times she either told us that it wasn’t her job or took so long to reply back we went over her head. We had a scheduled meeting with her last May to discuss S’s college list. She was totally unprepared for that meeting that had been scheduled over a week before. She didn’t even know if S had taken the SAT. Because it is the right thing to do, S will write her a thank you note, but even if I had a money tree out back I wouldn’t spend a dime on her.</p>
<p>Just adding a postscript to the Vineyard Vines suggestion–For DS’s school the VV website only had one color available, but at the campus store, there are more colors in inventory (also VV). Just a suggestion in case you don’t like the options on the VV website, it’s worth trying the store.</p>
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<p>LOL. I had similar feelings about Son’s GC, but I knew he had two sisters coming up behind him.</p>
<p>Unlike you (much more gracious) folks, I am not asking D to write a thank you letter to her GC who has been obstructionist at best and actually misleading at worst. Don’t think if asked that the GC could give any personal assessement of D’s strengths as a student or community member. I am SURE that the weaknesses would be covered just fine. She is an only child so I do not have subsequent children to worry about. </p>
<p>Actually, I asked around and it seems none of the students are writing thank yous or gifts for those teachers providing recommendations. D says it might be seen as creepy by her peers or currying favor by teachers. She got the standard Common App recs that could be used for all schools, not any specialized ones. We have to think on this.</p>
<p>My son lucked out on GC. He has a not so great one his first 2 years, then school rearranged things and he got a great one! Pure luck and happenstance based on last name! Sorry your’s hasn’t been any help mamom.</p>