<p>Hi All</p>
<p>Haven’t been on in about 3 days. Congrats to all those with new decisions!
Hope everyone had a blessed holiday. We did have kiddo mail the “no thank you” to a school that offered a nice merit money scholarship (renewable yearly). Hope that the school does offer that to one of “our kids” who needs it.</p>
<p>Did lots of relaxing, playing and hanging out so not much got “done” …still have to address invites etc.</p>
<p>:)</p>
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She is still deciding between the amazing packages from Harvard (prefers program and more Nobel award winners) and Yale (prefers students) and AB Duke award to Duke (amazing scholarship which is more prestigious than Ivy admission). I recommended that she listen to her heart, not her mind assuming $$ was not a problem (altho paying nothing is always better than paying something). I think she will decide on May 1. </p>
<p>I can understand. It is hard to say NO to any of these choices. After we paid our deposit, WPI sent my son a letter with another $5K one-time scholarship. They had already upped his merit scholarship 3x. That was painful for us to say NO to.</p>
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Son wrote beautiful notes of appreciation to all the people he had contact with at the schools he is not attending. He applied to many small schools which we visited and he established nice relationships with many people. He has received many nice responses in return. I guess our lessons on manners have taken hold.</p>
<p>^^ Thanks. It makes me feel a little bit better. A huge attraction of the AB Duke scholarship for me personally is that I wouldn’t have to fill the dreaded Profile and FAFSA ever again. :D</p>
<p>momofzach ~ I think you handled the situation with your DS perfectly. </p>
<p>TXArtemis ~ Congrats on UChicago!</p>
<p>keylimepie ~ Lol, about the CSS Profile and FAFSA!</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats on “Oklahoma!”. You guys are very fun to share happy news with, and so very supportive when the news is not so good.</p>
<p>Momofzach, so sorry to hear about the second-thoughts. You must have whiplash. I think you’re handling it exactly right.
I would try to help him not panic. This is the 25th, yes, but it is only the 25th. There is time.</p>
<p>I still remember a million years ago, during my engagement, my father, who liked my fiance very much, nonetheless took me aside privately one day and said, “Engagements are good. They are not marriages. I want you to know that, at any point up to that wedding day, you can change your mind.”</p>
<p>(Well, it turns out you can change your mind later, too, but that’s a story for another day.)</p>
<p>Anyway, my advice would be to let him know he has time, but also help him use it wisely to re-process. Best wishes to zach!</p>
<p>Hi all. I have been in & out on this board and I know I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. D is still on the SS indecision but I want to share a little story about how “rocky” our boat ride has been in the past few days. (the Bermuda triangle excursion, perhaps?)</p>
<p>As you may recall, D was accepted to her “dream school” (USC) at the end of March. She was elated until we rec’d the fin aid pkg a few weeks later, which made attending unrealistic (not impossible, though), particularly in light of merit opportunities at other schools. </p>
<p>We decided to do a last-ditch financial aid appeal to USC last week. Didn’t expect much and, quite honestly, didn’t expect a decision until AFTER the May 1 deadline. But we still figured, what’s the worst that could happen - they say no change and she goes to her #2 choice as planned (ie. the status quo)</p>
<p>We also took a 4-day weekend over Easter for an already-scheduled trip out to LA with the intent of doing a cursory visit to USC and not participating in any of the admitted student events(per advice on this board). While we were in LA, D rec’d an email on her phone notifying her that the financial aid appeal was done and they were increasing her grants and scholarships by a significant amount -enough to make it feasible for her to attend. WTH?!</p>
<p>After getting that shockingly awesome email, we decided to do the admitted student event after all. It was this past Sat. and, as with most such events, it was full of hoopla & school pride, lots of rah-rah and perfect weather. Sample lectures, free t-shirts, the whole ball of wax. A great event that really showcased the school and its offerings. I was quite impressed & fully expected D to “sign on the dotted line” before we left the campus that day.</p>
<p>Well, wonder of wonders ……she didn’t love the school as much as she thought she did. In fact, she kept finding flaws with this or with that throughout the day. I am not sure, but I think that she had convinced herself that it was a better option because it was “unattainable” and when it became attainable, she had to evaluate it on its actual merits rather than the imagined superior status she had created for it in her mind. Once she did that, she decided it wasn’t necessarily better than her #2 option. Mind you, USC has been her #1 school for this whole year. Now that it is a realistic possibility, she is leaning heavily towards her #2 school. She isn’t sure it’s worth it to pay the extra $$ when she has a full tuition scholarship to #2 school. My D is using great logic and maturity to justify her possible change of heart/mind and I am proud of her. </p>
<p>So, I guess the moral of my story is- sometimes, things work out w-a-a-a-y differently than expected -but they still work out. ;)</p>
<p> UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO JUST CONFIRMED OUR FINAL AID AWARD! Not as much as we hoped for, but the most anyone offered, and we’re ecstatic.</p>
<p>Now I can do color and size! Maybe font will come next!</p>
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<p>MOSB, This makes me smile! 
As my father walked me down the aisle, he mistook the tears streaming down my face for sadness and whispered in my ear “You don’t have to do this honey.”. Never mind the smile plastered on my face…I knew my mother would kill me if I didn’t smile for the pictures. I was young and that wedding was about everyone BUT me and DH! Ugghh!!! What a day.</p>
<p>Way to go 325!!!
And mommylaw- I know I went to USC in the Dark Ages, but I never cared much for it at the time, or now. Just not my cup of tea- so I heartily understand your D’s reservations.</p>
<p>325- great news!
Mommylaw- great story! Your d seems like a great kid! Good luck!</p>
<p>325 ~ Happy for you!</p>
<p>325 Here you go :</p>
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~ Life is Good ~ Go Maroons ~ </p>
<p>AvonHSDad, your “cruise announcements” crack me up. The put your luggage out the night before and one-way gang planks are a hoot! </p>
<p>We’ve had a couple of recent “huh” moments. DS has had a page on a recruiting website for both football and soccer for a couple of years now, but did not play football this year. So, last Wed. night, he gets a phone call from a football coach at a small school in Ohio wanting him to come play football. It was actually a message on the ans. machine, but we looked up the coach’s email address and emailed him a “thanks but no thanks” reply. And the next morning, DS got an email from a soccer coach at a small school in Kansas wanting him to come there. Another “thanks but no thanks” email. Kind of interesting to see these coaches popping up this late, still looking for athletes.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all who are reaching decisions!</p>
<p>OWM- sounds like a great day in COMO! We were there this weekend but for family stuff. Will definitely tell D about that cookie place, I do not think she has been there.</p>
<p>Had an interesting non-college experience this weekend. We were out of town and I was running errands on Saturday morning. Stopped at a convenience store for coffee and when I came out there was a 70 something year old lady in a fairly nice car motioning me over. As I approached she rolled down her window and I was expecting her to ask me for directions. Instead, she tells me that she is on her way to a nearby town and just realized that she left her purse at home and is almost out of gas. Now, I am as skeptical as anyone, but this is a nice Mid-Missouri town and she looked like my Grandma so I reached in my pocket and gave her some cash. She pulled up to the pumps and I got in my car to drive off. As I am pulling out, I look over and she has sped off (seriously) without getting any gas.</p>
<p>I chuckle to myself at being scammed and drive away. Turns out I am going in the same direction she is. She must have thought I was following her (I wasn’t) and she barrels through one yellow light at the last minute and then for good measure, runs the next light which is full on red.</p>
<p>I am sure that she probably needed the money more than me and it wasn’t that much anyway. Just makes me wonder if this is a one time thing for her or if it is a daily occurrence.</p>
<p>dkarth, that happened to H once when we lived in the city, it was late and we were just getting home when he was approached by a guy carrying a gas can who said he was out of gas. Chicken that I was, I ran inside and locked the door. I did leave H with our giant dog though. H told him no and the guy ran back to his car and sped away.</p>
<p>It is pretty sad that our seniors have taken to scamming to make ends meet. I am glad you were able to look at the other side. Not sure if it would have helped to report her.</p>
<p>If you have posted on the drumroll thread you might want to check that your student is still listed. A few seemed to have gotten left off (kathiep- yours appears to be one that is missing.)</p>
<p>The drumroll list got messed up between post #105 and #106. I think a poster used an old one.</p>
<p>We shipped out most of the admission decline cards/emails yesterday. Still holding the one for the LAC that offered the full tuition scholarship. That one is tough to turn down, even after an acceptance elsewhere has been accepted.</p>
<p>AvonHSDad–Thank You for your very entertaining and positive ship announcements, life has been challenging and your posts always bring me a smile!</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS to all those making decisions, we hope to join you soon.</p>
<p>I am looking ahead, though, and realizing that even if D1 can say goodbye “easily” to the schools she won’t be going to that I’ve been thinking about them and mulling over this and that with each one for such a long, long time it will take a while for my mind to be able to let them all go!!</p>
<p>The Reese’s Peanut Butter/Chocolate Eggs are helping me get through this Monday :)</p>