<p>We have made progress on our college search after having a nice sit-down with S Sunday evening. Originally, had expressed interest in going someplace warm, ‘duh…who wouldn’t want to live in a warm place’. He also expressed interest in an Env Science/GIS/Anthro type major/minor. The south has several affordable options in these areas for decent students…Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss and we thought maybe we could do a southern tour this spring since that is where his grandparents live.</p>
<p>We had also been considering some of the affordable options out west…Montana, Montana State, Wyoming, Washington State. What I like about the west options are the smaller campus size (except Wazzu) and the opportunities for research/internships/etc literally at the doorstep for his interests. They also have D1 sports to watch which he would prefer.</p>
<p>We are probably going to drop the southern schools and not plan any visits. We are also keeping our two instate flagships on the list which both offer outstanding programs in his areas of interest. We are also keeping Truman State on the list. We are basically done researching and will do 2 campus visits this fall to the instate schools. We live/work at one.</p>
<p>My son is on his class trip. Ever year they do overnight trip in begining of year that has an outdoor adventure and a service project attached to it. He was looking forward to white water rafting, but it is raining quite a bit where he is. Fingers crossed they are able to go rafting. It is nice to not have him around. Less running around and more time to help my youngest with her homework. </p>
<p>Getting frustrated with our new school college counselor who has not taken any action yet to apply for extended ACT time for son. They had me change his test date to permit more time for the request. I’d really prefer to just handle it myself & get it done on my time line.</p>
<p>MDMom: I never went to any of these with D1, just the big district college fair, so I’m interested myself. I will report back! </p>
<p>On a side note, D2 has texted me twice today to ask me to forward the info to specific friends & their parents. I don’t mind at all, we may actually carpool. I seriously am thinking about putting out a shingle; not for one of those super expensive, years long “I can get your kid into Harvard” kind of college consultants, just one for regular old middle class parents to help them & their kids figure things out.</p>
<p>Thank you!!!
Our night is Weds. So I appreciate the “heads up”.
And I am with you on the CC’s. First thing she said to us was, “If you think by working with me I can guarantee that he will get into Stanford than you are in the wrong place.”
I appreciated the honesty.
I am just happy to be working with someone who is a straight shooter with no fluff. Seems we have a lot of that here in the OC…LOL</p>
<p>S2 is going to the Performing Arts college fair on Monday. Guess this is the college fair season! All of the schools that he is interested in will be there. We still have to find time to visit and arrange lessons with potential teachers. But it will be nice to get the glossy brochures, etc. Maybe he can eliminate a few. Right now, he’s got a list of about 11-12 conservatories/music schools, but realistically, he can only audition for 6 or 7. He also needs to pick out 2 or 3 summer programs to audition for by January. Ah, junior year!</p>
<p>LOL…you both ^^^^ are cracking me up!
S is only applying to 2 schools in CA
H says he is looking to “make his own path in life”. So I will either be Jet Blue’s best customer…or will be in much need of wine in just under 2 years.</p>
<p>I’m so envious of you parents with children showing an interest in the whole college thing. Every college I have him look at is “fine”. He says they all pretty much seem the same.</p>
<p>My S is exactly the same way, every school is ‘fine’. I happen to think that the kids are correct, most are pretty similar within the same size and ranking range. We moved from looking at individual schools to looking at regions of the country whe he might want to go. He finally settled on the Rocky Mountain west (roughly). From there, we identified schools that we could afford and we now have our list.</p>
<p>reeinaz, don’t worry my D was not to into the process until the end of our visits this summer. Also D did not really communicate how she felt about size, location, camps, etc until our last visit, which was Emory. D feels Atlanta is to large, which surprised me but I was just happy she had an opinion ;)</p>
<p>Now she is much more vocal, she wants to be able to start research early, doesn’t want too large of a city although she is keeping UMiami on the list because of her GI Bill, prefers professors to TA’s, etc. I still do most of the research then present her with ideas.</p>
<p>Just posting to say hello, I’ve been reading this board on and off for a few months, and now that it’s my son’s junior year, thought I’d dive in! We haven’t visited any schools yet. My son is thinking about engineering and thinks he wants to apply to all the top schools. He has great grades and has been in honors math and science. He’s in AP Chem now, AP Psych and honors precalc, and takes Latin and Japanese. He did well on the PLAN so I am feeling optimistic, and he did well on the World History SAT in June. The thing is his EC’s are not the best. He does fencing and guitar but no leadership, etc or outside academic stuff yet; he might start tutoring someone this year. Just got him to join the Math Club at school. I am hoping that he can do some competitions this year and something this summer that would be good experience. I’m trying to keep in mind that good fit is important for college rather than what is the top school, but it’s hard not to get caught up in all the hype! How does everyone stay calm?</p>
<p>Calm? Easy…most kids bloom where they are planted…small private, large private, small state school, large state school. Find a decent fit, if the kid is motivated, a great education can be had pretty much anywhere, does not have to be a ‘top’ school. Easy.</p>
<p>Welcome David!! I agree with Haystack. As long as your kid is motivated they will get the best from their college experience where ever they may go.
I think the hardest part for us parents is trying to figure out what “their” version of a good fit is and not ours.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcoming and reassuring comments! I suppose that as my son starts to look into schools more seriously I will get a better idea of what he really wants and what would be the best fit for him. At his school they are not even meeting with the college counselors until this winter.</p>
<p>David1126, don’t sweat the small stuff like EC’s. The really good colleges and universities that have spoken at my d’s school (she’s been in private until this jr year), have all said 1) they detest “serial” joiners - kids that have lists of clubs. They prefer 1 or 2 things you are passionate about and they discount clubs or orgs that you join in jr or sr year just to get it on your resume. With a great gpa and sat’s that’s what is most important, and then pick something he loves and is good in, and do it! I’m sure he’ll do great.</p>
<p>David, My Ds school is the same way. Her GC actually yelled at her because she is “worrying” about college. D wanted to know how changes in the structure of the student leadership would be percieved by admin counselors. She just wanted reassurance that changing the structure will not negatively impact her.</p>
<p>D and I are not focused on “top” schools. Honestly we know that would not be a fit. D is very happy being the big fish in a small pond and wants to keep it that way. Given the economy as well, the “top” schools are not feasible for us either. Having that discussion with D took a lot of pressure off all of us. </p>
<p>D is a “serial joiner” (and leader in most of her activities). That stresses me as much as my S who is a serial abstainer of all activities but hockey. She does it out of passion and genuine interest. </p>
<p>I think it is normal to worry are they doing too much or too little.</p>
<p>Thanks medavinci and nellieh- I get worried about the extra curricular stuff after reading too much. Then many schools state that the transcript is the most important part of the application, and if that’s true then I think we will be fine. I guess I also have to realize that regardless of where he goes we will be fine anyway. I think since I want “the best” for him I am focusing too much on the reputation of schools and their rankings, and perhaps I am forgetting that it is him and not me that is applying to school. I am getting too caught up in the idea that the school’s ranking he will attend is a reflection of my worth as person! “The best” for one might not be the best for others. This all sounds good as I write it but do I believe it?</p>
<p>David- definitely relax. Maybe try yoga? LOL. This is my 3rd ride on the roller coaster so I am much calmer. Although we will see how calm I am this time next year! Definitely the most important thing is grades and test scores. EC’s are good if your kid is really passionate about it, but I don’t think they are worthwhile if they are not. I have a lot to learn, but one thing I have learned is that everything works out in the end. My oldest chose a school that I wasn’t entirely thrilled with, that didn’t have the reputation that some of the others she was accepted to did. But in the end, she is happy and having a lot of success, and truthfully I don’t know if it would have worked out as well if she had chosen one of the others. S3 is also a serial joiner. We always say we should have named him Jack (Jack of all trades master of none?). But, he is very happy doing all the different things he likes to do. I think colleges would prefer to see you really good at one thing, but that is not him.</p>
<p>David,
My daughter is in the same boat. She has some ECs but she has not done anything significant at school. There are some clubs that she likes but her teachers did not want to continue. And for some activities, she applied but didn’t get pick. Some of the clubs she joined did not offer anything significant in terms of lasting experience. So basically no ECs at school that are significant or meaningful to her. I don’t know what she would have put in the response to the GC question as to what school activities that she found most meaningful.
I think it’s important that she picks the activities that she likes stays true to herself instead of joining activities that she has no interest.
But I don’t know what will happen to her when she applies to colleges next year.</p>
