<p>TX5: Thanks And I will keep that in mind as several athletes from our school end up running at UCLA…so it’s not a long shot for it to move into the mix for him.</p>
<p>Winter Formal for us isn’t until Feb 19th. Thankfully, it is the weekend after Cheer Nationals in FL so D14 will be able to go Hopefully, pictures for both kids (and their dates) will be close enough so that we can make both. Getting them on same party bus would just be too easy…(insert eye roll here).</p>
<p>Congratulations Megp on S classrank. That is impressive. </p>
<p>MDmom- wow on college selections. You S must be some runner as well as academic. </p>
<p>D starts SAT prep this Saturday! She is swamped with her ECs and her IB projects that all seem due now. We are holding off on visiting colleges until April to give her some breathing room. </p>
<p>Bragging a little here (can’t do it elsewhere). D played her first “gig” last week in local restaurant. She plays guitar and sings. H and I stopped by to see her and she did great- and was able to fill two hours. They loved her and booked her to play again in another month. I am so proud of how she handled herself, booking this on her own and dealing with the customers. I love to see kids find a passion that is all about them and not just college/career prep.</p>
<p>Shilly: I forgot to say earlier, I think almost every discipline uses statistics in one way or another. I am sure getting through Calculus will be enough for college admissions, but if she is looking for another class, statistics definitely wouldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>The evolving list – Well, I was informed that PA schools are off with the exception of Haverford. VA just isn’t south enough. The ever changing list has jumped Carolina schools to the top after SoCal and Colorado College. Son’s logic is that Colorado was made for him, SoCal is just perfect in every way (but financially) and Bama looks like a great likely with money, why bother looking at any other schools? So, with warm weather and low cost in mind we are left with Elon, C of Charleston, Davidson (which doesn’t fit most of his criteria, but I’ll roll with it for now), UNC Asheville. Sewanee fluttered on and off - that whole dress up for class is an issue.</p>
<p>I just hope he is paying attention to schools that require interviews. I don’t have much flexibility in my schedule to take him for visits. </p>
<p>I was surprised to learn how many of the NC schools recalc GPA to a 6.0 scale. Helps me understand why the SAT and GPA on some of the sites seem out of whack to me. </p>
<p>The list is still around 20 schools. I’d love to see him apply to 10-12. But, he’ll consider that too high.</p>
<p>Megpmom~ Wow, that’s great! It seems that GPA and class rank are guarded like Ft. Knox here. I requested DD’s new GPA and rank 8 days ago, and should have it by tomorrow. I wish at least the GPA was on every semester report card. </p>
<p>nellieh~ How great for your DD, and how proud you must be :)</p>
<p>DD has also never had a date to a school dance, but always goes with a group of friends. She also has no desire to play the game in high school. I don’t like the Sadie Hawkins theme idea, and I don’t think they have had that theme at DD’s school. The school has their winter formal on the same day as the Feb. ACT, and she is going with friends and excited about it. It is hard to watch her struggle she is very different than most of the girls at her high school. I had a very traditional high school experience and LOVED it, but for DD it is more of an endurance thing that has to be done to move on. </p>
<p>Lots of college stuff coming in lately. DD received a call from a college rep from Lawrence U tonight and had a nice chat. Lots of Earlharm activity lately with the video chats and an invitation to a reception in our area. Every thing helps to keep her eye on the prize!</p>
<p>First time poster here. I have the Fiske books, experienced friends, good GC. Yet, I feel it was easier when I was reading What to Expect When you are Expecting(:</p>
<p>My DD has good attributes on paper and is a very poised, engaging girl who makes a great impression. I know I should relax and appreciate that she is kind and not getting into trouble, but I worry none the less…lame I know.</p>
<p>Here is what she is doing: (too much for her personality)</p>
<p>Varsity sport (3 year academic scholar athlete)
Model UN delegate (3 years)
English/reading mentor for at risk kids (3 Years)
2 Writing Honors
2 vigorous pre college programs (she loved them, her choice for summer(:
Psychology Club president
NHS
Studio Art since 7th grade </p>
<p>One practice ACT: 34 composite, no class or studying…she is worn out and just doesn’t want to. PSAT 203
School: 4.17 weighted. I think 3.6 unweighted overall. **Facebook, Twitter, Fan Fiction and Tumbler A Plus!(:</p>
<p>DD activities literally fell in her lap. We pushed a sport so she would not just read all day long(: Things work out for her but she thinks she wants to go to NYU, Barnard, Claremont, USC types. I worry that when she applies to college, she will be shocked that it isn’t just a matter of picking them, they need to pick her too…</p>
<p>Kinda bummed here. My kid isn’t big on ECs. The teacher who sponsored the one group he was in last year, left at the end of the year. the teacher was accepted into Harvard’s graduate education program so I can’t be too upset about that…lol. But this year he wanted to run track and budget deficits might cause the cancellation of spring sports district wide in addition to cancelling music, art, and mentally gifted programs. For the life of me I can’t understand why it took until now to realize the district doesn’t have enough money to last the year.</p>
<p>Mdmom: count my D in on taking the ACT’s on Feb 11th.</p>
<p>wherenext: welcome to our little group! We all worry, but it’s good to come here and vent to one another, rather than stress our kids out Does your school use Naviance? It’s a good way to show your kids where their gpa/testing puts them in terms of college admissions results for a particular college from their particular HS. We don’t have that but have a ■■■■■■■■■■ account (which I believe is open to anyone) which has a similar scattergram; since it’s not specific to your HS I don’t think it’s as accurate, but boy is it humbling to see all those red dots on the Stanford graph…</p>
<p>reeinaz: sorry about the budget cuts. I’m wondering if your S does end up getting left in the cold for ECs if that’s something that your GC would be willing to address in her letter?</p>
<p>S has turned out to be a bit more practical and frugal in the college search process than I had hoped. Neither parent is very practical or particularly frugal.</p>
<p>I had encouraged him to look in the west and south at schools and we found some that were within our budget. Just the other day he asked…“Aren’t they still going to be more expensive than Iowa State or Truman State?” </p>
<p>“Why yes son, they are, but still within our budget.”</p>
<p>“Are they better schools?”</p>
<p>“Different, yes, better, probably not.”</p>
<p>“Then, why would I go there and pay more?” </p>
<p>Geez. I think it may be his way of saying that he wants to stay closer to home. He said that he would trade college visit trips out west and in the south this summer for a big fishing trip to the Boundary Waters.</p>
<p>^ Gotta love those practical kids!!! Honestly, unless your child is planning on majoring in a very specific program that isn’t offered everywhere - most colleges are pretty interchangeable. State school in Texas is pretty much like a state school in “insert any state here”, IMO. However, make sure your kid thinks about where he would like to work after college. It is always easier to get that first job in the area where you graduate. D1 (at American) has already determined that she wants to work in DC after graduation - it will be so much easier to do that job search. And maybe one of her internships will parley into a full time job!</p>
<p>“First time poster here. I have the Fiske books, experienced friends, good GC. Yet, I feel it was easier when I was reading What to Expect When you are Expecting(:”</p>
<p>LOL! I completely agree - oh how that makes me realize how the time has flown by!</p>
<p>Wherenext- lol at the social media A+…D’s favorite EC. </p>
<p>Reeinaz- sorry about the ECs. I fear that is going to be the new normal for so many school districts. </p>
<p>Meg- I think that is great advice. Students often settle near their school so they should love the area as much as the school. </p>
<p>Haystack, My S who is a freshman is so much like your son. He hates to spend $$ even if it is not his own. It is a great trait and something to be proud of.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the insights into Statistics - we agree and I should have said she’s mainly not choosing it because she’s heard the teacher is not stellar and I think she’s just burnt out in the math arena - she’s always been talented, but unlike her older sister and younger brother who embrace all things math and science, her passions are on the opposite side.</p>
<p>She has started doing some college research on her own which I was happy to find out - she’s already nixed a few options and added some to her list. She seems to be very practical in her approach as well, as long, I think, as the end result is a dorm that isn’t close enough to warrant living at home :)</p>
<p>She’s signed up for the March SAT and we’ll schedule the ACT next - she’s in a lot of drama performances this winter/spring and the rehearsal schedules are taking over everything and then may be extended if their shows make the regional and state competitions.</p>
<p>Welcome to wherenext, love that screen name.
Haystack, I have a nephew that did the Boundary Waters a lot in HS and college and went to Iowa State and has had a lot of valuable experiences. Doing really cool stuff with engineering research as a grad student there.</p>
<p>DD quit Facebook to stay focused on schoolwork, but then started doing Tumbler. I don’t nag. Just roll my eyes to myself. “Kids these days”, I say.</p>
<p>BerneseMtn: the tumbler thing has totally taken over, as well as Fan Fiction for my D. She is a writer and develops characters from movies and extends the story with input from her “fans” same with tumbler…so when she applies for programs she wants to do, she is always amazed that she has less true cw and poetry to turn in. I wonder why? I have no room to complain! I was talking on my yellow banana phone all night long, while doing homework and watching Dynasty(: </p>
<p>Megsmom: The college location point for job interviews is sooo true! My friends older kids that went to school in the West or East tended to get jobs there. The ones without job markets close by went home to get jobs. </p>
<p>RobD: No Naviance, didn’t know what it was. Love the Cappex idea! First, nugget from CC, thanks!</p>
<p>Midwestmom: When I was in college, a friend of mine was modeling and after married a pro athlete…they were “It” with lots of money and flash. Fast forward, her friend from high school was shy, not into HS, studious and did not marry BMOC. She did well in school, became an executive editor of a large conde nast magazine, owns a beautiful home; My friend, still pretty, renting down the street from the editor, struggling but happy. Both have great journeys. So will your daughter!!</p>
<p>Lurked on the boards for a while, first post. Can I safely assume that the people that are saying D13 mean their daughter is in the class of 2013 and not sending a 13 year old off to college :). </p>
<p>We have 2 graduating in 2013. We’ve done some college visits, still researching more. The hard part is all of these schools look good “on paper” and there are only so many hours in the day to visit them. </p>
<p>They pretty much know what they want in a school, which is good. They want a smaller school, DS is looking at actuarial science, DD is looking at going to medical school. DD will golf at some level in college but doesn’t want to be in a top DI golf program because it is just too much time away from school, smaller, DI program would be better, not opposed to DII or DIII, just depends on which one comes up with the best money in the long run. DS would like to participate in marching band. They don’t have to be at the same school, although as Mom, I think they would like to be at least geographically close to each other. Both have 3.7…'s, school doesn’t weight grades, top 10% in class, haven’t taken ACT/SAT yet, school recommends waiting until April as the AP teachers spend time prepping the kids for the tests in March/April. Both have taken mostly AP classes, will have some college in the school classes next year too. Both involved in music, sports, community service, etc., etc. “Midwest” would be their first choice geographically but if they both end up in the same general area of the country I don’t think they will care in the long run.</p>
<p>So, any suggestions near you that we should consider?</p>
<p>Schools we have looked at Creighton, Iowa State (too big–loved the campus personally), St. John’s/St. Ben’s (MN), UW-Eau Claire, Notre Dame, Gustavus, Augustana. We have driven around University of Northern Iowa, haven’t done a tour-in the plans though.</p>
<p>Lots to recommend in the ‘midwest’…I’ll stay away from the large schools and recommend some small universities similar in size to Creighton. All are good for the 3.7 GPA student…</p>
<p>Truman State (MO)
Bradley
Valparaiso
Butler
Dayton
Drake
Marquette
Evansville
Miami OH…bigger but has a smaller school feel. D1 football marching band.
Tulsa…D1 football marching band.</p>
<p>Bradley, Butler and Valparaiso are on the list. Drake has been ruled out (don’t like the campus). Marquette has also been ruled out as they don’t like the location and no woman’s golf team. Evansville has been ruled out for various reasons I won’t post here.</p>
<p>Miami OH, doesn’t have a woman’s golf team either, oddly enough but might work for DS. Until this board I haven’t heard of Truman so I will look at that. Tulsa (assuming OK) hasn’t hit the radar either so I will check that out as well.</p>
And I will keep that in mind as several athletes from our school end up running at UCLA…so it’s not a long shot for it to move into the mix for him.</p>