<p>Aw reeinaz, I’m sorry he was upset. At least it’s a “safe” rejection and maybe a wake up call that he can take some lessons from going forward. By “safe” rejection I mean it was for a summer program that he can apply to again, and he already has another summer option (I do remember that correctly, right?)</p>
<p>D has had a similar thing this year. She’s not a procrastinator, but didn’t quite “get” the idea of deadlines for programs, at least with respect to building in a lot of lead time for teacher recs etc. And although I’ve been encouraging her to hold onto certain pieces of writing so she can have them at the ready to submit to programs, she seems to want to start from scratch. She’s gotten singed a little but I think it’s been good for her to see that she’ll have to be more timely going forward.</p>
<p>As one who tried the early college visit (spring break visit to Northwestern), I would say it worked. We visited three sessions (College of Music, Tour/Info Session, College of Arts and Sciences). D asked to bring a friend along at the last minute. That worked well, too. She and the friend went with one tour guide and I went with another. I got some puzzled looks, but the girls could talk without me being there.</p>
<p>Her conclusion: she is more confused than ever, again, I think that is a good result. She spent maybe an hour or so after the visit researching other potential schools on Naviance.</p>
<p>Both girls slept in the car on the way home.</p>
<p>Awwww, ree. That sounds like my ds last summer. He applied for a weeklong summer trip and didn’t get it. He said, “Mom, this is the first time I haven’t gotten what I wanted.” And it’s true – he generally succeeds at everything he tries. The letter said they give preference to upperclassmen and to apply again next year, so that’s what he did this past weekend. Like Rob’s dd, he waited until the last minute to press one of his recommenders for his letter (he asked in plenty of time but didn’t want to nag him about it). Finally got it Friday so we were going to have to overnight the stuff so that it arrived Monday. When we checked the address on the website, the deadline had been extended a week. He leads such a charmed life! If he doesn’t get it this summer he will consider it a personal challenge and keep trying, I bet. BTW, on Saturday we finally opened the large envelope for one LOR from a teacher he had last summer, and it was SOOO nice. She included a copy outside the smaller, sealed envelope. He read it and said, “I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now.”</p>
<p>RobD Yeah, I agree that it’s good to get these experiences out of the way now when it doesn’t have such a major impact. And yes, he was still accepted to Kenyon’s program which is where he would have gone even if he was accepted to Iowa. Now we’re waiting to hear from a third workshop and a cool summer paid internship.</p>
<p>YDS, My son said nearly the same thing when he got his first acceptance letter. He was saying how he didn’t think it was that big of a deal that he got in since he has been accepted to everything he applied to thus far. Now I get how the super achieving kids in the 2011 thread are feeling so out of sorts with multiple rejections and waitlists.</p>
<p>Speaking of Kenyon…since he is going to be spending some time there this summer, I’ve decided that we should go on a couple just so he can get a feel for the diferent types of campuses and can start thinking about his likes and dislikes. He already attends a program at Drexel, but I’ve signed us up for an official tour and info session. So that covers the large, urban university and the small, rural LAC. I was thinking about visiting either Haverford or Swarthmore for the small, suburban LAC. In my mind, they seem very similar, to the point where I can’t see visiting both. If anyone is familiar wth them both, which would you recommend?</p>
<p>Talking about procrastinating…
S “forgot” to tell us about ordering a t-shirt for robotics …they are now over $50 (expedited shipping), and he needs it for Thursday. We made him pay the bill…;)</p>
<p>My daughter is getting disgusted with all the pressure cooker environment of her school and hw constantly like all schools and the madness of it all. She doesn’t want to hear the word college, and she’s resigned herself to the fact that since there is no money for summer programs, she doesn’t know what to do. She likes a structured environment, so I told her to be creative again. Until my divorce goes through, we won’t be able to apply for financial aid which is a bummer. </p>
<p>Reeinaz you mentioned paid internships. I looked all over and not only could I find paid internships, but any internships for 16 year olds. Is this something you found through a site or a personal referral if you don’t mind my asking. My daughter is so depressed because she wants to do something fun over the summer to break away from the school stuff.</p>
<p>She and her friends are also angry that you have to declare a major to get in to college, and I explained at least pick an area so you can narrow down schools. You know for sure you do not want to go into math or science, but I certainly can’t go into debt, and pay for college exploration. It is my feeling that unless you really know what you want to do, today college is not an option unless you have good aid. If that happens, it will narrow things down, but I’m not sure she will be happy I am a strong believer, as are many of my friends, in gap year programs to take that break. I just think too many kids are burning out and I feel so much for this generation. </p>
<p>I am still trying to format this high school resume, and the college counselor at school is so busy calculating acceptances and deferrals that she hasn’t had time to get back and I need this completed by Thursday to send electronically. </p>
<p>I think i will have my daughter walk in and also start getting some recommendations just in case she does do a program - at this late date, not much is available i imagine, but it’s a financial thing.</p>
<p>medavinci - I found out about this internship through word of mouth. Coworkers with kids that are now safely in college are generous enough to share The press release for it and application are googleble though, so the information is out there if you have the time and patience to hunt for it. This internship is open to all rising juniors and seniors in the school district but there’s no information about ANY summer programs on our school district website. In the past, I would look at the websites for area privates for summer programming ideas. Most seem too intense for my kid or are way out of my price range. Maybe contact your local business association to see if they know of anyone looking for teen interns?</p>
<p>meda, some colleges don’t require you to declare a major right off the bat. Ds1 doesn’t have to until second trimester sophomore year. Check out LACs.</p>
<p>Medavinci…tell your daughter not to sweat it! In fact, getting a job or setting out a structured summer pursuing her interests should be considered a success for any 16 year old…
I have been lurking and not commenting recently because my D seemed to be truly living in the moment and not thinking ahead much about college, etc…just weekend to weekend. However, she just came home (like Medavinci’s D) saying asking about why we hadn’t been looking at summer programs at prestigious colleges, leadership programs…etc. and her friends say they are essential to get into a selective college… </p>
<p>I told her the following: I have a close friend who is an admissions counselor at a top 10 U and says that all those summer programs represent is the student has parents who can afford to pay for junior to go to oxford or stanford etc. They are generally viewed with disfavor by admissions or neutral. The “competitive” and selective arts/music/sports programs are viewed as incrementally more positive but basically are ignored by the admissions counselors. Simply put, the selective schools want kids who will succeed at their rigorous curriculum school and participate in extra curricula activities to have a vibrant college. they hope to attract a few “ringers”…truly gifted/exceptional who may make a name for themselves and the school…but…generally, their most famous alumni are smart hard working people who use their undergraduate years to launch into a career they love. </p>
<p>The insider said that, frankly, admissions is (despite all the bs about looking at the whole student) almost entirely based on grades/scores and the school curriculum. They put aside a chunk of spots for the really interesting kids (some extraordinary skill, recruited athelete musician, South Dakota residents or really economically challenged survivor-story) and then it becomes a bit of a crap shoot for the large bulk of good score/grades/curriculum/all around kids and no amount of resume padding from summers and school year does a bit of good. Her advice…take test preparation, max those scores, get good grades, do a few things that the kid truly likes so she doesn’t look like a grade hound, get a job in the summer or part time…Insider also said that for D who is a bright/athletic/nice kid even having the insider on her side and myself an alumna does not guarantee admission to big-name U…so money on summer programs is generally wasted.</p>
<p>My D had planned to enjoy this summer as her last year as a “camper” (8th year at a traditional sleep away camp) and also as a CIT. The plan has been that she will be a paid junior counselor next year. After camp, she has to work on her gold award for girl scouts and then field hockey training so that seems like a good summer for a 16 year old…and, significantly, also to my insider at XYZ famous U. Kind of old fashioned and cheap but…neither harms nor significantly boosts her chances for college admissions.</p>
<p>So…I am not paying for any summer programs, competitive/selective or not. If she get’s into a free Governor’s school next year…great…no money from my account…if she is a junior counselor and earns some money…even better. IMHO there is little if any impact of the expensive special summer academic, arts and athletic programs for helping get a student into college and should not be considered a factor when deciding whether to attend or not.</p>
<p>FAMM: I agree with you on the summer programs, in terms of them giving a leg up for admissions. Both my D’s have done a pricey summer program (or 2) but they were not done for any other reason except it exposed them to something they were really interested in, but would have a tough time pursuing at any other time of year. So they got to really focus on an offbeat academic area, met other kids who were interested in the same thing, and got to figure out life in a dorm including laundry But never any expectation that it would affect college admissions.</p>
<p>Both sons did a pricey summer program though most of the cost was offset by scholarships. I encouraged ds1 to go that first year to get dh and I used to the idea of him being gone and to get him to experience a taste of college life. Worked perfectly. He got to see what a private bath was all about, a community bath was all about and how to negotiate laundry (though he still called me about laundry this year!). College admissions was never a part of it.</p>
<p>The program that ds2 is applying to this year is free, except for air fare, and serves a bouble purpose: gets him exposure to an area of interest and gets him to D.C. so that we can piggyback looking at colleges. It’s on the campus of one of the schools he’s interested in, but I don’t think that will give him an admissions boost either.</p>
<p>Medavinci- I don’t agree that you shouldn’t go to college unless you know what you want to do. I think you should go to college to figure out what you want to do. I can not imagine having known what I wanted to do at 16 or 18 years old. Both my college kids have changed there majors (and the older one (my daughter) is a junior and could graduate a semester early if she wanted). My son’s school says that the average student changes their major 2.5 times. For my daughter she was considering 4 or 5 different majors so when she was a freshmen we mapped out each major and saw which prereqs they had in common and would build her schedule that way. For my son he always thought he was a math/science guy, but when he got to college this year he HATED his math and science classes so he is now exploring other things and has found he loves things that in high school he wasn’t that interested in. So for S3 we will likely look for schools with a variety of options so that he can change his mind if he wants.</p>
<p>D is doing a semi-pricey service program but the cost has been offset by a scholarship. She did it last year and she loved it. D loves to do community service - it seems to be her thing however many opportunities where I live are not open to kids until they are 18 because there aren’t enough adults to supervise. She will not be 16 until mid-summer so her paid opps are very limited. </p>
<p>She is not doing it for the community service hours because she already has close to 200+ hours - more than most kids have when they graduate. She is just exploring various causes, human and environmental. She wants to eventually gointo the Peace Corps when she finishes her undergrad.</p>
<p>Swat vs Haverford - Please sure anything you learn. On paper I can’t distinguish between these schools. I want my son to visit at least one of these within the next year. I’d prefer Haverford since I’ve never been on their campus and the pond looks nice. I know Haverford is a bit easier admit. </p>
<p>Spent 5.5 hours at the ER last night with DS13 only to leave without being seen since it was expected to be another 2-3 hours! I will NEVER go to our “county’s best” hospital again. Should have driven to CHOP. DS13 was literally crying in pain at the top of his stomache at 8:30 - 9 pm. Than he could hardly breathe. Went on for 40 minutes not being able to breathe. Hours of pain. Fine by 4 am (when we left ER). At the doctor by 8:30 am this morning - everything looked fine and Dr is guessing it was abdominal muscle spasms. DH is out of town working. My DS class of 18 was very upset about big brother. DD class of 19 just breezed by us and took a shower while the mayhem played out. I was emotional spent and now I’m exhausted and counting down the minutes that I can take a nap. I thought the kid was having a panic attack/heart attack. He was as scared as I was.</p>
<p>tx5 - Changing majors - I agree most don’t know what they want, but I’m confused as to how to choose colleges that provide flexibility. Few LACs have engineering, but some of the bigger schools with engineering most popular in our area are either very tech focused or make it difficult to change majors between social sciences vs enginnering. I’m focusing now on the big schools and ease of changing majors. </p>
<p>I get the feeling my son’s end list will look like it wasn’t planned at all because it will be hard to find the common data points. If he were to apply today it would be Pitt, Bama, Colorado, Pomona (or Pitzer), Charleston and William & Mary. Maybe he likes more schools than I know about, but the differences in size & geographic locations confuses me. Final list should be interesting. I did tell him I won’t pay for any apps unless he applies to at least 1 school within a 2 hour drive. He doesn’t have to go close to him, but at least try and have that option available in case things change between fall and spring senior year. And I am still hoping he’ll apply to 10+ schools, though the norm around us seems to be 5-6. Oh, and our spring break visit to Richmond is probably out because he heard it is a business school and he will not major in something so boring as business. Coming from a kid who has no idea what courses/majors are even offered.</p>
<p>My daughter also got rejected from a summer program, a state Governor’s school. They do give preference to juniors & she is still a sophomore. She usually gets everything she applies for so this is a good lesson even though we are reeling from the shock. She did not have a plan B & we do not have the money for expensive programs. She writes, sings & acts. Any suggestions? We are in the southeast.</p>
<p>socialdramamama: my D is in the same boat too for the same reason! The reason she put her writing apps in late was because she was waiting on Governor’s school. </p>
<p>I’ve found a few “less expensive” options if Plan B (Sewanee) doesn’t work out. Including writing workshops at Auburn and Austin Peay (in TN.) If that doesn’t work out, I’m going to suggest setting aside x hours a day to work on writing (I’ve suggested that she start getting her stuff together for next summer’s Governor’s School and Iowa apps early as well as strongly suggesting that she submit something for the Scholastic Writing Contest.) and maybe some local babysitting. A job could happen if she got her license before the summer, but I’m not expecting that to happen.</p>
<p>I’m ashamed to say that last night, in a fit of desperation, I tried to convince my son that he wanted to be an architect. He didn’t fall for it. He’s positive he wants to go to college if for no reason than he suspects how not having a college degree will affect his future earning potential. But he doesn’t have any interest in a major that will likely lead to a decent paying job. Even as much as he loves playing video games, he has no interest in making them, so my idea that he should go into computer science went in one ear and out the other. He wants to major in film and minor in creative writing or something along those lines. And he totally gets that he will need a job to pay the bills while he works on his magnum opus so he’s decided he could be a video game tester (my own plan twisted just a bit and thrown back in my face…guess he was listening after all).
So all of this to say, he actually looked up colleges yesterday where he could study film and writing. This is the first time he has done anything on his own regarding the college process. And he even said he only looked at colleges in California since that’s where the jobs are. Bless his heart It took all the strength I had to just smile and nod and not whip out the meta list I have of 30+ colleges located within 100 miles urban areas with decent film oportunities. But I did explain a bit about the CA state universities and what it means to be out of state vs in state as far as admissions and cost. Which led to a discussion of private vs public colleges. I guess I will just have to piece meal him the information as he’s ready for it. I could tell my initial question “What kind of life do you see yourself having?” was just a tad overwhelming. Oops! Who knew?? ;)</p>
<p>I agree that the pricey summer prgs mean nothing. The admin dir from brown visited my D’s school while they were in 8th grade to talk! He said that they are tired of seeing all these comm svc projects in the third world building houses schools and latrines. His advice best grades, hardest classes and a good old-fashioned job. </p>
<p>My D has NO time for extracurriculars at school. She goes from 5am and gets in for 7am classes and then sports are after school from 3-5 (she was doing yoga and dance so she could get out earlier last year - 4pm) but then another hour to travel home and 4 more hours of hw? what kind of life is that? in the northeast all schools public and private work this way. </p>
<p>So the only time to do what you enjoy or want to explore is the summer. I understand people change majors all the time for sure. But you have to have some idea, in my opinion, of what direction you want to go in, because some schools might not have what you are looking for once you get there which means not only changing majors but changing schools. Once they start that, it’s pretty hard to stay focused. I switched colleges 3-4 times because I had to work and pay for it myself, and then couldn’t figure out which direction I was going in! </p>
<p>That’s why the CC at school tells them that you might get into X college with this major but not that one since it is overcrowded, etc. I just don’t want my d to go to college and think it is one big party - however, all the alum from her hs all said that college was a breeze after high school. What I don’t like, and I’ll repeat it again, is the colleges that list on their websites (and they are not ivyies as with them it’s a given) “taking AP classes shows a willingness to work hard and push yourself” - there are students who ARE willing but the requisite grades aren’t there. If you have a tough teacher, who teaches regular and AP but has the kids in regular work as hard as the AP class, it’s unfair and impossible for them to get the A or B+ to get into AP even though they are willing and already doing the same amount of work. It’s so frustrating. And for the colleges to look at your transcript without APs and think you are unmotivated it is not right. </p>
<p>In my D’s school you need 90 hrs of comm svc to graduate so the only time you can do it is summer and my D loves to do theater and sing which is a nice break from all the madness of the academics all year…as for writing, it’s not a bad idea to just write and submit articles to papers or magazines…just go for it!</p>
<p>These days having a paid part time job (even if it is only in the summers) will make a kid stand out - so many kids do not do this. During D1’s process, most of her apps including scholarship apps asked her to describe what she did for paid work and what she learned.</p>
<p>I also vote for summer jobs. D1 was able to earn enough money during summers to cover all of her spending money and books for her freshman year. She had a variety of jobs over 3 summers including: nanny, church nursery worker, camp counselor, tutor, restaurant hostess, house sitter and receptionist. Most of them were obtained by word of mouth, or just knowing someone. Most of the kids in our area have jobs in the summer, and many of them during the school year. It just takes a little motivation to get out there and hunt them down. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, S2 is going to work for his dad’s video game lab this summer, as he is only 15 and can’t drive. But he should gain some valuable experience to help him snag a “real” job in the future. He’s not getting paid much (min wage for about 10 hrs/week), but Dad has said he would let him attend a video game conference in Seattle in the fall now that he’s an “employee.” They are planning on including a college visit to Cornish so S2 can get an excused “college visit” from school.</p>
I am a strong believer, as are many of my friends, in gap year programs to take that break. I just think too many kids are burning out and I feel so much for this generation. </p>
The press release for it and application are googleble though, so the information is out there if you have the time and patience to hunt for it. This internship is open to all rising juniors and seniors in the school district but there’s no information about ANY summer programs on our school district website. In the past, I would look at the websites for area privates for summer programming ideas. Most seem too intense for my kid or are way out of my price range. Maybe contact your local business association to see if they know of anyone looking for teen interns?</p>