<p>Classes are finally over and finals started today. S1 had a very long year dealing with one virus after another - or maybe just one virus that kept coming back. He also has had some anxiety issues. He has ADD and as he put it - " I have issues with concentrating and try hard to stay focused but if I am tired I can not focus and get my work done. This caused him to have an anxiety attack this pass winter around mid terms that lasted an entire week. Working with the SW at school - he (we) took one day at a time to get him back to school. I never ever want to go through that again…he missed about 20 full days of school - not to mention the partial days…we also got him a private therapist to help with his anxiety. It appears to be helping. Of course I can’t help think some how it is my fault - only child, sheltered…I guess tha just goes with being a Mom!</p>
<p>On the upside he is having a strong last quarter. Probably end with A’s in his honors classes and B’s in his AP classes. His GPA hasn’t changed - still about a 90 ( a B at his school). His May SAT was 2020 - he wanted higher - he decided not to take the ACT on Saturday - just to much going on…this summer I am going to have him just relax for a couple of weeks, ec/ camp, visit schools, start a college essay and summer assignments. He is taking 3 AP classes and only AP physics requires summer reading and questions. Also the school has teacher book clubs and each student has to sign up fo one. I am happy but surprised he did not get more summer school work. </p>
<p>I did want him to get a part time job or do some volunteer work but now I am not so sure…</p>
<p>Ten days and counting. Ds finals start tomorrow and all school assignments and tests are done this Friday. Next week is for signing yearbooks and not much else.</p>
<p>At Ds HS, classes for next year aren’t assigned to students until first day of school, so there’s no homework to prep for over the summer (this includes AP classes…). </p>
<p>Also, we’ve been using a private guidance counseling company and part of their service includes scheduling 28 hours of common essay/application writing over the summer for rising seniors. So nice to be able to put these dates on the calendar M/W/F for 2.5 weeks (4 hours/day) in early August. DONE and no nagging from me all summer. As far as I’m concerned that alone is worth the price of the service. What a relief! This company’s goal is to have all of their students ready to go Sept. 1st so they can focus on school and ECs and not have the dreaded essays and applications looming over them until December.</p>
<p>OK … you’ve all convinced me. Two of the four common app essays it is. I tell ya … it’s so hard being the off-the-charts-Type A parent of a laidback child! LOL</p>
<p>S has a full-time job (8:30am-3:30pm) job as a day camp counselor at his school and then football practice 4:00-6:00pm M-F so it’s probably good that you all have saved him from excessive essay writing!</p>
<p>momofwon … S’s school has the same expectation. All prep work for submitting applications needs to be completed this summer. It may be painful getting there, but I’m sure it will be a relief to start school in the fall knowing all that is behind him.</p>
<p>I received an email today saying S had qualified for a waived application fee from Baylor, and they’d love to have him apply. My first reaction was, “Well, I would love to have him apply also, but attendance would require a hefty merit scholarship!” Does a waived application fee mean anything deeper than what it is?</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t mean anything. Middle son took advantage of Baylor’s free app (probably the same invitation - just a couple of years earlier). He never seriously considered the school as their neuro doesn’t offer much, but at the time of the application he/we were wondering how the financial aid/merit aid would work out. They offered a semi-decent package, but not as good as he got elsewhere at better neuro schools.</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, Baylor’s merit aid can be calculated on one of their web pages - you put in your stats.</p>
<p>I’m also thinking Baylor was one of the schools that came back after my guy rejected them asking if it was a financial deal (implying that might change). At that point, it wasn’t a factor, so we’ll never know if they would have or not.</p>
<p>Currently on the road with DS’14 visiting schools on the east coast. More than one admissions officer has stressed the importance of essays and said “your quality of life next fall will be greatly enhanced if you put in the time to work on those essays this summer. The entire ‘college-thing’ will feel like just another class if you try to get your essays written after school resumes in the fall.”</p>
<p>I’ve been following this thread for a while since my D’14 would probably fall here. She attends a small private school with around 30 in her class. The curriculum is challenging but certainly not a CC levels. She does well in her classes and has taken mostly college prep. She finished an AP English this last year and did very well. Right now her NW GPA is between 3.7 - 3.8. However, she hasn’t excelled in the standardized testing. She has taken the ACT twice (first time 21C and second time 24C). She took the SAT on June 1st. She plans on taking the ACT again in the fall, and has all summer to focus on the test. At this point she would like to consider one of three majors: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, or Speech Therapy. She is set up for some shadowing in the next two months in each of these specialties. Her first shadowing is this week at a local hospital. She will also be shadowing at an outpatient clinic specializing in pediatric PT, OT, and ST. Hopefully, after this shadowing, she’ll decide that one of these majors would be for her. If not, I guess it’s back to the drawing board Since she’s interested in these major, we’ll be visiting schools that offer them. We’ll be scheduling a visit to Duquesne soon (only 2.5 hours from us). She absolutely does not want a large state school or one that has a very large student population, so that may be a limiting factor for her. </p>
<p>As for EC’s she’s very outgoing, personable, and involved. She’s involved in pretty much every activity at school outside of sports, as well as dance/ballet since she was small. She has volunteered for community organizations, and was selected to be a HOBY ambassador last year, and loved it so much that she returned this year and was selected to be on the OP’s staff. </p>
<p>So that’s it…wish us luck!! I look forward to reading everyone’s posts in this thread.</p>
<p>Transcript for K2 arrived. NOT what I had hoped to see. It is what it is…and We hope the SAT (1st attempt, math was excellent- hoping to see improvement in CR and W) and the ACT prove strong and helpful.</p>
<p>Fogfog sorry it wasn’t better but I’m sure your child will end up just fine. Went to see The Intership with DS and while not the best movie ever it did bring up the point that kids need to be more in touch with others not just focused on being the best always. Hope you and your son (?) have a great summer.</p>
<p>My son is a 2013 grad about to start at Willamette University. Thought about posting this on the 2013 thread, but realized it will be more useful to next year’s class. Though school doesn’t start until August, I want to share what a positive experience we have had with the school thus far.</p>
<p>Communication has been excellent! I had questions (lots!) about the school’s health insurance plan. The woman with whom I spoke answered most of my questions and researched to get answers to the others. She called me back the very next day with more information, and then again a few weeks later when the policy for 2013/14 was finalized. And then she called me back the very next day because she was concerned that I might have misunderstood something. Wow!</p>
<p>The financial aid office was also very helpful when I called with questions. We were hoping to avoid taking a Parent Plus Loan, but it was not certain that we would be able to manage it. I was concerned that without it, we might not be able to afford the school, so I wanted to be sure that we would be eligible for the loan (even if we decided not to take it). They went ahead and ran our application in time for us to know the answer before making our deposit.</p>
<p>Willamette has also done a great job communicating with students about what to expect, deadlines, etc. Every published date (announcement of colloquium assignments, mailing of residential life materials, scheduling of advising meetings, etc.) has been met. My son already knows what classes he is taking and the final exam schedule is on-line. We have a clear picture of when we’ll receive our bill, when dorm assignments will be sent, etc. There’s been no confusion about anything. </p>
<p>Willamette takes freshman orientation very seriously. There is a five day student run orientation program called Opening Days. Families are invited to attend the first two days. Part of the program is the freshman colloquium. Each student enrolls in a small (11-15 student) colloquium on a subject of interest to the professor. Topics are often interdisciplinary and outside of the professor’s usual area. These classes begin during Opening Days, and end before Thanksgiving (lightening the student’s load before exams). The colloquium professor serves as the student’s academic advisor until s/he declares a major.</p>
<p>If there has been any negative thus far, it was the robo-calls before May 1 (decision day). Willamette hosted a number of phone chats on various subjects, and we received both messages announcing them and calls for the chats themselves. We were not interested in participating, so the calls were a bit annoying. They were probably worth the bother for families who were interested in joining the chats.</p>
<p>My dd is actually a junior in college but in high school did not have the top grades. She graduated with a 3.5 but did not have any honors or AP classes as many of you do on here. However, she has done exceptionally well at Slippery Rock University, has a 3.9 GPA. Her ACT scores were also very low, she never tests well. She has figured out how to study in college and learned what professors expect. Slippery Rock has been a great fit for her. Professors really care about their students and want them to succeed. Also, even though they are out of state for us, they are still less expensive overall than our in-state schools like OSU, Kent State or Miami.</p>
<p>Same here. I don’t want to plan out any new college visits until I see my D’s ACT result and final junior year GPA. We only planned a couple college visits, likely safety or match schools, but I don’t want to spend the time and money to visit a college where she is unlikely to be admitted. For us, her junior year GPA is the critical factor. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>When does summer start?! D’s still in school here until Wednesday. <em>Sigh</em> Finals are done and they’re just watching movies and signing yearbooks in class this week. I did request D to please ask three teachers today for LoRs now and to not wait until the fall when everyone else is asking. This way, her teachers can write them over the summer when they’re hopefully not rushed.</p>
<p>Waiting on SAT scores here… and hoping they are better than before, but not holding my breath. GPA turned out ok… 4.28 overall (weighted obviously) - I wish it matched his scores, but that’s kind of normal for our high school.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, we’re all getting “dressed” for oldest’s wedding. It’s a lot of “fun” taking guys shopping… (sigh). At least the coat/slacks, etc, he got he can also wear for interviews.</p>
<p>Hi all. Got my S’s grades today and although low by CC standards, he had the best year so far…good to see upward movement.</p>
<p>We visited Bowling Green last week and both enjoyed it. Good safety school for those on this thread. Lots of learning support, medium large campus (around 18,000 undergrads) and a nice little downtown area.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of those waiting for scores and grades,</p>
<p>Bowling Green is already taking applications for the HS class of 2014. They call us every other day, we just ignore it and let the machine pick up.</p>
<p>Creekland—4.28 is the weighted GPA of our valedictorian some years! (I just checked the profile and highest GPA was 4.32 during the past three years but 4.25 one year…and that is weighted.)</p>
<p>Hope you survive the shopping. I have been trying to outfit my 16 year old son for an internship in NYC this summer. We are not quite there yet on the dress shirts. Brooks Bros semi-annual sale started today so may be worth a look on-line as they sell no-iron button-down dress shirts in slim cut.</p>
<p>Still in school here also but still taking finals through tomorrow. Those who did not miss any get the next day off and then everyone returns for final good-byes and grades on Thursday. Middle school started the movie watching today.</p>
<p>CT1417 - I SERIOUSLY doubt my guy would have that GPA at your school…</p>
<p>Ours sets the bar rather low and semi-talented academic kids can easily get a high GPA with little to no actual work - unfortunately, it also leads to underprepared students heading off to college thinking they are well-prepared.</p>
<p>My guy does not have the highest GPA here. He might be in the top 10%, I’m not sure. Our school doesn’t rank.</p>
Since she’s interested in these major, we’ll be visiting schools that offer them. We’ll be scheduling a visit to Duquesne soon (only 2.5 hours from us). She absolutely does not want a large state school or one that has a very large student population, so that may be a limiting factor for her. </p>