<p>Fogfog, sending hugs your way. Be sure to take care of yourself during this busy time.</p>
<p>scsiguru … I LOVED Roanoke. I didn’t expect to so I was really surprised. Beautiful compact campus that seems really well integrated with the town (Salem), with a small city (Roanoke) not far away. S has already applied – admission is rolling unless you select ED. He should have an answer in early fall. It’s probably his second or third choice if he had to rank-order all the schools we’ve seen. It’s a safety school for him, but he’d be happy there and the school seems to have enough to offer. Fantastic study abroad programs, which are important to him.</p>
<p>Morning all.
Thanks for the cyber hugs.</p>
<p>We will be busy this week with some apps–I think. Have suggested to K2 that we get a jump on some of this now. One disadvantage to these priority apps is that I believe they are school apps and not CA. IDK as I haven’t had this on my radar for weeks.
If the CA is live - that would be better. </p>
<p>K2 sent info stats to coaches that have been part of the conversation for the last 9 months to a year.
One positive preread done (yay!!)
and another in the works- which we hope will come through positive and soon.</p>
<p>A few others we fully expect to be green lights yet wait for the admissions news.</p>
<p>One coach was honest that K2s academic stats are a stretch and had been honest the team isn’t a good match for K2. Back in March on the second visit to campus (k2 had really liked the school and is a legacy) the coach had been more encouraging. So in the end I am glad he has been frank with K2 on the plans for the team. I think K2 could have enjoyed the school yet without a team fit there are other schools K2 likes as well and team fit could be better.</p>
<p>Hope to have the “list” firmed up soon and K2 will do some OVs.
The OVs are valuable as we saw with K1. SO no shortcuts–OVs on the horizon.
With OVs we will get the fin pre reads done.</p>
<p>I may get a dry erase marker and put a chart on sliding glass door in K2s room so K2 can get a picture oc whats got to get done and can “choose”</p>
<p>So I am wondering what Are OV’s ? and what are pre reads?</p>
<p>OV official visit
Pre read-- when a coach sends the student athletes package (transcript/test scores etc) to admissions for a pre read to determine if the student is admittable
Financial pre-read-- done for students on OVs - requested by coach of the financial aid office so that the parents of the perspective scholar-athlete have a guestimate. Not binding by the institution</p>
<p>^^^^Thank you!</p>
<p>Anyone’s K working on apps yet?
K2 sent the first in yesterday (snap app yay)
and has promised to look at and consider the essays starting today. </p>
<p>We know several priority apps will come and one asks to be turned around in 7 days. I don’t know if they will be like the one done yesterday (personal statement, no essays)
or if they will be fee free with the CA. Better to be on top of it all. </p>
<p>K2 also a very big EC project to complete and hasn’t started summer reading.</p>
<p>Classes start in one month and we have shopping to do for clothes (all outgrown), shoes, books and notebooks etc.</p>
<p>Trying to enjoy the slower summer pace and still feel like there is a looong list of to-do’s</p>
<p>Hope everyone is having a great summer</p>
<p>S has submitted one app, to Roanoke College. We met with his college counselor a couple of days ago, and she wants him to have all apps submitted before school starts because he’ll have a heavy course load (5 APs + regular rhetoric) and football. He’s already written his common app essay and a few others to have on hand if needed. I cracked the whip on him – he did not voluntarily do any of this work. He has two teacher recs and one summer job rec on file with his counselor so she only needs to fire them off as his submits his college apps.</p>
<p>He’s only completed one of his six summer reading projects, and school starts in less than a month. This has me far more worried than the college apps. His college counselor stressed to him that this semester is make-or-break for him in terms of merit aid.</p>
<p>He wears a uniform so other than replacing a few shirts and pants, there’s no shopping to do. Yeah for me!</p>
<p>My D and I visited Iowa State University and University of Iowa this past week. D loved the campus and community feel of ISU and applied online the day after their open house. She received a very cute and personalized acceptance video the next day. Her first college acceptance! She needed that for her self-confidence after a less than stellar junior year. While we were at ISU we met several parents and students that strongly recommended we look at University of Kansas (KU) since it had a lot of the strengths of ISU but had more non-STEM majors. D looked online on the KU web site, checked out their majors and did a virtual tour. She decided to also apply online at KU and received an acceptance email 2 days later. She is still waiting to hear from University of Iowa.</p>
<p>That system of application is so foreign to me. I am used to sending in the Common App, essay, recommendations, etc. to colleges by November-December and then just waiting weeks for results. In Iowa and Kansas you can self report your test score, grades and courses online and they will make a decision in 48 hours, either automatic acceptance, deferral or rejection. You would then send your test scores and have the high school send the official transcripts. No essay, no recommendations,etc. D can pay an refundable acceptance fee now to ISU and pick her housing. It is a very interesting system. </p>
<p>D will be working on completing her Common App, essay and personal statement this summer. She finished her AP summer work and her resume so she is on course. She also has to complete essays and information sheets for her Guidance Counselor Rec and Teacher Recs.</p>
<p>Our 2-week, 11-state, 3600-mile, 6-college road trip was much less awful than any of us anticipated! It was actually kind of fun. The first week was akin to a forced march as we had appointments to keep, and the second week was more vacation in nature, which was a nice change after the first week. The colleges we saw were these:</p>
<p>Rhodes (Memphis, TN): Rhodes was not initially on our list even though S’s college counselor suggested it as a good fit for him. I had concerns about the high crime rate in Memphis and envisioned the kind of trouble my son-who-lives-in-a-bubble (and is somewhat lacking in street smarts) could get into on the weekends. However, as we passed through Memphis both going and coming, we figured we may as well add Rhodes to the list. T (son) loved it! The campus is very Harry Potter-ish, all stone and dark wood. Our tour guide was a young man who was initially entertaining with his funny stories but then got to be a bit annoying with his funny stories and not really knowing a whole lot about what the school has to offer other than what he’s personally experienced. We met very briefly with someone from Admissions, where T expressed interest in the school after tour. He has a follow-up interview on the 29th here in town with the TX rep. My gut tells me Rhodes doesn’t have the close-knit, supportive community that some of the other schools we saw offer, but I could be wrong on that. It just feels a little sterile. The neighborhood the school is in does seem safe, though, and Memphis has a lot to offer in terms of activities and entertainment.</p>
<p>Emory & Henry (Emory, VA): The campus needs a little TLC around the edges, but the center section where the academic buildings are is lovely. T met two professors there (political science and the dean of the honors program) who were wonderful. The poli sci professor just knocked our socks off! He talked to us for about an hour and gave T great advice for his education in general, whether or not he ends up at E&H. Things like “those seven years of Latin you have are great, but …” he suggested T pick up one European language (French or German) and one Asian language (Arabic or Mandarin), and these skills will set him up for future employment more than anything else he studies will. He suggested T spend his next four summers in intensive language instruction. T didn’t care as much for E&H because the campus was not manicured. I told him he needs to look past “the ugly” and consider what the school can offer him. E&H is a huge part of its surrounding community and is very big on community service, which T likes. Huge opportunities for outdoor activities, which is appealing. Some of the other schools may set up more for future financial success in terms of networking or access, but I think E&H would make him the “best” person.</p>
<p>Lynchburg College (Lynchburg, VA): Old and worn, and the town has seen better days. Off the list.</p>
<p>Roanoke College (Salem, VA): This one is my favorite. Beautiful compact campus and enough of a town around it with a small city near by to provide opportunities for entertainment. Our tour guide clearly loves the school, and she was an articulate young lady who was able to answer all our questions. T has already applied here and needs to send in his app for the honors program. Roanoke is a safety school for him (as is E&H), but I think it has plenty to offer. Success breeds success, and I think he’ll be better served by being close to the top of the academic pool rather than struggling at a reach school to get to the middle. I can see him at Roanoke. The Admissions guy with whom we met was awesome, and he’s been very responsive to follow-up emails.</p>
<p>Hampden-Sydney (Farmville, VA): This is where T sees himself. It reminds him of his high school, and he finds that comforting. He won’t admit it, but he’s very nervous about going away from home by himself. This was our third visit. We met with the same Admissions guy again and also the sponsor of the shooting club (trap and skeet), who invited T to come back in the fall for an overnight and room with a shooting club member. T is a fair shot with skeet and could probably be really good with more intensive instruction and practice. I do need to recommend the Fishin’ Pig if anyone is in Farmville and needs to eat. Delicious BBQ! It’s walking distance from campus.</p>
<p>Earlham College (Richmond, IN): No real interest in this one; it was simply on the route home. Turns out it was a good thing that the school failed to respond to either of the two requests for a visit that we submitted. We drove through the campus and were not aesthetically impressed. T wouldn’t have fit in with the non-conformist student body anyway. That’s an assumption I’ve made based on what I’ve read about the school.</p>
<p>In summary, the list in rank order:</p>
<p>T: H-SC, Rhodes, Roanoke, E&H
Parents: H-SC, Roanoke, E&H, Rhodes</p>
<p>T will be applying to all four and to the honors programs at H-SC, Roanoke and E&H. We will be visiting Austin College on Labor Day, where he will also apply. In the end, any of these five schools will be acceptable, and it will likely depend on who offers him the most merit aid. I doubt we’ll expand his list beyond these five. We already did a lot of scrubbing to get to this point. We’re taking a surgical approach rather than employing a shotgun strategy.</p>
<p>BobbyCT:
did the acceptances give you any idea of an FA package? KState and Iowa have been marketing heavily in the Quagmiro household.</p>
<p>
Ummm, not yet. My son is working for 9 weeks at a summer camp in Ontario (Canada, not CA), and since it’s going well, I’d rather not rock that boat.</p>
<p>But, knowing the way his mind works, I did sent him an email containing
the new Common App essay prompts.</p>
<p>A week after he’s done working, we embark on our one week, 10-college, show-them-the-love roadshow. Since I’ve got him captive between towns,
with a laptop, I’m cautiously optimistic that I can get him to provide ~500
compelling words of quality, sensibly organized.</p>
<p>Hey, even if he only provides one word every four miles, we’ll have enough time. ;)</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, the common ap essay word limit is now 650 words.
<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2013/EssayAnnouncementFinal.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2013/EssayAnnouncementFinal.pdf</a></p>
<p>
I was aware of this. </p>
<p>My thinking was that
- brevity is the soul of wit
and - if he needs the 650 words, he’ll have to crank one out every 3 miles.</p>
<p>Still plenty of time. :)</p>
<p>Ok, I figured you knew, but just in case…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>so true</p>
<p>our k1 wrote great essays and easily edited to under 500.
You will be surprised how editing to tighten it up really improves it</p>
<p>@Quagmiro: We did not receive any word from ISU or Kansas concerning FA. I think that gets decided at a later date, after a FAFSA is completed. ISU does offer a generous OSS award of $5500-$8500 per year. D is 1 point away on her ACT from qualifying for one of them, which would be nice. UIowa has not yet made a decision on her application, they are behind. I heard good things about Kansas State.</p>
<p>UIowa is an interesting school, it is not for everyone but I really like their mix of academics, arts and athletics. D was not a fan, however.</p>
<p>fogfog, so sorry for your loss 
Congrats, BobbyCT to you and your daughter on her acceptances!!!</p>
<p>Our PA/OH roadtrip visits are done! Four schools in four days, plus hours of driving…it has been an experience. D was OK with visiting schools in PA, but as a street-smart, hippie-ish, liberal East Coast Jewish girl she was very skeptical about Ohio being too heavily Christian and politically conservative. </p>
<p>We visited Ursinus, Allegheny, Ohio Wesleyan and College of Wooster. Most of this is our campus impressions since we already did research on programs ahead of time.<br>
A few of you asked for details, so here they are…</p>
<ol>
<li> Ursinus tour/info session: We got a private info session with an upperclassmen which was great. There were other prospectives there, but they didn’t lump us together for the info which was a nice personal touch. Student was very informative about admissions and school programs. Regular decision is rolling with decisions in about one month. We did go on tour with several other families. Guide was very good but a little dry. It was very hot and humid.</li>
</ol>
<p>D thought the freshman dorm we saw smelled bad and the rooms looked like jail cells. Newer dorms looked very nice from outside though. Drive by does not do the campus justice – definitely a walking campus. It’s very pretty. Collegeville seems decent, probably a bedroom community for Philly. We feel like we didn’t really get a handle on the school’s vibe or what makes it special compared to other schools. We left pondering whether to come back in the fall.</p>
<ol>
<li> Allegheny interview/tour: Spent a very long, hot day driving to Meadville, arriving at dusk. The road into town looked so dated, run down, and economically depressed. D was on a roll, making sarcastic remarks about all the “antique” fast food signs and how one could film a 70s era movie here without set changes, lol. We had trouble finding our B&B and it poured buckets of rain. Not a good beginning!!</li>
</ol>
<p>Next AM was finally sunny, dry and cool! D had a really good interview experience, very relaxed and conversational. Staff was very welcoming. Then came the student tour guides…score!! These were kids D could be friends with…energetic, funny, similar academic interests, and full of great stories about the school’s traditions, the academics, and student life that literally brought the campus to life for us. The facilities were beautiful and the campus was immaculate. Gorgeous, New England campus feel. We especially liked the library, the produce and herb gardens, and the student-run coffee shop. The freshman dorm room we saw was generous and had a lovely view of campus.</p>
<p>The students talked about the senior capstone project and that while it’s challenging, they are well-prepared for it and for grad school. Sounds like students are well-supported by professors and academic support services. Our guides knew everyone we ran into – staff, administration, and students. D was smiling and laughing with our guides the whole time 
We did drive around town a bit more afterwards and found that other parts of town looked better. D doesn’t mind a town with “character.”</p>
<p>3) OWU info session/tour: Info session was four families, heard a recent graduate talk about the school and show short videos on student work and study abroad. There were too many facts and figures and videos. We could have done this on our own. Admissions staff was robotic.</p>
<p>Two guides took the same four families around. Guides were young, just finished freshman year, but they were enthusiastic and knew the school well. Again, it was quite hot, and the campus is very spread out. The newest dorm for upperclassmen, which we saw and was very nice, was at the farthest edge of campus. It had beautiful common rooms but the dorm room was average. One guide took a group picture of the prospectives (D was not amused) which seemed different to us. </p>
<p>D did not like the separation between the academic and residential campus, nor the frequent mentions of Greek life, sports, special interest houses. Just sounded too clique-y to her and to me. I was also was concerned about the academics – guides talked about courses students could test out and not about rigorous academics. The campus is pretty enough with trees and such, but the inside of many of the buildings looked dated and in need of TLC. Lots of renovation projects happening, though, and the many study abroad options were appealing. We didn’t spend time in the town but did drive through. Not much for college kids except some cheap eats, kind of run down.</p>
<p>4) COW open house: Started with info from admissions folks. Liked the focus on school spirit and traditions as a key component. Our guide also spoke of many fun school traditions as well as the Independent Study (IS) project that all students must do. Again, great prep for grad school. Our guide was a very polished, articulate young woman. A little rehearsed for my tastes, but she knew her stuff. </p>
<p>This campus is beautiful! Unlike Allegheny, it doesn’t have that New England look, but it’s full of trees and very inviting shady areas. The buildings we saw were fresh and modern. The new fieldhouse was particularly spectacular. One older building at the center of campus has a large arch that looks like the entrance to Yale’s residential campus (D did a summer program there, so she liked that!). I did notice chalkboards in the classroom we visited (I’m a teacher and rarely see those much anymore!). The library seemed small to me but was modern and well-equipped. Locked carrels are available for seniors. The dorm we saw was newer and the room was generous with real wood furniture.</p>
<p>We had lunch downtown at a hip little sandwich/smoothie/gourmet shop. Town was much nicer and more developed than what I envisioned. The outskirts are heavy with strip malls, but the downtown was promising…a few empty storefronts but it had charm.</p>
<p>If anyone has specific questions, PM me and I’ll try to help. I’m not on every day but will answer!</p>
<p>Bottom line for D:</p>
<p>Allegheny – will definitely apply
COW – will likely apply
Ursinus – probably won’t apply; liked similar schools better
OWU – won’t apply</p>
<p>Actually, this is a good thing. T goes to a week-long residential football camp the second week of August, and part of the camp will be reviewing summer reading projects. I love this coach!!! He knows this is an academically rigorous school that offers football, not a sports powerhouse that also offers decent academics. He’s lined up the teachers and college counselors to come to football camp to make sure the kids all have their work done and it’s up to snuff. Common app and other essays will also be reviewed. The downside is that T has only completed two of his six summer reading projects. His social life has ended for the summer!</p>
<p>Thank you Lisa for the great reviews!</p>