<p>NewHaven: Had no idea the state schools in Connecticut were so competitive. Do you think this is because OOS has become too costly for some?</p>
<p>MomMusic: LOL! Probably THE most important stat and he forgets? I have a kid like that, too. </p>
<p>Ecouter: How far back do you go – 9th grade? What format are you using? Excel or just standard “resume” style?</p>
<p>I started a spreadsheet last Spring to track accomplishments/EC’s before I forgot. I tried to go back through 9th grade, and try to add to it as new ones come up. Which reminds me, he was just inducted into NHS so I need to add that! </p>
<p>Momreads - I keep hearing wonderful things about Alabama, so I think it will be on our list of Spring Break visits - along with Georgia Tech & Vanderbilt. Mind you, the only way we could afford Vanderbilt is if he gets lots of scholarships, which I understand are somewhat hard to come by there. Our instate school has a good program and should get lots of $$$ scholarships there. I’m the type that likes to see all our options before ruling anything out!</p>
<p>@Agentninetynine, I made my first real resume in freshman year after I was trying to get an internship in a lab. I didn’t really know how to make one, but my friend who is now in an 8 year BS/MD program at URochester showed me how to make one and I’ve been using that template since.</p>
<p>I don’t know what “standard” or :exel" resume styles are :), but I generally have a heading that lists my main accomplishments in Biomedical Science, a section dedicated to GPA + current courses + a section for specifically science/math courses taken or that I’m currently taking. Then, I list awards and then have a special section for science competitions. Finally, I basically write out all my volunteer/work experiences with Dates worked/location/main duties or focus and have a line about “providing references on request”.</p>
<p>I think that works for almost anything; you can just change the headings for different jobs and put in different content.</p>
<p>I do leave a few things out, EC-wise or award-wise, especially if they’re repetitive, i.e. involving similar duties/achievements. I think nowadays, even if you’re just asking for a volunteer position at an organization people tend to ask for resumes, so I try to keep mine updated. If you want the word template, just PM me and I can send it to you.</p>
<p>Have your kids started looking at summer programs yet? I think there are some fairly good local options available, so I’ll probably just try my hand at a couple of the super selective programs that do take internationals and leave it at that.</p>
<p>Some of my family that never comes to visit might also visit next summer and I really want to spend some time with them as well, which will be rough if I’m away for most of the summer.</p>
<p>@ Agent,</p>
<p>Yes, its probably the cost of attendance. Which I’m not sure what the total price is for either school. DD was supposed to go and see UCONN again with an after school program that she is involved with but decided not to go. She saw it in soph year and hated it. She thought it would be a good idea to see it again, thought that seeing it from a “fresh eye” might sway her opinion… but changed her mind this morning when I woke her up at 6:30am. LOL She is so busy with 3 AP’s, the dual enrollment at Southern and her EC’s, work that she realy needs to sleep when she can. We will go up to Harvard Medical School on Saturday for a workshop for those students who are interested in medical school. So that will be her on campus visit for the month. 
</p>
<p>@ Ecouter,</p>
<p>She has started applying already. Actually had a deadline on October 19th. She has some other app’s that are sitting on her desk in her room that need to be started. She is hoping to snag a research opportunity @ Yale. She just needs to take the time and sit down to send out the emails. The summer programs for rising seniors are quite competitive so she has decided the cast a wide net.</p>
<p>Whoa, October 19th is really early. Most of my apps are due by Feb/Jan. I’m a procrastinator on all fronts; half of my things end up being sent by express or last minute.</p>
<p>Good luck with the lab hunt; if she wants any cover letter ideas/resume templates and things, I have a bunch of documents I use for a club that I can send to you. Most professors, even hotshots at Yale, really like nurturing young minds and getting people into science, so I’m sure she’ll have plenty of options.</p>
<p>beadymom – don’t forget Tulane – if you have a smart kid, they might throw some (or a lot) of merit $$$ at him. </p>
<p>S seems curiously unmotivated to “pour it on” for this all important junior year. The CC wisdom is “love the kid on the couch” but I wish he would aspire to at least an upholstered chair…</p>
<p>Visited RPI wit DS’14 today. He liked it a lot. Couldn’t articulate why, just “felt right”. This is the first place he’s visited (except for tag-alongs with DS’11). Could be a very nice fit for him.</p>
<p>LOL @ classof2015 - “upholstered chair” My son never leaves his bedroom chair/computer once he steps foot in the house!</p>
<p>I have thought of Tulane. Let’s see, if we hit Vanderbilt, GA Tech, & Alabama on the way to the beach over spring break (well not really on the way, more like around the world!), then we can hit Tulane on the way home! haha We may get 5 hours at the beach with that schedule! :)</p>
<p>@Agentninetynine: We live in a small town in Oregon and that’s exactly what I hear and that’s what I was thinking too (ignorance is not always bliss though). Luckily a friend of mine told me about CC and am glad that I started reading the posts on CC. If we had known about CC sooner, it definitely would have helped us better prepared. </p>
<p>I love ParentSparkle folder and Agentnenetynine resume ideas, will work with DD to create one during the thanksgiving week. Thank you for the suggestions. </p>
<p>We are thinking of waiting until she gets the test scores for DD Dec SAT and April ACT before going on college tours starting spring break time. I also hear a few parents say they like to visit after getting the admission and decide based on the visit and scholarships. Is there a better strategy or depends on what the kid prefers?</p>
<p>Our college visit strategy: </p>
<p>Junior year, visit colleges a reasonable distance away that will show your student a range of campus sizes and cultures, urban/rural, etc. to help them narrow down the list of places they want to apply. You may want to take advantage of professional development type days off your kids have from HS when colleges are in session to do some nearby visits, as well as possibly Feb or April break. </p>
<p>Senior year once all acceptances and financial info is in, figure out which schools are still in the running, and do another round of visits to help the student decide (assuming there is a decision to be made). You need to narrow it down to a small enough list to visit “meaningfully” during April vacation before making this trip. (The school my DS11 ended up attending was one he visited for the first time on this second round trip.)</p>
<p>beadymom – beach time is key! :)</p>
<p>mathmomvt – glad he liked RPI – great school – don’t you feel like you’ve won the treasure hunt when they see a school they like that they can get in to?</p>
<p>Good advice about tours. It’s definitely tricky fitting them in when our kids won’t miss school but when the colleges are in session. S can’t go on Spring Break at all (baseball – coach said no one leaves town or they’re kicked off the team) which is kind of limiting, but there’s Feb break – we’ll get in a few more.</p>
<p>For those of you already dreading working on the essay with their kids, Clemson doesn’t require one! They actually said that – no essay, and no LOR.</p>
<p>Oct ACT results are up. S14 got a 26. Hopefully he will now be motivated to study and prepare for his spring tests… otherwise, he’ll be looking at the state schools or community college. He’s fully capable of getting at least a 30, but math/English just aren’t his love. Now if the test were Bio…</p>
<p>I don’t know if he’ll be motivated or will resign himself to the state schools. Time will tell. (Yes, he can get into private schools - some of them - with that score, but our finances can’t pay for them.)</p>
<p>It really was far simpler to go through the college stuff with my older two (who scored 30+ on these early tests).</p>
<p>But, we do still love the kid in the bush (the couch doesn’t fit this guy - he’s outdoors - or with his plants/insects/critters indoors). ;)</p>
<p>Oh, now I have to have D14 check the ACT site today. She didn’t think she did so well, and since it was the first time she took the test, we only sent the scores to one directional state college. We’ll have to see.</p>
<p>We didn’t send the score anywhere this time since we know he’ll be retaking either the SAT or ACT in the spring. My guy thought he did horribly on reading and science as he didn’t finish either one. He also never practiced for either one, assuming, of course, that he would naturally do well. He ended up being a little afraid to look at them. However, they both ended up just one point below his math/English, so they weren’t as bad as he thought they might be. Hopefully that will provide some inspiration.</p>
<p>His essay score was the pits, but he never even looked at samples of good essays. He just assumed what he’d write in our high school (a low performing school where his 26 would actually be quite high) would suffice. I think that was a true eye opener for him.</p>
<p>Now we just have to see what he’ll do with his eye opener. I honestly don’t know. If he internalizes something and WANTS to do it, it’ll happen. If not, it won’t. It’s been that way his whole life.</p>
<p>D14 didn’t do the writing part. THere’s not a single school on her list that asks for it, and she HATES English and writing. She also didn’t finish a couple of the sections, which is unusual for her. </p>
<p>Her score goal is within the range predicted by her plan test, so we’ll see how many more times she takes it. She was thinking she’d try again in February and then again in April. She could do October of her senior year, too, if necessary.</p>
<p>My guy’s score is at the lower end of his PLAN test prediction.</p>
<p>Ds has only taken the sat but will take act in feb. I sent him his monthly to-do list.
Register for test
Go to guidance office and take a free practice test
Research his preferred choice of study prep
One college visit. (Already scheduled)</p>
<p>He wasn’t thrilled-
So I was thinking the wed. Before thanksgiving was a perfect chance for a college visit. But now I realize the campus will be so dead. They still have tour groups but it will be worse than summer. It is a small lac about 50 minutes away, he has only looked at larger universities but I am not sure he will keep his mind opened. If it makes the short list, we can always go back. What do you think?</p>
<p>Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Yes, it’ll be worse than summer. And on a small campus? It will not compare favorably with the big schools at all. I would not schedule the initial visit for that day.</p>
<p>I would strongly discourage visiting any school that is on vacation! Summer, during summer session, is okay because there are still some kids on campus. Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break for the college should be avoided at all costs. We visited a couple of schools during spring break and it was pretty dreadful. I kept expecting to see tumbleweeds rolling across the quad! </p>
<p>happyORmom: One thing to consider when planning college visits, either before or after acceptance, is your own child’s schedule. Fall sport? Probably visits won’t work then. Heavy AP schedule? Missing school in April probably won’t be ideal. Another thing to consider is that if your school is like most in Oregon, spring break is the last week in March. Many colleges send out their regular decisions that week, which means that you can’t easily plan visits to accepted schools during your spring break. That means missing school in April shortly before AP tests. </p>
<p>One time that we found worked quite well was late August for schools that start before Labor Day. Campuses were beautiful and full of happy, smiling students. No tests yet I guess!</p>