<p>This short article is from October, however discusses the omission of ‘topic of your choice’, in addition to the word limit being physically enforced. I’m actually not opposed to the word limit enforcement. Part of being a good writer is being a good editor. Another change that is going to really stump applicants…the ability to attach documents (i.e. a resume) has been removed. I have to think this means there are some enhancements to the area where you list EC’s, etc., possibly giving the applicants room to elaborate just a bit. Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.</p>
<p>I can tell you what S2 wrote about for his Common App essay, but to be honest I couldn’t begin to tell you which prompt he was following. For his supplements I could, but not the CA. I think the kids will adjust. Remember, they haven’t done this before so they aren’t missing anything they’ve previously had. It’s parents who have had older students go through the process who will notice changes (for the positive and possibly negative). Something I may view as a negative change S3 may never notice if I don’t point it out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Classof2015, newfaith and 2016BarnardMom! I will look into the specific forums and do some more research. I will definitely check out the journal Co2015 recommended, too. I’m trying to use math I’m currently learning to try and do a proof for some important concept. As of now, I’m looking at examining production functions or maybe the effects of tariffs/taxes and law of comparative advantage for econ and talking more about that or something with the curvature of space if I decide to go for physics. Both are really cool, though economics is probably a little more practical.</p>
<p>I’m not too bothered by the topic of choice change since all the options are fairly broad. I’m more worried about my creative writing skills :eek: . I feel like I have a lot to say about myself and even my other thoughts and ideas but I’m sometimes afraid to actually write my thoughts down. Maybe I will practice some creative writing over the summer before I start my essays. I want to get all my apps, or at least my essays done fairly early so I don’t have to worry about stuff during the school year. I’m probably applying to around 14-15 schools in the states, so that’s plenty of writing to do.</p>
<p>Happy New Year!!! 2013 is going to be a critical year and am looking forward to it with enthusiasm and at the same time anxiety. </p>
<p>SteveMA, AvonHSDad: Thank you for your notes… This is our first experience with the college admission process. I might have “deer in the headlights” look a lot of times while reading the CC posts. Your posts help me understand what’s coming up. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>Last year D almost missed a chance for summer internship opportunity, but this year we are thinking ahead and started talking about the options. Winter break is a good time to work on the essays for internship opportunities.</p>
<p>vandyeyes, thanks for the help. I will keep that in mind and continue reminding my D1 not to over-stress! The whole system of grade deflation seems ridiculous to me, but D1 goes to an extremely conservative school that has a long history so there’s no hope of changing the grading policy.
chrysanthMum, I completely agree about 2013. College seemed so far off when D1 entered high school, and now it’s right around the bend.
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope everyone’s vacation is going well.</p>
<p>I had to grin while listening to DS and friends tonight! His band played at the Mayor’s New Year’s Eve party. As usual, the kids put out a tip jar - it’s usually the only way they get paid. Tonight they decided that all the tips would go to the charity that the party was supporting! In deciding to do that, the 4 high school junior boys discussed that it would look really good on their college aps to say that they raised money and donated to the charity! Guess a little bit of this college talk might be getting to them! :)</p>
<p>go2mom, I have Lehigh on a “possible” list for my DS. They do offer merit scholarships in the amount of full or half tuition, and even half tuition would get their cost into your range. (Our range is under 25K and half tuition wouldn’t get us there.) I don’t know how many awards are offered or what kind of stats are needed to get them. They also offer a 5th year free for students with a 3.75 GPA in the first 4 years. (maybe to complete a 5-year BS/MS type degree? not sure – I only have sparse notes on them so far as we have not visited) I’m thinking they might be on a visit list for February for us. My DS is interested in Mechanical (or Mechatronics) engineering.</p>
<p>hi! I’ve been on here a bit before, but I have a DS13 and have spent the majority of my time over there, as this fall and winter have been a very hot time over there as I’m sure you can imagine!! I’ve felt like my DS14 has slipped through the cracks a little and I"m not quite prepared to start the whole thing over again. Luckily, all three of my boyz (username!) are STEM type kids, so there will be a great overlap in schools. '14 is a racquetball player who would like to continue competitively in college, which narrows down his school choices. His brother '13 will be attending Duke, and that helps cross that one off the list, as they don’t want to go to the same school as each other. The younger 2 would do fine at the same school as each other, and I am imagining such schools as RPI, RIT, WPI (both did summer programs there last year), CMU,or maybe Hopkins. I’ve also wanted to look at Case Western as I hear it has good engineering as well as good merit. And Lehigh is close to us. Toured with DS13 and liked it, though he was still fearful of its “party school” rep! </p>
<p>SAT question on score reporting:</p>
<p>DS took Dec SAT and will want to retake. Missed late deadline by 2 hours!! we had signed up for score reporting, which seems to give general idea of type of questions missed, but there is no way to see which actual questions he missed, as there was on PSAT? With score report and late fee, each SAT sitting could run $90!! And we did not take advantage of the free score reports, because I did that once with DS 13 and he was upset with me because a subject score was lower than he’d wanted to send… He only applied to one - count 'em - ONE - school, so in essence we would’ve only had to spend the $11! He took SAT’s twice, SAT subject once, and no ACT. So I guess I should be grateful that the testing/apps price was not bad for him, late fees and all. Oh, but between the 2 of them, there will be I think 10 AP tests this spring!!! Ahhhhh!!!</p>
<p>Also, Case Western was the only school who offered us a free app fee. Sometimes I wonder how much extra work the common app has created for the adcoms, as it is so easy for kids to apply to so many schools, when they only end up attending one.</p>
<p>mathmomvt - my ds14 is also interested in Mechanical… always liked to build things. Though AP bio is getting him interested in cell biology, and when he was younger, he wanted to be a marine biologist. I personally think he would make a great vet, as he is a big animal lover, good with animals, science, and people… I know Lehigh has a 5 year combo engineering/MBA degree of sorts that is popular… at least I think it’s 5 years. Except for MIT, every single engineering tour we went on, or polytechnic school tour, had a female tour guide. I think these schools want us to feel like there are more girls around than there really might be! I’m now very familiar with SWE! (Society of Women Engineers!)</p>
<p>my3gr8boyz–I believe you are asking about QAS?</p>
<p>“we had signed up for score reporting, which seems to give general idea of type of questions missed, but there is no way to see which actual questions he missed, as there was on PSAT?”</p>
<p>As far as I know, QAS is only offered for the Oct, Jan & May exam dates. The other four dates will simply tell the test taker the # of each type of problem he got wrong but will not identify the specific problems the way the PSAT or QAS will. If this is for your D14 and he plans to take the test again after Jan, then it could be worth spending the $18 (I think it was $18). You shouldn’t expect to have the info in hand by the March test date. </p>
<p>I called CB to inquire as my son’s QAS was taking a long time to arrive. Their reply was that orders placed at registration are filled six to eight weeks after the exam date but orders placed once the scores are available are filled three to four weeks after ordering. In theory, results could have arrived faster if ordered after scores were available. Price is the same whether ordered in advance or months later. My son received his responses from the Oct 6th exam the night before the Dec 1st exam, so it wasn’t useful for studying. Hurricane Sandy may have delayed reporting so you may receive sooner.</p>
<p>go2mom–mid-sized universities in Boston area other than BU & NE…have you considered BC or Tufts? More selective than BU & NE but since you mentioned Brown, I think they would fall along that trajectory. (Chemistry & science/ethics/philosophy at BC—I don’t think they offer engineering.)</p>
<p>We noticed the same thing with S’11. (We even had a female tour guide at MIT.) Cute girls too I did wonder if it was a subtle marketing ploy, or if it was just the case that more girls wanted/applied for those student ambassador type roles. </p>
<p>My DS hasn’t had bio yet (will have it next year, but that’s a little late for influencing the college plan). I wouldn’t be surprised if he went toward biomechanical or biomedical engineering eventually (and those seem like growing areas). He’s really interested in “mechatronics” right now – we visited a program up at Waterloo in Canada that offers a major in that, and many regular mech eng programs offer a minor or concentration. It basically combines mechanical, electrical, computer and systems design. I was concerned that it would look to employers like a “jack of all trades, master of none” type of program, but Waterloo’s employment stats suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>S’14 has ADHD and I do worry about him handling the study skills and workload when he makes the transition to college. I’d love to see him in a program where there are some freshman supports in place for the transition: study skills and time management in particular. </p>
<p>I also think a co-op program would be a really good fit for him. Waterloo is a co-op school and we’ll also check out Northeastern, RIT and probably Drexel. (His PSAT puts him in likely NMF range, and Northeastern and Drexel offer full tuition scholarships for NMFs – I think both would end up being both admissions and financial safeties as long as he really does make NMF.)</p>
<p>p.s. I also have 3 great boys – the youngest is in 6th grade though so we get a little break from the college insanity :)</p>
<p>CT1417 - Well, I’m pretty sure it WAS QAS. I certainly did pay extra for it. Do you also have to pay extra for the score breakdown thing that I was referring to? Maybe the results just aren’t in yet since it’s only been 4 weeks since the test?</p>
<p>mathmomvt - mechatronics - never heard of it specifically, but it sounds interesting. And on many of our tours, student support seemed to be emphasized. It seems like there is a lot more of it out there than when I went to school (although perhaps I just didn’t know how to look for it) We almost visited Northeastern last spring, but my kids are not city kids at all, and our time was short. We focused on MIT that day, which was SOOO nice… My oldest will likely be NMF, which still kinda eats at me, because the school he chose isn’t involved with NMF at all. It feels like a waste… DS14 had a rough testing day for PSAT and was not happy with his score. NJ’s cutoff is so frickin high. And it’s a one shot deal. WPI gives half scholarships for NMF, by the way! They also have that trimester system, which perhaps could help you son because it’s having less classes at once, but more intensely. Someone on another thread whose son has ADHD was looking at Colorado College because there, you only take ONE course at a time!!</p>
<p>My kids are not city kids either, so that is a consideration. </p>
<p>My oldest ended up being NMF and did not choose a school where it benefited him either. But it is working out really well for him, so we have no regrets. </p>
<p>DS’14 is definitely very interested in WPI. We found them very expensive for DS’11 even with the NM scholarship, but maybe the numbers will work out a little better for this son. I could see it being a very good fit for him.</p>
<p>Or about 60 days sooner for EA and ED!! Unless of course there is a SuperStorm 3 days before the ED apps are due, then you can get a few extra days!</p>
<p>No harm intended - just the facts (as much as we don’t want to hear them! :eek: :D</p>
<p>364 days until common applications are due. :D</p>
<p>In all seriousness, I will go to a monthly countdown as a reminder and jump to a daily countdown later in the year. I will also be adding an ED/EA countdown.</p>
<p>In the spring of 2014 I will don my Captain’s hat and we will set sail on the 2014 sailing of the SS Indecision. We depart from port on March 31st. Hopefully, everyone will disembark early and end any indecision regarding their final choice of schools. Sadly, this may not happen if the 2011 excursion is anything close to typical. :eek:</p>
<p>For those of you who weren’t on the 2011 journey or havent been through the highs and lows of a senior year child, you are all invited to join us on our most interesting journey.</p>
<p>Still sort of in the middle of it for 13er (in at ED school, but aid is up in the air), and would love to join you all for my 14er’s journey! :)</p>
I’m now very familiar with SWE! (Society of Women Engineers!)</p>
I did wonder if it was a subtle marketing ploy, or if it was just the case that more girls wanted/applied for those student ambassador type roles. </p>