<p>Ha, count me in the “nagging mom” camp too. My class of 14 kid is a girl, who I am currently nagging to get her Girl Scout Gold Award proposal in so she can work on it this summer and hopefully, have it well under way if not completed for college applications. My other child, a son, is class of 16, has finished all his Eagle required badges. He should have plenty of time, but as was mentioned here, that has a way of slipping away!</p>
<p>Yes, Incadinca, you have a “normal teenage” boy. I am on S2 and college search right now. Both my sons are “high stat” kids also, and I know mine are so incredibly busy with a rigorous course load etc that it added to the sense that maybe they were less than involved. Perhaps get a sense of his priorites when it comes to geographic location, small vs large college etc and present the schools that you have come up with and have him review them early summer when maybe he has a lighter load.
You mention he is 16, might there be a bit of “fear” component in leaving home, going to college? ( a normal thing for a lot of kids of course), and it’s just easier to ignore the whole thing… not that boys are very open to discuss such issues…</p>
<p>incadinca: My son (this is the second time I’ve been through the college search thing) was not too motivated to look for schools. I did some initial research and came up with places I thought he might like to see. We’ve been to five schools, and he’s liked all five. So, sometimes, as parents, we need to do the initial looking, set up a visit or two, and that can help spark the interest. Now, he’s a little more focused on what he wants in a school, and he has a clear No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 on the list. That may change over the next six months or so, but at least, he has found places that he likes. He’ll probably add two or three more before this is all over.</p>
<p>The other day, my older son (who graduates from college in less than two weeks) told me that I should go on vacation this summer. I told him that I already had one planned. It includes taking his brother, the '14, to Boys State, then taking him to the dentist to have his wisdom teeth pulled. Then, taking him to cross country camp in another state. Oh, and making sure the colleges with rolling admissions receive their apps in early August. </p>
<p>Sounds like a thrilling vacation, doesn’t it?</p>
<p>With my son, who is currently a freshman in a city school, I started out very simple. Living close to Boston, made it easy. But we started with 4 schools, large, small, in city out of city. He figured out very quickly he wanted a large city school. I still made him apply to some suburban campuses. Now in retrospect, I realize that was a waste of money. Because even as the acceptances rolled in, he just was focused on being in a city. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>My quandary with nagging S’14 (or reminding, or reinforcing – whatever you want to call it) is when to do it. After work, I’m beat and so is he. In the morning, he jumps in the shower, wolfs down breakfast and is out the door. And making it too vague or doing it too far in advance is useless. </p>
<p>Now I text him with one “reminder” in the am (which I know he’ll see by noon) like “ask Mr. X to write your recommendation”. Because I think he doesn’t hear more than 1 task, or can’t remember more than 1. </p>
<p>This morning I went to make coffee and what should I see, nestled next to the basket, but a big gray spider! I screamed (no one heard me). It’s gone now, but I think I’ll let blue iguana make the coffee from now on :)</p>
<p>I think the role of our kids right now should be maintaining or improving grades, test prep and activities. That has to come first or the college discussion is meaningless. </p>
<p>I feel like I have our list, we may add or subtract one or two, but as far as I’m concerned the next step is to set up the one required interview, nail down the recommendations and come August those apps are going to start! I don’t know if our school can send out their transcripts over the summer or not, if not, come the first day of school that will be the first order of business.</p>
<p>Go take a look at the admittance rates for early vs regular applications! Clearly early is better in almost every single case. I have no plan for next Christmas break to be spent doing apps - they should be in long before then with answers already back to at least some of them.</p>
<p>Back from our chilly 'Bama visit! S really liked it…in fact, he told DH that it went from being just a financial safety, to being a contender. His comment was, “It’s nice to be wanted.” WUSTL is still the #1, but he understands that $$ is a factor, and says that Bama is tied with Emory in his mind. He was very unimpressed with the general group tour, where it seemed all they focused on was football. After that though, he got some good info from a Bio professor, which helped. And then we (actually “he” - I excused myself after a quick meal!) met with an Honors college student. I was not at all impressed with him, but S apparently liked what he had to say. We then went to see the Honors dorms, which are truly amazing. (Coed by room, BTW. BUT, since they all have their own bathrooms in the suites, not sure that it’s a big deal at all.) Topped off the day by talking with the Dean of the Honors College, who also gave us a little tour of the Honors college, and she pretty much sealed the deal. As we were waiting to see her, a girl approached us in the waiting area and asked us if we were considering the program and she gave us fantastic info about her experience in CBHP, which S previously wouldn’t consider. After talking with her though, he plans to apply. After our visit, the biggest downside to the school in my mind is that they don’t guarantee housing after freshman year (so how much do those nice dorms really matter??) and all the kids we spoke to moved off campus sophomore year. I have to keep reminding myself that S will mature over the next couple of years and would be fine with that…</p>
<p>Hello Im signing on to join your forum, and am looking forward to interacting this coming year. Was just reading for awhile, but when I got to the gold Sperrys and then HMFR posts and discussions afterwards decided y’all are just my style :). The reports from school visits over Spring Break sounded so much like ours, and have been super helpful in reinforcing some of our thoughts on certain schools. I’ve made only only one other post, and I’m copying it here so you’ll know about me and my son. I may just keep reading, but wanted you to know I’m here lurking :)</p>
<p>S1 has worked hard, and has these stats: PSAT 223 (probable NMSF in Texas based on what I’ve read here), SAT 2230, 1500 cr and math, gpa 3.8 uw, 5.1/5 w, ranking barely top 10 percent if grades go well this semester ) good EC, medium leadership, I assume good essays.
Safety schools are TaMU and Baylor, but S1 really wants to go OOS. But, money is a big factor as our EFC is very high (beyond what we can stretch to pay and what seems reasonable given probable free tuition here IS )and so my main purpose on being online here was to try and figure out which OOS schools with good engineering could also be likely to provide high levels of merit aid. I’m now seeing that I can get some help with this question, along with support and info on many other subjects, so thanks!</p>
<p>Just got a chance to look at this forum. To all the parents of future Eagle Scouts, I am sure that they will achieve this rank. Just keep nagging if needed! My husband made me stop with S1 and he just didn’t have the time/drive to get there. S2 did (like I said 10 days before he left for college) and S3 has until July of 2014 to get there so I think/hope he will make it. It just would be nice if he got there by October so he could include this accomplishment in his college apps!</p>
<p>Collegefortwins, glad your son likes Alabama. S is a freshman there and although isn’t as involved as much as I would like (quieter student) really loves it and has excelled. The freshman year goes fast…hard to believe he has only one more week of school and one week of finals left. Alabama CC forum is so busy that I am sure you are getting your questions answered, but PM me if you need to. Also the suites are a blessing and a curse - it is great S had his own room and really liked his roommates, but doors of the suites are normally closed and honestly my S doesn’t know a whole lot of people in his dorm or on his floor. That’s why it really doesn’t make a difference if the suite next door are a girl one or a boy one. There will probably be more room for upperclassmen when your S is a sophomore, but at over $9000 a year it is cheaper to live off campus.</p>
<p>Stefalis, you are lucky your S will probably be a NMF as he has so many opportunities for scholarships in Texas (lots of good engineering schools there) and OOS. If you aren’t aware of it, there is a whole NMF forum. Go to the Financial Aid Forum and then click on the National Merit Forum up top. There are threads there that list how National Merit works (requirements, etc.) and threads that list schools that give scholarships.</p>
<p>Just wanted to reinforce the notion that many juniors, especially boys, are detached from the college search process. My DS was pretty apathetic until recently. What got him more enthused is our recent spring break trip, where we hit six schools in five days. I did all the research and planning with the exception of one day at WUSTL specific to recruiting for his sport. The school was already on our list but we just had to fit it in the schedule. </p>
<p>After we got back he was more excited and has taken a more active role. By that I mean less nagging, not no nagging! Basically we sit down once a week and go over what needs to be done (eg, asking for recommendations, following up with coaches, summer visits, etc.). I text him in the morning with a reminder of what needs to be done that day and then I’m done. </p>
<p>Now on to a different subject. We were at Lafayette yesterday for a recruiting visit and I think much of our day was so specific to his sport that it’s not useful as a general report. Our tour was even given by one of the assistant coaches, and not through the admissions office. </p>
<p>Having said that, the campus made a very favorable impression. It’s a very pretty campus with a lovely quad. There were lots of kids out enjoying the mild weather and there was some kind of campus run and party going on which looked like a lot of fun. Not a crazy rowdy festival just a group of kids hanging out with music and friends. </p>
<p>I was not impressed with the food service, which looked like typical cafeteria fare. Of course, as my DS pointed out, most every place is going to pale compared to Wash U. in the food department. </p>
<p>Did not get to see a dorm. But the athletic facilities and locker rooms are very nice! It’s close enough to us though that if DS does get an offer we can drive up and see a dorm. However, he’s still firm in his resolve to apply ED to WUSTL which is fine with me. </p>
<p>Sent from my SCH-I510 using CC</p>
<p>Novamom - even though my son ended up doing ed - to univ of rochester - we still put out all the apps early. He even got some early answers before the ed acceptance. What was interesting was after he got in we emailed every admissions department to withdraw the app. However, come April, much to his surprise he got a thick envelope from Va Tech. The last thing you want to have happen is get a deferral or worse rejection with no other apps done. </p>
<p>We’re going to set up an interview after school is done in June and go ahead and take a few days to go to the beach and amusement park nearby.</p>
<p>Oh I didn’t mean that he was going to do ED to WUSTL and then just wait to see what happens with that single app. We have 3 or 4 schools with rolling admissions on our list where he plans to apply in August, as well as EA to whichever schools on his list have that option, and then ED to WUSTL. </p>
<p>He will also have RD apps ready to go if ED doesn’t pan out and he’ll have to have those ready by winter break since we will be away over new year’s. </p>
<p>That’s one of the things we map out at our weekly meeting. I keep a college planning calendar on Google and we both have access. When I add a date, he gets a notification so no excuses. </p>
<p>Sent from my SCH-I510 using CC</p>
<p>Lilypod, I agree that summer will probably be a much better time to focus. Especially with AP tests right around the corner. I also wonder about him being 16 and not being to articulate to me that he is just kind of freaked about the idea of leaving home, especially since he is a real home body. I am sure another year under his belt will make a huge difference in that regard.</p>
<p>Momreads: I have been doing just as you suggested by researching and coming up with some target schools. We’ve visited two, and will go to our third tomorrow and slowly he is starting to develop some preferences. Seems he prefers medium to large schools and has declared that he defintely doesn’t want to go to a school “in the middle of nowhere.” I just wish he would begin to lead the process but I am realizing thanks to all you CC parents that more often than not parents start out as the leaders.</p>
<p>ELKyes: Your approach makes sense and is what I have begun to do with two visits close to home, one a medium private school and one our huge flagship. Hopefully after our visit tomorrow to an OOS public, the preferences will start to develop further. I guess I just wanted him to be excited about the process enough so that he really dug into the web sites, college guides, etc. and came up with his own list. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the support and helping me feel like my child is not alone in dragging his feet! You get the feeling sometimes that all these other high achieving kids and their parents are always right on top of things!</p>
<p>Have a great Sunday!</p>
<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>Just a quick pit stop to say hello…</p>
<p>We drove to Worcester, MA on Wednesday… We spent all of 25 minutes there, before the tour began, she decided it wasn’t for her…so we drove across town to see Clark U and she refused to get out of the car…got lost and ended up in RI. Made it back to CT in one piece…</p>
<p>Friday we drove to Conn College for Spring Visit Day. She loved it!!! Next weekend we are off to Smith & Barnard. Patiently awaiting her ACT scores…</p>
<p>“I think the role of our kids right now should be maintaining or improving grades, test prep and activities. That has to come first or the college discussion is meaningless.”</p>
<p>Amen, Eyemamom!</p>
<p>Curious, NewhavenCTmom – was it that she just didn’t like Worcester? </p>
<p>Just had a lovely conversation with a recent grad of the Hobart William & Smith College in the Fingerlakes…she couldn’t say enough great things about her experience. Too rural for my DD but curious if any of you have visited or thought about it?</p>
<p>Have a great Sunday!</p>
<p>Also, NewhavenCTmom–remember, once your daughter’s ACT status turns from “registered” to “tested,” you can use the “glitch”!</p>
<p>like your post newhavenctmom. it’s great when they love a college. Can you share what she loved and a little about Connecticut college, I’m unfamiliar. my d did a similar thing when visiting her colleges, went to see the college she is at now, she loved it, refused to even go see the next one an hour away. she will be graduating in a month from this college having had a wonderful experience. Just defended her senior thesis and says she loved the entire thesis experience. </p>
<p>curious, what stopped her from getting out of the car at Clark Univ, a school I was wondering about for my '14 son.</p>
<p>Collegefortwins: Do not let the idea that housing is not guaranteed at Alabama be a reason not to attend. If a kid applies early enough, he can get housing as an upperclassmen. My older son lived on campus two years before going off campus (his housing scholarship covered a particular complex). And as for football, yes, it is huge at Alabama, and the kids enrolled at the Honors College are just as excited about football. The Honors College participates in the tailgates, too. My son has always liked sports, but he bleeds crimson and everything’s Roll Tide. He even attended the National Championship in Miami. And none of that prevented him from double majoring, double minoring and earning better than a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>go2mom: Got a friend who works at Hobart. It’s a very nice, school, but too small for my '14 son.</p>
<p>Just visited Truman State yesterday and DD will be applying. First thing in the morning she said “I don’t want to go here its a hick town”, let me tell you I blew up after driving 7hrs the night before to get here. She also has done zero with the college search saying she just wants to go the University of MN., where its not a sure thing she can get in. Anyway I told her we were going to visit Truman and to give them a chance. What a suprise its like a hidden city in the town of Kirksville, MO. She is very excited to apply and is hoping to go there in the Fall of 2014 (even telling me which dorm she wants to live in, first time in 8 college visits). On the long drive home asked her what wil she do if she gets in to both U of MN and Truman and she says she’ll have to think on it because they are two different types of school.</p>
<p>Would recommend Truman to anyone in the Midwest as a very strong choice.</p>
<p>Planning to visit this summer.</p>