I just want to say how much I appreciate this group. Remember how we supported each other last year thru applications, deferrals, rejections?
Just had breakfast with a friend. Her DC is a Posse finalist!
@EastGrad - Here ya go! You might remember that I had to walk away from reading and editing essays, supporting my 2 through the process, to just vent in my own way. This was the result of my ātaking a breakā! Many of you know I have only DDs but I used one of each so that everyone could relate.
'Twas the night before EA and all through the house
Every finger was whirring, attached to a mouse.
The LOR uploads were assigned with great care
In hopes that the buzzwords all would be there.
Common app edits were all done in red,
While parents on CC were shaking their heads.
DD and DS had snuck off for a nap,
Dreaming of finishing that one late night app.
500 posts later, there arose such a chatter
Which ECs are great and which ones donāt much matter?
Can College Board get scores sent in a flash
Or are all of our hopes about to be dashed?
Supplemental essays were ready to go
And short answer questions written just so
Closets were brimming with fun college gear
Waiting for when acceptances might just appear.
Showing off talents is quite a great trick
With so little space you have to think quick
What is important and what will seem lame?
Did you remember to change the school name???
Now AP, now IB, now DE and GC
On EA, on RD, on NMF and CC
So many acronyms, stay on the ball
How on earth does one remember them all?
And just as we thought we were getting by
A new slew of paperwork fell out of the sky.
Now it is FAFSA and CSS too
To see how much money will be leaving you.
The formula straightforward and fairly aloof
Watching your money disappear in a poof!
Too bad if you are financially sound,
Better to not have much dough lying around.
Blood sweat and tears on the forms you must put,
All of your retirement plans totally kaput.
Too late now, there is no looking back.
Hey wait ā did DD just wake up for a snack?
Her eyes, how they twinkle, her dimples how merry.
Is that a transcript in her hand she does carry?
Did she finish the SAAR? Is it ready to go?
The tears from my eyes they are starting to flow.
My credit card, it is time to unsheathe.
Oh ā look at that baby picture tucked underneath.
Back to the business at hand we must get,
Finally it might just be time to submit.
Check 3 more times, in spite of myself,
Wishing again for a fairy grammar elf.
With a wink of her eye and a nod of her head,
My kid has come to the moment I think I most dread.
She spoke not a word but went straight to her work.
Submit, submit, submit - then she turned with a jerk.
āDo you think this is it? Do you really suppose?ā
And then in that instant we both simply froze.
We looked at the clock and we felt quite blissful.
Then we looked at each other and were a little bit wistful.
Hours spent on the Common App site,
Would hopefully bring mail that soon would excite.
You are right, @HappyFace2018, and I apologize. Iāve been offended by things you wrote, but I am not the best version of myself when I comment on what I think of your online persona. This thread works best as a place of strictly support, and I didnāt follow my own preferences for that dynamic. Iāll bow out now.
Madredos - love this.
@madredos, thank you! I loved it even more than last year and found myself teary at the same spots: āthe baby picture tucked underneathā and āwe both simply froze.ā :x
@palm715, please donāt leave us; who will host this yearās barbecue? (I feel mildly panicky at the idea.) Our polite disagreements are what creates the beneficial and engaging interaction and exchange in this space. Also, everyoneās genuine version of herself is always the bestā¦as long as itās real.
Our D16 sorely misses the boy she began dating over the summer, prior to leaving for college. Sheās been home twice to see him, since school began in August, and will come home one more time before Thanksgiving.
Anyone remember what it was like to be young and heads over heels in love for the first time?
I may have already posted our D13 is going abroad for winter term. We are so excited for her. She is going to graduate in May and it feels like time is flying by.
We are all hoping for the Cubs to win, but it feels like a 100+ year uphill battle!
Since both kids are away at college, Iām increasingly dependent on the dog for companionship! Heās getting up there in years (he says the same thing about me!).
Happy Halloween everyone!
I think this thread works best when others donāt use otherās circumstances as examples. Itās both insulting , condescending and somewhat arrogant. This thread started as a supportive forum for all parents and children of different backgrounds. We were genuinely happy and supportive throughout the entire application and acceptance process. It was not a place to boast regarding privilege or wealth. Lately , this thread has taken an unfortunate turn much to my dismay. Iāve always taken the position to let it go, but this time I canāt . Itās gone completely over the top and not in a good way.
Adding to your postā¦
We were warned that the first summer after freshman year can be quite an adjustment. College kids unaccustomed to house rules and parents who desperately just want to sleep through the night without worrying when the kids will be home safely.
@palm715 Your being offended by my mentioning your ācircumstancesā was very clear from your terse response. Evidently your terse response was based on your dislike for several of my prior posts. I had no idea my prior posts offended you so much that you finally lashed out simply because I mentioned your ācircumstancesā. In reading back through the posts, there have been many times when others have referred back to someoneās ācircumstancesā @carolinamom2boys and no one was offended.
What I love about college confidential is you can openly discuss issues, opinions and feelingsā¦until someone disagrees with you. Well, my comment regarding the student we are trying to help did not deserve your terse response @palm715. Iām very happy that your little queen is so self sufficient. Unfortunately, not all students who are far from home acclimate so easily. You turned my comments about helping a student who needed help into something terse about your daughterā¦then you got upset about me responding in kind.
I suspect that whenever I post something about my sweet girl that is positive many see it as āsuperiorā or ābraggadocioāā¦or āboasting about privilege or wealthā. Thatās so unfortunate because Iāve learned so much from everyone on this thread. I really enjoy reading the updates regardless of who posts or what is posted. I will continue to enjoyā¦and commentā¦and support.
Yes, what a difference a year makes! While D didnāt apply to any of the typical CC colleges and didnāt do EA, ED or any of that, and the Common App was only something I read about, I found such a supportive group here when D decided to graduate early and I found myself leaping from Class of 2017 to Class of 2016. Now I feel like Iāve known so many of you forever-as we bonded over waiting on the mailman, and late recommendations and filling out those flowcharts and continue to bond over phone calls home and those first heartbreaks.
I volunteer in Dās former HS on Mondays and the office was busy today with seniors needing help with applications or counselor recommendations, and one girl who will be the first in her family on either side to attend college was telling me how she was automatically admitted to one of our state directionals-a very good one-because of her grades, which are great despite her 3(!) jobs. And she has classmates applying to top tier schools. But everyone has a different story. And thatās just it-theyāre different, not better or worse, even if we would choose otherwise. Sometimes itās best to keep what WE would do to ourselves.
I always liked our little group because at the end of the day, we are all just parents of children we love and champion, whatever their path. I try to remember that.
@HappyFace2018 Iād be careful to equate silence with not being offended. Many times people overlook things in order to keep things civil or give someone the benefit of the doubt until the saturation level is reached, and silence is no longer possible. I will also continue to post as appropriate .
@carolinamom2boys I appreciate your opinion but thatās not how I operate. You are well within your right to hold comment. If I offend you or anyone else, just let me knowā¦Iām a big girl. Itās okay. I believe just me talking about my sweet girl and her adventures has unfortunately offended others. I was under the impression that CC was a place that allowed for open communication. Oh wellā¦moving on to the next wondering conversation.
Hi EVERYONE!!!
Wow I have been off of CC for sooooooooooooooooooooooooo long (except in the 2020 thread). So what did I miss? Anyone want to fill me in. Wow so many new people. I just love all the support and friendliness on CC that I thought I would come back and soak some of it up. I miss you guys! Life in 2020 is so slow.
So anyone want to tell me what has been going on with the 2016 thread lately. Dying to know!
@LKnomad Welcome Back! =D>
My sweet girl is a freshman at GW and this thread has been a life saver with advice on everything. Weāve learned a lot.
@HappyFace2018 Hi, thanks for the welcome. My SuperKid is at Reed where he is apparently not protesting, even though he does agree with the protesters. Prof walked out of class yesterday! He chose the activist school where everyone does weedā¦but he plays cards instead.
@LKnomad I always assumed that the school with most activists is Berkeley.
@Ballerina016 I think Reed has everyone beat this year. They have had silent protesters in the freshman required humanities lecture every single day for weeks. This time the prof said he wanted the floor. A student said they would all move if she was given a chance to take a few moments to comment before class (lack of diversity in the only required class). Prof said no. There was 15 minutes of arguing, crying was involved. Prof walked out.
This was on top of the national walk out day, which most students participated in. The thing is, this is a school where the profs get it. Both lectures for the walk out day, and the most recent prof walk out were recorded for students to see at a later time.
What are they protesting? @LKnomad Coming from the girl at the college where there was a topless protest last spring.
I spoke with D16 today. No real news to report. She said she was cramming for a math test. Math is her least favorite subject although she is very good at it. She did get her request for an absentee ballot sent off and we know it was received. Now we just hope it makes it back in time for her to vote.
Also had a discussion about voting with D14. I have raised a couple of very liberal girls and she was having a hard time with her fatherās choice for president. While itās hard for me to swallow as well I semi-lectured her on how itās not for her to judge a personās individual vote. Itās that we all have a right to vote and the right to have differing opinions. The world would be boring if we all thought the same. I think she begrudgingly accepted it. I myself will be glad when all of the ads stop and we can go back to our regularly scheduled programming.