@snoozin - Wow -I would regret missing Jon Stewart as a commencement speaker too! ,Yay for another vote for W&M. - It wouldn’t surprise me that UVA has a reputation for boastful grandstanders now, though I’m guessing that is just one subset (and may apply more to the parents than the students)- it seems every school has gotten harder and harder to get into; the 4 or 5 current students I know from my neighborhood are all very down-to-Earth kids, and grateful to have such a great school for in-State prices!
Full disclosure here- my DH and I met at UVA (in the Dark Ages), loved the school, and got married in the beautiful chapel! The over-riding reason we haven’t looked at UVA for CoyoteSon isn’t it’s student rep, nor the frat culture (which is big, of course, but easy enough to do without; I attended some of the big frat parties as a freshman, but no one in our group of friends joined frats/sororities, and after our first year, we threw our own small parties), nor even how hard it would be to get in, but that it is a big, impersonal school where especially in the first 2 years, the student is likely to have alost all giant lectures, with discussion sections led by TAs. It wasn’t til my third or fourth year that I had smaller classes taught by professors. While there is a definite advantage in the wide variety of academic choices, for my son, the smaller, more personal attention from professors found at an LAC will be worth the trade-off with a smaller number of academic majors.
For others in the U Vermont hunt - CoyoteSon got an email on Jan 3rd giving him a link to express his housing preference right now, even before committing to UVM. The email letter was from Rafael Rodriguez, Director of Residential Life. @eandesmom - I’m hoping this email didn’t bounce away from your Son…
@CoyoteMom , our '17ers once again are living parallel lives. A good chunk of TacoSon’s schools skew female, and he’s had to uncomfortably sit through way too many jokes from well-meaning small talkers about his favorable odds at those schools – and not just for admissions. :-S Did CoyoteSon apply to Tech? TacoSon did under pressure from me, but your reasons for not adding UVA are pretty much why I doubt TacoSon will land there and why UMW remains top contender.
There’s a gaming dorm at Ursinus?!? Had he done his research there, we’d be joining @eandesmom on that visit!
Laugh of the day: an email from Creighton telling TacoSon that it may be past the final deadline, but not too late to apply with his personal “Application for Driven Students” – who apparently are OK with missing deadlines. =))
@CoyoteMom Hmm, I don’t think my D got that email from UVM…I should ask her.
@CoyoteMom Beloit was on sons list also until we read the campus is highly liberal. That wouldn’t be the right fit for son so it fell away and he never applied.
I think we can change the name of the sons struggling with calc group to sons struggling with calc and girls.
Got an email from one of the schools we are waiting on financial aid from. They want more info and are verifying. At least they are looking at us for financial aid. I’m getting the documents together and will probably send them on Monday. Im excited. I was ready to give up on this school. No guarantee of course, but I think we might get a little something.
Wow! Everyone is moving along and progressing. I don’t post much, but I follow and read at least every other day. Congrats on all the acceptances and great offers. BOO HISS to the schools who don’t recognize the jewels our children are.
UVM is in a gorgeous area. It wasn’t on our radar financially, but two of my older kids attended the SUNY right across the lake and visited Burlington frequently.
We are still waiting on the FA/merit offer from Adelphi. They don’t seem to have it on their portal.
Techson17 was invited to the Presidential Scholarship dinner at one of the other schools he has applied to. Now, he has to set up his portfolio review. Rumor has it that this invite means you are in contention for a full tuition scholarship. If he got that, he could live there and it would be cheaper and closer than a SUNY school! I told him that we would pretend he’s 6 hours away and never drop by but he fears that H will be knock, knock, knocking on that door at least once a week.
I am pushing him to finish his Purchase tech app but it requires reading “Night of the Iguana.” He has renewed it four times from the library but hasn’t read it yet. If he gets this other scholarship, we may just drop Purchase.
@CoyoteMom arrgh. No, he didn’t get an email. I had called them on Tuesday as I received a "next steps’ email and knew S17 had not. He also didn’t recieve any emails confirming the admitted student info session I booked him for. The guy who helped me last time was out. He of course called me back while i was in a meeting a couple of days later and I have not had time to follow up. I’ll call them on monday. Super annoying. I don’t think they changed the email and it is likely still bouncing. Maybe I will try to call comcast today. For the life of me I cannot figure out a way to whitelist a domain with comcast and that could be part of it.
He is not at all a gamer so that won’t have much appeal but beautiful theaters will. We will see. We should get the Ursinus FA offer this month and we will hear from Goucher as well. The frustrating aspect is the travel planning as we are a bit on hold and can’t determine if he can do an overnight at Allegheny or if there just isn’t enough time for that, or figure out the best way to get to point C on the tour since we aren’t sure what point C is!
What is interesting is that we can fly cheaply from Pittsburgh to Baltimore…and it has a layover in Philly. But Pitt to Philly is ridiculously expensive. I’ll be coming off of a work event so don’t think there is a way to manage this carry on only for either of us, but in theory we could book that flight and just not take the 2nd leg if we are visiting Ursinus. That only works if we carry on though and with both of us traveling for 2 weeks…we will see how feasible that really is! I really don’t want to make that drive if I don’t have to and we’d have to leave crazy early in the am.
What’s left to do (except wait) for everyone? D has two RD apps and two honors apps due Jan 15. All of them have one or more essays to write. She’s been sick, but she really needs to get cracking this weekend or next weekend will be a nightmare.
And speaking of dorms, D has her housing all picked out a Gonzaga – I guess I should see if they have a UVM-like deal going on. D did not get the housing email from UVM. Makes you wonder what various kinds of arcane formulae AO’s use for deciding who gets sent what.
Does anyone else enjoy poring over the various dorm schematics at their kids’ favorites (assuming they have options other than the standard two-person cube)?
@tacocat333, @CoyoteMom, @smakl70, my S18 struggling son of calculus also has girl issues (they’re too shy, too aggressive, or “playing for the other team!”) – are these guys quadruplets? No, I guess calculus and girls pose similar problems to tons of HS guys!
@tacocat333, when you say “Tech” do you mean VA Tech? D is applying there, though I don’t have great hopes for OOS merit. But my family (most of whom I like) is in VA and it would certainly be convenient. Plus they have what looks like a great renewable energy program across majors and departments.
@techmom99, wow, what an amazing opportunity for full tuition – good luck! I hear you on the “knock knock knock.” And yes, it would be H knocking, not me (at least not much). D has decided not to apply to CU-Boulder for that reason. I’ve never heard of an app requiring a student to read an entire book – kind of odd. If D had such an app, she’d read the book over the weekend. S18 would renew four times without touching the book.
@CoyoteMom Congrats on Beloit! D just got her acceptance from Beloit with 22K merit. We are still waiting to find out about the other scholarship for Rotary.
So, two acceptances so far.
Kalamazoo EA with 15K per year
Beloit EA with 22K per year (waiting on Rotary Scholarship)
Still waiting on
College of Wooster
Connecticut College
Barnard College
Macalester College
UNCG
NC State
UNC-CH
Most of them are RD so we won’t hear until the end of March or so College of Wooster should be soon either way!
@snoozn I didn’t realize my daughter had received that housing email from UVM, but when I asked her she looked for it and found it, so maybe the same for your D.
@snoozn , @CoyoteMom , @smakl70 – calculus is by far the easier subject when compared to the scariness of girls!
@snoozn , yes, VA Tech. TacoSon spent a week there last summer and didn’t love it, but we’ve established that his likes are a little outside of the norm! (See: girls, telling friends about college acceptances, being able to report to me where his friends are applying, etc.). I strongly feel he is better off at a smaller school, but a few weeks back when calculus and IB Spanish were both kicking his butt at the same time, we discussed how larger universities usually impose fewer core requirements than their smaller counterparts, so he submitted an application to VT.
Can I get some 3.0-3.4 support on the fact that my kid is at sea when it comes to writing a research paper? I place the blame both on his inherent disinterest and that his school glosses over the mechanics of the research paper for all but the IB Diploma kids, who take a required semester-long course called Theory of Knowledge that has a heavy writing emphasis. Meanwhile, my smart, non-IB Diploma kid (by choice) has to get schooled by his mom on how to construct the outline. :-?
@snoozn - If it was a book, Techson would probably read it, but it’s a Tennessee Williams play about Nazis and a Christian women’s glee club vacationing in Mexico in 1942 - or at least that’s what I gathered when I read the first couple of scenes. I told him that I am not paying the $60 slideroom fee for his portfolio until he’s at least halfway through the book and also that he could change his intended major to BA Theater and then try to backdoor into tech if he gets in to Purchase. I’m waiting on his decision.
@tacocat333 - You have my full commiseration on the research paper aspect. Our school doesn’t have IB and the AP classes don’t teach research skills. They want the kids to make index cards of facts and stuff for papers and that doesn’t work with dyslexic kids, like techson17.
Chiming in late to say congrats to everyone with good news. @klinska that is a bummer about American. We too thought their Net Price Calculator was weird…for us it spit out a $10k number with a note that this was based on an average. It didn’t leave me with the impression that the average was anything more than an “all students” kind of thing.
@tacocat333 we JUST went through same thing about research papers. Son had one to write and said the last time he had to do one was middle school. That’s just wrong! I blame the AP test focus for this and think it’s a significant deficiency.
We are going to a Beloit admitted students and families event tomorrow and are looking forward to learning more about the school. Son has not visited…maybe next month. Gotta get there while it’s cold so he gets a sense of that.
RE: Research Papers…
When D12 took senior English at BTSN the teacher explained that they were trying something new. (Or going back to something old) And that they would be doing a large research paper second semester particularly because a discussion with local colleges they realized they had been lacking at teaching this skill. For a few years, graded writing assignments were all written in class and had to be written at a max of 80 minutes. Basically prep for essays taken on standardized tests or as a final or mid-term at college. They also found it significantly helped on cheating. But the school backpedaled on this realizing that the kids really weren’t prepared for college courses.
He did tons & tons of research papers 4th-8th grade. A huge research paper for his spring freshman honors history class (we called it Global… kind of a mix between World History & recent social studies issues.) This was in the middle of when my son was melting down end of freshman year, and I had to babysit him through the whole thing. (He got an A at the end of it… though.) But nothing since then…
As my son’s planning on going into CS. Lots of huge research papers are probably not on his horizon. I expect he will take the minimum required 2-3 writing/humanities/social studies courses and avoid other classes that involved a ton of writing.
@coyotemom My HS class of '16 son had to be dragged to visit Beloit (resistant, yet not kicking and screaming, because he is always polite, lol) and loved it on sight. He just finished his first semester there and seems very happy. I agree with another parent’s comment upthread that the school is very liberal, but that isn’t a problem for my son.
Wogoo to @mackatarinasmom’s D on admission to both Kalamazoo and Beloit with great merit!!
Thanks to @smakl70 and @rienrah with feedback on Beloit being liberal - can you be more specific? Liberal politics? Lots of purple hair people? I think those things are both fine for CoyoteSon, just hoping I’m not missing something. Too funny that rienrah’S son is too polite to “kick and scream” on being dragged for a visit, and wound up being very happy there!
If CoyoteSon enjoys his interview tomorrow, then we will definitely visit Beloit over President’s Day weekend–maybe I can meet up with @93pilots and @mackatarinasmom!!
By the way, just to be clear - the gamer dorm was at Goucher; at Ursinus, CoyoteSon picked up much more of an athlete vibe. Both definitely had their share of artsy students.
@tacocat333 - CoyoteSon did not apply to VA Tech for the same reasons I cited for UVA -too big and impersonal, though both really are great schools for the right kids. I agree that UMW seems to be much closer to ideal for a student who will thrive with personal attention from professors in small classes. Best of luck on the research paper - TacoSon is actually lucky to have you to help guide him! I suspect that writing is just not taught well to most high school students - I think writing is best taught 1-to-1, which is so time intensive that it just can’t be done in most school settings, and really can’t be done well without coaching help from a parent. And that Creighton marketing extension for “Driven Students” who can’t meet deadlines really did make me laugh outloud! Thanks for sharing!
@CoyoteMom I read several reviews of the school which stated the student body was very liberal in their beliefs and challenged/intimidated other students who weren’t. I don’t know how much of it is true but more than 1 review stated this. We never visited since I didn’t think it would be a good fit and he had at least 10 schools on his list at the time.
@suburbancat - Hi, I’ve been away from CC for quite awhile, dealing with family issues, and am just getting back in the loop. I attended LMU a million year ago, but loved my time there. I think there are more high income kids than in my day, 1980s, but there is still a strong sense of social responsibility among the students, probably due to the influence (good influence in my opinion) of the Jesuit tradition, and the Sisters of St. Orange, as well. Even in my day there was no pressure to participate in the church, and I almost did not go because I was raised Catholic, and was burnt out on Sunday masses and CCD classes, but the spirit of the LMU community and the less preachy attitude of the priests celebrating services inspired me to be more invovled. But I had friends who were Jewish an atheist and I believe they felt welcomed on the campus. My S17 applied there, but it is the most expensive school for our family, so we’ll have to see how things shake out. I like the Niche.com website, for reaching the reviews that come directly from the students. Sometimes there are reviews on Reddit, and ■■■■■■■■■ as well.
We are in the upper Midwest, so if anyone needs info on those schools as well, let me know. My S16 is at Grinnell College, and applied to several schools in MN, WI, IA, MI & OH. S17 does not have a strong an academic record, but a boat load of extra curriculars, and a very engaging personality, so we made sure he met every school’s admissions counselor, at least once, in-person. We spent a week in WA and OR, in June, touring University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Gonzaga, Willamette, Lewis and Clark and University of Portland, as he would really like to attend school in the PNW. He applied everywhere except L&C. My nephew, however, did apply and received an $18,000 merit scholarship, and we enjoyed our visit. S17 just thought the campus was too isolated, in a residential area, and he won’t have a car to get around, so wanted to be able to walk and bike easily from campus, wherever he goes. We’ve also toured Iowa State, Luther College and St. Olaf, if anyone needs information.
It is fun to be back reading everyone’s stories, some frustrating, but mostly good. I look forward to keep in touch with this group through the rest of this college admissions adventure!
@eandesmom - Happy to read where your S17 ended up applying, after all the great campus tour and other information you supplied in the past. The work you have and continue to do for this CC group is amazing!
PS> I have become friends with several Grinnell parents, whom I met through CC, from all over the country, and we gathered together at a local restaurant during move-in weekend and Parent’s visit weekend. CC has been an amazing resource for our family!
The talk of Beloit being liberal reminds me of threads I’ve been in where parents mention a school is “too liberal” or “too conservative” and some posters get on their high horse and lecture about how college is a time when students must learn to get along with those who have different values. This really annoys me because I think the liberal/conservative decision is no different than any other area of “fit.” Some kids may do great at a school where most don’t share their social/political beliefs, but some won’t. Kids going to almost any college are going to encounter people who are different from them along with a wide range of ideas in various areas. Okay I’ll get off my rant horse now.
@mackatarinasmom, if your D gets that rotary scholarship on top of already great merit sounds like you could be seeing a really sweet COA - good luck!
@tacocat333, I have mixed feeling about VT too. I love their program, Blacksburg sounds great, and it’s near family. But D is definitely a better fit with small schools. They’d have to offer some really nice merit, which seems unlikely. We may visit if it’s at least in range.
I don’t know if it counts as support, but I can rant about the IB program at D’s school (back on the rant horse – what’s up with me today?). We went to the IB info session freshman year, as her school offers both IB and AP. The head of the program was SO pretentious and snooty. I knew within about 5 minutes that I didn’t want D anywhere near this woman, but we stayed for the whole thing. It was all about how the IB kids were in a whole stratosphere above the general student body. She specifically mentioned the Theory of Knowledge class and how non-IB kids were not allowed to take it because they simply didn’t have the capability of understanding at such a high level. UGGH! Come to think of it she reminded me of a certain type of parent here on CC that I now go out of my way to avoid. L-) (I think I’m done being mean now!)
Luckily my kids had great English teachers (at three different HS’s!) and learned to write research papers despite not taking a hooty-snooty Theory of Knowledge class. (And this isn’t a slam on IB in general – just the woman who runs it at D’s school). Oldest D got through her alternative HS not knowing how to study or take tests – so I do feel your pain!
@techmom99, I was curious what the play was so I went to Amazon and typed in “Tennessee Williams Nazis.” That got zero results, but they did helpfully show the number one result for just plain “Tennessee Nazis”: a Tennessee state flag shower curtain. @-) I decided not to look into that any further, but it does sound tedious.