@Fishnlines29 if the schools calculate a 73 as a C, which is normal, all should be fine!
My son picked the wrong time to sort of stink up a semester. I don’t think he’s had ever more than 1 B on quarter report card, but this time he might 3. He’s looking at 3 A"s or A +, and a few B’s. If he had just managed to pull out some good scores on his last 2 tests he would’ve had his best semester ever in regards to GPA, but no, right back down to his average, lol. He realizes he kind of blew if at the wrong time, but there’s no use crying about it. Hopefully some of the schools he is looking at in RD just glance over the scores and not make a fuss, but I don’t think that’s how it works. He should still get accepted to a few more schools, he just might not come off the deferred list at 1 school and could affect another decision as well. Not the end of the world though.
Calc final was yesterday. He actually felt ok about most of it which frankly is better than usual lately. Now we wait and see. He did very poorly, as he though, on the quiz the week before but did knuckle down with a study group following the test and that brought him down to a solid C. He has a number of action items he will have to do this week (not the least of which is a C or better on the final) but it is possible he can still pull out a B- or even a B. IF he follows through on all the items.
The kid has SO much on his plate right now he might implode. All of it self inflicted mind you but he begged me last night to deal with some of the audition stuff for him today so I guess I’ll help the kid out. Poor thing tried to wake up an hour early today, I checked on him at 6;20…he thought it was 5:20. Drama! If we can get through this weekend, hopefully things will normalize for him on Sunday through the end of the semester next week.
@RightCoaster I wouldn’t think that this semester would impact the RD’s all that much but it is a bummer in terms of not really aiding the deferrals. Sorry! That said, if it’s down to his average I wouldn’t say that is blowing it, it’s just not an improvement. Big difference.
Good news! D accepted to CU Boulder - Psych major! Did NOT expect it so soon since her portal JUST changed yesterday from processing to in review - thought it would take a couple of weeks from there. But nice to have another acceptance. Don’t know if any merit though - they say they send packet in mail - maybe that will have info if any - w/o it, would be expensive as we’re OOS and not sure would be do-able/worth it to us if full pay but we’ll see. Many more to hear from still but glad to have another one in the pocket!
Edited to add: @jmek15 I looked back at your post when your S was admitted and saw you said financial info was added a day or two after portal changed. Can you tell me was that merit or need-based info that was added? Just wondering when we might hear if any merit. Thanks.
Color me surprised! D17 got admitted to Lewis & Clark but with no merit. The NPC had indicated 10K but it wasn’t clear whether that was merit or need-based. Need-based seemed unlikely bc our EFC is more than the COA of most of the schools [which is ridiculous, but that’s another story]. So was pretty bummed to get nothing in merit, though hard to be too surprised since it was a reach for her. She did apply for financial aid, because even though they wanted the Profile, they didn’t require the Non-custodial Profile–figured there was NO WAY we would get anything if they factor in her dad too. So I did the damn thing–still feel violated. Anyway, just got the notice that she got 15K/year! I don’t think she will end up there…in the end I think the weather isn’t a good fit for her [which seems dumb but she def gets rain/gray/winter blues]. But nice to get something!
@CAtransplant, congrulations on CU Boulder!!! The financial aid was merit based. I think it was a Chancellors award. We do not qualify for need-based aid at any school. He filled out the application for other CU scholarships as well, so our fingers are crossed that he might get a little more from the engineering department or another of the named scholarships.
Congratulations on the surprise merit, @kt1969!! @eandesmom it is nice to see progress in the calc department. Hope that upward trend continues.
Like @rightcoaster (I think our boys are very similar), grades are in and while they are very good it’s hard when you know that with a little more effort they could have been better. Well, really just one grade. He got a B in AP economics. My D, who worked super hard and kept an insane schedule, got B+ or B in AP classes and I never said a word because I saw her put the time in. S does an amount that he thinks is fair and no more. And he HAS lots more time, he just prefers to spend it hanging out with friends.
But as I think this through, if this is my worst problem with him I just need to get over it. He is a good, well balanced, healthy kid who works hard. And the rest of his grades were all A’s, which is awesome. I don’t want to spend any of our pre-college time squabbling about things that probably won’t matter in the long run. :)>-
@CAtransplant congratulations on Boulder! Fingers crossed for some merit aid, we have a close friend who is a happy freshman there.
@kt1969 aid is aid as far as I am concerned. Congrats on surprise monies, that is lovely. It is a fabulous school. Very very dear friend of S’s is exceedingly happy there. LOL! Too funny on the grey and drizzly. They have been SLAMMED with snow this past couple of weeks. It is a beautiful city. We chose not to apply as the NPC seemed so unfriendly but I admit to having a few regrets we didn’t try. Once S decided he wanted out of the PNW I didn’t push it and neither did he but I really may look at it again for S19. He will have slightly better odds there anyway. PROFILE is SOOOOOO invasive. And depressing lol. I am glad the one profile school was cut. It was definitely not friendly to us.
@jmek15 and @RightCoaster I feel your pain. My S loves learning. He doesn’t love “numbers” and thinks they are stupid. Aka grades. LOL. And if he isn’t engaged in the subject, he puts in what he needs to do bu not an ounce more. Were he not involved in other things I’d likely have a bigger issue with it. But, he is a well rounded kid who is super passionate and engaged in things that he does care about and in the big picture of life I tend to agree with him that those will server him better than the A in AP calc. Or B for that matter.
I can’t imagine if D was in Calculus. She is not usually math minded (does not run in my family although S definitely has it). She is in Pre-Calc. since she missed a full year of math and maintains about an 80 average. Her teacher feels it can be higher but she seems fine with so I will not stress over it. Her other grades are creeping up since she was missing a lot of work and we had the meeting with the principal and her AP Lit teacher. She should be rocking her AP Lit class and her APUSH but is getting 83 and 79 respectively. She is determined to get her grades into the 90’s this semester. Since she is done with scholarships and applications she says she can now really focus on her classes. I hope that is the case. The one good thing is that, her grades did improve and if the schools see steady improvement, that is always good.
We finally got word from College of Wooster with a 26K Dean’s scholarship, which is the highest merit aid so far. We are awaiting word on financial aid from Beloit (and the scholarship), and UNCG. We are also waiting to see if she is accepted into the Honors College (which means her grades would have to go up) at UNCG. It would be a perfect fit because it requires language and study abroad, which is right up her alley. The classes are also capped at 25, which makes a difference at a larger state school, and there is separate housing for the first two years.
The ones we are waiting for and probably won’t hear from until March are: Connecticut College, NC State, UNC-CH, Barnard College and Macalester. Even if she doesn’t make it into these, she is pretty happy with her results so far. Macalester was a top choice for her but she seems happier about UNCG so far and that was a last minute pick. Go figure!
@CAtransplant CONGRATS on CU Boulder! Should hear about merit first and then financial aid comes a bit after (usually).
@kt1969 CONGRATS on Lewis & Clark and finding out about merit aid. Even if it ends up off the list, it is always nice to get that boost.
D and I usually complain about the long wait for RD, but the other day she mentioned that May 1st is actually not so far away – “I’ll know where I’m going to college!”
@CAtransplant, congrats on CU-Boulder! (And let me know if you have any questions about the U or the town).
@kt1969, congrats on merit from L&C! That’s a really popular destination for kids from my area.
@mackatarinasmom, congrats on the big Wooster scholarship! I’d love to see “$26K” on a merit package.
TacoSon received a nice bag of swag from Case Western today! String bag, earbuds, a bunch of other little goodies. I wish they were in contention but the money just isn’t there.
TacoSon and I had a few days of college visits and events – tour for a recent contender, scholarship event at one where he’s been accepted, and drive-by of his longtime favorite, all within 48 hours. I’m feeling unsettled because after the tour of the recent contender, I ended up having persistent admissions dreams again, which mercifully had disappeared after his first rolling acceptance.
Weird wierd night. Jazz event, chatted with the “free” college counselor that some of you may recall S worked with as part of her classwork. 3 of the schools she suggested made it into the application round and I was thanking her. One of them her S also applied to. He was deferred from his top choice (definitely a reach) and apparently my S was offered more merit money than hers at the one they both applied to. She was clearly annoyed by that fact. So now I am annoyed lol. He does have better grades (according to my S) although I am not sure how much better, similar rigor and I think maybe slightly better test scores. Two of the same EC’s and he is arguably stronger, more involved than my S in one, although it’s a bit of an apples/oranges comparison. Applied to different colleges at the school (totally different majors) and merit at that school is awarded by the specific college. Which I guess means my S was more competitive at his and her S less so? No clue but it was bizarre. She was definitely cranky about it. More cranky after I shared our FA (lack of) as they’d not received their letter yet. I mentioned it only in the sense that we are now unlikely to tour and it’s likely being cut. They still plan to tour and visit. Which makes sense to me even at the higher price tag as the school is far more known for her S’s major, than mine. While I feel bad…it also frustrated me a tad (or really felt mildly insulting). Maybe my kid just wrote slightly better essays, or that his other EC’s made him a tad more interesting?
Given the “B” student status I just wasn’t expecting that, and definitely not from this source. I know other people experience this but it caught me a bit off guard. So much so I didn’t think to share a transfer credit eval from the school I just got back from the school that I know she would like to hear and would benefit them. They have another overlap school and while it didn’t come up I now wonder if she is cranky about that one too as we were offered unexpected merit there as well. I do know his only other acceptance to date fell short on merit so maybe it was just an overall thing and not directed at my S.
It is interesting though, at another of his schools I belatedly realized that 2 of the colleges (not the one he was admitted to) have additional scholarship monies given…he could have gotten more if he applied undecided. LOL! I don’t think it would have been the right strategy given how the curriculum is laid out (could have meant longer than 4 years) but oh, we left money on the table. I hate that!
But the bands sounded amazing…fun night outside of that. Definitely reinforced that most of the kids are only applying in state, or 1-2 states over and all state schools! Other than my S and his friend lol. I do know she is happy for my kid but she was definitely cranky about how it played out. I truly don’t think the boys care, or have even shared any of it with each other. For her it seemed more directed at the school than anything and is probably just that she is frustrated with her son’s results so far.
Wish me luck. Tomorrow I have to figure out an accompanist for music auditions…and how the heck to best record one of them.
@mackatarinasmom congrats on the nice merit from Wooster! I’d love to see 26 as well! Would you like me to add your D to the big list? I don’t think I have her on there yet.
@tacocat333 Nice receiving some swag bags even if it is out of the running. We have not been to any of the schools except the in state ones and Barnard (D went with my parents). That probably won’t happen until March when we get some more acceptances and aid letters so we can narrow down possibilities.
@eandesmom That is bizarre that she would get cranky. I mean, I understand frustration but that is just weird. I will send you more info to go on the big list. Thanks!
@tacocat333 Good to hear other kids doing scholarship events. My son thought his went well but now we’re back to the waiting game. It’s always nice to get some swag!
The beautiful weather yesterday was more like March/April than January but I’m not sure I’m ready for it to be that late in the game yet. I love acquiring the info and discussing options but the reality is next year we’ll be empty nesters - it’s going to be quiet in the house.
RE: SWAG – @tacocat333 – I was just “whining” the other day as S17 received in the mail another swag item from one of his accepted colleges. Out of the dozen colleges we visited (IS & OOS) S17 received string bags, tee shirts, car decals, sunglasses, pens, lanyards, wrist bands EXCEPT at the one college he bent over backwards to get into & was accepted ED :))
Maybe that woman shouldn’t counsel college bound students in the same class as her own children. Her reaction seems incredibly unprofessional.
It is nice to read about everybody’s acceptances and aid.
As for us, techson17 interviewed with the theater department at one school the other day and is waiting for the money offer. H has said that he will call both private schools and try to get more money from them. He would rather have Techson17 closer to home and both of those schools are less than half an hour away. OTOH, one SUNY is 90 minutes to 2 hours and the other is 8 - 10 hours away so he has made his preferences known. He managed to get middle son money from a SUNY, so I am willing to let him have at it.
D must have applied to the wrong schools because she’s only gotten one piece of swag from her five acceptances!
Does anyone else have any admitted student days set up or planned? D and I will be going to the one at CO State in early February. She hasn’t yet decided about checking out Michigan Tech in mid March. Virginia Tech’s accepted students day is in early April and we’d only go if she gets better than expected merit.
@tacocat333, admissions dreams don’t sound fun. Are they a version of the old “about to take a final and realize I’ve skipped the class all semester” dreams? I haven’t had any bad dreams around admissions, but I’ve had some nights of lying awake in bed second-guessing pretty much everything.
@eandesmom, I think your free counselor is going to have to learn to hide her personal feelings better before she goes pro. When your client gets unexpected merit you want to be congratulatory, not annoyed! Good luck with the music auditions. It must be a real pita to set all that stuff up, but hopefully there will be rewards waiting at the end.
Snoozn, my son and I will be going to admitted student (type) days at CU Boulder on March 24 and Colorado State on March 25. I think these are his top 2 schools, and it’s really tough to decide. He’s an avid outdoorsman (rock climbing, hiking, camping, etc.), and into fitness as well. He’s interested in the Natural Resources – Recreation Tourism major at CSU, with a minor in Business Administration. CSU seems highly regarded in that type of major (with nice starting salaries). CU Boulder doesn’t have that outdoorsy type of major. He’d probably major in Environmental Studies at CU (he was accepted into Arts & Sciences), with a minor in Business (though you have to “apply” to get into this most popular minor at CU). Hard to walk away from the beauty of that CU campus, but CSU may be a better option for him. CSU also has that “mountain campus” a couple of hours away (which we have not seen). But I also think he’ll get into a top choice for his dorm at CU (since he was so early on the housing application), and maybe even a single, which he would like. For CSU, and not being in the honors college, he’ll just be in a “regular” (okay) dorm situation there. We visited both schools once before, and as for the towns, we both liked Fort Collins about as well as Boulder.
Any input you can offer on our dilemma would be appreciated. And any other folks out there in CC land with knowledge of these 2 Colorado schools please chime in as well!
@snoozn , they are definitely in the “about to take a final and forgot I’d registered” family of dreams! Just nagging, roundabout narratives about not submitting something, or a decision that doesn’t make sense, or an acceptance somewhere he didn’t apply. Very silly but clearly this whole admissions season took root in my subconscious. Now that there’s a new player, a reach, in the mix that I think would be a great fit, the old anxiety has started up again.
A few years ago, before this whole admissions game even began, I started having a variation of the “forgotten finals” dream in which I was moving into a freshman dorm and worried that I was the only one enrolled married with two children.
Anyway, just got the notice that she got 15K/year! I don’t think she will end up there…in the end I think the weather isn’t a good fit for her [which seems dumb but she def gets rain/gray/winter blues]. But nice to get something!