@kt1969 and @klinska it is hard for me to know how UVM will interpret S’s transcript for rigor as we do not weight. They have assured me that it will not hurt him. Based on their NPC it should be in the 12-15k offer range but you never know. There is also a community service scholarship that S would apply for that is 2500. So…if it is 15k+2.5…we can maybe live with it. Maybe.
That said, it’s a similar issue that @klinksa has. It will be 16K more than WWU and I am not sure it is entirely worth that (though he is an ENVS kid so UVM is a very good option). However, I am not sure that he will be quite as level headed…even though 1/2 of that differential will be on him to come up with between loans and summer work.
@klinska I am a bit reluctant to say too much as it seems it could be easily identifiable but no…it was not good. At all. The AO didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of her schools students in some respects. I think they were lamenting a certain lack of diversity but the way it came across…lets just say they didn’t exactly sell the school well. At all. Not to mention S had to take lead during the meeting and ask all the questions, and then end it when it ran long as they seemed to have no concept of time. Which he is entirely capable of but…it just really seems like the personality was not that of a recruiter. It is still on the list, he is able to overlook one person but for me it moved down quite a bit. There was a racial issue on campus last year with the administration and add this into the mix it makes me wonder about an administration that would put this person forward as their representative.
We may stop by there at the large college fair on Sat to see if a different/additional rep is there. Frustrating part is S is pretty stressed out between school, work, perceived (and real) pressure around college stuff and we are fitting a lot of these meetings into this one week on top of all of that. It would have been nice for it to be a more valuable use of his time. Still, he checked the “show interest” box and that really was the primary purpose.
UVM has always been in the top 10 for public OOS that cost the most. It was in the top 2 or 3 every year until the California schools all raised their prices and leaped over UVM on the list, but of course UVM didn’t lower its costs so it is just as expensive at #8 as it was at #2. UVM does offer merit aid and financial aid, but for the merit aid there are gpa requirements to keep them. You’d think there should be no problem with a good student keeping a 3.0, but college is different than high school, there are no weighted grades, and it is a lot more worrisome than you think. My daughter is in no danger of losing her scholarship at the required 3.0/2.8 (several different scholarships), but her gpa is a lot closer to those numbers than I’d ever imagined.
It’s also very expensive to get to if you have to fly in.
@endesmom I’m surprised you son has the time to go to all these events.
Just looked it up and it seems that the ONE college visit (CU Boulder where we haven’t visited) that I wanted S17 to attend isn’t coming to our school this fall. Not on our schedule. And checking the University’s web site the day it would be likely is next Wed because they will be at nearby school (not in our district) & at a evening college fair for another local district. But it one of the days he has a big marching band event so we couldn’t even try to crash it or set him up at a meeting with the rep.
@curiositycat333 my feeling is that if an AO invites him to meet 1:1 for an informational interview…he needs to go. These are schools that value interest and he cannot visit, and a 1:1 meeting should in theory give him a greater insight into the school than stopping by a table at a college fair. So, even though they aren’t evaluative…they do count on a few levels in my opinion.
On the flipside, if invited to a 1:1 meeting and you decline (without a really clear cut reason why/conflict) or worse, do not respond to the invitation at all…it shows a decided lack of interest. The timing was not ideal to be sure however my feeling is that all of this, courseload, work, types of schools etc, are things he has chosen. None asked of him or forced on him. With those choices comes responsibility and sometimes competing schedules and overload. That’s life and you have to learn how to balance it.
My biggest concern at the moment is the essay and it moving forward quickly enough. He did create 3 new outlines to review with his teacher. They have a field trip today to see a show (AP Lit field trip) and are going to have lunch together and review so that he can get the first draft done. That stresses ME out lol. However, whether he had the interviews this week or not would not have changed where he is at time wise and completion on the essays.
It is however making him very snappy regarding looking at the activities list again. LOL!
Have the interview appts all set for Smith and Mt Holyoke on Election Day, so that box is checked. Knox is coming to a hotel in Boston next weekend and got D signed up for an interview then, which is great bc Knox isn’t coming to her HS and we haven’t visited so it’s hard to show interest. She emailed to request a Skidmore alum interview, so we’ll see if that works out. She was out sick the day of the Skidmore visit, unfortunately, and we haven’t visited there either. Today she was supposed to have the Juniata info session at school and the AO cancelled bc of illness [or because there were only 2 kids signed up, not sure ], so that’s a bummer bc we haven’t been there either and this was her only chance to show interest. She’s got sessions for L&C and Wooster tomorrow and then she’s done with those. Phew. Just has to decide on whether to sign up for a Denison alum interview. She did email the AO who did the info session at her HS [she was the only one who attended so it was quite interview-ish] to see if she thought D needed another interview, but the AO wasn’t super helpful, kind of like “you definitely could, but it’s not required” sort of thing.
I am hoping to have S go back to UPS on veterans day. He doesn’t really want to as he has already toured but it would be best for him to do an interview. We toured right after school got out last year. I am not bringing it up till after the 11/1 apps are in though. He doesn’t have school on 10/31 but I am hoping and praying those 11/1 apps are in before then so that the school can send transcripts!!!
That would leave us with Ursinus and Allegheny. Ursinus will have to settle for 2 college fair visits to show interest, and Allegheny, perhaps for just one college fair visit as neither seem to have anything beyond that scheduled in our area and aren’t offering up phone interviews…at least not yet.
Just checked Naviance and all transcripts and GC’s letter are submitted and…showing in the Common App as submitted as well!
But dang…there goes my pre-11/1 leverage…I’ve been telling S (because it is what i was told) that the school will not upload/send those items until he changes things to “applied”. I may forget to mention this to him and only mention the missing 2nd LOR. Which, while it would be ideal to have is less critical for this round of EA schools than the others and not required.
Now if S could only finish his part…and the 2nd LOR actually finish and upload his! Oh wait, he’s too busy having lunch making my kid start from scratch on his essay.
For those of you looking at UVM, consider SUNY Plattsburgh. It’s right across Lake Champlain, is smaller and may even be cheaper for OOS students. It does give merit money. It’s a real gem.
BTW Stupid Question. Since we never came close to a deadline. And I’m hoping S17 won’t either.
But is are apps due by 11/1. Due by 10/31 midnight. Or 11/1 midnight? Not that it matters because S17 will be busy ALL day 11/1 and if he doesn’t have the apps in by then they aren’t getting in EA.
SAT scores are FINALLY in Naviance. That only took forever to get done. Of course, they’re not concorded scores (old and new scores), so we still have to do our own math and mentally adjust where our kids fall on the graph, but hey at least they’re in there now. Wonder how long it will take them to get the October scores in once they are released…
@kt1969@klinska Our scores are in Naviance but they are in wrong. New (May) SAT dates are entered in field for PRE March 2016, so it show the new SAT grade on a 2400 scale. Same with the PSAT but it’s not as much a big deal.
Talked with counseling office and complained and it’s wrong for the whole district and was told “someone was working on”. As I am capable of graphing it’s not a huge big deal. We don’t submit anything via Naviance. But it would be nice if they fixed it before the end of the year or everyone’s stats are going to be really confusing for next years student.
I don’t find it that hard to look at the scattergram and figure out where my kids are even if scores are wrong and not it.
That said, given my understanding on how our naviance works, it is definitely not a full data set. S17 now has a data point as applied for all of his schools…the act of the GC uploading the transcripts and GC report automatically moved his data point even if he hasn’t changed it in naviance himself. His scores aren’t there of course but I found it interesting that the system worked that way. I know a few families that have applied to schools and not used naviance at all yet. They will have to of course at some point but still, it really isn’t a complete data set and does explain why there can be a lot more “applicants” at a school and not as many results.
Busy week here but overall productive. 3 AO meetings and a college fair. Goucher and UVM moved up on the list, Ithaca down but not out. Ursinus and UPS stayed about the same with maybe a slight upward tick for Ursinus. S still doesn’t have a “top” school and it’s a very loose grouping, not really even rankings but the fact that he is still happy with his list and made some nice connections is a good thing. I am glad he doesn’t have true favorite as it really will come down to $$.
First draft (gah I hate typing that) of the new essay is to be done today. I will admit, the topic and outline does seem better and I am going to be very curious to see how it plays out once it is on paper. He had considered some of the material before and thought it might be too political so had left it out. I agree with his teachers advice to use it. It is who he is (and political really isn’t the right word for it but I am not sure how else to describe it) if it doesn’t resonate with the schools, they aren’t the right ones for him anyway.
S17’s school class schedule is so packed that he hasn’t been able to make any of the on campus admissions sessions at his high school. He has gone to a few evening/weekend ones, but there are a few that he should go to to show interest, but he says he doesn’t want miss his classes to go. I guess I should be glad he’s trying to get the best grades he can. Really glad we went to the UC weekend event. S17 has UCSB on his (very long!) list. Got some good 1:1 advice/help on his grades for UCs.
Stressing! NO essays done (or as far as I know, outlined). He has one he can modify that addresses grades that was done for something else, but that’s more likely to be used for the “anything else you want to tell us” part of the applications. S17 plans to apply to 2 schools by 11/1–one for sure, one is a maybe ED. He’s relaxed about it, at least externally. Me, not so much. His plan is to have drafts of CA essay, and supplements for the 2 schools by the end of the day Monday (no school for him Monday). Then take the week for review/edit/etc. Procrastination is his problem. His fall sport just finished yesterday (league champs!), so he definitely will have more time now.
On the good news front, he got a 36 on the ACT , so hoping that will give him a boost.
Congrats!!! to all of you who are on track, getting admits, etc.!
@Hankster1361 that is hard, I can absolutely see where he is coming from. I know my S hasn’t wanted to miss class either. S has one school (12/1 date) that rates an interview as important and so far, no opportunity to meet with them beyond very brief interaction at an August CTCL event. Once he gets the 11/1 schools in, he needs to make direct contact but I’m going to leave him alone until then.
A 36 will definitely give him more than a boost I would think!!! Yikes, “maybe” on an ED that is 11/1 and isn’t sure yet? I’d be stressed about that one.
But I feel your pain. S did get a draft done on the CA essay yesterday. Fingers crossed it gets reviewed with his teacher today so he can move it forward although in reality no work will get done on it till likely tuesday or wednesday at best…although it really needs ot be tuesday for a 2nd review with same teacher!
The good news is LOR #2 was uploaded today so now it is really just up to S to get that darn essay done. And…in my mind anyway, tweak the activities section!
My personal news is that S17 didn’t finish those applications he was supposed to yesterday. I have no idea how far he got because I had a personal meltdown about work last night. I’m working for a start-up in the last break it or make it stage. I thought I had about 2 hours of work to get through, I started around 1pm and it turned into an almost meltdown at 9pm, everything suddenly wasn’t working. Did manage to put it all together by my 12pm deadline. But I can really sympathize with S17’s anxiety attacks now, I’m sure I was on the verge of one last night. I’m hanging out here for a few minutes this morning before checking my email.
@Hankster1361 My son hasn’t go to any either. But it’s largely because none of the schools on his list are actually visiting. The only school I care to push him to visit CU Boulder and/or CU Fort Collins. I found out last week won’t be visiting. I suppose I should have encouraged him to go to the USSB info session, he is applying as a reach. But it would be easy enough to do a tour IF he gets in that I’m not worrying about it.
UGG… Transcripts went out. I just looked at the transcript and realized that they have him down for taking Health instead of Physics BI Spring semester. This IS a problem, schools want to see he keeps up the rigor. He must be enrolled in heath for next semester but they didn’t need to remove him from Physics for this to take place, since they do have 7 periods in their semester AND they should have not enrolled him in marching band for spring instead.
Question is what to do about the schools that ask you to self report for spring. I say he still put Physics down. But what to do about the schools this has already been sent to?
], so that’s a bummer bc we haven’t been there either and this was her only chance to show interest. She’s got sessions for L&C and Wooster tomorrow and then she’s done with those. Phew. Just has to decide on whether to sign up for a Denison alum interview. She did email the AO who did the info session at her HS [she was the only one who attended so it was quite interview-ish] to see if she thought D needed another interview, but the AO wasn’t super helpful, kind of like “you definitely could, but it’s not required” sort of thing.