@showmetheMAC Congrats!!!
Did your D apply for Top Scholars?
@itsgettingreal17 Yes, she did apply, and attended the TS dinner in the Midwest. Hoping we have a teeny bit of an edge given she actually is a URM at USCar (I think. I may just be making that up). :D. Itās so crazy competitive though. The TS kids at our dinner were very impressive.
QOTD: After an acceptance has come in, does your child continue contact with your regional admissions rep? Have they contacted the rep to say āthanks for your helpā, or āFYI I received my acceptanceā, or anything like that? I was wondering if it might be good to keep in touch in some way when there is an additional scholarship possibility at the school.
QOTD: D has kept in touch. Iām using this college admissions process as a lesson in networking for my D.
QOTD: S is not there yet. I made him write a quick thank to one rep that he had communicated with once or twice. Other than that, nada.
I keep telling him, āitās the little things.ā A quick thank you note, a quick hello at a college fairā¦they add up.
Someday heāll understand.
QOTD- D only came into contact with one rep and she was terrible. She did connect with her at a college meeting this fall at her school and my D was answering questions for the rep. For all other things in life, D is great at networking and writing thank youās.
QOTD - I have been pushing the lesson of ānetworkingā and āthank youāsā for a couple of years, but to no avail. I try to stress the importance but it seems to never happen. D was excited to talk to a couple of reps and was planning to follow up but never did. Sheās so driven in other ways, I just donāt get it. I think maybe itās related to her anxiety or something, I donāt know. No acceptances for us yet, we are on the wait train until late Dec and still have to complete RD apps.
Same. And for this I am so thankful. I have to remember to carefully pick my battles.
@Fishnlines29 --this generation seems to have anxiety about internet based communication. Or maybe itās just my kid? She is not comfortable with email at ALL and weāve had to work together a lot to bring her email up to a good somewhat professional level with jargon and overall tone. It brings her a great deal of anxiety to put together an email.
At first her emails were too conversational and full of !!! Exclamation marks!! With every sentence!!
And then they became too blunt and to the point. She is getting much better and has learned to greet, explain the context minimally, ask the question or communicate the point and then end on a friendly and yet professional tone.
Lots of times she thinks my suggestions are āthirstyāāI guess thatās their term for the overall tone of social media when someone is seeking too much attention?? Iāve had to learn what she means and sheās had to learn what is acceptable and not. I will say I agree with youāD is so driven on so many levels, but 1:1 communication is ambiguous and uncomfortable to her and she would just rather flat out NOT do it.
QOTD - DS always sends thank you emails ( I make sure he does 
) to whoever he is communicating with, whether admissions or his club activities.
DS Has not talked to any regional admissions reps. However some of the schools he has been accepted to the regional reps have sent hand written cards to him and let him know when they are visiting his high school. Two are keeping track of whether he has submitted his schoarship apps. While others are just sending the mass generic stuff. I think some of the reps really put in the extra effort. I think that for a number of kids that could make a difference in where they end up.
My dd has also not communicated with any regional reps. All of her correspondence has been directly with admissions or depts. She always sends thank yous via email. (What I have loved is when she has received enthusiastic emails from them after interviewsā¦that is wonderful affirmation!!)
Good tours, friendly reps, functional portal. Those are simple ways a school can make a huge difference. On, and MAC!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Is your D doing voluntary interviews? I thought she was only applying to public schools.
S FINALLY submitted his app for Cal Poly SLO! One, maybe two (if he likes a school we are visiting Monday) to go. Baby stepsā¦
@itsgettingreal17 No. She applied to several privates that offer large merit scholarships. A couple are long shots b/c they only handful. Some are more likely.
@STEM2017 and @carachel2 Thank you both - you made me smile and feel better!
Regarding DS use of email - he basically refuses to email people he does not know unless someone he trusts reviews it - email phobia!!
Congrats on the acceptances & good news coming in. Feel under the gun here - DS not started on the several supps needed for USC (the one in California B-) ) - need to submit the app in 1 week (to be considered for merit). Only fun part is a question about what he watches online & websites he frequents etc. ā kinda weird - DefCon Talks, Louis Rossman, Electro Boom & OS FirstTimer on YouTube and he loves Steven Colbert.
I am so glad we are staying local and eating at a relativeās home for Turkey Day. Too much going on.
Reallyā¦ I must be an old foggy then. My kids donāt like talking on the phone or calling anyone other than close family/friends, they never answer the house phone. And mostly text. But email they can and know how to do. S17 6th grade teacher had them writing him emails all that year.
What they were clueless at is writing a hand written note or letter and using snail mail. (Until I realized the deficit.) The most notable thing I forgot to send with my daughter to college with was envelopes and STAMPS. D12 knew how to mail a box. But honestly, she needed step by step instruction on how purchase a stamp, and put a letter in the mail to be sent by USPS a few weeks into her freshman year at college. Weāve always been terrible at hand written & mailed thank you notes.
JsOTD:
Q. Why do the French like to eat snails?
A. They canāt stand fast food.
What did the stamp say to the envelope?
You stick with me and I will take you places!
Continuing contact: My daughter hasnāt had terribly much contact with regional admissions representatives, and one the few occasions she has (e.g., interviews), sheās sent thank-you emails right away. Contact after admissions? Not unless thereās a pertinent question, Iād figure.
Use of email by high schoolers: Email, letās face it, has three purposes: (1) For younger kids who arenāt yet allowed to have a cell phone to keep in contact with each other; (2) for businesses and such organizations to (2a) market themselves externally and (2b) keep a paper trail internally; and (3) for older people to keep in contact. Like many in their age group, my teen daughters reasonably enough treat email as a completely secondary, if not tertiary, form of communication, and it shows in their extremely different approaches to the genre, with D19 being incredibly informal, using exclamation points and emoji pretty much everywhere, while D17 is incredibly formal when writing emails, to the point that Iām convinced some recipients are convinced a parent must have written them (even though Iād never actually be nearly that formal in email, myself).