Son just got call from Texas. He got into the Business honors Program. We are so excited.
@itsgettingreal17, thanks for message, you brought us good luck. @HappyGoLucky2017, you were right. Good news was on way.
D '17 has visited 8 of 9 schools where she applied. The only missing link is USC(al). If lightning strikes and she gets invited to interview for a Trusteeās Scholarship, sheāll visit then. She did attend a local reception and information session at a downtown hotel.
We had a snow storm here over the weekend. Lots of shoveling outside. In an unrelated note, D '17 let me read one of her recommendations from her AP Euro teacher. It must have been the snow shoveling because my eyes started to water a little and my throat got soreā¦
And I thought I was a cynical old jerk
Yes, I saw your earlier post about the Red Cedar @MSU88CHEng. Thatās why I was anxious for the mail today! D also receive the OOS tuition waiver, PA and Study Abroad scholarship. Itās turning out to be quite a nice package.
@WhereIsMyKindle I have 2 SILs and a BIL who also graduated from MSU. Iām a UofM grad, so it makes for interesting holiday gatherings generally. 
Sorry about the rejection from ND @jpc763. Onward and upward.
Yay @BigPapiofthree Iām so excited for your ds <:-P
Hugs @Dave_N! Gotta love those nice recs!
Congrats to all the acceptances, and so sorry about the deferrals and denials. This is such a stressful time.
I think we are only going to hear about 1 more EA before Christmas. S17 has finals this week, and then he is going to finish up his applications. He still has between 3-6 left to do, depending on how many essays he wants to write. Most of what is left are long shots, so it is no big deal if he decides not to bother. I feel like he is one of the few kids left with applications to finish!
We havenāt visted that many of S17ās schools. He is admitted at 3 schools, but he has only visited one, Buffalo. I am probably booking plane tickets later this week to visit the other 2 schools, Alabama and Michigan State, in January. He is visiting U. of Rochester this week, but he isnāt even sure he is going to apply there. Other than that he will only be visiting schools if he is admitted with lots of money.
He also got the Red Cedar scholarship letter from MSU. Iām an alum too, and it looks like we were there at the same time @MSU88CHEng since I graduated in 87 with EE. For my son this puts him basically at SUNY COA with the tuition grant and professorial assistanceship. We are hoping he gets the NMF room and board award this spring, which would make MSU a top choice.
Congratulations on all of the good news.
For those experiencing the deferred or rejections, just remind your kids they are in good company. I know that doesnāt make the sting any less painful but with the percentages heavily weighing against us, Iām sure most, if not all, on here will end up in the same position. We just have not arrived at your destination yet. Donāt use up all the kleenex!
S17 came home from school really stressed today. I asked him what was wrong and he said school is beyond stressful. Gave him a big hug and told him I couldnāt be too sympathetic because being on a trimester schedule, heās not cramming for exams right now, has an excellent mid-year transcript to be sent to colleges and weāll be celebrating the holidays soon. He said that kids were second guessing their lists and whether they applied to enough schools and if they donāt get acceptances this week the thought of waiting until April is agonizing. Oh myā¦itās going to be a long 3 - 4 months. @-)
S only applied to 3 schoolsāheās very practical generally, and didnāt want to go for any reaches (thus Iām boggled that heās noodling over applying to UChicago over breakā¦). Heās in at MSU, and we had an awesome visit there last spring. Heās waiting on SUNY Albany and U Buffalo. Weve visited both. He really liked Albanyāmore than he expected, and was a bit underwhelmed by Buffalo. Theyāre easy match/safety schools for him, so weāre just practicing patience. If he can get a bit more merit aid at MSU, heāll probably go there, but heās said heād be happy with Albany, too. Heās borderline for MSU Honors College (I was in HC back in the day, and Iād probably be borderline for the program now), so weāll have to see what shakes out.
@caroldanvers It looks like our guys are looking at similar schools, although S has been on U Rochesterās campus and wasnāt interested in applying. I wouldnāt be surprised if we live near youā¦ Oh and I was a NMF & recipient at MSUāeven back then, they were great for NMFs.
@MSU88CHEng yes, sounds like we are in the same general area. Rochester is a huge long shot to get enough aid to be affordable, but my daughter lives in Rochester so it seems like a good excuse for a day trip and visit to her. MSU is probably the most likely place S17 will end up, since he likes the cold weather and thinks Alabama might be too warm. But we will see what he thinks after he visits.
Schools where D has been accepted but not yet visited: Oregon State U, Michigan Tech, Rose-Hulman. OSU is unlikely given the merit which is decent, but not close enough to her safety. We donāt know much in depth about MTU or RHIT. Waiting for merit offers to do more research, etc.
I agree with @paveyourpath to save us some Kleenex. D will hear from one reach by Thursday and another by next Tuesday. Scary times.
@itsgettingreal17, @NoVADad99, @chillkitty, and @BigPapiofthree, congrats on those acceptances! <:-P
@soxmom, sorry about the ED deferral and lots of holiday app work. I think your S deserves a few extra slices of pie over break.
@jpc763, sorry about Notre Dame, but five acceptances is not too shabby.
My DD is actually pressing me to check the mail often (we rarely check our snail mail) as sheās expecting to hear from Howard. Apparently last year some EA applicants heard after RD applicants, but weāre still holding out hope we may hear this week or next. If she gets the Presidential scholarship (full ride incl books and laptop) we have an affordable option in a city she loves and it would really relieve the stress of waiting until March to hear about others acceptances/financial aid.
Mail came, still no letters with decisions, even though I know two have been on their way a few days nowā¦ :!!
(A pair of reeds for D19ās oboe came, though, so that was good. Iāll take what I can right now.)
I can do you one better @dfbdfb - mail never came today at allā¦ 
Itās been coming at like 6 or 7pm. I guess today they decided not to come at allā¦
I canāt believe it - the mailman actually showed up at 11pm!! 
I took in the mail, and of course there was a letter from Rose Hulman admissions - but DD was already asleep. So I just propped it up where she could see it, and was getting ready for bed, when I heard her door open. Apparently she heard me take in the mail. So she opened the letter - and she was accepted!! <:-P <:-P
Despite my earlier claims, she was actually extremely excited - it was very nice to seeā¦ Now the only problem is if sheās going to be able to go back to sleepā¦ I-) Or meā¦
Congrats to @snoozn @itsgettingreal17 @chillkitty @NoVADad99 @BigPapiofthree @thshadow <:-P =D> <:-P
@itsgettingreal17 People weāve talked to would encourage linear algebra next instead of DiffEq. DS just took linear algebra and enjoyed the math aspects of it, despite the class size of ~600. It seems to appeal to people who also like CS. So, she may want to consider the pros/cons between Linear Alg and DiffEq. People say that DiffEq can be taught on a lot of levels (proof vs. not proof based), and you might not know yet what youāll need later. That may or may not be an issue for her. (I donāt know personally; I never took either one.)
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Always love to hear about your physics-loving son in addition to your very-accomplished daughter and the rest of your kids! There is such a feeling of accomplishment when a class is truly difficult (but in a fair way). DS is feeling that about the Formal Languages (CS that is) class that he just finished. Looking forward to hearing where your son goes this summer and after Bama. Youāve done a great job educating your kids!
@stlarenas Wishing the best for your D during stressful times. Hugs.
Hugs to those who need them, particularly @SincererLove @soxmom @jpc763 @paveyourpathās son
Finals: Iāve never heard of getting out of finals for being a senior or having a solid A at our school. Some classes have final projects instead of final exams. Either way, final projects and final exams are a pretty big piece of the grade. All AP classes have separate final exams a month after the AP test. The AP score has no effect on grades, because grades are fixed in stone the week after school ends. Likewise, āgrade exemptā and āpass/failā arenāt a thing here. Of course, we havenāt yet had the āsenior parents meetingā where they fill us in on end-of-the-year events, so I may be misinformed.
Self-plagiarism: They also encourage it on college apps with āsubmit a piece of academic workā prompts and having the Common App essay sent to all schools. So far, DS has been customizing his essays to different lengths, different college āpersonalitiesā and natural evolution of his perspective over time. Iām guessing that will change with 7 apps planned over the next 2.5 weeks. (Iām not optimisticā¦) I donāt have the same problem with self-plagiarism on college apps that I would in a college class (or in a copyright situation, which applies for journal publications). Iāve never seen a situation up close where it could come up, though I suppose creative writing might be a likely situation.
In loco parentis: Sign me up if anyoneās kids need help at UCSB (or Westmont). Heck, I could drive up to Calpoly for a CC friend.
Dogs: I still miss our malamute mix and am tempted whenever I see a malamute or husky. We currently have a Jack Russell terrier mixācute, but not so smart; failed her Puppy-SATs.
QOTD: Not exactly answering the questions, but my kids went though a phase of sharing Bohemian Rhapsody parodies (and there are a lot).
That was just catching up from one dayā¦
In our today news, DS got permission to take the assembly language & logic class he wanted at the UC next quarter. He did all the problem sets from the prerequisite class (intro programming using C++) over the weekend. He wasnāt actually all that experienced with C++ (compared to Java and Python) until this weekend. The professor gave him the final for the prerequisite class, and he got an A, so heās in.
So, he actually has a class schedule for January now, though he canāt register (and I canāt pay) until Jan. 9.
He also had an interview for a local scholarship today, which he said went really well. They told him heād hear back in a couple weeks.
Now on to the rest of the applications, I hope. But he fell asleep early tonight (lack of sleep from all those CS problem sets).
DH is actually being a bit insensitive, I think. He scheduled a ski trip for next week. If DS gets into his EA school this Thursday, he can go on the trip because he wonāt need to do all those other applications. If he doesnāt get in, DH and DS20 will go ski and DS17 and I will stay home. (Either way the wisdom teeth are getting postponed.) DH is kind of like this about travel and having at least one ski trip per winter, so perhaps I should write it off to āthatās just him.ā But, Iām thinking how DS17 will feel when heās deferred and has 7 apps to do while DH and his brother are skiing.
@Ynotgo Thanks. Iāll mention it to D. I signed her up for linear algebra. She then went to the dual enrollment office and talked to the advisers and decided that differential equations sounds more fun. It also seems to be the more popular class at the CC as its full, but the prof told her to keep checking registration, get on the waitlist when it opens, and come see him first day of class, so I think heāll let her in. I spoke with her tutor (who is a tutor at SMU) and he says she should do well in differential equations, but picking up on her real issue with the online class, warned her not to fall behind on the work.
Congrats!!! to @BigPapiofthree @chillkitty and @NoVADad99
@jpc763 Sorry about Notre Dame.
@MSU88CHEng Congrats on MSU scholarship!! Fingers crossed for more merit aid!
@itsgettingreal17 Of course, the DiffEq class may have the better, more engaging professor, and that makes a big difference!
Congrats to everyone! What an exciting month for our kids! Sorry to those who were deferred or rejected. I believe that if you are deferred or rejected, then the school was not the one for you, but that is just my opinion!
Keep the news coming! We donāt get out of school until the 23rd and go back on the 3rd! Our seniors have to take their finals, seems unfair that some do and some donāt in other districts.
Congratulations to everyone whose kids heard good news. So sorry for all those with deferrals and rejections.
@Ynotgo - I hope your DS can go on the ski trip. It is hard to juggle the support that the seniors need with what the rest of the family needs. I feel like our life is on hold until the applications get done. No trip over the 5 day Oct break, no trip home for Thanksgiving (for the 1st time), and no travel over Christmas. My DH LOVES to travel and it is killing him. I booked a Feb ski trip to make DH happy and of course that ended up being the perfect time for DD to have her Wisdom teeth removed. She was in tears at the Oral surgeon last week because I suggested she have them out at the end of this week. She refused to pick a date and said she was feeling too much pressure. I need to put my mom hat on, call and book it, and just not tell her until a few days before.
I have found the entire college application process to be miserable. DH really wanted to hire a college consultant and I was adamant that we did not need one. I was WRONG and he has been a saint to not point it out. My friend tells me that her consultant created a spreadsheet showing everything that needed to be done in red. Every week she would see the progress made with completed items turning green. I never in a million years would have predicted that a kid who has never needed to be told to go do your homework or practice the piano would be stressing in mid December to finish seven applications. I bow to all of you who have kids who have finished. Way to go!!!