@jpc763 agree kids can come up with a dream school. I came across an old thread where folks were stating the stupidest reasons their kids eliminated a school and was cracking up… stuff like “too hot, too cold, the guide wore terrible shoes, nothing south of ___, nothing named after a toothpaste, the colors suck, the mascot is weird, etc.”
Anyway, I guess it’s just a feeling and it can go both ways!!
@STEM2017 you have me laughing as usual, thank you! Also, your story about your son and his friends, well, he just sounds like a great kid.
@RightCoaster i hate to play the game, but in this case, I’m thinking, it’s a must!
@vandyeyes wow, that really is a new one! can’t wait to hear how it all turns out!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek sorry to hear about that little boy. Really tragic. Ugghhh.
To the rest of you with advice, my son was not “formally” recruited because the coach only had a few slots this year and did not really “need” any more players in son’s position. But he would like to have him as a walk on. It’s kind of a scam. The coaches need players, but they only get to fill their rosters with so many kids because that’s what admissions allows. So, the coach needs to find other players that want to come to the school and play but he can’t offer them any support in admissions. That’s fine. My son is qualified to get in academically, and he should be able to get in and just walk on if he wants to. He just wants to go and study there, and if he gets to play lax fine, if not no biggie.
So, in the Why this XYZ school essay he had mentioned that he had met with the coach and is hoping to be a walk on and contribute to the school in other ways i.e. DECA, Model UN, tutoring program, etc. and that he really liked certain programs the school offered and blah blah blah. He didn’t write the standard boring essay, he was already pretty specific and stated he was looking forward to attending come Fall.
I guess hel’ll just have to re-iterate it all again and point out some things he’s working on in school to be better prepared for studies come Fall.
I am starting to get fed up with this whole process now, can you tell?
@Mom22DDs - I found it so funny that your daughter wanted to be an astronaut and doctor since 3rd grade. In 3rd grade my oldest and only D wanted to be an astronaut Missionary of Charity! Can you just see the muppets “Nuns in Space!” :)) She graduated last May with a B.A. Classical Liberal Arts and is now applying to GWU Pre-Med Post Bac program.
So the stars and constellations came off the ceiling and walls, replaced by Aquinas, Plato, Socrates, and Euclid
( http://www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com/academics/Curriculum/index.aspx ) But the compassion for and service to humanity never left her. She wants to go into a school of Osteopathic medicine and practice in underserved communities.
So even though majors may change, sometimes their passion for something ignited in childhood will always be there only to re-surface to do something they were always meant for.
Dream school from childhood: It isn’t always the parents, or even other family or friends. Until the tour turned her off of it a couple years ago, Penn was my D17’s dream school, despite the best gentle discouragement her mother and I could give her. She just knew I was a grad student there when she was born, and had seen a picture we’d taken for the grandparents of her wearing (read: loosely draped in) my doctoral regalia, and I don’t actually know what else might have gone into it. It was rather a relief for us when the school in person turned out to be not what she was hoping for.
Like @vandyeyes DS my DD also had an interesting twist from her SCEA school. The Admission’s rep called her college counselor to say that DD had a strong application, she was advocating for DD, but couldn’t get DD the admit in the early round because too many athletic recruits and legacies. The rep inquired whether DD would continue to be interested. While I was excited to hear about this conversation; I could not believe that this conversation took place before the official decision was posted and the college counselor did not reach out to my DD immediately after the decisions were posted. It could have been a simple email stating - stop by to see me before you go home. It would have definetly reduced the sting of the deferral. DD’s college counselor works with less than 40 students; it is a huge disappointment that she is not more helpful.
@Testingearly - sounds like your DS might benefit from an essay too?
@Sailinghedgehog - couldn’t agree more. Some kids have an intrinsic passion from childhood that they express in different ways and it is interesting to see how it finally surfaces in their major/career choice.
Wow! DDs large public high school has 7 counselors for over 1500 students. You really need to make an effort to get in front of your GC, even if top 5%, to make sure you get anything more than a generic GC recommendation. Not knocking the GCs, they try hard and do their best, try to meet with all of the college bound seniors once to go through their “brag sheets” but the odds are just not in their favor.
@stencils I know what you mean. D2’s school has 7 counselors for 2200 students! Fortunately, we spent some time with her when the girls transferred in, and there have been a few meetings when we were debating one class over another, so I think she’s probably got a better sense of my kids than many others she counsels.
@RightCoaster I’m fed up with the whole process too! March/April seems so far away, and DD who has been running in high gear for months could sure use a break but will spend this vacation submitting applications. Serenity now is right, or perhaps it’s time for the airing of grievances?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I am so sorry to hear this sad news. It is just so heartbreaking to see these children and their families suffer, especially at this time of year. I will pray for some peace to fall upon that dad and brother.
@stencils and @NerdMom88 We have 7 full GC’s plus the Guidance Department Head who still handles some students. Fortunately for my S17 he had the opportunity to meet with his GC (the current Department Head) the first week of his Freshman Year due to a schedule issue and developed a good rapport with him that has continued to this year. To the point his GC called me directly last year to discuss his planned Sr. Year schedule and actually sat with DS this fall as he wrote his LOR for applications to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
When my D was in kindergarten, the teacher asked them what college they wanted to attend and they named the ivies and other selective schools. It was a very selective kindergarten with advanced students, but I was still surprised that they already knew these schools. Maybe it was the parents, but the whole class. . .idk.
Congrats on all those acceptances and scholarship offers. Hugs for the deferrals and rejections!
So happy that D got to UCHICAGO EA! There has been no one from her school ever admitted there, medium size public school. She also got to Georgetown SFS last week!!