QOTD: I have a 9th grader, 5th grader, and 1st grader still at home. My 9th and 5th graders are less intense students. My 1st grader is probably the most gifted of all of our children. (Exhausts me b/c we have had some pretty gifted kids!)
I abandoned the 2020 thread. Over the top for me, especially when these kids are only 9th graders. That just isn’t the way we function.
QOTD: I get to do it all over again next year with S18. He is a bit more dramatic and wants totally different things out of a college. His #1 right is Universoty of Hawaii.
Crack -
No more kids, so trying to rehabilitate myself before I end up in the Parent’s cafe 8-}
@MSHopeful Wow 7 years from now? I wonder how much the whole admission system will have changed by then. The Common Application might not exist anymore. Who knows?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek You have a 1st grader? Gee, that means you will be still going through this 11 years from now? ^:)^
@HiToWaMom Yep. 
She just turned 7 yesterday. And my oldest graduated from high school in 2007. Between his class and now things are extremely different. I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be when she is a sr. By the time she graduates, I will be able to talk about the process back when the dinosaurs graduated. (that was back before they first incorporated the writing sections which are now on their way out.) 
QOTD: One and done for me too, and will be glad when this is over! I will go back to working on my house and prepping for next fall. However, I have a TON of nieces and nephews so I figure I can continue following along on cc and pass on my new knowledge!!! =))
@BusyNapping – we have a '14 and a '17 so same age spread. Yes, the younger missed older when she went off to college, but tbh, he started getting busier and busier in HS right around that same time. Hardest part for him was probably becoming the primary focus of our nightly family dinnertime conversations… D had always provided much distraction and sucked up a lot of the energy if you know what I mean!
Couple of possible tips: enjoy a nice, long, special family vacation over the summer before your D leaves. Let the kids chill and spend some downtime together, just the two of them. The texting, snap-chatting, etc. between them seemed to increase at that point and has continued over the years. We also took the younger one with us to D’s family weekend at her college and let them spend some time together without us parents hovering.
I’m sure I’ll think of more, but that’s what I can offer right now… as, like others here, I’m sneaking onto CC while away with fam for the holidays (oops!).
Edited bc I mistakenly addressed this to @thshadow, though at least I left out the e:)
Today’s college mail was great! D is in at USCar honors. She also received another scholarship to UKy, but is still waiting to hear about the big one. And a full ride to Michigan State! We’re out celebrating at PF Chang’s.
Seems like Santa dropped his bag at your house @itsgettingreal17 :))
@itsgettingreal17 —definitely got the Big Macdaddy Santa dropping that off before Christmas! Congrats!
QOTD s17 is the youngest of two so all done with the college process after this year. Very happy about this!!
Hope to focus on a job or career change, getting our house ready to sell and downsizing. I would prefer to move someplace warmer right away, but DH’s job prevents that for now.
@itsgettingreal17 Wow!! Full ride at MSU!! Congratulations!!
QOTD - We’re in the “One and Done” club. I’m already going through CC and college app withdrawal and have been editing random kids’ essays on CC. D17 thinks I should do it professionally – or at least on a pro bono basis to kids that don’t have access to the level of counseling and support that our kids have had. I don’t disagree.
As for a couple of QOTDs ago, D17 still has 2 more apps to get out and a series of scholarship essays/apps to do.
Then we wait. And wait. And wait some more. Patience is indeed a virtue…
QOTD I have D17 and then S27. So a long time in between! I have all this knowledge in my head now and nowhere to use it next year…will have to start stalking my friends with DC18s.
@payn4ward - but this parents group is so friendly!
DS19 got 520 math / 570 V on his P-PSAT. I’m pretty sure the first thing he needs to learn in test prep is “don’t leave blank half of the math questions.” No, I’m not kidding… 
He’s going to be so different than DD17. She had fantastic test scores, not so great grades, I think amazing references (because of her passion for a few classes), and wanted the adventure of being far-from-home for college. She will succeed anywhere / no matter what. DS19 will probably have OK test scores, better grades (though no 4.0’s in this household), currently doesn’t like any of his teachers and thinks they all hate him (yeah, that’ll be great for references), and is currently afraid to go more than an hour’s drive from home for college.
We live right near Stanford. Last year he did badly on a final, and it lowered his grade to a B+.
“DAD - IS THIS GOING TO PREVENT ME FROM GETTING IN TO STANFORD???”
“Don’t worry son. That B+ won’t affect your chances of getting into Stanford at all!”
Hey! We’re nice in the Parents of HS Class of 2018!
QOTD: S17 is my second and last. I will be good when he is done with choices. D15 and S17 were so very different in what they want for their college experience that most of what we learned with D applied to S in the sense of “I don’t want that”. S talked to a friend who’s a freshman at OU at a party last night. His friend LOVES OU, and now S is leaning that way. He was kind of leaning towards ASU/Barrett. Were also waiting on Cal Poly for CS. He will thrive wherever he lands.
QOTD: One and done for me. Looking forward to downsizing. I do need to add a little to my plate to fill up my time. Planning on a small college admissions consulting business. May also do some adjunct teaching.
QOTD:
Next up is S20, provided he learns to turn in his homework. I’ve been watching the 3.0-3.4 GPA thread, but that might still be a bit aspirational. I lurk a little in the 2020 thread too. I think I’ve introduced myself there.
I recognize a few names from the 2014 thread too. S’14 will be applying to grad school next year. I don’t think I have to do much there except maybe send some airline miles his way. He might apply for some lottery post grad years. He’s been nominated for one lottery type scholarship by his school for senior year.
QOTD: S19 is opposite of D17. Naturally smart but doesnt know how to study/work hard. Got like a 1360 on his PSAT’s. Grades when he tries pretty good. takes all honors and is a grade ahead in some subjects. BUT spends all his time on the computer and doesnt have many EC’s. D17 has the EC’s, leadership, hardwork, but struggled with standarized tests (a 29 on ACT after working it), and UW with a 3.5, and weighted not much higher, because of LD. She is very independent and has already been away from home (semester abroad fall of JR year).
D19 on the other hand loves regular high school and routine. He also wants to study CS, while she wants a major in “save the world”.
I have learned so much from these boards and this experience with D17, I fell much better prepared with S19. Already thinking of schools, and more than likely will end up in state or close by. I will probably have to help with all his apps and stuff, while D17 did all that herself. The two kids were born opposites of each other…