If I had to write about being invisible, I wouldn’t write about how great it would be. I would take the opposite approach like the one Ralph Ellison took in his book Invisible Man. I would probably try to explain how we take our presence for granted and how it would be lonely and difficult to be invisible.
Maybe this is the angle they are looking for?
I suspect most adcoms are just looking for an angle they haven’t read 1000 times. I would hate to be an adcom.
@Fishnlines29 - Yes, U of Wisconsin Madison. We visited last summer and we really loved the campus. He applied in October and we are supposed to here by the end of January. After applying I found CC and started reading and asking questions. I found that Madison has not embraced the big MAC game and spends most of their $$$ on in state and need based kids. We will see though.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek - That is what I have found as well. I did find an article where they acknowledged that they are loosing out on high stats OOS kids and might have to start playing that game but I have not seen that they would do it this year. S17 is aware that their sticker price is really high at $50k per year OOS.
I would probably have said I would use the invisibility to observe closely animals in the wild in Africa or elsewhere where they normally would be too skittish. Observing animals in the wild is my passion (hence the avatar!) So funny, I just texted my daughter that question and before I told her what I would say she said the same thing except she also mentioned covering her scent somehow which is very smart because that would be ideal to do!
@ynotgo I don’t know, I think after all the essays I read this year, it might be fun as a side job in retirement. Well, maybe for one season and then I might want to shoot myself. haha
After dealing with the college process this year, I’ve decided that in my next life I will go to a name brand college with Big MAC, graduate, work in their admissions department for 5 years while moonlighting at Kaplan or Princeton Review or some other big test prep company, then quit and start a college consulting company charging $400 and hour.
Step one: Tell everyone you are not taking on new customers. Works every time.
If I were to write an essay about being invisible, I would probably turn in a blank page. #MindBlown
@BigMACLovin Invisible Ink - Lovin It!
@curiositycat333 @Fishnlines29 - My DS17 has little interest in Villanova. No offense to Villanova at all! Honestly, he added it to his list because I insisted on him applying more than 3 schools (one reach, one high match (but engineering, so one never knows)) and one in-state safety that he has NO interest in. I thought he was gambling too much with so few applications (I’ve read enough horror storied on CC).
So, he can say, with 100% certainty that he isn’t going to Villanova. If notifying them prior to their RD decisions allows a student to get an acceptance and not a wait-list, I’m all for notifying them right away.
@Ynotgo, the technology essay was for UoKy honors college.
And, drifting further off topic, not being able to explain P=NP in 250 words is funny in a meta, nerdy cs way.
@jpc763 --yeah even with the best of big MAC from Baylor (aside from NMF award), I couldn’t get that scholarship estimator to move much. Estimated COA with MAC from them was still about $37,000. I know they have a few smaller scholarships if you attend certain weekends? Even then you are looking at $32K plus per year.
We have so many kids go to Baylor and I SO know they are not getting even that big of merit. I estimate they don’t have much need either (middle to upper middle class families). It pains me to think of the debt they could be going in and I hope I’m wrong. Hopefully they have some good old southern baptist grandparents who are chipping in? IDK.
Any Christian school who dishes out aid packages full of Parent Plus Loans is going directly against biblical teachings. It’s just wrong. Ooops…did I say that out loud??
@jpc763 my brother went to grad school there so we visited several times. It’s just a fun place. I read up on here too and it does sound like it’s tough for oos. but you never know! I think it’s good he got his app in early. Good luck!
@CAtransplant That’s pretty funny your D had the same answer! I’m going to pose the question this evening and see what response I get.
@STEM2017 yep, agree, certainly lots of folks getting away with that out there!
QOTD
Dropped UCF once FSU acceptance came in. Planning to drop FSU if UF acceptance comes. That is just the hierarchy of things.
@STEM2017 maybe UCF and FSU will redistribute some of the unused in-state aid to the out of staters 
@jpc763 wrote “Ohio State - Waiting on MAC. Also, their Marching Band does not march woodwinds and he plays the Clarinet. This could be a deal breaker for him.”
This is what I love about CC, that we have so much in common. My son specifically chose to not apply to OSU because he is a clarinet player who considers it a deal breaker that the OSU Marching Band doesn’t march woodwinds. Thanks for the smile today.
@Dave_N, @itsgettingreal17, what about the Ky U fees with those full tuition scholarships? I hear OU has very steep fees. I wonder if Ky U does also? I looked at their site but it did not separate the fees from tuition.
Great avatar @BingeWatcher !
Hey @STEM2017 , I may consider outsourcing the college placement of son19 to you regardless if you have any sort of real credentials. I’m not looking forward to dealing with this again. It might be worth it to just let you handle the whole thing :))
@Bingewatcher That is a good question. It doesn’t look to include fees, which are around $1,500 per year (far less than OU’s). The other interesting thing is that I just found out when reviewing the scholarship FAQ is that the diversity scholarship can be stacked with a competitive award. I doubt that to be true, but we’ll see if D gets the Singletary.
I’m curious now that some kids have ED acceptance, many have EA acceptances and some schools are dropping off the list, what schools are at the top of your child’s interest list at this point?
Virginia Tech
RPI
Syracuse
Already excepted to Worcester Polytech