@Ynotgo Ouch indeed. I can’t remember which schools, but some said specifically they take unofficial for Admissions purposes but you’d have to send official for credit if you attend. WUSTL AO said to have the GC send them and that was acceptable. So far BU and Fordham seem to be the PITAs.
I like the schools that show all the scores received. Pitt shows the scores received and the converted score - so the ACT submitted was converted to new SAT and they show that as well.
I think we have checked portals to make sure all tests are listed and other docs but now I just realize DS has not set up interview with CMU alum though had emailed with someone. So we gotta get on that one too.
@CA1543 Our closest CMU alum in any STEM field on the list is 2 hours away. He said he didn’t want to do that. You probably have alums who are a lot closer. (When he visited a couple years ago, he met with a professor who will be sending a note of some sort to admissions.)
Help please…
I saw on CC a link to a video about Cal Berkeley and their letter of request analysis. Was it posted here. I have been looking for it. Wanted to send it to a guidance counsellor. I can’t find it. If it was posted here, can you refer me to the link. Sorry for being a pain, but need some help. I have been looking for some time, and can’t find it. Thanks
Never mind. Found it. Sorry to waste your time…
Pet peeve - Schools that post daily “# days until the application deadline!” tweets on my fake kid’s account.
=;
Should we start posting countdowns to admission decision release dates to remind them?
I am not a huge fan of Twitter. There’s useful info to be found, but way too much social media pollution to wade through!!
My daughter was accepted at JMU today. I was waiting all day for her to check her portal. Well, she literally had no reaction when she saw her acceptance. Nada and this school is tied for #1. I have to admit I was upset that she didn’t seem happier about it. I guess that for the next round I am not going to mention when the decisions are posted.
I was surprised how much I was bothered by her nonchalance. I guess this is my cue to start stepping back on this process! We are still waiting on several schools to go for her and her twin brother. This is such a long process, it is maddening.
@Dolemite My D applied ED to BU they will email your D if she is missing anything before the application deadline. My D received email about missing 1st semester grades a few days before application deadline. We had counselor send grades again. I called to confirm they had been received and nothing else was missing. Go Terriers!
They also released the acceptance decisions 4 days early which was nice.
@botcom What @Dolemite is saying is that if there are additional documents that an applicant wants to submit, such as an unofficial transcript for a college course(s) or SAT II scores, they will not get an email because BU doesn’t consider this “missing.”
@Dolemite I’m not sure if this would work but S17’s college counselor submitted a transcript for S17 with his school transcript. It was an official transcirpt but maybe your D17’s college counselor can send it with the mid-year report to BU.
None of the following matters for 2017ers. But, I thought I’d post it and see what you thought, especially since we are all twiddling our thumbs just waiting and waiting…
Earlier today I followed the link posted by @Fishnlines29 and ended up watching a different YouTube. Now I can’t find the one I watched, but I found this one that says essentially the same thing but shorter and doesn’t follow 2 students: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tPmgVKTASDw Both videos talk about a new report for Harvard (the report is now about a yr old, so these are older news reports) calling for a reform in the way admissions is done. The focus should not be on academics but on kids who want to do good in the world:
I googled trying to find more information and I found this article. Here are some snippets: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/making-caring-common-in-college-admissions/3197142.html
I guess I am completely missing something in this process. Isn’t that what they already expect with community service hrs? I’m failing to see a distinction and how this lowers pressure. It seems to me that it just adds another thing to certain kids’ to do list, making it longer. (Cynical me.)
Do-gooders go to Yale. Everyone else goes to Harvard. 
Just asked D to check her e-mail and the honors decision for OSU was there dated yesterday. There was also an invite to apply for a small scholarship from the local alumni association.
My apologies. I’m a newbie! I do know BU admission and financial aid departments are very helpful. D had some additional information to add to application that was not required and she emailed it directly to them.She received an email reply each time indicating the information had been added to her file. I still called to confirm it had been.
I just got home from a day-trip to Chicago to see Hamilton, already in a great mood, and found that D2’s first semester grades had finally been posted. I’m so very proud of her – she managed to get all A’s (which actually beats last year’s grades) even with doctor visits, marching band, college applications and surgery added into the mix!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I agree, in theory, that is what is already being done with community service hours. I say in theory because it’s transformed into a race for community service hours in schools by requiring students to do a set number of hours as s graduation requirement.
A colleague told me his daughter needed 2k hours over 4 years to graduate. That is how schools forced kids to do community service and much of that community service turned out to be chores around the school. Some kids show up, do nothing, get credit. It’s not meaningful. I, too, have become cynical but I guess the thought is to distinguish from those really engaged in the community and those required to complete community service hours.
@botcom No apologies are necessary. We are all just trying to help each other figure things out and help each other along. Glad you have joined us here! 
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I feel cynical about this report too. I mean, it’s a nice idea, but even if schools like Harvard change what kids are competing over to gain admission, they’re still going to be engaging in competition for a very limited number of spots, and some of them are going to be in “whatever it takes” mode about it. How are schools going to be able to determine which kids genuinely care any better than they can tell now who is cheating or exaggerating academic credentials?
D17’s school has a 30 hour community service requirement for graduation, and there are definitely kids who show up at things like Key Club, sign in to get credit, then disappear, or spend whole events with their heads bent over their phones texting, etc.
@paveyourpath I spoke to BU Admissions yesterday and I suggested that the transcripts could be sent by the GC but they balked at that.
@thermom, I’ve posted in the past about students at our school lying about service hours to get into the NHS, ha, what’s so honorable about that? My son did not think it was appropriate to fudge his stats, put down what he had done so far, and what he planned to do Jr and Sr year. They rejected him, for not having enough total hours. But he had volunteered for stuff he had a direct interest in vs just showing up to some event and standing around. He was frustrated, but it doesn’t really matter in the long run. He was mostly mad at some friends that lied and exaggerated stats to get in, and he didn’t and paid the price. We talked about how some people/organizations are slimy and the world can be unfair, so it was a good life lesson.
I’d like to see community service stuff to not be factored into college decisions. I think it’s nice to do, and I applaud people that are involved with that kind of stuff. But really, the schools should measure you on academics and EC’s that are relevant to what you want to study. If schools want to mandate some # of hours needed to graduate, that’s fine, as I think it builds character and is good for the community. But many times it just seems like it’s a race for more more MORE. I don’t think that’s too beneficial for the kids. When I was in HS, I can’t recall any of us really doing lots of volunteering, maybe some school projects. But none of us went down to the soup kitchen weekly or whatever, and most of my friends have turned out to be fine human beings. That’s my rant on service hours.