Regarding ANY of the essays for the common app and supplements, I would HIGHLY suggest to your child to write the essays and store them on the computer at home. My ds had a friend this year lose all his essays because of a glitch in the common app. Write them, make them perfect, and then copy and paste them in the CORRECT space. Ha - also important. That will save on much worry – the common app prompts are obviously available but I wouldn’t put much more than the demographic/activity type stuff straight into common app without having it somewhere else.
@crazym0m that is absolutely the plan.
@Gator88NE I called UT-A today and confirmed they no longer offer OOS tuition waivers, so it is no longer an option.
@eandesmom After asking at several schools that we visited, our plan is to get all essays done over the summer (as they will be released before school starts), wait for NMSF announcement, then submit applications. So its looking like mid-September. My D has some schools with rolling admissions on her list, and she will have better chances for merit the earlier she submits her application. One school even urged students to apply on the day their app opens (July 1).
@itsgettingreal17 Is waiting for the NMSF announcement to include in the applications? Is that how the school will include it in their admission/scholarship process or do we need to send something from collegeboard?
@hades321 We’re waiting for NMSF for a couple of reasons…1) If she makes NMSF, we can drastically cut down her list since 3 of the NMSF automatic full rides are fantastic options for her (they will replace her current financial safeties), and 2) it will look good on her resume/application for consideration for the competitive full rides. To actually get the NMSF scholarship at the schools, you have to designate them as your first choice with the National Merit folks, which will then notify the school.
While playing around on Naviance today, I figured out something interesting that might be new and helpful to others as well. If you click on the “graph” link under “compare me” for a particular school, you can see how your student stacks up to others from their school. This may provide some good insight as to possibility of acceptance and merit aid at a particular school.
@CaucAsianDad @Gator88NE I’ve wondered before, when schools have “double-blocked” classes, how long is that? Our school doesn’t have any double-blocked classes, but maybe our classes are already longer because kids only take 6 classes, and I see kids listing up to 8 classes here on CC. Our classes meet 264 minutes per week (58, 58, 90, 58 with the 90 minute class being either W or Th). Just curious. It’s a problem for a lot of kids at our school not being able to take 7 classes, which makes taking one extra class at the community college pretty common.
@CA1543 I’m guessing (but haven’t asked him) that DS will do Common App prompt #4 (describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve). It’s probably a good idea to try making notes about a few of the prompts before deciding, or even writing drafts for 2-3 of them before committing to one prompt.
@itsgettingreal17 Naviance scattergrams. I like them, too, now that we actually have a test score + GPA which actually makes it worthwhile. Only problem is our HS is large, and has 7-8 years of data, so there are A LOT of blobs on some of those charts!
OK, packing for spring break and the trip to 7 schools. What am I forgetting!? Is there anything you really thought would be worthwhile on your school visits? I have a list of questions, an after-visit sheet/survey to fill out about the visit, a camera, and the school, and College Tour Bingo cards!
Common App Essay distribution (last year?). Percentage answered per prompt:
- (47%)
- (17%)
- (4%)
- (10%)
- (22%)
Hi all,
After sending off DD’14 and DS’15, it’s time to jump back into the “Parents of the HS Class of” community for DS’17. It’s such a different experience this time around; DD’14 and DS’15 were both academic superachievers who both enrolled at Cornell, but DS’17 is nothing like as motivated as they are when it comes to academics. His passion is running; always has been. We don’t have any youth running programs here but I remember him from the time he was little running laps around the house and timing himself on his watch.
So we’ve started looking as schools, but he has no major in mind; he just wants a school that will let him run and won’t try to turn him into a distance guy because he LOVES the gutsiness of mid-distance. That might be hard because it appears that most coaches don’t have room on their roster for a mid specialist. Usually the guys with high school stats similar to DS’s mid distance races have better distance times than he does. But he’s determined to improve those times this spring.
One happy thing that’s coming from his visits though is that he seems to be finally believing what I’ve told him for years – that a 90 average is not a dismal failure. Having superstar siblings has been a lot a pressure on him. But finding out that decent colleges will accept someone with his stats seems to be giving him a lot a optimism. And he’s working harder as a result, yay!
For reasons of economy we’re focusing on our in-state SUNY system, with maybe a couple of schools thrown in that would require a partial athletic scholarship to be affordable. He’s gotten some feelers from coaches (Buffalo, Brandeis, U Mass Lowell) so we’ll see.
So if you want any thoughts from my journey with the two oldest who shot for the stars, or could give me any thoughts on the athletic recruiting side of things, you know where I am!
@2muchquan – as to what to pack: comfortable shoes. And an umbrella.
I dutifully took notes during college info sessions and then never looked at them again.
@Ynotgo We have 8 periods. We do 4 periods a day, each is 90 minutes (not including the 30 minute lunch). The “A” day is periods 1 thru 4, while the “B” day is period 5 thru 8, and we rotate between “A” days and “B” days.
With this schedule it’s possible to take up to 8 classes, typically 4 a day. A “double block” class, like AICE Physics, would be (as an example), 1’st (“A” day) and 5th period (“B” day), so it’s taught every day of the week. An AP Statics class may only be taught on 6th period (on “B” days). Over a two week (10 day) period, each class would average 225 minutes a week, or 450 minutes a week for a “double block” class.
Edit: corrected a typo, it’s minutes per week, not hours…lol
@CT1417 Thanks! Just checked the weather. Umbrella…check!
Welcome @mdcmom. Running in NY? Does he take the winters off? 
I have a friend who’s daughter is heading to UCFla…on track scholarship. That’s the extent of what I know about athletes. We are in the Midwest.
He runs indoor track in the winter. Just went to NY States three weeks ago, in fact . The team runs outdoors all winter unless it’s below 20°, in which case they work out indoors. The winter of 2014-2015 was almost all running in the halls 
.
He would LOVE to go to Florida because he detests cold and snow! But with most track scholarships being partial, from what I understand, that doesn’t seem likely for us.
Edit: I just went over the the UCF site because I’m always looking for suggestions, but they don’t have a men’s track team, just women’s. 
We are on a spring break college trip and just popped in to check up. More than 10 pages to catch up on! Just to add to the discussion, both D15 and S17 read for fun. A lot. But so do we (parents). I’d rather read then watch TV. Both D15 and S17 only took (will take) Calc B/C. I am glad I didn’t have to pay $90+ for a test score that was repeated in the next test.
So far on spring break we have visited 2 schools in AZ with one more on the list tomorrow. We were at Northern AZ Univ (NAU) first, after a couple of days in the Grand Canyon! Flagstaff is lovely and relatively cool for Arizona. The school has a nice campus feel. We went to the admin session (brand new very nice facility), walking tour, engineering tour (S is CS), and honors college tour. After enough college visits, the admin sessions all start to sound the same. They have the appropriate clubs, sports, study abroad, etc. There are a lot of new, state of the art facility on campus such as the aquatics facility and sports complex. The regular dorm rooms were nice and had decent space with the shared bathroom in the hall. The laundry availability could be accessed via the Internet to see if machines were available and they texted you when your laundry was finished. The campus was large enough that there was a bus to go from north campus to south campus. We took the bus to get to the engineering tour. The professor who gave the tour was a CS prof, which was nice for S, but I don’t think he was very engaging. S wasn’t woo’d. The honors college had some requirements/classes that S wasn’t thrilled with, but could do. The honors dormes were suite style rooms with a shared bathroom. We didn’t get to tour the honors dorm room. A capstone project was required for an honors diploma. Overall, S’s stats frankly were much above even the requirements for even the honors college, and I we all thought that, although the school and the area are beautiful, he would be much above his peers and that isn’t what he wanted.
Arizona State Univ (ASU) on the other hand, exceeded our expectations. We did the info session (standard but very nice facility), walking tour, and engineering tour on the Tempe campus. ASU has five separate campuses and upwards of 60k students between the campuses and online program. Even though the campus is right in the middle of the city of Tempe, we were surprised at how peaceful it felt. We heard birds almost everywhere. The campus was large enough to feel like a college environment but compact enough to be walkable. We did a quick look at the sports complex, but it wasn’t “pushed” like it is on many campuses. The engineering tour was well done by three students from different engineering disciplines. The biggest surprise and plus is the Barrett Honors College. It is a separate mini campus adjacent to the main campus that houses about 5,000 students. It is a stand-alone facility with its own dorms, apartments, dining facility, classrooms, and honors-dedicated professors. Honors students must take 36 of Their ~140 (160?) units as honors classes. They may take honors-specific classes or make any other class an honors class by working with the professor to make the class just a little more than it would be. But what tipped the hand in favor of ASU and Barrett were the honors facilities. The dorm room were just better than anything we have seen yet. The upper division (sophomore and up) apartments were better than the first apartment I lived in. They looked like a resort. There was a pool with palm trees that was Barrett students only access. The food at the honors dining hall was a little better than standard dining halls (we ate there. The food was pretty good and there was a gelato bar!). There also is a 4/1 program for any ASU student with a minimum 3.5 GPA where they can get a Bachelor/Masters in five years. If a student comes in with a lot of AP or DE credits they can get the masters in less time. Right now, I’d say that ASU is S’s top choice. It rose above Cal Poly. And for those who achieve NMF status, the award is full tuition to the honors college.
I will just apologize for any typos you may find. I’m on the iPad and it’s hard to type!
@mdcmom Talking Florida and track programs (at the public schools).
UF and FSU (boo!) have large, very competitive programs. FSU is much more likely to offer OOS tuition waivers, which would allow him to think about being a walk-on (my daughter’s best friend walked onto the FSU swim team).
USF (which is academically a peer of UCF) does have a men’s track program. It’s also more likely (than FSU) to offer OOS merit scholarships, and OOS tuition is only $17,324 a year.
http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=2927
UNF, FIU also have men’s track teams.
I’m on a college trip with my youngest and it’s raining. The only umbrella in the car has a huge “University of Chicago” logo. How awful would it be to use it on a tour today? Obviously not at Chicago. Youngest says I overthink everything. I just want to make a good impression.
Don’t worry about it. @“Queen’s Mom” As long as your interview is to happen while walking in the rain with AO, you are fine.
If you are traveling by plane, allow extra time for the spring break crowd and extra security due to recent events. DS brought his books and binder full of notes. (Wishful thinking to get work done. ) Apparently X-ray can’t go through stacks of paper or something. TSA agent flipped through every page of history book and notes. I thought he was going to do DS’s homework or at least give him a grade.
DS did not touch history book nor notes during the trip.