Parents of the HS Class of 2017 (Part 1)

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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I’m going to go ahead and call it, DS17 is enrolling at UF.

Our journey was much more simpler than most, after looking at a LOT of schools, he only ended up applying to four, UF (Match), Georgia Tech(Match, but after this year’s results, it has to be consider more of a lottery school for OOS students), University of Central Florida (safety!) and MIT (because, why not?). He ended up going 3 out of 4. He (currently) wants to major in aerospace engineering, and those schools cover it.

The QOTD:

Where he hoped to go: University of Florida

He and his sister were raised as Gators, and that was always set as the “target”. Shoot to be in the top 25% of UF"s admitted class, and then review our options. He’s been to Gainesville many times, and is comfortable with the school.

Where we hoped he would go: University of Florida

We have Florida Pre-paid, which covers tuition. Add Bright Futures, and the Florida publics we knew would be affordable. UF’s the best (of course!), so that was the goal. I wanted him to include other schools in his search, like Georgia Tech, but the wife (and DD14) really, really wanted UF. It’s affordable, has a strong aerospace program, and is close enough (90 min drive) that we can see him on weekends, but he still has the sense of being “away” from home. We also like the thought of his big sister being in town for a year or two, before she graduates.

Where it looked like he was going through much of the process: University of Florida, Georgia Tech or UCF

He was accepted to UCF in October, UF in February and GT in March. UCF also offered him a $12K a year scholarship which was NOT expected. That, plus the state Bright Futures scholarship ($3K a year, but the legislature is about to increase it to about $6K “full tuition” +$600 for books), plus Florida Pre-paid, made us give it serious thought. Attend a decent aerospace engineering program, in Orlando, and actually have a $2K to $4K, extra after paying full COA?

Georgia Tech’s aerospace program is only ranked 2nd to MIT"s, and it’s still within a reasonable distance (5 1/2 hour drive). It was worth a shot, and maybe the financials could be reasonable? Then again, when we exited our hotel and started to walk over to the Aerospace building for a meeting with the undergraduate advisor, a GT student, in a passing car, yelled out “DON"T COME HEREeeee…!” DS17 like the program, but not the urban campus (as compare to a true college town like Gainesville).

While DS17 got into UF, almost all of his friends were denied. UF became even more selective this year (especially with in-state students). He really didn’t feel like celebrating. After several weeks he’s moved on, he’s friends are attending other great schools, and he’s back to being excited about college.

Where he decided he is going: University of Florida

Surprise! We really can’t justify paying substantially more for GT, a school he’s not that excited about, and I’m pretending the UCF offer doesn’t exist (I sleep better at night that way…).

Time to switch my picture to Albert!

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Welcome @bamamom2021! Please don’t retreat back to lurker status. I have learned so much from posters here. This is my first (and only) experience with this process. I did a ton of research, kept all of my information on excels and still I learned more from this thread than I would have doing this alone so I hope you will stay and remain a delurker.

You should be thrilled and proud! Congrats!! I don’t think the ‘Not Bama’ post was intended to be offensive; I think it was tongue in cheek as at one point it seemed everyone on this thread had a child visiting/ applying to Alabama.

Congrats to everyone who has decisions at their house. For those who don’t have decisions yet, just hang in there one more month. :slight_smile: It’s been so exciting to see the decisions come in and now final decisions being made.

New thing I learned: Orientation week is now in June. When did orientation week move from late August to June? I had no idea!

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@Gator88NE Every time I read another of your posts I realize how blessed my son is to have UF Aerospace Engineering as an option. Right now, unfortunately, money is speaking loudly and Virginia Tech is leading the pack. UF would cost about $38k a year with what little FA he got. VT will cost $21k this year and $27k each year for the next 3.

That’s a substantial savings for us and especially important with two kiddies following.

CONGRATULATIONS to your S! I know you are proud and we are proud of him too. Loved following your story and I really appreciate all of your help with Florida schools.

If I happen to win the lottery before May 1, you might see us at Florida Days.

Best of luck in the home stretch!!!

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@Gator88NE Enjoyed your story. I grew up in a household where both parents went to the same school and I followed there too. So I can relate.

@STEM2017 Good luck with the lottery as a college funding method. For that price, it seems VT is hard to beat compared to most places in the country for engineering given its rankings and national reputation.

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Welcome @bamamom2021 and @HelpingMyKid! Please stay around.

@bamamom2021 My DS is headed to Bama as well, and I’ve undoubtedly contributed to the Bama talk here. I don’t think that poster meant anything rude, but it’s really hard to convey tone on these boards. We probably wouldn’t have looked at Bama twice (my S is not a football fan and would’ve written it off for the football program alone) if we hadn’t found CC and read such wonderful things here. You’re in good company here. But there are a lot of great colleges in the country and to each his/her own. You and I know how fabulous it is for our children, and that’s what’s important. I hope you post more.

Congratulations @Gator88NE and everyone else who’s made a decision!

@STEM2017 I’ve loved following your son’s journey as well and your continued good spirits and support for everyone. If he ends up at Virginia Tech, that’s a pretty darn good result. Nothing to regret there.

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@Dolemite - D wants to study International Relations.

@CA94309 Thank you very very much for pointing me in the direction of the blog and the W article. Truly appreciate it. I would have never found it and it is super useful.

@Gator88NE Congrats on continuing the Gator tradition!

@bamamom2021 and @jeepgirl -Congrats on committing to Alabama. I have loved reading all the posts and learning about Alabama. I’ve been selling it hard to my niece. She even sent her ACT scores to Bama when she took the ACT last month.

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@Testingearly well she has great choices for that. I don’t think she can go wrong with any of them. What are your visit plans? My D will probably go to Columbia for the diversity weekend.

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@Dolemite - D is thinking of visiting Columbia 4/9 - 4/10, Penn 4/12 - 4/13, Yale 4/24 to 4/26 and Stanford on the 27th to the 29th. I think attending Perspective on Diversity results in too many consecutive events. D is feeling overwhelmed right now so she hasn’t RSVPed for anything yet. How many accepted student events does your daughter plan to attend in total? Is she worried about missing school?

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She is planning to go to Princeton and Columbia. She’ll miss 2 days I think. She has a final @ Penn and that’s the only thing she can’t miss.

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S17 attended a local Meet n Greet for UChicago admitted students and families this afternoon in NE Ohio; admissions rep stated that the admissions rate for this year will hover around 8% with significantly increased yield due to introduction of ED1/ED2…around 50 kids admitted from the state (OH)…average ACT around 34.
It was very fun to see the students warm to each other over the 2 hour event; by midway the kids had all circled up to share/interact, to the complete exclusion of parents who were left to quietly chat around the nibbles…as it should be I suppose. Son very happy and so are his parents :x

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Wow, away for a day and 15 pages to catch up on! Congratulations to all - such good news all around! I am amazed by the many accomplishments represented here.

@socalmom007 FWIW, I would find it difficult to justify giving up Cal Poly SLO for Seton Hall or Manhattan College, just saying. I hope that your daughter and her boyfriend decide to stay in CA.

D21 is also deciding where to attend HS next year. So there’s lots of indecision to be had around here.

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@mamaedefamilia I agree, but it was never her plan to go to school in California, New York was always her preference. When we started this process we told her she could go if she had enough scholarship money to bring it down to in state costs. She applied to NYU, Fordham, Manhattan College, Seton Hall, Sarah Lawrence, and Ithaca College. She was not accepted at NYU or Fordham, Sarah Lawrence accepted her, but not with enough merit. That leaves her with Ithaca, Manhattan, and Seton Hall with ample merit if she wants to be near New York. Believe me, our preference is Cal Poly, but I do recognize applying there was a parent pick, and not what she would have chosen. We’re visiting for accepted student days this week and her dad is incentivizing her with a newer car and more spending money as it’s our most economical and our preferred option. In the end though, it has to be her choice. I do think there’s something to be said for a small private school as opposed to a big state school. Everything I’ve read about Manhattan college has been favorable. We’ll see where we’re headed, obviously we would much prefer California.

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Nobody posted for more than 12 hours!!! I guess everyone is exhausted after all these craziness. Shhhhh. I will be quiet. Sleep in!! I-)

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@HiToWaMom It’s been exactly 4 years since you made ** POST #1 ** in this thread. How time flies.

4 years, in the blink of an eye.

4 years, just like that.

I’m not crying, I’m chopping onions for Sunday gravy.

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@STEM2017 — wow—four years. And embarrassed to admit that I was there within a few pages. Need to find a new hobby I suppose…

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Congrats to all those who figured things out & made a decision. My DS still pondering - ranges from WPI/RPi to Carnegie Mellon, USC & GTech -wants to do EE and some CS - prefers practical and hands on but with good depth & breadth of opportunities - and hopefully be able to be in orchestra & enjoy a great Makerspace… DH & I are thinking it might come down to RPI (we are in NY) and GTech but we’ll take him back for visits to others as he wishes! Accepted also to some other great schools but he is less focused on those. Good thing there is a whole week off school in April!

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OK, I’m going to claim 2025 because that’s when my younger D will be graduating from college. I missed the other graduation pages as well as my birthday page, my marriage page, etc.

I am at a discreet distance in a coffee shop as my D21 talks with a HS senior from a school that she is contemplating attending. I perceive, could it be, a semblance of calm and a rising sense of excitement? This has been nearly as dramatic as D17’s college process.

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So D17 got a letter yesterday confirming that Muhlenberg got her commitment card and enrollment deposit, so she and I started working on declining admission offers from other colleges.

So, my new higher-ed pet peeve? Colleges that make it basically impossible to decline. Bonus penalty points to those colleges (hi, Kansas!) that do so while simultaneously sending you a bill for the enrollment deposit. [-(

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I’ve given up. If they don’t hear from us, they should assume she’s not going.

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yeah, how does one decline. . we dont want to burn bridges with some of these schools in case something doesnt work out at choosen school and transfer is needed in future. Figure they can go back and see what D was really interested in choice 2/3 . I wanted her to write a letter to admissions to say that she is declining but it was a hard choice. i would assume thats what one would do.