@RightCoaster Totally agree, especially if you want it as a back up just in case!
SWAG I bought D the sweatshirt, pencils and mug to give her when she opened her decision! She was thrilled. Since then we bought a couple Uncle mugs for their Bdays. No FREE swag yet. Maybe at admitted students day!!!
Promposals Not in our district or at least not with D or any of her friends. they sound just awful! LOL.
Prom - Overnight with Friends Still deciding if I should allow this. Leaning toward yes. Thanks @paveyourpath for your thoughts! D is just shy of 18, so thatās why Iām floundering. But really, sheās very mature.
FB Parent Pages Unfortunately, I havenāt found a parents page yet for Dās school. There is an admitted students page that is quite active so I encouraged her to join since she was looking for ways to connect with some people in advance.
Parent Weekend No parent weekend, but there is a parent dinner reception the night after check-in day, so Iām looking forward to attending that!
Hypothetical:
Should it be SWAG or SWAB?
I was taught that SWAG was an acronym for Stuff We All Get, mainly from trade shows.
Now, since we are the ones using plastic, is it really Stuff We All Buy?
D17 forgot to pick up a free t-shirt during the interview weekend for the college sheās chosen. Not that Iām bitter.
I use SWABs to clean my ears.
GUILT: So is the consensus that we just let offers that we donāt want expire on May 1? Iām trying to figure out the right thing to do.
I have a feeling that weāll be getting second chances on May 2.
I actually tried to decline a few offers - and couldnāt figure out how. So I donāt think the schools (at least those) really care very much.
JOTD:
Why was the scarecrow promoted?
Because he was outstanding in his field.
@STEM2017 I think you shouldnāt feel guilty if youāre not ready to hit the decline button.
@thshadow :))
I donāt know if anyone has discussed this. My daughter is going to visit WashU tomorrow. What gift does she need to bring for the host student? I know the student is volunteering to host the visitors. Any suggestion will be appreciated.
^^I would google the campus and see what quick service restaurants or bookstores are on/near campus and get the host student a gift card for it inside of a thank you note.
for all of you in S Cal, I have been here all week on a business trip in Fullerton. Every day I have walked around the cal state campus here. The arboretum is very pretty. Today I drove by UCI. My new worker took me to Fashion Island. Not like I can afford anything. I promised D something from Brandy Melville. Does that count as SWAB?
Getting ready for our admitted students day in two weeks. DC here we come.
@MotherOfDragons Thank you for your advice. I donāt know if my D will have time to go shopping and buy a gift card during the campus visit. Itās WashU. Just two nights. I just bought a box of chocolate.
@pigmom ā I know my son has appreciated any food that prospective students bring when they arrive to sleep on his floor! I suspect that many show up empty-handed, especially after traveling a great distance so anything you do will be appreciated.
The only other comment I will pass along, and this surely varies by school, but the school may not provide vouchers for the dining hall, so if your D eats with the host, the host may have used his allotted guest swipes, so cash or CC may be needed for dinner and/or breakfast.
@moonpie Welcome back! My DS is also majoring in Film. I know absolutely nothing about his major and Iām trying to learn. Weāll see if it sticks or if he is one of those that changes his mind after trying it out.
@STEM2017, if your son knows he isnāt going to a school and itās easy to decline, then he may as well do it. If he is still deciding, then wait until the deposit is made, housing selected, and the shirt bought, then decline the others. If the school makes it really hard to decline, screw them. Itās their fault.
@pigmom I hadnāt thought of that. But, I will probably suggest to DS that he make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the host. We mailed them to DS in Pringles jars as care packages last summer.
Congrats to all who have made decisions, deposits, etc. I envy you! 
We are still in treading water mode here pending visit days. Funny considering we only live about 2 hours away, but D has never actually been to Stony Brookās campus before. Thatās first up on Sunday. Theyāve got a special day set up for admitted students in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences with a reception by the Women in Science & Engineering group. Stony Brook has become more intriguing to D as sheās learned how highly regarded their program in Applied Mathematics & Statistics is. She was accepted directly into the major (which is competitive, many have to try to get in as a sophomore) and itās by far the cheapest option (by far lol.) Combined with the fact that sheād be able to come home whenever she wanted, sheās gone from dismissing SB as her safety school to giving it a serious look.
Hamilton and Smithās accepted student visit days are still 2 weeks away. D is on Spring Break next week, and we need to pick a day to get up to RPI in there as well (she canāt make their official accepted student visit.) Only after visiting all the major contenders is she going to make a pick. We told her we want it to be an affirmative and well-informed decision, and she agrees to keep an open mind until sheās gotten all her visits in.
Swag? Only the Smith t-shirt (which D hacked the sleeves off, as is her way.) Oh wait, Hamilton sent a car sticker. We will hold off on any purchased goodies until there is a decision!
@STEM2017 S17 has made his deposit - but is only gradually declining other offers in case something implodes.
SWAG - funny note - I had told S17 while WPI was his first choice that if he got in there - I wanted the car magnet with the W and Pi sign for my car. His first choice changed to CSM - yesterday - we got a note from WPI with a window cling of the W and Pi sign. =))
Still in a frozen state here and have not given up any admittances yet - nowhere near that point yet.
Hubby and I are literally dragging off two sullen teenagers to spend the next 5 days driving 1660 miles, about 26.5 hours without any stops included in there. Sounds enticing doesnāt it?
D17 will see UPitt and IU to compare to UD for herself. They offer different sizes, different social scenes, different locations - we only hope she vets each thoroughly and we have a decision that she feels solid enough about to make by May 01.
Taking a spin through Miami (OH) to have dinner with our son. Yeah!
Wonāt let me edit but I would add to aboveā¦
Dās dream job is to work as a Psychiatrist or Psychologist with the criminally insane - she wants to work with brain diseases and disorders but not things like Alzheimer. Pitt has a great Psych program and has access to the arts and culture she craves, IU has the oldest Psych lab in the country and has intense school spirit and sports which she loves, UD seems to offer lots of flexibility with their program, intramural sports seem to be big here which was a pull and has the Main Street area she loved. dad and I liked the Freshman housing set up which is mostly together like their own little community.
Parentsā¦ need your help againā¦ After playing with varous net cost calculators (college board, FAFSA, individual college websites including Harvard and UMich) we made a decision not to file FAFSA due to not qualifying for more than $5K in loans only out of $60- $65K annual tuition. However, recently my DS was admitted to UC Berkeley and started hearing from friends and family (residents of CA), that they, despite of over $150K in family income were given very generous aid mostly in the form of grants and scholarships. So, we put our financials in UC Berkeley net cost calculator, and it looks like we qualify for the entire $65K in parent loans. My question is do you think being OOS for Berkeley will for sure prevent us from qualifying for at least some of these $65K come in grants/scholarships? In other words is their calculator 100% accurate when it break down the amount into loans, grants, scholarships? Or do you think we still should try and file FAFSA because even being OOS we still can qualify for the gift type aid? Thank you in advance!!!