DD14 was in the middle of the bus - she did everything she needed to do to get into the college of her choice, but I did a LOT of prodding.
DS17 is much easier - he is driving the bus, and I’m providing the map. The problem is that he’s driving it toward a single college destination, and I’m encouraging alternative routes.
Dd took the cal CLEP today. She is thrilled bc she did great. Schools that give credit for it typically require a 50 out of 80. She scored in the 70s. Even for schools that don’t give credit, as a homeschooler it is an outside validation of her coursework.
DS17 is not on the bus he is wandering around the parking lot. DS19 is driving his bus and letting me know where he is going.
The only good thing I can say is that DS13 was never on the bus either. I drove all around and he took a taxi in the end.
My DD went to visit a college up north this past weekend and being from Florida she was beyond freezing. She decided right then that she couldn’t handle a winter that’s 2 degrees so she crossed it off her list. She has already narrowed down her list to 6 schools. We are looking at a couple more in March so hopefully she can get a better idea, esp since she mentioned she wants to do early decision to increase her chances of acceptance.
So excited to say I think my daughter has climbed into the driver’s seat! Got the ACT under her belt, applied for a research job this summer, and has narrowed down a major from something STEM to a few distinctly similar majors that all blend together. Feeling much better now!
@greeny8 That’s funny. My daughter, who as you may recall doesn’t want to wear pants at college, looked at Case Western this weekend, and it was a tad chilly. She really liked it though. I was a little surprised, since I think it’s a pretty good fit for her. I didn’t tell her that, though, or it would be off the list. 
Six schools on the list! Wow, I can only dream of that. We’ll probably have double that.
We looked at another nearby school, which did get removed from the list. She said she had fun, so I think she’s moving up a few rows towards the front of that bus.
@dcplanner – I suppose it wouldn’t be of any use to tell her that this weekend’s temps were record-breaking?
I don’t disagree with her though, especially as I am sitting here with frozen pipes!
@2muchquan I have another DD16 who has applied to 10 schools (still waiting on 8!) and she was quite indecisive on where she wanted to apply. So it appears my competitive D17 wants to be different and appear more focused than her sister. Works for me!
@greeny8 We are after merit aid, so that’s the reason for the large-ish number of schools. Maybe if I can get her to go after just the guaranteed stuff we could get the number down. Would be nice!
We are after merit aid too so will be applying to a lot of schools. My daughter is very laid back and so long as they have a decent football team, an honors program, her major (almost everywhere), and she can wear sweats end even PJ’s and not feel out of place (no preppy schools), she will be happy. So, she’s pretty much leaving the list to me though at some point I will force her to make some decisions. Going on a college road trip for spring break. I need to plan that out this week.
@itsgettingreal17 We have the same daughter.
Our S17 is the younger brother of an S16, and had a chance to visit several schools already, but none that are really in his wheelhouse. (Much lower GPA, but a lot more EC’s and totally different personality- not laid back.) So he “thinks” he’s driving the bus, but at this rate, too busy w/ all his ECs to even study for the ACT until spring, we ain’t going anywhere…
Breathing a HUGE sigh of relief. My DS has terrific grades and a challenging curriculum, but traditionally has not done well on standardized tests. He took the ACT for the first time last month, and I’ve been biting my nails with dread. However, with scores just in I am happy to say that he is on solid ground. Still waiting for the essay score, but his composite is very good, particularly for his first time out. Phew, did I mention how relieved I am!!!
Congrats @jmek15 My daughter got her goal score on the ACT for the schools she wants so we are so happy. Hoping the essay is solid so she can be done except for SAT2s.
My son took the Feb. ACT, but his scores aren’t available yet. Hoping for good scores for all the kids who are waiting, and congrats to those who got their goal score!
@jmek15 @dcplanner congrats on good ACT scores! @Ynotgo fingers crossed for the desired score. My DD will take it in April and hopefully she will get her score too
There doesn’t appear to be a 3.0-3.3 thread for the class of 2017 yet so I guess I will put this here.
My junior son has a unweighted 3.4 and currently a 24 on the ACT, higher if the school super scores but only one on his list right now does. Some AP and Honors but not all, but a fairly solid mix. Interested in Environmental Engineering / Environmental Science. We’d like to tour a couple of places over spring break to spread things out so are trying to get an initial list going and I’d love input! He doesn’t want to stray too far from home (PNW) but doesn’t want to be at home (so UW Bothell is out as far as he is concerned). Obviously we are not looking at top tier schools for the most part but something solid, good value and that meets his requirements.
He would like a college town, wants the outdoors and not too far from a metro area but not necessarily right in a bigger city. Super anti Southern California and is not crazy about considering Northern CA but Humboldt seems like a decent enough fit to make him look at. Is not crazy about going to a huge state school, is very drawn to the liberal arts feel (big music/theater kid). So far zero interest in NM or AZ. Money is a concern as he won’t qualify for any aid so certainly state and western exchange are good but a private where there was a chance at some money would be worth considering. Right now on the list to consider (we think) are: UW, Western WA, Oregon State, Humboldt State, Montana State, Montana Tech, Colorado State, Portland State and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. What are we missing that he should maybe take a peek at? We limited it to either programs in his specific area of interest (BS Environmental Science or BS Environmental Engineering, or Civil Engineering programs that had an Environmental Emphasis available. UW is a stretch to be sure. We are hoping to bump up a bit on the ACT, his practice tests have been quite a bit higher (26-28). He’ll give it one more shot in June but that is probably all I will get out of him, he’s definitely driving that one. At present do not plan to take the SAT.
Thanks for any input and ideas!
How about University Nevada Reno @eandesmom ? They have a strong engineering and environmental engineering program and they are on the WUE. They have one of the only earthquake shake tables for engineering tests available (D15 had fun at a summer camp there). Plus the Desert Research Institute in nearby and might be able to provide environmentally focused internships. Small city, lots of outdoor stuff, ~20K students, so big but not huge, and some arts to keep the cultural stuff going.
That’s an very interesting suggestion @mtrosemom. I’m not sure how he’d feel about Reno but if nothing else, he could use the in laws time share at Heavenly every Feb. I have not looked at that one. Thanks! I just want to expand the conversation a bit. I hadn’t really considered Nevada as he was so anti AZ and ambivalent about NM.
@eandesmom not sure of environmental concentration, but Boise State has Civil Engineering. I’ve heard a lot of good things about them.