^^ I enjoyed Bruni’s book and articles as well.
Is anyone else applying to Willamette? We were trying to figure out if they do interviews (either on or off campus) but I could not find any info on it on their website.
@chippedtoof my D is. My spreadsheet says no on the interview, but it could be because, like you, I found no evidence to suggest one anywhere on their website. I just did a search on their site for the word “interview” and everything that came up was from career services. However when I looked at their CDS interview is marked as “important” so :-?? I guess I would say get in touch with your admissions rep about it. Sorry I guess I’m no help at all!
I’m not planning to have my D interview anywhere regardless. She gets anxious at the thought of talking to college reps so I don’t think it’s to her advantage. She’ll have to stand on the other parts of her app.
Thank you @1822mom that is helpful 
That does make me go hm that they list interviews as important on the CDS… my search yielded the same as yours. Alrighty, it’s time to write some correspondence.
Btw, did you tour? The campus looks good on the website, and I get good vibes reading about the school and talking to the AO at the college fairs. S’s fall schedule is getting too cramped and since they don’t do tours on the weekends, we’re not sure we can do it before the app goes in.
I did not, but D & H visited this past February. They had a really great visit. Loved the campus, vibe, students/staff were friendly, food was good, they spent pretty much a full day there. They took the tour, and aside from that just wandered on their own to get a feel. Everything they saw was very positive. It’s been the gold-standard for pretty much every visit they have been on since (though D doesn’t admit that out loud, she refuses to play favorites at this point). My H makes a habit on these trips of poking all around (much to D’s eternal embarrassment!) but they were very often met with friendly faces who came out to offer to talk to them or show them around. Willamette was a real gem. I don’t know where it ranks for D, but it’s high on our list for her! :x
Thank you again @1822mom! My S hasn’t met a school yet that he hasn’t liked, and Willamette sounds like another good one. Even if we can’t visit, it sounds like we should keep it on our list.
Anyone have applications in yet? Dd has submitted three so far. She has a lot of affection for all three schools, so we may be done, at least for now. I’m super-jittery about one because I think it would be a really good experience for her in so many ways: University of New Mexico. See? We finally found urban and warm! But it’s also the diversity, both ethnic and socio-economic. I don’t know, it really clicked for daughter, after spending weeks debating over the other two. I think it’s #1 for her. We should get an answer on all three by next month.
My husband is feeling hesitant to send her so far. We probably won’t be able to visit and that bugs him. But he – and his mom – would also like her to avoid the US. Dd is actually rebelling against this and was laughing that one of her top choices is Wyoming! Can’t get much more of an American experience than that!
@Kardinalschnitt Congratulations on getting the apps in!!! I’m excited for you, but it must be hard to think of her so far away.
D decided to apply to an academy. She is very busy these day and any available time goes into that process.
The list I am making has changed a lot because I feel good about her instate financial safeties. I’d like to see her get an app into TCNJ soon. And then another into Rowan or Stockton. After that I’ll be able to breathe more freely. Naviance puts her in a safe admit space for all.
There are some schools I wanted to keep in the list just for competitive merit but I’m almost ready to drop them because of the time crunch and because I’m not convinced they are better academically.
Instead, I think she should choose a couple of financial reaches and see how financial aid shakes out. I might always regret it if she doesn’t try to find a college that might be a really good academic fit.
It’s really stressful for H and I to see how busy she is. But she seems fine. I was hung ho for community orchestra to start next month but now I’m having second thoughts with everything else going on. I just want to tell her not to volunteer for any more work. Being an older, experienced person in her activities and in leadership, she’s the one everyone goes to.
Is anyone else waiting for SAT scores Monday?
@Kardinalschnitt we finallly made some headway today.
She got 2 apps in.
The Common app is awaiting the final editing of her essay. She has one I LOVE, but she’s not positive it’s her favorite. Her English teacher is assigning them one at a time, and giving good feedback, so we’ll wait till she has his opinion on my favorite. The rest of the app is complete. That’s 5 schools.
She’s using the SUNY app for a few schools that don’t take the Common App. (Community colleges upstate that have dorms are her safeties .) There’s a local college fair tomorrow that will host the 3 schools she’s using that app for. But she’s working late tonight and tomorrow night; we’ll see whether she’s up for going tomorrow. (it’s seriously about 5 minutes from here.) If not, then I think I’ll just bite the bullet and cough up the $150 in app fees; she can see what she thinks later in the year.
And that will cover it.
On a related topic, anyone else from NY concerned about the effect that the Excelsior Scholarship will have on SUNY chances for non-top-students? My feeling is that they’ll see a lot more apps than in previous years. I want my daughter to get those apps in SOON. Otherwise rolling admissions could really work against her.
It’s silly, of course. The Excelsior scholarship will only pay tuition-- so we’re talking $8000 or so a year. But I’m not the only one at school who thinks it’s going to really boost SUNY (and CUNY) applications.
@Kardinalschnitt My DD2018 has all of her applications submitted. She is done. I am semi-reluctant/embarrassed to admit that she applied to 17 schools. Way more than the 8-10 we had originally targeted. I am expecting a lot of rejections, which is why I think she over shot the target.
It is a relief when they get them in right? Wyoming, what a wonderful place! I understand about the far schools…DD2018’s top choice (right now) is U of Washington-Seattle and we are n Houston. When push comes to shove I don’t know that she will make the leap. Her Dad is hoping that she will not be accepted (and This is one of her reach schools) so we don’t have to face that choice.
We are waiting on ACT score due out Tues. Fingers crossed for your D @MACmiracle hope her scores are available on Monday and she gets a result she is looking for!
@bjkmom I think the NY state college standards are bound to go up as more students apply because of the excelsior scholarship. I don’t think it will happen overnight though, so I’m not too worried for 2018. Best of luck to your daughter, I’ve got to get my son moving…
My daughter attends Wyoming. Loves it.
@twoinanddone I’m fairly certain you and I chatted about Wyoming. She really loves it. I like the physiology major with neuro minor. But I’m super-concerned about the weather affecting her mental health. We’ll be watching the game today if we can.
Congrats to everyone on apps submitted!
Posting as I didn’t see another spot for GPA’s. My son has a 4.0 and surprised us with a 35 ACT. We didn’t know how he would test as he has LD’s in reading and writing and also has ADD. He was 3-4 years behind at the end of grade school. With tutoring, small school, and hard work he even managed to get a 12 on the writing portion of the ACT. Taking all AP’s. Has some EC’s, quite of bit of volunteer hours but nothing spectacular. Honestly, I don’t get how kids can keep up with these EC’s that are posted. My son had a normal life, all I can say. Looking for merit scholarships. Planning to major in engineering, which we have a very good school but doesn’t have a robust liberal arts prog am which is interested continuing literature, history and philosophy classes. Last years income most likely qualify for need but then this year will not. Our income depends on commissions which are unpredictable year to year.
I talked with an rep from SUNY Geneseo and he did not anticipate much of a change. It will be interesting to see.
I re-ran some NPCs yesterday since I added some reaches, so I took a few possibilities out of consideration. Simplify, simplify. It’s good. And better than a headache later.
A couple NPCs are down for updating. One had a good result last time so I hope it’s good when it comes back up. And maybe the other one will be better. Lol.
@ambkeegan You are very welcome to hang out here. My D also has a 4.0 but she doesn’t have highest rigor or super high SAT scores.
There is another thread for (plain ol’) parent of 2018 kids. Many there have kids with stats like your son so you might get good advice there.
Do you have a plan in place for the LDs and ADD for college? Do you expect he’ll need help? My oldest had accommodations in college and I expect one of my younger ones will need some kind of help. H was not in support of a plan for high school, so right now I’m watching to see how she is able to manage.
It’s very, very cold some of the time in Laramie. It’s windy a lot of the time. Usually that doesn’t bother the students at all. I’ve seen kids on bikes when it is 15 degrees. I’ve seen kids in shorts and a hoodie walking back from the gym to the dorms when it is freezing. My daughter was just down for the weekend and took back her warm boots as it could snow any day now.
I’ll get FB posts from CU cancelling class because it is snowing and cold, and immediately get one from Wyoming that says “It’s cold out there. Bundle up!” They do not cancel classes but are understanding if the highway is closed and people can’t get back to school.
@twoinanddone Daughter spent her childhood in places where it is regularly -20° F. Falling on ice is nothing new to her. She likes real winters – as opposed to English winters, for example. That said, she is very, very thin so gets cold quickly/is always cold, basically. Can you verify that the skies remain blue and that the weather can shift very quickly (from -20 to 70, for example? I was born in MT and am told that the day I was born there was a blizzard and the next day my mom was at the pool (she is so unlike me!).). Are the days long? Or short? It’s mainly darkness and overcast skies that would plunge her into despair.