@Itisatruth, some of the schools I recall you mentioning as of interest will be day trips for us or not options for S2 because, well, he’s not qualified in one key way. 
But there may be overlaps anyway!
@HarrietMWelsch – I see that you were trying to round up similar interest for a “secret handshake” back in 2008! I admire your persistence and enthusiasm. Yes, our list is heavy on the women’s colleges, historically women’s colleges, and formerly women’s colleges.
My D20 will be visiting schools during break as well. I’ve just started working with her on a candidate list, which we’ll finalize once mid-terms are done. It will probably be some schools between NYC and DC, so we can combine it with a visit to my D17 at college in Philly. I’m also waiting for mid-terms so I can get my D20 to also take a short break from AP Bio workload to do test prep for the ACT 
@fencingmom I just read backwards a bit and I see we overlap here as well as the fencing recruiting thread! My D17 is a collegiate fencer.
@Itisatruth and @HarrietMWelsch re: secret handshakes and secret pins – I laughed out loud! If I didn’t think it would embarrass my D20 to no end I’d offer to wear a red carnation on my lapel on every college tour.
@stencils, I’ll be on the lookout for red carnations anyway.
@Itisatruth, actually I’m still in touch with some of those good people - though only a couple of the various Ds and Ss involved have any clue.
@hgtvaddict We have officially toured UofAriz once, and visited again this past winter break just to walk around and look at the new honors dorm…which is far from finished. Personally, with the updates to the honors college, I think it’s a really good option, given the merit. Unfortunately, for us, there is not a direct admit nursing progam. However, if she changes majors between now and next year, it will get an application (and may get one anyway as a safety, although D20’s list is almost entirely made up of safeties). Also, my niece attended UofA and loved it. They have a beautiful campus, and a stellar rec center, which is atop the list of criteria for D20.
Wow I can completely understand the PSAT/NMSC disappointment. This would have been of limited solace to me back when it was DS18’s turn, but I can echo what others have said. After being so focused and obsessed with being an NMF and the merit associated, ultimately the way things ended up DS accepted a different (and better) scholarship that isn’t tied to being NMF at all. So all that waiting and anticipation that I thought was going to determine everything about his choice turned out not to really be a part of the decision at all. I completely get it though. I would have been sick.
@bigmacbeth thanks! Your insight is very helpful!
Hello Class of 2020! New parent to CC just joined today looking for camaraderie as we go forward in the college process. I am catching up on the posts. Quick question what does DD DS stand for? I assume one is daughter and one is son but what is the other D?
@Shmoo24 Welcome! DD and DS are “Darling Daughter” and “Darling Son.”
Welcome, @Schmoo24! Camaraderie is the only way to survive.
The extra D is for Dear, on good days anyway.
Over the life of CC people seem to have shifted a little from numbering of kids (D, S1, S2, e.g.) to identifying the student by h.s. graduation year (S20). I’m a creature of habit so I still refer to mine the old way.
Welcome to the adventure (and the group) @Shmoo24 !
I just got a good chuckle because that never occurred to me! Well I guess I have a DS. We have done our share of school tours. We will be finishing over spring break with only the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley left for the late spring/summer. I’ve showed him big, small and in-between, rural, urban, and suburban waiting for the moment when he would turn to me and say Mom… this is it! It never happened but he never hated anything either. He just wants to go as high as he can. He is a serious student - 1560 SAT, national merit and challenging classes all A’s or A+ BUT we have no legacy or hooks so I am very anxious and realistic about the process. I have a younger son at Tulane on full DHS tuition scholarship. I love Tulane but its not for DS20. If anyone has any Tulane questions I am happy to help and I look forward to chatting with all of you.
Welcome @Shmoo24!
Just wondering if anyone has received calls from colleges yet. DS got one yesterday from the University of the Sciences. He wasn’t home yet though. I asked how they got his information and she said from the College Board. Hmmm. He must’ve checked some box to get marketing material and solicitation. DS is not interested as he believes he’s got a good list, but they’re welcome to try.
For those of you who are planning college visits, are you doing self tours, general info sessions & campus tours, or department tours? Sitting in on any classes?
@SoccaMomma
We always do the structured campus tour, so the kids are on record as having visited campus. You never know how big of an impact that sort of demonstrated interest can have. We do the general info sessions also. They can be monotonous at times, but I like to see what each college chooses to highlight. Shows you what they prioritize.
Thanks for the reminder about sitting in on classes. D18 did that a lot and found it valuable. (She saw vast differences in campus culture through her class visits.) I don’t have that set up for S20 on our spring break tours but I’ll ask him if he’d like to. If nothing else it gives our kids a good idea of what to expect. The less anxiety that first semester the better!
@SoccaMomma I really love college visits (call me crazy) so I tend to try to do everything on offer. Info session + tour as a starting point, lunch with students in the dining hall, class visits, and interviews if possible. If there are specialized tours (housing, athletics, arts), I try to do those too (though usually the kid bails on me and just wanders the campus herself). For example the housing tour at UW-Madison is terrific! And we had great lunches with students at Macalester and at Grinnell last summer.
Most schools that do on-campus interviews don’t start interviewing until “spring” (variously defined) of junior year, but that means that your kid may be able to do some interviews during a spring break trip this year.
Equally important: I try to roll us into town early before a morning info session and check out the cafe scene (v important to both D17 and D20!). It’s nice to sit and enjoy a coffee and get a feel for the town or neighborhood where the college is, and then have a leisurely walk over to the admissions office. Seems to calm the kid down a bit, too (depending on caffeine content of cafe beverage!). Similarly, if we don’t eat lunch on campus, we try to wander back into town or into the nearby neighborhood to check out shops, grab a bite. It’s a nice way to eavesdrop and people watch the college population.
My D20 probably won’t be up for doing this, but D17 also contacted the chair of the department she was most interested in (Classics), and tried to schedule a brief chat with the chair or another faculty member if possible. These were helpful both to get an idea of the program and of course to demonstrate interest. Most faculty told her point blank that they had no say in admissions but several also told her that they would let admission know that they talked. She didn’t start doing this until June of junior year, usually combined with an interview visit.
@Itisatruth Me too! I like visiting different cities and hearing about the area and school history. I like the student stories, architecture, and visiting the dining halls or local eateries. If we can get in a student performance, that’s even better. Housing tours are good for the prospective student, but not necessarily for me. I think we can get a good handle on the vibe by going to different areas and not just the structured tours. Haven’t tried class visits yet but may save that for accepted students days.
Checking in on 2020 scene. Starting to schedule tours for last kid (boo hoo no more tours after this…a little bummed). Trying to search more for southern schools as we are planning to relocate to either NC SC or Atlanta in the next couple years. Any suggestions please lmk! Problem is we’re lucky if D20 breaks 1300 SAT score so the well known schools are prob out for this kid. Wants medium size and studying either psychology or communications. No hooks, consistent community service but nothing spectacular. Already toured next to S19 for Elon, furman, Clemson, Emory (for S19). Was thinking Berry college in Atlanta but a little small. Wake Forest would be perfect for her in school feel but definitely cannot do the academics.
HI all,
Excited to be Joining the group! One ds20, so this is our first time with all this. We have a tour planned for spring break- heading to Illinois, Notre Dame, U Wisconsin, U Michigan and Ohio. I’m sure my head will be spinning by the end of it.
Welcome, @NYC2018nyc! Are you, maybe, from NYC?