My nieces are all tiny and buy those items at Loft.
@holychild Thank you! I did look at Loft previously, but I think whatās happening is pants are just tough to find for her in the style, size and length that she wants. I gave up, and am getting her a cute skirt from Loft, instead. We are going to have to find pants another time.
@amsunshine definitely H&M. They changed dress code at my D20ās school this year and we got all her blazers there. If you bring in clothes to donate they will give you 15% off.
@amsunshine DD is also small. We found the brand Philosophy at Nordstrom Rack and it fit well.
Thank you! I just looked and found a cute little top for her from Philosophy at Nordstrom Rack! 
^Great!
And to think we just discussed the draft on here recently. Yikes.
Another question for you class of 2020 parents: Iām guessing this might vary from school to school, but is it appropriate to let schools know of updated information/awards in addition to 2nd semester grades prior to the time acceptances/merit aid awards are sent out? For example, valedictorian/salutatorian status? Being voted captain of a sport team? NMF status even if the school doesnāt give NMF awards, etc? Or would that seem over the top to send that information?
My daughter received an award after she submitted her ED app and she emailed the AO with the information. He thanked her and asked her to be sure and pass on any other updates. I wouldnāt annoy them, but if itās information that would have been included in the original application if you had the information then, I would send an update.
@cshell2 @ShrimpBurrito @MBNC1755 Thanks for the tips! I will say I laughed at the cornhole suggestions. Yup, very NC.? I was just curious if anyone does anything out the ordinary of a regular party but doesnt seem so. I wish I could have it at my house, but there is absolutely no parking for the amount of people he is thinking of inviting, so we will most likely rent out a Pavillion at a Park.
Question regarding FAFSA and AID. Is FAFSA purely financial loans at OOS Public schools when merit is not awarded? Back when D18 went through the Application process we did not do FAFSA. She received a full-tuition scholarship at OSU early on and she called it a day. Her backup at the time was our affordable Flagship which she was accepted as well. By the beginning of January she was already committed to her school and informed the other schools she was not going to attend. I never saw anything from all those other schools.
D20 finally received her merit award from UDel. $17K/yr, which was slightly more than anticipated, which is always nice. I think this will keep it clearly in the running. All admissions (9/9) and merit (did not submit FAFSA anywhere) are in now, just waiting for one nursing program acceptance (waiting for freaking ever!) and sheāll make a decision.
@bigmacbeth, thatās so exciting. I donāt think my daughter will hear much for several more months. But at least her work is done! Iām still in financial aid purgatory. I just spent three solid hours on it, though, and made some great progress.
@collegeisago , public schools may use FAFSA to determine eligibility for need-based grants and scholarships, not just loans. Some top schools, such as UNC, and UVA, meet full need as well, although this may include loans.
We also ran across a college or two that requires FAFSA even for merit-based awards, although this may be unique to private colleges.
@amsunshine, I donāt think it can hurt to send one follow-up with some updated information. It shows demonstrated interest if nothing else, and itās hard to see how it would be a negative unless you emailed regularly!
I THINK my s20 has set up an interview with a school. Heās not too communicative about these things. Any hints I could pass on to him about interviews? heās not at all a smooth, talkative person. . . . Iād like to give him some ideas on how to be prepared and what to expect . . . so Iād love to hear any thoughts on this. Thanks!
@bgbg4us - I would advise he bring a resume. If nothing else, he will have in hand something to talk about. He should also try to ask specific questions about school that demonstrate he has done considerable research about that school. Discourage him from asking questions that can easily be answered by a cursory website search. He doesnāt need to be talkative, per se, but engaged and animated talking about areas of passion. Good luck to him!
@bgbg4us Have him check the subreddit r/ApplyingtoCollege. Several interviewers have posted the list of questions they ask and tips. Also, students reporting on their interview post-mortems.
Iām sure youāve already told him the single most important tip for any interview: Come with your own questions. If heās not much of a talker, he will feel much more comfortable asking rather than answering questions.
While I think itās a good idea for HS seniors to create a resume, be prepared that some interviewers wonāt be able to keep a copy as they have been instructed by the university to not gather any additional documents from the interviewees. This was a surprise to me last fall but makes sense since they canāt incorporate the resume into the applicants admissions file.
Sonās alumni interviewer explicitly told him (over email) not to bring anything. He said it in a gentle & generic way but the advice is not to bring any prepared material - with a reason that it can distract the ācasualā conversation that he expect it to be.
But I guess it depends on the college/interviewer - I would say take one but ask the interviewer if its ok to give a copy to him/her.
Agree. Definitely depends on the college. D20 always had one on hand, just in case, and asked if they wanted a copy. Two interviewers actually asked her if she had one before she had a chance to offer, but all of the others were flexible and didnāt seem to care one way or the other. The two that asked for it were alum interviews, and they used the resume to guide some of their questions. Her other interviews were all on campus so maybe their level of preparation was different. In any case, it doesnāt hurt to have one with you, but it would be awkward if they asked for it and he didnāt have it.
My husband asked me once, and have seen others here ask, why I have access for my DS20ās portal. This sums it up for me. He got his portal for GWU yesterday, I asked if he checked everything and he said yes, it all looked fine. I just checked it and it said he was not interested/wouldnāt need financial aid. He didnāt even notice! Heās a smart kid but completely overlooked the fact that it said this. GWU is one of his top schools but he def will need some aid to attend.
So my 2 cents is it helps to just check them over quickly. I donāt look to see if he is admitted, that is for him to find first. But this could have (potentially) been a huge bummer