I say it every time the name comes up. I loved everything about Kutztown when I visited with D19.
Figured I’d check back in over here. S21 survived the APUSH test. It’s the only AP class he’s taken. The school year ends for him next week. His small, Catholic school never stopped instruction (we are in central PA) and is doing number/letter grades for 4th quarter as usual.
He is ending the year in great standing but not in a CC way. His GPA is higher than this thread. But he is in honors/AP humanities and “regular” math/science. We are merit chasers though so for the types of schools he’s targeting, we are hopeful that his decision to play to his strengths will pay off. Just as it did for his big brother, my S19, who followed the exact same path at the same high school.
@Mcru1231 and @eb23282 Lots of kids from his high school attend PASSHE schools… Kutztown has been rising in popularity. Several class of 2020 students are heading there next year while only one is off to West Chester. Used to be that West Chester was the popular one. We are two hours from Kutztown so I assume they will not be coming home on weekends. My unscientific answer to the suitcase question.
S21 and I talked about it. He’s interested in writing and art. So Kutztown is now on the financial safety list. But he doesn’t remember the drive-bys we’ve done while coming home from visiting friends and family in New York City and New England. LOL!
Anyway, sending out lots of positive thoughts to all of the 21ers of this thread as this year winds down. Hope they are all hanging in there. 
@InfiniteWaves my S21 also had the APUSH test on Friday and for him, too, it was his only AP class. He had thought about taking AP Latin next year, but he has decided to take Latin IV instead. He’s done the same thing in terms of playing to his strengths - honors for history/social sciences and Latin, APUSH, and then non-honors for Literature, Math, Science.
He is just about done for the schoolyear, also. He just has a few things he still needs to finish up for Gov/Politics. The online COVID schedule has been more draining for him - not getting that in person experience which naturally stimulates him/his mind - I think it’s been harder for him to stay focused and motivated. He’s done so, but not without some almost-derailments along the way the past few months. The ADHD is strong. 
I’m going to get him to start on applications probably next month, after a bit of a break. He’s going to be particularly not excited about doing online interviews with schools (as a homeschooler, he really needs to do the interviews and also really needs to submit an SAT/ACT score). He’s a bit quiet/reluctant to talk about himself, and I think the online format may ramp up the awkward level on the interviews, but it is what it is. I’m hoping that the schools on his list won’t be the super-weed-out type in the interview process. It doesn’t seem that they would be (with the possible exception of the couple on his list that are reachy).
After doing virtual info sessions/tours over the past month or two, I think his list is pretty set. There are 4 or 5 schools we considered that will be left off the list and 9 that will likely get applications. I feel a lot of uncertainty around what things will look like for college next year at this time and even what his senior high school year and my Ds’ sophomore years are going to look like this coming schoolyear, but I’m feeling grateful that he’s a 2021 and not a 2020 - I don’t know what we would be doing about the college decision process at this point.
D21 finally figured out her math situation for next year. The options were Calc 3 dual enrollment at the CC (she took BC this year) or AP stats. She came up with option C of taking stats at the CC over the summer so she won’t have to take any math next year, and her GC approved it. And depending on what she ends up majoring in (she’s firmly undecided right now), she might not need to take math at all in college.
So her current plan for next year is AP chem, English Lit, 3D animation, and a student assist.
And just like that, S21 is a senior. He had a minor issue come up with his senior schedule. He was going to take AP Lit. But if he did, he wouldn’t be able to take other classes that he’s really interested in. So he is gong to do Honors English which freed him up to do a few DE classes that the high school offers through a Catholic university here in PA. He’s actually excited to not have any APs to deal with.
My older son opted to follow this same path at the same high school. And he just finished up his freshman year at Penn State University Park. So it did not hold him back in the college admissions process. This thread for his class was really helpful for me with him as CC had me convinced he would not get into college or something because he had only taken one AP. 
The big issue right now is that S21 has not tested yet. He tried for the March/May/June SAT and nope. He is now registered for the June ACT. And we’re waiting for registration to open for the August SAT. But his momentum there has been lost. Anyone else in this boat too? I’m stressed out waiting to find about it over the next week.
Yes, CC gives a very skewed perspective on admissions that isn’t applicable to the 90-odd percent of kids who aren’t applying to HSS.
Our D is also waiting to hear about registration for the SAT. Several of the schools she is going to apply to have already said they will be test optional, but it looks like test scores will still be needed for merit aid. Plus she is set on beating on her brother’s score 
@Johnny523 was your D able to register for the SAT? We have S21 registered for August and Sept. But he got really frustrated yesterday and basically said he didn’t care about the in-state schools. Which then made me explain about what “merit seeking, you need schools we can actually afford outright on the list” means again. Which made him more annoyed with me. Good times.
But I get it. The constant preparing to test (the June ACT was just cancelled here yesterday) and then not being able to is hard. And our in-state options are the only ones on his list that are not TO.
Although, apparently he has decided that Pitt is too far. This was the first I’ve heard of that. Not sure if it was because of the testing frustration (and knowing that test scores are important there) or because he has truly decided that it’s too far. So, we are now revisiting Temple (and we have never actually visited, great!). Which is TO.
This could actually end up working out. Because if our actual state schools (PASSHE) are the only ones requiring test scores on his list, some of the anxiety will be relieved due to the average range.
My S19 had a major shift in what he wanted right about now in the planning process too. Like brother, like brother. 
2 weeks left of school here and then I have a Senior…crazy how fast time has gone.
D21 over the past week changed what she wants to major in, luckily it’s similar so school list wise not really having to change that too much. She was CS, but now she wants to do Math and then a Masters in Education with the ultimate goal to teach Math, maybe after a couple of years in the corporate world first. She asked if I was mad that she changed, I told I want her happy and better to change now then half way into a degree.
She can’t try and register for the SAT yet, she has one, 2 actually, already, and was not registered for March. Her plan all along was to take it in August, so hopefully when she can register next week she can still get in for August. If not Sept or Oct will be fine. She has a decent super score already, she is just hoping to bring it up a 100 pints of so. She originally didn’t study at all, so she is confidant after some prep this summer she can get it where she wants.
I sat in on a FAFSA workshop yesterday from a local school here, I didn’t realize that the application for 20-21 opened in October 2019, that seems odd to me. Has anybody started theirs yet?
I wonder if I’ve been interpreting this incorrectly all along - I thought the application for 20-21 meant it was for the high school class of 20 who would be attending their first year of college from 20 to 21. Therefore, I thought the application for our kids, who attend their first year in 21-22, would be the 21-22 application which opens in October of 2020. Is that wrong?
I thought so also, that the class of HS Grad 21, first year college 21-22 wouldn’t open until October 2020, but this presentation said otherwise, and she even said it, but I guess it could still be a typo. I will look into it a little further.
@nichols51 I think maybe I misunderstood the slide or didn’t understand what she said, it is correct that the application for our 21 HS Grads is October 2020. Sorry to cause confusion, I knew it didn’t sound right.
@AndreaLynn thanks for the clarification!
@InfiniteWaves we are in the same boat as you WRT to public in-state schools being the only ones that are not TO.
I think S21 has a reasonable list of schools and all are TO thankfully. Some have been TO previous to Covid, like your alma mater, but others just made the decision this year due to all the SAT/ACT cancellations. S21 has not yet taken any of the tests. He has a documented LD and gets 100% extra time for the SAT and a specially administered ACT test. He was all set for both in March to take them in school but obviously never had the chance. At first, I wasn’t too concerned since we had some good options that were all TO and then the rest of his list became TO so that was even better.
However, we feel we need to have an instate financial safety as we don’t know what will happen with merit at the TO schools, especially since he doesn’t have the strongest resume/academic course load. His GPA is good, but his courses are all CP, not AP, etc. Anyway, all the MD publics require test scores, WTE of Salisbury, but you must have a 3.5 to apply TO. And of course, he falls short at a current 3.4. 
His advisor at school is looking into whether they will possibly be administering the SAT/ACT at school in the fall. I hesitate to sign up now to save a slot for him b/c it appears that if I need to cancel, I will only get $10 back. While I’m not so much concerned about the other $42, it’s just the IDEA that College Board is getting that money after the whole debacle with how they have handled AP testing. I have no desire to give them a dime that they don’t deserve.
@InfiniteWaves Thanks for posting about it because she never got a notification that registration is open. She just went to the college board site and was able to register for the Aug 29 test. I’m annoyed at having to pay $52 for it because all juniors take it in school for free in Colorado, but obviously it was cancelled this year. They are planning on having it for the seniors in September, I think, but this way she can get it done a little earlier.
Well, West Chester U is now TO for fall 2021 admissions. This means Pitt is the only school on S21’s list still requiring test scores.
Pitt’s branch campuses went TO for the fall 2020 rolling admissions cycle once coronavirus hit. Will be interesting to see if this was a quick way to do a pilot effort before making any decisions regarding requiring test scores for main campus fall 2021 admissions.
And now, he’d rather attend school in Philly than Pittsburgh (And Baltimore/Maryland over both of those). So if he goes with Temple as the PA state-related financial safety option, he could go all TO. Hmmmmm…
@Johnny523 you’re welcome! Have you visited University of Idaho yet? That’s becoming a popular school in my area and everyone I know who’s gone has loved it!
Hello all. Hope everybody is safe and well. We are finally opening up here on Long Island, phase 2 started yesterday. D21 is a senior now! All her assignments have been submitted, last official day is June 16th.
She had a change of heart on her major, no more Computer Science, now she wants Math and then will get a masters in adolescent education so she can teach grades 7-12.
One of her teachers messaged her today to tell her she was one of 2 students who were nominated for an RIT scholarship. Not exactly sure how it works, like how does RIT approve her nomination. I’ll need to look into it a little more.
She was able to register for the November SAT. So busy summer of studying and college essays! How did we get to this point already! Stay well everybody.
She decided she’s not interested in it. Her list now is Montana St, Northern Arizona, Utah St, Oregon, and Oregon St. We visited MSU in Feb, and Oregon a couple of years ago when her brother was interested in it. We did a drive by of OSU on that trip as well. I booked flights to visit USU, NAU and OSU in Sept and Oct, and we’ll also visit Utah on the USU trip since it’s right there. Assuming of course that we can make the trips, but the airfares were too cheap to pass up and are fully refundable.
So, pondering things a bit over here. With S19, we were able to visit a ton of schools and narrow down the list. He ended up applying to five (one was Penn State, his first choice, which was three-in-one as it counted as crap shoot, safety, and commuter options). Got into all of them.
But here we are now with S21. His stats, distance-from-home parameters, and choice of major are similar to his brother. He went on all of the visits with us for S19. And some of those schools are on his list. But there are several on his list that we have not visited and most likely will not get the chance to visit before EA apps are due.
Obviously, many of the 21ers are in the same situation. And I’m thinking now that S21 needs to apply to more schools than his brother did just to have some options. Actually being able to visit schools kinda being a key part of deciding where to apply or attend and all
Anyone else finding this to be the case as well? His list is at 10 schools right now.
I’m posting this here because the schools he’s applying to are not reaches with 10% acceptance rates. I know that applying to a bunch of schools makes sense with more selective options. We are budget-aware, merit seekers focusing on CTCL-level and in-state options. Matches and safeties. No reaches.
@InfiniteWaves S21 is applying to nine, and he is similarly applying to CTCL-level schools. He has two reachier options on his list, but even one of those has a 40% acceptance rate - the rest of his list is all schools with acceptance rates of 53% to 78%. So we’re hoping he’ll get into more than one so that we can compare affordability.
Having only been able to visit 2 of the 9 options adds to our desire to keep 9 on the list as we’re not completely sure about fit…want to have more options once acceptances are in so that hopefully there is something that seems to work really well. I’d say S21’s list is 2 reaches, 2 likelies , and 5 matches, so we’re hoping for maybe 4 or 5 choices in the end among which to compare affordability and fit (and then hopefully be able to go visit).