And so it begins. Common App day has arrived!
This is going to be wild ride for sure–an admissions cycle like no other. But our kids will survive and thrive no matter what happens. Let’s do this! 
I sent them texts. LOL listen to us, Common App WOW! I think my kids are more like “w.o.w,” or would be if they were actually awake yet.
Anyone’s kids applying to schools this weekend? I think D will hold off a bit. First deadline not until 11/1. She does have a few apps completed - meaning schools where she’s finished the supplements or the school only needs personal statement - but no reason to rush. I’ll have her open an account on Monday so we can add schools, add her personal statement and activities. This is all coming a little to fast for me. We will be empty nesters next year!
@homerdog not applying anywhere this weekend in our case. S21 will do the same - get everything loaded in there that he has and then wait to submit. He’s going to be still writing supplements (looks as if he has 5 to do) and then will probably wait to see if he gets new SAT scores before submitting.
Based on his practice test yesterday, we decided to stick with it. (He didn’t crush it or anything but make an improvement that seemed as if it would be useful to get). I was able to change his registrations to ones that have a better chance (I think) of happening. His August was called off. His Sept looked unlikely (based on the district it was in and what they told me about their decision making timeline).
So I changed Sept to Oct and added November to make up for August but also chose different locations. The Oct one is at private boarding school that is local and that is currently intending to go back to school in a week and a half in person. If they’re able to maintain their bubble, maybe they’ll have a better chance of holding their test sitting than our local publics. If he gets a score that day, he’ll have it in time for his EA apps, so I think he’ll wait until after the Oct 16th score release to submit applications.
I also signed him up for the Nov test at a different local private school - it was the one closest to us anyway and I thought perhaps they’d have a better chance of holding the test. That score will be too late for some of his schools but still in time for others.
He plans to hit submit on a few applications the weekend of Oct 17th (since his scores, if he gets them, would come out the 16th so he’ll know whether he wants to submit scores or go test optional better at that point). That is still 2 weeks before application deadlines. Then he’ll submit a few more each weekend, always keeping his submissions 1-2 weeks before deadlines (and probably sticking to just a few per weekend to ensure he has time/attention to check all details on each one before submitting).
I think Common App added two new fields to the activity section:
The last field seems the same as I remember:
Lol, no apps going in from here. Neither kid even has their CA essay done! We are so behind all of you. My kids, who know I go on CC, say “no one” is as far along as your kids and I need to get off CC!
@JanieWalker Did your D get to visit the schools she’s considering for ED?
I’m conflicted. I thought no way could they ED without seeing the schools. Then, I think, what if they can’t even see the schools in the spring? At that point, they’ll likely be choosing among targets/safeties, maybe some reaches, but who knows?? and if they don’t get merit at the ones that give it, I’ll be ticked off. And they’ll be in the same position of picking without seeing the schools.
Sure would make life easier to do one app and keep fingers crossed!
I think my kid can/will ED somewhere - just not sure where. He’s up and I asked if he wanted to submit Alabama this weekend - and he said “no” — but I don’t think he realizes it doesn’t require an essay (am I remembering this correctly), so I am not sure he will want to do this.
Yes, she has visited all the colleges on her list - except for one new addition - at least once, and in some cases two or three times. She was even able to interview at two of her favorites in Feb and March, just before everything shut down. We live in the northeast and within a few hours drive from a zillion colleges, and one of her extracurriculars had her all over the northeast the past few years. We travel a lot in general (pre-COVID), so we worked in college visits since D21 was in 9th grade, just for fun. She and her younger sister really liked visiting colleges before the process got real, because there was no stress at all. It was like little mini-vacations. I thank the admissions officer at Tufts (where D21 is not applying) for a lot of this, because that was the first info session we attended, and he was so incredibly kind and fun and genuine. My girls left with the impression that college was a fun place, that the adults really cared, and they wanted to see more. I think that AO set the tone for the process being fun and the future being bright as opposed to it all being scary and horribly stressful. So yay Tufts, even though D21 wants more of a campus feel and therefore is not applying to that one.
D submitted her first app today. She was itching to get one in so did a safety with no app fee. It was our compromise! Now we’ll hold off and regroup on the essay.
S21 will not be ready to submit apps until Sept at the earliest.
D won’t be submitting an application any time soon! She is finalizing her essay, and she has a common app account, but I’m sure she will take her time actually submitting anything. I’m going to insist that we review deadlines to make sure we don’t miss any merit opportunities. Are there other benefits to submitting before September/October?
The only app she’ll submit is UA - because there are no LOR’s and no essay. She’s still revising her essay and hasn’t even begun the activities section of the common app. I’m think everything else will be submitted by October 1.
I just looked through the requirements for our tentative list of common app schools. It seems that we won’t be able to submit until we know if he gets a test score he wants to share. One specifically warns that you are not allowed to change that decision after you submit. Makes me wonder if they put you in a bucket, maybe tackle the easy ones with scores first? They also seem worded as if they assume everyone who wanted a test score could have gotten one and is then choosing not to share. Hm. At least they didn’t specifically ask if you were able to take a test or not. We have an ok but lopsided score from March that we would only chose to share with safeties and lower targets.
There are quite a few short essays to write and we may get a arts teacher to do a letter for him, so not even close to submitting here. We have an appointment with the CC next Monday.
And I would just like to say that no, D21 will not be applying to University of Chicago, even though they have emailed her (and me!) a million times and sent her fliers/postcards.
She has never - not once - visited their website, signed up for emails, or shown any interest in that school at all.
Furthermore, her chance of getting in would likely be 0.004%.
You can stop now, U of Chicago! 
Probably nothing more than just getting it done. For D21 it is kind of a now-or-probably-never thing with her schedule.
Unless it’s a school with rolling admissions, in which case there is probably a benefit to applying sooner.
@JanieWalker - Ditto about Chicago and all their mailings. (And same to Tulane and WashU and NYU.)
I’m amazed at the monies spent for promotional materials.
W&M no longer on S’s list but they do send some more creative mailings. But the poor trees involved. Ugh!
D21 will not work on apps today but is trying to decide between 2 schools for ED. As a recruited athlete, her timeline is different than that of most kids, so she is pretty far down the road already. Her choices are A - where she would be near the top end academically and hopefully that would open lots of internship/research opportunities (the school seems to have fabulous resources for that) and B - a reach where she would be more middle-of-the-pack academically, but surrounded by very high-achieving peers. B is also more expensive. We can afford it, but D is trying to decide if it is worth the premium.
This is a pretty wrenching decision for her to make (though a good problem to have, I know). I am having trouble counseling her on this because I really want it to be her choice, but how does a 17 year old evaluate prestige v opportunity, and what does the choice mean 10 years out anyway?
Texas peeps: A&M has added a second required essay prompt to their application this year! It’s not on their website but is in Apply Texas/Coalition App:
The Prompt: Texas A&M University believes that diversity is an important part of academic excellence and that it is essential to living our core values. Describe the benefits of diversity and inclusion for your personality and for the Texas A&M campus community.
S21 won’t be submitting his apps until early September either. His main essay for Apply Texas is pretty much done, now he’s starting on the 3 short answers for UT and this new A&M required essay
@JanieWalker Agree that U Chicago’s marketing is completely over the top and has been for at least 3 YEARS!
@Momof3B ugh, not another essay!