@inthegarden good to know about Gettysburg and Skidmore! For other interests, my daughter also wants to be near a big city and she does not want a Greek scene so those have also helped narrow it down. And she wants a very diverse campus. So funny that she has these preferences - I never thought about this stuff when I was that age. Hope Denison goes well!
@AlwaysMoving wow, I had no idea you could do that, thank you!
@srwcmw Congrats that your D got a spot!! Good luck!!
@inthegarden Looking forward to your Dās review of Denison. We toured/interviewed this summer and were super impressed. I didnāt know much about it before we went, but was so pleasantly surprised.
S21 at SAT now. Crossing fingers, he seems awfully tired from first week of school.
@smiles2122 Welcome. Doesnāt meet really meet the near a big city criteria but Dickinson and Lafayette are others school in F&M, Gettysburg type realm she may want to consider.
As I have posted previously I am big Lafayette fan as both my wife and I went there. While not ānearā a big city, it is about an hour from Philly and an hour and 40 minutes to NYC. Currently has about 2600 students. They just opened a year or so ago a brand new Biology, Environmental Science and CS Building. https://news.lafayette.edu/2019/09/30/celebrating-rockwell/
Thanks, @Acersaccharum, Iāll be sure to report back when I get the full story. I admit its a nail-biter for me as Iāve wondered for months what she would think of it. H and D arrived a bit early and walking around on their own a little. Itās cloudy but not rainy, all a plus! Iām holding back from texting her moment by moment but when they first arrived she texted āItās niceā ?. For a girl who had doubts about Ohio I take that as a good sign.
Good luck to all the test takers!
We just watched the video on the page you linked - wow! What an incredible resource and space. Thanks, we will check out the school!
Welcome @smiles2122! D21 is also focusing on some east coast SLACs and has narrowed her list to several NESCAC schools, and then a few Jesuit schools and others including Vassar, American, W&M and Lafayette. She is interested in languages and history and is focused on international relations. So a little all over the place politically, but sheāll find her people, I hope! Someone mentioned Colorado College upthread and D loves it, but is not a fan of the block schedule - but that model is probably the easiest to manage in a Covid world!
We are far behind everyone here in terms of submitting apps. Iām trying not to freak out. D is still writing, re-writing and editing her personal essay. She has 15 supplements and Iād say half of those are done. She has a solid ACT score but hoping to gain a couple of points to feel more comfortable with her reachier schools. That said, the time energy she has spent getting dates that then get cancelled has been a complete waste of time. All are TO but she feels strongly that a strong score would only improve her chances.
For all who have already submitted apps, are the applications complete, with transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc? Our GCs are not back to school yet - not even responding to email. We go back in mid-September.
@AlwaysMoving I never knew that about Naviance either. Thank you!
@Solstice155 yes, everything is submitted including transcripts and letters of recommendation. It helps that we are homeschoolers so we donāt have to wait for a guidance counselor. My son would love a chance at improving his SAT score too but everything in my area has been cancelled since April. I have zero confidence in a test happening this fall here. In fact, I think he has better odds at getting into his super reach school than getting to take a test this fall. haha! Good luck to you and your daughter!
@smiles2122 - welcome! Lots of good information here.
@ChillyCow thank you. Is your S still trying to take the SAT? Will he be able to submit the score after submitting the application?
As you can see, this IS my first rodeo.
@Solstice155 , his June and August tests were cancelled and the local school districts are all online at this point. They had 18 teachers quit this last week so things are not looking good towards moving to face to face instruction and thereby opening up the high school campuses for testing. He has a score from last fall that he is using but he could submit another school to his colleges if he gets a date this fall. You could check with your various schools about adding another test score if she wants to go ahead and apply.
Grrr. The date of 8/29 is just reminder ?
We were registered for March, May, June and August tests, which were all cancelled here in the SF Bay Area. D has been studying, then stopped. Studying, then stopped, studying, then stopped, etc.
Weāve registered for the September, October and November tests. Iām watching a HS football game right now on TV, but our local school district and county (and CA) cannot figure out how to execute or allow an SAT on a Saturday.
But hey at least I can exercise at my gym, most of which takes place outside.
Hope the SAT went well for east coasters and best of luck to everyone still taking it today!
I was 90% sure D21ās test center would be open after confirmation from the principalās office, but I did not count on it until I watched her turn in her health form and walk in the front door. She said it felt just like the practice tests and both sections were āmediumāānot unusually hard or easy. She didnāt like the reading passage about catfish genetics?.
We were wondering whether the kids would be allowed a mask-free break. I though maybe they would let them go outside, or into a larger area in the school. Instead, they stayed at their desks and took their masks off to eat and drink during the break. I wasnāt psyched about that, but D said there were only 9 kids in her room and they were at least six feet apart.
I canāt believe we will finally have an official score (for better or for worse). D is exhausted and feels like she has undergone a teenaged rite of passage!
@solstice155 This is a very organized group - donāt feel like youāve fallen behind. Itās not even September yet! It sounds like your child is making steady progress and the components are coming along. You have plenty of time.
My D has a common app essay that she and her GC both like, a list of schools, test scores, and one app submitted to an in-state safety. We still have a long way to go!
Congrats to all who managed to get a SAT sitting today and best wishes for achieving target scores!
So we just wound up a last minute college tour trip! We were supposed to be in VA/NC/MD this week (after canceling our April plans), but all three stages are on the NJ quarantine list, so we decided not to go. Instead, we hit the quarantine-free states of MA/CT/RI (and ate INDOORS at a restaurant for the first time in over 7 months!!! Whoa!!).
Successful trip! We were lucky to have a friendās kid at UMass (only about 1,000 undergrads on campus right now) and a friendās kid at UConn to show us around even though buildings were closed. Liked UMass well enough until she saw UConn and UMass was tossed off the list! Then URI also dropped - pretty campus, but the beach living didnāt appeal as much once she saw how far it is from campus. Then reviewing the list after loving UConn, she cut U of TN (too far and likely to expensive) and Dayton. So weāre officially at 10 schools. Whew!
@smiles2122 Have you thought about Mt. Holyoke as a safer (not safe) admit? I grew up nearby and it was always considered a really great school with a nice vibe.
My S19 is at Carleton and so far itās been a fabulous place - smart, non competitive kids, administration gets it, campus is beautiful, teachers have been wonderful. Just a great place.
I am jealous that you have your guidance materials finished and submitted! D21ās professors already submitted their letters of rec, so the only thing that is now missing from D21ās submitted applications are the things I need to turn in.
My course description document is 42 pages long (one page per class, with the exception of two classes with a ton of reading material to list) and I canāt finish it until D21 finishes up her summer research project (which is technically a class). She is supposed to be finished the entire write-up tonight, but she keeps adding āfinal touches.ā I am trying to proofread everything else I have to turn in while I wait for her to finish, but I have reached the point where my eyes are going to start bleeding if I try to read one more sentence of anything Iāve already written. Nothing makes sense anymore and it is all just a string of letters, lol, I am burnt out! I just want to hit submit on my end and be done already. And yetā¦I need to make sure everything is just so, because I worry if I screw up anything on my end then it will reflect poorly on my daughter. Gah. :grimace: I am going slightly nuts here. Must have more coffee.
@NJWrestlingmom Was it UMass Amherst that you visited? If so, what did your D like/not like about it? Weāre hoping to visit it soon. S21 visited UConn this summer and thought the campus was nice, programs are strong - but he couldnāt get excited about it since so many kids from his high school end up there. Heāll still apply since its in state for us, but heās hoping heāll have other options.
@Solstice155 You are way ahead of us! My S21 is still trying to solidify his list of colleges to apply to, has barely scratched the surface of the CA, no essay yet and has a mediocre SAT score from a year ago. Iām trying not to worry quite yet. Heās working with someone now on essay ideas and sheās helping him with his list and application deadlines. He will hopefully take the in-school SAT and ACT in the next few weeks. Iām praying that by this time next month heāll have made decent progress in his applications!
@NJWrestlingmom can you share what you thought of UMass?
Thank you @RockySoil - we have heard great things about it but D21 was concerned it was too far from a city. What do you think? Does it feel remote?
That is great to hear about Carleton! It seems like it could be a great fit for my S22. He is really into Math so even though he wants a LAC, he is particular about finding one that has a good math PhD pipeline, which Carleton does. He is also looking at Swarthmore but that has quite a reputation for intensity. He doesnāt mind cold at all - I am hoping we can actually do some visits next spring. Has your S19 taken many math classes there?