True about big schools but that also means remote classes for the most part, zoom club meetings, only hanging with small group which isn’t easy for freshmen who don’t know many people, to go meals and either eating in your room or outside. If kids have roommates, it’s hard to take remote class in your room. I have a friend whose D is really finding it hard to find a place to go to “take” class where it’s quiet enough. Hopefully, our kids won’t be doing remote classes!!
I have to just give a bit of perspective on the bigger schools with party reputations and what is happening “on the ground” in Florida, at least. My D20 is at FSU, and by all appearances, from their dashboard, infection rates have gone down after the President “cracked down” on the students. It doesn’t tell the whole story. I do think the university is doing its best to keep everything in check but my D tells me many of the students are able to circumvent the monitoring by either not getting tested at all if they have symptoms, or going off campus for testing. The result is the community rates of infection (supposedly outside of the university) for college aged kids has been high, while the university numbers don’t seem so high right now. They have just started random testing, so I’m hoping that is helpful. Nevertheless, where there is a will, there is apparently a way with these kids to get around whatever the university tries to put in place.
My D is in the honors dorm and all her classes are remote. She is also participating in undergraduate research with a faculty member remotely. All good, despite the fact these things are not in person. She and her roommate have a small “pod” of friends they hang out with and are careful. So far so good for her group of friends. Is it exactly the same as it would have been pre-covid, no. But they are having a great time (maybe a little too much fun, lol) and working hard. I would advise that if anyone is looking at a larger public school, consider the honors colleges within those schools. It’s no magic bullet, but at least my D20 seems to be having a decent experience so far with the smaller cohort of students within a larger school with a party reputation.
Having that moment again, the one where you start googling lists of schools that don’t have essays… (Caveat, the lists are almost always inaccurate in one way or another, so check the Common App carefully; lists just a starting point.)
Nuggets of the day: Colgate has no supplemental essay, not that I could find, though I did not see it on any lists. Northwestern merely asks Why Us. But, Richmond wants 350-650 words.
Is there something wrong with the Common App I’m looking at? I don’t see any essay for Vandy??
@evergreen5 Vandy’s essay is under “activities” and asks you to expound on your most important one. Colgate’s essays don’t get sent to you until after you send in your app. They ARE on their website, though, and are optional.
@homerdog Thanks, I thought that couldn’t be quite right.
Hi, I need you help. One of the “Other recommender” for my daughter’s LOR is her hospital supervisor where she volunteers. My daughter added her name to the “other recommender” list in Common app and invited her through that. But the supervisor is having a hard time uploading LORs. Its not letting her do it. I don’t know is it due to any software as part of the hospital network that is banning the uploads or what. Has anybody come across this issue?
My girl spoke with her counselor about as to what to do in this situation, he is suggesting to give stamped addressed envelopes. One friend suggested that the counselor is capable of uploading the LORS from outside recommenders if its sent to him. Is this true?
Also as a last resort, if we are to snail mail the LORS, where will we find the addresses of all the schools? or should we mail ahead the individual schools and ask which email to send? The early action deadlines are fast approaching. Kindly suggest a solution. Thank you.
Hi @Herefortwo, welcome back…it has been a long time!
I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to the question, but I think that you may get an answer more quickly if you’ll also post a new thread in the general parents section if someone on this thread doesn’t answer soon. More people will see your question that way…there are so many experienced posters on the general parents thread who have encountered every possible problem wrt college admissions. Make sure you put a topic heading on your thread that indicates what you need like “How to upload a non-teacher rec on the CA” or something like that so you will quickly attract the help you need. Good luck!
@inthegarden Thank you so much once again!! You are always very helpful, TY! Still a newbie trying to navigate this forum. Let me see how I can post it.
@InfiniteWaves Congratulations on Pitt - that is awesome news!
@TVBingeWatcher2 Huge congrats to your D - I was so excited to see she got her 36!!
@whyboydanny Welcome! I just got home from a NC college tour and we stopped by Duke just for fun (nobody in our group is applying but I have always wanted to see it.) Whoa - that place was beautiful!!
I have a ton to do this morning but will try to get back on by tonight to give an update on our visits.
Happy 10/1/2020! Who’s excited to work on the FAFSA this weekend?!? Mr. InfiniteWaves! He will also handle the dreaded CSS as it is required by our alma mater.
Hey, I handle everything else involved with college planning. He handles the FAFSA and CSS. 
Hope the visits went well @momtogkc !
@InfiniteWaves this seems to be a pretty common division of duty. Alas, in my house, I’m doing the FAFSA and CSS (and additional institutional specific aid forms required by some schools). Got the FSA ID set up yesterday. Not looking forward to doing it but looking forward to having it done.
Looking forward to hearing about the college visits @momtogkc !
@InfiniteWaves , I just have to let you know that whenever I read your posts that include a reference to Mr. InfiniteWaves, I crack up. I just can’t get used to referring to my husband as Mr. ChillyCow and he is probably glad of that. Thanks for bringing a smile to my days! haha
My goodness! Obviously schools recently bought/rented new mailing lists. We’ve been getting inundated with emails and postal mail. I’m getting pretty quick at hitting the ‘unsubscribe’ link.
LOL, our house does it differently. I get pretty much all of the college duties, except for mom occasionally throwing in a comment that is usually well intentioned but not very helpful because she doesn’t know enough about the process. I thought for a bit she had torpedoed the school that I think D21 will end up ED2 at, because she didn’t realize how perfect for her it was. She just saw a couple of things she knew D wouldn’t like and told D this was probably one that should come off the list. 
It kind of stayed in the mix as a dad pick for a while. Eventually when D got more serious she realized that it was one of her top 5 for sure.
However, there are a lot of things that I don’t want to do around here that she does instead, probably some that the dad would normally be in charge of. And I’m sure she would say I muck up things I’m not in charge of occasionally. I’m not complaining about the split. I just find it interesting that I end up mostly talking to moms on here.
I thought it would be pretty easy to stay on top of interacting with emails, attending zooms, etc. for D’s top picks. I did not realize just how many contacts she would be getting. Between writing essays, her sport which is happening here, and actually going to school, she doesn’t have a couple of extra hours every evening for zooms and emails.
Plus the other random ones. One school has called her numerous times, and she keeps telling them she isn’t interested. They called my wife, and D told her to just block their number. Apparently when they called her phone after she told them she wasn’t interested in applying that was what she did.
@Herefortwo, I saw you started a thread…were you able to sort out the technical issue with the rec?
@momtogkc, can’t wait to hear what you think!
@infinatewaves, it’s kind of a relief to get down to the nitty gritty, isn’t it…maybe a light showing at the end of a tunnel? Especially as it seems your son is down to two favorite choices?
I feel a weird relief that we’re getting to the point where my D knows she can’t procrastinate anymore…and D is feeling kind of giddy in a good way about it all, along with the anxiety. She has a long way to go before pressing “send” but is getting somewhere with the CA. Counselor and teacher recs are in process (the GC called her this morning to say she’s nearly finished, and a teacher emailed for a little more info on ECs). D hasn’t done any SAT prep at all this week since taking the test last Saturday…which may actually be a good thing for her brain…and has just decided to give it a go for this Saturday’s test. She has one month to shape up her essays if she wants to get that ED and three EA’s off the ground.
Mr. Momof3B is on FAFSA duty this weekend!!! No CSS for us since S21 is only applying to publics in state and one out of state public. S21 made his student log in last night, I guess now he waits for his FSA ID and then parents take the reigns? Is that how this works?
Fun times lol.
Parents need their own FSA ID!
https://blog.ed.gov/2020/09/7-things-need-fill-2021-22-fafsa-form/
I actually got a voicemail today from a college consultant across the country who got my number from a virtual college fair I signed up for and didn’t really participate in. Holy Moly!
@ChillyCow and @InfiniteWaves, love your names, by the way! I could never call my H “Mr. Inthegarden” as it would be completely inaccurate. He walks right up the sidewalk to the door without noticing a thing! So many other things going on inside his brain, I guess. ?. He does like his outdoor time though, onthebicycle. Sadly, I’m not really inthegarden much these days but I swear that will be my renewed old thing when D goes off to college.
Hi everyone. Quick question: if counselor and teacher recs aren’t ready yet but my son’s part of the CA is ready (essay, activities, family info, etc…), should we just send the CA to his 3 EA schools now and the rest will follow from his school later? I hate just waiting around for son’s school to be ready, which is likely to be mid-October. Wouldn’t sending the CA sooner show demonstrated interest? He is only applying to a few schools so each one is important. Thanks for any advice.