Thank you for explaining ing this to me. This whole thing is new to me as I am an immigrant and my D is my first child!
DS wants to apply to quite a few colleges and we just wanted to make sure this is not an unnecessary burden on the teachers he requested to do a rec for him? I would think they write one and it would apply to all schools and scholarships?
Also, re transcript submissions. DS school does this via Naviance. Is it a lot of work to do this? I would thought it would be a fairly automated process but the school is really dragging their feet so I guess it is cumbersome? Just wondering why it takes so long?
I donât have access to Naviance, but, in general, if a school is on the Common App, once the teacher writes the recommendation letter once, your son just applies it to all the schools he wants it to go to - teacher doesnât have to do anything but write it once and upload it once. My understanding of the Naviance process is that itâs similar - the teacher still writes it once and uploads it once, but through Naviance, and then I believe that can be applied to schools outside the Common App process as well. (hopefully someone with Naviance can confirm that). I donât know about the scholarshipsâŠit may depend on which ones they are/what their specific process is.
D will have one EA school decision before RD is due (Macalester). It will probably impact a few of her choices, either a couple of high reaches or low matches will get added depending on that result.
If Tulane would give their EA decision before the RD deadline, a positive result would mean she could skip all except a couple RD apps. Unfortunately she wonât know that result until after the RD deadlines.
Iâm still hoping for a positive result from her ED school which makes this all academic. But Iâm also trying to be realistic, so she needs to have a solid backup plan in place.
Curious: Who else received an email from Rice today with an application fee waiver?
It âcongratulatedâ S on completing Subject test.
(Note: the only subject test he completed was in June â18, as his June â20 ones were canceled.)
This is my daughterâs MO unfortunately. She does great work under pressure. However, her under pressure work is still not probably up to par with other kidsâ â5th draft of essay I started in Juneâ work, which is what makes me nervous. Fortunately (for me) the fear is finally hitting. She is skipping a soccer tournament the weekend before her ED app is due, which kind of stings but she doesnât think she can do it. Thatâs how I know she is starting to panic.
She can get things done quickly once she hits this point usually. Her tentative idea for a CA essay that we have all assumed would come together just isnât jelling, so I think itâs going in the bin. I wonât be surprised if she flounders for another week without it, but I also wonât be surprised if she comes out with a decent first draft over the weekend. The kid is a lot like me, which is aggravating for everyone, especially for me.
We had a kid in S18âs class who applied SCEA to Stanford. He had great ECâs and leadership, and a 36 on the ACT. Everyone assumed he would get in, and he did zero prep or even research on what he needed to do if they gave him a negative response. When he got rejected he was floored, but scrambled to get other apps together. He ended up with a couple of good acceptances and is curently a junior at Yale.
@NateandAllisMom she had an ACT score come back really quickly in September. However, she took it through the school a few days later and that one still isnât in yet. I think those get processed more slowly than the regular national tests.
@NateandAllisMom Thanks! Iâve been meaning to send a comment your way telling you that Iâve been following your posts as your son sounds somewhat similar to mine in terms of colleges heâs applying to and interests. Iâve appreciated your posts providing info into this yearâs application cycle.
@123Mom123 My D received the Rice waiver in an email today as wellâhers said something about successful completion of AP exams. Rice seems nice, but probably a little pricier than we want to go.
@yearstogo D has 12 schools on her list. Her teacher recs will be one letter that all of the schools receive. Her GC is writing a separate letter specific to her ED school, highlighting various accomplishments/academics that might pique the AOâs interest at that particular school. She will tweak it slightly for the remainder of the schools.
Question: I have seen comments regarding attaching resumes with the common app. Is this universally done, or is it that only certain schools require or give the option to include it?
So grateful to this community to get through this process. It seems even friends âin real lifeâ hold their cards close and no one talks about anything, as that would be giving away intel to the competition!
@MorseLewis thanks for that post. I feel like Iâm obsessing a bit about this whole process but I also find it interesting. Itâs nice to have parents here to connect with who are going through the same process.
Re: Pomona, we have heard the same from someone in the know about fewer spots being available due to 20 deferrals. Hopefully they are in the minority of schools where that is an issue.
Freaking out a little bit as ânormalcyâ even with successful vaccines is predicted by some for late next year (after 21s start college). Iâm really hoping for a traditional start to college for S in the dorms but I donâ think he would defer.
@Solstice155 Our GC recommended adding a resume if it adds something to the studentâs profile or if using schoolâs application instead of Common Ap.
I agree that many students tend to limit college discussions with friends, either due to perceived competition or avoidance. Parents in our community keep everything close, so itâs even hard to guage where folks are applying or where they are in the process. I wish everything didnât feel so high stakes, Iâll be glad when the apps are in and these kids can relax.
I am annoyed that I am even asking, but does anyone have a credible online source I can direct our GC to that lays out clearly D21 can apply ED to one school and EA to as many as she wants at the same time? I guess otherwise I will have her email her admissions counselor at Amherst to confirm they are ok with her ED there and EA elsewhere.
I feel like it is one of those commonly known things, that no one feels the need to spell out. I can find lots of things where it is implied, but for some reason Iâm failing at my Google skills to find a nice easy paragraph on a site she will trust that lays it all out clearly and doesnât assume any underlying knowledge.
@dadof4kids I would explain that only those schools with restrictions on their early action policies (HYPS), as set forth on each of their websites, cannot involve EA elsewhere, but that the vast majority of colleges offering EA do not have restrictions. Hard to prove a negative.
Maybe a blog, letâs see if Iâm allowed to post this link https://blog.prepscholar.com/early-action-schools-and-colleges-complete-list
ED schools typically do not have restrictions on applying elsewhere because the applicant is bound to attend the ED school and withdraw the others. I would point to the fact that Amherstâs ED plan has no restrictions on EA elsewhere on its website and that your D is not applying to any EA program that has restrictions.
Another link: https://magellancounseling.com/early-decision-and-early-action/
@evergreen5 thanks. I think that last one will work. As you said, itâs hard to prove a negative. Generally schools donât say you can apply EA when you ED, because there is not a restriction so no reason to spell it out.
Unless you are a GC of 15+ years and no one has ever asked this question before. 
Maybe, just maybe, they arenât doing a great job of counseling the top kids. I have no idea if they understand how generous the financial aid is either. More than 50% of the kids at our HS could go to Harvard cheaper than the state U.
You do need to double check that your studentâs list of EA schools donât preclude it - itâs more than just HYPS. For instance, you cannot ED to another school and apply early action to Georgetown. Iâm sure there are others, but thatâs one that was on my daughterâs list at some point.
I have looked at this, but Iâll ask here before I call the GC in case I am missing something, it happens. 
Here are the schools:
ED: Amherst
EA: Macalester, Northeastern, Tulane, Case Western
No problems with applying this way to these schools, right?
@dadof4kids Looks appropriate to me. D17 applied EA (and got into) Northeastern, Tulane and Case Western, but did not do any ED (ended up at Tulane). All great schools, as is Macalester. Do you think your studentâs school is trying to restrict how many EAs go out to help other students who might ED at those schools or who do not have any ED? Canât imagine any other explanation.
The head of admissions management at Oregon State, Jon Boekenstedt, tweeted that 67% of their apps so far are test optional.
@123Mom123 S21 also got the email from Rice with waiver, but his made no mention of SAT subject test since he didnât take any.
My daughter got the same email⊠she took her SAT subject tests in June 2018 and June 2019!