D19 is a sophomore at Emory. Emory announced today that they will be remote for spring semester also. D is understandably crushed, plus, she is an athlete, so even missed more seasons.
This makes me wonder if our 21s will even be able to attend in person in fall 2021.
Weāve got nine months until our kids go off to college. D and I have talked about it though and sheās not against a gap year depending on the Covid situation. Iām more worried about all of our 2019ās who are in the midst of college and need to keep either living with this or making decisions about deferring.
Weāve watched a few University of Richmond webinars this week. With an average class size of 16, they have been able to bring students back to campus for classes this semester. They have moved a lot of classes into larger spaces so students can social distance during class. There are several health and safety measures in place throughout campus.
Faculty and students seemed genuinely happy to have in-person classes and the chance to interact with one another. For faculty and/or students who are unable to teach or attend in person, there is still the option to study remotely with some classes online.
Mamaedefamilia, thanks for the suggestions, Iāll look into those applications.
Nateandallismom, I have no clue if he chose college suggestions through psat or sat. He did get piles of flyers and letter after psat and sat so not sure if thatās an indication that he did.
Mwfan1921, we would prefer to keep it the same price as in state UC (full pay). We canāt afford the full private or out of state cost.
Kethra, I didnāt know we could recycle those personal statements. To be honest I havenāt seen his personal statements yet. His last update was that itās almost done.
Thank you all again.
@Clueless2000 Not sure if you are interested in the east coast but I think RIT and RPI do not require an essay other than the common app.
D21 got 4 apps submitted yesterday 4 schools she has not visited. I would have never thought she would not have visited our state flagship, only an hour away. Hopefully she is up for writing the next batch of supplements. In the end I will not be surprised if she does not end up applying to all the schools on her list.
We would rather prefer him to gain that first year dorm experience. It made a huge impact on my daughter and it seems essential as part of their growth, at least to my family. Thank you for that suggestions though, I know itās a great route for most of the people.
Geez, not a single app submitted between the 2 in our house. They donāt want me to bug them, but Nov 1 IS soon, though they say itās weeks away!
Re, Colorado School of Mines, S got the golden free admission app email saying no essays, but thatās disingenuous. He filled it out and there were 2 essays. He emailed them asking if he had to fill them out (way to make an impression!) and they emailed back the essays are optional. But do you get the full merit aid without the essays?
@Clueless2000 I should say that you can usually reuse them as long as the prompts are usually pretty broad and are something along the lines of telling them your story. Your mileage may vary depending on the specific schools your son is applying to. It canāt hurt to see if the essay for one can be used at others so that can open up the list of schools that your S21 can apply to, not just the ones with no essays.
Iām anxiously awaiting our S21 to finish writing his engineering and diversity essays to be able to submit his TAMU application for the deadline today. Nothing like waiting until the last possible moment! Totally my kid! Shhh, I canāt fault him for this as I do the exact same thing too! 
AOP1925
I will look into those apps as well. Thank you!
@Clueless2000 - Iād add Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. All three are solid flagships and their merit aid is very generous. Plus theyāre very easy apps! 
Utah is especially great if he likes the idea of being near the mountains.
ASU sends a ton of CS majors to the Bay Area.
@havenoidea - my son filled out the Golden Application for Colorado School of Mines and did not do the optional essays.
He got in and a large amount of merit scholarship. We were very pleasantly surprised. We are OOS, and on the east coast so not a top choice for us before, but with the money they offered it will be in consideration.
So, definitely does not matter if he does not do the essays - I would only do them if there is something he needs to explain, such as a bad semester or something.
is it acceptable to share free application codes for various colleges?
@homerdog wrote: Weāve got nine months until our kids go off to college.
True dat, but Iām a glass half empty type of person, so I always go to worst case scenarios.
So D21 will definitely be going to collegeā¦LOL
Got the the Bama acceptance todayā¦3 days after the CG finally loaded the official transcript into Naviance after sitting on it for a month. My polite but sternly worded request on Monday got that done.
Now we just need her to go from a 35 to 36 ACT so she can get the Presidential Elite scholarship at Bama. Hahahaā¦She is taking it again on Oct. 24. She made the mistake of admitting to us that she had not studied at all when she took the test and got the 35.
Well now. This is just dandy. As I mentioned earlier, D19ās college (Emory) is virtual for spring. I just now heard that Washington State University, where D19 attends, will also be virtual for spring. What next?
@burghdad You (she) can calculate the financial value of each question she answers correctly, lol. She should be negotiating a cut.
@havenoidea I think you are CO, also? My D did 2 apps on Colorado free day and skipped everything they said was optional. Letās see what optional really means!
I am enjoying experiencing the deadlines looming with everyone on this board - my D did a lot over the summer and still has the last stretch to go. Doesnāt it seem like the last 10% takes half the time and effort?
Thanks to those listening to podcasts - please keep sharing, especially as more intel comes in on app numbers, etc. I am intrigued by the reports that some ED apps are down - will be very curious what they say when the deadline hits.
My D had one interview last weekend and two this weekend. So far the best unexpected question (at least to us) asked was āwhat donāt you like about this school?ā Anyone else have any unexpected questions of note?
End of an era over here.
D and I have enjoyed making homecoming mums since elementary school (Texas tradition). Made our last one tonight and boutonniere for her date. I am all teary eyed over here knowing those days are over. Did not expect to get so sentimental over this. sighā¦
Quick comment to those thinking of skipping the Fafsa, our S18 gets $1000 in FA each year from his college. Not much but for one hour of my time, Iāll take it. And they get to count us as a family getting aid.
D21 has almost all of her apps in. 4 EA and 4 RD. She has one more sheās definitely submitting but tossed around ED for about 24 hours but is passing on that and will submit her RD app in the next day or so. One more virtual info session on Sunday then will decide if sheās adding one more.
Already invited to apply for honors and scholarship at one of her sure thing schools so thatās next on her to do. Sheās very relieved to have this part of the process almost 100% in the rear view mirror!
Only a fellow Texan will understand!! hugs
So there are official school dances in Texas right now??