Well the first one sounds very uninteresting, IMO. So many kids like this following the crowd. The second sounds like a real artist. S/he took an issue, used a medium photography to comment on a perspective and tied it together with an essay. Seems like a no brainer.
I don’t think anyone would miss that at all. Do you? Maybe someone upthread said being the most woke will get you in. I certainly didn’t.
Re: Future Roommates.
S22, after scrolling social media sites for his school now for weeks, has given up on trying to find a roommate that way and is going to apply for a random roommate tonight. He said that everyone started to sound the same. At least the guys. Ie. Likes to play pick-up basketball, hang out with friends, watch anime, play video games, listen to music, explore cities, etc. And S22 also felt too shy to DM anyone. Berkeley is massive. I really hope they put a little effort into matching random roommates and don’t use some computer program that matches without some human touch to it. 
And since he won’t meet his roommates until the day he moves in, I guess he’ll just pack clothes and personal necessities, then work it out when he arrives what else they want to buy for their room.
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Also, if the college will take a credit card for tuition that can be a huge perk depending on the card you use (my parents charged my college tuition back in the 90s and those “miles” turned into my cross country plane tickets).
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I so agree with this.
First, it’s just not worth it to engage in activities/work pursuits/clubs/tremendous number of AP’s and/or similarly rigorous activities, if it’s just for the endgame of getting into an elite college – in my opinion. Especially if those are things that the student truly doesn’t want to do. I think high school is also an experience to be had – hopefully to be enjoyed, as much as possible, while still excelling and engaging in things that the student actually cares about. So that might mean not doing everything that needs to be done to get into these “elite” schools (I am not knocking them, I’m an Ivy grad).
I think if it’s not “natural” to do those all those things to create the “stellar” application, then to me, it’s not worth it and probably not an authentic pursuit. The “average excellent" application should bring those students to at least a couple of great college choices, where they can thrive and stay off the hamster wheel of doing things for the endgame and not just for the exercise (activity) itself.
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Very true although fewer colleges are allowing that these days. Most ask you to set up a direct deposit from your bank account. 
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From what I have heard from college residential staff “random” assignments work out just as well or better than trying to arrange things. Most of the colleges still have a short survey about the basics for kids. And most are able to make it work.
I wish the word “random” could be replaced as it used to be standard operating procedure and it sounds like it still is for many, but it can give them a sense of failure if they do not match themselves. These kids do not need the pressure of trying to make their own match on social media Spring of Senior year. I think colleges just threw their hands up at some point due to so many requests to put some one with a “perfect”kid they met on social media that they started saying if you have a request we will take it and that became what feels like the “norm”, but there are still many kids that are go with college staff assigned roommates. Both of my kids did. One has been amazing (with average hiccups) and one was a child who had been under a helicopter parent for 18 years from what we could tell and got to college and was taking in all of his new found freedoms in various forms and into the wee hours, but that could happen with a social media match, a person from high school, or an assigned roommate.
So just assure your kiddo that college assigned roommate is more common than social media has them believing and to get back to enjoying senior year 
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I hope that’s not the case for NYU. We’ve paid D19’s tuition at the New School/Parsons on our Amex, and it’s been great to get the points. Would be even better for S22 since he won’t have a half-tuition merit scholarship like his sister.
S22 has submitted his dorm selection, ranking his choices. There’s one dorm that sounds from all accounts like an absolute hellhole — S22 ranked it last and is sure everyone else would at all. He said 3% of students get their bottom choice, which he takes to mean that 3% of students live in Rubin. 
He hasn’t taken any steps to meet fellow incoming students and will accept a random roommate assignment. He tends to develop a small but close group of friends wherever he is, and I suppose he prefers to let that happen organically. He isn’t the kind of guy who would be active on social media to seek new friends (he keeps in touch with real-life friends through Instagram, Snapchat, etc., but doesn’t post publicly or engage with virtual communities), so I guess he figures he wouldn’t find a like-minded roommate through that means anyway. I hope it works out for him. My freshman-year roommate and I had some shared interests, primarily journalism, but of course there was no method in the late ’80s for communicating instantly and extensively before meeting in person. We had a few rocky times, but he’s one of my best friends to this day.
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Very few colleges allow you to pay tuitions (other than perhaps some incidental charges or small deposits) with a credit card, because of the high cost of interchange fees (typically 2%+) banks charge. NYU is no exception.
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Or a college charges a surcharge if you use a credit card. Not paying 4% on top of crazy balance! I’d be curious if any colleges allow credit card payment without one. That would be a perk. Imagine the points one could get!
In our case, one school doesn’t allow it and one school charges 4%.
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YOur son and mine sound very similar, he scrolled some of the sites and then said it was like Tinder for roommates and they all have the same bio. There are very few characteristics my son couldn’t deal with, and we just have to hope the roommate does not have those characteristics, as the roommate match form won’t have them as questions. Mainly, he can live and pretty much get along with anyone, however, if the person is EXTREMELY political leaning the opposite way, it would be tough. He can deal with differences in beliefs- we live in an area where the majority are opposite of my son so he’s used to it- but if the roommate was vocally over the top it would be rough.
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Well his two choices are 13 hour and 28 hours from home so either way he will be a plane ride away. My D20 is 13 hours and that has worked out fine and I like that we have the option to drive to her if needed and for move-in/move-out. I’m sure my son will have way less stuff so if he picks the further school we will just fly in a day or two early and purchase everything there. It’s in a city so there are lots of Targets and Walmarts to choose from. I’m just hoping he has clarity one way or the other. One school is private & urban with 6000 kids, other school is public, 16000 kids, in a small college town. He really wants to ski so that’s one of the appeals of the smaller school. Both campuses are gorgeous and both have good business schools. Public school is cheaper (but only by a few thousand) and locks in tuition. Tough decision! I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep leading up to this weekend!
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The two colleges that my kids attend give you three options to pay tuition: mailing a check, credit card adding a fee of around 3% or electronic check.
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My spouse got paired with a roommate about 35 years ago that was totally the opposite of my husband in every way. They lived together for 4 years in college and and have remained friends to this day, although they live on opposite side of the country. The other guy is a judge, still totally opposite and they often exchange long emails asking pointed and details questions about the other side. They seek to understand. It’s great. My spouse thinks meeting people in college that were totally different made for a great experience. He retains friendships with at least 10 people from college. And they are all close. Hope your son will have the same.
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At my sons school everyone is paired with a roommate randomly. My son and his roommate and friendly, but they are parting ways for next yr. The roommate was too much of a slob for my son.
The best advice I read here about shopping for the dorm, was to preorder at Bed, Bath and Beyond through their college program. They had all the orders waiting in containers in the parking lot and you just pulled up and they loaded your car, very easy process.
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D is ED2 at Vandy, so she’s going. She is also going the random roommate route.
D’s buddy is an interesting case. Got in with full scholarship to a regional in-state ranked 300+. On D’s advice, applied to reaches and amazingly hit a t20. It tops the local in every way, from major and grad results to food and housing. After grant aid, the cost would only be around $5k/year. But they are worried they’re not academically up to it (we tell them the AO’s must disagree), and the parents want them to stay close to home. They visited the t20 and of course it’s beautiful, but there was no eureka moment.
That’s our little excitement around here, since D’s decision is done.
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Some will allow you but then charge the 2-3% so
It’s not helpful for points
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I don’t know the schools in question, so this might not apply, but one thing your D’s friend might not know is that for grant aid to continue year to year, most schools just require good academic standing (passing), while many scholarships have a high GPA requirement to keep it year to year.
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Great experience. What type of college did your husband attend?
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If the school only charges 2%, it may still be worthwhile. A few credit cards can generate better than 2% return. But I suspect any school, if it allows you to pay with a credit card, will charge more than 2% (probably at least 2.5%).
Major university. Honestly, I think what’s been lost over the last 25 ( esp last 5 years) is the ability of people to have discussions where they disagree and still listen to the other person and remain friends. So much name calling and shutting down of other people’s opinions. Our '22 really looked closely at this when applying to schools. In college I remember having some great debates. That’s been lost in many places. Kid did find some great schools which seemed to have more balance.
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