We considered Tulane for our DD23. However, when we looked at loan default rates at collegesocrecard, we were less than impressed. I believe it was around 25%.
I have a nephew who went to Tennessee Tech and did a multidisciplinary degree in forensic chemistry that included biology and criminal justice coursework. This is from their website: âForensic Chemistry â Forensic science is an interdisciplinary field incorporating aspects of chemistry, biology, and physics. While it is certainly an area of current popular interest, it has long been a career pathway for chemistry graduates, whose curriculum fits these demands particularly well. This option combines the essential elements of chemistry with supporting coursework in biology and criminal justice.â
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For this reason, I said no applying to U Chicago.
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Anyone else here have a hesitant student who you have to cajole and encourage and metaphorically drag to the finish line on applications?
The perfectionism makes one essay take 2 weeks.
Iâve talked to 23 about it and said I see you dragging your feet and asked if they see it another way. They agreed they are dragging their feet and said itâs because they feel scared.
I suggested a gap year, and they donât want that. Agh.
Any advice?
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Tell your 23 to get the apps done so they will have options. They donât need to feel forced to choose a path now, but letting deadlines pass means they wonât have a full range of choices. Itâs always better to have choices.
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I feel the same way about how the picture could change by spring. I like what you and others have said about clearly stating the money is theirs to keep. Perhaps that will encourage some more attention to cost.
My D21 was this way. She felt so much pressure about making a âwrongâ decision and also, this future, unknown college life is sometimes exciting to imagine, but also scary. We talked a lot about the fact that there are few choices you can make at 18 that lock you into a path you canât change. Also that the college they are imagining and the life they picture there - itâs going to be different than that. Some things are going to be better and some things are going to be worse than they imagined. The uncertainty is okay, and if it turns out that the school isnât a good fit or they want something different, then make a change. Nothing is set in stone.
Sheâll feel better once the apps are behind her and the acceptances begin arriving. 
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My S23, he has nothing really done. He is scared. He has friends telling him one thing and me telling me another. ADHD decision paralysis is very real here.
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What are his friends telling him?
THIS! I sat down with D23 last weekend and we spent nearly 3 hours planning stuff out because I saw some senioritis/ foot dragging going on. She has some EA acceptances but sheâs also holding out for some decisions that wonât be made until December/ January. I had to get real with her and say⊠what if youâre deferred or rejected from those December/ January decisions? Then youâve got 3 days for this honors app or that major app. Do we want to be scrambling for more recommendations or whatnot then? Over Christmas break? Do you think your counselors work faster on December 20th? I think I got through to her. Maybe.
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Can anyone shed light on recalculation of GPAs?
23 has a 3.88, because high school dings you for an A- and does not have A+ as a grade.
23 has one B.
Is there an easy way to know which schools recalculate and which do not?
What does a middle 50 GPA mean on a college website when we are considering the chances of acceptance and merit aid?
Example: Charts for merit aid for schools like WVU donât indicate if the GPA is recalculated and this could mean a $40,000 difference in price over four years.
But what about other schools? 
I ask this mainly because the money and merit aid matters here.
I did that yet Iâm not sure it is getting through. 23âs friend is done with applications. Iâm jealous of those parents!
Many of his friends are applying to only a couple state schools or going into trades. The only kids he knows going for out of state schools are desperately looking for sports scholarships.
I dont think my son is even able to verbalize the stress hes feeling. Hes trying to act chill but I think hes more sad than he lets on. Football is coming to an end and I know its bittersweet after 12 years.
Hes prepping for state solo and ensemble and as a kid who may do voice in college its a bigger deal. And auditions for the musical.
I dont feel like I will get to sit my kid down for actual college conversations until November 15.
S23 is done with all apps, he wants to go to Universal Studios Horror Nights wits his friends from UF and UCF on Oct 28, we told him the only way he goes is if he finish, magically everything is done. 
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Itâs rough. Weâve gotten the complaining about how much work the friends donât have to do. The guidance counselors told most of the kids they need to have their apps in by Oct 15th. My son has blown through our internal deadlines and claimed just yesterday that none of his friends have even submitted their apps yet. A few of them have written their main essay only because they applied for an earlier scholarship. And they still havenât submitted their common apps. Thatâs some pretty impressive procrastination since the main essay is the big barrier. And itâs like the peer pressure is making them all slower somehow (?!)
Theyâll all get there, including your son. And theyâll land on their feet wherever they end up. Lord knows their parents have done everything they can. Theyâre good kids and Iâm glad theyâre enjoying their senior year.
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Perhaps he can start simply, by just gather the apps he will eventually submit and take a look at the essays, jotting a few bullet points for what he wants to say.
He can then use digital dication on Word (etc) to simply âspeak outâ his essays and then start editing from there. A blank computer screen can sometimes feel overwhelming. When you have so much on your plate (school, athletics, friends etc) and THEN have to deal with these apps, it really can be debilitating.
Just printing out the apps, jotting down by hand what he wants to say in both the forms and the essays, and then using technology might make it easier for him.
If you have the time, maybe you can do the printouts so that this admin task is already done.
I wish him and all our kids going through this the very best. This too shall pass!
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My son is a perfectionist too. My biggest regret is not hiring an essay coach (nothing crazy, even if it was just 4 sessions) to simply guide and reassure him during the writing process. He went to his ELA teacher with his draft and she had some suggestions, but he viewed it as having to start fresh or really rework it and I donât think thatâs what she meant at all. He finally got it done and, while I do think it could use some small changes, Iâm taking this as a victory and Iâm just happy he was able to follow-through with something he is pretty happy with. Itâs definitely fine for the majority of schools on his list but will it be a winning essay for Northeastern or Case Western? Not sure. He did stress that teachers told him to write about things that would not be on his resume/application so he touched on his many passions and how he balances them all. He just has some short answer questions left on the common app and hopes to submit in the next week. He also has some essays to write for gymnastics awards and scholarships with deadlines looming so itâs been a bit overwhelming and my kid who rarely shows signs of stress is definitely showing some signs these days. I think he will be very relieved when this application part is over (although some schools do have scholarships that require extra essays or interviews so we will try to just focus on this for now.) I do like the advice of saying that submitting soon will offer more choices and merit opportunities when final decision time comes.
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My son is a pretty good writer. I teach college and let me tell you that if your high schooler is even a decent writer, thatâs not the norm. Our son asks us to proofread an English essay a couple times per semester and weâre always impressed with his writing. When proofreading, we sit down with him and go through it together to make sure heâs following the rationale for why and how to make corrections, and weâve found that he has good insight for editing as well.
I know he hates literary analysis, as he takes things literally and struggles with hidden meanings. It turns out he absolutely hates writing about himself. When I told him to be happy he wasnât doing U of Chicago essays, he looked them up and said âIâd love to do those. They sound like fun and at least I wouldnât be writing so much about myselfâ.
It was hard for him to understand the concept of writing about your qualities in a roundabout way by telling stories. His college essays are mostly underwhelming. They are all fine, and are probably at least average. He thinks they might not even be average but he doesnât have the perspective of being a college teacher LOL. He only had 6 short supplemental essays. Iâd say 2-3 are above average. His main essay is likely above average. Itâs about a couple of his very unusual hobbies and itâs not cringey. It might even be amusing â it had one of his friends in tears laughing at the first sentence. I think it will at least hold the readerâs interest.
I told him his essays wonât hurt him, and they might help him a bit, but theyâll probably serve to check a box and not much else. At least theyâre done and will likely do the required job. It was harder for him than I expected it to be based on his previous writing.
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Yay! That is indeed something to be happy about. Trying to have the same attitude here too. Havenât seen most of Sâs essays, but I am telling myself that whatever he puts on his application will be just right for getting into schools with other kids like him (that is, kids who are writing essays of similar quality). As long as he feels his essays represent him, I will have to let the AOs do their job of figuring out whether my kid is a fit.
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I told my daughter the same. She had some good essay ideas and is typically a great writer, but she seriously struggled getting her main common app essay written. She can write an AP Lang essay according to a rubric and get an A+ but a narrative essay? Forget it. Any feedback she got (from a teacher, two friends and a counselor) caused some major writerâs block that would last for days. She finally finished it this week and submitted a few EA applications to the schools on her list that didnât require any additional essays. Iâm not sure her supplemental essays for her remaining schools will be any easier for her to write, but at least they are shorter!
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