<p>
Yes. It is. </p>
<p>LOL. Again, I realize that her ability didn't change because some line of demarcation has been passed. At her 1470/2160 she was firmly convinced she could do the work at any of the fine schools mentioned on this thread. I agreed. Her teachers agreed. This just helps others who don't have the luxury we have had to see additional evidence of it, too.</p>
<p>Curmudeon: congrats to your D on a great ACT score. Now that you've accumulated a list here of almost every top college, let me stress a couple of points: first, and foremost, stick to the basics, a few reaches, a few matches, and a couple of safeties your daughter would feel good about attending, because, second, all the super-selective schools she has a shot at remain just that: a shot. 35 ACT notwithstanding, HYPSM, the other ivies, the top lacs, Duke, WUSTL are all very hard to get in to; your role should be to manage expectations, as well as cheerleading.</p>
<p>I don't want to sound negative, and I think your daughter sounds great, and has a shot at anywhere. Just stick to basics.</p>
<p>cur:</p>
<p>if Sat Subject Tests are in the picture, instead of taking them cold, pick up CB's Real SAT II tests, and take a practice test or two (Xiggi method). Within 60 minutes, she'll know is she can score 700+ on Math 2 (or whatever) just by showing up. If she scores in the 600's, which is possible bcos kids can react very differently to the ACT and SAT, then she'll know that prep is the only way to get those scores over 700. Moreover, we know that time is short and B'ball season is just about to start......</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>blue, good advice from you and all the others and what would you know? I already own the prep books.;) Two of them anyway. I'll probably just sign her up before midnight and hope my powers of persuasion are more effective than usual. BTW, good call on bball. Official practices start the 19th. I'll have to be prepped to hear that excuse.</p>
<p>idler, I put more detail in the P.M. but just wanted to publicly thank you for making sure we were still focused.That has historically been my job here on cc. I had admitted to a friend on the board privately that when I saw the 35 pop up on the screen the sounds of "harvard-type" bells and the ca-ching of merit money at a "Duke-type" school simultaneously but momentarily entered my mind. I have since been able to re-focus. But thanks for checking to see that the tether line hadn't come completely detached.</p>
<p>idler's post is so timely and such an indication of why this forum is so, so good. We can <em>all</em> get carried away in the moment - and for someone else's kid to boot! If curmudge came to us with the list we have been proposing here, we'd shoot him dead! Now, I know he wouldn't do that, but idler has reminded us of what our collective wisdom already knows. Still, curmudge has maybe been "under shooting" for a while now and I am glad we got a chance to give him a boot in the b<em>tt! Now, if we could all just sit collectively for those d</em>mned SAT II's :p</p>
<p>Yeah. What she said. LOL. </p>
<p>jmmom, you can consider my butt booted. By you, alu, carolyn,..... xig, TheDad, blue, .......firefly, SB, Dave himself,....... my washu "secret friend", the Maytag guy, the......You can all enjoy your "told you so's" .</p>
<p>Curmudge: It is totally cool that you are temporarily bowled over with your Ds great outcome on the ACT...we are also just as thrilled. We got on a plane last October 18 and visited schools that were formally super reaches, but this year it is Parents Weekend for me. Last October's final tour was perhaps the most time I will ever spend intensely involved with my son. I so enjoyed sharing that and seeing him on his feet thinking about his future. He is semi emancipated now and out in the world. So do enjoy these final weeks and keep laughing. But perhaps your D may have a similar path to Berurah's Kansas S. Many great admissions, some mystery disappointments, and some merit offers that are to die for. You will never know unless you pick 8 and just do it. Love all of them when you apply is my advice, and pick match schools where she will also like her peers and shine. With her stats, her match schools will also be super duper. You will need to do some deep thinking on finances. Let me add that my family ignored really caring about this and were totally all about the schools in our search. Start out by assuming the FAFSA is correct. My spouse took ours to an accoutant..hoping to find something to improve our estimates, including estimating the assets that are "ours" in a business that we own a very little portion of, and he handed it back. His view was that our EFC was much bigger than our first try! oy. My son received three "honors admissions" but they were limited to stipended trips and he was not selected for any merit money in his privates..since he looked like the entire pool of kids admitted, although your D's ACTs and geographic location and ECs are more compelling and she may be the one pulled out and offered the Robertson, the Lay etc. In fact, I am sure she will be considered for those type merit scholarships. Paying full ride is a big deal since we have another S and assume our kids will also continue studying further.<br>
That said, I confess that we chose the school that had the best fit for our S's passions, his need for smaller classrooms, and preference for a diverse and new peer group and we did not do the sensible thing. When I quit walking around the house rearranging closets and "get" that he really is gone, it is going to be a decade of serious employment and working for the parents because we truly love knowing our Ss are having transformative experiences in places that are giving them joy and inspiration and new mentors.<br>
That said, of my son's seven applications: I could have been joyful about his attending any of them, and I think he received so many admissions because he also loved his match schools very much and did not count on his Reaches. This came through in his references, interviews and essays about each College X. So love all the possible wonderfuls..you still have a little time to sort the list out. However, you should be asking for alum interviews now if possible. Our Ivy interview got bungled and took place in February..when decisions were likely already made. Each school has a different system and they don't all work smoothly, so best to ask sooner rather than later for this. By the way, it is hard to realize now, but kids still send out awards etc after winter to admissions, and your D will likey be sending a few things to her files after the deadlines....</p>
<p>Well said, Idler! Good luck Curmudgeon, She may have plugged in that last number, but she still has complicated decisions because of basketball, merit money, etc. I know that after the flurry of congrats and flights of fancy, she will return to earth, though perhaps with a few more reaches on the list.</p>
<p>Encourage her to refine her list based on what is important to her - bball, academic opportunities, distance from home, size, whatever, before she starts to get safety admissions. Unfortunately, as the fall wears on, and bball gets going in earnest, it will be more and more difficult to get those extra scholarship esays done, not to mention the on campus interviews that you hope will be coming.
It helped to make the final list decisions before the emotions of worry (just add one more school) and boredom (do I have to do another essay) start changing attitudes. It also helps to know the extent of the work to be done! At the time, our school's limit of 6 apps seemed onerous, but in the end, she can only go to one school, so there is some sense to doing a part of the decision making at the front end. Of course, the desire for merit money and the complication of athletics, may make 6 totally unreasonable in your child's case - but the principle holds, sometimes more is just more.</p>
<p>cangel, as always good advice. Because of her "complications" I think she'll hold at ten. She already has seven she's comfortable with. One or more may get jettisoned. Leaves 3-4-5 slots open. That should be enough if she picks wisely and does a bang-up job on each school.</p>
<p>Cur,</p>
<p>Ten sounds good. If you are the spreadsheet type, I can imagine a spreadsheet with Column A 15 schools as the trial short list. Each subsequent column rates the school against her key criteria, i.e. size, location, travel complexities, boy/girl ratio, academic program fit (i.e. neuroscience and other stuff), liberal/conservative, probability of being able to play basketball, probability of being able to march in the band, likelihood of good finaid, likelihood of merit money, and then the all important reach, match, safety category.</p>
<p>But once she makes the spreadsheet, and it would have to be her because she would have to believe the rankings and probabilities, then you move to the intuitive mode of decision-making. She just looks at the list. Then puts it down. Then goes to basketball practice. Then comes home. Then does her homework. Then hangs out with friends. Then comes home and looks at the list again.</p>
<p>At a certain point, the parent says, OK, which ones are we taking off the list? Use the jmmom method for deciding. Decide on a set to take off and then live with it for a day and see if you feel remorse. And then you set down the dates and deadlines and she goes forward.</p>
<p>I have turned off the PM function due to some odd messages, but wanted to give you some advice if that's OK, following my experience with my similarly-statted D.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Send tapes. Both basketball and tuba if possible. Right there she is memorable. My D was accepted where she sent the CD and photo of her dancing, WL elsewhere. It's not just the talent IMHO, it's the way the personalities of these possessed semi-demon girls shows through. ;).</p></li>
<li><p>Find an essay prompt that really shows who she is. My D was accepted to places where the essay prompt was "Choose someone important to you". For one she chose Gandhi, because, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" is just so logical. For one she chose her adopted niece, whom she adores. Both essays were particularly suited to her unique combination of a highly practical and yet highly emotional approach to life. I stress, find the right prompt. Not write the right essay, find the right prompt.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Boy I wish her well. No matter what the outcome of the apps, she should enjoy this moment. Also, if she balks and refuses to participate in our Mudgie parade, heed her words. Remember, the high-achieving kid thing is an addiction and you can join us in Sinner's Alley at any point to weather the withdrawal. Ripeness is all, both academic and personal.</p>
<p>I think alu's suggestions are excellent.</p>
<p>I would add to try to keep the list a <em>little</em> bit diverse (poltically, urban/rural, vibe-wise, size-wise.) Try to have a little wiggle room for subtle wish-list changes. Evolution, over next 6-7 months, is a certainty. She won't change her stripes completely, but she will move in subtle ways, and it's nice to accommodate that in advance by staying a little bit open minded right now. Who knows whether D3 ball will go from "important" to "vital?" Who knows whether political winds may shift or comfort zone for a more urban environment will increase? Also, theres the $. I would not dump any strong merit aid schools that are even outside possibilities. It's REMARKABLE how quickly one can "fall in love" with a school that's dying (& paying!) for you to come.</p>
<p>I felt my primary role last year was just keeping D's moustrap-quick teenaged mind open long enough for her to digest her choices and their implications and to remain flexible to her own internal changes-to-come.</p>
<p>Mudge:</p>
<p>A footnote to Alumom, it is so true to find the right prompt and let what is unique and unusual about your D shine through. My D had one prompt about "changing bodies with any one you want" She thought it was so lame, as she would never want to change bodies- that was the answer and that was the essay she wrote- not changing bodies, keeping her own and why, her GC said it was so totally her and she did get in! What I saw in my D2's apps that I did not see in D1s was the complete and total use of the essays to show them who she really is and why she is passionate about her "stuff." The one school who turned her down (out of 7), she said, "their loss" and "if they don't think I would fit there, then I am glad not to be there" not with grumpies, just matter of factly, because her writings displayed so well exactly who she is. The trick is to know, at 16/17, who you are ;)</p>
<p>Three great anecdotes from the Moms!</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>The trick is to know, at 16/17, who you are<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>The corollary trick at 16/17 is to know what you want and don't want (in a college, in this case, and to remain open to the idea that you may change your mind over the course of the year, and that's OK, too (that was something of a tough one at our house).</p>
<p>Alumother - "finding the right prompt" is a wonderful tidbit of advice, so true. After a couple of years of observing this, it seems the most real success comes to the kids who can put themselves out there as they truly are - through essays and the presentation of their extracurriculars. They don't get 100% success rates by any means, but I think Somemom's daughter is wise when she said the one who didn't take her wouldn't fit anyway. The essays that get posted that make you wince are the ones that could have been written by any generic smart kid, not the ones with a few awkward sentence constructions or simple words.</p>
<p>Curm - coming late to the table on this thread, but if I'm understanding right, The Curmling, via her ACT, etc., is thinking she should be setting her sights higher than what had been her list of school faves?? First - big congrats to her....and second...hey gang, this means we're in for more of Curm's college visit reports!! Whooo Hooo!!</p>
<p>I have a bad cold, so bear with me as my thoughts are kind of scattered..</p>
<p>I feel the need to give some advice on merit money search (based on our experience)..I feel we probably messed up on not visiting ALL schools, but we kind of just ran out of time and money.</p>
<p>to be concise..we needed merit money. My son applied to:</p>
<p>Harvard for the heck of it (rec from prof after extensive contact)
UChicago (EA..we STILL don't get how they handle merit money..but we THOUGHT we did when he applied. VERY intellectual kid who showed LOTS of interest...prof contact and interest displayed BOTH ways)
McGill in Montreal (no visit)
Rice (no visit..a bit of prof contact)
UMICH (no visit..legacy..a bit of prof contact)
WUSTL..visit, prof contact, applied for separate scholarship and attended interview weekend</p>
<p>visited and did not apply..Oberlin, Swarthmore, OSU, MIT, New College of Florida</p>
<p>stats..1580 SAT (2 sittings), 36 ACT, SATIIs-800/800/800</p>
<p>Applied to Chicago by end of Oct. Applied to rest on Dec10. He got in to all schools except Harvard. ONLY offer of merit money was WASHU with full tuition scholarship which ironically was the only school I felt we could not predict at all.</p>
<p>I LOVE the advice that your child should love ALL schools she applied to, but it just didn't happen here. My S wanted to go to UChicago for over a year. It was next to impossible to sell him on anything else. We were CONVINCED he would get money from them (as were some other friends out on this messgae board) He got invited to the scholar's weekend at WASHU from Apr 7-10 and because of an interesting prof there who he had been communicating with, he went. He loved his experience there with the professors..slam dunk when the scholarship offer came. (This was April 12) I wouldn't have bet a nickel on him ending up there on April 5. You just never know.</p>
<p>Really now, 7 pages of discussion and your (I mean your D's) problem is exactly the same as before...which 10 colleges? Many fit the bill, despite excluding Texas schools. Even with stellar stats, it's still a crapshoot, and it all boils down to the bottom line unless you have 40+K per year available. Congrats on raising a fine, talented child, who I am sure will be accepted someplace perfect for her!</p>
<p>kdos, your son's experience is exactly why I would not pare any solid merit aid schools off the core list.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Really now, 7 pages of discussion and your (I mean your D's) problem is exactly the same as before
[/quote]
Yeah, but Cur has been so generous with his time and his good humor that we all enjoy "talking" to him.</p>
<p>agreed SBmom</p>