We're in Texas, but she's interested in out-of-state schools. Good to know about your daughter's experience in Senegal. I'm very nervous, but she's so excited for such an adventure. Looking forward to being on the other side of the college app process! I'm sure it will be a big relief to her to have it taken care of before she leaves so she can focus on her experience there.

I've not been on the forums for a while, but DD2 received a YES Abroad Scholarship to study for a year in Senegal, so we're suddenly needing to move up the college application process considerably so that she can finish applications before she leaves. She is pretty sure she wants to go into nursing, potentially with a long-term goal of Nurse Practitioner or CNM. My concerns are that she doesn't have nursing experience (so it's hard to know if she'll change her mind), and I'd really like her to have a broader liberal arts education before focusing in on a career area. Picking a school based on nursing programs significantly limits this part of the college experience, as far as I can tell. Does anyone have any advice on smaller, liberal arts colleges that also have a nursing program? Or good recommendations on nursing programs that have unique approaches with perhaps more emphasis on humanities and the arts? Thanks! ~shewhoseeks

On the financial front, I'm feeling especially grateful for how things worked out, because we very nearly screwed this up. My daughter applied to schools with big scholarships (like SMU's president's scholars, or the Duke/UNC Robertson Scholar program), to a nearby school that offered good merit aid for high scores (but oops- apparently only for National Merit Finalists; the very high actual SAT score taken only a few weeks later counted for nothing), and to some top reach schools that meet need without loans. I overlooked an actual FINANCIAL safety somehow, and when I realized this and suggested my daughter apply for an in-state school, we found that they had a very early deadline that had passed. So all private or out-of-state tuition schools. Gulp. For us, even though SMU, OU, and New College gave scholarships, there would have been substantial loans and there was a large gap between their package and our EFC. UNC-Chapel Hill gave us a financial package that met our need, but would have required at least $9K in loans/year. We were considering this. Swarthmore met our need (everything but the EFC + some change), without loans. I will definitely put more thought into financial safeties next time around! At least one or two in-state financial safeties, a couple of schools that offer good merit aid, and a reach or two that meet need without loans.

Final results for my first daughter to graduate Acceptances: Southern Methodist University- $20k/yr scholarship University of Oklahoma New College of Florida-$15k/yr scholarship University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Swarthmore Waitlist: Brown Colorado College Duke Rejected: Oberlin Pretty sure she'll be attending Swarthmore, though she may decide to stay on the waitlist for Brown, since it's been her dream school for so long. I think Swarthmore will really be a better fit for her, though, and it was by far the best financial package. She'll be visiting for their Ride the Tide program in late April. Glad that's over!

My daughter got accepted to Swarthmore!! Great financial package too. This is such a huge relief and a perfect school for her. I'm so excited for her! ~shewhoseeks

My oldest daughter, homeschooled since third grade, is now 4/4 for college acceptances!! She's been accepted at University of Oklahoma, Southern Methodist University, New College of Florida, and UNC-Chapel Hill! We're still waiting to hear back from her real reaches, but it feels good to have some options. Thanks to all of those here that have helped out along the way! ~Shewhoseeks

I'm trying to fill out the mid year report for the Common App, which asks for an updated transcript and GPA. I included semester grades for all of my daughter's current courses, but only one of them was a dual enrollment course that is now completed (and I will compute that in with the cumulative GPA). The rest are year-long courses. Do the semester grades for these courses get figured into the GPA somehow? I wouldn't think so, but then I've read about how some people wait to send in applications until they get the senior first semester grades, so I wondered if I was missing something. I just wondered how everyone else handles these grades on the mid year report. Thanks!

I would assume that only dual enrollment courses that are completed would be factored into the GPA, but some things I've read about mid semester grades helping a student's GPA confuse me. Do the other grades affect the GPA at all? Thanks! ~shewhoseeks

nm

My daughter said, "All of the TASPs are very humanities-based, so she should be interested in that experience, but there were several more science-oriented students there too. They kept up with the courses fine and added an interesting different perspective. A lot of them really didn't have much of a humanities background, but they enjoyed it."

And world! There were Taspers from South Korea, Macedonia, Brazil, Guam, and China, as well as all over the country.

Oh, I noticed you said rising seniors. You apply for TASP during the junior year of high school, and attend the summer before your senior year. There is also another program (TASS), for the summer between the sophomore and junior year.

My daughter attended one of the TASP sessions at UMich this summer. She had a wonderful time and really connected to the other students. She's done summer programs before, but this was the first one where she loved everyone. There was a tremendous amount of diversity, which she enjoyed. She said there was a really big workload, which she didn't mind, and the course was really engaging and interesting. Another favorite was the pubspeaks, where they each gave a presentation on any topic that was important to them. So far they're all keeping up with each other afterwards, too, and planning to meet up at college visits. Let me know if you have specific questions! ~shewhoseeks

For anyone that's interested, my daughter DID eventually get accepted to TASP! She agonized over the decision. We were so impressed with how well-run the NSLI-Y China program was, and China has been her dream for years (she's been studying Mandarin for seven years). Ultimately, though, she chose TASP because it's such a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She hopes to make it to China next summer or possibly for a gap year. She set high goals for herself and has worked so hard, so I'm beyond thrilled that these kinds of opportunities are coming through for her!

Thanks Gwen! I know that's wise. I'll just remind her that she doesn't need to worry about that yet. She is VERY excited about the interview!