My daughter just sent hand written thank you notes. Congrats on the scholarship!!

My kids both used Prep Scholar. I did a review a while back on it so you can search for it. Both kids improved 4 points and one had very little room to improve. It takes about 60-80 hours (kid dependent) to get through the course to qualify for the refund, so unless your kid is willing to work you can't bank on the "4 point guarantee".

I did both and provided my scale for weighting. On the Coalition App there are 500 questions about the grading scale so it'll be covered.

What's the state law? I'm in the South and our state is 15 for legal overnight. I recently left my 16 year old for a night, then a couple nights. He doesn't have a licence so he biked to work (easy, safe ride) and church (next to work). He managed the dogs, etc. He's also 6'2 and a second degree black belt with good situational awareness and dual enrolled (on campus), so he ages up. I also had neighbors in the know so he had 4 people he could call for help if he needed it. So, I'd go with family, a friend, etc. He'll be ready soon, but I think 14 alone is a lot.

And, junior year is the worst. Hang in there.

1. Address the physical. 2. What are her goals? Does she want to attend a highly selective college in a demanding major? Or, does she want to attend a LAC with a more holistic learning experience? I think the answer makes a fairly large impact on the decision about schools. If she's intent on, say engineering at MIT (just an example) she'll need to learn how to deal with the rigor and pressure and pace, and find her personal balance in that. Now would be a good time to start learning the coping skills for that. But, leaving a high pressure environment now might be tricky to explain on an application if she's wanting a high pressure college experience, kwim? It's not impossible - but something to consider. If she's more interested in a unique LAC education, then going home and designing her curriculum herself is in line with the future and easily explained on an application. Neither path is right or wrong or better - but definitely a good idea to consider how she'll explain her path and decisions. I think in either path the ability to make a decision about what she wants for her life, health, and education and walking it out and being able to explain that to an admissions director are all AMAZING things that will show her maturity and ability to succeed as an adult.

I did not do course descriptions. DD now attends a highly selective University. She also had a bit of DE (20+ hours?) and a few unusual courses (shop, international studies, etc) but otherwise a fairly standard (normal for the college) academically advanced transcript.

This might sound dumb, but Walmart jeggings. Buy a size large. They're great. Very flattering, longish, and if you destroy them they're $9ish a pair. After that, Old Navy jeggings in a long. They're great too. Nicer than the Walmart ones, but more $.

My sister is a high school physics teacher. Last year I was stressing about the same kind of issues. One thing she said really helped. "If you asked 100 admissions officers what they'd do with their kid, it's what you're doing. Don't stress." She was right. I think my DDs unusual path really helped her. (One of her big decisions was more DE to get through Calculus 2, which most every everything freshman have at her dream school, or travel. A lot. We choose travel. 😄) Celebrate her journey! And every school will try and sell you all the benefits of their international programs... You already know that. Sell it!! 😃😃

Yeah. I hear you. Our church says it's scholarship is "need based" and then never asked a single financial question. 🙄

1. Deep breath. It'll be ok! Really. 2. I'd contact the academies and see if there's a rep near you that you could meet with. This can help a ton with the process and connection for a recommendation. I'd have your student take the initiative on connecting and setting up a meeting. Go beyond the fairs. Grads (I'm one) and reps love to talk about their academies and love initiative. Recruiting helps but she still has to get in. 3. Overall, I'd recommend emphasizing your student's uniqueness. The competitive colleges see A TON of similar, highly qualified candidates. What makes your student special IS the weirdness of your journey. Celebrate it. She's smart, capable, and has walked an interesting path - communicate that. She needs to also. You have opportunities with the educational statement and she can do it in her essays. It's the time to share your journey. 4. If she's a junior - seek out the academy summer programs. Highly recommended. Hope that helps! Really, don't underestimate her LIFE. It's far too interesting to stick in the standard box and that's A GREAT thing for selective colleges. Hang in there!!

This thread cost me $26. Thank you. LOL!!!😊

Driving with my permitted driver this morning made me think of this thread. And, all the things I'd like to say to the people behind us. Like, "Sorry. I know that was rude how we cut you off. I'm actually really, really sorry. I've already //discussed// it in the car here. No need to flip off my 16 year old who, if you looked at them as you floored it, could tell was terrified and I was waving apologetically." And "Oh yes. Tailgating as we drive the speed limit really helps my new driver to be safe and comfortable on this narrow road with a ridiculously high speed limit. And, it definitely inspires us to speed up. Oh. Wait. NEVER!!! Back off, jerk!!" And, "I actually asked them to [insert whatever annoyed you here]. I am here to torture you because there is NOTHING I LOVE MORE than teaching driving. Nothing." Please be kind to slow drivers. Especially ones in mini vans, or reasonable compact cars with teen drivers and middle aged parents in the passenger seats. Please.

This is BY FAR my least favorite of parenting. I make myself go every. single. day. Kid needs it. I need it. I commiserate with all the parents who hate it.

Harry Potter studio tour!! It's awesome!! And, I think isn't that far from Heathrow. You do have to book tickets WELL in advance.

I agree with the multi phase process. For me, with my first having left for college last week, it's the realization that life as we knew it is over. We're all launching into a New Normal. Sure, there will be breaks and times at home, but those too will be fleeting. And, every kid is different and each transition is unique but however you label it, the move out to college is A HUGE transition for everyone.

I am not a fan of a "class" for academic credit, but I'm fine with it as a club or intramural. My son loves the idea of joining an exports league/club in college. Like football, there's a miniscule chance any kid would be a "pro" but finding friendship and commonality while navigating school and life - sure!! And I'll add - I'm not for the violent games but esports are not usually those games and are more tactical, team games. Smash is huge right now and honestly pretty funny.

Legos. But, I ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Legos.

I might also start t keeping screen shots of anything related on social media. It's insane what teens will post without thinking.

I have no experience but want to know we're here and you're not alone. I'm sorry you have to walk through this. (((Hugs)))

I envy people who LOVE driving shotgun with emerging drivers. Oh my. I am NOT one of them.

There's a brand out of New Orleans that's AMAZING. It's in the refrigerator section, blue label - brand is Cool Brew. Publix, Whole Foods, and other stores carry it. It's expensive but REALLY, REALLY concentrated. I mix it with ice and unsweetened almond milk and it's perfect. If you DIY, the coffee toddy is worth the money. I highly recommend the disposable filters. They're a little extra, but make clean up NOTHING and are such a luxury.

I'll throw in a few things with the great advice you've already been given. Not to be a wet blanket, but schools that reach out don't always do so with scholarships in the end. Go into the process as emotionless and realistic about what you can afford in the long run and the realities of admissions statistics. And, applications are expensive ($50 for the application, plus $15 for every ACT score to be sent, plus any DE transcripts you have to send, etc.) so I would limit the list to schools she really cares about. Again, not to be a downer, but you can read up on the finance issues on other current threads, and highly selective schools really are highly selective. (As an aside, University of Chicago... Stop already with the mail. LOL). We would actually play Buzz Word Bingo with the mailings when they were are the height of the mailing season. "Unique", "World focused", "Experiential", "Personal"... You get the idea. (We really weren't trying to be ugly or cynical - it's just kind of a stressful time and it made the process a little bit lighter.) My dd applied to a couple competitive schools and beyond a transcript, no one wanted anything amplifying (course descriptions, etc). There was the counselor statement (Coalition App maybe?) that is amplifying, but not about classes. My dd did have a number of DE credits from junior and senior year, so those had their own transcripts but I included them for her GPA. I researched what was a reasonable weighting for high school, honors, and DE/AP and put a really clear scale on the transcript. If the schools use the coalition app you'll enter data ad nauseam for what your scales are, etc. so they'll know what you used. For the Counselor Statement, I spent a lot of time on why my student was unique, our educational philosophy, etc. It was the one spot I had to really share what made our school experience stand out and why our process would prepare her for a competitive college. I've always been part focused academic, part hippie - so it was really a great opportunity to expound our journey. In addition to that the student essays really are the place to share and shine - so use those wisely. Good luck! Don't stress. Let your student run the process. And come here for encouragement!!

I think you make some great points here. I think there is a totally unrealistic myth out there that high stat kids get "full rides" wherever they want. Yes, they can get them, but they're not usually at the high stat schools. Kids with 34/35/36 ACT scores applying to high stat colleges are "qualified" and generally meet the stats of the middle 50% of the application pool. Great. At that point you're still lucky to get in much less get a scholarship. To get a 'full ride" they need to apply to schools where their stats are WELL above the average. At that point, it's beneficial for the college to entice them to go there to raise the average stats of the incoming class, but those schools may not have the same level of "elite". I think the school that worked this really well was UAH. It seems they're backing off on the amount of money being offered for stats/grades/tests but their process put them on the map - here and I'm sure other places. I'm sure they got LOADS of applicants that otherwise would not have given them a look. But, if a kid/parent gets too attached emotionally, I can see where it would be brutal to take a step back and look at the financials and see the long term benefit of taking the scholarship at a less high stat college. And before I get flamed, I know that state schools are STILL crazy expensive and don't give out money like they used to (or they used to charge a whole lot less) and some kids need to take out loans. I get that. I get not every kid is high stat. I also get that students can work jobs, live at home, pick a different school, work hard to raise ACT scores (if possible) to get a better aid package, do some time at a CC, and do other things to avoid debt (said by someone who committed myself to military service for 10 years to pay for my college bills). I am not 100% anti loan, but I am very, very concerned about strapping 18-22 year olds with levels of debt that they can't even wrap their brains around without really working to explore other, sometimes less ideal, options. AND, I am SO GRATEFUL for this board and you wise mentors out there who really opened my eyes to issues like this YEARS before we had to face it with our kids. You are lifesavers. Thank you!!!

I test drove a Pilot and hated it. I thought it had terrible blind spots and poor visibility. If definitely drive both before deciding.