I'll add that it bills itself as an honor society for first and second year college students, in case that jogs someone's memory. I don't see anything in its information that seems to justify the cost ($95.) Debbie

Is anyone familiar with this group? If so, is it worthwhile/worth the cost? Thanks, Debbie

Upon closer examination, it doesn't seem to quite fit the bill either. Back to square one.

Just as I was getting ready to send Waynesburg University the Intent to Enroll with deposit for my daughter, she tells me that she's thinking seriously of majoring in Linguistics which Waynesburg doesn't have. A long, long, long internet search later found the above mentioned school as perhaps the only small, rural (ish) Christian college in the 'acceptable' regions of the country that has Linguistics as a major. (Can you say PICKY?) So I was wondering if anyone has any inside info on the place... TIA Debbie

to all of your students who have finals this week! My son is done, and home for Christmas :D. We just got his semester grades today and are very pleased. :D:D:D

Biting my nails (and praying a lot) as my oldest, a freshman at University of Akron, is beginning finals week with a bang -- Honors Calculus exam this morning... :willy_nilly:

Is there a way for you to include a supplement or an additional explanation, where you can include a transcript of the work completed at home? (Although, if the school grades are significantly lower than grades at home, that will probably cause a school to distrust your transcript somewhat...) If there isn't a way to do this in the Common App, perhaps the school's own application has one. Hope you find something that works! Debbie

I'm glad he was able to be there, and sorry that you have to watch him leave again. Hang in there! :grouphug:

Geneva called with an acceptance and scholarship offer, so we are done. Two kids, homeschooled from birth -- except #2 spent a few months in a private school, where she decided she was about 2-3 years ahead academically, and why she graduating at 17 -- accepted to decent schools with decent scholarships. By the Grace of God alone, I am done. (Okay, we have to finish schooling 12th grade, but then I'm done.)

to my daughter's first choice school: Waynesburg University, with a decent scholarship offer. Her only other application was to Geneva College, and I'm sure she'll be accepted. Both schools are very small, Christian schools in western PA.

Great idea... Unfortunately, I don't usually do a Christmas letter. Maybe I should this year! Thank you!

Last June, we held a graduation at home for our son. We invited a lot of family and friends, husband gave him an inspirational talk, handed him the diploma, etc. My daughter graduates this June. She's a very different animal from her older brother. Absolutely DOES NOT WANT any kind of ceremony or party. I am pretty sure that she'll let us take her out to dinner at a nice restaurant, maybe with her grandma in attendance. Here's my dilemma. I do not want to offend people who were invited to my son's graduation last year by thinking that they are ignored this year. I realize I could just send announcements, but I am afraid that will give the appearance of primarily looking for graduation gifts. Any thoughts?

My daughter is applying to two schools in PA this fall. We've not had any of these kind of problems, though that my be because both are Christian colleges that welcome homeschoolers. I sure hope so, anyway.

It is not this: But nor is it this: Everyone living in that building has a merit scholarship which they will lose if they don't keep their grades up. My son has never mentioned partying or noise at night, and I think he would have. It may be that she will need to look for a happy medium somewhere else.

I appreciate the helpful input... Now I just have to get the kid to finish them!

I have a student who is doing better in 12th grade than in previous years. Does anyone have any sense as to whether it would make sense to wait to apply to schools until the end of the 1st semester so those grades could be factored into the GPA? (Background info: I'm guessing her cumulative GPA would improve from a 3.26 to 3.32 or 3.33. [sub question: Do those numbers make sense? I worked hard a calculating it all, but my math is a bit spotty!] Her ACT is 30, and she's not applying to upper-tier schools at all, so we're primarily looking to increase merit aid offers.) Thanks in advance, Debbie

This is the situation: My daughter and I were scheduled to visit a couple of schools on October 3 & 4. I moved them to October 17 & 18th. Would it leave a really bad impression if I moved them again? (I could explain the reason to them if that would help. Briefly, a teen girl in church who I am close to was assaulted and has to testify in court. She's requested me to be there for support, but they keep changing the court date. Aargh!) Any advice? TIA Debbie

My daughter is a senior this year; after homeschooling two all the way through I will be done. We are visiting Geneva College and Waynesburg University next month. Both are small Christian schools in western PA. She'll probably go in as undecided/undeclared, but she will probably end up doing something in the writing and/or editing field. Blessings to all on this journey!

Just for a little more info, Waynesburg is quite small and on the edge of a small town in a rural area. It's one of two my daughter is going to apply to.

It's a Christian school, just south of Pittsburgh in PA, and it does have a nursing program. It's also reasonably priced for a private school, and seems to offer pretty decent merit aid... Blessings, Debbie

South of Pittsburgh: Grove City and Waynesburg. North of P'burg: Geneva. All homeschool friendly. The latter two are very small and on the edge of a small towns.

It seems to me that the more money the government puts in -- via grants or loans -- the more the costs go up. To some extent, I'm guessing that government trying to 'help' by giving out grants and loans is a large part of the reason costs have gone up. All the bells and whistles? The schools have figured out that families can still pay about what they always could, but with all the extra money provided by the government, they can compete for students with all the fancy new athletic centers, meal options, and dorms. Can of worms here, but the parallel seems too clear to ignore: Health care seems to have gone/be going the same way...

Move-in day is Friday... no tears yet, but watery eyes when I think about things too much! Not sure it was a good idea, but we're cleaning and organizing his room at the same time as we pack up what he's taking to college. Hugs to all of us moms saying goodbye for the first time...:sad:

We didn't qualify for need-based aid, but my son with a 'mommy diploma' got financial aid offers at every school he applied to: private schools in Ohio and PA, and public schools in Ohio, KY, PA, and MI. HTH Debbie

The instructor of a computer class my son took suggested this, and I think it was very helpful. So much information is online now that it was not difficult -- though it was time consuming -- for us to find the suggested course list for his major, as well as, for most if not all the schools, the course descriptions, too. We cut/pasted all this stuff into MS Word docs, and he was able to choose which schools to apply to based on the content of the courses. I definitely recommend this approach to help narrow the applications pool. Blessings, Debbie