Students applying for college fall 2011?

[creekland]

Thought we might want to do a roll call. This would be (in general) for starting in fall of 2012, but "close enough" certainly counts. Feel free to add if you have a "candidate." ;)

 

I'll start with my middle son. He hopes to eventually become a doctor, so will be on a pre-med track. Probable majors at this point appear to be neuroscience or microbio, but I'm also not sure he's totally set on those.

 

We've started the common app, but a couple of schools have their own app instead. He's started those too. He's looking at both state and private schools. Nothing is complete and submitted yet.

 

We still have a few schools to visit and will attend a college fair in Gettysburg Oct 4th.

 

Next?

[dirty ethel rackham]

ds17 is applying this fall as well. He was born a scientist - he is so the absent minded professor. He plans on majoring in biology and, he hopes, finding some interesting research in vertebrate biology. He will probably end up with a PhD. We are looking at small LACs within 3 hours from home. Last year, we went to a Colleges that Change Lives fair and that convinced us that he should go to a small school. He is applying to Hope, Beloit, Bradley and Illinois Wesleyan.

 

He has started the common app and is working on his essay. I wish he had a draft by now because his college classes start next week (chem and calculus) and he will be busy. I am sooo trying not to nag.but we need all the scholarship money we can get so he has to make that Nov 1 deadline. He is also working on his National Merit scholarship app. Praying for a better SAT score from next month's test (he bombed the one last spring due him having 2 major papers, an exam and the SAT all in one week.)

[Denise in Florida]

DD17 is making her college list and checking it twice. :001_smile:

 

Her interests change constantly so we are looking at schools where she can get a solid, challenging, liberal arts background. She has expressed an interest in medicine but I doubt that will last very long.

 

She enjoys math and history the most. She is currenlty taking college calculus as dual enrollment credit.

 

She will probably have around 25 to 30 credits when she completes high school.

 

Her main concern, search criteria wise, is that the school have an equestrian team. :001_huh: I will say that is not my major concern but it will probably be a deal breaker thing for her.

[April in CA]

Hi! Younger son is working on college apps currently. He is looking seriously at Texas A&M, and also at the University of New Mexico. He will also consider some of the other state schools that offer generous merit aid (nat'l merit semifinalist - hope to make it to finalist), especially if the schools are in places that don't get a lot of snow! He is looking strongly at Chem Eng as a major, and he is also eclectic enough to enjoy a number of other subjects that he could find to pursue at a larger university. I would love to have him consider some smaller schools that offer what he wants along with generous merit aid, so suggestions are welcome! We just got a postcard advertising q & a sessions for students interested in some of the most selective schools (Stanford, Harvard, etc). Hopefully we can attend a session here in CA in Oct to see if he wants to apply to Stanford. I would love him to apply to Cal Tech, but I don't know if their course offerings are diverse enough for his interests. He takes the SAT on Oct 1st. This is already a busy year!

Blessings,

April

[Michelle in AL]

Dd #1 will be majoring in aeronautical engineering. She is applying to Mississippi State, which she loves. She can major in aero engineering there instead of aerospace/aeronautical that most colleges offer. They also have an amazing aero lab with 5 planes and a helicopter. The professors we've met are passionate and invested in their students.

 

I'm making her apply to Texas A&M also, as a back-up (she prefers Miss State).

[Hunter's Moon]

Me :w00t:

 

I have no idea really what I plan to do, so applying undecided to two private schools & two CC's.

 

Right now, I am leaning towards majoring in Liberal Studies with an Early Childhood Education concentration, and then getting a Master's in Early Childhood Education (it is a 5-year program at one school.) I like that I could work as a teacher OR use my liberal studies degree for something else for graduate school if I choose.

[cupajoe]

My dd17 is applying this fall. She is our oldest, and I never realized how stressful this time would be! Am I alone in feeling like SOMETHING is inevitably going to fall through the cracks?

 

She is planning to become either a missionary midwife or obstetrician, so she has decided to major in nursing and go for a BSN, followed by grad school. If she makes the decision over the next two years or so to, instead, pursue a more pre-med track, she will change majors at that point. If all goes well with this year's AP tests, she should have roughly 24 - 30 credits (depending upon the school) that will "count", so that should help her stay on track (4 years of undergrad) if she does make the transition.

 

She is applying to U. of Alabama, U. of Pittsburgh, Florida State, U. of South Florida, UNC-CH, Drexel, and perhaps 1 or 2 more. We, too, absolutely MUST meet early deadlines (we are aiming for Oct 7th) for scholarship purposes. She is a National Achievement semifinalist (would have made last year's cutoff in our state for National Merit semi, but missed it this year...ugh!), so that is a big plus at this point, as is the fact that we are Florida residents so she will qualify for the Bright Futures full tuition scholarship.

 

Right now, dd is knee-deep in essay writing. For the most part, the schools she is applying to have their own applications (not the common ap).

 

Not sure what you mean by "candidate", so I can't answer that part! I'm sure I'll be frequenting this board over the next few months. Praying we all get through this season with our sanity intact!

[Cathy in TX]

My oldest is in the middle of applying. So far she has finished her application to Abilene Christian, and is working on essays and the common ap for Texas Tech and Texas A & M. She wants to get into the Honor's College at Texas Tech and major in English.

 

She is feeling the pressure to get those applications in, work on raising her ACT score, and keep up with her DE classes and tutoring job at the community college. Tomorrow she starts co-op classes, as well. Add in cheerleading practice and Friday night football games, and her plate is very full. (She cheers for a homeschool 6-man tackle football team.)

 

I've been pleasantly surprised at how she has assumed ownership of all of this. Last year I thought I would have to drag her through the applications kicking and screaming. Then we began visiting colleges and she found one she loved. Hooray!

 

Cathy

[Leonor]

I'm in denial. I can't believe that I'm not just reading through this thread, I can actually post.

 

My firstborn(out of only 2) ds 17 is applying this fall. He is a true liberal arts guy. He has always loved history and philosophy. At this point, I think he will be majoring in Political Theory instead of History. All his young life he said he wanted to be a history professor. He has decided to pursue a pre-law track. Eventually, attend law school. Sometime after that, he still thinks when he is older he can get a Ph.D. in History.

 

For now, we are hoping to apply for early decision Nov. 1. We will be attending a Prospective Student Day in Oct. at the college he is interested in. He has already attended a couple of summer camps there. I have been to the campus before. We have friends attending.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Leonor

[Susan C.]

My oldest graduates from college in 2012, and our youngest graduates from high school. She wants to go to the same college as ds (local). We are waiting for transcripts so she can apply soon. I'm almost finished homeschooling!

[JennW in SoCal]

Oldest just started full time college after a gap year and now the youngest is preparing to apply. And with the youngest taking mostly community college classes this year, I'm getting a taste of my post-homeschooling life. I like it!!

 

My youngest wants a small liberal arts college with a strong science program, and Grinnell so far seems to be the best fit, but Beloit, Lawrence, Wooster and Willamette are also on his list.

 

I've written all MY "essays" -- the guidance counselor letter and the homeschool supplement. Now I have to bite my nails waiting for ds to get going on his. He loves writing at the last minute, the thrill of the deadline, I guess, but he seemed to agree with me that these can't wait, that he needs to have time for tinkering and editing and proofreading.

[Gwen in VA]

We finished up ds2's ED application last week. It was such a relief to get it out.

 

Now we wait for December 15.......and either we get busy doing more applications or we celebrate!

[Moira in MA]

My youngest dd, 17, will be applying to college for fall 2012 entry.

 

Like her sister, she'll be going to Canada.

 

She's really not sure where she wants to go or what she wants to study so we have a lot of work ahead of us -- so different from her sister who knew exactly where and what.

 

~Moira

[memphispeg]

Dd in the middle of getting her applications lined up for a bunch of schools. She is applying to state schools, small liberal arts colleges, large private universities, tech schools. She wants certain programs so she is applying to schools that have them. She has a long haul but, will work an hour or so a day. She has a few ED and EA possibilities that she has not committed to yet. Where she goes will depend on where she gets in and how much aid she gets. Fingers crossed for this kid, please????

[Catherine]

He's a senior this year, after spending last year in Germany as an exchange student. He's gotten his heart set on Harvery Mudd, one of the Clarement Colleges. He's going to apply ED. The rest of his list is less clear. He has a few ideas, he'll probably apply to University of Rochester, Hopkins, and possibly also Princeton. He has high aspirations, but I fear his transcript is not going to get him in to Harvery Mudd or Princeton. We'll see.

[mochick]

My oldest is 17 and wants to be a music major. So not only do we have applications to fill out (including the common app and all its supplements) but we have auditions to get through. Her first choice is a very selective university with an also extremely selective music school! I am so scared I'm going to do my part wrong! Any advise on filling out the questions on the Homeschool supplement? How long of an answer do they want for homeschool philosophy? Yikes!!!

[Grace is Sufficient]

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!

[debbiec]

He will graduate May 2012 and seriously considered a gap year but has since opted against it. He is planning to attend medical school, but plans to be an English major for his undergraduate and taking the science/math classes to be take the MCAT. Some schools will allow him a "prehealth" minor and some have recommended a double major (science/English). The jury is still out on that for him.

 

We have visited 5 colleges so far and have 1-2 more to go before November 2011. He has completed application for 3 of them so far, and one more to tie up some loose ends (essay), and one more state school (back up/safety). The private school essays are bogging him down right now.