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2015 College acceptances - is this where it goes?


momofkhm

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Wow.  My heart goes out to you and your family and I know you'll do your best through it all.   :grouphug:

 

To add some positive thoughts...

 

Kids here generally end up liking their college experience even when it wasn't their first choice due to finances or health issues.  Putting it off a year is not going to change that aspect of anything.  If it allows your guy to heal, it will likely even be a better experience - seriously.  Is there anything he can do in the meantime for his gap year (besides heal)?  Is there anything he can learn more about for fun, or support (even via computer), or even take on more at home with homeschooling his siblings to some extent (kind of looking for anything to take his mind off the medical stuff and give the gap year dual purpose)?

 

Your daughter's health is also in my prayers.  If it works out after surgery, any child/grandchild will be loved (as you know).  It's not always best - nor needed - to wait for the $$ to be in line.  Kids cost some $$, but mostly they just need loving family and that child (or those children) will certainly have it.  I wish her/them all the best.

 

And take care of yourself.  The Hive wouldn't be "family" if I didn't throw that in.  If all of this is getting to you (100% understandable) to the point where you even remotely think a counselor would be good, find one - a good one.

 

If that's not in your cards, find some good friends on here and detail more out via pm if nothing else - solely for venting relief.  You know where my mailbox is... ;)

 

And I, too, wish I were close enough to you to offer some IRL help.

 

Take care - and know you are loved!

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Thanks for all of the encouraging words and prayers everyone! You have no idea how much I appreciate that, and how much it lifts my spirits to read them.

 

Ds's pain levels are barely manageable with the drop in temp, and well, this is Michigan so it's going to get a lot worse. His processing speeds have been slower, much slower than is his norm because he's a generally pretty fast kid, and it is affecting him, particularly his ACT. He also is having some tunnel vision problems which come and go, and balance issues which might be corrected through physical therapy, but he hasn't been able to start that yet due to the sheer amount of shattering in his femur...he needs a LOT of bone growth, HUGE, before he can put more weight on the leg and begin PT. We really hope when he sees the ortho on Thursday that he says ds can begin.

 

He passed out twice in the last five days, fell both times because none of us were near enough to him to catch him, which resulted in ER trips and x rays. Thankfully, in terms of the leg, the bone growth held and the rod did not shift, nothing was broken loose. The neuro says that this is to be expected with his brain injury, more movement now that he is out of the wheelchair, plus pain levels, and believes that ds's brain will heal, and this will not be his new "normal" forever. He also will be attending counseling because the PTSD is not resolving.

 

Dh and I went to town yesterday, and had to go past the corner where it happened. Dh was driving which was good because I had a flashback, and suddenly couldn't see the road, instead all I saw was her van hitting ours out the corner of my eye and it felt like our car was skidding across the road into the neighbor's yard even though nothing was actually happening. It's obvious that when I drive to the city, I have to take an alternative route because it would be dangerous for that to happen while in control of the car. The weirdest thing is that mom has driven us that way four times for ds's medical appointments and goes past that corner, but I have NO MEMORY of driving past. I have apparently been blocking that out without realizing it. So, I'm not well in that regard and know it. I also feel like I don't have time to address it since medical appointments abound, and I have the other boys to not only get through their schoolwork, but simply parent...they can't be ignored, and let me tell you, some days I feel like I'm not a very good mother to them and C gets all of the attention, and the thought of taking on therapy for myself is actually quite overwhelming so I'm going to muddle through if I can, deal with it later, I guess. I don't know what else there is to do. Dh can't take the time off from work to assist me with all of this.

 

So that is where it stands. He still pushes through schoolwork every day. He is still determined to graduate on time. But, I think things are very much up in the air for next year, and likely the best plan is, get healthy, then go part time and live at home for one more year, applying to a school with a much shorter winter season for 2016.

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Oh, Faith, I'm so very sorry to read of your and your family's additional trials. I wish there were something I could do from afar to help you. Please, please - do take care of yourself. If you don't take the time to put on your oxygen mask, you won't be able to get anyone else's on either. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

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Thanks for the update, Faith.  I, personally, think you are correct that waiting a year and letting his brain (and more) heal is the best choice.  Go from there with future plans rather than scripting them out now.  

 

And definitely take care of yourself.  The only way you can take care of others well is to take care of yourself too.  This, of course, is easier said than done, so I'll send best wishes with it.  I do wish you were close enough for us to get together.

 

Take care.  :grouphug:

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C has recently had a neurological incident related to his severe concussion which has apparently not healed as much as we thought. There are set backs, and now he needs to scale back his school work and rest more per the neuro consult's orders. We don't know if he'll be able to finish enough work to issue a final transcript by the deadline or not. The top priority is or his brain to heal.

 

 

How much does he really need on that final transcript?

 

When it came time for me to do this for my kids, I discovered that it was really ok that they didn't finish a couple of the classes we had planned.

 

If he needs to finish up classes that are essential for his admission that's one thing, but if he just hasn't done any coursework this year, that's actually something else.  And even if it's, say, that the college wants a certain level of math which he hasn't yet achieved, my guess is that they'll work with him if he's been having health issues.

 

But, on the other hand, he may be better off just waiting a year, if he needs time to heal.  (That's what we chose!  Big success so far with the first semester of college.  I'd recommend it if health issues are a problem, unless the student is really against it.)

 

I don't know where the hugs icon went or I'd be sending one your way.

 

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:   Found it!

 

Good luck with everything.  There's so many people here thinking of you!

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BTW -- we found deferring admissions a year to be a breeze.  The school my daughter eventually decided to go to (a year late) did want her to fill out the application again, but it was a formality.  Her financial aid offer (merit) stayed intact.  And.... the college did not even know that she was delaying partly for health reasons.

 

So I imagine once the college  knows what your son is up against right now that they'll be bending over backward hoping to help.

 

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Without detracting from Faith's experience ((Faith)) ~

 

DS was notified he was accepted into the Honors Program at the State Uni.  He has now been informed of: acceptance, entry level scholarship, invitation to apply for the top level scholarship, and the Honors College.

 

He had his interview with Shoot For #1 on Sunday.  Decisions for that school are mailed in Mid-December.

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Without detracting from Faith's experience ((Faith)) ~

 

DS was notified he was accepted into the Honors Program at the State Uni.  He has now been informed of: acceptance, entry level scholarship, invitation to apply for the top level scholarship, and the Honors College.

 

He had his interview with Shoot For #1 on Sunday.  Decisions for that school are mailed in Mid-December.

 

:party:  That's wonderful news!! 

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We finally heard about merit aid from the state uni to which DS applied as a safety.

 

He was admitted into the Honors Program and awarded the Uni's Scholars Award.  This award gives him a scholarship for 25% of tuition and allows for him to apply for the President's Award, a full ride scholarship.

 

We are disappointed.  We were told this uni awarded generous merit aid to students with ACT's over 33.  Not so.  :(

 

I don't know if 25% is common for a 2nd level scholarship but we were hoping for at least 50%.

 

University of Alabama Huntsville gives a full ride to ACT scores of 34 with a GPA 4.0. This is our safety school, and my dd is also getting money for books for being a National Hispanic Scholar.

She would rather go to a local small Christian school( and she is competing for their fulltuition scholarship), but it will all depend on how much money they end awarding her.

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Dd got to register for her first CC class yesterday. I know it isn't the same as a full college acceptance, but they require students to be age 16 and a Junior and she is 15 and a Sophomore so she did actually have to test for admission instead of placement :).

 

My son did a year of dual enrollment beginning early, too. In his case, he had enough credits to be considered a junior but was younger than their policy provided for. He had ACT scores that exceeded their requirements, too. So, they waived the age thing and accepted him.

 

It was a great experience for him. I hope your daughter gets a lot out of her time on campus!

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Dd got to register for her first CC class yesterday. I know it isn't the same as a full college acceptance, but they require students to be age 16 and a Junior and she is 15 and a Sophomore so she did actually have to test for admission instead of placement :).

 

Of COURSE it the same.  Don't tell my extra kid, for whom being allowed to enroll in classes is a huge big deal, THE college experience she's probably going to have, that it isn't. : )  Huge for her.  All three of mine did community college classes before going to university.  For one, it was the first school he'd been to since kindergarten.  That was huge.  Thinking back, I think we felt more triumphant over signing up for the first community college class than we were about their university acceptances. : )  Congratulations!

 

Nan

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  • 2 weeks later...

The decision is down to Alma and U of MI. We took NMU off the table due to concerns about cuts in faculty in the writing/English department as well as the fact that the last thing he needs is to go further north! The orthopedic surgeon told us at a check up the 20th (we left on vacation the 21st so I am late we this update) that he can begin physical therapy but there is an area that is not bridging yet and that is a concern. In March they will begin to talk about options one of which is a bone graph operation in the summer, more time on crutches and in physical therapy going into the next school year IF that happens.

 

C does not want to take a full gap year IF he can possibly help it. So after talking to some truly wonderful, compassionate, helpful folks at these two schools, it comes down to this. Ann Arbor is more than happy to have him begin either full time in Flint ad then transfer to the main campus when he is healed and ready, defer his start to Jan. 2016 if he needs an extra semester, take a gap year and come in the fall of 2016 with no scholarship penalties, or have a part time semester for the fall and begin fulltime the following semester. Alma offered a very nice scholarship and is willing to defer to whatever plan makes the most sense for him...this was based on the quality of his essays, interview, and TARC involvement not his lower ACT caused by his concussion and pain levels. We are so grateful to them for their special consideration since the dollar amount is more in line with that given to a higher score. They essentially ignored the last one and went on his junior year score, not counting this year against him.

 

The lawyer said it will be a good, long while before the case is settled...definitely not before college decisions need to be made and that his understanding of FASFA is that the settlement cannot be counted as income when the time comes. It is not taxed either. So that was good news. Since the decision to bone graph or not won't be made before deposits need to be sent, we are fairly solidly in the camp that he will accept Alma or U of MI (with the provision of transferring to the main campus in the future). Both of these schools are close to his medical team, our lawyers, and to us so that it will be reasonable to deal with all of the issues at hand. They are also both easy drives and at some point he will have to start driving again. However, we are both starting PTSD therapy...how I am going to fit in those appointments, I do not know...and the goal is to have him driving in the spring.

 

Western Mich and Kalamazoo College - both have excellent writing departments - are off the table because he simply won't be able to be that far away.

 

So now we wait to see if he is part time, full time, or delayed to January 16.

 

I just want to give a shout it to the fine admission' s folks we are working with at this time! They really seem to care about doing the best by him that they can, and I am forever grateful!

 

Thanks to everyone on this board. The support is so helpful to me right now.

 

Also, much applause and happy thoughts to all who have been posting acceptances. WOOT!!!!

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DS was accepted into Wesleyan University in CT.

 

It's his absolute first and only choice, and he applied Early Decision. He has wanted to go since he was 12. We still can't believe it.

 

These boards have been very, very helpful for me, particularly in the last year, when all the older kids in our hs group had aged out. Suddenly I found myself as one of the few "veterans" when I certainly had no idea what I was doing. I am truly humbled by  the experience on these boards, as well as the grace and courage that is helping families through the ups and downs of life. Faithmanor, sending so many hugs your way.

 

Congratulations to everyone!

Maria

 

 

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My son was just accepted to Case with a $30K per year academic scholarship.  He will hear from his other EA school today at 3:16.

 

Awesome!   I was thinking that you're off by a couple of minutes on the notification as many times it's pi, but when you put it into military time it makes perfect sense.    :laugh:

 

Here's congratulations to everyone's acceptances!

 

:hurray:  :party:  :hurray:

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My son was accepted to all three local colleges to which he applied (location is everything because he will need to be near his medical team and parental support for awhile, as he recuperates from a serious illness). He was offered the Dean's Scholarship for each, with an invitation from each to compete for the Presidential Scholarship. He's also won some leadership scholarships through his work and achievements in Civil Air Patrol.

Grace College (Indy extension)
Franklin College
University of Indianapolis

 

He's going to the University of Indianapolis for Business Administration (Honors College), with a plan to go to seminary after he gets his MBA (also at UIndy).

 

 

Edited to add: I also meant to mention that he qualified for NMF, after all. We thought he'd missed out on that because even though he was a semifinalist, two things went wrong: I missed the application deadline because he was in surgery that week and we were living in the ICU, and I graduated him early so he could be sure to reach that milestone. (Which I thought subsequently meant his PSAT wasn't taken his junior year, but I was wrong about that.) The National Merit people called us to see why he hadn't proceeded with the application, and explained that he was still eligible. So his mentor scrambled to get a letter of recommendation turned in on Thanksgiving weekend for us <3 and I got the school application done. So that was an unexpected blessing. Really grateful to the NMF people for caring about each and every student.

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Dd 4/4!! For all EA

Presidential scholarship from Tulane 32,000 per yr. Tulane is one of her top choices. Waiting patiently for further scholarships...which potentially add up to a full ride. So happy here! and I must agree w Maria, these boards, along with first ed. of WTM have influenced me beyond any other aspects of homeschooling.

Good luck to all

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The National Merit people called us to see why he hadn't proceeded with the application, and explained that he was still eligible. So his mentor scrambled to get a letter of recommendation turned in on Thanksgiving weekend for us <3 and I got the school application done. So that was an unexpected blessing. Really grateful to the NMF people for caring about each and every student.

 

This is truly awesome.  I had no idea they would do such a thing!  Thanks for sharing - and kudos to you and your son!

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My ds just recv'd notification that he has recv'd the President Sewall award at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) which also puts him in the Honors program for the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

He is also a semi-finalist for the Boettcher Scholarship which provides 40 full- ride scholarships to any school in Colorado. The bonus is that even being named a semi-finalist carries scholarship money to CU.

 

As always, I am deeply grateful for this board as it has helped us to shape his high school career.

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Ds got accepted at the only college he applied to as well.

 

It has been a bit crazy. He applied a month ago and the admission counselor told him he'd know by Sept 15th. We waited a week after that date before he emailed her with a "checking in" sort of note. She emailed back and said they didn't have his application or transcript, but not to worry, it could take at least a week to show up in the system. He replied and explained it had been four weeks. She found the application, but no luck on the transcript. I emailed her yesterday asking if she'd like me to resubmit the documents. I attached a pdf of his transcript and course descriptions. She called him today to tell him they couldn't find his ACT score, the only thing they had been able to verify in their system for the last month :svengo: . He gave her the date and she confirmed the score while on the phone with him and told him he was in. She had the score as "self-reported" and said she just needed it verified. Ugh. I sure hope they aren't this disorganized once he gets there!

 

Drury University - Writing Major.

 

My neighbor's daughter is at Drury in writing. She loves it. I've never heard them comment about disorganization, so I assume that was a weird quirk.

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I am getting the warm fuzzies all over from these updates! Tibbie, I am so glad about your good news!

 

And our update, ds was offered another $2500.00 from Alma, he competes Jan. 10th for another $4000.00, and it looks like he'll qualify for the Christian leadership scholarships as well. So, his chances are looking good.

 

But, he also is in the running for a significant scholarship package from U of MI.

 

Either way, I am very, very happy with how things are turning out given how grim things began.

 

Hip, Hip, Hooray to everyone! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

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C has recently had a neurological incident related to his severe concussion which has apparently not healed as much as we thought. There are set backs, and now he needs to scale back his school work and rest more per the neuro consult's orders. We don't know if he'll be able to finish enough work to issue a final transcript by the deadline or not. The top priority is or his brain to heal.

 

We don't know what this means.  He was accepted to all of his colleges, NMU, Alma, Western Michigan, and U of MI Flint and Ann Arbor campuses. The only one that could still be in the cards is Flint because he simply will not be able to be away from his medical team next year. It's possible he could transfer after that if he really wanted to do so. What they would do about fall admissions if he was still working on high school work in the summer to make up for time off now is an unknown.

 

I may not be posting much in the next few weeks. We also received news yesterday that dd needs another surgery. Despite being on meds to control her hormones, she has another chocolate cyst of significant size and this time one on each ovary. She'll need care, and be off work. She's pretty scared. They weren't ready to start a family, but the doctor said IF he can save her ovaries, it's now or never once she's healed because her fertility window is going to be very short. He thinks this will continue to happen until they are removed. We are reeling here. I imagine I will be in New Jersey for part of December to take care of her for the surgery and immediate recovery time, but I also have to have someone here keeping an eye on ds in case there is another incident. Dh is working really long hours, and that doesn't look like it will let up until the week before Christmas, so once we have a surgery date, I have to figure out how to juggle the needs of two children, and a terrified son in law.

 

At any rate, college plans are not a priority at present. Somehow I just have to get my family through the next few months.

 

I know college acceptances for many of the students will be rolling in soon, so I wanted to post a general congratulations and best wishes  since I will only be occasionally in and out and want to express my support to all of you.

 

Lord have mercy on all of you ! ! ! 

 

I have spent little time around here since you and I exchanged some PMs.  I am truly sorry to read of your family's suffering.  May Christ grant healing to all, and abundant blessings of all kinds!

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