Popular Post -M- Posted July 9, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted July 9, 2015 My youngest graduated high school this May, a year earlier than her same-age peers and with 34 transferable college credits completed. Last fall, she applied to three in-state universities and was offered merit scholarships with her admission offer at each. She was also invited to compete for a full scholarship (tuition, fees, room, and board) at her third choice. She completed that process and was offered a full tuition award, which was gratifying but not enough to persuade her to attend. She also applied to the foundation scholarship programs at all three schools. Receiving the letters anouncing scholarship awards from the physics departments of her first and second choices provided the most excitement during the whole traditional college admissions game in which she was engaged during her senior year. You could have read in the glow she was giving off when those letters arrived! (I need to add that she completed the college and scholarship application process while she was enrolled fulltime at the local college. I'm not sure what it's like in other school districts, but here, high school seniors are provided with at least one class period daily throughout the fall for this process. They are assisted with applications, essays, etc. They are also awarded days to attend college visits and interviews. Not so, for my fulltime college student. More, in addition to her fulltime course load, she worked ten hours weekly, completed the "Saturday Morning Physics" program at Fermi, and kept up with her music studies and lessons. Let's just say that it was a challenge. ) In the end, she decided to remain at the local college, where she and her sister were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa after their first semester. They will graduate next May and are in the process of refining their "new and improved" list of transfer schools. They will begin the transfer application process next month. We have impressed upon them the importance of seeking out merit scholarships and other merit-based awards and opportunities, and as the spring semester was concluding, they culled through the list of the local college's scholarship foundation and identified five scholarships for which they might qualify. In they end, they were actually eligible for four, and they applied for three. Earlier this week, my youngest received a letter offering her a large scholarship for the fall semester. The endowment is specifically for STEM majors, so this gave her nearly as much pleasure as those physics scholarship offers. The achievement is all hers, of course, but I can't help but feel that our unconventional path is validated by conventional successes -- their academic performance this year, their success in the admission and scholarship process (during academic year 2013/14, my middle child also was admitted to all three of the colleges to which she applied and received merit scholarship offers (full tuition) to two), and this most recent award. Frankly, I inwardly squealed, "It works! It really works!" when they applied for and were offered jobs for this summer. I don't really dabble in doubt, but one can't help but feel a tiny nudge of worry while striding down a path few others are taking. Most of the people who know our daughters have Very Big ideas about where they should be. What they don't realize is that the Misses also have Very Big ideas. They are simply taking a route that runs on their schedule, requires no debt, and yields a host of additional skills to get them through if their "dream jobs" prove elusive (or low-paying). Thanks for "listening" and for "getting" it. 55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Congratulations to your dds! It really does work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 The achievement is all hers, of course, but I can't help but feel that our unconventional path is validated by conventional successes - Yes! Congratulations and best wishes on the upcoming transfer(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 That's wonderful! congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Wonderful. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 What happy news! Congratulations to both your daughters. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I don't really dabble in doubt, but one can't help but feel a tiny nudge of worry while striding down a path few others are taking. I tend to have a great deal of self-confidence only with 20/20 hindsight. There is certainly niggling doubt until I can look back. What they don't realize is that the Misses also have Very Big ideas. To me, this is one of the huge benefits of hs'ing. Ds has so much more confidence and vision than I had at that age. Your dc have been blessed. Congratulations to all of you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thank you for sharing! I wish you did not think it was bragging; it is encouraging! Hard work and dedication pay off - congratulations! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Wonderful! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :party: ETA: I love your blog. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinaPagnato Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Well done to all of you! Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thank you for the kind words and the "likes." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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