Class of 2020 College Acceptances

[Lilaclady]

On 3/27/2020 at 10:24 AM, SusanC said:

Extrapolating from my local Big State U, I think a lot of universities may be concerned that attendance won't be as high as they planned, due to fallout from COVID. I imagine that will result in a lot more offers to the wait-lists. Just speculating, though.

 That’s what I have heard too. Also a lot of schools that rely on fully pay foreigners may also have a hard time this year. There is still so much in the air. I just hope more schools will move their acceptance date to June or July to allow students more time. 

[mirabillis]

So in a tumultous year where college acceptances are a bit on the back burner and not much fanfare about them at all, I'm happy to report the results are in for my ds:

Accepted:
Duke University
University of Southern California
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Irvine (honors)
UC Davis
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
Univ of Alabama (honors)
LSU (honors)
Univ of South Carolina (honors)
UNC Chapel Hill
Univ of Florida

[Roadrunner]

55 minutes ago, mirabillis said:

So in a tumultous year where college acceptances are a bit on the back burner and not much fanfare about them at all, I'm happy to report the results are in for my ds:

Accepted:
Duke University
University of Southern California
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Irvine (honors)
UC Davis
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
Univ of Alabama (honors)
LSU (honors)
Univ of South Carolina (honors)
UNC Chapel Hill
Univ of Florida

👏👏👏👏👏👏

i have been waiting for you to post! Congratulations!!!!! 

[BookwormTo2]

@mirabillis Congrats to your DS! It might be difficult to choose with such a great list of universities! 

[AEC]

our process was a bit different than many, because DS decided music theatre was the thing for him. We knew absolutely nothing about the process going in.  It's insane and involves both academic acceptance to the university & also via auditions.

The academic acceptances went quite well.  Accepted at:

• Michigan (w/ a decent scholarship, though their OOS tuition is insane)
• FSU (w/ scholarship that waves OOS tuition)
• Carthage (LAC north of Chicago, w/ full tuition scholarships)
• Minnesota (full tuition scholarship)
• NYU (academic scholarship, unclear amount)

He got auditions onsite @ Mich, FSU, NYU, Carthage. He did not get into the BFA programs @ Mich or FSU. Haven't heard from NYU. Didn't get an audition at CMU.

His options are narrowed down to:

• BA in Music w/ focus on MusicTheatre @ FSU
• BA in MT from Carthage. They have a Masters in Music Pedagogue (teaching) and he's confirmed that given the volume of AP scores he's coming in with he could get both the BA and MS in 4 years.

Carthage is considerably closer - 1.5 hrs driving.  FSU is certainly the bigger name w/ better NY connections. Carthage has decent connections to Chicago, and tbh he'd be happy if he could consistently perform there. It's the dream, ofc, but he's not 'Broadway or this is a waste' focused. Unclear what he'll do at this point. The uncertainty of where he'll be next year is killing his mother.  🙂  He seems uncharacteristically un-worried about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wintermom]

Ds just received confirmation that he's accepted to a BA Philosophy minor in Ethics at the university he really wants to attend. We've all been holding our breath for several weeks, not knowing if and when acceptances would be released during this time. What the classes will actually look like in Sept is another question. It's a very small school, though, so most likely will be in-person courses.

[easypeasy]

(please don't quote) Final update on my DD2. That last conservatory we were waiting on sent out decisions a few days ago! She made in to her preferred studio with a surprisingly large scholarship! Woot! This was very validating for her in the scheme of a very young musician trying to sort out "how good" she is. The answer was, unanimously, very. (which *I* could have told her, but... whatever... 🙄)

The wide net we cast worked perfectly. Everything fell into place perfectly. Everything went perfectly until COVID arrived on all of our doorsteps. I told her I think it's because the Great Powers That Be knew that neither she nor I could handle going through negotiations and stress during a pandemic and had mercy on us. 🤣

She was awarded several amazing scholarships that made several schools affordable for her. She was awarded a few full-ride opportunities as well. We have cried many tears of relief and joy in this household over the stressful past month.

She has decided to go with one of those offers, which happened to also be at her first-choice school with her second-favorite music professor. We are ecstatic that all her hard work paid off for her in such a way. Because that girl has worked her backside off.

Her ACT score was Very Good, but not at the tippy-top (she's not a "natural tester") and, yet, she was awarded major scholarships over students we met with 33-36s who had taken nearly every AP/IB class possible. Her well-rounded (and non cookie-cutter) CV resume, her ability to "just be herself" during interviews, and her essay-writing skills are what hoisted her up to that next level.

That advice to high schoolers to DO the things that interest THEM is spot-on!!! Do the things and when you sit down to build a resume around it, it's fascinating to see that resume represent a person so fully! By browsing DDs CV, you can tell exactly what kind of person she is and she stands out from all the others on the desk. She didn't have to be the smartest, she didn't have to be the Captain of Everything... she just had to be herself.

So proud of her and so excited to see what she does next!

Now this chapter is closed and we start to focus on DS and this fast-changing landscape of post-COVID university opportunities. It feels like his junior year is already over!

Edited April 5, 2020 by easypeasy

[Gratia271]

In wake of everything and with the vicissitudes of life right now, my son decided on IU Bloomington as one of the inaugural Luddy scholars.  My daughter chose to accept a full scholarship at our local university IUPUI so she can commute and continue to live at home. 

[BookwormTo2]

One of the universities my DD was accepted to with a merit scholarship but one she declined admission to back in January -- emailed her last week offering her a spot in the fall. I think their admissions office is trying to see if local kids are going to change their mind about attending in light of the pandemic. 

[SophiaH]

On 1/10/2020 at 1:53 PM, Professormom said:

Congratulations to everyone!

I still can’t believe we are at this point. I remember being on this forum when my kids were itty bitty.

My Senior was accepted ED at Hillsdale College. It is his first choice, and he got a great merit award. It is a terrific fit for him.

It’s funny how things work out. My plan was always so much college searching, lots of options. It turns out I had a more single-minded kid than I expected:D

eta: ignore my sig, life has had me off the forum for far too long:)

I have been off the board for years, but as my eldest is now a senior, I thought I'd peek back in. My daughter was also accepted to Hillsdale ED (her first choice). She got enough of a scholarship that we got her under her grandfather's limit of how much he will pay. After some back and forth between Hillsdale (it's 14 hours away) and John Brown in Arkansas, she has decided on Hillsdale. Congratulations to your son!

[TarynB]

18 hours ago, BookwormTo2 said:

One of the universities my DD was accepted to with a merit scholarship but one she declined admission to back in January -- emailed her last week offering her a spot in the fall. I think their admissions office is trying to see if local kids are going to change their mind about attending in light of the pandemic. 

Same here. My son has received similar offers from a couple of schools he had declined earlier.

Edited April 10, 2020 by TarynB

[Tess in the Burbs]

I haven't been on here in a long time but I was on the forums since my kids were in preschool! 

My son was accepted at Eastern Washington University, Utah State University, and Fort Lewis College.  He initially chose Eastern, but has since rescinded his offer.  He is still thinking about what he wants to do in life.  His dream is to live on a boat.  This was a kid who hated school all the way and pushed my buttons every day, but he loves to read, remembers way more school knowledge than anyone else, and when he gets into a subject pursues it to the end!  College isn't for everyone, but we are still proud he actually applied and was accepted at all 3 schools.  Now to shift into support role while he figures out his next move. 

My daughter is graduating a year early!  She was accepted at University of Northern Colorado in the Honors program, and will be pursuing their ASL Interpreting program. She will be 16 when she moves to the dorms, so it's a lot of excitement for her and a lot of praying from me LOL.  She took an online ASL class at my insistence way back in 7th grade for fun, and look where it's taking her.  

It's exciting to see the kids and their future plans from many of you after so many years of posting here. 

[Joyful]

Congratulations to everyone for the wonderful news about acceptances! Thanks to everyone who has given me loads of help on the application process. I have found a wonderfully supportive and knowledgeable community here.

DS was accepted at the following schools:

Rutgers University (NB)/ honors college w/ partial scholarship

UMD (College Park)/ honors college w/ President's Scholarship

Haverford College

Wheaton College (IL) w/ Presidential Scholarship

Oxford University (UK), Mathematics

Imperial College London (UK), Mathematics

Durham University (UK), Mathematics

University College London (UK), Mathematics

University of St Andrews (UK), Mathematics

I'm happy for DS, that he has a wonderful range of schools. Covid is rendering the decision making process a bit difficult in the midst of the uncertainties that people all over the world are facing. Just glad we can relax for a little bit even as we listen to DS talk through his decision....  before starting up again for the next child.

[Janeway]

Son got in to every college he applied to, but he did not apply to any reaches. He also got in to honors programs where applicable and today, he got notice he got in to Baylor's University Scholars program. In total, it was these schools that he applied to and was admitted at.... Hendrix, UTD, Austin College, Southwestern University, Trinity University, and Baylor. 

[Janeway]

12 hours ago, Joyful said:

Congratulations to everyone for the wonderful news about acceptances! Thanks to everyone who has given me loads of help on the application process. I have found a wonderfully supportive and knowledgeable community here.

DS was accepted at the following schools:

Rutgers University (NB)/ honors college w/ partial scholarship

UMD (College Park)/ honors college w/ President's Scholarship

Haverford College

Wheaton College (IL) w/ Presidential Scholarship

Oxford University (UK), Mathematics

Imperial College London (UK), Mathematics

Durham University (UK), Mathematics

University College London (UK), Mathematics

University of St Andrews (UK), Mathematics

I'm happy for DS, that he has a wonderful range of schools. Covid is rendering the decision making process a bit difficult in the midst of the uncertainties that people all over the world are facing. Just glad we can relax for a little bit even as we listen to DS talk through his decision....  before starting up again for the next child.

I had a close family member go to a program at U of St Andrew's. It was a study abroad thing.  I looked at Haverford when my son was looking and wished I had applied there myself when I was going to college! It will be exciting when your son makes his final decision.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Janeway

[Joyful]

22 hours ago, Janeway said:

I had a close family member go to a program at U of St Andrew's. It was a study abroad thing.  I looked at Haverford when my son was looking and wished I had applied there myself when I was going to college! It will be exciting when your son makes his final decision.

What did your family member think of U of St Andrew's? There's quite a number of American students attending that school.

DS is very attracted to Haverford. He's still figuring out whether he wants to commit to math or get a liberal arts education. What of Haverford appeals to you?

[Janeway]

3 hours ago, Joyful said:

What did your family member think of U of St Andrew's? There's quite a number of American students attending that school.

DS is very attracted to Haverford. He's still figuring out whether he wants to commit to math or get a liberal arts education. What of Haverford appeals to you?

He loved St Andrews. He got depressed after he got back to the US and has always wanted to go back. He says if he could do life over again, and had the money, he would go to St Andrews the entire time.  I am not sure what he did not love about it. I know the courses allowed you to be a lot more independent. They had less face to face time and more time to study. The relative I am referencing had been home schooled and was very adept at studying and loved taking off on topics like that. 

For me, what I liked about Haverford was that I already know a lot about Carleton, as I had a close family member who went there. I got in and did not go and the regretted it. I feel like Haverford would be a lot like Carleton, but in a much bigger city and more access to more "stuff." It has 2 other colleges that you can cross over for classes with. The location puts it so close to so much history. And I have never been to NYC and that might be very interesting to visit. 

About the relative at St Andrews, his room in the dorm overlooked the sea and a golf course. There seemed to have been an aquarium there and such. Because he was with another college, there were trips to see various places away from the town. But on his own, right there, he sent me pictures of so many cool things, like remains of a castle and a cemetary and some other landmarks. 

[UmmIbrahim]

I'm not very active here, but I received invaluable help as we navigated the college admissions process this year as homeschoolers. Seeing others on these boards who had walked this path before really inspired us as he applied to a good number of "reach" schools.

My oldest DS applied for computer science, and these are his acceptances:

Duke University 

University of Virginia

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Rice University

University of Michigan

William and Mary

Purdue University

Rutgers - New Brunswick (honors)

University of Maryland - College Park (honors)

Virginia Tech

Penn State - University Park

NC State

He's narrowed it down to two, and will likely make a final decision today. It's been hard because he's never been to his current top two choices in person, but he's making the best decision that he can with what he can glean online. Congrats to all of the Class of 2020 seniors!

 

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by UmmIbrahim
typo

[Lanny]

2 hours ago, UmmIbrahim said:

My oldest DS applied for computer science, and these are his acceptances:

He's narrowed it down to two, and will likely make a final decision today. It's been hard because he's never been to his current top two choices in person, but he's making the best decision that he can with what he can glean online. Congrats to all of the Class of 2020 seniors!

 

My DD never had the opportunity to visit any of the universities she applied to. We didn't have time for that and we certainly did not have the financial ability for her to do that. We put her on an airplane and she went to the USA, connected to a 2nd flight and she went to UNC at Chapel Hill.  Your  DS should not make his decision on whether or not he visited one of the schools on his list IMO.

There are many excellent schools on the list. I think depending upon the Financial Aid/Merit Aid they offer to him, that would have a huge impact on the decision.

Of those schools, the University of Michigan, the DD of someone I know graduated from there a couple of years ago. I don't remember what her Major was. Either C.S. or Electronic Engineering or Computer Engineering. Top notch school as are most of the rest of the list. Also, the Granddaughter of one of my cousins is at Michigan. (She's also a Varsity athlete and an OOS student).

Many years ago, my late uncle and a colleague got their B.S.E.E. degrees from Purdue and they did very well, but I don't know how it ranks today.

North Carolina State is tied for #84 in USNEWS.COM at this time. That's really extremely high, considering how many colleges and universities they  include in their ratings. That's the STEM school for NC. (My DD is at UNC, which is nearby, but more like a Liberal Arts school than a STEM school)

University of Virginia is one of the few Public universities with the ability to provide a lot of Financial Aid if you are eligible for that. Their suggested high school units are tougher than normal.

Rice and Duke also have excellent Financial  Aid and are top notch schools.

He will probably be fine, with any of the schools where he was accepted.

Good luck to him!

[Tess in the Burbs]

Well my son was accepted into his schools but never wanted to go visit.  We paid deposits for one.  Finally got a weekend to go visit and he knew before the visit was over there was no way he wanted to be there.  In fact that visit led him not only to withdraw his admission but decide college wasn't for him!  Our entire family thought it a perfect fit for him.  My daughter and I narrowed down her choices and visited a few schools.  it was worth the money.  The one we both wanted to love was awful in person.  The one I worried about was perfect for her.  I guess kids can be different but for mine, those visits were super important.  And now I've got a kid not going to college and no clue what to do.  I spent some deposit money and the weekend visit, but glad I didn't drop him off only to have him call wanting to come home that first week after thousands of $$$  

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, Tess in the Burbs said:

Well my son was accepted into his schools but never wanted to go visit.  We paid deposits for one.  Finally got a weekend to go visit and he knew before the visit was over there was no way he wanted to be there.  In fact that visit led him not only to withdraw his admission but decide college wasn't for him!  Our entire family thought it a perfect fit for him.  My daughter and I narrowed down her choices and visited a few schools.  it was worth the money.  The one we both wanted to love was awful in person.  The one I worried about was perfect for her.  I guess kids can be different but for mine, those visits were super important.  And now I've got a kid not going to college and no clue what to do.  I spent some deposit money and the weekend visit, but glad I didn't drop him off only to have him call wanting to come home that first week after thousands of $$$  

 

Interesting experiences. For your DS, possibly he would be interested in joining the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard or some other Reserve component of the military?  That way, one can go to a Tech School, but have a limited commitment. Ask me how I know (ANG).  

I tend to assume that between the different services, the benefits are the same, but I also tend to wonder if the National Guard or Air National Guard offer more benefits? Especially with regard to university tuition. I mention that because my DD forwarded an email she received from the NC Army National Guard, a day or 2 ago and it would be extremely attractive, to someone who is not receiving a lot of Financial/Merit Aid from a university and/or is an OOS student.

Would he possibly be interested in being military? Great technical schools and a lot of opportunities for motivated people.

[UmmIbrahim]

3 hours ago, Lanny said:

 

My DD never had the opportunity to visit any of the universities she applied to. We didn't have time for that and we certainly did not have the financial ability for her to do that. We put her on an airplane and she went to the USA, connected to a 2nd flight and she went to UNC at Chapel Hill.  Your  DS should not make his decision on whether or not he visited one of the schools on his list IMO.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the visits. He was thankfully able to get in a visit to UMich (one of his early admit schools), and this helped him eliminate it from consideration because of the sheer distance between North Campus and the Main Campus. As a CS major, he'd be spending a lot of his time on North Campus, which felt isolated and sterile. Seeing it definitely helped in that case. He also got to see UIUC, and that made him consider it more seriously than he would have if we hadn't gone (its location was a big negative for him prior to visiting).

As nice (and clarifying) as visiting is, it's just not an option for his later admit schools. I'm so glad to hear that it worked out well for your daughter to attend without a visit! My son is mostly decided on leaping in with Duke. If he just hates it, he can always transfer out, but choosing one of his other schools and transferring in would not be possible (crazy low transfer acceptance numbers). His biggest concern is student culture/life, which he really just won't be able to get a true handle in the current situation. We'll hope for the best! Thanks again for taking the time to add your experiences for consideration.

[UmmIbrahim]

1 hour ago, Tess in the Burbs said:

Well my son was accepted into his schools but never wanted to go visit.  We paid deposits for one.  Finally got a weekend to go visit and he knew before the visit was over there was no way he wanted to be there.  In fact that visit led him not only to withdraw his admission but decide college wasn't for him!  Our entire family thought it a perfect fit for him.  My daughter and I narrowed down her choices and visited a few schools.  it was worth the money.  The one we both wanted to love was awful in person.  The one I worried about was perfect for her.  I guess kids can be different but for mine, those visits were super important.  And now I've got a kid not going to college and no clue what to do.  I spent some deposit money and the weekend visit, but glad I didn't drop him off only to have him call wanting to come home that first week after thousands of $$$  

 

I hear you on this. I'm just glad we took the time to visit a few of his early admit schools before things shut down! The trek to the midwest and Michigan proved to be invaluable at decision making time. We're really hoping that the "virtual visits" are giving my son enough of a sense to jump in somewhere. Not much else to do about it now 🙂 

[Janeway]

1 hour ago, Tess in the Burbs said:

Well my son was accepted into his schools but never wanted to go visit.  We paid deposits for one.  Finally got a weekend to go visit and he knew before the visit was over there was no way he wanted to be there.  In fact that visit led him not only to withdraw his admission but decide college wasn't for him!  Our entire family thought it a perfect fit for him.  My daughter and I narrowed down her choices and visited a few schools.  it was worth the money.  The one we both wanted to love was awful in person.  The one I worried about was perfect for her.  I guess kids can be different but for mine, those visits were super important.  And now I've got a kid not going to college and no clue what to do.  I spent some deposit money and the weekend visit, but glad I didn't drop him off only to have him call wanting to come home that first week after thousands of $$$  

I am finding everything so hard. We visited one college, I hated it. I really thought I was going to love it and my son was on the fence and he loved it and I hated it. The first school we visited, I was surprised to find him getting very excited and enjoying it. But, after he saw a few other schools and then went back to the first one, he said he was no longer interested in the first one.  He liked the second school when we visited, a lot. But when we went back for a second visit, he did not want to stay. I do not know if he did not feel well or something. We visited one other school that I thought was fine, but he disliked it. We still have a couple others to visit but he just does not want to commit to anything until he has seen everything. 

[mirabillis]

16 hours ago, UmmIbrahim said:

I'm not very active here, but I received invaluable help as we navigated the college admissions process this year as homeschoolers. Seeing others on these boards who had walked this path before really inspired us as he applied to a good number of "reach" schools.

 

Congrats on the acceptances! I second your thoughts above, that we too received invaluable help from WTMers as we also navigated our first college admissions process this year... ever since my ds was in 9th grade, I've been knee-deep on these High School boards, gleaning everything I could to help the college admissions process for homeschoolers. So I couldn't be more grateful either. 🙂

[Lanny]

13 hours ago, UmmIbrahim said:

Thanks for your thoughts on the visits. He was thankfully able to get in a visit to UMich (one of his early admit schools), and this helped him eliminate it from consideration because of the sheer distance between North Campus and the Main Campus. As a CS major, he'd be spending a lot of his time on North Campus, which felt isolated and sterile. Seeing it definitely helped in that case. He also got to see UIUC, and that made him consider it more seriously than he would have if we hadn't gone (its location was a big negative for him prior to visiting).

As nice (and clarifying) as visiting is, it's just not an option for his later admit schools. I'm so glad to hear that it worked out well for your daughter to attend without a visit! My son is mostly decided on leaping in with Duke. If he just hates it, he can always transfer out, but choosing one of his other schools and transferring in would not be possible (crazy low transfer acceptance numbers). His biggest concern is student culture/life, which he really just won't be able to get a true handle in the current situation. We'll hope for the best! Thanks again for taking the time to add your experiences for consideration.

 

Thank you for the interesting comments about UMich and his observations which I assume are true and correct.

With regard to Duke, it is an excellent school. There is a lot of rivalry between Duke and UNC in Sports. Different schools, probably more STEM majors available to him at Duke, My guess is that there are lots of nice people at Duke and that he will find his people there. The 2 schools cooperate in a lot of things. There is a program between the 2 schools,   Robertson Scholars, where the students can take classes at both schools and stay on the campus of the other school for one semester.  Very cool if he can become a Robertson Scholar!

The school in IL could be super, but the State of IL has a lot of problems (incredible pension debt, etc,) and is losing population, so probably he was wise to pass on that one. 

[UmmIbrahim]

6 hours ago, mirabillis said:

 

Congrats on the acceptances! I second your thoughts above, that we too received invaluable help from WTMers as we also navigated our first college admissions process this year... ever since my ds was in 9th grade, I've been knee-deep on these High School boards, gleaning everything I could to help the college admissions process for homeschoolers. So I couldn't be more grateful either. 🙂

I saw your post further up in the thread and congratulations are due to you as well! Way to go homeschoolers 😁

The resources here are really something. When it came time to write up course descriptions, boom, there was a helpful thread. When I had questions about filling out the guidance counselor section of the common app, bam, another thread. It was a nice virtual hand-holding as I figured everything out for the first time. We had been such relaxed homeschoolers when my kids were younger, so I needed a lot of prodding with record keeping, etc. Even just hearing that other homeschoolers had done so well before and gotten in to great schools was comforting as I sometimes doubted that we'd get in anywhere. It's hard to believe it until you see it!

[Lanny]

UmmIbrahim RE: DUKE UNIVERSITY

In a few days, it will be 2 years since we unexpectedly attended a "School Fair" in Bogota, Colombia. DD had been invited by the University of Pennsylvania. The other schools there were Harvard College, a Catholic university in DC (Georgetown?), and DUKE.  Of the 4 schools there, my DD did apply (Undeclared Major) to Duke. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Lanny
typo

[Joyful]

On 4/24/2020 at 4:57 AM, Janeway said:

He loved St Andrews. He got depressed after he got back to the US and has always wanted to go back. He says if he could do life over again, and had the money, he would go to St Andrews the entire time.  I am not sure what he did not love about it. I know the courses allowed you to be a lot more independent. They had less face to face time and more time to study. The relative I am referencing had been home schooled and was very adept at studying and loved taking off on topics like that. 

For me, what I liked about Haverford was that I already know a lot about Carleton, as I had a close family member who went there. I got in and did not go and the regretted it. I feel like Haverford would be a lot like Carleton, but in a much bigger city and more access to more "stuff." It has 2 other colleges that you can cross over for classes with. The location puts it so close to so much history. And I have never been to NYC and that might be very interesting to visit. 

About the relative at St Andrews, his room in the dorm overlooked the sea and a golf course. There seemed to have been an aquarium there and such. Because he was with another college, there were trips to see various places away from the town. But on his own, right there, he sent me pictures of so many cool things, like remains of a castle and a cemetary and some other landmarks. 

Wow, sounds like St Andrews fit his learning style. And the physical environment sounds fantastic!

It's true that nearby Philadelphia has a lot to offer students attending Haverford. The city not NYC/DC/LA, but it does have museums, historical sites, and a philharmonic orchestra.

 

[Tess in the Burbs]

On 4/29/2020 at 2:10 PM, Lanny said:

 

Interesting experiences. For your DS, possibly he would be interested in joining the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard or some other Reserve component of the military?  That way, one can go to a Tech School, but have a limited commitment. Ask me how I know (ANG).  

I tend to assume that between the different services, the benefits are the same, but I also tend to wonder if the National Guard or Air National Guard offer more benefits? Especially with regard to university tuition. I mention that because my DD forwarded an email she received from the NC Army National Guard, a day or 2 ago and it would be extremely attractive, to someone who is not receiving a lot of Financial/Merit Aid from a university and/or is an OOS student.

Would he possibly be interested in being military? Great technical schools and a lot of opportunities for motivated people.

Sadly his scoliosis prevents any military or police occupations.  At this point with the pandemic going on we will just let him hang out, maybe get a job in the fall, and keep re-evaluating a new course for him.  

I will add that soon as my kids were in high school we were driving through college campuses.  If we had a road trip and the campus was within 10 min off the highway we drove through it.  My kids knew early on some schools were too big or in the middle of nowhere for them.  By the time we got to Junior year any serious college consideration was considered for an official visit.  The only reason we flew DD to view schools is b/c her major is only certified at 14 schools.  We could rule some out by location and cost.  Then we visited the others.  And again, the best choice in person wasn't on paper/online.  Glad we did the tours.  And seeing how my son hated the campus he picked without a visit?  I encourage visits if possible.  Even a drive through might give some initial impression. I also found DH was able to get personal opinions about several schools by asking coworkers about their colleges.  Two schools my son was accepted at had been attended by dh's coworkers and we got some great insights about the campus and type of people there from these conversations.  I encourage people not to wait until senior year to visit...check out the ones you can.  My daughter's meeting the department as a junior has helped her in admissions since the lady knows my daughter by face who answers all the questions.  I kind of wish we had done more visits when they were younger to get the discussion going sooner. 

[Carrie12345]

It’s not exactly a competitive acceptance, but I want to add my brag anyway! It’s hard to do much bragging on lockdown!

Dd got her official confirmation of major declaration. She will be completing her degree in Emergency Services at community college, for which she’s nearing half done right now.

Her Plan A is to take her courses on the campus farther away (may not offered on ours) and volunteer through the live-in program of a firehouse in that area for board. Plan B is to finish the few courses she still has that can be taken online while working as an EMT until she’s able to transition over.

She’s considering going on to paramedic school after that.

[Professormom]

On 4/9/2020 at 12:39 PM, SophiaH said:

I have been off the board for years, but as my eldest is now a senior, I thought I'd peek back in. My daughter was also accepted to Hillsdale ED (her first choice). She got enough of a scholarship that we got her under her grandfather's limit of how much he will pay. After some back and forth between Hillsdale (it's 14 hours away) and John Brown in Arkansas, she has decided on Hillsdale. Congratulations to your son!

Congrats to your daughter... Hillsdale should have a group called “Offspring of the Hive”:)

[Janeway]

On 6/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, Professormom said:

Congrats to your daughter... Hillsdale should have a group called “Offspring of the Hive”:)

Hillsdale was my son's original first choice. 

[Acadie]

Great to see some familiar names from years ago and get updates on your kids! Dd17 homeschooled through 7th grade, then went to brick and mortar school 8-12. She'll be attending Bowdoin this fall, hopefully in person. She applied ED so the uncertainty of Covid came as a curve ball after she thought she'd finalized her plans.

She loves the outdoors (and was quite the energetic wild child when she was little, which is why we started homeschooling) so she's excited to be in Maine, whenever it may be.

[Garga]

My dh works at a community college. Children of employees can attend college there for free, so that was always in our back pocket for where the boys could start college. I told them I’d educate them robustly enough so that they could go straight into a 4 year if that’s what they wanted. But if they didn’t know what they wanted, then we’d go with the free option at DH’s CC.  

My oldest has a bit of anxiety and is 100% against going away to college. He also doesn’t want to attend full time his first year, so he’s satisfied with starting up part time at the CC in the fall.  He’ll be taking only 2 classes there. We have visited the closest State U (an hour away) and have found that even though the CC where my husband works is in one state and our State U is in another state and about 2 hours from the CC, the State U accepts all of the CC’s credits, and even has a program designed to help kids who start in the CC to transition seamlessly to the State U.  And out of the colleges we visited, DS loved this one the best.  This looks like a great opportunity for him!  He can start off slow at the CC and then head over to the State U that’ll be waiting for him when he’s ready.

WIth that said, he’s more resigned about starting college than excited, which is the anxiety talking. It’s all so new and scary.

What he’s really excited about is attending a lay person’s ministry school in the evenings starting in September. It teaches regular parishioners how to minister to others (pray with them, encourage them, etc.) in a church setting or outside of a church setting when appropriate. College is what is expected of him, but the ministry school is what makes him happy.  🙂  

 

Throughout the past 12 years when I would read the yearly post about college acceptances it never felt like it would be me finally posting on one.  It’s all a little surreal.  I’m so stinkin’ proud of my son and how far he’s come in all these years of schooling and also of his gentle spirit that wants to give to others.  

It was a fun ride. I wish we could go back and do it all over again.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Garga

[DawnM]

My ADD kid, bless his heart.......he did well in high school.  Then he did well his freshman year of college (but couldn't stand being so far from home).  So, he transferred to our local 4 year college and lived at home.

But that has proven NOT to be the best fit for him, his grades went down.  I think it was a combination of the wrong major, commuting 45 min. each way, not connecting (and yes, we encouraged him to go live on campus and get more involved), and the Covid stuff.  Anyway, his grades went way down and he is on academic probation.

Thankfully he is being proactive.  He is changing his major back to something he wanted in the first place, Christian Ministry.  He is now applying to a couple of Christian colleges and knows he may have to go to CC first to get his grades back up.   He is ok with that.  We are waiting to hear on his acceptances (or rejections.)

If you remember me posting about a year ago, my parents offered to pay for college, but only if it is a Christian college.  We know he won't qualify for scholarships after this past year, but we are thankful for Grandpa scholarships!  

The schools he is applying to have rolling admissions and aren't getting as many on-campus application due to Covid, so I think he will be ok (there will be room) if they accept him with his current grades.

[Another Lynn]

@DawnM that is great news!!

[brehon]

Ds was accepted to Norwich University and received enough scholarships that we can pay the rest, thank goodness. He will be in Corps of Cadets and will join the AROTC.

HUGE shoutout to @Margaret in CO who mentioned this university several years ago. My son visited Norwich last summer and absolutely fell in love. He applied to a couple of other schools and was accepted at all them. But Norwich is where is heart was. Thank you, Margaret, so much for all the information you unknowingly provided me and my son. 🤣

[brehon]

I think so. He’s also been looking at the various extra activities he could join. We’re eagerly awaiting information about his report date. 

[brehon]

51 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

Might he be interested in Cav?  https://www.norwich.edu/cadets/speciality-units  Have he go to FTX if possible!

Well, I asked him and he is interested, but he wants to focus on his studies and getting into a good academic groove his Rook year. He was interested in either Cav or (shoot! drawing a blank here - not drill, the other one. Sorry; I’m on the last 13.5 hours of a 48 hour shift and my brain is fried.) He wasn’t sure about Cav because he has no experience with horses or riding. 

[brehon]

My dh and I are trying to plan dropping him off. There was a webinar today for parents of TX Rooks and they mentioned that if parents come with their kids, they won’t be able to go to the barracks or dorms and won’t be able to say goodbye on campus. Basically, it’ll be drive along a designated path, kid gets out of car at a certain point, pop the trunk and someone grabs the bags, and off the kid goes to the barracks and the parents leave campus. Life in the time of Covid, eh. 

[Farrar]

35 minutes ago, Solider said:

There is a new law where you can only apply to 3 different schools. If your application is considered, you can choose one school, but you have to apply in person. I used to apply to almost all seven high schools, and there were no such problems with the choice. After the pandemic, things have become much more complicated.

That's certainly not true and a very odd first post on an old thread.