Who is ready to kick off college application season for Class of ‘22?

[fourisenough]

Welp, I told myself I’d get started working on DD’s college app stuff in June, and here we are!

I have a pretty good start on her transcripts and course descriptions. Both need to be updated with end of the year stuff and plans for 12th grade. Today I began my first draft of the school profile. I have some rough thoughts re: her counselor letter, but haven’t begun writing it. 
 

She and I will sit down next week to refine her list of schools, establish a timeline, and begin making to-do lists: essays she’ll need to write, test scores she’ll need to send, LOR’s she’ll need to request, etc. She’s very laid-back and easy-going; I think this process will be much smoother than with either of my first two (but they both attended PS for high school, so luckily I was much more hands-off). 
 

Any words of wisdom? Beyond the priceless wisdom contained in the pinned motherlode threads (literally don’t know what I’d do without them)?! Anyone else ready to begin the college application process?

Edited June 2, 2021 by fourisenough

[Bristayl]

I don't know if I'm ready, but we've started!

[Arcadia]

Not me 😏 Thankfully kid is only interested in state universities within commute distance so that makes my life easier.

[MamaSprout]

My ulcer is fired up and ready.

We won't decide for sure if she'll apply for next fall until July, though, and it would only be three two schools. Dd and Dh actually only want her to apply to one, so three two is a compromise for everyone. ETA3- We do have a solid 11 schools to apply to if she graduates high school in 2023. It's just that there isn't a really a good reason academically, financially or socially for her to stay home another year if her first choice pans out.

I do have her enrolled in the Inspektor essay workshop, and I am counting as a quarter English credit. 

ETA: All three are Common App schools, so if there are no-essay/no app fee schools, I'm sure I could get her to add them, but she really not interested in liberal arts schools at all. ETA2; her siblings applied before Common App existed, so this is a whole-new thing for me to learn.

Edited June 2, 2021 by MamaSprout

[fourisenough]

1 hour ago, MamaSprout said:

My ulcer is fired up and ready.

Same, except my anxiety-induced illness of choice is debilitating insomnia! 😆

Let the fun begin!

[kokotg]

Well, this is a terrifying thread to wake up to! 😂

I've been doing course descriptions as we've gone along, so I'm in decent shape there. I just found my school profile from my oldest's applications, so that will just need some tweaking/personalizing. I have some ideas about the counselor letter. We have a working list of schools. It will be a lot fewer schools than my oldest since this kid is only applying to music programs and will have to audition everywhere. He has a list of audition requirements everywhere and a plan to go over that with his clarinet teacher at his next lesson. We have a plan to do some SAT prep over the summer and he'll take it again in the fall (we'd hoped to be done with it by now, but covid ruined those plans. He has a decent score from 10th grade, but it wouldn't hurt to bring it up if he can). His essay is the part I'm most worried about; he's a good writer but not at all confessional--I suspect it will be agonizing for both of us, and it might be time to think about outsourcing someone helping him with the brainstorming part of it. Or I might hand him a few example essays to look over, and he'll surprise me and come up with something great on his own. He's like that sometimes. Anyway, so maybe we're in okay shape after all, but I don't feel ready to do this again! He won't have anything due until December, I don't think--I think he's only looking at one school that does early decision for music, and it's not his top choice. ETA: and I need to remind him (again!) to e-mail two teachers from this past spring about LOR. And then he should be good there, assuming they say yes.

Edited June 2, 2021 by kokotg

[Lucy the Valiant]

Joining in.

Considering gap year, but want all ducks in a row for 2022 graduation. *buckles seat belt*

[kirstenhill]

My DD is in public school so I don't have some of the homeschool-specific hoops to worry about, but I am anticipating needing to give her a lot of cheerleading and help through the process.  She's pretty intimidated about getting started.

She's interested in a major that is really only offered at large public universities (food science), and she wants to leave our home state but not get TOO far away, so that gives us a very manageable list to consider.  We only found about a dozen universities within a 12 hour drive of us that offer food science, and she crossed two off the list right away because she thought the states they were in were not places she would want to be.   I'm hoping we can narrow down the list a bit over the summer and visit a few places.  

[fastweedpuller]

I'm in.  One and only, homeschooled since 3rd grade. 

She's arty.  Looking into tiny LACs and the flagship U, all within 6+ hours' drive.  She is a glassblower and teaches at the nature center, and she'll probably land somewhere to teach.  We've schooled eclectic but have leaned heavily in lit/history/science.  She'll have ~30 CC/DE credits by the time she graduates next spring.

[Farrar]

Gearing up with Mushroom. Sigh. Anyone want to trade kids? I'm pretty good at this. I just don't want to do my own kid.

Seriously, I have no idea where he'll land right now. He's anxious about the whole thing.

[MamaSprout]

I made a dummy student account for the Common App and invited myself to be a counselor. The whole thing seems much more do-able now that I have a sense of what we will need. Much less scary.

Edited June 2, 2021 by MamaSprout
too much multi-tasking

[Momto6inIN]

Ack! Stop reminding me! 😜

DD still has some junior year stuff that is spilling over to the summer to finish up and then I'll make myself think about it ...

[fourisenough]

28 minutes ago, MamaSprout said:

I made a dummy student account for the Common App and invited myself to be a counselor. The who thing seems much more do-able now that I have a sense of what we will need. Much less scary.

That’s on my to-do list for next week! Thanks for making it seem do-able. I know none of this stuff is rocket science, but I’ve just been mildly dreading it so long it’s become a habit!

Today I banged out a pretty decent first draft of my counselor letter. Shared that and school profile with my oldest DD for some feedback. She’s an excellent writer and just a very good sounding board on most things. I’ll incorporate her feedback into second drafts by next week. 

[Lori D.]

16 hours ago, fourisenough said:

...Any words of wisdom? Beyond the priceless wisdom contained in the pinned motherlode threads (literally don’t know what I’d do without them)...

Yea! So glad those have been a help!

In case someone reading this thread isn't familiar with those, below are the links and the "table of contents" of topics in those Motherlode pinned threads. The "College Motherlode" has all of the topics for financial aid, applying to college etc.

"College Motherlode" topics:
page 1: College Search Process; College Visits; Online College / College at Home / Distance Degree 
page 2: College Applications; Common App
page 3: Money Matters; Financial Aid; Scholarships; FAFSA / EFC; CSS Profile
page 4: Honors Programs / Phi Theta Kappa; Internships / REUs; NCAA
page 5: Heading to College; At College; Study Abroad
page 6: Alternatives to 4-Year College; Gap Year; Military; Career Exploration

High School Motherload #1  --  pinned thread at top of high school board
page 1:
- high school timetable
- getting started with homeschooling high school
- planning / scheduling / time management
- teen attitudes / expectations
- accreditation / cover schools / state regulations
page 2 =  info/experiences with high school tests (PSAT, AP, ACT/SAT, SAT Subject, CLEP, GED, etc.)

High School Motherlode #2 --  pinned thread at top of high school board
page 1
- transcripts / credits / grading & GPA
- honors designation
- record keeping / course description / letter of recommendation
- graduation / diploma
[pages 2-4 are other poster comments]
page 5
- homeschool subjects (English, Math, Science, Foreign Language, Electives)
- making your own courses
- extracurricular activities
- outsourcing / online classes / dual enrollment

[maize]

Not me.

I'm sticking my head in the sand and pretending I will not have a graduate next year.

[Dmmetler]

This was about the time that L started getting no fee application invites. It was kind of nice to have a couple of early acceptances, even for schools that only made it on the list due to being a free app. We also did a lot of virtual tours, YouTube tours, etc last summer since there was nothing better to do. 

[ShepCarlin]

Oooo making a dummy account for the Common App is a great idea. Son has applied to DE at local university so I have a transcript and course descriptions all updated and ready to go. I didn't know about the school profile so glad I'm hearing about it now. 

[Farrar]

Just be sure you know that the CA isn't open for next year yet. If you upload everything, it will be on last year's apps and you'll just have to do it all again.

[BusyMom5]

Good Luck to the Class on 2022! 

My first will be off to college in the fall  and my next one is Class of 2023 so no applications this year.  I need to get Kid2 on campuses and get a list of schools started- she is total opposite of Kid1, so it should be interesting.  

[lewelma]

I'm in. But I've got it easy. Really really easy. Automatic entrance based on exam scores is done. He know where he wants to go. So 'one and done.'

The application, recommendations, and essays are actually to the dorms -- to get into the one he wants. 

University of Canterbury is the choice. 

[Arcadia]

20 hours ago, maize said:

Not me.

I'm sticking my head in the sand and pretending I will not have a graduate next year.

I haven’t calculated my kid’s GPA yet. The state universities applications does their own GPA recalculations anyway so I have been slacking in the transcripts that I have to submit to community college for dual enrollment. 

At least FAFSA part would be easy if the IRS tool works well since our tax is uncomplicated. I have tried filling out my FAFSA on the paper form and it wasn’t that bad, similar to filling out 1040 tax form on paper.

The application essays would be the painful part for DS16. We probably would need a big chocolate stash as bribe. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

On 6/2/2021 at 5:20 PM, Farrar said:

Just be sure you know that the CA isn't open for next year yet. If you upload everything, it will be on last year's apps and you'll just have to do it all again.

Some things will roll over, including the tedious personal info in the Common App tab.

Essays and college specific questions and writing supplements don't roll over.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I've spent the last few years transitioning into an Educational Consultant role. This will be the first year I don't have one of my own doing applications, but work only with clients instead. 

[Farrar]

16 hours ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

I've spent the last few years transitioning into an Educational Consultant role. This will be the first year I don't have one of my own doing applications, but work only with clients instead. 

I just realized we're in opposite situations. I've done a bunch of clients as an IEC, but this will be the first time I've helped my own kid. 😉 Are you on the IEC homeschool group on FB, I hope?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

1 minute ago, Farrar said:

I just realized we're in opposite situations. I've done a bunch of clients as an IEC, but this will be the first time I've helped my own kid. 😉 Are you on the IEC homeschool group on FB, I hope?

Yes, that's a good group, especially because everyone has first hand experience as a homeschooler and also as an IEC.

[Dmmetler]

I've been gradually transitioning to teaching more and tutoring more. I really don't want to go back to either K-12 teaching or college teaching (nor to do the kind of "will move anywhere" that finding a college teaching job takes, but teaching piano and group music classes and tutoring the occasional student, primarily 2e kids I'm enjoying. While I've tried to keep it very limited in the past, I'm opening up my schedule pretty wide for fall, so we'll see what happens. 

[fourisenough]

Okay, an update: I have fairly robust versions of DD’s transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor letter written. 
 

DD has created a decent resume and has figured out what her ‘story’ is that she will attempt to tell in her essays. She begins Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop tomorrow. She has identified her LOR writers and gotten their agreement to serve as such.

I *think* all of this stuff, together, makes clear who she is and what’s unique about her journey. But I have one question: does someone (me? DD? LOR writers?) need to EXPLICITLY say something like, “Please don’t judge this student’s extra-curricular activities/work experience/leadership positions/service hours, etc. by the same measuring stick as you do typical students?” I hope I don’t sound like a Tiger mom who thinks her special snowflake is different & better than other kids, but in truth her path has looked very different. She moved away from home at 13 to study ballet. There has been no NHS, no Latin Club, no marching band, no model UN, etc. She dances 25 hours a week, period. She’s the exact opposite of well-rounded; she’s as pointy as could be.
 

Will the ad coms be able to infer this? Or do I actually need to say that somewhere?

Edited June 13, 2021 by fourisenough
To be clear, I’m not asking them not to judge her academics by the same measuring stick! For those more objective data points, she should obviously be compared head-to-head.

[fourisenough]

Just posed same question to my oldest DD (age 23). This was her response:

“I mean I’m not an expert but it seems to me that these are professionals who do this for a living day in and day out. I’m sure they’re pretty savvy at reading between the lines, inferring context, making sound judgments about a student’s qualifications, etc. Maybe she won’t be liked for being “pointy” by every school but I am confident that there will be at least several who value her for her unique experience. And ultimately that’s the place where she wants to be. I don’t know that explicit mentioning of an obvious fact is necessarily beneficial?”

Seems right to me, but just needed a gut check. Do y’all agree?

[teachermom2834]

I am no expert but I don’t think admissions folks at highly selective schools are impressed by things like NHS, Beta Club, etc. Those honors are a dime a dozen and I don’t think they matter at all. Traditional school kids can easily have a huge laundry list of clubs and activities that were very low time commitment or hardly met at all. My Spanish Club in high school just went to Chi-Chi’s for dinner and to a holiday light display. I feel like admissions people see that stuff on every application and aren’t impressed. 
 

Going away to a residential ballet training program at 13 is far more interesting than student council treasurer. I would just embrace what your dd is and showcase that. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by teachermom2834

[Lawyer&Mom]

1 hour ago, fourisenough said:

Okay, an update: I have fairly robust versions of DD’s transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor letter written. 
 

DD has created a decent resume and has figured out what her ‘story’ is that she will attempt to tell in her essays. She begins Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop tomorrow. She has identified her LOR writers and gotten their agreement to serve as such.

I *think* all of this stuff, together, makes clear who she is and what’s unique about her journey. But I have one question: does someone (me? DD? LOR writers?) need to EXPLICITLY say something like, “Please don’t judge this student’s extra-curricular activities/work experience/leadership positions/service hours, etc. by the same measuring stick as you do typical students?” I hope I don’t sound like a Tiger mom who thinks her special snowflake is different & better than other kids, but in truth her path has looked very different. She moved away from home at 13 to study ballet. There has been no NHS, no Latin Club, no marching band, no model UN, etc. She dances 25 hours a week, period. She’s the exact opposite of well-rounded; she’s as pointy as could be.
 

Will the ad coms be able to infer this? Or do I actually need to say that somewhere?

Instead of saying “please excuse the lack” could you frame it affirmatively?  She chose to focus on depth instead of breadth in her extracurricular activities? And this says X about her strengths and her potential etc. etc.?

[UmmIbrahim]

1 hour ago, teachermom2834 said:

I am no expert but I don’t think admissions folks at highly selective schools are impressed by things like NHS, Beta Club, etc. Those honors are a dime a dozen and I don’t think they matter at all. Traditional school kids can easily have a huge laundry list of clubs and activities that were very low time commitment or hardly met at all. My Spanish Club in high school just went to Chi-Chi’s for dinner and to a holiday light display. I feel like admissions people see that stuff on every application and aren’t impressed. 
 

Going away to a residential ballet training program at 13 is far more interesting than student council treasurer. I would just embrace what your dd is and showcase that. 

Definitely agree with this. Being a "joiner" in lots of public school extracurricular clubs doesn't buy you anything in competitive admissions nowadays. They want to see you starting stuff/leading and following your passions. "Spiky" students are definitely "in" right now. Your daughter sounds very spiky, so this is great for some of the schools that you are considering. I'm sure she has a compelling story about her passions and dance, and the Inspektor summer class should help her produce a really great essay! My son was so happy with how his came out after that class.

As homeschoolers, we would sometimes lament not having lots of clubs to join. Before we learned more about modern competitive admissions trends, we thought (like most homeschoolers in our area) that we needed more volume in the extracurriculars with lots of random volunteering/service sprinkled here and there willy nilly. Because of the lack of organizations to join, my oldest son just had to create clubs/groups for what he really wanted to do (he had two main extracurricular passions and he built groups to share those with). He absolutely did not fill up all of his ten extracurricular slots on the common app and wondered how that would look, but things ended up going very well. We concluded that they'd rather see the initiative in going out and starting something than just ten slots filled with joining something. We stumbled on to the reality that it's really more about quality and commitment over time to a few activities than a laundry list of many.

Not to say that students with massive lists of clubs don't go to competitive schools, but I think it really ends up being more about your narrative and showing what you've done.

 

[lewelma]

What *exactly* do you think she is missing that the schools might be looking for?  I explained in 2 sentences in my school profile why my son did not take the national exams designed for exceptional students. If figured that *all* the other applicants to elite US universities from NZ would have them, so I explained it short and sweet -- he focused on university coursework instead, both officially and through self study. 

You need to think specifically about important missing pieces. Not being part of a bunch of clubs is not important. You need to think about her *competition* and what they will have that she is missing.

Edited June 13, 2021 by lewelma

[fourisenough]

3 hours ago, lewelma said:

What *exactly* do you think she is missing that the schools might be looking for?  I explained in 2 sentences in my school profile why my son did not take the national exams designed for exceptional students. If figured that *all* the other applicants to elite US universities from NZ would have them, so I explained it short and sweet -- he focused on university coursework instead, both officially and through self study. 

You need to think specifically about important missing pieces. Not being part of a bunch of clubs is not important. You need to think about her *competition* and what they will have that she is missing.

This is a good clarifying question. The only thing I’m worried the competition will have that she doesn’t is community service and leadership positions (real stuff, not Spanish Club VP). But, I also think it likely that her very high level of commitment to ballet will more than offset this. 
 

But honestly? I’m mostly worried the readers will be so used to seeing typical applicants that they won’t know what to make of her. 

[lewelma]

So now that you have identified her actual (rather than perceived) weakness, you need to shore it up. My older boy was very pointy like your daughter, so we made sure to show how he developed both leadership and community service while following his dreams because these really are things they are looking for.  His passion was in maths and music, but you could do the same thing in dance. 1) He created a volunteer position in August of senior year at a local school to teach kids competitions maths (he had only been doing it for a month when he wrote about it on his applications). 2) I wrote in my counselors' letter about his mentoring of students in his music club. 3) He wrote about how he learned to lead others through his music symphony and trio.  None of this was 'official' leadership positions. 

------

1) Part of his math essay: I also wanted to create a community of students who enjoyed collaborating on tough problems. I laid out an annual plan, designed handouts, and created interactive lectures. I had to carefully manage the multiple levels of skill and knowledge that my students had so that none were bored or lost. To help create a collaborative atmosphere, I encouraged students to work together, share partial progress, and present solutions to the rest of the class. 

2) Part of my counselor's letter He is a natural leader, not the kind that stands out in front and runs a group, although he can do this if required, but rather the kind that supports from behind and helps younger kids to believe in themselves and feel wanted and valued. He gives these kids this gift without thought or intent, it is just in his nature to support and care. (I gave some examples here)

3) Part of his music essay: Music has also given me opportunities to practice public speaking, lead a small string orchestra, and mentor younger students. The music community has helped me to develop the people skills critical to all endeavors, and has convinced me that I love working in groups. I love the people and the camaraderie. Music has made me realise that I don’t want to do mathematics in isolation, that I want to be a part of a collaborative project, working together towards a common goal.

------

Basically, you need to show that in some fashion she is not just self serving.  What does she do for the family? or her ballet club? or at church?  How does she offer her services.  That plus you need to show that she is not just a follower.  How does she 'lead'?  You need to think quite broadly about the term lead -- google it and you will realize that it is way more than organizing. It is also inspiring and supporting.  It could be building a collaborative environment like my ds tried to do. Think big and then both she and you need to write about it.

As for never having seen an application like your dd's, this is a good thing. It will let her stand out.  Just shore up the leadership and community service from what she has already done with her time at the studio.

Edited June 14, 2021 by lewelma

[fourisenough]

Thanks @lewelma this is very helpful. I need to mull this over a bit.

[Farrar]

@fourisenoughI think they will have seen an application like hers. Ballet kids at the top of their game homeschool and don't have time for much outside ballet. That's not a bad thing though, not coupled with strong academics. Plus, it's not like they'll have been reading tons of applications like hers. I'm just saying that she's not going to totally confuse them or anything. They're pros - they've seen it all. Remind me... she's not applying for ballet programs, is that right? I really think she'll be fine. I love the way Ruth outlined how she and her ds showed off his leadership abilities without the sort of traditional leadership things that other kids might have. I know of several good success stories for kids doing things totally solo for nearly all their EC's - virtually no outside ones with any sort of group at all except a few short term or summer things. So the traditional "leadership" thing is not the be all end all.

[fourisenough]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

@fourisenoughI think they will have seen an application like hers. Ballet kids at the top of their game homeschool and don't have time for much outside ballet. That's not a bad thing though, not coupled with strong academics. Plus, it's not like they'll have been reading tons of applications like hers. I'm just saying that she's not going to totally confuse them or anything. They're pros - they've seen it all. Remind me... she's not applying for ballet programs, is that right? I really think she'll be fine. I love the way Ruth outlined how she and her ds showed off his leadership abilities without the sort of traditional leadership things that other kids might have. I know of several good success stories for kids doing things totally solo for nearly all their EC's - virtually no outside ones with any sort of group at all except a few short term or summer things. So the traditional "leadership" thing is not the be all end all.

That’s right— no ballet programs. The only place she might dance if admitted is Duke. 

[Bootsie]

Admissions counselors are trained to read what is in applications (and look for what is missing).  You do not need to bring attention to missing areas or weaknesses (or ask them to overlook those).  You should emphasize the positive.  At many selective schools, a "hook" and something that makes the students stand out and be memorable in a stack of applications is important. 

If she doesn't want to dance in college, I would frame her experience as something other than "commitment to dance" because the admissions counselor may think that it is really dance that she wants to do and will not be committed to the field of study that she says that she wants at the university.   Leaving home at a young age and being independent shows leadership qualities.  DD traveled internationally by herself to study a language while in high school and wrote her college essay on this experience.  She was able to highly responsibility, independence, inquisitiveness, courage, etc. and express what she learned (not just the language but about herself) in the experience.  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

On 6/13/2021 at 12:02 PM, fourisenough said:

Okay, an update: I have fairly robust versions of DD’s transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor letter written. 
 

DD has created a decent resume and has figured out what her ‘story’ is that she will attempt to tell in her essays. She begins Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop tomorrow. She has identified her LOR writers and gotten their agreement to serve as such.

I *think* all of this stuff, together, makes clear who she is and what’s unique about her journey. But I have one question: does someone (me? DD? LOR writers?) need to EXPLICITLY say something like, “Please don’t judge this student’s extra-curricular activities/work experience/leadership positions/service hours, etc. by the same measuring stick as you do typical students?” I hope I don’t sound like a Tiger mom who thinks her special snowflake is different & better than other kids, but in truth her path has looked very different. She moved away from home at 13 to study ballet. There has been no NHS, no Latin Club, no marching band, no model UN, etc. She dances 25 hours a week, period. She’s the exact opposite of well-rounded; she’s as pointy as could be.
 

Will the ad coms be able to infer this? Or do I actually need to say that somewhere?

You could include that in the counselor letter. 

She can also explicitly call this out in the Additional Information section on the Common App. 

It would be totally appropriate to mention it in both places.

Eta: I don't think you need to belabor what you think she didn't do, unless she lacks an actual requirement. 

As far as leadership, that is more than having a club title or being a sports captain. It's also about self discipline, internal motivation, being an example, and taking risks. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

On 6/13/2021 at 8:48 PM, fourisenough said:

This is a good clarifying question. The only thing I’m worried the competition will have that she doesn’t is community service and leadership positions (real stuff, not Spanish Club VP). But, I also think it likely that her very high level of commitment to ballet will more than offset this. 
 

But honestly? I’m mostly worried the readers will be so used to seeing typical applicants that they won’t know what to make of her. 

In my experience, admissions readers love atypical applications, because there is something distinctive to consider. 

[fourisenough]

Okay, another update. Just dropped DD off at airport to return to ballet school for 4 weeks of their summer intensive, after which she flies to another part of the country for another 4 weeks at a different intensive. 
 

Shes 2 weeks into Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop and has a pretty good draft of her common app essay. We signed up for 12-15 virtual info sessions at colleges of interest. We’ve completed 3 so far. Glad we took good notes because they’re already starting to run together. 
 

My take away at this point: holy moly there are going to be SO MANY ESSAYS to write! Thankfully, DD is a good, fast writer, but she’s busy. This is going to be a marathon.
 

I’m glad to switch hats and become horse show mom for the next couple weeks. I need a break from homeschool/guidance counselor mom!

[NittanyJen]

We are working on this now, updating the transcript, finessing the list of colleges to potentially visit this summer, either online or in person.

He was supposed to be FINISHED with all testing over a year ago, but, thanks ‘Rona 😛 So his only SAT’s are from before his freshman year. I’m thinking of signing him up for a round of SAT’s in the August or September testing. We always try to get most of the application stuff over with before we start the senior school year, and that testing will clearly make that goal a bit impossible, but oh well, sometimes you just have to roll. I figured everyone’s in the same boat, even if the details may differ a little, so no sense complaining.

btw, if anybody has any last-minute additions we should be looking at for a good warm-location east-coast school with a good English department, feel free to inbox me.  

I am both looking forward to this and dreading it— I feel like this empty nest deal is hurtling toward us at light speed. 

 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, NittanyJen said:

 

He was supposed to be FINISHED with all testing over a year ago, but, thanks ‘Rona 😛 So his only SAT’s are from before his freshman year. I’m thinking of signing him up for a round of SAT’s in the August or September testing.

Many colleges are still test optional for those applying this fall. My rising senior isn’t going to take SAT or ACT since our state universities don’t have automatic scholarships/discounts based on test scores. His test scores were also from middle school.

https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state

”NOTE: This list includes bachelor degree granting institutions that do not require recent U.S. high school graduates applying to start classes in fall 2022 to submit ACT/SAT results. As the end notes indicate, some schools only exempt students who meet minimum grade or class rank criteria; others use test scores solely for placement purposes. Please check with the school's admissions office for details”

[NittanyJen]

18 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Many colleges are still test optional for those applying this fall. My rising senior isn’t going to take SAT or ACT since our state universities don’t have automatic scholarships/discounts based on test scores. His test scores were also from middle school.

https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state

”NOTE: This list includes bachelor degree granting institutions that do not require recent U.S. high school graduates applying to start classes in fall 2022 to submit ACT/SAT results. As the end notes indicate, some schools only exempt students who meet minimum grade or class rank criteria; others use test scores solely for placement purposes. Please check with the school's admissions office for details”

It’s a good list to keep bubbling to the surface! But there are still a lot of colleges out there that aren’t extending Test optional to homeschoolers, and refusing the SAT isn’t a hill we are ready to die on. He could get in to the local state U on his current record and freshman SAT scores— they were good enough already, and he has taken several courses there plus a couple of AP’s. But I think he is leaning toward also trying to get into a few private colleges to see if they will throw him enough merit money to make it worth his while. He has a couple on his list he’d actually really be serious about if they will show they are serious about him.

 

 

[MamaSprout]

Dd spent some time at her number one choice doing an early college experience and is back home now. They gave us lots of great information that is providing some clarity. She made lots of friends who are likely to turn up in most of the competitive programs for her major (This is amazing for this kid who has only had her "tribe" online through programs like Blue Tent and NSLI-Y). So here's where we're at:

• She's starting applications this fall unless her June SAT or AP scores are surprisingly low or some other thing pops up.
• She has four schools chosen (her first pick- a private, two state schools- one in-state, one out-of-state, and a safety- private).
• Her stats are such that we know she will get accepted to all of these schools. The in-state flagship is a 40% acceptance for her program, but she's still pretty competitive for that (it's her second choice school). We don't expect any big surprises financially with any of them.
• First and second choice schools want her to apply based on her age grade. They want to see that her transcript represents an early graduation (and the common app has a box for that, but they said to make sure it was obvious on the transcript).
• She only needs her common app essay + a couple of supplemental questions. She'll do the PA Homeschoolers summer essay class.
• Essays have the greatest impact for scholarship purposes for both her first and second choice schools, and those are automatically submitted with EA applications.
• I have her transcript and course descriptions current.
• I have a very rough draft of school profile and counselor letter. I sent myself requests from my dummy CA account, so I know what those sections look like.
• Only one of her schools wants a recommendation from a teacher, and that school suggested who she should use (not a teacher), and also had one of the professors there offer to write her one.

Her target school was very frank with me (I work in higher ed, and their admissions and I have friends in common, so I don't think this was a normal conversation.) Basically they said, "This is what we look at, we don't even look at sections of the transcript that aren't specifically requested." So I could have Klingon listed under foreign language and they wouldn't care. 

Edited June 28, 2021 by MamaSprout

[Hamburger Mom]

It's August, and the Common App is live! 🙂 This is my first Senior and all of the old threads have been so useful.  We were able to tour a few campuses this summer and are going to one more tomorrow before school starts back up. My son started the common app yesterday and sent me the counselor link, so I guess it's Go Time for me as well!

 

 

[kokotg]

Here, too. I'm pretty sure my oldest didn't start this early (although he had a draft of his essay by the end of summer), but my current senior has auditions to prep for (applying as a clarinet performance major), so I'm going to try to get him to get a little done every day with the common app with the goal of all apps submitted by October I think. Most of his schools require separate applications for the college and the music school. We made it to Bard and Baldwin-Wallace over the summer, so that leaves Vanderbilt as the only place he's planning to apply that he hasn't seen in person yet. And we just found out Vanderbilt has a new clarinet prof, so I guess he has another sample lesson to schedule to see if it's still a good fit. He'll likely only apply to 5 schools. My oldest applied to SIXTEEN, so this is making me nervous. But it's a completely different game with auditions and all that. 

[fourisenough]

Yay, I’m glad to hear you guys are making progress. It’s weirdly comforting to know others are in my same boat right now! My DD began her Common App on Sunday and has chipped away at it a few times since. I think I have my documents in line, but haven’t uploaded anything yet. 
 

Is there anyone who would be willing to review DD’s main essay and two supplemental essays (for our state flagship/her top choice)? She wrote the main essay earlier this summer via Maya Inspektor’s essay workshop, but she’s continued tweaking it since then. I don’t feel like I can give her much feedback because I’ve seen it too many times to be objective (and I’m a notoriously harsh critic of my own kids’ writing). If you’re willing, will you send me a PM? I’m happy to return the favor!

Edited August 5, 2021 by fourisenough

[MamaSprout]

Sending you a PM.

[Arcadia]

UC (California) app has opened and keying in test scores is already a pain. It hung a few times at the sat subject tests and AP scores screens.