2022 Acceptances

[fourisenough]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Makenzie Thompson Applied To 51 Colleges And Now Has 49 Acceptances With Over $1M In Scholarship Offers (msn.com)

I was watching the Today show this week and saw this girl.  

Stuff like this really turns my stomach. It just seems so greedy and gross. Getting to see the acceptances just pile up in a folder? What is this a game where you’re earning badges? A process that allows/encourages this illogical, selfish behavior (and media that reward it by publishing these same stories year after year) needs to be reformed; she can only attend one school. 

[8filltheheart]

It is also just silly to add up scholarship $$ across all schools.  All it reveals is how many schools were applied to and nothing more.  Getting 49 acceptances with $1 million dollars in scholarship doesn't really take much AT ALL.  Consider an avg of $30,000/yr in-state for COA.  That is $120,000 for 4 yrs.  Apply to 8 schools and receive their full scholarships, and you are almost there.  If you get a full tuition scholarship at a single school like Fordham at $55,000/yr tuition, that is $220K just there.

[rzberrymom]

Given how terribly impacted our state schools are, we’ve started looking at Europe for safeties for next year. German universities of course are free for international students. And Dutch universities are very reasonable, the Bachelors often only takes 3 years, and many degrees are taught completely in English. I don’t know what else to do at this point.

[8filltheheart]

3 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

Given how terribly impacted our state schools are, we’ve started looking at Europe for safeties for next year. German universities of course are free for international students. And Dutch universities are very reasonable, the Bachelors often only takes 3 years, and many degrees are taught completely in English. I don’t know what else to do at this point.

I disagree that things are anywhere close to being that dire.  There are plenty of schools with high acceptance rates.   Many of those schools offer automatic merit making them cheaper than IS elsewhere.  THen there are schools like Truman State that just aren't expensive to begin with.

[rzberrymom]

Just now, 8filltheheart said:

I disagree that things are anywhere close to being that dire.  There are plenty of schools with high acceptance rates.   Many of those schools offer automatic merit making them cheaper than IS elsewhere.  THen there are schools like Truman State that just aren't expensive to begin with.

It likely depends on your state and family situation. California state schools are dire for homeschoolers without a doubt. And my kiddo is not a good test taker and so isn’t in range for merit at any decent school at this point. And we don’t qualify for much need-based aid at all. 

[Eos]

34 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

A process that allows/encourages this illogical, selfish behavior (and media that reward it by publishing these same stories year after year) needs to be reformed; she can only attend one school. 

I think the Common App should have a reasonable limit, like 8 or 10 max. I know most folks disagree.

[Eos]

5 hours ago, mlktwins said:

When did this trend start where kids are applying to so many schools?  Isn’t this making it harder for a lot of kids to get accepted to their most desired school?

I don't remember the year but the Common App is the culprit, in my opinion.  

I never let my kids check the SAT box that says YES I'd like to get junk mail from all the schools so I feel important and apply all the places to boost their rejection stats.

[8filltheheart]

31 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

It likely depends on your state and family situation. California state schools are dire for homeschoolers without a doubt. And my kiddo is not a good test taker and so isn’t in range for merit at any decent school at this point. And we don’t qualify for much need-based aid at all. 

I recognized that you were referring to CA schools.  That is precisely why I mentioned schools like Truman State.  The full COA OOS is around $26000 and they offer $4000 scholarships for scores as low as 1130.  (Your ds will have to take entrance tests for German schools and he would be limited in English only course offerings.) SDSM&T is something like $25000 full COA for OOS.  There are others as well. 

I used to spend a lot of time researching options bc our budget for college is very low bc we refuse to take out loans, don't qualify for enough aid, and have a lot of kids.  Merit has been a better option for us, but considering that the cost of housing can be $12000+, full attendance OOS for $25K is incredibly reasonable.  (All schools are not like MIT at $80,000/yr)

[Roadrunner]

I am telling mine to apply to American University in Paris. I mean you can’t be that upset to be rejected everywhere if your remaining option is four years in Paris. 🤣 You know, I am only half joking here. 

[rzberrymom]

24 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

I recognized that you were referring to CA schools.  That is precisely why I mentioned schools like Truman State.  The full COA OOS is around $26000 and they offer $4000 scholarships for scores as low as 1130.  (Your ds will have to take entrance tests for German schools and he would be limited in English only course offerings.) SDSM&T is something like $25000 full COA for OOS.  There are others as well. 

I used to spend a lot of time researching options bc our budget for college is very low bc we refuse to take out loans, don't qualify for enough aid, and have a lot of kids.  Merit has been a better option for us, but considering that the cost of housing can be $12000+, full attendance OOS for $25K is incredibly reasonable.  (All schools are not like MIT at $80,000/yr)

My understanding from our German relatives is that German universities don’t have entrance exams (with a few exceptions like University of Stuttgart)—instead, they let anyone in and then weed out the kids that can’t handle the classes. Not ideal, but also not a terrible back-up for us. My kid can speak German, but that is *not* at all a requirement for international students.

Dutch universities have tons of English-only options.

Anyway, might be a good fit for some kids.

Edited April 1, 2022 by rzberrymom

[rzberrymom]

1 minute ago, Roadrunner said:

I am telling mine to apply to American University in Paris. I mean you can’t be that upset to be rejected everywhere if your remaining option is four years in Paris. 🤣 You know, I am only half joking here. 

That’s exactly where we’re at! Doing 3-4 years abroad sounded way better to my kiddo than having to go back to a community college for the 6th year in a row!

[Eos]

@MEmama's son is in Ireland, maybe she could drop in over here and give us an estimate of Irish college costs.  A decent number of Maine kids go to Canadian universities every year with reasonable costs, and some Canadian schools will accept the FAFSA process for aid. 

When dd auditioned for undergrad, she loved McGill in Montreal (and the teacher) and was accepted but had to wait until she accepted their offer of admittance to see the aid she would get, which didn't work for us. I don't know  if it's the same process for non-musicians.

Dd's grad school in Switzerland is ridiculously cheap, but a hamburger costs $25.00!  She eats a lot of pasta...

 

[Roadrunner]

6 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

My understanding from our German relatives is that German universities don’t have entrance exams—instead, they let anyone in and then weed out the kids that can’t handle the classes. Not ideal, but also not a terrible back-up for us. My kid can speak German, but that is *not* at all a requirement for international students.

Dutch universities have tons of English-only options.

Anyway, might be a good fit for some kids.

One of my nephews attended American University in Bremen. It was just like a university here. Another one is in German university (Free University in Berlin). German one requires C level fluency in German. 

[Arcadia]

13 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

My understanding from our German relatives is that German universities don’t have entrance exams (with a few exceptions like University of Stuttgart)—instead, they let anyone in and then weed out the kids that can’t handle the classes. Not ideal, but also not a terrible back-up for us. My kid can speak German, but that is *not* at all a requirement for international students.

I think DSD II is required. My kids can speak German but aren’t proficient enough to pass the DSD yet. 

6 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

. German one requires C level fluency in German. 

I agree.

[8filltheheart]

13 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

My understanding from our German relatives is that German universities don’t have entrance exams—instead, they let anyone in and then weed out the kids that can’t handle the classes. Not ideal, but also not a terrible back-up for us. My kid can speak German, but that is *not* at all a requirement for international students.

Dutch universities have tons of English-only options.

Anyway, might be a good fit for some kids.

I am not sure that is completely accurate.  I had a dd who investigated it.  She used the DAAD site. Admission Process in Germany University 2022 - DAAD Scholarship 2021 - DAAD German Scholarship Application Call Letter   There are requirements from testing to  "If you come from countries that are not in the EU, they should show proof that they have studied for at least two or three semesters in a university in your home country."  It really depends on the school.  But, I'm pretty sure that there were testing requirements.

[rzberrymom]

7 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I think DSD II is required. My kids can speak German but aren’t proficient enough to pass the DSD yet. 

I agree.

I’ve seen huge lists of programs taught in English. Here’s one: https://www.mygermanuniversity.com/universities

[Roadrunner]

Just now, rzberrymom said:

I’ve seen huge lists of programs taught in English. Here’s one: https://www.mygermanuniversity.com/universities

Yes, but sometimes language requirement might still be there.

 

this is the one my nephew attended. We are looking at it.

https://www.jacobs-university.de

[rzberrymom]

4 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Yes, but sometimes language requirement might still be there.

 

this is the one my nephew attended. We are looking at it.

https://www.jacobs-university.de

Interesting. They are very actively recruiting international students, putting out oodles of pages about English-only options. Here’s one that lists 1665 options: https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/

I had no idea there were language requirements for those. I guess Dutch universities are a better bet then.

[Janeway]

My son decided to go with the financial safety instead of his first choice college. I suspect this is because he has a girlfriend now and wants to be closer, but he says it is because he does not want to take out student loans, which he would need to do if he went further away.

[Roadrunner]

19 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

Interesting. They are very actively recruiting international students, putting out oodles of pages about English-only options. Here’s one that lists 1665 options: https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/

I had no idea there were language requirements for those. I guess Dutch universities are a better bet then.

Don’t take my word! I haven’t dug around enough. I think there are in places, so don’t discount them just yet.

 

My nephew spent every summer in Germany taking language courses and then he also did a preparatory year where he took courses and passed exams in German for math/physics/Chem…. That was for a a German program. I just remember at that time even for English language faculty, there were some language requirements. It’s been some years now. 

[teachermom2834]

2 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

It is also just silly to add up scholarship $$ across all schools.  All it reveals is how many schools were applied to and nothing more.  Getting 49 acceptances with $1 million dollars in scholarship doesn't really take much AT ALL.  Consider an avg of $30,000/yr in-state for COA.  That is $120,000 for 4 yrs.  Apply to 8 schools and receive their full scholarships, and you are almost there.  If you get a full tuition scholarship at a single school like Fordham at $55,000/yr tuition, that is $220K just there.

I think my oldest hit or nearly hit a million with ten schools. Not that impressive. Not like he could stack ‘em!

[madteaparty]

2 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

I am telling mine to apply to American University in Paris. I mean you can’t be that upset to be rejected everywhere if your remaining option is four years in Paris. 🤣 You know, I am only half joking here. 

It’s kind of $$ for France I think but the smartest and nicest kid I went to law school with went there for undergrad.

for those looking abroad there’s a whole book/website about it Beyond the States (have not used, am not endorsing). I wanted mine to stay within driving distance and I got my wish thank god. We did look closely at the Science Po/Columbia program. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by madteaparty

[Farrar]

It's difficult for most homeschoolers to apply to schools in Europe. Most require a lot of AP's or an associate's degree if they even consider homeschoolers at all. There are exceptions, of course. And you can use a cover school potentially to get around it.

If you want to be in Europe, then that's great. Go be in Europe. There are ways to get there. But the idea that the only affordable options for Californians where their kids can get in are abroad is demonstrably false. If staying in state is a priority, then yes, your options are more limited. But even in "impacted" majors, there are plenty of schools out there that will give you money to get close to in state rates. You just don't want to go live in New Mexico or Alabama or Ohio or whatever. Which... that's FINE! But it's disingenuous to come and say there are so few options that you have to literally leave the country.

[Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, Farrar said:

It's difficult for most homeschoolers to apply to schools in Europe. Most require a lot of AP's or an associate's degree if they even consider homeschoolers at all.

They require AP exam scores relevant to the major the applicant is applying for, not a lot of APs.

For example, my friend’s son top choice for his application has the quoted requirements for US applicants. 3 relevant to your major AP exams scores (and it would be beneficial to add an AP English exam score)

https://www.gla.ac.uk/international/country/usa/#undergraduateentryrequirements

“

US curriculum

• Method 1
  •  SAT: 1280 or ACT: 27
  AND
  • 2 AP examinations (in relevant subjects): 4 +
• Method 2
  • 3 AP examinations (in relevant subjects): 4 +
• School codes
  • ACT: 5315
  • College Board / SAT: 0923”

[Roadrunner]

25 minutes ago, Farrar said:

It's difficult for most homeschoolers to apply to schools in Europe. Most require a lot of AP's or an associate's degree if they even consider homeschoolers at all. There are exceptions, of course. And you can use a cover school potentially to get around it.

If you want to be in Europe, then that's great. Go be in Europe. There are ways to get there. But the idea that the only affordable options for Californians where their kids can get in are abroad is demonstrably false. If staying in state is a priority, then yes, your options are more limited. But even in "impacted" majors, there are plenty of schools out there that will give you money to get close to in state rates. You just don't want to go live in New Mexico or Alabama or Ohio or whatever. Which... that's FINE! But it's disingenuous to come and say there are so few options that you have to literally leave the country.

Obviously, but I say it’s a lot more fun to be in Paris than Alabama. ☺️

[Roadrunner]

16 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

They require AP exam scores relevant to the major the applicant is applying for, not a lot of APs.

For example, my friend’s son top choice for his application has the quoted requirements for US applicants. 3 relevant to your major AP exams scores (and it would be beneficial to add an AP English exam score)

https://www.gla.ac.uk/international/country/usa/#undergraduateentryrequirements

“

US curriculum

• Method 1
  •  SAT: 1280 or ACT: 27
  AND
  • 2 AP examinations (in relevant subjects): 4 +
• Method 2
  • 3 AP examinations (in relevant subjects): 4 +
• School codes
  • ACT: 5315
  • College Board / SAT: 0923”

So simple. 
Now do they require an accredited high school diploma? 

[Arcadia]

23 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

So simple. 
Now do they require an accredited high school diploma? 

They do for the test optional path, not if you choose to submit exam scores.

ETA:

I have no idea about LoR requirements. I do know people in Asia who just submitted their ’A’ levels exams scores relevant to their major, e.g. math, physics, chem scores for engineering.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Arcadia

[8filltheheart]

That doesn't seem like a very simple path for a student who doesn't test well.  

I was curious about the Netherlands and international students.  I know that there is a mom who used to post quite frequently who lived there and her dd was constantly stressed about passing required national tests.  

I would be concerned about sending a student who doesn't test well there for school:

One thing that frequently confuses international students applying to the Netherlands is the seemingly low entry requirements. Let’s look at an example.

The University of Bristol and the University of Amsterdam both consistently rank in the top 100 university rankings. The University of Bristol typically has entry requirements of AAA (for A Levels), while the University of Amsterdam frequently asks for CCC.

The difference can be explained by a distinctive feature of Dutch universities: the probationary first year.

The academic year in the Netherlands is divided into two long (20 week) semesters: it’s common to have 5-6 exam cycles during that first year, and the academic pressure to do well is high: students who don’t achieve high enough results aren't allowed to continue into the second year of university (and around 7% of first years drop out annually).

[Roadrunner]

A very typical setup for European schools. They open the doors for most who want to come and then it’s on you. 

[Roadrunner]

nm 

found it

Edited April 2, 2022 by Roadrunner

[GoodGrief3]

Well, we are done. And honestly have been for a while, though I did not want my daughter to "call it" until closer to the deadline, for reasons I will explain.

For those who don't want to read the whole thing, she's going to Messiah University in Pennsylvania. She is in honors, and has assured acceptance into their DPT (physical therapy) program, assuming she maintains grades, etc.

******************************

The Long Part:

Other info: she is my youngest, was homeschooled through 4th grade, went to public school 5th-Covid, and homeschooled 11-12 with a couple classes at the neighborhood school. excellent GPA, test scores that were just okay. There was an issue at every single sitting for the SAT, which led to her doing it three times (my others each took it once.) Twice it was a physical issue (she had surgery for endometriosis this fall, which improved that situation significantly now) and the third time it was a misnumbering issue that she did not deal with properly at the time. That last one was a heartbreak because her math score went up significantly to what we would have expected, and the verbal score with the misnumbering took a dive. It is what it is! 🙂

Would have been nice to have the test scores though, because merit was needed. Perfect-plus GPA helps, but not as much as needed generally.

So, we were the people applying to 20-ish schools this cycle, as did my last college applicant six years ago. My oldest only applied to eight, and with no parental input. We learned our lesson there, though it did turn out fine for her, albeit somewhat expensive for us.

There are a few reasons for applying many places, that differed a bit for my current applicant and her older sister. We live geographically distant from most of the US, and visits require a long plane flight. We need money. My last applicant was competitive for a lot of reachy schools and big scholarships which could pay off big, but were highly uncertain. Our in-state schools have some significant downsides, and I'd prefer the kids get a broader experience during the college years after growing up in a remote location.

And for my current applicant, she felt strongly that she wanted to apply to a certain part of the US where her long time boyfriend would be, or where she thought he would be. This is not a part of the country known for the best scholarships. In my view, there was a lot of uncertainty as far as where the boyfriend's college plans would actually take him. And obviously, high school relationships often end. So, I insisted that she apply at a large number of schools in various parts of the country. We have family in the SE and SW, and she would likely have friends at NW schools.

We did get a big college visit road trip this summer, that involved flying into three different airports, then driving to various locations. Not ideal, due to Covid and normal summer closures, but better than nothing in giving her a sense of various types of schools and parts of the country.

SO, all those factors played into the list. And here it is, for those interested 🙂

A couple more notes: she did not apply separately for honors anywhere, but some places gave it to her automatically. Most merit was automatic, though we did go to one scholarship weekend. She submitted her test scores to most places, with a couple of notable exceptions.

NW: Montana State (WUE), Univ of Alaska Southeast, Univ of Alaska Anchorage (our in state schools, and her grades and test scores give her close to a full ride there. Our cheapest options)

SW: Univ of New Mexico (not all scholarships announced yet, but she got in-state tuition at the least. Good deal), Colorado Mesa Univ (honors, top merit, this one is a hidden gem IMO), University of Utah (WUE, and can get in state tuition by staying for the summer. Another good deal), Northern AZ Univ (great auto merit), Texas Tech University (best merit of any OOS school, in-state tuition plus another $5000, super friendly, quick decision. This is a great safety for someone looking for a large university)

SE: Appalachian State (not much for automatic money), College of Charleston (see App State), Clemson (required Summer Start as condition of acceptance, no money), Univ of Georgia (got in-state tuition, really a good deal, and my husband's alma mater), Auburn (good automatic scholarship), Univ of Alabama (good, not great scholarship, but, again, my daughter did not apply for anything extra)

NE: Her geographical area of interest. Messiah Univ (honors, good auto merit, small comp scholarship and the auto admit to PT), Muhlenberg College (honors, and best total scholarship as far as numbers but their costs were so high that it was just a bit more than we wanted to pay. Interestingly, they required an interview), Univ of Rhode Island (honors, decent scholarship. This was her second choice school, and they have an interesting Animal Science program.) Univ of Vermont (good scholarship, but, again, overall costs too high. Initially this was her top choice), Univ of New Hampshire (honors, see UVermont and Muhlenberg as far as costs, strong contender otherwise), Univ of Connecticut (not much for money, unless they have added some recently. This decision came out more recently), Penn State Univ(went test optional, not sure if that helped or hurt. They wanted her to start at a satellite campus. The two years at the satellite campus came with honors and a very affordable cost. The last two years did not involve much of a scholarship. In the end, she wasn't interested in the two different campuses.)

In her mind, it came down to Messiah and URI. Went for a second visit to each (Messiah's second visit was the scholarship day). She quickly eliminated URI though on the second visit, based on campus feel.

The interesting thing about Messiah is that she is not a religious kid, did not initially want to visit, and was fairly skeptical about certain aspects, like the chapel requirement. She's a pretty outgoing person, and I really thought she'd want a football school. She got hooked up with their private Instagram page for accepted students, found a roommate, and is excited to go, She's still with the boyfriend, whose plans are still being finalized, but will be 3-5 hours away, depending. Another interesting point is that her boyfriend is Jewish, but supportive of the school choice. I doubt he will want to don the spirit wear though. This is at the high end of our affordability scale, but we can swing it.

Most affordable schools ultimately were our two in state choices, Texas Tech, Univ of NM, Colorado Mesa, Univ of Georgia, and Auburn.

OH! I forgot the two rejection schools. Probably because she never really cared about them, haha. Vanderbilt and Duke. Her sister is at Duke for grad school currently. She was test optional for both.

And with that, I am done with the college app process and homeschooling for good. 🙂 My older two homeschooled for the majority of their years at home, and it's been 24-ish years since I first started. One daughter went to Univ of WA, and is now in grad school at Univ of NM. The other went to Princeton, and is now in grad school at Duke. There are ups and downs, pros and cons to homeschooling, but in the end I am mostly glad we did it. I might tweak some things if I am reincarnated into another homeschool mom 😉

And the people said "A-MEN" 🙂

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by GoodGrief3

[easypeasy]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:27 AM, easypeasy said:

It's been a wild roller coaster over here! Schools that we'd thought were a solid match/safety resulted in waitlists or denials while others that were "shoot-for-the-moon" have been acceptances. 🤯

Poor kid is reeling from all the unpredictability as we've had to re-focus any planning energy on schools he hadn't really expected and letting go of schools he felt he knew really well.

Looks like all the results will be in by April 1st. What's left are two schools that feel "safe" and three that are essentially lottery schools - so we have no idea what to expect! 😅

He still has a couple major (also unexpected) scholarship interviews coming up - so even though we're over halfway through the process, we still have very little true information to go on. Some of the scholarships aren't announcing until the second week of April. 🥴

Lots of upcoming visits since his accepted schools aren't the ones we expected our fall visits didn't touch the "longshot" schools. Of course!! 🤪

Welp - it's April 1st and all BKs decisions are in. He got a yes from all three Ivies he applied to, which makes the early/safety denials even more baffling. 😅 He also got yesses from schools with less-than-10% acceptance rates. Looks like we'll be planning a trip to the East Coast ASAP because, with the financial aid they offered him, they're a bargain.

He has a clear frontrunner in mind, but I'm making him visit first. He's not experienced with college campuses and I want him to really roam around and get a feel for everything. Luckily, the Admitted Student Days dates are falling in our favor and we should be able to do it all in one trip.

He's cutting most of the schools off his list on Monday & not waiting for some scholarship results.

 

12 hours ago, Eos said:

I think the Common App should have a reasonable limit, like 8 or 10 max. I know most folks disagree.

I agree, in principal. But, if you have a music kid, or a CompSci kid, or other competitive program kid... and experience what my BK just experienced (denials and waistlists to schools that really should have been an easy safety for him) - he'd have been in a world of hurt if he'd capped his schools at 10. Maybe not a world of hurt, exactly, but he sure wouldn't have applied to those "shoot for the moon" schools that he just got into because he would have focused more on safeties (who didn't want him, lol).

All we can figure is that, in this weird applications cycle where kids are applying to a gazillion schools, is that his "safeties" didn't want to give him a spot because they saw something in his application and deemed him "overqualified" or "not likely" to actually attend those safeties.

Because, they weren't wrong. Once he got the first acceptance yesterday & saw their financial aid award, those other schools flew right out of his head. And we started with his "least favorite" Ivy! lol Things just got better and better from there!

I saw an article today that three lottery schools are not releasing acceptance rates anymore. That might help with some of the over-application issues to some of these places. I don't know how you effectively get through 81,000 applications, yk?

Edited April 2, 2022 by easypeasy

[fourisenough]

@GoodGrief3 Whew, what a process! Congratulations to your DD for finding what feels like a good fit and to you for finishing your homeschool journey! I’m just a little bit envious, both because my senior has not made a decision yet AND because I still have 5 more years of homeschooling ahead of my with 4th DD!
 

Actually, if I can keep in mind that she is a very different kid who needs a very different journey, it should be a pleasurable 8-12th grade for both of us. We definitely won’t be applying to tons of/competitive schools. She’s a brilliant people-person who would rather spend her days agility training dogs and riding & showing horses. School is drudgery for her, although we’ve remediated most of her learning challenges. She just plain isn’t interested. Get ‘r done will be the name of the game!

[Eos]

On 4/1/2022 at 10:54 PM, easypeasy said:

. But, if you have a music kid,

 

But I guess as to wishing the Common App only let kids choose 8 or 10, it's with the hope that the insanity of schools rejecting perfectly qualified applicants who are obviously seeing them as safeties wouldn't happen.  That is to say, if the whole system were ramped back down, the arms-race mentality might stabilize...

Congratulations to your Bonus Kid!!

Edited February 6, 2023 by Eos

[lewelma]

8 minutes ago, Eos said:

I do, and 6 auditions in the snowiest-ever winter lugging a concert-grand harp was plenty!

😳

[rzberrymom]

On 4/1/2022 at 7:46 PM, Roadrunner said:

On 4/1/2022 at 7:14 PM, 8filltheheart said:

That doesn't seem like a very simple path for a student who doesn't test well.  

I was curious about the Netherlands and international students.  I know that there is a mom who used to post quite frequently who lived there and her dd was constantly stressed about passing required national tests.  

I would be concerned about sending a student who doesn't test well there for school:

One thing that frequently confuses international students applying to the Netherlands is the seemingly low entry requirements. Let’s look at an example.

The University of Bristol and the University of Amsterdam both consistently rank in the top 100 university rankings. The University of Bristol typically has entry requirements of AAA (for A Levels), while the University of Amsterdam frequently asks for CCC.

The difference can be explained by a distinctive feature of Dutch universities: the probationary first year.

The academic year in the Netherlands is divided into two long (20 week) semesters: it’s common to have 5-6 exam cycles during that first year, and the academic pressure to do well is high: students who don’t achieve high enough results aren't allowed to continue into the second year of university (and around 7% of first years drop out annually).

Yes, it’s so very different than the way we do it. Anyone can give it a try, but few will make it in the long-run. Sounds crazy, but that’s how our system looks to them. Spending years and years prepping a kid for standardized tests, essays, supplemental essays, art portfolios, countless ECs, community service requirements, slogging through 15 APs. That system looks nuts to them.

Edited April 3, 2022 by rzberrymom

[easypeasy]

4 hours ago, Eos said:

I do, and 6 auditions in the snowiest-ever winter lugging a concert-grand harp was plenty!

But I guess as to wishing the Common App only let kids choose 8 or 10, it's with the hope that the insanity of schools rejecting perfectly qualified applicants who are obviously seeing them as safeties wouldn't happen.  That is to say, if the whole system were ramped back down, the arms-race mentality might stabilize...

Congratulations to your Bonus Kid!!

First, much respect to you on the harp hauling!! When my music kid started up, I put a size limit on the instruments he could start playing. 😇 Basically, it had to fit as an airline carryon bag. If not, it was a no-go. 😁

This is a very true point. If the schools knew these kids had a capped limit, it would very likely help avoid that exact situation - because that's sure a heartbreaker. BKs earliest waitlists/denials were to schools he'd invested a LOT of time and attention in and was most attached to, so they really hurt.

I am so proud of this kid. He's had a helluva couple of years that ended with him needing a safe place to stay ASAP. We worked with his parents this year to get their FAFSA information (thank GOD they were willing, even if we had to poke and prod a lot) and hope to have him legally separated and/or adopted by us ASAP so that he can completely cut off ties.

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by easypeasy

[fourisenough]

@easypeasy Congratulations to you an BK he sounds like a deserving kid! I hope he knows how lucky 🍀 he is to have you on his side!

[ScoutTN]

8 hours ago, rzberrymom said:

Yes, it’s so very different than the way we do it. Anyone can give it a try, but few will make it in the long-run. Sounds crazy, but that’s how our system looks to them. Spending years and years prepping a kid for standardized tests, essays, supplemental essays, art portfolios, countless ECs, community service requirements, slogging through 15 APs. That system looks nuts to them.

Looks nuts to me too! 

Even if I had a kid who would be competitive at selective schools, we would never follow a path like that. Utterly antithetical to all we homeschool for.

I went to an elite boarding school for high school many, many years ago and got enough of taste of the system to cause me to stay far, far away from it ever since. Not running on that gerbil wheel.

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Looks nuts to me too! 

@rzberrymom The good thing about the European universities in general is that their medicine school and law school are direct entries as undergraduate degrees e.g MBBS, LLB. My friends who are full pay went there because it takes them less years, e.g. 5 years for a MBBS and then they did their medical internship (medic/locum) at Houston, Boston and other places.

ETA:

Just to clarify, it is my husband that is looking at OOS and international colleges where we have close friends nearby. My kids prefer to go to a college that is as near home as possible. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Arcadia

[8filltheheart]

12 hours ago, rzberrymom said:

Yes, it’s so very different than the way we do it. Anyone can give it a try, but few will make it in the long-run. Sounds crazy, but that’s how our system looks to them. Spending years and years prepping a kid for standardized tests, essays, supplemental essays, art portfolios, countless ECs, community service requirements, slogging through 15 APs. That system looks nuts to them.

How does your ds do in testing under pressure?  You mentioned that he doesn't test well.  Those are pretty high stakes in terms of being allowed to re-enroll on top of possible homesickness/stress of living internationally.

FWIW, I agree with ScoutTN.  You don't have to do any of the things you listed.  My kids don't take any tests in our homeschool classes (only the handful that they outsource (which in our homeschool is only a very, very few.).  They take the SAT or ACT 1 time or a few more times if trying to achieve a certain goal.  APs are not a goal.  (Only 1 of my kids has taken any APs.)  ECs are only things they enjoy and would be doing regardless.    Their educations are designed by them with their personal goals as the driving force.  And, they have gone on to have wonderful college experiences.  🙂

Edited April 3, 2022 by 8filltheheart

[Dmmetler]

On 4/1/2022 at 9:44 AM, Farrar said:

If you aim high or need to chase aid (or, like us, don't even have an in state option) you may need to apply to more schools. But more like 10 or even 15. No one ever needs to apply to more like 20 or 35. Oy. I heard about a kid who applied to 40 schools this year. It's just... no.

My guess a lot of those are tick box apps. Like applying to everything on the common app that doesn’t require a second essay, or doing the CBCA, or the ones where they’ve filled it out for you and you just click the link. Or states which have one app for all in a system. 

 

Technically, L applied to something like 60 schools, because while you list the schools you want to apply to, the CBCA makes your application available to the entire network of HBCU’s. L had 2 of interest, but I think got about 12 acceptances that were “uh, who are you…did I apply to you?” Including a few that had pretty big automatic merit based on ACT/GPA. (And a lot more “let us know if you’re interested, so we can process your application”, so it would have been easy to inflate the number of acceptances).  And then there was OSU, which as far as I can tell, sent an acceptance based on clicking on a link, because we certainly hadn’t sent them anything. But in practice, it was three reach schools, a few out of state schools with good programs and merit (including the two HBCUs), and a half dozen in state/local schools (most of the latter added because I insisted, given COVID. L only seriously considered one a reasonable option.). I did add up all the totals last year, just for fun.
 

 

On 4/1/2022 at 10:20 AM, Roadrunner said:

Wow to kid who managed 35 applications. He must love writing. 
Congratilations to all.

Mine will apply to 9 schools at most, many of them not requiring additional essays or requiring minimal. Plus UCs, where he doesn’t want to go, but might have no choice. But UCs have one app for all the schools. So we might end up with close to 13-14 schools just because of that. Otherwise it will be 3 safeties, 3 matches, 3 reaches. At least that’s the plan. 

 

 

 

 

[Frances]

4 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Looks nuts to me too! 

Even if I had a kid who would be competitive at selective schools, we would never follow a path like that. Utterly antithetical to all we homeschool for.

I went to an elite boarding school for high school many, many years ago and got enough of taste of the system to cause me to stay far, far away from it ever since. Not running on that gerbil wheel.

Same here. We said from the very beginning we would never do anything only because it would look good later on a college application. I was fortunate to have a child who tested well and enthusiastically pursued his own passions.

Even outside of homeschooling, I don’t think most high school kids are following the super aggressive stressed out college admissions path. It might be more difficult to escape in wealthy areas with top public high schools where the competition for everything is fierce, but I don’t think that’s the reality most places nor are the majority of college bound teens in the US aiming for elite institutions.

But the crazy competitive path is what makes the news and provides fodder for books, movies, and media stories.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Frances

[Farrar]

46 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

My guess a lot of those are tick box apps. Like applying to everything on the common app that doesn’t require a second essay, or doing the CBCA, or the ones where they’ve filled it out for you and you just click the link. Or states which have one app for all in a system. 

In the cases I know about, every one was a separate application, though some had no essays and very little else to do on the Common App. You can see some of these kids posting on reddit and College Confidential. And you can see local news running stories about them as well and doing that thing where they add up the totals of their aid to act like they got millions in scholarships. Sigh. So misleading.

[Dmmetler]

20 hours ago, Farrar said:

In the cases I know about, every one was a separate application, though some had no essays and very little else to do on the Common App. You can see some of these kids posting on reddit and College Confidential. And you can see local news running stories about them as well and doing that thing where they add up the totals of their aid to act like they got millions in scholarships. Sigh. So misleading.

What I also notice is schools posting big lists of where their students were accepted, when it's fairly likely that most of their college bound students are going to the local schools which take almost everyone, but a handful of students account for all those prestige schools. 

 

[rzberrymom]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:38 AM, 8filltheheart said:

How does your ds do in testing under pressure?  You mentioned that he doesn't test well.  Those are pretty high stakes in terms of being allowed to re-enroll on top of possible homesickness/stress of living internationally.

FWIW, I agree with ScoutTN.  You don't have to do any of the things you listed.  My kids don't take any tests in our homeschool classes (only the handful that they outsource (which in our homeschool is only a very, very few.).  They take the SAT or ACT 1 time or a few more times if trying to achieve a certain goal.  APs are not a goal.  (Only 1 of my kids has taken any APs.)  ECs are only things they enjoy and would be doing regardless.    Their educations are designed by them with their personal goals as the driving force.  And, they have gone on to have wonderful college experiences.  🙂

My kiddo hasn’t had time to prep for testing, which seems essential for merit aid. She’s been too busy taking university courses and can’t fit it in. But, she’s doing well in 4 college classes at a time, and she’s still young. So, by the time she’s matured some more, she can probably handle avoiding being one of the 7% that doesn’t make it—doesn’t sound any worse than our local state universities.

[8filltheheart]

40 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

My kiddo hasn’t had time to prep for testing, which seems essential for merit aid. She’s been too busy taking university courses and can’t fit it in. But, she’s doing well in 4 college classes at a time, and she’s still young. So, by the time she’s matured some more, she can probably handle avoiding being one of the 7% that doesn’t make it—doesn’t sound any worse than our local state universities.

LOL! Your post really seems to contradict the tests so poorly so won't qualify for merit so needs to go overseas for admittance.  ("Prepping for testing" for a lot of kids is nothing more than a couple of weeks getting familiar with the types of questions and the pacing of the test. )

ETA:  Fwiw, not sure whose reading is correct, but I interpreted the quote as saying 7% drop out in addition to the kids not invited back bc dropping out sounds proactive vs not being readmitted.

Edited April 5, 2022 by 8filltheheart

[rzberrymom]

1 hour ago, 8filltheheart said:

LOL! Your post really seems to contradict the tests so poorly so won't qualify for merit so needs to go overseas for admittance.  ("Prepping for testing" for a lot of kids is nothing more than a couple of weeks getting familiar with the types of questions and the pacing of the test. )

ETA:  Fwiw, not sure whose reading is correct, but I interpreted the quote as saying 7% drop out in addition to the kids not invited back bc dropping out sounds proactive vs not being readmitted.

Oh goodness, we were just discussing different back-up alternatives. As I expressed above, going abroad is more intriguing to my kiddo than a 6th year at a community college. And certainly more intriguing than Truman State.

But, I think we should probably get back to celebrating the amazing accomplishments of all these seniors!!

[Farrar]

SAT/ACT scores are not essential for merit aid. It totally depends on the school. My kid got decent merit without. But at some schools you can get more with or you need scores for merit at all. At others, they don't evaluate based on the scores unless you send them. It totally depends.

[Serenade]

My younger son has been accepted into the mechanical engineering program at UNC-Charlotte.  He's also been accepted into engineering at Western Carolina. He's waiting on a decision from NC State.  He'll be a junior transfer student so notifications don't go out until April 15.  A few days ago he got an update from NC State saying that they are actively considering his application and to please submit his current grades for this semester as posted on Sakai, Blackboard, Canvas, etc. I'd like to think that was a positive thing, since he was able to post all As, but I'm trying hard not to get my hopes up for him.  So meanwhile, we continue to wait.  It's so frustrating because he can't make plans for UNC Charlotte until he knows about NC State. I guess we will have a very busy end of April, no matter which way the NC State decision goes.