High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[Mom2DDs]

We're going to a couple of the accepted students day at the schools that my DD got EAs...does anyone know what we should expect? I know that in one we start the day at Honors Program Breakfast.

She's patiently awaiting to hear back from the others schools she's applied. She's getting anxious but realizes that none of them do rolling admissions and won't hear back till March.

 

[punkin]

She's patiently awaiting to hear back from the others schools she's applied. She's getting anxious but realizes that none of them do rolling admissions and won't hear back till March.

Ha. No patience around here. DD is driving herself and me crazy. She has one rolling admissions school still out but the rest should all come in a bunch in late March. There is nothing more to be done at this point, but she can't seem to calm down.

 

[jetskigrl]

DD heard from her 3rd school this weekend- the big state school where we live. She was accepted, as I know she would be. She isn't really considering going there, though- they don't offer the major she has decided on. Still waiting to hear from 4 more schools- 1 that she isn't too interested in (but applied to because her dad went there and the campus is pretty), and 3 that she is excited about (2 of them are her reach schools- hope she gets into one or the other).

I've got my fingers crossed that your DD gets her most desired schools.

That's great, jetskigrl. Good luck to your DD.

Thanks so much. Well after hearing from the second private art school, she also heard back from the other state school (also accepted). So she was accepted everywhere she applied (so proud of her). The two state schools are impacted campuses so I wasn't sure she would get into either one. Definitely a compliment to her hard work in school.

Now it is decision time. If we can get the finances worked out, she is ready to send her letter of acceptance to her first choice school.

Things are getting real now I can't wait to hear where all our kids end up this fall.

 

[jetskigrl]

We're going to a couple of the accepted students day at the schools that my DD got EAs...does anyone know what we should expect? I know that in one we start the day at Honors Program Breakfast.

She's patiently awaiting to hear back from the others schools she's applied. She's getting anxious but realizes that none of them do rolling admissions and won't hear back till March.

Ha. No patience around here. DD is driving herself and me crazy. She has one rolling admissions school still out but the rest should all come in a bunch in late March. There is nothing more to be done at this point, but she can't seem to calm down.

I'm actually surprised that we heard back from the two state schools already. The art schools both had rolling admissions so we knew we would hear from them pretty quickly but I thought the state ones wouldn't be till later too. I think DD would have lost it if she had to wait until March

 

[Monykalyn]

Are the art schools different in how they do admissions-as in no early acceptance? My kid's major is geology/engineering and she got early acceptance to all 3 she's applied to and she was accepted to an Honors program already for one of them-that she won't find about about the honor's dorm for freshman until next month. We go to visit her "reach" school next week in Golden Colorado. I think she is secretly hoping she won't like this school as much as the school where she got into Honor's program-CO is much further away-and she really wants to do some study abroad programs and a Disney college program as well (we don't know if the school of mines allows college credit for DCP). I am glad for the choices but she is really agonizing over her top 2 schools and what she wants to do. She is also a bit stressed in writing essays for various scholarships.
I wasn't as smart as she is so I was quite happy to go to a state school on grants/scholarships/loans

It is getting real for sure, in that she won't be here full time in a few more months - her younger brother in particular is starting to realize big sis isn't going to be around as much...they have a tradition of going to a musical every fall - just the 2 of them-and I think it hit home recently that she might not be able to take him next year.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My two have been accepted EA to the schools they wanted and their deposits are turned in! Yay! It sounds easy now, but the last four months have been awful trying to get everything done and remembering all the details for both. It seems there are still a lot of details going forward now, but they're taking a break for a little bit before tackling those. The stress levels have been high here with all this going on and the pressures of trying to keep grades up, work, friends, parents, checklists, etc. Someone mentioned the stress levels a couple of pages back and since. I saw an article the other day I thought I'd share.

Why Your High School Senior Is So Stressed Right Now
There may be times for many of us throughout this college admissions process when we don’t think we’ll all survive. Parents are anxious, students are stressed and sometimes downright sullen, and admissions personnel are overwhelmed. It seems as though the stress has increased in recent years – especially for high school students. We’ve created an achievement culture where students begin earlier and earlier to plan for, and work toward, college admission. Is it any wonder that everyone is feeling out of control by the second half of senior year?

For high school students especially, the tension and stress at this time of year may often feel overwhelming. But, although the stress of waiting to hear about getting in to college is very real, it is not the only factor creating the anxiety at this time of year. Here are six factors that may be affecting your student’s feelings.

• Fear of rejection – This is the obvious worry that most seniors feel if they haven’t yet heard from colleges. Students worry about being rejected by their first choice college, but they may also worry about being accepted to any college at all. They have spent years working toward this moment and it comes down to knowing that someone wants them. Although there are a myriad of factors that go into an acceptance decision, students may feel the decision is personal. If they are rejected, there is something wrong with them.

• Fear of the decision – Once students are accepted – especially if they are accepted at multiple colleges, they will need to make a decision about which school to attend. Although this may seem like an enviable position, it puts the pressure back on the student. Will he make the right decision? Is there just one, perfect, place for him? What if he makes the wrong decision? Everyone is asking, everyone is waiting, and everyone will have an opinion once he decides. The May 1 deadline is looming.

• Fear of leaving home – Although your soon-to-be college student may be looking forward to getting away and excited about starting a new life at college, she is likely also at least a little concerned about leaving family behind. What will life be like without family present every day? What will be happening at home, within the family, while she is away? Will she be able to manage on her own, without her ever-present support system?

• Fear of finances – Whether or not you have had explicit conversations with your student about finances, she knows how expensive college is. She will most likely have student loans that she knows she will need to repay once she graduates. She may be worried about her ability or the family’s ability to pay for all four years of her education. She may be worried about daily expenses while she is living away. Many of today’s college students worry a lot about money.

• Fear of abilities – Many college students feel, at some point or another, as though the college has probably made a mistake by admitting them and that they will not be able to do the work. Students have heard the message for years that college work is different from high school work, and that college is hard. Your student may worry that he will not be able to succeed academically. He may worry about grades, workload, professors, and choice of major or career. He may worry about whether or not he is good enough and whether he will be able to do the work.

• Fear of the unknown – College is different from high school. Living away from home is different from living at home. Sharing a room with a roommate is new for most students. Making all new friends may not be something that your student has had to do recently. Your student knows that his life will be different, but he cannot quite envision it. He doesn’t know what the experience will be like, what it will feel like. He doesn’t know whether he will make friends, or succeed in the classroom, or like his roommate, or enjoy living in the dorm, or find interesting activities. He doesn’t know what new experiences he may face, or what peer pressure he may experience. It is all unknown. The unknown can be an exciting adventure, and your student hopes for that, but it is still the scary unknown.

Students in their last half of senior year of high school may have all or some of these fears causing their stress. Many students who are experiencing these fears may not even realize that they exist or are affecting their lives. It is important that parents give students space and time, and that parents be patient. But it may also be important to talk to your student about his feelings and help him to realize what is causing his stress. Once he thinks about, and perhaps talks about, some of these issues, and once he realizes that he is not alone in his concerns, he may be better able to deal with them.

As parents, we also need to face the fact that we, too, have many of these fears for our student. Don’t be afraid to share your fears and concerns – and your excitement and hopes – with your student.

http://www.collegeparentcentral.com/2014/03/why-your-high-school-senior-is-stressed-about-college/

 

[punkin]

Lovely article, Pea-n-me. I will show it to my DD. She's been feeling very anxious lately.

 

[jetskigrl]

Are the art schools different in how they do admissions-as in no early acceptance? My kid's major is geology/engineering and she got early acceptance to all 3 she's applied to and she was accepted to an Honors program already for one of them-that she won't find about about the honor's dorm for freshman until next month. We go to visit her "reach" school next week in Golden Colorado. I think she is secretly hoping she won't like this school as much as the school where she got into Honor's program-CO is much further away-and she really wants to do some study abroad programs and a Disney college program as well (we don't know if the school of mines allows college credit for DCP). I am glad for the choices but she is really agonizing over her top 2 schools and what she wants to do. She is also a bit stressed in writing essays for various scholarships.
I wasn't as smart as she is so I was quite happy to go to a state school on grants/scholarships/loans

It is getting real for sure, in that she won't be here full time in a few more months - her younger brother in particular is starting to realize big sis isn't going to be around as much...they have a tradition of going to a musical every fall - just the 2 of them-and I think it hit home recently that she might not be able to take him next year.

The art schools that DD has applied to are private schools that do rolling admissions. So even though they have priority dates, they still continue to take applications until late spring for Fall term and usually provide a decision within a few weeks. With both the private schools that DD applied for, she had to jump through a lot more hoops since they both required essays and a portfolio of her art work in addition to the application.
The good side of those was that she heard back quickly (both responded back in about a week).

Her state applications had to be in by November 30th and we just heard responses from those in the past few weeks.

That is too cute about your DS. My DS just said something similar the other day when we were talking about the other options that would require DD to live on campus (her first choice school is in driving distance so she will most likely live at home). He said that he didn't want her going to that other school because he would hate for her to not be at home every day. I just love that they are close like that (considering they are 5 years apart).

My two have been accepted EA to the schools they wanted and their deposits are turned in! Yay! It sounds easy now, but the last four months have been awful trying to get everything done and remembering all the details for both. It seems there are still a lot of details going forward now, but they're taking a break for a little bit before tackling those. The stress levels have been high here with all this going on and the pressures of trying to keep grades up, work, friends, parents, checklists, etc. Someone mentioned the stress levels a couple of pages back and since. I saw an article the other day I thought I'd share.

Why Your High School Senior Is So Stressed Right Now
There may be times for many of us throughout this college admissions process when we don’t think we’ll all survive. Parents are anxious, students are stressed and sometimes downright sullen, and admissions personnel are overwhelmed. It seems as though the stress has increased in recent years – especially for high school students. We’ve created an achievement culture where students begin earlier and earlier to plan for, and work toward, college admission. Is it any wonder that everyone is feeling out of control by the second half of senior year?

For high school students especially, the tension and stress at this time of year may often feel overwhelming. But, although the stress of waiting to hear about getting in to college is very real, it is not the only factor creating the anxiety at this time of year. Here are six factors that may be affecting your student’s feelings.

• Fear of rejection – This is the obvious worry that most seniors feel if they haven’t yet heard from colleges. Students worry about being rejected by their first choice college, but they may also worry about being accepted to any college at all. They have spent years working toward this moment and it comes down to knowing that someone wants them. Although there are a myriad of factors that go into an acceptance decision, students may feel the decision is personal. If they are rejected, there is something wrong with them.

This is a great article!! Especially the fear of rejection. DD definitely went through that since her cousin graduated last year and was rejected by all but 1 of the colleges he applied to. And the one he got was his last choice so he decided to go to a CC for a year or two and then transfer to where he really wants to go.

It was a bit shocking because he really is what you would consider a dream candidate. Super good grades (4.0+ weighted), AP classes, student council, athlete, etc. I was just shocked that he wasn't accepted anyplace else. But since DD's major is totally different, I'm sure that factors in a lot. It is just hard to talk about her experience around my nephew because I know he took the rejections to heart.

 

[ski_mom]

The art schools that DD has applied to are private schools that do rolling admissions. So even though they have priority dates, they still continue to take applications until late spring for Fall term and usually provide a decision within a few weeks. With both the private schools that DD applied for, she had to jump through a lot more hoops since they both required essays and a portfolio of her art work in addition to the application.
The good side of those was that she heard back quickly (both responded back in about a week).

Her state applications had to be in by November 30th and we just heard responses from those in the past few weeks.

That is too cute about your DS. My DS just said something similar the other day when we were talking about the other options that would require DD to live on campus (her first choice school is in driving distance so she will most likely live at home). He said that he didn't want her going to that other school because he would hate for her to not be at home every day. I just love that they are close like that (considering they are 5 years apart).



This is a great article!! Especially the fear of rejection. DD definitely went through that since her cousin graduated last year and was rejected by all but 1 of the colleges he applied to. And the one he got was his last choice so he decided to go to a CC for a year or two and then transfer to where he really wants to go.

It was a bit shocking because he really is what you would consider a dream candidate. Super good grades (4.0+ weighted), AP classes, student council, athlete, etc. I was just shocked that he wasn't accepted anyplace else. But since DD's major is totally different, I'm sure that factors in a lot. It is just hard to talk about her experience around my nephew because I know he took the rejections to heart.

Why do you think he was rejected by the other schools? Were they all "reach" schools? My oldest DD graduated last year and got accepted everywhere she applied, but she really only applied to schools where she was at least equal to or above their stated averages on act, gpa, etc.

DD2 graduates this year and only applied to 2 schools, university of Alabama and Ole Miss (even though we live in Illinois) and was accepted by both. Again, neither has super high act/gpa requirements, but it really never crossed my mind that they wouldn't get accepted.

I'm not wanting to sound snarky or whatever, just really curious. I've got one more that won't be graduating for 4 more years and the jury is still out on him. He's definitely not looking like he's going to be top of his class or anything, so even those the first 2 are settled in their choices, it's still something I think about.

 

[jetskigrl]

Why do you think he was rejected by the other schools? Were they all "reach" schools? My oldest DD graduated last year and got accepted everywhere she applied, but she really only applied to schools where she was at least equal to or above their stated averages on act, gpa, etc.

DD2 graduates this year and only applied to 2 schools, university of Alabama and Ole Miss (even though we live in Illinois) and was accepted by both. Again, neither has super high act/gpa requirements, but it really never crossed my mind that they wouldn't get accepted.

I'm not wanting to sound snarky or whatever, just really curious. I've got one more that won't be graduating for 4 more years and the jury is still out on him. He's definitely not looking like he's going to be top of his class or anything, so even those the first 2 are settled in their choices, it's still something I think about.

I'm really not sure why he was rejected. They were state public schools, but so many of the campuses around here are impacted. I'm guessing that his major probably was one of the most competitive. I doubt there are as many people competing for Art majors (like my DD) as there are for business and engineering, etc.

 

[daisyx3]

We have two perfectly good state schools within 20 minutes of our home--my oldest has a degree from one; my younger daughter and I both have degrees from the other. DS got into both. He visited the huge state school with the great football team but decided it was too big before the tour was even over. He loved a very small private school but since I am retiring as soon as he is done, we don't want to get any student loans and that one is out.
The only pressure now is that he is up for a full tuition scholarship at one of the schools (he already has $5000 at that one or $6000 at the other one). They give out 20-25 of them but it is a 4 hour interview process on president's day! He was not very optimistic and I talked to him; he thought they only gave out one! He is a charming fella so I have my fingers crossed.
As for me, I rented the tent/tables/chairs for his grad party yesterday!
Daisyx3

 

[indimom]

That's a pretty accurate article, I think. Good find, Pea-n-me.
The stress level has improved here since DD finally made her decision and we paid the deposit for the dorms.

Now, she's spending her evenings chatting with other future students, trying to find someone to room with.
Online dating for roommates...

It's been slow going, since a lot of kids are vying for a particular dorm (it has a more "modern" style where two rooms are connected by a bathroom so you're only sharing with three other people). But, DD wants to live in the learning community related to her degree field. And it's housed in a more traditional dorm.

She's looking forward to finding someone she can room with online so she's not thrown in with a complete stranger during her first week on campus, lol. This worked out really well for our niece when she headed off to campus. So, she's got high hopes that it will work out for her as well.

One major bonus to this campus is they provide the fridge and microwave in the dorms. So, I think we'll be able to fit everything she'll want to take in one automobile when we drop her off. She's soooo lucky. When I headed off to college in 91, we had to bring the fridge, microwave, I had a word processor the size of a microwave, a box television, a stereo, and all of that stuff was so BIG back then. Drop off will be so much easier, and she's going to have so much more space than I had. lol.

We're finalizing the date for her grad party. It's been a bit difficult since we've got a vacation planned and I work every other weekend. Plus some other family events we're trying to avoid. But, I think we've finally settled on the last Saturday in June. It's going to be a very busy summer.

 

[Mom2DDs]

I will tell you that the some of the "state" schools here in NJ are hard to get into - my DD has a friend who had a 4.0, was on the winning football team, on student council, a Peer Mentor but yet got denied into Rutgers and TCNJ but got into Ohio State and Univ. of South Carolina.

 

[punkin]

D does not want a graduation party. I'm paying for her to visit her friend in Japan for a month....I think that's a fabulous graduation gift. No party.

 

[Lynne G]

Fingers crossed that my not so loving school DS gets into our community college. We told him if he does really well there for 2 years, he will be accepted by one of very good state schools to get his 4 year degree. He is our first, so lots of changes for our family.

 

[jetskigrl]

Fingers crossed that my not so loving school DS gets into our community college. We told him if he does really well there for 2 years, he will be accepted by one of very good state schools to get his 4 year degree. He is our first, so lots of changes for our family.

Fingers crossed for him! That is most likely the route my DS will be going too (in 6 years). He just doesn't have the grades that DD has so unless something changes drastically, I think that will be the best for him too.

Regarding Graduation parties, DD and her friends are not keen on the Grad Night plans the school has so they decided to do a joint Graduation Party with all our families instead. Nothing big, but at least we have a few families to pitch in and share the costs. We will probably just do a dinner with the rest of our family after her graduation.

 

[Lynne G]

Fingers crossed for him! That is most likely the route my DS will be going too (in 6 years). He just doesn't have the grades that DD has so unless something changes drastically, I think that will be the best for him too.

Regarding Graduation parties, DD and her friends are not keen on the Grad Night plans the school has so they decided to do a joint Graduation Party with all our families instead. Nothing big, but at least we have a few families to pitch in and share the costs. We will probably just do a dinner with the rest of our family after her graduation.

Thanks and my DS is not into a big party for graduation, so just the family will take him out for dinner. And that is fine with me. Good luck to your DD. I think I won't have that issue with my DD either. She is honors in her first year of high school, and likes school.

 

[punkin]

OMG!!!! One of her regular decision schools just accepted her. I got a short text from her..everything is online. She checked it at school. I am forbidden to check the mail next couple days. She wants to open her own envelope.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Haha, that's great, Punkin!

 

[jetskigrl]

OMG!!!! One of her regular decision schools just accepted her. I got a short text from her..everything is online. She checked it at school. I am forbidden to check the mail next couple days. She wants to open her own envelope.

Congratulations to your DD!!!

LOL - one of my DD's acceptances came in a box and my DD was so excited to open it. In addition to her congrats and merit offer (along with all the other paperwork) there was also a Frisbee and pair of sunglasses with the university name on them. She was thrilled