Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[klj27]

We did our first college visit yesterday and my daughter is at one now and another one tomorrow. I feel so overwhelmed by the whole process. I feel bad for her being the oldest because she is our guinea pig.

Our kids go to private high schools and we didn't know much about the process when she was in middle school. We just went through high school admissions/acceptance with our 8th grader and I feel like he got into a much better program and more dollars because we knew what we were doing.

 

[Gina]

Got DD's SAT scores today. First score: 1590; new score 1750!!

Reading 520/540; Math 510/590!; Writing 560/620!! While I know compared to other kids' scores this isn't all that impressive, she really only put a little effort into studying and it was all in math, which obviously paid off. One more time in October and we're good. I'm hoping for a 600/600 in CR/M because that boosts up her scholarship potential at a few schools. I think she's stunned as well.

Now the big question. Her ex-BFF had a tutor through Revolution Prep and her mom was so excited about how well she was doing on her practice tests (2000/2100). Well she didn't do as well on the SAT. While BFF's mom didn't share her scores, she said he only went up 200 points from last time, which I think is much lower than she anticipated. So do I just ride DD's back and push her about studying and save myself $2500 for a private tutor, or do I spend the money?

First off, congrats to your DD for the huge improvement!! That is awesome!

I personally can't imagine spending that huge a sum of money for test prep, unless there is a real reason -- maybe a learning disability to overcome or something. Otherwise, it's just as easy to go to the library and check out the study guides there, and go through every one of the missed questions from this past SAT on the College Board site and figure out what was missed and why.

Just my opinion, though!

 

[scrapquitler]

Got DD's SAT scores today. First score: 1590; new score 1750!!

Reading 520/540; Math 510/590!; Writing 560/620!! While I know compared to other kids' scores this isn't all that impressive, she really only put a little effort into studying and it was all in math, which obviously paid off. One more time in October and we're good. I'm hoping for a 600/600 in CR/M because that boosts up her scholarship potential at a few schools. I think she's stunned as well.

Now the big question. Her ex-BFF had a tutor through Revolution Prep and her mom was so excited about how well she was doing on her practice tests (2000/2100). Well she didn't do as well on the SAT. While BFF's mom didn't share her scores, she said he only went up 200 points from last time, which I think is much lower than she anticipated. So do I just ride DD's back and push her about studying and save myself $2500 for a private tutor, or do I spend the money?

I would not pay $2500 for an SAT prep class under any circumstances.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Unfortunately, DD has all the books and just doesn't apply herself. She's a very "this is good enough" type kid. We've had huge fights over studying for SAT. She's had the blue book for well over a year and did nothing with it. I really had to push her about studying and even then, if she spent 5-6 hours total studying for this round, that was alot. I was deadset again spending that kind of money for tutoring, but if it means $2500 now for an additional $2-5k a year in scholarships, it's money well spent. However, I think she's very capable of boosting her score just by spending more time studying. And I think she's surprised by just how much her score went up with very little effort. I believe a trip to her "dream school" might further push her to study. The more scholarship money she gets, the more likely she gets to go to the school she wants.

 

[VickiVM]

Unfortunately, DD has all the books and just doesn't apply herself. She's a very "this is good enough" type kid. We've had huge fights over studying for SAT. She's had the blue book for well over a year and did nothing with it. I really had to push her about studying and even then, if she spent 5-6 hours total studying for this round, that was alot. I was deadset again spending that kind of money for tutoring, but if it means $2500 now for an additional $2-5k a year in scholarships, it's money well spent. However, I think she's very capable of boosting her score just by spending more time studying. And I think she's surprised by just how much her score went up with very little effort. I believe a trip to her "dream school" might further push her to study. The more scholarship money she gets, the more likely she gets to go to the school she wants.

Remember it's not just about SAT scores. How is she doing academically? What is her class ranking? What will her college app look like when she lists her achievements.

My daughter scored in the mid 1500's and is re-taking it in May. She is also studying from the SAT blue book. I think she'll be able to raise her score. But we'll just have to see where she lands in regards to scholarships, if any. At any rate - she's my second child going off to college and I definitely have less apprehension than I did with my son.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Vickie, her weighted GPA, which is what the school gives to colleges is about a 3.7. She has taken many honors classes, 2 APs this year and 3 more next year. She'll probably rank in the top 10% of her class. She has community service hours and many extra-curriculars. She was never good at standardized testing. So for us it really seems to be the SAT that needs the most work and, unfortunately, that's what many of the schools we're looking at base their merit scholarships on, along with class ranking.

 

[VickiVM]

Vickie, her weighted GPA, which is what the school gives to colleges is about a 3.7. She has taken many honors classes, 2 APs this year and 3 more next year. She'll probably rank in the top 10% of her class. She has community service hours and many extra-curriculars. She was never good at standardized testing. So for us it really seems to be the SAT that needs the most work and, unfortunately, that's what many of the schools we're looking at base their merit scholarships on, along with class ranking.

With her other areas of performance as high as they are, she may still get scholarships

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Oh I hope so!

 

[Gina]

We had *such* a great visit to Texas A&M @ Galveston on Friday... The assistant director of admissions sat down with DS & I and cleared up so much for us. The program he wants to do is absolutely going to be a good fit for him. She asked DS about his test scores and rank, and laid out our next steps for us. She also said she has a friend who works on an oil rig in the same Marine Engineering field DS wants to go into, and that she is going to put them in direct contact with each other so my son can hear first-hand what he does. Then after we got back from the walking tour, she came up to us and said she had spoken with her director, and DS has a scholarship waiting for him -- to just email her when he's admitted. She said it's not large, but every little bit counts!!

We also got to tour the new dorms, and they were SO nice. DS has even decided to give up the private balconies in the other dorms and go for a room in one of the new ones, because they are just so nice. Definitely nicer than any dorm I was ever in!

And in the now-I-feel-old category, they use something called Laundry View on campus. This is probably old-hat to you college kid vets, but I've never heard of this!! You can pull up the laundry room of choice on your computer or phone, see how many and which machines are available, and even get a text when your clothes are done! Spoiled kids... we had to sit there and wait and wait for a machine to be free, then watch the clothes go around in circles until they were done, LOL.

I can't believe he can apply in 4 months... It's going to be on us in no time!!

Hope everyone else had a productive and good weekend!


-gina-

 

[njmom47]

Not sure what part of NJ you are in but my DS started out fall 2011 at college in north jersey and it didn't work out. He is now back home at CC and will be looking to transfer winter 2014. So many start out at CC these days. My girlfriends daughter was lucky enough to go using the NJ stars program but opted to gou out of state to finish her degree.

Ocean county...so we're thinking OCC, which is fine because he can live at home and work, and maybe actually do well and transfer somewhere in-state.
I do (thankfully) have a few rich relatives who helped pay for both dd's schooling (although they did not attend college) and have offered to help us pay for ds as well. Unless, by some chance, he gets money for baseball but without decent grades/SAT scores, it's doubtful.

I'm not even on the way to the poorhouse from college; it's turning 17 (car insurance), the Varsity jacket, the Jr Prom and Senior Ball, SATs, and suddenly deciding he "might want a yearbook this year." So college is DEF gonna put me over the edge!
He is looking for a job but playing 2 sports makes him unavailable for most jobs.

 

[Anne34]

I have a DS graduating in 2014, too. Right now, we are visiting schools. We are visiting two in Indiana next week. His interest right now is aerospace engineering, which I would say isn't a widely available engineering discipline. The only state school that offers this discipline is Univ. of IL and for what they are asking for in-state engineering tuition (and they give very little merit aid), we might be able to go to an out of state school with merit aid.

DS took his first ACT in December, but wants to raise his score by a few points. So, in addition to the costs involved in visiting far away schools, we are paying for a tutor to help him with the ACT.

Hey, at least you will all be in line with me for the poor house!

My daughter goes to Iowa state for Aerospace engineering. They are decently priced (about $29000/year) but offer good merit aid for Illinois students. There are many Chicago area kids there. She loves the school (not too big, not too small but still lots of sports and things to do) and she likes the town of Ames. Great, safe college town.

She also looked at U of I and Purdue and wasn't too impressed although she did apply at both Purdue and Minnesota. Iowa state was her first choice though.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

My daughter goes to Iowa state for Aerospace engineering. They are decently priced (about $29000/year) but offer good merit aid for Illinois students. There are many Chicago area kids there. She loves the school (not too big, not too small but still lots of sports and things to do) and she likes the town of Ames. Great, safe college town.

She also looked at U of I and Purdue and wasn't too impressed although she did apply at both Purdue and Minnesota. Iowa state was her first choice though.

MO S&T (formerly known as Univ of MO at Rolla) has an excellent Aerospace Engineering program. Rolla is a small town about an hour and a half from St. Louis.

 

[AboutTheMouse]

My daughter goes to Iowa state for Aerospace engineering. They are decently priced (about $29000/year) but offer good merit aid for Illinois students. There are many Chicago area kids there. She loves the school (not too big, not too small but still lots of sports and things to do) and she likes the town of Ames. Great, safe college town.

She also looked at U of I and Purdue and wasn't too impressed although she did apply at both Purdue and Minnesota. Iowa state was her first choice though.

Well, he really liked his Purdue visit on Friday. It is now at the top of his list. He didn't visit Rose Hullman on Monday, due to the ridiculous spring snow storm that blew across central IL and IN. I'll tell him about Iowa State and have him check that one out, too. Thanks for the info!

 

[AboutTheMouse]

MO S&T (formerly known as Univ of MO at Rolla) has an excellent Aerospace Engineering program. Rolla is a small town about an hour and a half from St. Louis.

MO S&T is on his list of schools to research. Thanks for the info!

 

[VickiVM]

We had *such* a great visit to Texas A&M @ Galveston on Friday... The assistant director of admissions sat down with DS & I and cleared up so much for us. The program he wants to do is absolutely going to be a good fit for him. She asked DS about his test scores and rank, and laid out our next steps for us. She also said she has a friend who works on an oil rig in the same Marine Engineering field DS wants to go into, and that she is going to put them in direct contact with each other so my son can hear first-hand what he does. Then after we got back from the walking tour, she came up to us and said she had spoken with her director, and DS has a scholarship waiting for him -- to just email her when he's admitted. She said it's not large, but every little bit counts!!

We also got to tour the new dorms, and they were SO nice. DS has even decided to give up the private balconies in the other dorms and go for a room in one of the new ones, because they are just so nice. Definitely nicer than any dorm I was ever in!

And in the now-I-feel-old category, they use something called Laundry View on campus. This is probably old-hat to you college kid vets, but I've never heard of this!! You can pull up the laundry room of choice on your computer or phone, see how many and which machines are available, and even get a text when your clothes are done! Spoiled kids... we had to sit there and wait and wait for a machine to be free, then watch the clothes go around in circles until they were done, LOL.

I can't believe he can apply in 4 months... It's going to be on us in no time!!

Hope everyone else had a productive and good weekend!


-gina-

Yay!! That's awesome news about the scholarship We go this Sat. to A&M - Corpus Christi, but it's an event for incoming or prospective new students, so I doubt we'll get the same kind of one-on-one attention you and your son got.

 

[kacaju]

I have a meeting with dd17 guidance next week. Right now the thoughts are sending her to CC for the first 2 years and see how she does. She is not a great student and the CC has a special program for those with IEP's. Her older sister is almost done with her freshman year...BOY did that go fast!! She is at Ramapo and LOVES it there.

 

[Gina]

Yay!! That's awesome news about the scholarship We go this Sat. to A&M - Corpus Christi, but it's an event for incoming or prospective new students, so I doubt we'll get the same kind of one-on-one attention you and your son got.

Honestly, my best advice would be to just ask! This was simply a campus tour/General Q&A session for prospective students too. I had spoken with this lady a couple of times this past week, and asked her if there was any way DS & I could sit down with someone while the rest of the large group was in the TAMUG presentation, since we had done that already, and ask some specific questions we had. She said sure, no problem. When we checked in for the visit she was there, and remembered us by name. She took us back to her office so we three could talk.

I didn't see anyone else doing anything like that, and I kinda doubt anyone else asked. I know schools like it when students and families show interest and take the initiative, and I didn't ask for anything outrageous -- just to talk to someone in admissions for a few minutes about some different degree program questions.

Anyways, can't hurt to ask for a more private visit, even for just a few minutes of someone's time! BTW, my brother graduated from A&M - Corpus, and LOVED it. If you have any questions you'd like me to ask him, just let me know!


-gina-

 

[kacaju]

How is everyone doing? We met with Guidance and yes, we are looking into the CC route for dd17. After the meeting my dd even talked (to me) about a trade school...which I am fine with. The problem is she really has no goals in sight as to what she wants to do.

 

[Tinks]

Well count us in the group as well!

DS is a junior and we have just started the college visits. So far he seemed to really like University of Iowa, but this is another kid who has no idea what he wants to do with his life. I'm just hoping for a good college fit for him where he can figure that out!

This weekend he is visiting Mizzou, and Indiana University in early May. We're not looking for any scholarships and thankfully have never been counting on that. It should be an up and down, crazy year ahead!

 

[elgerber]

How have I missed this thread? My dd is a junior, and we are knee deep in college thoughts and visits. So stressful!!!