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

[camreesmom]

Thanks!! He got his "Congratulations and Howdy!" letter on Saturday -- He is one happy Aggie. Now it's just a matter of stressing out about scholarships and finaid, and casing which banks we want to knock over, lol. I have to believe it'll all work out, somehow. Aside from that, all there is to do is convince him that he needs to head to college with more than a toothbrush and a change of underwear!

I'm with you, Gina. Just have to have faith that it will all work out. I told DD that she is the only one who can decide how much going away to college is worth to her because she will have to take out some loans herself if she doesn't get enough scholarship money. DH & I will pay some of course, but we also have twins in college right now. We have a 2 year college in town & a 4 year university 30 minutes away that are safety schools if for some reason, she doesn't get into TAMU or Baylor. If she went to either of the local schools, financial aid wouldn't be a worry.

Our Homecoming is Friday which means a late night and DD is taking the SAT again on Saturday. She only needs 60 points over her June score for automatic admit to A&M so we'll be saying lots of prayers between now & then.

 

[IDoDis]

A lot has gone on for everyone this last week. Things here have been busy busy.

DD has a learning difference (LD) so it takes her 5 days to take the ACTs, so finally it is done. In the middle of the ACTs she had a two day Physics (AP level) exam. She studied more for that exam then any other test she has ever taken. She had an A going into the exam but it is doubtful she will when she gets it back. She does not test well and his tests are very tricky according to my husband who has his undergrad degree in physics. He gets really annoyed because he does not think that is necessary in high school and feels it turns a lot of kids away from science. He thinks there should be one or two tricky questions but not every question. Oh well, it is good for us to learn to let go which for me is nearly impossible. Life is not fair why should we expect school to be? Ok, easier said then done, actually this is the first time I have tried to embrace this attitude. Maybe I can send DH to see the teacher.

Like Gina and PrincessKmom' kids our DD is really enjoying senior year. It is ironic as she hated junior year and could not wait to be done with school. Now she is embracing all the social aspects with a level of sentimentality that is new to her. She dressed up everyday for spirit week, planning outfits with friends, going to as many games as she could squeeze in. Attending homecoming with 5 other couples. Then partying to all hours afterwards. She even commented on, how can she leave our beautiful home, the view and the animals. Until now she could not wait to get out of dodge.

Senior photos went well but we were rained out of our last location so we have to reschedule that one but it is easier said then done with DDs schedule. Tomorrow the photographer generously offered to come to DDs dance studio to take a photo she needs for her audition next weekend. Her teacher is going to make sure she is positioned well. This school is a safety for academics for dd but is a top tier dance program with barely a 10% admit rate so we shall see how it works out. Last night when we were taking homecoming photos our friends said their daughter also applied to this school, but is not applying to a performing arts so it was so simple. DD has to do an additional app for the dance program as well as resume, photo, and audition. oh well it will be a fun weekend away.

IDODIS- how is the psych class issue going? Any updates?

I hope everyone has a good week.

DH has an appointment tomorrow morning with the 12th grade principal. However, we are not hopeful because the principal told DH that there is no such thing as a WP for AP classes. She can take a W not a WP, but after looking at her transcript, the principal advised against that. Her only option would be to transfer into a regular psych class, but guess who the teacher is of the regular psych class??? Same guy, so that is not a solution. There are some other issues with this teacher that I don't want to divulge at this time. I want to wait and see what happens tomorrow with the appointment first. It doesn't sound promising though. DD got her rewritten paper back with a C on it -- 75%. So wow, the best she can do in there on a rewrite is a C? She just doesn't know what this guy expects. She usually blows her writing out of the water ever since she was in 1st grade all the way to her AP English teachers. It must be content related, but honestly getting a 25% then a 75% is not the norm for her. Looks like she's going to have to suck it up until December, take a major attitude adjustment to get through it, and put her best foot forward. I'll know more tomorrow.

On a good note, DD got accepted to her 1st choice school which is here locally. Now she has to get the scholarships and is working on that.

I'm sorry that your DD's picture day ended up with rain. Rescheduling can be an issue, but on a good note, maybe she'll end up with some pretty fall foliage in the background. With the ACT, does she take one exam per day? That has to be stressful, but the benefit of not having to do it all at once must be huge. I'm a special ed teacher, so I know how tests do not always reflect what a person knows. Was this her 1st time taking the ACT?

 

[Gina]

congrats to him!!! Did the send anything fun with the letter? My dd got a window decal with hers (which I keep forgetting to put on her car).

Yep, he got a window decal too! Same one he was going to get last time we were at the bookstore on campus, but he decided he wanted a hat more, so it worked out perfectly.

Our Homecoming is Friday which means a late night and DD is taking the SAT again on Saturday. She only needs 60 points over her June score for automatic admit to A&M so we'll be saying lots of prayers between now & then.

Thinking good thoughts for your DD!!

 

[elgerber]

Yep, he got a window decal too! Same one he was going to get last time we were at the bookstore on campus, but he decided he wanted a hat more, so it worked out perfectly.

We are going for a second campus visit in a couple of weeks, and she wants to get a shirt. I guess that will make it extra official

 

[Gina]

I don't know why I admit this stuff to grown, probably sane adults , but I guess I'm hoping someone can empathize. Keep getting sidelined emotionally, but this time not so much because my DS is growing up. I was waiting for a report to spool and looking at the reslife manual while I waited.

Reading about the Hall Olympics, and inter-hall dodgeball tourneys, and ice cream socials, and Easter egg hunts in the dorms, and all this totally cool stuff, and it made me remember how much FUN college was... and more than that, how that was the last time in my life that I didn't have overwhelming piles of bills, and responsibilities, and constant constraints on my time. And it made me really, really sad, and pathetically jealous. Not that I'm jealous of my son specifically, or any less excited for him, but just jealous in general.

Someone PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one...

 

[scrapquitler]

DH has an appointment tomorrow morning with the 12th grade principal. However, we are not hopeful because the principal told DH that there is no such thing as a WP for AP classes. She can take a W not a WP, but after looking at her transcript, the principal advised against that. Her only option would be to transfer into a regular psych class, but guess who the teacher is of the regular psych class??? Same guy, so that is not a solution. There are some other issues with this teacher that I don't want to divulge at this time. I want to wait and see what happens tomorrow with the appointment first. It doesn't sound promising though. DD got her rewritten paper back with a C on it -- 75%. So wow, the best she can do in there on a rewrite is a C? She just doesn't know what this guy expects. She usually blows her writing out of the water ever since she was in 1st grade all the way to her AP English teachers. It must be content related, but honestly getting a 25% then a 75% is not the norm for her. Looks like she's going to have to suck it up until December, take a major attitude adjustment to get through it, and put her best foot forward. I'll know more tomorrow.

I hope you have a good result from your meeting, but I wanted to mention that at my DD's school, if the teacher allows a rewrite or a retest, they usually average the two grades together, so maybe that is what this teacher did?

 

[scrapquitler]

DH has an appointment tomorrow morning with the 12th grade principal. However, we are not hopeful because the principal told DH that there is no such thing as a WP for AP classes. She can take a W not a WP, but after looking at her transcript, the principal advised against that. Her only option would be to transfer into a regular psych class, but guess who the teacher is of the regular psych class??? Same guy, so that is not a solution. There are some other issues with this teacher that I don't want to divulge at this time. I want to wait and see what happens tomorrow with the appointment first. It doesn't sound promising though. DD got her rewritten paper back with a C on it -- 75%. So wow, the best she can do in there on a rewrite is a C? She just doesn't know what this guy expects. She usually blows her writing out of the water ever since she was in 1st grade all the way to her AP English teachers. It must be content related, but honestly getting a 25% then a 75% is not the norm for her. Looks like she's going to have to suck it up until December, take a major attitude adjustment to get through it, and put her best foot forward. I'll know more tomorrow.

I hope you have a good result from your meeting, but I wanted to mention that at my DD's school, if the teacher allows a rewrite or a retest, they usually average the two grades together, so maybe that is what this teacher did?

 

[Tinks]

I don't know why I admit this stuff to grown, probably sane adults , but I guess I'm hoping someone can empathize. Keep getting sidelined emotionally, but this time not so much because my DS is growing up. I was waiting for a report to spool and looking at the reslife manual while I waited.

Reading about the Hall Olympics, and inter-hall dodgeball tourneys, and ice cream socials, and Easter egg hunts in the dorms, and all this totally cool stuff, and it made me remember how much FUN college was... and more than that, how that was the last time in my life that I didn't have overwhelming piles of bills, and responsibilities, and constant constraints on my time. And it made me really, really sad, and pathetically jealous. Not that I'm jealous of my son specifically, or any less excited for him, but just jealous in general.

Someone PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one...

You are not the only one. I'm so excited for my son and a big part of that is remembering my own experiences and the feeling of that time in your life. It was a great four years! I'd go back to college again in a heartbeat. High school? No way!

 

[Chelley00]

Reading about the Hall Olympics, and inter-hall dodgeball tourneys, and ice cream socials, and Easter egg hunts in the dorms, and all this totally cool stuff, and it made me remember how much FUN college was... and more than that, how that was the last time in my life that I didn't have overwhelming piles of bills, and responsibilities, and constant constraints on my time. And it made me really, really sad, and pathetically jealous. Not that I'm jealous of my son specifically, or any less excited for him, but just jealous in general.

Someone PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one...

I didn't get to go away for school so I'm totally jealous of our first DS who did! DS#2 is staying at home. I'm afraid he'll miss out, but he said he won't miss it. His closest friends are sticking around for school so he will get to just have different fun.

DS is having a totally horrible senior year. It's such a long story, but after working so hard to come back from his car accident last winter he decided to to get out of the drama and not try out for the soccer team. It wasn't worth it to him since he's no longer eligible for soccer scholarships because of his head injury. He's playing rec and enjoying it, but part of him is mad that he's worked so hard for his spot and was miserable.

Then he ended up screwing around with friends on campus, doing something totally minor and stupid and our new over-zealous and no tolerance assistant principal recommended he be expelled. Even though we fought it, we lost but managed to "plead" it to one semester only. Our lawyer said we should appeal, but by the time the appeal came up to the school board, the semester would be almost over so we decided it was pointless.

Because he's never been in trouble before (ever) and has such a great GPA and is on target for an honors diploma, they are allowing him to continue through the school taking online classes from home to finish the semester. He's so upset and embarrassed about the whole thing he doesn't even want to go back in January and wants to stay doing online schooling. I'm so sad for him because he's missing so much: homecoming, yearbook pictures, college recruiter visits, football games etc. This is supposed to be one of the best times of his life and it's just, well, crap.

The good news is that the admission counselor at his college choice said it really shouldn't affect anything as far as admittance or scholarship eligibility.

 

[elgerber]

I didn't get to go away for school so I'm totally jealous of our first DS who did! DS#2 is staying at home. I'm afraid he'll miss out, but he said he won't miss it. His closest friends are sticking around for school so he will get to just have different fun.

DS is having a totally horrible senior year. It's such a long story, but after working so hard to come back from his car accident last winter he decided to to get out of the drama and not try out for the soccer team. It wasn't worth it to him since he's no longer eligible for soccer scholarships because of his head injury. He's playing rec and enjoying it, but part of him is mad that he's worked so hard for his spot and was miserable.

Then he ended up screwing around with friends on campus, doing something totally minor and stupid and our new over-zealous and no tolerance assistant principal recommended he be expelled. Even though we fought it, we lost but managed to "plead" it to one semester only. Our lawyer said we should appeal, but by the time the appeal came up to the school board, the semester would be almost over so we decided it was pointless.

Because he's never been in trouble before (ever) and has such a great GPA and is on target for an honors diploma, they are allowing him to continue through the school taking online classes from home to finish the semester. He's so upset and embarrassed about the whole thing he doesn't even want to go back in January and wants to stay doing online schooling. I'm so sad for him because he's missing so much: homecoming, yearbook pictures, college recruiter visits, football games etc. This is supposed to be one of the best times of his life and it's just, well, crap.

The good news is that the admission counselor at his college choice said it really shouldn't affect anything as far as admittance or scholarship eligibility.

Wow! Now I really feel silly for being such a whiner last week. I hope it all works out for him, poor guy. That's a lot of stress on all of you!

 

[Gina]

Me too, I take back my whining over not being 18 anymore... I'm so sorry for all y'all have been through. I'm really glad that it seems it won't affect his college stuff, though. He'll just have to have twice as much fun (the allowed kind ) to make up for this year!

Here's hoping for less stress for the both of you!

 

[JeannieNM]

DH has an appointment tomorrow morning with the 12th grade principal. However, we are not hopeful because the principal told DH that there is no such thing as a WP for AP classes. She can take a W not a WP, but after looking at her transcript, the principal advised against that. Her only option would be to transfer into a regular psych class, but guess who the teacher is of the regular psych class??? Same guy, so that is not a solution. There are some other issues with this teacher that I don't want to divulge at this time. I want to wait and see what happens tomorrow with the appointment first. It doesn't sound promising though. DD got her rewritten paper back with a C on it -- 75%. So wow, the best she can do in there on a rewrite is a C? She just doesn't know what this guy expects. She usually blows her writing out of the water ever since she was in 1st grade all the way to her AP English teachers. It must be content related, but honestly getting a 25% then a 75% is not the norm for her. Looks like she's going to have to suck it up until December, take a major attitude adjustment to get through it, and put her best foot forward. I'll know more tomorrow.

On a good note, DD got accepted to her 1st choice school which is here locally. Now she has to get the scholarships and is working on that.

I'm sorry that your DD's picture day ended up with rain. Rescheduling can be an issue, but on a good note, maybe she'll end up with some pretty fall foliage in the background. With the ACT, does she take one exam per day? That has to be stressful, but the benefit of not having to do it all at once must be huge. I'm a special ed teacher, so I know how tests do not always reflect what a person knows. Was this her 1st time taking the ACT?

Idodis- you are smart not to say too much on a public board. We live in the same area and our DDs clearly go to school in the same city so just my two cents. I posted something once about one of her dance teachers, luckily it was neither good nor bad and another women on this board new immediatly who it was because she too was from our city which as you know is not that big. If you can though, do fill us in on the results of the meeting.

Congrats to your daughter on getting accepted. Did she her from the combined MD program yet? Is she still interested in it? DD's school just submitted their transcripts to our state school, which DD applied too a couple of weeks ago.

This is DD's second time taking the test. DD takes one section per day and has time and a half for each section. She really needed double time but they turned her down, long story. She in theory could take the test in one day but it would be so long her brain would completely shut down. It is hard for her to keep taking the sections one after another. She took 2 sections the weekend before last and she felt really out of sorts and thinks she did poorly. Then she took one on Monday, Thursday and Friday which, she felt went well. She had her physics test on Tuesday and Wed and could not manage both at the same time. She has to take the sections in order but she does have 3 weeks to complete the exam. She is considering doing the test one more time but she had hoped to have the results prior to deciding but it does not look like that will be possible. I would prefer she be done with the test. Going to a Prep school makes her pretty competative but her LD makes test likes these almost impossible and at some point she just has to accept that and move on. She has good grades, excellent ECs, rigor in her class choices and a strong work ethic. I read two of her recommendations today and they brought tears to my eyes. So she will just have to be happy with mediocore ACT scores. Reminder to myself: As has become clear on this thread she has a lot to be grateful for and there are others with greater struggles, a good thing to keep in mind in this process. As a special ed teacher if you want more information I happy to share just PM me.

We leave on Thursday for DD's first audition.

Chelley00- my heart goes out to you. I am sure your DS's situation most break your heart especially after all he has been through. I hope life turns around and something good comes from all this.

Gina- I think I forgot to say CONGRATS! Very exciting

Everyone who I may have missed CONGRATS on all your acceptences, scholarships, etc.!!!!!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My DS17 (now 18 as of today!), has waited until today to print his SAT admission ticket for tomorrow.

And it won't print. Their site has been down for the past 3 hours. I'm going to be pretty ticked off if site doesn't come back up.
That will be money down the drain.

 

[madge]

My DS17 (now 18 as of today!), has waited until today to print his SAT admission ticket for tomorrow. And it won't print. Their site has been down for the past 3 hours. I'm going to be pretty ticked off if site doesn't come back up. That will be money down the drain.

Will it save as a PDF? And then maybe print it that way?

 

[Bluestars]

DS logged into the Howdy Portal and got those magic words from A&M...

Application Status: WHOOP! You have been ADMITTED




Now he's just hoping the actual letter comes soon, so he can hold it in his hands.

Congratulations! We just toured the school today and my son loves it. This is where he wants to go, so hopefully things will work out for him too. It's a great campus and we were very impressed after going on the tour.

 

[Bluestars]

My DS17 (now 18 as of today!), has waited until today to print his SAT admission ticket for tomorrow.

And it won't print. Their site has been down for the past 3 hours. I'm going to be pretty ticked off if site doesn't come back up.
That will be money down the drain.

Is a copy of it in his email? I thought a copy was also emailed, but maybe it was just a link.

 

[IDoDis]

DD was able to drop the Psych class. She feels so liberated! DH had to go tot the school twice for different meetings. There was another underlying reason as well, but I can't discuss it. Most importantly though, she was able to drop with a "W" which won't hurt her GPA. They don't do WP's on AP classes. She had a B in the class when she dropped because the essay rewrite totally overran her first score. We thought they were going to be averaged together. So that helped a bit. DD studied for days for a test she took yesterday and she also had to turn in another paper. Now it was all for nothing, but that's okay! It was just a horrible class.

Cap and Gown and other senior "junk" order forms came home a few days ago and are due next week. I almost lost it when I read that the cost was $139 for the cheapest package! After looking at the forms a little closer, we don't have to order a package and can just order the cap, tassel, and gown for $39. We're not ordering the traditional announcements. Seems like most kids have the photo postcard type these days and those were included in DD's senior photo package from the outside photographer we used. DD is not interested in a class ring, either. It's not her style. So I guess I'm getting off kind of cheap, but I'm good with that!

I didn't get to go away for school so I'm totally jealous of our first DS who did! DS#2 is staying at home. I'm afraid he'll miss out, but he said he won't miss it. His closest friends are sticking around for school so he will get to just have different fun.

DS is having a totally horrible senior year. It's such a long story, but after working so hard to come back from his car accident last winter he decided to to get out of the drama and not try out for the soccer team. It wasn't worth it to him since he's no longer eligible for soccer scholarships because of his head injury. He's playing rec and enjoying it, but part of him is mad that he's worked so hard for his spot and was miserable.

Then he ended up screwing around with friends on campus, doing something totally minor and stupid and our new over-zealous and no tolerance assistant principal recommended he be expelled. Even though we fought it, we lost but managed to "plead" it to one semester only. Our lawyer said we should appeal, but by the time the appeal came up to the school board, the semester would be almost over so we decided it was pointless.

Because he's never been in trouble before (ever) and has such a great GPA and is on target for an honors diploma, they are allowing him to continue through the school taking online classes from home to finish the semester. He's so upset and embarrassed about the whole thing he doesn't even want to go back in January and wants to stay doing online schooling. I'm so sad for him because he's missing so much: homecoming, yearbook pictures, college recruiter visits, football games etc. This is supposed to be one of the best times of his life and it's just, well, crap.

The good news is that the admission counselor at his college choice said it really shouldn't affect anything as far as admittance or scholarship eligibility.

Oh wow, I'm so sorry! That just stinks for your DS and for you to see him so down. Maybe he'll change his mind by December and decide to go back for the spring semester. It's hard for a teen to swallow his pride, but after the first few days back feeling uncomfortable, he'd be right back into the swing of things and all would be forgotten.

My DS17 (now 18 as of today!), has waited until today to print his SAT admission ticket for tomorrow.

And it won't print. Their site has been down for the past 3 hours. I'm going to be pretty ticked off if site doesn't come back up.
That will be money down the drain.

Oh, that's totally something that would happen to us! Is there someone else's house he can go to, log in and print from? Hopefully by the time you are reading this, that issue has been resolved. Good luck to your DS tomorrow with his test!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Is a copy of it in his email? I thought a copy was also emailed, but maybe it was just a link.

I printed it as soon as I signed my DD up, but she did say they emailed her a copy yesterday. She didn't realize I had already printed it out and was coming out to use the computer.

 

[TLuvsD]

So glad the evil Psych class is over! Hooray for your D, and congrats to you and your DH for making it happen!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My DS17 (now 18 as of today!), has waited until today to print his SAT admission ticket for tomorrow.

And it won't print. Their site has been down for the past 3 hours. I'm going to be pretty ticked off if site doesn't come back up.
That will be money down the drain.

At 11pm last night I was ready to go to bed and he came to me to tell me he still couldn't get it printed.

We didn't get the ticket in email it was just a link to go to for printing.

I told him that in the future he needs to print important paperwork out a few days before hand. Hopefully he has now learned his lesson about that.

And then when I couldn't print the blasted thing out from using the link, I cleared the cookies on my computer, went to the website direct and could log in and print the admission ticket.

I'm just so tired of my son doing everything last minute. It is really irking me. Because then I usually have to get involved and solve the problem for now.

He'll be screwed when he heads goes to college since Mom won't be there to fix it for him.