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

[bittybabygrower]

I have had to make my DD learn a few hard lessons as she is such a procrastinator. Although, I will say she has been pretty proactive with college apps for her top schools, she sent in 3 early admissions.

My friend at work said her DD had to do some paperwork at college, something she had always had to help her with, and the clerk told her, "This is the grown up world now, no crying to Mommy about stuff". Guess she is right ok

 

[klj27]

Sounds like my daughter. I asked her last night if she had everything she needed. Of course she said yes, but she called me as soon as I walked in the door from doing her of saying that she didn't have her id. Ugh. Thank goodness we live close because the test started at eight and she called me at 7:50.

 

[JeannieNM]

IDODIS- I am so glad your DD is free of her psych class!!!

All those with SAT glitches, I am glad they all worked out and I hope your kids get the scores they were looking for.

We visited a school this weekend and DD auditioned for the dance program during a weekend convention. She was overwhelmed by the crowds and wished she had just done the regular audition. Especially since the audition was really shortened eliminating the aspects that she is strongest at. The good news is she can audition again in Feb. if she wants to. Though the audition date conflicts with another college's audition so, we shall see. She liked the school a lot but is not sure about the city it is in. It did make her realize that she really likes large state schools so she wants to explore other ones. So, we are working on a list of schools to read up on and consider.

While we were there another college called her and asked her if she would attend their presentation for high potential students that they are doing in our area in a few weeks so she was excited about that. This is a school she really liked when she meet the rep at a theatre conference but has not pursued because it is in Colorado and she does not want to be cold. (We live in the mountains and she loves snowboarding so go figure). Anyway it sparked her interest again. She is a pretty sure bet for this school so I hope she applies.

FYI the first round of ACT scores are being posted online today. So if you are waiting on scores now is a good time for kiddos to start checking their ACT accounts.

 

[Bluestars]

JeannieNM, maybe the audition went better than she thought. It seems like it would be hard to do an audition in front of a huge crowd. It sounds like she will be very busy with auditions!

The ACT scores were posted today, but not the writing score. My son increased his composite by a point. Woohoo! Every point counts. That's the last time he will take it.

 

[JeannieNM]

JeannieNM, maybe the audition went better than she thought. It seems like it would be hard to do an audition in front of a huge crowd. It sounds like she will be very busy with auditions!

The ACT scores were posted today, but not the writing score. My son increased his composite by a point. Woohoo! Every point counts. That's the last time he will take it.

I hope you are correct but DD is pretty good at assessing things like the audition.

Congrats to your DS on his score increase!

One of DD's BFFs score's went down a point and the other BFF stayed the same. All 3 girls had the same exact score on the previous test though I do not know if their sub-scores were the same. DD is the only one with an LD. DD won't know her scores for another week and a half at least, also we have to wait for snail mail as her's won't be posted until after they are mailed. Oh well, it is such a busy week with the end of the quarter that she said she did not want to see them anyway. However it goes it is the last time for DD taking the test, enough is enough in my book.

Have a good night all.

 

[elgerber]

Yikes, housing and meal plan application came in the mail today...becoming wayyyy too real.

 

[IDoDis]

IDODIS- I am so glad your DD is free of her psych class!!!

All those with SAT glitches, I am glad they all worked out and I hope your kids get the scores they were looking for.

We visited a school this weekend and DD auditioned for the dance program during a weekend convention. She was overwhelmed by the crowds and wished she had just done the regular audition. Especially since the audition was really shortened eliminating the aspects that she is strongest at. The good news is she can audition again in Feb. if she wants to. Though the audition date conflicts with another college's audition so, we shall see. She liked the school a lot but is not sure about the city it is in. It did make her realize that she really likes large state schools so she wants to explore other ones. So, we are working on a list of schools to read up on and consider.

While we were there another college called her and asked her if she would attend their presentation for high potential students that they are doing in our area in a few weeks so she was excited about that. This is a school she really liked when she meet the rep at a theatre conference but has not pursued because it is in Colorado and she does not want to be cold. (We live in the mountains and she loves snowboarding so go figure). Anyway it sparked her interest again. She is a pretty sure bet for this school so I hope she applies.

FYI the first round of ACT scores are being posted online today. So if you are waiting on scores now is a good time for kiddos to start checking their ACT accounts.

Sounds exciting with all of those auditions. How long has your DD been into Dance? That is funny that she doesn't want to consider Colorado because the weather is so similar. The ski/snow boarding runs are usually much better in Colorado, especially in the spring. And yes, DD is so happy to be out of the psych class. Her stress level has dropped tremendously.

JeannieNM, maybe the audition went better than she thought. It seems like it would be hard to do an audition in front of a huge crowd. It sounds like she will be very busy with auditions!

The ACT scores were posted today, but not the writing score. My son increased his composite by a point. Woohoo! Every point counts. That's the last time he will take it.

Yes, every point counts! Some schools super score, too, so maybe he can take advantage of that, as well. Even though it was just a point, it could be one or two points in areas that were lower before and it wouldn't matter if any of the subscores were lower than last time (if the school super scores).

Yikes, housing and meal plan application came in the mail today...becoming wayyyy too real.

Ahhhh! Already???

 

[elgerber]

Sounds exciting with all of those auditions. How long has your DD been into Dance? That is funny that she doesn't want to consider Colorado because the weather is so similar. The ski/snow boarding runs are usually much better in Colorado, especially in the spring. And yes, DD is so happy to be out of the psych class. Her stress level has dropped tremendously.



Yes, every point counts! Some schools super score, too, so maybe he can take advantage of that, as well. Even though it was just a point, it could be one or two points in areas that were lower before and it wouldn't matter if any of the subscores were lower than last time (if the school super scores).



Ahhhh! Already???

I can only imagine how much stress is off her shoulders now!!!

My daughters friend retook the test after studying all summer, and buying two study guides, and her score didn't change at all. She wasn't very happy.

Yes, already, "get your deposit in soon, dorms are assigned based on deposit date". UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I haven't a clue which meal plan is the best option.

 

[TLuvsD]

For the meal plan, it depends on your student. First thing to find out is if you can change the plan at the beginning of the semester. At most schools you can increase the plan in the first week or two (generally not decrease). See if there is a plan that offers "dining dollars" which generally have the greatest flexibility.

 

[elgerber]

For the meal plan, it depends on your student. First thing to find out is if you can change the plan at the beginning of the semester. At most schools you can increase the plan in the first week or two (generally not decrease). See if there is a plan that offers "dining dollars" which generally have the greatest flexibility.

I think each plan offers at least some dining dollars.

Many to choose from!!

Weekly Meal Plans


19 meals/wk
with $100 Dragon Dollars
$1325


14 meals/wk
with $200
Dragon Dollars
$1289


10 meals/wk
with $250
Dragon Dollars
$1260


PLUS 19 meals with $225
Dragon Dollars
$1425


PLUS 14 meals with $325
Dragon Dollars
$1389


PLUS 10 meals with $375
Dragon Dollars
$1360


Semester Block Meal Plans
Any 200 meals with $150 Dragon Dollars $1200


Any 120 meals with $250 Dragon Dollars $1200


Dragon 50 Plan with $200 Dragon Dollars $600


Dragon 50 Plan with $300 Dragon Dollars $700


Dragon 50 Plan with $500 Dragon Dollars $900

 

[TLuvsD]

How many actual meals does your student eat? Our D hates breakfast. She has tea and cheerios (carries a baggie of cheerios with her). She mostly eats brunch and dinner. If your student actually eats 3 meals a day, start there. Can you add money to the Dragon Dollars or id card? Is that money refundable? (we can add $$ to her id card, that money is refundable if not spent. If we buy dining dollars it is non refundable.)

 

[elgerber]

How many actual meals does your student eat? Our D hates breakfast. She has tea and cheerios (carries a baggie of cheerios with her). She mostly eats brunch and dinner. If your student actually eats 3 meals a day, start there. Can you add money to the Dragon Dollars or id card? Is that money refundable? (we can add $$ to her id card, that money is refundable if not spent. If we buy dining dollars it is non refundable.)

all questions that need answers !
on school days she eats 3 meals. On weekends if she sleeps till 11, she often just starts with lunch. We will sit down and look it all over, and get it figured out.

 

[TLuvsD]

I admit we paid more than we should have, I wanted our D to have lots of meal options...but I felt better knowing she could eat whatever/wherever/whenever she wanted. Not the most budget friendly approach, but it worked for me.

This year she is in an apartment, cost of meals is a lot less, even when she eats out/does takeout. And she's eating more (which is a good thing, she lost weight last year and didn't have any to spare).

You might look at the dorm information and see what meal prep stuff is offered. In our D's case, they had a micro and mini fridge in each room, but no kitchen. But even if there was a kitchen I don't know that she would have cooked much...just not enough time. She's making batches of stuff and then eating the same thing for a couple of days this year. Not ideal, but it works. And I freeze stuff for her (DH got one of those Foodsaver things, he loves it).

 

[elgerber]

Ok, my daughter has gone bonkers LOL. She just texted me asking if we can go the information session for Yale, coming to Mpls later this month! Huh?

 

[Chelley00]

DS just hit send on the big application. We will see how goes!

 

[elgerber]

DS just hit send on the big application. We will see how goes!

Good luck to him!!!!

 

[scrapquitler]

Still struggling to get DD to even do anything in regards to college planning. She's still insisting that she WILL go out of state, but no clue as to where, and she won't look at a single piece of college mail or website. It's now October and we haven't done a single campus visit. I finally told her that I was going to pick a college for us to visit and I was going to drag her there if I had to physically carry her on the tour. So on Saturday we are going to visit a state college that is about 30 minutes from home, somewhere I would be happy to have her go and I could afford to send her. I've got my fingers crossed that she will like it or that if she doesn't , it will get her to stop sticking her head in the sand over all this. I've been so incredibly frustrated by her whole attitude lately. Senior year has been no fun so far.

She did take the SAT again last Saturday, and she did get her senior pictures taken last week.

 

[scrdofbugs]

We visited Rensselaer in Troy, NY. My son loved it and right now it's his first choice. It's very expensive though and would not be easy to get into. I liked the school too. The buildings were extremely old. The architecture was nice. We didn't really like the city of Troy, although the area right next to the school was fine. The rest of the city seemed a bit run down, but my son doesn't care. He really liked the school. They have some good engineering programs, which is my son's interest.

We are touring Texas A&M the first weekend of October. I am sure that school will be the exact opposite of Rensselaer.

Edited to add: My son just walked into the room and without me saying a thing, he told my husband that he was ready to move into Rensselaer yesterday

My daughter attended the PREFACE program at Rennsselaer the summer before her Junior year. She enjoyed it and liked the campus. She was all set on it and I was worried about the cost. We visited another college for their Nuclear Engineering program and actually liked it more. We applied and got her acceptance letter last month. Now the wait for scholarships and honors program.

 

[Bluestars]

My daughter attended the PREFACE program at Rennsselaer the summer before her Junior year. She enjoyed it and liked the campus. She was all set on it and I was worried about the cost. We visited another college for their Nuclear Engineering program and actually liked it more. We applied and got her acceptance letter last month. Now the wait for scholarships and honors program.

Congratulations on your daughter's college acceptance!

We ended up touring Texas A & M and my son loves it. He is interested in their cadet program. He wants to major in engineering, but also become an officer in the army. So it looks like it's Texas A & M for him. We looked online and although his transcripts were mailed, the school hasn't listed them as posted yet. My son is flying back to Texas to attend their night with a cadet program. Once he does that, he can apply for the cadet scholarships. He's already applied for the ROTC and we are waiting to hear from them.

It will be nice to have the big decisions made early in the year.

 

[elgerber]

So, I got the story on the Yale request. My dd was called to the counselors office, to pick up her commendation cert from NMS. The counselor then asked her if she was going to the Yale info session. And also told her she could easily get into several out of state schools.
Grrr, well yes, of course she can (not Yale though I doubt), but those schools will cost us double what we are going to pay now! Right now we have a shot at 0 to very minimal student loans, but if she goes out of state, that will go out the window. I have always really liked my kids counselor, but now I'm annoyed. She has been super excited to go the school she had picked, and now she is second guessing.