Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[CarolAnn856]

Another parent of a procrastinator here! I have been staying away from this thread as it just added to my anxiety! I am happy to report that all 6 applications were sent this morning. Phew! Now, we wait. One of the schools is both his academic and financial safety school (UMass Amherst). So, whatever happens with the other schools, I figure he will at least have SOMEWHERE that he is happy to go.
Congrats to everyone who is done with the wait and good luck to those still waiting!

Hello, my name is CarolAnn, and I am the mother of a procrastinator...

Actually, my son only has one school left to apply to. Of course, it's his top choice. And he has one more honors app to finish. Ugh! He's been accepted to three schools so far, including one he'd be very happy to go to, so that's good.

 

[sksjasams]

Hello, my name is CarolAnn, and I am the mother of a procrastinator...

Actually, my son only has one school left to apply to. Of course, it's his top choice. And he has one more honors app to finish. Ugh! He's been accepted to three schools so far, including one he'd be very happy to go to, so that's good.

Same, CarolAnn. My son has applied to five schools. The one he has left is his first choice, of course. I think the pressure to have a great essay is holding him back because this app is so important to him.

He was accepted at 4 of the schools and still waiting to hear from one. He really has his heart set on the one he has not applied to yet....

 

[lucky978]

Another parent of a procrastinator here! I have been staying away from this thread as it just added to my anxiety! I am happy to report that all 6 applications were sent this morning. Phew! Now, we wait. One of the schools is both his academic and financial safety school (UMass Amherst). So, whatever happens with the other schools, I figure he will at least have SOMEWHERE that he is happy to go.
Congrats to everyone who is done with the wait and good luck to those still waiting!

It's a great feeling when they are all submitted isn't it? Wow - Amherst is his safety school? you are lucky! Amherst is my daughter's reach school. She applied EA but still haven't heard anything.

 

[Poohforyou]

Usually this time of year I come home to bills in the mail, today was a nice surprise. Dd got a very nice scholarship to university of Pittsburgh. It isn't her 1st choice but has become more enticing. It's a great school and she'd be happy there. Fortunately DD gets the money part of all this and knows the less undergrad costs the more that will be available for additional degrees, study abroad, etc.

 

[SmallWorld71]

It's a great feeling when they are all submitted isn't it? Wow - Amherst is his safety school? you are lucky! Amherst is my daughter's reach school. She applied EA but still haven't heard anything.

We toured UMass Amherst last spring and were both surprised at how much we liked it. He said he could see himself there, so that's good. The only thing he didn't like was that it's not near a city. All his other choices are in or near cities; guess he's ready to leave small town life behind. His other schools cost significantly more so he needs a good financial aid package to go somewhere else. Columbia is his dream school, but we know it's a long shot. He's a solid candidate, but so is everyone else who applies.

Fingers crossed for your daughter!

 

[Poohforyou]

It's a great feeling when they are all submitted isn't it? Wow - Amherst is his safety school? you are lucky! Amherst is my daughter's reach school. She applied EA but still haven't heard anything.

Did your daughter apply to Amherst College or U Mass Amherst? The former is a private college and much more selective than the latter.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Oops! Answered the wrong poster.

 

[mamacatnv]

Busy Christmas break for everyone I see.
DD is currently in Hawaii on vacation with her BFF and decided to apply to Univ of Hawaii, Ugh, I just rolled my eyes
Still waiting to hear from Minnesota and Amherst (the private, stupid expensive liberal art school) has an application deadline of Feb 1 or thereabouts - that along with Texas State (the safety school) are all that DD has left to do.

 

[robinb]

Busy Christmas break for everyone I see.
DD is currently in Hawaii on vacation with her BFF and decided to apply to Univ of Hawaii, Ugh, I just rolled my eyes
Still waiting to hear from Minnesota and Amherst (the private, stupid expensive liberal art school) has an application deadline of Feb 1 or thereabouts - that along with Texas State (the safety school) are all that DD has left to do.

university of Hawaii would give you a good reason to visit!

 

[J'aime Paris]

We have a bit of an update.
DD initially only applied to Marquette and UWMadison, and I urged to to apply to more schools. She then applied to University of Alabama, seemingly out of nowhere??

We found out that she's been accepted to Marquette with a nice scholarship! Yay!
UW Madsion is still pending.....they take a while to let the kids know.

And she was accepted to Alabama. Now she wants to visit the campus of course! I'm not opposed to a visit, but I can't help but feel she just wants to "get away" for a long weekend. This was never a college of discussion. I'm guessing she'll love the campus, as the pictures look very nice. And the weather is much milder than here in WI.
DH and I just cannot grasp the idea of her being that far away...... so many huge decisions to come...

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We have a bit of an update.
DD initially only applied to Marquette and UWMadison, and I urged to to apply to more schools. She then applied to University of Alabama, seemingly out of nowhere??

We found out that she's been accepted to Marquette with a nice scholarship! Yay!
UW Madsion is still pending.....they take a while to let the kids know.

And she was accepted to Alabama. Now she wants to visit the campus of course! I'm not opposed to a visit, but I can't help but feel she just wants to "get away" for a long weekend. This was never a college of discussion. I'm guessing she'll love the campus, as the pictures look very nice. And the weather is much milder than here in WI.
DH and I just cannot grasp the idea of her being that far away...... so many huge decisions to come...

We visited University of Alabama
Beautiful campus
Really made us feel welcomed
It's a long way away from home and I think was DS's ultimate decision not to attend there
In case u didn't know Alabama does offer very nice academic scholarships to out of state students
DS could have qualified for close to free tuition and they also accept most AP for credit.
It literally was 100 degrees the weekend we visited
It was so nice , I want to go there

 

[mamacatnv]

We visited University of Alabama
Beautiful campus
Really made us feel welcomed
It's a long way away from home and I think was DS's ultimate decision not to attend there
In case u didn't know Alabama does offer very nice academic scholarships to out of state students
DS could have qualified for close to free tuition and they also accept most AP for credit.
It literally was 100 degrees the weekend we visited
It was so nice , I want to go there

I mentioned Alabama to DD after you mentioned merit aid. We moved to Texas when she was just ending 7th grade - she has been in "the south" her words, not mine, for 5 school years and she is bound and determined to get out of the "south" for college!

 

[bjscheel]

Since we have that college choosing thing all wrapped up (still waiting to make sure they got her ACT and no further items needed but she will be accepted), my next obsessions are dorm shopping and prom dresses! I always seem to need something to hunt for/research online...

Her apartment-style dorm bedroom only comes with a desk. I found a dresser on Craigslist that was nice, and cheap, but it apparently got away from me. Now I've found another for the same price, but it's farther from home. Will see what DH thinks but we can't go tonight. I do know we have almost 8 months till she moves and if I buy now we'll have to store it but I still look for deals anyway! This one I wouldn't feel bad if she stripped it and painted it her favorite colors. The one I missed out on had too nice of a wood finish to mess with. She's having fun picking out items to go with a gray/aqua decorating scheme.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

The admission packet from University of Tennessee came yesterday. DD did not get accepted to the Nursing Program. The letter said she didn't meet the requirements for admission to nursing. I am a little confused by this because I can't find anything on their website about what the actual requirements for a HS senior are.

Maybe they mean her test scores and GPA weren't high enough?

She did get accepted to her 2nd choice (Business).

 

[mamacatnv]

DD is giving me gray hair - she is still in Hawaii on vacation (I know, must be nice lol) her BFF's family took her with them, their treat!
Anyway, yesterday I got a text: "I'm going to apply to A&M Corpus Christi, the marine sciences are fascinating" (in her defense, she is a total STEM kid)
Ummmmmm ok, it appears they take app's until March 1 but all scholarship apps had to be in by Dec 1 - this confuses me.....oh well

 

[mamacatnv]

Since we have that college choosing thing all wrapped up (still waiting to make sure they got her ACT and no further items needed but she will be accepted), my next obsessions are dorm shopping and prom dresses! I always seem to need something to hunt for/research online...

Her apartment-style dorm bedroom only comes with a desk. I found a dresser on Craigslist that was nice, and cheap, but it apparently got away from me. Now I've found another for the same price, but it's farther from home. Will see what DH thinks but we can't go tonight. I do know we have almost 8 months till she moves and if I buy now we'll have to store it but I still look for deals anyway! This one I wouldn't feel bad if she stripped it and painted it her favorite colors. The one I missed out on had too nice of a wood finish to mess with. She's having fun picking out items to go with a gray/aqua decorating scheme.

Do you have to provide bed etc?

The admission packet from University of Tennessee came yesterday. DD did not get accepted to the Nursing Program. The letter said she didn't meet the requirements for admission to nursing. I am a little confused by this because I can't find anything on their website about what the actual requirements for a HS senior are.

Maybe they mean her test scores and GPA weren't high enough?

She did get accepted to her 2nd choice (Business).

I'm sorry she didn't get her first choice, but glad she got her 2nd. Perhaps at some point along the way she could shift to the nursing if that is what she really wants to do.

 

[bjscheel]

Do you have to provide bed etc?

Yes. It is a community college and there is student housing but it is run by outside companies. There are 4 bedrooms with their own bath and a shared common area. It is really nice (especially compared to the typical freshman dorm)! The common area is furnished and full kitchen, but the bedrooms just have a desk. So we need a desk chair, dresser, bed, nightstand, shower curtain. She wishes something else beside the desk was provided because she'd like to have a drawing desk that tilts instead- if one wasn't provided we would get her one, but since it is, I don't know where it could go. We have an office chair I got free, and possibly getting a $20 dresser this weekend. She has a papasan chair that can go if we decide there's room. I'm looking at bed frames from Walmart that don't require a box springs to make things a little simpler. When she's done she'll be all set for her first real apartment. She'll have a 12 month lease followed by a 10 month lease because she'll have summer school between her first and second years. My hope is that she doesn't have to move out between leases

 

[Kimberle]

The admission packet from University of Tennessee came yesterday. DD did not get accepted to the Nursing Program. The letter said she didn't meet the requirements for admission to nursing. I am a little confused by this because I can't find anything on their website about what the actual requirements for a HS senior are.

Maybe they mean her test scores and GPA weren't high enough?

She did get accepted to her 2nd choice (Business).

We, too, are looking at nursing. During our collage visits, we would specifically ask what the requirements were in addition to the "regular" ones, the application and acceptance rates. We would never get any specific answers, only the program is "competitive" and they don't keep stats by majors. So, your guess is as good as any.

 

[sk!mom]

The admission packet from University of Tennessee came yesterday. DD did not get accepted to the Nursing Program. The letter said she didn't meet the requirements for admission to nursing. I am a little confused by this because I can't find anything on their website about what the actual requirements for a HS senior are.

Maybe they mean her test scores and GPA weren't high enough?

She did get accepted to her 2nd choice (Business).

I'm so sorry. The acceptance into their chosen department definitely adds stress. Then after that stress a large number change their major anyway,

My nephew has narrowed his decision to Texas A&M or UT with UT being his first choice. He's auto admit at both. He's been accepted to his chosen program at A&M but UT hasn't sent that decision. If he gets in the program at UT- he'll go there if not, A&M it is. He's probably a better fit for UT so fingers crossed.

Out of curiosity, what are others doing about housing decisions? My sister has gone ahead and paid the deposit at UT and A&M because dorms fill so quickly. Once they get the decision from UT, they'll let one go. We weren't sure if this was the right thing to do or not. My DD20 got an acceptance from her first choice in October 2014 and dorm reservations didn't open until January so we didn't face this dilemma.

 

[lucky978]

Did your daughter apply to Amherst College or U Mass Amherst? The former is a private college and much more selective than the latter.

UMass Amherst - they have become more and more selective over the years. Seems to becoming harder to get in and with the poor SAT scores my daughter has, we are banking only on her good GPA, volunteer work and rigor of courses she's taken. She's applying to the Communication Science and Disorders program - and that major is not offered at a lot of schools. that's why I think she hasn't heard from a lot of them when others have. Fingers crossed!

And she was accepted to Alabama. Now she wants to visit the campus of course! I'm not opposed to a visit, but I can't help but feel she just wants to "get away" for a long weekend. This was never a college of discussion. I'm guessing she'll love the campus, as the pictures look very nice. And the weather is much milder than here in WI.
DH and I just cannot grasp the idea of her being that far away...... so many huge decisions to come...

Both of my daughter's have both applied to Univ. of Colorado Boulder - seemingly out of nowhere. In their defense I can see them both there since they are very "outdoorsy" and love to ski. But it's sooooo far away! I didn't think they would consider it but now that one has been accepted the other one is on edge waiting to hear. It's very expensive indeed and have to factor in travel expenses as well. We shall see. I don't want to hold them back - I want them to go where they are happy and receive the best education. But selfishly I'm dreading it if they decide to move that far away.

Happy New Year to All!