Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[Mrs. Ciz]

I wish I had never heard about College Confidential. I'm maniacally following multiple threads right now searching for clues about upcoming admissions. It's stressing me out.

Walk away from the computer! Just walk away!!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

Well, it was a disappointing day. Today was the day the greeting card scholarship contest put this month's top 100 entries on and DD's was not there. I guess we shouldn't have assumed she would make it, but given the quality of prior month's entries, I was just sure she would be among the 100 put up for voting. I will say that this month's are for the most part better art than other months, I guess everyone else waited for the last round too. But IMO hers was definitely better than some that did make it. She checked it late this morning and asked me if she could go home and cry . I reminded her she wouldn't want to miss track practice and she can enter again starting this summer, for the following year. It was probably a long shot to win it anyway but she was psyched up to try to get votes and just to see it be considered. Just a bummer when she worked so hard.

I'm sorry, that is a huge disappointment.

 

[robinb]

I wish I had never heard about College Confidential. I'm maniacally following multiple threads right now searching for clues about upcoming admissions. It's stressing me out.

The kids on College Confidential make the kids on the DIS look like pikers. They must all hail from Lake Woebegone.

That being said, I still read and post there .

 

[robinb]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

ETA: I think getting into the NHS will come too take for the schools she's waitlisted for, BUT I think that if she might get more money for the schools she's been admitted to.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

That's wonderful!!
Lots of things count for hours. Did she tutor anyone? Did she help out at a bake sale/fundraiser? Keep time at a track meet? did she spend extra time at the pool, helping the coach when not required to be there? Do yard work or walk a dog (for free) for a neighbor?
My DD has forms for NHS that she can download. You fill in the volunteer activity, the date/time, how many hours, and have the coordinator or person that you volunteered for sign the slip.

 

[bjscheel]

Thanks for commiserating with me everybody! We spent some time last night going through the other entries, either praising them or dissing them as the case may be, and discussing whether she would try the same drawing next time or something different. Then she had to work on a silhouette drawing for a book cover that a former teacher asked her and another student to design for her new book, so that's kind of exciting.

@robinb congrats on the NHS! My DD never had much for community service either, but we dredged up a couple of small things to put on there and she got in.

 

[robinb]

That's wonderful!!
Lots of things count for hours. Did she tutor anyone? Did she help out at a bake sale/fundraiser? Keep time at a track meet? did she spend extra time at the pool, helping the coach when not required to be there? Do yard work or walk a dog (for free) for a neighbor?
My DD has forms for NHS that she can download. You fill in the volunteer activity, the date/time, how many hours, and have the coordinator or person that you volunteered for sign the slip.

Thanks for all the ideas! YES! She has been a teacher's assistant for last year's Algebra 3 teacher all year. DD and I keep on forgetting that and she even forgot to include it on her letter of continued interest *sigh*. Unfortunately, we just found out that the teacher was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and she won't be back for the rest of the year. She was her favorite teacher and DD is taking it really hard. Hmmm ... maybe I'll have her reach out to her counselor and see what they can come up with for proof. I don't want to bother the teacher while she's struggling with chemo. My DD also volunteered at the pool and for swim meets, so that'll be another couple of hours.

 

[bethbuchall]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

ETA: I think getting into the NHS will come too take for the schools she's waitlisted for, BUT I think that if she might get more money for the schools she's been admitted to.

Great news! Did she help with any learn-to-swim programs? My son's community service is a little low, too, because of swimming and other commitments. He volunteered in some swim programs and timed at meets that he wasn't swimming, and he worked at some trivia nights for the school. He also was able to use time running 5Ks that were for causes. I'm trying to remember what else he used. This year he needs 20 hours for graduation, and we need to get moving.

 

[bethbuchall]

After the two big disappointments recently, my son finally had some good news to share this morning. He won $500 in the Chemistry Olympiad that he went to last week.

Also, I'm not sure why, but he's talking about SUNY Stony Brook again. I thought that one was off the table. Anyone have anything to share about it, especially in comparison to Buffalo? I've heard that a lot of the students go home on the weekends which he won't be able to do. Geographically, I'd prefer Buffalo for a number of reasons, but I'm not the one that matters. RIT and Clarkson are on the back burner. They'll leave him approximately $80,000 in debt after 4 years, and we're not sure either is worth the additional cost. I wish he'd just pick and get this over with!

 

[Poohforyou]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

ETA: I think getting into the NHS will come too take for the schools she's waitlisted for, BUT I think that if she might get more money for the schools she's been admitted to.

Congratulations!!! I know our hs NHS requires a letter from a teacher as well as someone else. Did you daughter ever help with younger kids at swimming (ie mentoring)?

Do you belong to a church? Most are always looking for help. She could probably do something this weekend.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think NHS will get you more $$$. It's a wonderful accomplishment and nothing should diminish that.

 

[aprilgail]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

ETA: I think getting into the NHS will come too take for the schools she's waitlisted for, BUT I think that if she might get more money for the schools she's been admitted to.

Congrats to her!

I don't know that the national honor society played much role into getting money for colleges- in our school the kids get inducted the first quarter of 11th grade so it was on all her applications, just listed under awards- along with math and science honor society, art honor society, foreign language honor society and tri-M honor society. Each school does it differently too- my brothers school all they needed was an 85 average to be in it, our school is a 90 average. My daughters school they had to put in 20 hours of community service a year from 9th on and get letters of recommendation from teachers to join, my brothers school they just had to be breathing and have an 85 average.

 

[aprilgail]

After the two big disappointments recently, my son finally had some good news to share this morning. He won $500 in the Chemistry Olympiad that he went to last week.

Also, I'm not sure why, but he's talking about SUNY Stony Brook again. I thought that one was off the table. Anyone have anything to share about it, especially in comparison to Buffalo? I've heard that a lot of the students go home on the weekends which he won't be able to do. Geographically, I'd prefer Buffalo for a number of reasons, but I'm not the one that matters. RIT and Clarkson are on the back burner. They'll leave him approximately $80,000 in debt after 4 years, and we're not sure either is worth the additional cost. I wish he'd just pick and get this over with!

Stony Brook is a really good college- its certainly not as snowy as Buffalo LOL. My daughter has friends that go there and they do come home almost every weekend- but we are only 30 minutes away so they can do that easily. I believe they don't allow cars until the third year there and the campus is very big but they have buses that shuttle them around campus. Not a lot in walking distance to do there.

 

[v.t.]

Great news for my DD! She was nominated for her High School's National Honor Society! Now she has exactly 9 days to get her application and forms in for her community service. She doesn't have a lot of community service since she swam 2-4 hours 6 days per week year-round throughout high school. She volunteers for the school store (which will probably be about 15 hours) and I'm trying to figure out what else she can come up with. I think that maybe her club coach might be able to write a letter of recommendation instead. I'll have my DD ask the teacher in charge of the NHS if that would be sufficient.

ETA: I think getting into the NHS will come too take for the schools she's waitlisted for, BUT I think that if she might get more money for the schools she's been admitted to.

Great news! I am sure her extra time at swim would more than qualify for community service. If her coach won't sign off on that, she could do yard work for elderly neighbors. As long as she is not paid, our NHS accepts that.
I agree with PPs that NHS probably won't help with scholarship, but it is great to have on the resume.

 

[bethbuchall]

Stony Brook is a really good college- its certainly not as snowy as Buffalo LOL. My daughter has friends that go there and they do come home almost every weekend- but we are only 30 minutes away so they can do that easily. I believe they don't allow cars until the third year there and the campus is very big but they have buses that shuttle them around campus. Not a lot in walking distance to do there.

Thanks! We didn't visit yet because I thought he'd ruled it out. Actually, I'm sure that he said he'd ruled it out, but now he's saying that I made that all up. We need to make some time for a visit very soon.

 

[sksjasams]

Actually, I'm sure that he said he'd ruled it out, but now he's saying that I made that all up.

LOL! Yeah, I make stuff up all the time, too!

 

[Poohforyou]

Robin, the most important thing about the community service hours is to find out what is included and what isn't. Every school is different.

I know in our school helping a teacher in a classroom wouldn't count but tutoring would. However the tutoring would have to be through the NHS program. Our school requires 10 hours per semester after being admitted.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We got some exciting news yesterday for DS. He has been auditioning for college musical theater programs all over the country. Most see hundreds to thousands of auditioners but only admit between 12 and 25 students each year. He auditioned for 10 schools and, until yesterday, had received only two rejections. Now he has his first yes! It's not his first choice, but is a good, solid program. We looked up the stats on the school and learned that they generally see 1000 auditions and choose 15-20 for the program. (I don't want to mention the name of the school until he commits.)

We are all very excited and hopeful that he will get even more offers so we have choices. It's nice to have one under the belt. He will definitely be in an audition-only musical theater program. Now the only question is where.

 

[laughinplace199]

Congrats to your DS! DD hasn't heard from any schools yet, so we are all (im)patiently waiting here!

 

[piglet too]

Congratulations! I learned, through my nephew, how competitive the music/theatre programs can be. He is an incredible French Horn and piano player; can play pretty much every other instrument and composes too. He didn't get accepted to his #1, but has done very well where he ended up.

 

[mamacatnv]

We got some exciting news yesterday for DS. He has been auditioning for college musical theater programs all over the country. Most see hundreds to thousands of auditioners but only admit between 12 and 25 students each year. He auditioned for 10 schools and, until yesterday, had received only two rejections. Now he has his first yes! It's not his first choice, but is a good, solid program. We looked up the stats on the school and learned that they generally see 1000 auditions and choose 15-20 for the program. (I don't want to mention the name of the school until he commits.)

We are all very excited and hopeful that he will get even more offers so we have choices. It's nice to have one under the belt. He will definitely be in an audition-only musical theater program. Now the only question is where.

Awesome news, congrats! Given how competitive this all sounds getting in somewhere is a huge honor! Yay yay yay, everyone can breath just a weee bit easier