So, "Because it's Brown", doesn't suffice?

Ha! It should be the easiest one to write, right? The school he absolutely loves- but that's what is making it so difficult, I think.

Halo has decided to drop Cornell from his list. As he was sitting down to write that essay, he realized he'd rather go to either of the schools that have already accepted him than go to Cornell. I'm fine with that. Saves me $75 and why bother if you know you wouldn't attend?

Status update:

Kalamazoo College- Admitted with scholarship- current first choice of acceptances so far
University of Michigan- Admitted- current second choice of those who have accepted him, but growing on him

Brown University- Submitted the app on the 28th- dream school- would accept above any of the others
Northwestern- Submitting the app in the morning (when my paycheck hits my bank account)- has leapt to second favorite overall on his list
Oberlin College- Submitting before Jan. 15 deadline- Isn't sure where it falls on the list right now- he'd go to Brown or Northwestern first, he thinks, but those are both lottery schools- not sure if he'd choose it over Kalamazoo or not at this point. May come down to financial aid- or we may have to re-visit some campuses to see.

Kalamazoo is appealing to him a lot because he has two friends going to Western Michigan for sure and it is right next the WMU campus. Big bonus for him there. He really, really loved Oberlin when we visited though.

I went to high school in the Boston area, and many of my classmates went to the Ivys and the near-Ivys. Back then Brown had a reputation for being the toughest Ivy to get into. Everyone wanted Brown. Few were chosen. Brown rejectees went everywhere else -- Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn. Every other college loved them, but Brown was the fussbudget school. A dear friend went to Cornell and I think the cold there drove her to complete distraction.

Another friend went to Oberlin and loved it. I personally think that U Michigan would be a great experience. Michigan wasn't on my own list for potential colleges, but it should have been.

Brown is definitely looking for a certain type of student and I don't know whether my son was able to effectively express that he is that type of student through his application. I think he'd be successful there and contribute to their community, but whether that shows in his app, I don't know.

My gut still says Oberlin for him, if he doesn't get into Brown. We may need to re-visit some places for a decision to be made. I think I'm going to need some vacation days over his Easter break to re-visit Kzoo and Oberlin, if he gets into Oberlin.

Oberlin was my dream school, Dee. Even more than Stanford. I did not apply because I knew that my parents would never ever let me attend a school so far from home (in CA) and the financial piece was tricky. My father did not want to fill out any applications for aid and divulge that information. He was very proud that he could send us to college on the money he made. And the University of California system was affordable at that time. So that is where we all went.

Halo has some amazing choices to make. Wherever he ends up, he will get a fine education.

Oberlin is probably the most unique college I've seen. He's taking the risk with that essay that he decided not to take on his Brown essay. I think he should've taken that risk with Brown too because I think they would have appreciated it, but I am just trusting that he'll end up where he's supposed to be, like Hypo did.

Heh, that reminds me of a funny story. One of my dear friends who went to Brown said that her class was the most random collection of people she'd ever encountered. She swears that they piled up the applications of the people who were qualified, threw them down the staircase (yelling, "wheeeee!"), and offered admission to the first 1600 from the bottom.

I didn't bother trying to convince her that there just is a very unique intersection of the people to whom Brown appeals, the people who apply to go there, the people who get in, and the people who accept and attend.

We've been out of college for 15 years and she still sticks to her staircase theory.

My joke is that Oberlin makes Brown look like Brigham Young.

Did Halo have any issues with the Common App this go-round?

Oberlin app was submitted last night and we managed to get through it all with very few Common App issues. The school we had decided not to worry about finally downloaded the rest of his materials so I guess they're back on the ball now.

The cool news though, is he competed in Business Professionals of America regionals today and he placed for Extemporaneous Speech, Advanced Interviewing Skills, and Parliamentary Procedure. So, he's going to States again this year! Last year he ended up qualifying for Nationals and went to to Disney World. This year, Nationals are only in Indianapolis- not nearly as exciting. As President of his school's chapter, he's quite proud that 18 of the 21 kids who competed today from his chapter qualified for states. He believes they were more organized and did more prep work in advance this year.

So, he's going to email the admissions folks from his most competitive schools and ask if that information can be added to his application package. Anything to keep his name on their radar, I think.

Halo's Court of Honor is tomorrow. He is sharing his Court with two other boys who started out in my Tiger Cub den in Sept. 2000. I'm exhausted from the prep- we have had 135 people RSVP and know of at least one other family who is coming who didn't RSVP. It will probably be closer to 150. Now that the prep is done, the emotion of it all is setting in.

This made me tear up a little. How do they all get so big so fast?

I really have no idea. I think the whole place was in tears when Halo gave Hypo his mentor pin with a very nice speech about what a role model she has been to him. He was getting really choked up and cut it off, but said later he knew he was going to start crying so he had to wrap it up. Hypo was misty eyed through the whole ceremony and she really lost it when he said her name. He went through this whole list of things this person had done before naming her. It was a very touching moment. Through the rivalry and bickering, my kids DO love each other and are very supportive of each other's achievements. One of my best "Mom" moments ever.

It was a great event. There were, indeed, about 150 people there. Our troop has never had 3 Eagles do their Court of Honor together. There were two brothers who did theirs together before, but never 3. These three started Tiger Cubs on the same day and received their Eagle badges on the same day.

You should be proud! Your kids sound awesome.

Congrats to Halo on his Eagle! And congrats to his mom—we who've been where Halo is know how much credit mom deserves!

Thanks MC :) I will wear my mother's pin proudly!

Halo has two interviews coming up. He has a phone interview with a Brown alumna on Friday night and an alumnus interview for Northwestern on Saturday. That one is in person- in the metro Detroit area. Interestingly, the Brown alumna is now a PhD candidate and TA at Brown. That should be a very good experience for him.

Good luck to Halo!

You should!

I'm realizing I probably need to go back and study this thread. Sophomore son has started getting letters from colleges—the first came Wednesday (Washington U. in St. Louis), and then three more yesterday, including one in-state. They're all basically invitations to take their on-line surveys/inventories, and oh-by-the-way get to know us, but suddenly college seems real. I need to learn from the master. ;)

^^^ Get a big tub/box ready for the blizzard of envelopes, brochures, postcards, etc. I remember tossing them in a deep drawer in my bedroom when I was in HS, but the marketing has substantially increased.

My daughter and I did have a fun time examining the brochures for these requisite images:

1. Picture of students engaged in an artistic endeavor (usually painting).
2. Picture of an athletic team at play.
3. Picture of an idyllic arboreal landscape on campus, with no people, or perhaps 1-2 students walking down a scenic path.
4. Picture of a professor helping 1-3 students, so you can be assured of personal attention.
5. Picture of several students of diverse ethnicities smiling and chatting together.
6. Picture of the nicest looking (or iconic) building on campus.
7. Picture of the marching band, if there is one.
8. Picture of goggle-clad students working in a "state-of-the-art" science lab.

Depending on the campus, there may be more pictures of artistic endeavors, sporting events, or students wearing fan gear/face paint and cheering in stadiums. In West Point's case, there was a picture of students wallowing in a muddy obstacle course. At least they're honest!

I will say that it was the brochure that brought W&L to my daughter's attention...if not for the brochures, she wouldn't have known about it. The image of the sorority row was appealing! It was one of the only brochures that emphasized Greek Life.

:D :D
Good luck to Halo! Please tell him not to be nervous!! I'm sure his sister has been great at showing him the ropes, though.

Sounds like a drinking game for the parents...

His interview went for an hour and a half. I thought he was never going to emerge from his room. I think it went well. She wasn't a Brown undergrad, but is a current grad student from our area. In fact, she started her undergrad at one of the schools where he's been accepted and then transferred.

The whole process should be a drinking game for the parents... lol.

In general, Halo is much more outgoing and less shy than Hypo. Hypo does fine, but is more shy at first. Halo is just naturally glib and always has been. I don't think interviews will ever be nerve wracking for him.

Both of my kids approached the college brochures differently and it's really quite indicative of their personalities in general. Hypo saved every brochure and organized them into like and dislike piles but kept them ALL until she'd gotten all of her acceptances. Halo though- he had a system. If the letter was the standard format with an ID number in one corner, saying the same thing as the others, it got tossed. He is not a saver of fluff. He is practical. He saves money, but he carefully evaluates what else he saves! He has kept the information from the schools where he applied.

Dee, you have great kids; you raised them well.

Aww, thanks. I have to say- maybe I laid a good foundation when they were young, but they've been pretty easy to raise for the most part.

Two interviews done. Now we just wait.

It is March! Within the next 4 weeks, we will have all decisions in hand, financial aid packages in hand, and Halo will be faced with a major decision. The last two weeks are going to be crazy busy too. He turns 18 on the 17th. (what?????) Ironically, that's the same day that my last grad term officially ends too. He has finals that week and Hypo will be home for spring break. He has BPA states the weekend of March 21st. The following week, he should hear from all three schools. Ivy admission notification day is March 27th. Oberlin mails their decisions out around the same time and Northwestern does theirs online, usually toward the end of that week.

His quiz bowl team made it to states but that won't be until April. After finals, when grades come in, he'll find out whether he maintained his status as Salutatorian. AND, he got a part in the spring play so he has play practice almost every day.

If we both weren't so busy, we'd probably be going crazy with anticipation.

I'm still in bed while reading this and may have to stay here. You exhausted me just READING that!

Today is Halo's 18th Birthday. He has finals this week for the second trimester a within the next 10 days to 2 weeks:
1. He'll know whether he will maintain his status as salutatorian (it's very shaky thanks to AP Calc)
2. He should receive the remainder of his college application decisions
3. He has Business Professionals of America state competition

*fingers crossed* It's a big month!

Who is more anxious...Mom or Halo? :) Now that you're done with your master's, you have more time on your hands to think about all of this!

Hello AGDee! And Happy Birthday to Halo!

While I haven't yet posted, I have been following your son's college search here. Just want to wish him (and you) the best during these final nerve-wracking days of waiting. Hang in there! He sounds like an amazing young man with a bright future who will certainly wind up in the place where he will flourish.

Two years ago, we were in your shoes; my daughter is now a sophomore at Northwestern. :)

And go Eagle Scouts! Congratulations to your son and to you from another Eagle Scout mom (my son earned his Eagle 10 years ago last month). It is an understatement to say that alone is QUITE an achievement - especially when added to your son's other accomplishments!

So keep on taking deep breaths and get some rest when you can! The time of waiting will end soon and Halo can begin actively planning the next great chapter in his life. Good luck to all!

It was definitely easier when I was heads down into my grad work. I also didn't mention that we received Kalamazoo's financial aid package last week. It was OK but not great. It's doable, but includes more loans than expected.

Aww, thank you! Sciencewoman and I were going through it together with our daughters two years ago and neither of them are at Northwestern now. They are both, however, exactly where they are supposed to be! I keep telling myself that, but the nerves are definitely ramping up.

Ack!! My niece finds out on the 24th and 27th about the last two. Then it's number crunching time...

Well he didn't get into Northwestern. That doesn't bode well for Brown either. We will find that out next week along with Oberlin.

Kind thoughts to you and your family.

:( Well, that's Northwestern's loss.

Ugh. So sorry to hear this. Ugh.

How's he taking it?

Hugs to your son. I didn't get in back in 2008, when it was my dream school- been there.

No!!!! I'm so sorry and yeah, it's Northwestern's loss.

You know, I'm active on college confidential and reading the stats of some of the kids who didn't get in... Halo is in very good company. I don't really know how he is taking it because he's away for the weekend at the Business Professionals of America state conference where he's competing in at least two events (possibly some open events also). He's competing in extemporaneous speech and advanced interviewing skills. He says (via text) that he's fine, but I hope it didn't shake his confidence. He's also pretty certain that AP Calc is going to be an A- at best, maybe even a B+ so it is highly likely he has gone down in rank. If it is a B+, he may not make the top 10 even, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. He has an average of 89 but it's also the third highest grade in the class and the class average right now is a 68. There was one assignment that he got a 29% on and the class average on that assignment was 17%. If that assignment is dropped, he could maybe possibly pull the A. We'll see.

Like seriously, if the class average on an assignment is 17%, what does that say about the instruction for that homework assignment?

Sounds amazingly similar to what Youngest is going through in his AP Calc. Tenuously hanging on to an A- with a class average of 65. He says they're lucky to even get directions on most homework assignments. Halo is not alone!