Son of AGDee's College Search Thread - Page 8

Munchkin03 · #**106** 11-25-2013, 07:42 PM

This is all great stuff!

It'll be funny if Halo gets the same interviewer that Hypo had. I used to assign interviews (volunteer position) and there are so many kids that I don't think id remember not to assign siblings! Most volunteer chairs try to match students with interviewers who are in similar fields.

AGDee · #**107** 12-19-2013, 11:51 AM

Halo applied to three schools EA and although MOST schools have released EA and ED decisions, none of his three have yet. So many of his friends applied to regional state schools with rolling decisions. People keep asking me if he has decided where he's going. He hasn't gotten any admissions decisions yet and the other 4 schools he will apply to won't release decisions until late March.

HOWEVER, Kalamazoo College is supposed to mail decisions tomorrow. The University of Michigan traditionally released decisions on the "teen" Friday of the month, but they did not release decisions last Friday as hoped. The U of M forum on CC is going absolutely crazy because these kids want to know. They are bombarding U of M live chat and the admissions office with phone calls. At this point, the admissions office put a voicemail message up that decisions will not be released today and they are working hard to get decisions out by Dec. 24th (the guaranteed decision date). Reports are that they have record numbers of EA applicants- 30,000 at this point. For a point of reference, they had 42,000 EA and RD applicants combined last year. That's insanity! The admissions office has posted they are closed tomorrow from noon to 3 pm so there is speculation they are releasing decisions at that time. It does seem awfully heartless to release decisions on Christmas Eve. For many kids, this could be a first rejection and that would be a tough time to get that.

His third school, Albion, may have totally messed up his application. Halo doesn't care about this school enough to try to make sure they have it right. If they have his application and all materials, he should have a decision by Jan. 15th.

Sciencewoman · #**108** 12-19-2013, 01:00 PM

^^^ Yikes, that's crazy about the U-M! I'm glad I'm not answering phones in the Admissions office. They did have a good announcement last year, though: "Relax...you're in!"

I thought some of the schools like U-M, with lots of local applicants, liked to delay until they knew kids were out of school, so there isn't a lot of "who got in?" gossip and trying to check admissions statuses on-line during the school day. Does this ring a bell to you? I thought that was the situation for U-M.

Northwestern had that huge issue last year when their decisions website crashed...then CC crashed due to all the people coming on to post complaints and updates about NU! Hopefully they'll be in good shape this year.

AGDee · #**109** 12-20-2013, 07:38 PM

First college acceptance is in! HAIL to the Victors! If he chooses, Halo could be a Wolverine in the College of LS&A.

That first college acceptance, especially to such a great school brings a certain relief, even though I thought he would get in there.

maconmagnolia · #**110** 12-21-2013, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

First college acceptance is in! HAIL to the Victors! If he chooses, Halo could be a Wolverine in the College of LS&A.

That first college acceptance, especially to such a great school brings a certain relief, even though I thought he would get in there.

Congratulations!!

AGDee · #**111** 12-23-2013, 07:12 PM

And today, Halo received a BIG envelope from Kalamazoo College. He received their most generous merit scholarship too. He was really excited about this one because it is his favorite in state option. So he said "It's great to know there's a school I really like as an option if everybody else rejects me."

PhoenixAzul · #**112** 12-24-2013, 07:47 AM

^ Does Halo have a preference system (a recruitment parallel!) set up for his acceptances?

AGDee · #**113** 12-24-2013, 09:52 AM

These are his current rankings:

1) Brown (Will finish applying by 1/1/14 and will receive a decision in late, late March)
2) Oberlin (Will finish applying by 1/15/14 and will receive a decision in late, late March)
3) Northwestern (Will finish applying by 1/1/14 and will receive a decision in late March)
4/5) Cornell (Will finish applying by 1/1/14 and will receive a decision in late, late March)/Kalamazoo- Accepted with generous merit scholarship
6) University of Michigan- Accepted- It's just such a huge school and he doesn't really want that- it is where everybody goes-
7) Albion College- We think they've lost parts of his application. He doesn't care at this point- He tried to straighten it out through emails but they stopped responding. If they are considering him EA, he'll get a response by mid-January, I think. He'd pick Kzoo over them anyway.

One big advantage of Kzoo is that it is right next to Western Michigan University and he has two really good friends who are going to Western. That would be really nice for him- not so entrenched in high school friends that he doesn't expand, but they are minutes away, at a different school.

Sciencewoman · #**114** 12-24-2013, 04:30 PM

I've heard from some parents that K College's merit aid is not nearly as generous after the first year. I'm not sure if that's changed, but it would probably be a good idea to ask if you get to that point, because they felt it was a bit of a "bait and switch." Several people in my husband's family have gone there, and all loved it. I agree that K College trumps Albion, as far as in-state LACs go. Plus, losing parts of your app. and then ceasing communication doesn't exactly give you a good feeling going in.

AGDee · #**115** 12-24-2013, 05:14 PM

He loves K College, really and if none of the others panned out, would be happy to go there. There's also a girl from his crowd who graduated last year and is at K College. It has the best ranking of the private LACs in the state. I'll keep the "bait and switch" thing in mind. This first year, things should be pretty good with two in college, his scholarship and Hypo's typical grant from Barnard. Their dad was unemployed most of last year- sad to say, but that helps the financial aid especially since he has no intention of helping them with college costs anyway. I do think I can get some plane tickets out of him now that he's working- for Hypo to come home for breaks.

AGDee · #**116** 12-26-2013, 08:23 PM

I think his Brown supplemental essays are just about finalized. He's struggling with one line at this point- trying not to be cliche but trying to be honest about "Why Brown?" in less than 200 words. His list of what he likes about Brown is so long that narrowing it to 200 words while still being specific and not cliche is a major challenge. I'm pretty sure Hypo had 500 words for the same question! Most students who like Brown really like that they have an open curriculum. There are no standard core classes required. That means that all students in every class are in that class because they want to be there AND students have a lot of flexibility in designing a coursework plan that can meet their interests. So he's trying to come up with a way (in about 20 words or less) to explain exactly how he would use that open curriculum to explore his interests rather than just say "I like the open curriculum".

Munchkin03 · #**117** 12-27-2013, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

I think his Brown supplemental essays are just about finalized. He's struggling with one line at this point- trying not to be cliche but trying to be honest about "Why Brown?" in less than 200 words. His list of what he likes about Brown is so long that narrowing it to 200 words while still being specific and not cliche is a major challenge. I'm pretty sure Hypo had 500 words for the same question! Most students who like Brown really like that they have an open curriculum. There are no standard core classes required. That means that all students in every class are in that class because they want to be there AND students have a lot of flexibility in designing a coursework plan that can meet their interests. So he's trying to come up with a way (in about 20 words or less) to explain exactly how he would use that open curriculum to explore his interests rather than just say "I like the open curriculum".

Could he mention combining say, his love of neuroscience with an interest in a foreign language? There's been a massive expansion of the brain sciences divisions recently--maybe that will make it clear that he's doing his research? I remember interviewing kids (from the NYC area) who couldn't answer that question specifically! :-(

AGDee · #**118** 12-27-2013, 11:29 AM

He has moved in a different direction since he discovered he loves statistics. His preferred concentration at Brown is Public Policy & American Institutions within the Taubman Center. His essay about that major was pretty easy for him to write. He's beyond excited that they do their own public opinion polling. He's now combining his love of politics, statistics and psychology. One of his Common App essays is about how he explores the world through finding out how other people see it. It is the essay that is most "him" when I read it.

The difficulty with "Why Brown?" is that there is so much he loves about the school, he can't get it all in to 200 words without genericizing it. He has narrowed his focus to three basic traits and was able to get more specific about those traits, comparing them to his personality.

KDCat · #**119** 12-27-2013, 01:00 PM

AGDee, you're doing such a great job with this process and your kids. I have a few years yet, but you're definitely schooling me on how it's done.

AGDee · #**120** 12-27-2013, 01:10 PM

He's trying a whole new approach to the Brown essay. Part of it sounded really stilted. It's funny- he did the same thing with the Common App essay at first. Then he scrapped the whole thing and did an essay that really expressed who he was.

Thanks KDCat. I'm trying to provide some guidance but not take over the process. This has to be HIS thing. These essays need to be HIS voice, but his true voice, not the voice of some scholar trying to convince an adcon that they should admit him. It's really hard to find that balance.