Parents of Juniors - how is it going?
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Anonymous
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Now that mine are done - one in college, another heading to her ED college in the Fall - wanted to check in to see how y'all are doing.
Lots and lots of great information on this site. Is your DC planning visits, getting a feel for the basics like urban/rural/large/small, researching majors, deciding where/how to demonstrate interest, scheduling AO interviews if offered or finding out when those open, prepping for SAT/ACT, asking teachers for LOR's, thinking about main essay and supplemental essay ideas, creating a resume, researching costs, getting a sense of where/what their admissions chances are etc etc I wish you all the best and I know there are many on this site that feel the same! |
Anonymous
| I’m a little depressed that once my kids are settled in colleges, that I will still be here asking about college stuff. |
Anonymous
Are they supposed to be asking for LOR's now (spring of junior year?) My son knows of 4 schools he wants to apply to, only two require LORs--and both require two LORs. Purdue (engineering) and Colorado School of Mines. He has 3 teachers he is considering asking. Does he just ask for a "generic" LOR that can be copied for multiple applications? |
Anonymous
| I assumed OP was asking about college juniors since this was in the college forum. What a weird post. |
Anonymous
I would say start to plan which teachers to ask, and yes definitely ask them by late Spring. They may not write them until the Fall, but it's best to ask early as teachers get swamped with requests, and some end up limiting the number they will write. No don't ask for a generic LOR. (You will likely never see the LOR - they are meant to be confidential just between the teacher/counselor and the schools. You counselor will send them to the schools, not you). Just the opposite. The LOR plus the guidance counselor rec are critical pieces of the application. AO's value what teachers/counselors have to say about a student, and not in a generic way. Your DC can approach the teachers in person, ask if they would be willing to write a LOR for them, Your DC could then send a brief email thanking them in advance, and in the email talk about why the class has meant a lot to them, give an example or two of what resonated and why. Teachers will likely include that so write it with that understanding. AO's want to get a picture of who this applicant is, other than their stats. How they are as a student, how they are valuable to the school/learning community. LOR's help them see that. The more your DC can provide to the teacher, and also you as a parent (often via the "brag sheet"), the better. If your DC applies to rolling admissions schools once the Common App opens on Aug 1st - most of them do not require LOR's or transcripts (self report) - heads up that you can do that and it feels great to have an acceptance early, sometimes even before the school year begins. Good luck! |
Anonymous
Our college freshman asked his teachers for LORs in May of his Junior year, they said yes. Then in August he followed up with them via email and included his brag sheet (this is a template from guidance) and let them know where he was applying. The teachers took it from there. |
Anonymous
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One and done with the ACT September of Junior year. Grades good. He has done a few college tours and visited many others.
It’s pretty chill. He has had 2 meeting s with high school college counselor and we (the parents) had our meeting with him. The school has outlined the process for us and things seem well planned. They just signed up for next year’s courses. |
Anonymous
You see nothing on this forum from parents about the college app process? Forum is only about those already in college? No |
Anonymous
| Overall, she's in good shape. Question about the LORs ... do they have to be from a core subject? DD's favorite teacher is her AP Psych teacher. I know she'd write a good one. |
Anonymous
Sounds like you are in good shape. Hope it goes well! |
Anonymous
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My suggestion is the same one I always have is if you are applying for EA or to a rolling admissions school, apply early. That means before junior year ends, make sure the student has asked the teacher for the LOR and included a “resume” type of document and let the teacher know you’d like it by the first 2 weeks of school starting (that way you have that taken care of before the teacher is swamped with other things) and that you’ve talked to the counselor to get a transcript with gpa, class rank, etc. as soon as it’s available.
Getting ahead of as many tasks was helpful for my dd this year. She had a couple of essays already written by the time junior year ended and she spent time in July working on edits so that on August 1st, she was ready to start her common application. |
Anonymous
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Grades are in good shape (4.0/3.7)
We've done some college tours to see what he wants in a school (bigger school, close to/in a bigger city.) No idea on major. It waffles from psychology to engineering to computer science (I am not worried about this at all.) Taking SATs in a few weeks (and will determine if he is going to take them again in the early summer.) We've talked about teachers he can ask for recommendations. He will ask this spring. Plan is for him to work on essays this summer so he can apply early fall. Hopefully, he will do this without much argument (he is going to be working 30-40 hrs/week.) He isn't applying to top schools so we aren't too stressed about the whole process. |
Anonymous
+1 good advice |
Anonymous
I certainly won't be once both are through! But I will be in the years between (mine are spread further than that 2-3yr typical) |
Anonymous
Nice - sounds like all is well. You probably know this already but my kid was interested in engineering too. Encouraged him to go to a school that offered everything not just engineering. Accepted into an engineering program, but now switching to something completely different. They change... |