Anonymous wrote:This is slightly off topic...but does it occur to any of you that if your child has to take the SAT three times, maybe the previous scores were an accurate read. And maybe the schools your child can get into with those scores are places where they will do well and fit in (versus getting them into a stressful situation where they are in over their heads??)

Well, that's making the assumption that the reported scores of the schools they're applying to are mostly from non-superscored "one and done" kids. I seriously doubt that's the case.

Anonymous wrote:This is slightly off topic...but does it occur to any of you that if your child has to take the SAT three times, maybe the previous scores were an accurate read. And maybe the schools your child can get into with those scores are places where they will do well and fit in (versus getting them into a stressful situation where they are in over their heads??)

“Has to” and “wants to” are two different things.

I can really see why kids might feel they should cheat, because they keep getting the message that their best is just not good enough.

This is slightly off topic...but does it occur to any of you that if your child has to take the SAT three times, maybe the previous scores were an accurate read. And maybe the schools your child can get into with those scores are places where they will do well and fit in (versus getting them into a stressful situation where they are in over their heads??)

Anonymous wrote:Getting rolling on the essay was the hardest for my DD. Reading some great examples got the wheels turning.

https://apply.jhu.edu/application-process/essays-that-worked/

Thanks for posting this!

DD applied to two colleges when applications opened up on July 1. Coalition app opened for some schools on July 1 (not Virginia Tech though).

She will be applying to 4-5 more schools...will most likely finish 1 or 2 of those applications before school starts. I agree about getting the essays out of the way in the summer...she is doing to what she can this summer between her job and time with friends/boyfriend. She doesn't want to be worrying about all of the applications when school starts because she has a lot of APs this year so she wanted to get a few knocked out.

Finished tours, narrowed list to 3. Doesn’t want more than that at this point and 2 are EA.

Finished most of Common App except the school-specific parts. I tried to get him to work on essay, finally gave up and I know that will be worked on as part of English class in 1st quarter.

Took SAT 3 times over the last year. Sent scores to schools.

Asked for teacher recommendations in Spring, will follow up when school starts. Provided academic resume to each.

Completed student and parent questionnaires for his counselor recommendation.

DD has a draft common app essay written and will finalize before school begins
Taking SAT for a third time in August and doing some focused prep with a tutor
Has a near final list of 10 schools, will visit two of those schools in the Fall and tweak the list if needed
Downloaded all of the school-specific essay supplements and generating ideas for those
Has filled in portions of the Common App

This is our second time through the college process. The supplemental essays can become an issue. DD has already completed her most important summer activity and is using this "free" time in the summer to get much of the college apps done so that it doesn't interfere too much with school work.

Anonymous wrote:The common app questions were released like 8 months ago and did not change from last year.

Yes, my son took a course in June and wrote his essay during the course.

The common app questions were released like 8 months ago and did not change from last year.

Anonymous wrote:

We have two drafts of the common app essay done but still needs some work. We have also brainstormed ideas for all of the supplementals. We have finalized her college list of 6 colleges (1 reach, 2 matches, 3 safeties) We have started looking at institutional scholarships and the Total Cost of Attendance for all of the schools she is applying to. We are still awaiting ACT results from July to figure out the final superscore. She wants a superscore of 34.

Assuming you are the parent and not the student, you sound very involved in the process ("we have two drafts," "we have also brainstormed ideas"). You may want to let your child take more of the lead on this, as said child will be on their own next year and will need to know how to manage long-term projects in college.

This is all her own doing! She is very motivated and more worried about the college process than I am! It was her choice to work on the essays so early in the process, and she has made a whole spreadsheet of COA's, all on her own time. I'm just here to provide the numbers for financial aid and pay the application fees. She is doing all of the work by herself.

Mom of a DS entering college this year. At this stage he already had a couple drafts of his common app essay done. ACT done -- perfect score. Common app questions done. List of schools and strategy for application done.

To Do: School specific essays, coalition app (to apply to UMD as safety school).

Result: Admitted to all schools including first choice. Banner Key Scholarship (turned down) at UMD

Important note: He had a hired consultant keeping him on track. Worth every single penny.

Standardized tests: done
College visits: mostly done, 2-3 more before mid Aug
Essay: started to think about it, hopes to have a draft in the next couple of weeks.

The big issue is DC is, like many, on a varsity team in the fall, so once pre-season starts, there won't be much time for anything else beyond school obligations, so having though through and seen some ED/EA options and developing a strategy for the application process needs to happen and be essentially finished in the next couple of weeks.

The essay draft can be polished over time.

Anonymous wrote:We have two drafts of the common app essay done but still needs some work. We have also brainstormed ideas for all of the supplementals. We have finalized her college list of 6 colleges (1 reach, 2 matches, 3 safeties) We have started looking at institutional scholarships and the Total Cost of Attendance for all of the schools she is applying to. We are still awaiting ACT results from July to figure out the final superscore. She wants a superscore of 34.

we?

Anonymous wrote:How do we find out what the common app essay question is?

Easy to google, You won’t know the exact ones for this year, but there is alway a catchall and the questions are similar from year to year.