Anonymous wrote:Didn’t everyone have midterms and end of semester stuff ????

At my kid’s Catholic HS, midterm exams are 30% of the semester grade. 2nd quarter ends 2nd week of Dec with midterms 12/15 week.

Not even thinking of other apps until those are finished.

It worked out fine for older sib., doing additional apps over the 2 week Xmas break. We did not plan any trips.

FCPS: We have exams inc some finals (MV Calc is a half year class - still have an exam and the final left). Kid is also working on apps even though some were already finished (ED and EA).

Didn’t everyone have midterms and end of semester stuff ????

At my kid’s Catholic HS, midterm exams are 30% of the semester grade. 2nd quarter ends 2nd week of Dec with midterms 12/15 week.

Not even thinking of other apps until those are finished.

It worked out fine for older sib., doing additional apps over the 2 week Xmas break. We did not plan any trips.

I hope it turns out well for everyone. We were in your shoes last year. Our daughter applied to 9 schools, she's a planner, and was already accepted to 2 safeties before her ED came out. The fact she was accepted allowed her to relax somewhat as she knew she was wanted.

Her ED school has a 12% acceptance rate so the chances were low for her. She understood that and was prepared for a rejection. On ED day, there was a giant whoop of joy that came out of her room. She was so accepted.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting - I guess I’m the outlier here or maybe it’s the schools she’s applied to but the supplemental have been by far the most time consuming - they were all super specific so it wasn’t like she could re-use much from school to school. She ED’d and will likely get deferred or rejected so EA’d at the same time to a number of schools that she’d be really excited about.

I don’t understand what you’re thinking you’re an outlier about. Who is saying the supplementals aren’t the most time consuming? Most everything else (Common App essay, letters of rec, ECs, awards) are all recycled. Who is saying the opposite of that?

Anonymous wrote:DS applied to a reach that was his true #1 for ED. If he gets in, that will be exciting. If he doesn't, he's already working on writing the rest of his applications. Since it was a reach and not a target or safety, he's not expecting to be admitted.

+1

Hoping to get mostly done on other apps this week.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting - I guess I’m the outlier here or maybe it’s the schools she’s applied to but the supplemental have been by far the most time consuming - they were all super specific so it wasn’t like she could re-use much from school to school. She ED’d and will likely get deferred or rejected so EA’d at the same time to a number of schools that she’d be really excited about.

Same!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's a lot easier if you have other apps semi-ready to go.

But how do you get your child to work on RD apps over the next week without it seeming like 'My parents don't think I'm getting in to my ED'. I really hope they get in, but also want to be realistic knowing how rejective the school is.

We've approached it as a time management / project management situation. The supplemental essays are not as easy to recycle as DC thought they would be. Each school puts their own twist on things, so it takes time. Plus there have been extra essays (and early deadlines!) for some merit scholarships.

So it's not that we don't think DC will get in to their ED. It's that we (and DC) obviously know their odds are not 100%. So they need to be prepared just in case . . . .

DS applied to a reach that was his true #1 for ED. If he gets in, that will be exciting. If he doesn't, he's already working on writing the rest of his applications. Since it was a reach and not a target or safety, he's not expecting to be admitted.

DD is waiting on Dartmouth ED. She’s a great candidate but I’m sure there are lots of great candidates. I’ll be bummed for her if she doesn’t get in bc I know she wants to, but honestly she has a lot of great schools (all LACs) on her list, so I’m confident that things will turn out for the best.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting - I guess I’m the outlier here or maybe it’s the schools she’s applied to but the supplemental have been by far the most time consuming - they were all super specific so it wasn’t like she could re-use much from school to school. She ED’d and will likely get deferred or rejected so EA’d at the same time to a number of schools that she’d be really excited about.

The supplementals are absolutely more time consuming - or at least should be. In order to write a strong one, you usually need to do quite a bit of research about each school, tailor the essays, and often just write wholly new material. Even if it is the Why Major, you must have enough Why Us in there for it to work. People agonize over the personal statement, but they often overthink it. It can be about anything - the trick is finding the story/theme that allows for genuine self reflection. But once it's done, it's done and you can send it to every single school. The personal statement is about something you are an expert on - yourself, your feelings, your experiences, your growth, your hopes for the future. You can learn a great deal about yourself by writing it.

Interesting - I guess I’m the outlier here or maybe it’s the schools she’s applied to but the supplemental have been by far the most time consuming - they were all super specific so it wasn’t like she could re-use much from school to school. She ED’d and will likely get deferred or rejected so EA’d at the same time to a number of schools that she’d be really excited about.

Applied ED to a half target /reach school - the wait is so hard! I hope he gets in but also wish it wasn’t an ED as the other schools he is applying to are just as good and closer. He plans to keep doing more applications this weekend.

Anonymous wrote:I kept telling my DD not to have a dream school, even her ED choice, because admission process is cruel/unforgiving and colleges are businesses. She seems to be mentally prepared now to not get too dejected in three weeks if denied/deferred.

I kept dissing all the top school choices in equal proportions to keep DC from being fixated on a single school. Talked up those DC is likely going to get into. But that also involved not applying ED. We talked very positively whenever the safety and likely schools name came up. Ended up at a HYPSM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's a lot easier if you have other apps semi-ready to go.

But how do you get your child to work on RD apps over the next week without it seeming like 'My parents don't think I'm getting in to my ED'. I really hope they get in, but also want to be realistic knowing how rejective the school is.

This. Or alternatively, my kid really wanted to apply to Yale, but since it's highly unlikely, went with more likely ED school. I don't want him doing Yale supplementals (which look kind of fun) and get his head into that "maybe i should've tried Yale" space. Doesn't help that they keep sending us mailers either!

That is hard. My kid got into her dream ED1 school but still had that maybe I should have applied to Yale feeling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is awaiting an ED decision the first week in December. If he doesn’t get in, Christmas break will be rough with all the other applications. We are cautiously optimistic but it’s a very selective SLAC so the waiting is stressful.

Sounds like Midd. We’re waiting too.

Yup. Good luck!

Oooh, us too! Very nervous and not counting on it at all given the loooow admit rate. Working on other apps and trying not to think about it.