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Mrs. Aardvark
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 31st, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 69 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 31st, 2008 02:59 pm |
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Thanks for providing this helpful forum. I am a stay-at-home mom of two high school daughters, although I worked for a number of years in the software industry. We live in a suburb west of Boston, with a well respected high school.
I've have been combing the Internet and reading up on colleges for longer than I care to admit -- my older daughter is now a high school junior. She is looking forward to leaving for college, but less than enthusiastic about the road she needs to travel to get there. She is a good but by no means stellar student, so I fret a great deal about how she will do in the very competitive application process.
My younger daughter is a hs freshman, a strong student so (so far) I worry less about how her academics will stack up.
Having posted on "the other board," I recognize many of you. I've appreciated reading your posts and especially value Carolyn's knowledge, advice and thoughtfulness.
I am posting under a new name, as this will enable me to provide details that could otherwise identify me or my children if I used the name I have used on other forums.
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limner
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| Joined: | Sun Jul 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 809 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 31st, 2008 03:27 pm |
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Welcome, Mrs. A! There is depth and breadth to the knowledge on this board, and the members' kindness knows no bounds, so I'm sure that you'll find the answers you need and the camaraderie to ease your fretting.
My youngest, although it's a little early to tell, doesn't seem to have the same academic chops that my oldest (now a freshman in college) does. So I understand the fretting.
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outwest
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 552 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 31st, 2008 05:46 pm |
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Welcome. I replied to your interesting questions on the other thread. My middle didn't have the "academic chops" [so well put limner] that the oldest and youngest do, either. Her grades were excellent, but her scores were average and she was not allowed to take any APs at her high school because of her mediocre scores on tests. I did not fret. I realized that she had so many qualities that the other two didn't there was no reason to worry. She will be just as successful.
There are literally THOUSANDS of colleges in this country. I see you live in Boston. I think Boston must be a wonderful place to live, but coming from the NE you may have a skewed sense of the competitiveness of higher education? The Ivy's and the privates on steroids there must make everyone feel that there is a stressful rat race to commence. It does not have to be like that. Just go to the accepted thread and check out JocelynDads daughers results so far (and she still has another couple months of acceptances to go!). From the stats of your D on the other thread, I believe they may be similar to his D.
Also, the board CC truely needs to be looked at with a jaundiced eye. By reading the postings there everyone but my kid has a 2400 SAT and a 4.bazillion gpa. I post some on CC, but tire of all the talk about the top ten. There will be many wonderful choices for your D. Your job is to help her hunt them up. This board is so refreshing because there a real people here, with kids with real stats and some with those 2400's; just like real life. 
Last edited on Thu Jan 31st, 2008 05:54 pm by outwest
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Mrs. Aardvark
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 31st, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 69 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 31st, 2008 06:46 pm |
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| Yes, outwest, I did want to post on a board with more students with stats in line with my daughter's... Since it appears that adcoms everywhere are only too familiar with students from suburban Northeastern high schools, it is hard to see how my daughter will stand out in the crowd. So I am trying to think a bit outside of the box, although it remains to be seen what will actually appeal to my daughter's discerning eye, as it is difficult to find schools she is willing to consider. Last edited on Thu Jan 31st, 2008 06:46 pm by Mrs. Aardvark
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ellenrch
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| Joined: | Fri Aug 24th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 75 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 31st, 2008 09:19 pm |
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| Welcome from another Northeast mom who is almost to the end of the fretting process, thank goodness. We told our son he could consider state universities and private schools where he had a chance of getting merit aid. (My H is past retirement age.) This plan worked well for him, because he wanted only schools that offered journalism majors and the opportunity to study photography, too. In the end, these interests helped narrow his search considerably, to six schools, four of which are academic safeties (and two of those are financial safeties). There are lots of schools out there. But where we live, prestige is big. My son has high SAT scores and a pretty good GPA. People are sometimes surprised that he isn't aiming "higher." But every family is different, and for us, the finances do matter. It has been hard to keep my head on straight this past year. I'm glad to be a resource if you need one!
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1173 |
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Posted: Fri Feb 1st, 2008 03:59 pm |
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Welcome! You will find a wide variety of students represented here, from top students with high test scores to those of more modest accomplishments. What drew me to this board is the high level of acceptance no matter what your child's stats are.
Like Outwest said, there are thousands of colleges out there that will be within the range that your daughter is looking for, where she can get an excellent education that fits her needs. Our children are so much more than a list of stats!
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scoop
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| Joined: | Wed Oct 4th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 556 |
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Posted: Fri Feb 1st, 2008 06:39 pm |
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| Welcome. I have a junior daughter as well. My younger daughter is 10 and while bright, a very different student than her sister. I"ve learned a lot here.
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Deja
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| Joined: | Thu Apr 13th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 158 |
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Posted: Fri Feb 1st, 2008 09:04 pm |
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Welcome from the parent of another high school junior. I also have an older son, who is a senior at a state university, majoring in Computer Science (minoring in Business). His path through high school was quite a bit different from my middle son's, since my oldest has Asperger Syndrome and that has affected quite a lot of things in his life. (I also have a 5th grader.)
The college search will be much different for my middle son. He's not a 2400, 5.5 GPA kind of kid, but he's still a good student nonetheless, particularly since starting high school (unfortunately, those Bs from his high school credit courses taken in middle school are figured into his GPA so it's not as high as it could have been, but try telling an 11/12 year-old-boy in the midst of hormonal upheaval that he should get the A he is capable of).
We have told him that we will only commit to spending the amount that our (wonderful!) state schools cost, and that if he wants a private college, he must get merit aid. My dh owns his own business, and because of that we haven't been able to stockpile college money like we might have done had he stayed in a salaried job.
He took his SATs for the first time last Saturday (well, not counting the time he took the last administration of the old SAT when he was in 8th grade). He is signed up to take them again on March 1 (and then he will take them a final time next fall). From his PSAT scores he may do very well. We'll see...
He has a tentative list of colleges. He wants to major in Political Science and/or Economics. We haven't done the college tour that others do. Some places we will only see if he gets accepted.
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3216 |
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Posted: Fri Feb 1st, 2008 10:51 pm |
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Welcome, Mrs. A! Outwest stole the words from my mouth (she's a quick study ): There really are so many wonderful options, and your daughter is going to end up just fine.
I think the hardest thing for folks from the NE, however, is avoiding those "where is your kid applying?" conversations with the neighbors, relatives, shopkeepers, and the mailman. That can quickly stir up the pot of anxiety. So, my main advice would be this: when asked "the question" just say, "oh, she's looking at a bunch of different schools. We'll see how it all turns out" then turn the subject to anything BUT college admissions. And, encourage your daughter to do the same with her friends at school.
But, please feel free to come here any time you want to talk college. We're a pretty level bunch of folks here.
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Consolation
Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 483 |
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Posted: Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 08:40 pm |
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CarolynLawrence wrote: I think the hardest thing for folks from the NE, however, is avoiding those "where is your kid applying?" conversations with the neighbors, relatives, shopkeepers, and the mailman.
You are so right, Carolyn. It seems that "Where is your kid applying?" is the Northeastern version of the South's "Where do you go to church?"
I had such a conversation with an elderly friend the other day. Luckily, though, she responded to the list by giving me a pithy description of the many professional successes achieved by a 40ish friend and spouse, both of whom are graduates of my S's [not-so-safe] safety school! That's the kind of feedback that comforts a suffering parent. 
Welcome, Mrs. A!
Last edited on Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 08:41 pm by Consolation
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Mrs. Aardvark
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 31st, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 69 |
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Posted: Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 09:28 pm |
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Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome!
I must say that my experience of most of the people in my town is that they are considerate of families and the college search process. My daughter's crowd does not seem to be pushy about sharing plans and scores (perhaps one of the silver linings in the cloud of my daughter not being overly concerned about academics).
My concerns are all due to being a worrywart....
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