Parents of the Class of 2019

[Eureka]

Has she looked at Georgetown? It’s got Jesuit’s roots which I am surprised didn’t turn DS off honestly bc we are not religious, but everyone needs to take two religion and two philosophy classes which said he would find really interestingly.

stupid iPad keyboard is acting up. I didn’t mean interestingly, I meant interesting.

 

[Colleen27]

Has she looked at Georgetown? It’s got Jesuit’s roots which I am surprised didn’t turn DS off honestly bc we are not religious, but everyone needs to take two religion and two philosophy classes which said he would find really interestingly.

Georgetown was her top choice almost from the start, and was the reason she started looking specifically at Jesuit schools. She goes to a very small Catholic high school, and the smaller size and religious leaning of the Jesuit universities suit her even though we're not especially religious ourselves.

Georgetown remains her second-favorite prospect, behind Wellesley (the only non-Catholic university on her list), but it is even harder to get into so it doesn't make for a strong contender if she isn't admitted to Wellesley. As far as she's concerned, we're done looking... but right now, every school she's serious about has an acceptance rate below 20% so I'd be so much more comfortable if she had a fallback school she really liked. Hence looking at the less selective Jesuit schools like Fordham (and Loyola Chicago, which she did like).

 

[laughinplace199]

What did you think of Fordham? That's one of the schools on DD's list that we didn't get to, but that she's still entertaining visiting if she doesn't get in to her top choice early decision. It is quite a bit bigger than most of the schools she's really liked, but she's attracted to the Jesuit schools as a whole so size alone didn't cross it off the list.

We liked it, but didn't love it - the campus is beautiful but our tour guide was only ok. I always try to remain impartial when we don't get a great tour guide, but it really does influence the visit. Honestly, it felt a lot like BC, which is 15 min from our house - and we're touring there tomorrow.

Currently, Georgetown is DS's favorite, but he knows it's a long shot.

 

[Colleen27]

We liked it, but didn't love it - the campus is beautiful but our tour guide was only ok. I always try to remain impartial when we don't get a great tour guide, but it really does influence the visit. Honestly, it felt a lot like BC, which is 15 min from our house - and we're touring there tomorrow.

Currently, Georgetown is DS's favorite, but he knows it's a long shot.

I'm encouraging DD to tour BC when we're back in the area in Oct. for Wellesley's senior weekend. It is somewhat bigger than the schools she's really loved, but it hits her other points - major city/no need for a car, Jesuit, little/no Greek life, primarily residential. And selfishly, I like the idea of her going to school in/near Boston because I have family and a couple of long-time friends who live in the area so she'd have a safety net in case of emergency or just feeling overwhelmed and needing a place to step away and decompress.

One of my concerns with Fordham is the lower percentage of students living on campus. DD hasn't even looked at the Jesuit uni that my mother and I both attended (U of Detroit-Mercy) because it is mainly a commuter school and she'd rather be at a school where the campus is the center of student life. But I feel like maybe that would matter less in NYC than it does in a car-dependent place like Detroit.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, we packed DD off to Girls' State this week. It's going to be a very quiet week here.

 

[Eureka]

DS has been in Louisville for SkillsUSA Nationals this week. He comes home tomorrow but we found out he (and the rest of his Quiz Bowl team of course) won the silver medal! Second place in the country, baby! I am so proud and excited. Last year they also represented Maryland but didn’t place. (Quiz Bowl is similar to Jeopardy, btw)

 

[bjscheel]

DS has been in Louisville for SkillsUSA Nationals this week. He comes home tomorrow but we found out he (and the rest of his Quiz Bowl team of course) won the silver medal! Second place in the country, baby! I am so proud and excited. Last year they also represented Maryland but didn’t place. (Quiz Bowl is similar to Jeopardy, btw)

Awesome!

 

[mjkacmom]

School is over, Dd finished with just one B+ (AP Calc, she was thrilled), he second B+ ever. She received a 100% on her 15 page AP English/UPUSH capstone project which counted a lot towards her final grade. She’s on a plane to Orlando for dance nationals. I’m SO glad junior year is over, such a high pressure year.

 

[bjscheel]

My baby is home for a couple of weeks! She caught a ride home from camp Saturday. She's happy to be home but will be happy to return, too- now she has a bestie and a boyfriend up there! I'm glad she has found a best friend because that's something she hasn't had at school lately. Plus that girl will be going to college near us so they can continue to hang out now and then. The boyfriend, we'll see, they'll be 2.5 hours apart during the school year so that might not last. Even though she's getting along so well with everyone up there she's glad to have a break- 19 kids working and living together 24/7 is a lot different than home.

Yesterday we saw Hamilton on tour, on Wednesday we go to WDW. She's going to stick around next week so she can spend time with her Minnesota cousins. So it will be a very fun break for her.

 

[pooh4evr]

Hi everyone! My DD is also a 2019 grad.. I can't believe this! She had her cap and gown pictures already , and I confess I teared up a little seeing her in it. Whew where does the time go! We are in St. Louis, she's visited a few schools, right now her top choice is Kentucky (hard for a Mizzou family to hear!) We visit Mizzou in a couple of weeks. Right now she is interested in Journalism, maybe Strategic Communications, and Law. We have started the scholarship search this week, does anyone have a good website or scholarship search tool they recommend?

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi everyone! My DD is also a 2019 grad.. I can't believe this! She had her cap and gown pictures already , and I confess I teared up a little seeing her in it. Whew where does the time go! We are in St. Louis, she's visited a few schools, right now her top choice is Kentucky (hard for a Mizzou family to hear!) We visit Mizzou in a couple of weeks. Right now she is interested in Journalism, maybe Strategic Communications, and Law. We have started the scholarship search this week, does anyone have a good website or scholarship search tool they recommend?

Welcome from across the state! You'll have to live vicariously through my DD. She's pretty intent on going to Mizzou.

 

[mom2rtk]

We picked DD up from Girls' State on Saturday. She had gone into it unsure of why it was she had volunteered to give up a week of her summer. But dang, she sure came home enthusiastic about the experience. It was a week she'll remember the rest of her life. She was elected senator and got to travel to the Capitol and have a session in the Senate Chamber. She met so many girls from across the state with similar academic and professional goals. It was a great week for her. It also gave her some valuable insight into dorm life and what she'll be looking for in a residence hall.

Now back to work and tennis until school starts in right at 6 weeks. She wasn't happy to hear we got information on enrollment in the mail while she was gone. LOL.

 

[bjscheel]

Hi everyone! My DD is also a 2019 grad.. I can't believe this! She had her cap and gown pictures already , and I confess I teared up a little seeing her in it. Whew where does the time go! We are in St. Louis, she's visited a few schools, right now her top choice is Kentucky (hard for a Mizzou family to hear!) We visit Mizzou in a couple of weeks. Right now she is interested in Journalism, maybe Strategic Communications, and Law. We have started the scholarship search this week, does anyone have a good website or scholarship search tool they recommend?

I always recommend focusing on the local scholarships as there is a better chance of winning than the national scholarship search sites. Do Google searches for scholarships for your county/city/state/school/church & club affiliations and ask the guidance counselor. However, my DD19 did win a national one that we found on the Sallie Mae site that was $1500 freshman year and renewed at $1600 for sophomore. It was targeted to her major though so if you find more specific ones that helps. Google scholarships for her potential majors.

We're also signed up on Niche, Scholarship Owl, and Unigo I think. On occasion I'll throw DD's name in one of the no-essay drawings but mainly this just results in junk emails She has already done a couple of national essay ones from the sites and she'll probably do a few more but I'm not counting on her winning any of those.

When the senior recognition article came out in the local paper this May, I made a list of all the scholarships this year's seniors won so I can be sure to have DD check them all out. For DD19, the guidance counselor did make sure she got most of the local apps but sometimes not until the day before the due date.

These smaller scholarships do add up and help, DD19 has won $6850 from outside scholarships and her college's foundation. At community college that goes a long way. But at a 4 year, your biggest help is usually going to come from merit from the college itself. Those local ones are usually one-time, small amounts that help with freshman year so you need a school that is affordable without them. Also, once they are at college, check on the school's scholarships for continuing students. At DD's cc you can apply every semester for a foundation scholarship with a common app. I think at other schools it's annual.

 

[bjscheel]

We picked DD up from Girls' State on Saturday. She had gone into it unsure of why it was she had volunteered to give up a week of her summer. But dang, she sure came home enthusiastic about the experience. It was a week she'll remember the rest of her life. She was elected senator and got to travel to the Capitol and have a session in the Senate Chamber. She met so many girls from across the state with similar academic and professional goals. It was a great week for her. It also gave her some valuable insight into dorm life and what she'll be looking for in a residence hall.

I'm pretty sure at some colleges' sites I've seen automatic scholarships offered for Boys & Girls State participants, so that's something to keep in mind.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm pretty sure at some colleges' sites I've seen automatic scholarships offered for Boys & Girls State participants, so that's something to keep in mind.

Thanks! I appreciate you mentioning that. She's on it already. That's one of the things she told us all about on our drive home. So she's going to be watching for those. Some schools are still selective in offering, some others give them automatically.

 

[pooh4evr]

Welcome from across the state! You'll have to live vicariously through my DD. She's pretty intent on going to Mizzou.

That's hilarious! We are visiting Mizzou on the 20th, I hope she'll give it a shot at least and be open to it.

 

[mom2rtk]

That's hilarious! We are visiting Mizzou on the 20th, I hope she'll give it a shot at least and be open to it.

What a shame if she's interested in journalism and doesn't go to Mizzou! We did a tour a couple months ago and it really just cemented her decision. She's our 3rd, but so far nobody has gone to Mizzou. We had one graduate from Rolla last year, but that's as close as we got. My husband is planning trips to campus for football games already. We'll have to see how it goes. If she can get the ACT up a couple more points, we might come across the state to check out Washington University, then maybe on up to Chicago to visit Northwestern.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DD received notice of “priority registration” from Tulane. Basically, she can apply for no application fee (no guarantee she’s in) and start working on merit based scholarships.

 

[StephMK]

We visited NC State last week and are headed out on Thursday to tour several schools on our long and winding way back home. We are seeing several different types of schools so I'm curious to see if DS finds one that feels like a good fit.

It's crazy to think that this time next year we'll be buying our last set of dorm supplies and planning for orientation.

 

[Lynne G]

Bite your tongue StephMK. LOL $12,000 for just room and board. Sigh. And she's my youngest. At least it gives us a year, to double save up, though we have another already, her DB, starting 3rd year in college. Money train has not left the station anytime soon. But, quiet house will have some time to get used to. Sad and happy.

DD is working 2 jobs for 8 weeks, then I'm rewarding her with a trip for her 17th birthday, right before school starts. And senior pictures will be ordered, they were taken in June. Senior year will fly by, I'm sure.

Good luck for all those having college visits. We thought the one we had was done so well, that others may not be, and we have 2 more to look at.

Sounds like all are having a great summer. Nice to hear what all our rising seniors are doing.