Why the...parental pressure? For one thing, at each of the campus tours we took, the Admissions Office made sure to highlight the fact that they tend to select a large portion of their Freshman class from these Fall submissions...and consider them for the full range of potential scholarship monies as well. (C'mon, say it with me--cha-ching!) Furthermore, let's face it, Senior year isn't going to get any easier, the deeper into it you get--not with 3 challenging AP courses on your plate, anyway. And finally...wouldn't you just prefer to find out how you stand--one way or the other--sooner rather than later?
With these compelling (says me) arguments in mind--and also because it's no secret that I'm...super-obsessively...organized (notice how I'm using the most positive spin?) even if my son isn't...I organized a Word document for Derek, listing the due dates and required materials for each of the schools he'd selected. (I know, I know, "Of COURSE you did!" And also, "Aren't you coddling the teenager? Shouldn't he really be doing this himself?" And I reply: "Yes...and yes." And in my defense....ish...I've already copped to the Type A personality, right? So I kind of can't help myself. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...)
Besides, in theory, Derek should totally have his act together...since I'd dragged him along with me to the High School's Senior Parent Information Night in September. When I informed him he'd be accompanying me, you should have seen the flabbergasted look on his face. His voice rising incredulously, he sputtered, "You mean...I have to GO to that?" My rationale was something along the lines of, "It'll do you good to actually hear the presentation yourself, rather than me coming home and just telling you about it." (Which I'm sure he'd vastly prefer, but at least he had the sense to refrain from saying it...out loud...)
Aaaaannnd, you can probably guess that I got quite a bit out of it--as my copious notes attest--but he didn't retain many of the pertinent facts. Mostly he sat beside me and produced a steady stream of smart-aleck comments under his breath, causing me to shush him repeatedly so I could pay attention. (Sigh...I swear, how is it that sometimes our beloved almost-adult children can seem to be 17...going on 4?)
Oh well..at the very least, it prompted him to seriously ponder his pool of desirable universities--and even chat with some of his buddies who are in the same...pre-collegiate boat, if you will. For example, Derek relayed a very useful tidbit from Mac--namely that NC State requires you to apply to a specific major, rather than a general studies track. Also notable, Mac reminded us that State is known for several specialties (among them, Engineering, Architecture, and Veterinary Sciences)...and therefore, if you don't happen to want to do any of these things, you might not be happy there.
Sounds like the basis for quite a thoughtful and mature conversation, doesn't it? Would you like to hazard a guess as to how Derek actually conveyed this newfound intel to me? He'd just come home one evening from working a shift at Subway...and was headed to the shower when he bumped into me in the hallway and shared his NC State revelations. After getting all of that out in somewhat of a rush, he paused and grinned, "But we can talk about this more later. Because I probably shouldn’t be making any important college decisions... at 11:30 p.m…in my underwear!" (Um...it probably goes without saying, but I completely agree...)
Anyway, the result of these and other discussions was that a few institutions disappeared from the Master List, one was added, and the final tally came to: 7 (of which only 2 of them needed to be completed by October 15th, as I previously mentioned). However, did I leave out the fact that the applications generally become available around August 1st? I'll give you, oh, one guess as to how much effort Derek put in...before the school term began? Or, in September? That's right, WHY NOT wait until less than 2 weeks before all of the pieces are due, and THEN start thinking about preparing your writing samples, filling out the online demographic data, requesting letters of recommendation from teachers, gathering transcripts and counselor statements, and forwarding standardized test scores? (Seriously, dude, are you TRYING to drive your mother out of her ever-loving mind? 'Cuz it's working!)
Ay yi yi. The good news/bad news of the situation is that UNC is one of the first up....and also by FAR the most rigorous application among Derek's choices. So...he'll be hustling to wrangle all the parts in time...but then he can relax when it's finished? Fortunately, the only other one due right now is the more southern of the Carolinas...which has waaaaay less stringent demands. He can't exactly take too much of a breather, though, as a couple more of his schools have November 1st Early Action dates. And then--whoo hoo--he has the entire month of November to get the final 3 turned in--which by that point should be a piece o'cake, yeah? (Fingers most definitely crossed...)
Whew! The upshot is: someone has a LOT to do in the next fortnight or so...which realistically I expect will also involve me, in some kind of support capacity--even if only to enter the credit card details for each university's application fee! Hmmm...come to think of it, I feel like I'd better check what I wrote down from that presentation last month, as I vaguely recall something about a form I'm supposed to complete, describing my child, so the counseling department can familiarize themselves with him before sending references to colleges, blah blah blah. Oops--looks like I have some homework of my own to do, to keep this process moving forward! Sooooo, I guess we'll suck it up and suffer together...Mother/Son bonding, here we come....yaaaaayyyy...
Aaaaannnd, you can probably guess that I got quite a bit out of it--as my copious notes attest--but he didn't retain many of the pertinent facts. Mostly he sat beside me and produced a steady stream of smart-aleck comments under his breath, causing me to shush him repeatedly so I could pay attention. (Sigh...I swear, how is it that sometimes our beloved almost-adult children can seem to be 17...going on 4?)
Oh well..at the very least, it prompted him to seriously ponder his pool of desirable universities--and even chat with some of his buddies who are in the same...pre-collegiate boat, if you will. For example, Derek relayed a very useful tidbit from Mac--namely that NC State requires you to apply to a specific major, rather than a general studies track. Also notable, Mac reminded us that State is known for several specialties (among them, Engineering, Architecture, and Veterinary Sciences)...and therefore, if you don't happen to want to do any of these things, you might not be happy there.
Sounds like the basis for quite a thoughtful and mature conversation, doesn't it? Would you like to hazard a guess as to how Derek actually conveyed this newfound intel to me? He'd just come home one evening from working a shift at Subway...and was headed to the shower when he bumped into me in the hallway and shared his NC State revelations. After getting all of that out in somewhat of a rush, he paused and grinned, "But we can talk about this more later. Because I probably shouldn’t be making any important college decisions... at 11:30 p.m…in my underwear!" (Um...it probably goes without saying, but I completely agree...)
Anyway, the result of these and other discussions was that a few institutions disappeared from the Master List, one was added, and the final tally came to: 7 (of which only 2 of them needed to be completed by October 15th, as I previously mentioned). However, did I leave out the fact that the applications generally become available around August 1st? I'll give you, oh, one guess as to how much effort Derek put in...before the school term began? Or, in September? That's right, WHY NOT wait until less than 2 weeks before all of the pieces are due, and THEN start thinking about preparing your writing samples, filling out the online demographic data, requesting letters of recommendation from teachers, gathering transcripts and counselor statements, and forwarding standardized test scores? (Seriously, dude, are you TRYING to drive your mother out of her ever-loving mind? 'Cuz it's working!)
Ay yi yi. The good news/bad news of the situation is that UNC is one of the first up....and also by FAR the most rigorous application among Derek's choices. So...he'll be hustling to wrangle all the parts in time...but then he can relax when it's finished? Fortunately, the only other one due right now is the more southern of the Carolinas...which has waaaaay less stringent demands. He can't exactly take too much of a breather, though, as a couple more of his schools have November 1st Early Action dates. And then--whoo hoo--he has the entire month of November to get the final 3 turned in--which by that point should be a piece o'cake, yeah? (Fingers most definitely crossed...)
Whew! The upshot is: someone has a LOT to do in the next fortnight or so...which realistically I expect will also involve me, in some kind of support capacity--even if only to enter the credit card details for each university's application fee! Hmmm...come to think of it, I feel like I'd better check what I wrote down from that presentation last month, as I vaguely recall something about a form I'm supposed to complete, describing my child, so the counseling department can familiarize themselves with him before sending references to colleges, blah blah blah. Oops--looks like I have some homework of my own to do, to keep this process moving forward! Sooooo, I guess we'll suck it up and suffer together...Mother/Son bonding, here we come....yaaaaayyyy...
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