A Mid-summer’s Reality Check

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August is the time, according to all the specialists, to get a jumpstart on all the stressful tasks that define senior year. 
After a major research study, the Neurotic Parent Institute has created two different checklists for rising seniors, one for each gender.
 
August To-do List for Girls:
1. Finalize college list
2. Download Common App
3. Complete rough drafts of three short and three long essays
4. Set up appointment with college counselor for essay feedback
5. Contact teachers to ask for recommendations
6. Write thank you notes to above teachers
7. Take weekly SAT II practice exams
8. E-mail college admissions officers with well-researched questions about potential majors
9. Organize fundraiser to benefit Tanzanian AIDs orphans
10. Shop for college interview wardrobe
Most girls we know are well on their way to completing the tasks outlined on the above list, so they will be able to focus on their challenging senior year courseloads and SAT retakes.
 
Here is the August To-do List for Boys, which demands as much as they can reasonably handle:
1. Turn on computer
2. Download Common App
3. Take a break and go to the beach – Why stress now? That's what December is for.
 
 

Questions from Readers

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Q: Is it true that you have a deal to turn this blog into a book?

A: Yes.  It will be published on March 2nd.  And if GC is still waiting for admissions decisions, I will have to appear on the Colbert Report with a fake moustache. 

 

Q: Wow, that's exciting.  Will we have to read endless blog posts that we have already seen, or will the book include new material?

A: There will be plenty of new, depressing reasons why you should worry about your kid getting into college.  But because I'm not great with deadlines, there will be a lot of tried and trued stuff as well…even some of your comments.

 

Q: I am a major celebrity.  Can I write a blurb for your book?

A: As long as you don't expect me to help your kid get into college. 

 

Q: Are you planning to reply to the Tiger Scholarship Mom, who left a comment the other day?

A: You bet.  She made some great points – what's wrong with making your daughter write 67 essays if that helps her win all of her tuition money?  I am hoping that she will share some hints with us.  And maybe I can get her to help proofread.

 

 

 

Baristas/Scholarships

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Nothing like the lazy days of summer to prove that a college education is not worth it.  Most of the kids we know are slaving away at internships, most earning nothing, and some extremely lucky ones taking home $9 an hour. Meanwhile, recent grads are competing for barista positions all over the nation.  One very bright and talented Barnard girl we know had FOUR interviews, including one with the owner, before she was finally hired to prepare coffee in Chelsea. 
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So, if you're planning to send your kid to college, maybe you should force your student to apply for zillions of scholarships.  Here is a report by a Tiger Scholarship Mom, whose daughter received seven merit awards, and has now exceeded her cost of attendance.  I'm imagining the lucky gal wearing an outfit from Kohls, enjoying a burrito dinner on her loftbed (just three scholarships on her enticing list – do you win goods/merchandise in addition to funds for schools?)
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If you read the following College Confidential thread carefully, it sounds as if the poster's daughter has also won some sort of lottery.  I wish I could find out, and also report how many essays this girl was forced to write, but I'm too lazy to do the research.  Any (unpaid) interns out there willing to help?
Old 06-07-2011, 10:33 PM   #1
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 102
Scholarships Applied To List
Hi,
I was asked to share the list of Scholarships my DD applied to so here they are:
All Media NY Writing Scholarship
Alvin Cox Memorial Fund Scholarship
American Fire & Sprinkler Association
American Public Health Association Get Ready
Ashley Marie Easterbrook Scholarship
Asian & Pacific Islander American
AXA Achievement Scholarship
Best Buy Scholarship
Brandon Goodman Scholarship
Body by Milk Sammy Scholarship
Burger King Scholarship
C. G. Fuller Foundation Scholarship – SC Only
Charles L. Cummins/Mae B. Wham – LOCAL
CIP Scholarship – Spring 2011
CIP Scholarship – Fall 2010
Federated Women's Club – LOCAL
Kiwanis Club – LOCAL
Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
Doing Good Scholarship
Elks National Foundation MVS Award
ESA Foundation Scholarship
Freedom in Academia Scholarship
Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program
Horatio Alger Scholarship
ISSA Foundation Scholarship
Jane E. Hunter Scholarship – OHIO or SC
Janice M. Scott Memorial Fund
Jimmy Rane Foundation Scholarship – NC,SC, GA,AL,OK,MO,NE, AR,TN,LA,MS, FL, KY,TX
Kate Herzog Writing Awards
Kennedy Foundation
KFC Scholars Program
Kittie Moss Fairey Educational Fund Scholarship – Must Attend SC College
Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program
Leopold-Schepp Foundation Scholarship
Lowes Scholarship
M.A. Lee Foundation
McAlister Foundation Scholarship – LOCAL
Mercer Silas Bailey Memorial – LOCAL
OCA-AXA Asian Pacific American
OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Minority
OP Loftbed Scholarship
RMHC-ASIA Scholarship Program
Sam Walton Community Found Scholarship
Scottish Rite Masonic Shepherd Scholarship
Share Your Story Scholarship
Simon Youth Foundation Scholarship
South Carolina Sheriff’s Association – SC
South Carolina State Fair Scholarship – SC
Strom Thurmond Foundation – SC
Sun Trust Off to College – Every Two Weeks
TG Charley Wootan Grant – Outside Texas
US Bank Internet Scholarship
USA Funds Access to Education Scholarship
Wendy’s National Heisman Award Scholarship
William Orr Dingwall Asian Ancestry Grant
Winthrop University CLOSE Scholarship – College Based
Youth Foundation Hadden Scholarship
9 Beans and a Burrito Foundation Scholarship
Abbott and Fenner Scholarship
Big Sun 2011 Scholarship
Breylan Communications Scholarship
Directron.com Scholarship
Dowd and Guild Scholarship
ICBC Lawyers Scholarship

Hope that helps!
Take Care,
Lisa
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Old 06-14-2011, 07:20 PM   #2
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Wow! Thank you very much! This was very helpful. I'm a soon-to-be senior and although I was aware of a decent number of these scholarships, there are so many on here that I didn't know existed. Any thoughts from the applying/awarding of the scholarship process as to which of the scholarships seemed to be the "favorites" (most amount of money awarded, easiest to complete application for, and most fun to apply for)?
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Old 06-21-2011, 07:32 PM   #3
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Oh my… Is this a normal amount of scholarships to apply to? I've applied to one so far and that took me about a week to complete.

How many did she get out of these?
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Old 06-22-2011, 10:54 PM   #4
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She won 7 of them and18 of them are still pending but it doesn't really matter anymore because she exceeded her cost of attendance and now they are taking away from her SC Life scholarship (lottery money) & Federal SEOG. I have an appointment with one to see if they can wait and send the check next year when she would actually be able to benefit from it. We declined one because she no longer had a need for this school year and felt since the funds for it was limitted that we'd rather someone else get it that still had need for this coming year.

She applied to 1 scholarship each week all of the past school year and 3 per week while school was out. I did all the searching and kept up with dates for her so literally just handed her which one to do next.
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Old 06-23-2011, 03:24 PM   #5
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wow thank you so much! Your daughter is very lucky to have you help her with scholarship searches!  Can you share which numbers she used for the lottery?

Prelude to Empty Nesting

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After we put GC on a plane to his summer program, Mr NP and I set off on one of our first childless vacations ever – a summer respite at a spa in the mountains.  Which mountains?  The ones in the state where CJ attends college, of course.  That way, after three days of restorative romantic alone time, we could return to the joys of parenthood.  So here we are at our favorite hotel in CJ's college town, waiting for our son to wake up so we can help him put his belongings in storage after his stint at summer school because he's going abroad for the fall semester.  We thought we could make ourselves useful doing laundry and taping boxes, but it seems we only need to wash two towels (the other four are missing), one sheet and one duvet cover.  And the schlepping will involve just a few books, a fridge, a t.v. (which he somehow acquired without purchasing) and a floor lamp.

Everything else is already packed in two medium-sized duffles.  In fact, it was never unpacked after spring semester.  CJ has survived the summer semester in an apartment on campus with no tempurpedic pad ("it fell apart") no clip-on reading light, no message board, no shower caddy, no pop-up hamper, no tool kit.  Virtually all of the supposedly-essential items that we enthusiastically purchased for him when he started on this journey two years ago have disappeared, and our son has embraced the Simple Life.

Parents of rising freshmen take note: Donate your BB&B coupons to the homeless, purchase two towels, give your kid a hug and head to the mountains.

The Calm Before the Storm

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School has been out for almost two weeks now.  And, before all the internships, summer programs and application bootcamps begin, GC and his friends have transformed themselves into happy, healthy stress-free teens. 

Their activities:

- a 3-hour night scavenger hunt, organized by two of the girls. 

- Trampoline World

- daily basketball (although GC is now on the injured list)

- reading (!)

- documentary night

- foreign film night

- Magic Mountain

- beach day

- cooking dinner for each other

The boys are rested, surprisingly talkative and…mature (!)  And the girls are fascinating and adorable.  Make that stunning.  How to preserve this bliss?  Why can't Good Clean Summer Fun be an accepted extracurricular?