Well, hello everyone! :P

Hello! How are you?

wassup!!! how's texas?

Not seen you in a while - what happened?

Dissolving Flu

Welcome back

Disinterest in Nation States...

But I've checked on the forums every now and then...

Thanks.

Hot and rainy (and unfortunately not at the same time).

I...don't...get...it??

:unsure:

I'm fine. Just loving this new stress from school. -sarcasm-

Anything new with RSN?

Nothing whatsoever. It's all social right now.

Social's good...

...at least that's something keeping it going. :(

Yeah, it's funny, none of us really posted all summer long, but were having quite a nice revival for the past few weeks. :)

I take it the IDU isn't doing anything at all?

well done mal - thats good powerposting.

They are...as people start to return (some of the 'elders'), things are starting to slowly get back together. We're having elections soon and we're working on completing the new Election Commission panel, soooo...it's something.

Although overall participation still isn't what it used to be at our peak...I haven't posted over there in a while -- just observed.

Well, that's a good thing. Our board has been pretty stable on and off, we've still got the core posters, but our actual region has plummeted to around 30...(it was around 80 at this time last year, iirc...)

80's a pretty good number...that was our record for most members.

We got up over 100 around Founder's Day last year, sustained it for a bit, but unfortunately didn't get many new active members of the forum, which sucked. Better to have 30 nations with 6 or 7 active members than 100 nations with 4 or 5 active members.

agreed... its ok now, but agree with alyss that the board needs downsizing...

Yeah, it certainly wouldn't hurt to downsize a bit. We post mainly in two or three sections anyway...

its just gd and ga atm... and hang onto sports and the embassies our of courtesy, but strim down sports too...

yeah we don't really need elections or government offices or any of that garbage...

ANARCHY!!!!!

yeah mal i know whatcha mean with all of that. i'm ready for summer already.

we could indeed just strip out all government and have alyss as admin. I think that'd be fine.

Yeah, but then I have college to worry about.

don't we all...

you've already done it... so shhhh

i'm in the middle of my college essay right now, matter of fact. so lame. so BS. so crappy. but how can you make a college essay not lame? it's impossible.

this application process sucks - i wish they could make it easier.

Ugh, I haven't even started my essay yet, I'd really like to get all my apps out by the end of November (most of the deadlines are 1/1), because I'm switching guidance counselors yet again at the end of November (I'm on my third counselor in three years right now, my original counselor retired, and the one I had last year is on maternity leave, so her sub is leaving when she gets back, but since I haven't talked to her since last year, I'd really prefer that the sub, who is shockingly competent, be the person dealing with helping me get my apps out.)

So yeah. Basically, I'm screwed.

I had to do my college essay as an English assignment (along with my Resume and Teacher Recommendation Request Letter). I actually like what I had as my first draft, but I think I needed to add more detail. The topics are lame and rehashed, sure, but you can make it work. What was your's about? I wrote about an experience that proved that diversity was important.

Oh and there ARE applications called 'Snap APPs' where you don't have to fill out an essay, resume, teacher recommendation, etc...I think you have to be selected by the college. I know Baylor sent me one that would've waived all of those...so that's helpful.

:o!!

So I'm not the ONLY one that thinks counselors are incompetent? xDDD

I haven't had a correct schedule in my four years at my school, including no schedule at all in 9th grade. I've had two counselors, one I had an intense dislike towards and then now my current one. No one, other then the head conselor (who is really nice and I wish was my conselor), knows what they're doing!! I was once put into a girls PE...it's that bad.

Most deadlines are in January? I thought it was February...

mal that sounds nice... i wish brown would do that!

lol I have a very similar story. my counselor (who was really nice but had an IQ under 10) left after last year... so i got a new one this year. she does know me (from the over 300 students she is a counselor for...), but not very well. and guess what - she's leaving at the beginning of november b/c she's having a baby. great timing!!!! crap! so now the counselor writing my rec will be someone who has no clue who i am? my 3rd counselor in a year? geez...

mal i totally agree as well. my schedule is always screwed up.

yeah all my deadlines are 1/1 or 1/15.

you guys make iyt seem so hard... its a piece of piss...

Mal--deadlines depend on the school. Most of mine look to be between 1/1 and 1/15, with the financial aid deadlines throughout February and March. Those are pretty early though.

And my original counselor, like Win's, was one of the most airheaded people I ever met. Seriously. I know someone who didn't get into a school because this particular counselor didn't mail out her transcript in time. We're supposed to mail in all of our apps through the school, but my God they make it difficult to trust them.

And utract, this is a very stressful time, we're all applying to competitive schools, and every student has the same great grades and god test scores. For me, it's my essay and my recs that are going to set me apart, so that's why I'm stressing about them.

Despite what you might have heard, thats not really true, at least for the schools I'm looking at. Basicially any school on this list: Notre Dame, Boston College, UVA, Georgetown, Cal Berkley, and Princeton, as well as most of the other schools that I've talked with my uncle (some big wig at college board) all say those are important admissions factors but there not really... The only thing that is imporant is if you have bad recs or essays. Every good student can get a teacher that liked them to give them a good reccomendation, and colleges arent supprised when they get great recs. What sets you appart is if you get a bad one since not many good students have teachers that would give them bad reccomendations, and if there are, they should at least be smart enough not to ask them for one. Same thing with essays...if theyre good there not really considered, but if theyre bad, your out.

I'm applying to mostly very small liberal arts colleges, SA. The schools you listed are good, they're just very different, so they look at different things.

Also, BC AND Notre Dame?? Lame...

I realize that, but all of my deadlines are 2/1...weird. Baylor, UT, and Tech all require the same. Maybe it's just a Texas thing.

Lol Mal. Maybe January is a New England thing. :P

all you gotta do is turn up for interview and be yourself - they'll decide if they like you, no point in loosing sleep over it/

Not all schools do interviews, unfortunately...