As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Mary Ann, DD's best friend from high school went to Clemson, primarily because she got a great academic scholarship. Her parents were upper middle class and Clemson made a very generous offer to her.
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Well, DS found out that his #1 choice is a No.
He got a letter yesterday from the last school, dated Dec 8, telling him they were going over his application, so I guess there won't be a decision from them yet. Its not likely we'll send him to this school anyway, as way more expensive than his other choices. Though it's the one I liked the best.
We went through this last year and will be doing it again next year, so I'm glad for a break this year . My oldest DD got accepted to all that she applied to, then the big decision was which to choose, because she didn't have a favorite. Hopefully it will go as well the next time around!
He got a letter yesterday from the last school, dated Dec 8, telling him they were going over his application, so I guess there won't be a decision from them yet. Its not likely we'll send him to this school anyway, as way more expensive than his other choices. Though it's the one I liked the best.
Sorry your DS didn't get his first choice . That happended to my DD's BFF and it can be heartbreaking. The good news is she absolutely loves where she ended up at! I wish the same for your DS.
[QUOTE=krisk11;3511856]Good luck to your dd. Although only a sophomore my dd is starting to compile her list of colleges she is going to try to attend (all must have a d1 hockey team) and Boston College is 3rd down on my dd's list.[/QUOTE]
I'm an alumni of Boston College, so I can attest to the fabulosity of the school! One of the best things about the college is the feeling of community on campus, not to mention the fantastic labs they have in their science buildings. But, I don't think this is DD's first choice. Plus, they sent an email out to all early action candidates stating that due to a record number of applicants, they are running behind and they hope to get the decisions out by Christmas instead of today.
At least MIT is sticking with their December 16, 9pm deadline for decisions. (I don't hold a lot of hope for this one, but it's good to have a dream, right?)
Hidden Mickey, I'm sorry your DS didn't get in to his first choice. My DD had applied early decision to her first choice (Princeton), was deferred and then rejected. She did, however, get in to her new first choice, Brown, which was a much better match for her. She has since said she should have applied to Brown ED because it was really her first choice. Also don't rule out private or high tuition schools. My kids got the best financial aid from some of the most expensive schools.
My middle son got a deferred admission to Cornell and went to University of Rochester, planning to accept the admission to Cornell the following year. In the meantime, he found he fit in well at Rochester, which had a heavy science emphasis and minimal requirements, and spent some time with friends at Cornell and decided it was really way too big for him. He graduated happily from Rochester.
Joanne, I too, went to BC for undergrad. While I had a great time, I think the school is too big for lots of kids. And they do not meet need for financial aid.
Good luck at MIT. Another one of DD's good friends went there as well as a close friend of my first son. They both did well but they were not your average kid, not only in terms of intellectual prowess, but in terms of personality. Sometimes, I think rejections come for a good reason.
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As the mom of twins who are seniors in high school, we are knee deep in the process.
My son, Matt, was accepted to his #1 with early decision this past Friday. He will be attending Syracuse University, School of Architecture in the fall. We are beyond thrilled, relieved and proud! It is the #2 architecture school in the country, and my husband is a Syracuse Alumni. Matt has wanted to go to Syracuse FOREVER!
Unfortunately, our daughter Marisa, received a no to Columbia University, but as the admisions officer told us during our tour, it is everyone's stretch school who applies here, as they accept about 9% of applicants. Marisa has already been accepted to Rutgers, and has applications in progress to the University of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Syracuse, Cornell, and UNC Chapel Hill. I believe things are meant to be, and feel confident she will be admitted to the right school for her.
The hardest part is going to be waiting to hear decision!!
If anyone is interested, I have been posting some of Matt's portfolio drawings on my blog this week. The link is below in my signature.
Jill, Your DD can still apply to Barnard College, the old women's college at Columbia, which may now be co-ed. The students attend the same classes as Columbia students and are pretty integrated but the administration is separate. Admission is easier.
Jill, Your DD can still apply to Barnard College, the old women's college at Columbia, which may now be co-ed. The students attend the same classes as Columbia students and are pretty integrated but the administration is separate. Admission is easier.
Thanks! Yes, we have been trying to convince her that even tho Barnard is women only, Columbia and all it has to offer is there as a bonus. I will try again to talk to her about applying there. She is having a hard time getting over the women only thing.
The frustrating thing about applying to college these days is how subjective it has become. Any given day, and she could have gotten a YES. She absolutely meets or exceeds what they are looking for!
In the fives year between my oldest and my youngest (DD) applying, things went from crazy to truly insane. some of my DD's classmates at Brown had better resumes than many of the adults I know.
I know several girls who were admitted to Barnard that probably would not have been admitted to Columbia. The strange thing to me is Barnard is Barnard in administration and diploma only (graduate of Columbia College or Barnard College both at Columbia University). Everything else is combined so if she liked Columbia, she will like Barnard.
My Dd had the same issue. I tried to encourage her to apply to Wellesley, but she wouldn't hear of it. A good friend from high school went and seemed to have a good experience.
We are waiting, too. DS applied to 9 schools, and has gotten into 2 so far. He said the hardest part is going to have choose. Money is going be an important factor in his decision. We made him apply to 3 state schools, because it may be all we can afford.
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
Well, MIT decided to defer their decision on her application until regular decision time. She was a little upset even though she expected this outcome. I'm pretty sure she's afraid she won't get in anywhere. Considering she's at the top of her class and has consistantly scored in the 700's on SAT tests and got a 33 on the ACT, I doubt that will be the case, but I really wish she'd get an acceptance soon to make her feel better.
It's sad the admissions have become so competitive. I know Brown rejects about 66% of the kids were perfect SATs. When I applied 1400's were excellent. My impression now is that 1400's are "eh" for too many schools. The year after DD, a friend's DD, who thought she would get in everywhere (a hair lower than your DD in terms of scores and class rank) ended getting accepted into only 3 of 15 schools, and went to one she hadn't really considered. She has been extremely happy.
I have no doubt your DD will get into UNH and unless she has something that really screams "no" into BC. She should also look into some of the smaller, liberal arts schools that want to up their ratings and are not hot. Two of my three were offered full rides plus to Lafayette College-a great school with super academics. Both decided instead to challenge their mother's pocket book.
The other things my DD learned was that the more enthusiasm you show, the more likely you are to get a yes. Visit the campus more than once if possible (the schools keep track). Email any questions you may have. Do everything, especially optional things. My DD was wait listed to Emory, a safety based on her scores and grades. She wasn't surprised because they had contacted her, given her a fee waiver and then she didn't send in the optional recommendations. She saw her waitlist as a "show us you are really interested" type of thing.
I really believe there is a school for everyone and the most important thing is to get a good match. Like I said, kids I know that went to MIT, walk to the beat of a different drummer.
She might also want to examine what kind of school she wants-big, small, urban rural. The three you mentioned-BC, UNH and MIT are miles apart in terms of style. Schools do look for a good match. I doubt a good MIT match would be happy at BC. They are looking to have a good yield, which they don't get if they take kids who are not likely to come.
Good luck. Things will work out for the best.
__________________
Charlie
Last edited by Huntermom; 12-17-2010 at 09:01 AM..
One of the other "tricks" we were told was in you DD is interested in going to a science focused school-apply as a humanities major. Your major is generally not binding. Some of these schools have great programs (Hopkins writing program is outstanding) and have a hard time getting a balanced class because the bulk of their applicants are science geeks. It makes it a little easier to get in.
I also suggest reading Loren Popes books. We were fortunate in that my ex's alumni association provided free college counseling to alumni children (also known as being a legacy just isn't what is used to be).
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. My oldest DD got accepted to all that she applied to, then the big decision was which to choose, because she didn't have a favorite. Hopefully it will go as well the next time around!
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