Dear_Sis@the_end_of_my_day.calm©
Two sisters and their friends, share the joys of Larchmont motherhood through E-mail.

by Val Estabrook

Date: 11-07-02
Send To: Val
From : Barbara
Subject: Feeling college $$$ money pinch

Loved taking your SAT (see 'What were your verbal and math scores?'’). I don’t remember college tests being that much fun. It’s good to laugh when most of the time I’m feeling pressured by rigors of the college application process and money ! Rites of passage can be expensive. We’re used to paying for soccer, hockey, ballet, gymnastics and horseback riding, but I was not prepared for the big race.

The H.S. in High School could stand for High Stakes. To be ready for the challenge, I will pay ANYONE who can convince my daughter that “The Osbornes and the Parallel Universe in which I Live” is not a suitable topic for her essay to Emory. And though it’s not required I hire coaches and tutors to guide Elizabeth through her senior year, I feel compelled to do so.
Doesn’t it seem as though there’s a price tag on everything?

The S.A.T. in SAT could translate as Stand And Take-out-thy-wallet. Of course there’s the fee to sign up for testing, but we also pay for tutors to teach our kids how to take the test. We pay for tutors to teach our kids how to retake the test because the first time did not work out so well.

We buy 25 lb books offering old but real SAT tests. We pay when test scores are not sent to colleges and we pay when scores are sent later to colleges. We pay abundantly for AP tests. We pay about three times for SAT 2s.

We pay professionals to convince our child that spring quarter senior year really is too late to begin that essay.

We pay big phone bills for calling colleges and then for calling them back with that question I forgot to ask and then having our daughter call yet again to ask the same questions while hopefully establishing a personal connection with the admissions office. Finally I call back to set up the interview.

We pay for planes, trains and Ramadas when visiting campuses. Fearing fear itself, we pay people to teach our kids how to fill out applications, write essays, and interview with conviction, no not a DWI, rather a winning manner that says, “Your school is the only place on God’s green earth that can possibly fulfill my dreams.”

Now I just have to find a tutor I can pay to teach me how to pay for college.

Talk to me,
Barbara

Date: 11-09-02
To: Barbara
From: Val
Subject: Hold that checkbook!

PAY NO ONE TO FIND COLLEGE MONEY FOR YOU. 10 to 1……...IT’S A SHAM! That’s what 100+ of us were told at high school FAFSA meeting. FAFSA is the form you gotta fill out before applying for any kind of financial aid. Will fill you in later. Hey…get up to CIC office @ MHS…pick up free SAT prep books. I know. I know. Now I tell you.

I share your pain…and…am actually weepy as applications come together. Got to run. CCD tonight. Ever tell you Rick et moi use that hour as date time? More on all this… later.

XO Val
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Have any SAT experiences to share? Click here on val@larchmontgazette.com
and send your own e-mail to me. XO Val

Val and Kim Illustrations by Larchmont artist Sue Girardi

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