Where is the Effin Waffle House?

About 11 years ago, my wife and I were driving home after picking up our six year old son at my in-laws house, with  him firmly strapped into his car seat  in the back. As six year olds are prone to do, his discussion turned to bodily functions and a wonderful discussion about gas. My wife, raised as a proper southern woman, re-enforced the notion that one should not use the word "fart", even going as far as to say "remember, we do not use the F word". Of course, this turned into a wonderfully painful discussion about what other words he should not say, from the S word, the H word, and the other, dreaded "F word".

We finally made it through the "words that should never be said" talk, and focused on the drive home from Greensboro, GA to Athens. We had just reached the bridge crossing I-20, when from the back of the car we heard the statement "Where is the effin Waffle House?" My wife jerked her head around in horror and asked "What did you just say?" in a tone only a mother knows. My son grinned back at her and said "Where is the effin Waffle House?" She sat stunned, unable to speak, when he once more repeated "Where is the effin Waffle House?", only this time pointing forward and up in the sky. My wife turned to look, and saw the Waffle House sign up ahead in the dark sky, with one of the F's dark from a burned out light bulb. In other words, "Where is the F in WAFFLE HOUSE?" Luckily, I was able to keep the car on the road through all the laughter, but it was not easy.

Why do I tell you this story?

Just like with any other community, college admissions has their own vocabulary, and applicants need to make sure they understand what these words (such as Early Action, FAFSA, superscoring, etc.) mean. You don't want to think that you are hearing one thing, but in reality an admissions office is talking about something else.You want to make sure you know what is needed for each admissions office in order for the applicant's file to be complete, how to apply for financial aid, and what the steps are from considering a college all the way through enrolling there. I even have a page on this blog called Admission Speak to help understand admissions terms.

So when you work with any admissions office, make sure you are asking specific questions, make sure to submit  things early in the process in case there is a problem, and make sure to use the sources at hand (status pages, your counselor, etc.), to insure that your application moves forward smoothly

Go Dawgs!