New here? Welcome to Scores and Stories. You’re getting this because you’ve been in touch with Wagner Prep, through one of our webinars or our emails, and we think you’ll get more out of this than out of anything else we send. Every Thursday I write about one thing I’m seeing in admissions or testing, followed by a short list of NYC opportunities for students. We rotate between grade levels. If it’s not for you, the unsubscribe link is at the bottom. - Mike Wagner
I have a name for the applications left over after November 1. I call them vampire essays.
They hang around for weeks while seniors promise they’ll get to them. “Yeah, I’m going to do it.” “All right, I’ll draft something.” Then, somehow, it’s Thanksgiving.
Submitting those first applications is a real accomplishment. I want seniors to enjoy that. I also know how easily a few days off can turn into a month, especially when everyone is hoping an early acceptance will take care of the rest.
Why waiting for the early result backfires
The plan I hear most often is some version of “Let’s see what happens with the early school first.”
I understand the appeal. An acceptance from a first-choice school could save a lot of work.
But a December decision leaves very little time before January deadlines. Wake Forest’s regular decision and ED2 applications, for example, are both due January 1. A rejection or deferral late in December means finishing those applications over the holidays, while your kid is still dealing with disappointing news.
The weeks before winter break fill up quickly, too. Teachers are trying to finish the quarter, and seniors have tests and projects due alongside their applications. November tends to disappear faster than families expect.
The plan: everything done by Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. That’s the finish date I’m giving seniors for the writing, including applications to schools with February deadlines.
November 1 to 7: the victory lap. Give them a few days to enjoy having submitted. A short break is reasonable, as long as any earlier application or scholarship deadlines are covered.
Sunday, November 8: a fresh start. Treat the remaining applications as a new project. Write down every school and the essays it requires, then divide the work into assignments small enough to finish in a sitting.
Start with the schools they care about most. Once Thanksgiving is the finish date, a February deadline is less of a reason to put a school off. Begin with the colleges your kid is certain they want to apply to.
Give ED2 attention early. If your kid has a possible ED2 school, work on that application first. The decision deserves time, especially because ED2 is binding. Have the writing ready while you consider the school and its cost. If an ED1 application is still pending, hold the ED2 submission until that commitment is resolved.
Wednesday, November 25: finished and checked. The goal is to have every remaining application ready to submit. Send the ones your kid is committed to, subject to any restrictions from their early application plan. Anything being held for an early result should be complete.
Check the merit deadlines this week
Scholarship dates can fall well before a college’s final application deadline. They’re easy to miss when families are working from a list that only shows when the application is due.
Pitt automatically considers applicants for academic merit scholarships when they apply by December 1. December 1 is also the priority consideration deadline for its honors college.
UConn’s Storrs application deadline is January 15, but its priority deadline for merit and Honors consideration is December 1. A family thinking of UConn as a January application could overlook that earlier date.
Have your kid check the scholarship page for each remaining school. Any deadline before Thanksgiving takes priority over the schedule above.
🗓️ NYC Opportunities
Every issue, we'll point you toward specific NYC programs, deadlines, and events that help your student explore what they're actually curious about and build the kind of depth colleges are looking for. Here's what's worth your attention this week:
1. Create-athon: Mural Making with DAZE, Lincoln Center (Teens and young adults)
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026, 1 to approximately 3:30 p.m. ET
Cost: Free. Admission is first come, first served. Fast Track reservations open November 9 at noon ET.
Location: David Rubenstein Atrium, 1887 Broadway, Manhattan
Note: All ages welcome
New York graffiti artist Chris "DAZE" Ellis leads a workshop in which participants create tags and designs on canvas that reflect themselves and their families. He then guides the group in combining the individual pieces into a larger mural. DAZE began painting in New York in the 1970s and has exhibited internationally over a career spanning five decades.
Why it matters: A teenager who fills sketchbooks with lettering or characters would have something familiar to bring to this workshop. Working on a shared mural adds another consideration: how their choices fit with everyone else's. It's an opportunity to try that process with an experienced artist and see a group piece come together in one afternoon.
2. Terence Tao: Six Math Essentials, Pioneer Works (High School)
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Cost: Free with RSVP. Seating is first come, first served.
Location: Pioneer Works, 159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn
Note: All ages welcome; best suited to high school students interested in math
Terence Tao, a UCLA mathematician and Fields Medal recipient, joins physicist Janna Levin to discuss his new book, Six Math Essentials. The conversation covers algebra, geometry, uncertainty and how AI is changing mathematical research. Tao will sign books afterward, and the Amateur Astronomers Association will offer telescope viewing in the garden if weather permits.
Why it matters: A student can enjoy math for years without knowing much about what mathematicians actually do. This is a chance to hear someone working at the highest level explain the questions that interest him and how he approaches them. For a teenager considering further study in math, that can make the subject feel much larger than the next course on the schedule.
3. CodeYourSelf: Create a Self-Portrait with Code, Code/Art (Grades 3 to 12)
Submit by: February 16, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET
Cost: Free
Location: Online; NYC students are eligible
Eligibility: For girls and gender nonbinary students. Beginners welcome.
Students create a self-portrait through code, taking inspiration from an artwork or style they enjoy. They might borrow the colors of a favorite painting, use geometric shapes to build a face or draw on anime. Every visual element must be coded; imported pictures and ready-made graphics are not allowed.
Code/Art provides a beginner tutorial. Entries include the working code and portrait, a photograph, and written responses about the inspiration and coding process. Elementary, middle and high school students compete in separate divisions. Students under 18 need parent, guardian or teacher consent.
Why it matters: For a kid who likes drawing, this offers a concrete reason to learn some programming. They can see what happens when they change a shape, color or position, then keep adjusting until the image looks the way they intended. The required reflection asks them to explain where they struggled and what they figured out, which is useful practice for talking about any technical project.
4. eCYBERMISSION: Investigate a Community Problem (Grades 6 to 9)
Register by: February 24, 2027
Submit by: March 3, 2027
Cost: Free registration; materials depend on the project
Location: Online submission, with project work completed locally. NYC students can participate.
Note: Teams of two to four students with an adult advisor
Students choose a problem in their community and investigate it through science or develop and test an engineering solution. A group might compare how much heat different playground surfaces retain, for example, or test ways to keep soil from washing out of a planter. Teams choose their own question and submit an account of their methods, evidence and results.
A parent, teacher or program leader can serve as the adult advisor. Volunteer STEM professionals are also available through the program for guidance. Cash award eligibility includes U.S. citizenship or permanent residency and Social Security number requirements.
Why it matters: There is a lot to learn from staying with one question long enough to find out that your first approach doesn't work. Students have to revise their methods, share responsibilities and explain what their evidence supports. With a consistent adult advisor and a manageable question, this can become a substantial project over the winter. The later deadline gives a team forming now time to do that work.
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