<p>My son made his reservation and is looking forward to re-visiting CC! He's still waiting to hear from a few schools, but he just got admitted to Bowdoin today, so it's cool that now he gets to look at a few of these schools from the perspective of a decisionmaker. :) And I from the perspective of the bill payer.... :(</p>
<p>My D is attending (along with her parents) on April 1,2. She’s so excited about it!</p>
<p>colomom-- has she decided that CC is the one for her???</p>
<p>She’s sure that’s where she wants to go! Hooray! Her signed acceptance letter has been hanging on our fridge for quite a while. I think she’s waiting to send it in till after the open house.</p>
<p>My S is attending April 1 and 2. He has acceptances at four LAC’s and one mid-size university and considers CC high, if not at the the top, of his list. He visited the summer between his sophomore and junior year in HS, and of course has matured a lot and developed a better understanding of what he’s looking for in college. He’ll be interested in learning more about the block plan, getting a feel for the culture, the students, and assessing the “fit”.</p>
<p>Son will be attending 4/8,9. Flying alone for the very first time. He’s fine. I’ll be a mess. I’m pretty sure CC is his first choice, it just hasn’t completely sunk in yet. Commitment issues already. sigh.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking, what othe lac’s is your son considering?</p>
<p>Still waiting for Dartmouth and SUNY Binghamton (NY)
Accepted University of Rochester, University of Vermont (waiting on aid).</p>
<p>LOVES the idea of the block plan, Colorado, block breaks, small classes
worried about limited majors. He still thinks he might be an engineer.</p>
<p>skier29-- CC has an affiliated program for those interested in engineering. My was considering law. CC has a program with Columbia Law School where one CC student a year is submitted for admission to Columbia’s Law School. If accepted the CC student enters law school after his or her junior year and can have his JD from Columbia and undergrad degree from CC in a total of six years. I have heard that there are affilitated programs in several areas.</p>
<p>[CC</a> Engineering Affiliated Schools](<a href=“http://acad.coloradocollege.edu/dept/pc/engineering/schools.htm]CC”>http://acad.coloradocollege.edu/dept/pc/engineering/schools.htm)</p>
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<p>Thanks 07dad. You are always a great source of info.
We have already investigated the option - in fact a 3-2 student called just to make sure we didn’t have any other questions. One of those things that really impresses me about CC!
Still, it isn’t quite the same as attending a larger school that has its own engineering dept. Now, if he sticks with the current neuroscience thought, he’ll be in the perfect place :-)</p>
<p>Son and I are going April 1-2. Still unsure about the block plan, which sounds great in many ways but is it suited for sciences? Also unsure whether a not-at-all-outdoorsy kid would be happy among the students attracted to Colorado College? (Though it would be nice, I don’t see total personality/physical transformation even through exposure.) Thoughts welcome.</p>
<p>momwonders–I bumped an older thread on “not outdoorsy.” A student who is active and engaged in stuff seems to fit in.</p>
<p>Also, use thread search tools in the Colorado College Forum and you can find a number of threads/posts about CC and science courses. Topics like computer sci, biology, pre-med etc.</p>
<p>Anecdotally, in a 2002 Discover magazine it listed the Top 50 Women in Science and three of them graduated from CC. Only MIT had more (4).</p>
<p>The block plan is one of two major features that make Colorado College unique. The second is the school’s very special location. Both features encourage engagement with the natural world. Since all science begins with observation of the natural world, I think it is no coincidence that the sciences are among CC’'s stronger departments. </p>
<p>“Outdoorsy” does not necessarily mean skiing and mountain climbing. A relatively unathletic science nerd can find excitement in outdoor field work (on alpine botany, rock formations, physical anthropology/archeology, or animal behavior). Some people seem to think science requires continual focus in semester-long cycles but I don’t think that has to be the case. Especially if we are talking not just about highly specialized lab and cubicle science, but about developing a broad-minded, 360 degree look at how all sorts of things work in the world.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughtful responses. We’re very open-minded about this question and look forward to our visit, eager to be convinced. Another worry though is that the block plan doesn’t help to learn to mitigate the very challenges that drew him to it – that in the “real world” (and I am thrilled that college is 4 years at least somewhat outside that) nonetheless requires mental multi-tasking. My son, so far, has several very different kinds of schools to choose among and we’re trying to ask the toughest questions to help him come to a decision he feels right about.</p>
<p>Just my take on mental multi-tasking. My S is a junior. He has always taken at or near the maximum number of adjunts allowed. To that extent there is multi-tasking on different topics. In my experience, a large number of CC students have “mental” interests that they do in addition to the current block.</p>
<p>Consider that in “the real world” many of us work in a particular field. Yes, we have more than one task going on at one time, but my experience is that they all fall within the same general field. That is pretty much what the block does. The student is work intensely and (absent taking adjuncts) exclusively within one subject, but that does not mean that there aren’t more than one assignment going on within that subject.</p>
<p>In the traditional course arrangement, you may have 5 or more different fields of study going on at the same time. I really have not experienced that arrangement any place in the professional work force.</p>
<p>Just an observation.</p>
<p>Momwonders,
My S is a sophmore and recently declared a bio-chem major. He thinks the block plan
is the only way to go for the sciences. Complete immersion has helped his retention. He also thinks it is a benefit to be able to schedule his tougher science courses around his extra-curricular activities. As a varsity athlete he took Orgo 1 before the season started and now that the season is over he is taking Orgo 2. He has also heard that the block plan is a great preparation for med school.</p>
<p>At orientation last Fall, a panel of recent CC graduates echoed some of things 07DAD is saying. As I recall the discussion, some of the panel members also thought the block plan was a relatively realistic simulation of project rhythms in the working world. Some suggested it helped them acquire better time-management skills compared to colleagues who graduated from conventional semester-system schools. Of course, this was a biased panel speaking to a biased audience. But we’ve noticed a big change in my S after just six blocks at Colorado College. It’s almost as if a virtual Monthly Planner switch has flipped on in his brain. When you have more flexibility in your scheduling, you learn to take advantage of that flexibility to make your life more interesting.</p>
<p>My S is attending the April 1-2 orientation on his own, and hopes to gain a better sense for what it would be like to attend CC. Any tips/recommendations on how he might maximize his visit? We live in Austin, he has spent several summer vacations in Colorado, has attended Boy Scout Camps there (he enjoys outdoor activities, is an Eagle Scout) and worked at a private adventure camp there one summer. He says he thinks the block plan could be a good fit for his learning style so he needs to get more insight into that. The other concern he needs to explore is the political climate of Colorado Springs and if this would be a good fit for him - he views himself as a progressive democrat and is interested in possibly majoring in political science.</p>
<p>I am a student from Colorado (also an Eagle Scout, by the way!), and if your son wants to make the most of his visit I would recommend talking to the professors and faculty. I am considering attending CC this upcoming fall (I am still deciding between CC, U Chicago, and Pomona), and I gained a lot of valuable insight by talking about academic and student life with both teachers and students. If possible, I would have your son email one of the political science teachers whose contact is included in the acceptance packet. They are very helpful and have good advice.</p>
<p>Does CC send any kind of confirmation or follow up after you register for the accepted students day? My son registered on line and hasn’t heard anything.</p>