<p>So this is probably CC down time. May 1st has passed. HS Summer visits are only now formulating. Juniors in HS are worrying about finals. Juniors in college have already been offered internships. Seniors in college have already, hopefully in this economy , been offered jobs or attendance's to grad school.</p>
<p>So what do we talk about??</p>
<p>Take this time to relax and meditate. What do YOU really want to talk about?</p>
<p>I like to talk about my kids and their achievements and mistakes. I also like to talk about specific schools (Colgate, Cornell, Bucknell to be very specific)</p>
<p>Their achievements! I could go on and bore you. Their mistakes? Maybe more informative.</p>
<p>So what words of wisdom do you have to say on this down time?</p>
<p>Down time? DOWN TIME!!! Are you nuts? Now we get to talk about how to get the kid to school, how to pack for school, what to pack for school, where the best deals are for dorm stuff, whether to buy the kid’s college computer before or after getting to school, what kind of computer to buy the kid, what classes the kid registers for, filling out the roommate/housing/loan/health/etc. forms, who pays the interest on unsubsidized Staffords, teaching the kid how to cook/do laundry/write a check/pick a good cold remedy/budget, the tax and financial implications of paying tuition from the 529/cash/Roth/home equity/etc., whether the kid’s dorm is good/bad/allows pets/overnights/smells like cooked cabbage/needs new carpet/has carpet, what to do about the car insurance, whether to let the kid take a car, how much the kid is working/goofing off/complaining this summer, whether the kid and his/her GF/BF will break up before going to school or whether the popular turkey drop occur instead… and so on.</p>
<p>Bed sheets, to loft or not to loft, memory foam mattresses, etc… Amble over to the College cafe and revive the thread at the very top. It’s been dormant since last summer, but it’s time to resurrect it!</p>
<p>Down time nothing. We are entering the heart of waitlist season, which will soon be followed by what-to-pack season, which will immediately be followed by drop off season… and the then the cycle begins again with EA apps due soon.</p>
<p>Computer - I am little concerned about buying him a new computer for the fall. Windows 7 will be out later this year, fixing all the bugs with Vista. I don’t want to buy him a Vista computer and then have to have him upgrade it himself (Mossberg of the WSJ says it will be a real pain to do) - but we promised him a laptop for graduation. Argh!!!</p>
<p>katy, the latest I read is that Windows 7 is expected to be released Oct. 23 with a 30-day look back, which gets you an automatic upgrade if you buy a computer on Sep. 23 or later. They will make the Christmas season but not the back to school season.</p>
<p>Although I don’t have enough memory on this computer to use Vista, my older son has no problems with Vista. I think most of the early bugs have long been fixed with the sole exception of how much memory it needs to run properly. As long as you buy as least 2 MB of RAM (or more if affordable), I don’t think you will find it to be a problem. I don’t read Mossberg, although H is a big fan, but on the techy blogs and whatnot, I haven’t heard that the move from Vista to 7 is difficult at all. Just the opposite. Tons of people have downloaded the release candidate and find it seamless. Nevertheless, I would expect both of our sons will just stay with Vista rather than pay for an upgrade to the new operating system. I am also in the market for a new desk top and if the prices are right, I won’t wait for Windows 7 before buying.</p>
<p>Vista SP2 which should be out soon is supposed to improve performance. I find Vista to be fine on a high-end desktop but it’s a slug on a medium-spec laptop.</p>
<p>I had real anxiety waiting to hear my son’s college applications. He has proven so strong at dealing with the severe learning disabilities that impeded his path to show the world how smart and capable he was that I was afraid that a batch of rejections could be damaging. No worries as he got into lots of very strong schools (he was applying largely to Ivy and NESCAC in part so that he could be close to home in case his health problems recurred after the surgery he had this year). He’s going to Amherst and is convinced it is fabulous for him, so my anxiety is way down. My daughter is finishing her sophomore year, so she and I will begin looking at colleges next year and now we’re just trying to get her an interesting thing to do for the summer. </p>
<p>But, the extra time no longer being spent on college can be spent helping other things. My wife is a painter who has become regionally quite well-known but is having her first show at a major-league NY gallery, and I’m going to rev up my contacts around the world to see if we can help her get some foot traffic. </p>
<p>In my spare time, I’m planning out a book on how to think about career choices (life choices as well but with a focus on careers). It’s based on a talk I gave many years ago to 180 Harvard Business School students. A number of them told me at the time that it was the single most influential thing that happened to them in their time there and a few told me that they changed what they were going to do as a result. Scary since I was pretty young and inexperienced at the time. So, I’ll dip into time that might have been spent helping my son for that cause. I’ve written two longer books, and I’m determined to keep this one short.</p>
<p>On the computer front, is it still possible and sensible to buy Windows XP Pro machines? </p>
<p>I didn’t want Vista and I am scared of Windows 7. I switched my kids to Macs when they needed computers (though son may need to switch back to run Kurzweil and Dragon together, which seems to work better on a PC platform than on the Mac Windows section, though I don’t know why). I don’t even like Office 2007 because it take up too much screen real estate on laptops so I bought licenses for Office 2003. Is it still smart to avoid switching?</p>
<p>shawbridge, how proud you must be of your son! Learning to compensate for severe learning disabilities, proving all he is capable of accomplishing, is a feat only another veteran can appreciate. Good, no, GREAT, job!! I see he will be at Amherst. My daughter is at Smith. I have it on good authority the Smithies have some fun parties! He might want to amble over there next year and join in the fun. My daughter said she saw a few male HS classmates from Columbia and Cornell in attendance, all having a blast!</p>
<p>Best of luck to your wife in her first big NY exhibition. I hope she has a great turn-out. No doubt you are very proud of her, too :)</p>
<p>Let us know when you finish your book. It sounds like one so many of us can benefit by reading, especially in these uncertain times. What a talented family you have!</p>
<p>Thanks, je new sais quoi. I am proud, although I’m nervous as well. I didn’t think my alma maters were good places for him because of disbtribution and language requirements. But, even with Amherst’s open curriculum and all of the support they will give him, there will be a few bumps in the road.</p>
<p>How has your daughter enjoyed Smith? I mentioned it to my daughter and she held up a proverbial clove of garlic (or vampire-killing stake) at the thought of an all-girls school. I thought it might be particularly good for girls interested in science/engineering who at least in an earlier era might not have gotten the same attention as the males. Does that still seem true? </p>
<p>One of the things that I thought was great about Amherst was its small size (good for getting to know profs, discussion classes in which he shines, etc.). But in a small school, you can easily run out of people to go out with and so Smith and Mount Holyoke being nearby seemed great. He talked to guys at Amherst who mentioned going over to Smith (didn’t mention Mt. Holyoke AFAIK); it sounded like the trick was to make a few friends at Smith so that you weren’t walking anonymously into a party.</p>
<p>[Dell</a> PCs with Windows XP](<a href=“Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA”>Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA)
You CAN still buy computers installed with XP. I’m another computer user who refuses to use Vista.
re: you harvard speech -would it be possible to post it here on CC? It sounds very inspirational and I’m sure other parents would love to share it with their college students.
And congratulations to your son for his acceptance at Amherst. I hope he will be very happy there.</p>
<p>My daughter has adored Smith, shawbridge. It is truly her home now. It’s not right for everyone; I thoroughly understand your daughter’s reaction. I would have reacted the same way had my parents suggested a women’s college! </p>
<p>It was all my daughter’s idea, especially because of the opportunities for women in science. She had some unfortunate experiences with the boys in her HS advanced science and math classes and felt an all-female environment might be worth trying. </p>
<p>Smaller classes which allow for more discussion are the optimal learning setting for my daughter, just as your son will have at Amherst. He made a very wise choice, especially given the options the consortium affords. </p>
<p>Your impressions of the party scene are accurate. It seems the young men who attend Smith parties either know a Smithie, or have a friend who knows one. In the Fall, if he’s interested, I’m sure my daughter would love to show him around Smith’s gorgeous campus. That way he would know at least one friendly Smithie.</p>
<p>I second menloparkmom’s suggestion that you post your speech here. Many of us can use a little inspiration right about now!</p>
<p>je ne sais quoi, sorry for the misspelling of your nom-de-ordinateur.</p>
<p>menloparkmom, thanks regarding the computer. With respect to the speech, I recorded the talk but all I’ve got is a transcript, which was remarkably educational to me and improved my ability to teach tremendously – I didn’t finish a complete sentence in the whole talk. My mind goes very quickly and moves to the next point without time to complete the previous sentence. In the context of a talk to native English speakers, there is no comprehension problem, but I have now learned to slow down to speak, which has raised my ratings immensely among non-English speaking audiences and helps with Americans as well. So, without the context, I don’t think the transcript will be that useful. I’ll take a look at it though. </p>
<p>But, I do plan to post the pieces on a blog as I write them. </p>
<p>So, PM me and I’ll send you the address of the nascent blog. Anybody else who is interested as well, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>And, jnsq, I will suggest to my son that you and I can facilitate the introduction to your daughter so that he’ll know someone at Smith. There are many ares in which my involvement is still welcomed. Not sure about the social area. In what year is your daughter?</p>
<p>My daughter is finishing up her first year. I completely understand eye-rolling might ensue at what fairly could be viewed as parental meddling or intrusiveness Perhaps once he’s all settled on his own campus he’ll be ready to visit some others. There is a lot to adjust to at first. If he expresses an interest in venturing toward Northampton’s way, I’m sure my daughter would be glad to meet up with him and show him around. She’d love to treat him to a cone at Herrell’s!!</p>
<p>Well, then they are probably the same age because he took a gap year. So, she won’t feel like she’s introducing a little kid to her friends. [By other metrics, when last measured, he was 6’4" and broad-shouldered but seems to have continued to grow. Costco food supplies to the rescue]. And Herrell’s will be a nice touch. When we lived in Harvard Square, one of the big treats for the kids was getting a hot fudge sundae at Herrell’s in the back room which is an old bank vault painted as if one is in the ocean or an aquarium.</p>
Perhaps once he’s all settled on his own campus he’ll be ready to visit some others. There is a lot to adjust to at first. If he expresses an interest in venturing toward Northampton’s way, I’m sure my daughter would be glad to meet up with him and show him around. She’d love to treat him to a cone at Herrell’s!!</p>