@akapiratequeen Great idea to spend extra time in Ithaca, but I’ll warn you that you won’t want to leave. It’s pure paradise there, just so gorgeous. If he attends, just wait until the summer and Fall. Wow! Best of luck. He’s going to rock the audition!
Thanks @eh1234 -my daughter is already on the mend and feeling better. It helped that it was Regent’s week and she only had one exam so lots of extra sleep for her which is exactly what she needed.
@akapiratequeen & @eh1234 : Great news on Rutgers - good solid school. It’s good to have that in your back pocket while working on the others.
Haha @AmyIzzy paradise in january? I will be impressed!
@AmyIzzy I hope your D feels better. Viruses (especially affecting the throat) are murder on vocalists and pretty band for winds. S went to All-State this weekend with a sore throat. Hope he is doing ok. He was hitting the Zicam and Cold-Eeze when he left but haven’t heard a peep except for his text about his scholarship offer.
@akapiratequeen enjoy your weekend. I am sure S will nail his audition. I am admittedly jealous on Ithaca. Would have loved to send S there but saw no way to make it work financially but my S isn’t in the league of yours. Your S has this and I’m sending positive vibes your way to have a great audition and also for you to enjoy the family bonding time in a beautiful place. Also congrats on Rutgers. We tossed out a couple non-audition rolling admissions this last week through common App just to see. One is in my hometown. Constantly hear how beautiful it is but I just don’t see it lol. But I moved away for the big city and attended a college where @AmyIzzy ‘s D got accepted.
@MusakParent that is such a great idea! I never would have thought about it. I cringe at S’s pre-screens because he wouldn’t let anyone in the room with him and wouldn’t take any suggestions to improve his day 2 after we saw day 1. His sister and I tried to help but he wasn’t having it. Glad so many of your children are old pros at this.
@Lendlees huge congrats on the acceptance with scholarship. How very exciting.
@bridgenail that is great advice. We are barely started and I’m freaking out. Trying not to pass that on to S. Glad he is away today not seeing me freak out about radio silence on his last pre-screen (where teacher wrote a negative recommendation).
@eh1234 also congratulations on Rutgers! Great beginning to a long wait through April.
+1 for Ithaca being an amazingly beautiful place. I spent a week there in June couple years back and couldn’t believe how pretty it was. Finger lakes provide amazing hiking & camping opportunities. For anyone who likes nature this whole area is a paradise. I heard it can get very cold in the winters though.
D was accepted today to UNC Chapel Hill. Her academic stats are in the middle of the student body as a whole, but no where near even the middle of the super-competitive out of state applicant pool, with its 13% OOS admission rate. I can only assume that the UNC Music Department decided to use one of its 30-ish admission recommendations on her, despite them not showing any signs of that inclination (no communication with her post-audition).
@MeritHopeful - congratulations on UNC! Fantastic!
Awesome news @MeritHopeful! Congrats to her!
Reading all of these posts, I have some regrets about not going along to Ithaca next weekend. (Someone needs to stay with the ancient beagle). I’ve never been in that part of New York and I keep hearing it’s beautiful. Maybe we should plan a summer road trip.
I would say Ithaca is son’s #1 choice, he has a 2% chance of getting in, and we have a 10% chance of being able to afford it, but I’m still hoping for the best. Maybe he’ll hate it, haha.
Congratulations, @Lendlees! So exciting!
Congratulations, @akapiratequeen and @eh1234! My son ultimately didn’t apply to any BA programs, but it seems like a wise move!
@MeritHopeful, wow, congratulations! Yes, based on the fact that it’s really hard to get into UNC OOS, the music dept. clearly wanted your D!!
I have to admit, I’m the ‘debbie downer’ on Ithaca. It was on S’ list but my husband spent 5 years at Cornell doing his PhD and couldn’t stand it, so we used parental prerogative and nixed it for S. It is beautiful country, the Finger Lakes are amazing, but knowing my kid, he’d go nuts there. Same thing for me and Rochester, which put Eastman out of contention for him.
@akapiratequeen, @eh1234 and @MeritHopeful - CONGRATS to you and your kids. I’m sure you are all like we are - ‘Phew, kid is actually going to college next year’…whether he goes to the one he was just accepted at or not, knowing that he won’t have to do this all over again (until grad school 8-| ) - such a relief.
Congrats @MeritHopeful Fantastic news on UNC!
@MeritHopeful - congrats on UNC - I love Chapel Hill (even though I went to Wake Forest 
@akapiratequeen - good luck this weekend. I was at Ithaca (same time as HereWeGoAgain for a bass conference) and it’s beautiful there! (not sure about the winter, though). Please let us know what you think.
I’m sure that everyone is stressed about now - parents and students alike (even though they don’t show it).
What are you doing to de-stress? (I have two in the application process so my anxiety is fairly high):
Here are some things that I’m doing:
- I'm going to start back to yoga and Pilates next week (at least it's on my calendar!).
- I text my kids "things to do" so I get them off my plate (sometimes it doesn't work) - e.g. send out more recommendations (per JB Dyas's post), schedule practice lessons, practice sight reading, apply to scholarships. (they might not do things - but at least I feel better texting them! - LOL).
- I check this board (and another one for my aviator) and realize that I'm not alone - and I celebrate your wins!
Now - for your kid’s stress level - here’s how I’m trying to help:
- Remind daughter to take Advil PM (she has insomnia from the anxiety at times). She is not good with no sleep.
- Remind daughter that there is a "Plan B" - she doesn't need to go to college next year - in fact, it might be better!
- I sent her a book on how to reduce Performance Anxiety (it was posted on here - thanks!). She is reading it!! (wow)
- I sent her a book on sight reading (from JB Dyas article) - might have increased her stress :-)
- I remind her not to practice every single day. It's OK to take a day off! And a bad lesson isn't the end of the world!
- I booked all her flights, hotels and got her bass lined up in 2 cities.
- I keep telling her to eat and sleep well - and go back to yoga.
- I tell her father not to bug her about her school work (or lack thereof) - and I sent her school the dates she will be gone (I gave her 2 days for NYC and Boston - e.g. an extra day to prepare - not the whole week).
- When she has a bad day, I point out that this is a stressful time - to normalize it.
I think that #2 might be the most important - she doesn’t need to go to school next year!!
I also try to sit back and celebrate the wins! E.g. getting this far in the process.
Our triplets turn 18 today - so I’m celebrating me getting them this far! It’s been a long, interesting haul!
I’d be interested to know what you all are doing to de-stress???
@MeritHopeful congrats to your D! Crazy great admit. I feel like these are all my kids at this point so hurray for our side!
@Lendlees Ithaca would not be my dream location but my son, who grew up in and around NYC, loves the rural feel. So far he does not mind the cold, which is lucky, since all his schools are in the northeast.
Given that it’s winter, the weather really is great — clear, cold and gorgeous. We had an easy drive, walked from our B&B to town for a delicious dinner and just ubered back. S seems much more relaxed than before the Berklee audition. He also found out that he’ll be auditioning backed by a student combo rather than using backing tracks, and he’s excited about that (I’d be terrified, that’s the difference between us I guess.)
@Lendlees same reason for no interest in Ithaca. Great bass faculty but daughter would not hear of it. She hopes to study in a bustling city and not a rural campus.
@MeritHopeful congrats to your daughter’s admit! Great news!
@tripletmama HAPPPY BIRTHDAY to your triplets! Hope they all have a wonderful day celebrating and that their new age brings them much happiness, health and college/conservatory success!!!
What @HereWeGoAgain2018 said! Happy birthday triplets and happy birth day @tripletmama !