@dfbdfb My own offspring had no interest in Colorado schools though one graduated from a Top 5 from Princeton Review’s “Reefer Madness” category, so the presence or lack of pot on a campus had no affect on his decision (he doesn’t use any drugs unless caffeine counts - not even cold meds - he’s my extremely “natural/green” lad - not even using supplements or essential oils or whatever).
However, I mentioned data points I’ve heard at school from students, so feel I can respond based on those. It’s only been CO schools. I’ve no idea why other than here on the east CO gets so much more press for their legalization than any other state. We’re within a couple of hours of DC and some kids I talk with have no idea it’s legal there (for adults) now.
FWIW, whenever something like that or alcohol or whatever comes up I always mention reality to the students (they are in high school to learn, after all). All sorts of things are in all schools to some extent (high school included, but talking about college). That said, some schools are far more lenient about it being around and in the dorms than others… Both “truths” are evidenced even in the three schools my own lads chose.
There are no retail dispensaries yet in the Northeast. You can grow a limited amount, you can have a limited amount, but you can’t yet legally sell it other than in a medical dispensary. Kids in New England definitely associate Colorado with easy access to weed.
To get back to the prompt. I visited cu Boulder with my daughter for aerospace engineering. I thought it was beautiful but she just needed to be at a college that had students that matched her stats. It wasn’t justabout being in engineering.
@collegemomjam FWIW, the few who are more interested care more that they can legally do it in general more than just on campus. Around here it’s just for medical use only yet. We’ve had drug busts in our school as recently as this spring.
Every single year the legalization of pot is chosen by some students as their Opposing Viewpoints essay in English and as a debate topic in Speech. The topic is very real in this generation. Pot use (or not) has been very real as a personal decision since the beginning of time, but its legalization is far more real in this generation than many in the past. Those who are pro (in my neck of the woods) really do associate it mostly with CO at this point. That should change as life changes I expect.
I know many parents who would never consider my youngest’s school due to its ranking with PR on Reefer Madness. We let our guys decide for themselves regarding their colleges. I know I appreciated being able to make my own decision back in my day so I give my lads the same freedoms I enjoyed. (All of us were limited financially to schools that worked, but that’s different than “who knows what they might DO at a college.”)
Just find a college that matches your with your criteria such as selectivity/location etc. Michigan never makes these lists but I’ve seen a ton of drinking during football season. What I’m saying is drinking, drugs, sex happens. All the values you have instilled in your child will care over.
Time to bring the conversation back to colleges that get crossed off/move up people’s list.
If anyone wants to continue the discussion about pot at college please start a new thread for that topic.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I’ve deleted a few posts about 420 that are not even tangentially related to college. To reinforce @happy1’s comment above, let’s move on.
@JanieWalker we started college tours the fall of my DS16’s Jr year. He was immediately drawn to the first college he visited and ended up attending there. It is quite possible to be end up at a school that you visit early in your HS career . We also visited each school several times . I think your plan sounds great to meet an informed decision .
I understand wanting to be informed. And personally, I love visiting colleges - I would happily volunteer to take kids other than my own simply to be able to tour without being creepy. And I also like the schools you have visited!
But with all that said, it is really important to stay in the present and to make high school about the high school experience. It should not be one long admissions test. Time spent focusing on the future is time not spent in the present, and the time spent now - figuring what you like, who you are, who you want to be in the world – will make the college decision the best one possible.
@gardenstategal I respectfully disagree with your post - it doesn’t have to be one or the other. One can enjoy all the things one does as a teenager AND have some fun visiting colleges along the way. No one in our home is doing “one long admissions test,” lol. One can enjoy the present (classes, extracurriculars, usual travel, friends time, time with sibling and family - all of which help shape a person, as you describe) while having a casual eye on the future (visiting colleges that are around the areas where you are/ need to go anyway). All of it is part of the now. Catching your sister’s eye and smiling every time a tour guide mentions Hogwarts or Harry Potter (almost every tour, lol), looking at beautiful architecture, discussing what you think you want out of life with your sibling, grabbing pizza or ice cream after every tour - that is all very much part of the now. As I said in another post, our way might not be the way of others, but it works for us. Fun is being had and, so far, my two are enjoying this, so there’s no reason right now to change course.
Also, fwiw, for us, the “high school experience” lifestyle is a foreign concept - there is simply life, and their teen years are a maturing extension of their earlier years. Lots of academic and extracurricular interests which flow and grow from one year to the next, with friendships of different ages from different backgrounds and communities. My two are not in a traditional b&m school, so there has been no huge adjustment in my oldest kid’s life to attend high school. My kids just continue taking courses that match their level of ability (they are not at the same place all the time and their courses are a mix of online and in-person), they keep diving deeply into their ec interests (which means travel for one ec in particular), and they keep their friends as the years go by and incorporate more friendships as they grow and do additional things. So it’s all just life from one year to the next, growing and maturing and learning, with forward-looking activities such as college visits thrown into the mix sometimes.
@JanieWalker, It sounds like you have a good handle on your girls and are making the trips fun. My only caveat would be not to make any decisions about schools to put on or take off the list at this point, in particular for your younger child. Their interests and the way they think about their college years will almost certainly change as they age. For instance, you mentioned that your girls smile when a tour guide mentions Harry Potter. Mine would have too at 13 or 14, but by the time they were 17 or 18 they would have found such references hopelessly childish.
@Sue22 You misunderstand. Regarding the Harry Potter references – they smile because every single tour guide (almost) makes a comparison and they now expect to hear it and think it’s funny when the reference is finally made at some point…it’s not about liking the series itself (though they do actually like the series itself…as do most 17 and 18-year olds I guess, since the VAST majority of guides have referenced Hogwarts or Harry Potter to their crowd of mostly juniors and seniors). And yes, as I have written before in response to I think one of your posts, my youngest is along for the ride and I am fully aware her interests may change…though maybe not, we’ll see. I am not sure my 15 1/2 year old’s preferences will “almost certainly change” – actually, I don’t think her preferences will change all that much knowing her personality, but we’ll see.
The incidents of sexual assault on college campuses almost always include excessive alcohol intake but I’ve yet to hear about a young girl being sexually assaulted by someone stoned on weed. I’ll take a school big on ganja any day over one with a reputation for hard drinking and partying.
I got some useful information from @JanieWalker’s college tour threads, so thank you. It looks like she is raising amazing girls who are fun-loving, mature, and intelligent, let her decide what to do, whom to bring on her family’s college tour and no need to judge her, please move on.
@JanieWalker - laughing about the Harry Potter. When S18 and I toured almost every tour had a Harry Potter reference! It became part of our college tour bingo, along with how great it is to study abroad and if they don’t have a club you like, you can start your own.
@JanieWalker Love your perspective. Probably because it sounds a lot like mine. D and I visited tons of colleges during high school. It was fun for her and for me, too. We did get to the point where we would play a form of college tour bingo, just waiting for mentions of quidditch teams, blue lights, form your own club if we don’t offer it already, undergrad research, and a seemingly random college tradition (most of which included painting something or stepping on something).
And, by the way, D wound up choosing one of the first colleges we visited. But I still would have toured every school we visited if we had it to do over again. And, yes, they mentioned all of those things in their tour spiel.
D and I visited tons of colleges during high school. It was fun for her and for me, too. We did get to the point where we would play a form of college tour bingo, just waiting for mentions of quidditch teams, blue lights, form your own club if we don’t offer it already, undergrad research, and a seemingly random college tradition (most of which included painting something or stepping on something).