<p>My daughter is off to Chicago for the admitted students' session. Anybody else there? I had some qualms shipping her off-don't know why they routed her to O'Hare instead of Midway; O'Hare can be overwhelming. She said, "No big deal" so we'll see how she does catching the shuttle and making her way in a big city.</p>
<p>Hi patty, my daughter is also at Chicago today/tomorrow. I had a ticket to go with her, but due to illness had to cancel at midnight last night. Fortunately she had another friend who was going with us. </p>
<p>They flew into Midway, since it's much closer, and shared a cab in. She has called me twice....first to tell me that the plane was filled with kids going to the session, which made me happy, and just now to tell me that it is the most gorgeous campus ever, and they have been running around to student panels, classes, etc. </p>
<p>I suppose that you have heard from your D by now?</p>
<p>make sure they show us some pictures when they get back :)</p>
<p>My daughter arrived safely and had no problem finding the shuttle. She rode in with 7 other students. She sounded elated when I spoke to her soon after arrival. She has her camera with her. I'll ask her to post some pictures here when she gets back. I hope she takes pictures of people in addition to buildings and weird miscellaneous items. She does take some "interesting" shots sometimes.</p>
<p>My S is there on crutches (broken ankle, surgically repaired).</p>
<p>chocoholic: Are you feeling better? What have you heard from your daughter? My daughter called from an activity fair last night. She said she is having fun and that she found something to eat (they have lots of miscellaneous food everywhere???)
idad: Sounds like a serious break. Was he able to get around okay?</p>
<p>Thanks Pattykk, a little better........I actually ended up in hosp. for 2 days :( my first time other than childbirth.</p>
<p>My D sounded very excited and busy, and has not called me today. She returns tonight. She did say that the food was fabulous, (we have eaten some pretty awful dorm-food.....not that it's a criterion at all). I asked her to walk by the Chicago webcam and say Hi to me, but she just laughed. She did say that it was pretty cold, but all the UC students called it a nice day. :eek:</p>
<p>** idad**, hope your son's ankle feels okay. When did it happen, and is he still in pain? I am sure he got the royal treatment everywhere though....... I am really curious about his "rare" ECs tat you had mentioned somewhere...can you share?</p>
<p>My D said that her hostess is very nice and helpful. They took in two student groups last night--an improv comedy act and a mariachi group, so I guess all the fun has not died.</p>
<p>Thanks for the inquiries about my S. He is much better now and is getting around pretty well. He has a metal plate and 7 screws in his ankle. He missed the party, going on a dorm tour instead, but has visited 3 classes, physics, humanities, & calc.</p>
<p>As for the EC's, for the last 7 years he has studied the Chinese Martial Arts, what the US knows as Kung Fu, and Tai Chi Quan. He learned to speak Mandarin and studied with many world renown masters. He also trained and studied in China on his own. He competes as an international level athlete and has won many gold medals, including a second place finish in China.</p>
<p>Metal plate and 7 screws, that sounds painful. I am really impressed with the kung-fu, how very cool. I hope that's not how he broke his ankle :(
Congratulations, you should be so proud.</p>
<p>It was, he was practicing a back flip. It was painful for a few days after the surgery. He is making good progress. Best of all he found that Chicago has a Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts) team!! He was able to talk to the team and watch a demonstration.</p>
<p>chocoholic: food not be a criterion in deciding? wow, as im sure your child is doing, choosing between two or three top schools can be an excrutiatingly dificult process, because they are often so identical in their incredible greatness. The way I see it, Im accepted at 3 good colleges, so Ill get a good education wherever I go: so I might as well decide on quality of life issues, because thats the only thing that is left to seperate between them.
Food, and the commons, should be a big factor, its where your child will spend at least 1 and a half hours a day, if not much more.</p>
<p>Yes, food is a factor. My daughter came home and the first thing she talked about was the crusted tilapia and rice and beans she had for lunch. She came home "ready to commit," which is a huge difference from her first visit. She found Chicago cold (in more ways than one) the first time. Apparently she met lots of fun and interesting people this go-round.</p>
<p>I was there and the food was terrific! And other than one dorm guide, the kids we met were socially adept and not "nerds." They were intelligent, hard-working, erudite young people who also had fun. My D, too, came back and said "Wow!" I didn't know fresh lettuce existed (as opposed to the HS cafeteria). The students on the panel represented a mix that was well-spoken, poised and funny. Where did their reputation come from? My D decided BJ was the dorm for her.</p>
<p>the reputation came from people who never been to chicago. i have enough common sense to doubt idiotic rummors.</p>
<p>idad
My D mentioned that the largest # of clubs that were at the fair were martial arts related, so your S should be pretty happy.</p>
<p>My S also loved the food, as well as the people, and the classes he attended. He was very happy to find that there is a martial arts studio in Ratner! In his words, "How cool is that?"</p>
<p>evitajr-- My daughter is a first-year in BJ. She loves it and plans to live there again next year. Hope you can work it out so your D can attend.</p>
<p>I hope so, too. We only need $5K more a year in grants, and we will be OK. Hopefully, the appeal of the FA decision will work.</p>