<p>Thanks FC - I will pass that info along.</p>
<p>They have to make their housing/roommate preference by July 2nd I think. </p>
<p>My son met a few prospective roommates so they are just sorting out who wants to live where (he wants Paterson). They told us that 50% of kids opt for the random roommate and do fine. ;)</p>
<p>I’m still waiting to hear about NOLA too. He leaves to work at camp for the summer on the 20th (day after graduation) so I’m trying to get a lot of this stuff sorted out before he goes. It’s not always easy for him to get internet access there.</p>
<p>I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed after orientation…maybe because I’m doing this by myself.</p>
<p>Deep breaths, mavitale. It will all work out, as it virtually always does. And we are always here to help.</p>
<p>I am a little surprised by that 50% number, although I totally believe it. I just thought that in this age of Facebook, etc. that more of them were pre-selecting. That’s great that he met classmates that he liked that well, so quickly. A good sign.</p>
<p>Thanks FC… timing is everything. This is all happening at the same time we’re going through a major reorganization at work, so it’s just pressure from all sides. Plus I’m dealing with the surrogates court to free his money (life insurance from his dad) which is unlikely to happen before the 1st semester payment is due. So I’m looking at having to take the Parent Plus loan as well. </p>
<p>Sorry for the kvetching… (can Italians kvetch?). It’s just a lot.</p>
<p>Oh and didn’t you know? Facebook is for old people.</p>
<p>I had to laugh at how much they talked about FB when the kids aren’t even interested in that anymore.</p>
<p>Everyone is allowed to kvetch, I think. That is a lot to take on, a lot of waiting for others to make decisions, too. That’s hard. Vent here any time you need to, this is a free venting (kvetching) zone.</p>
<p>That’s so funny about Facebook. I never look at it anymore myself, even though I am old. So is it all tweeting now? Or am I that out of touch that there is something else I haven’t even heard of?</p>
<p>But the one thing Facebook can do that Twitter can’t is allow people to connect on issues like finding roommates. At least that is how it appears to me. It is so hard to follow, with all the social media tools out there. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, LinkedIn (I know that is more for business, but still it is used for other things), and I am sure I have not mentioned several. What a world.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize this is a free kvetching zone - I’ve got some catching up to do!</p>
<p>I’ve been having to handle pretty much all of the college stuff for my D since she’s been gone since the end of August. I miss her so much, but I’m tired of taking care of everything and she shows no appreciation for it. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have even gotten the application done for Tulane. She <em>has</em> managed to find herself a roommate, did the application and got accepted into Wall, and skyped with someone from the Spanish department to get placed in the right level. I am very proud of her on that - after being in Spain for 9 months, she was able to place into the 4000 level classes! She can’t go to orientation because she doesn’t come back until July 10 so she will have to skype with her adviser or we can make a trip there when she gets home. I’m so ready for her to be home…and on top of that, our exchange student, whom I totally fell in love with, went home this past weekend so I’m having a hard time dealing with that loss. </p>
<p>Thanks for letting me get that out, especially since it has nothing to do with this thread.</p>
<p>Eh, threads often wander into other areas, especially if the original subject has been exhausted or is no longer relevant, as is mostly the case here since Orientation is half over already.</p>
<p>That’s great about your D getting her Spanish placement taken care of at a high level. Is she in Madrid? Barcelona? I bet she had a fabulous time. So many more kids get to have these kinds of experiences than when I was their age. It was so much more unusual for anyone other than the 1% of those days to travel that way, much less live overseas for that long. Was your exchange student also from Spain?</p>
<p>She’s outside of Barcelona so she’s actually going to come home basically trilingual because her school was all in Catalan. Unfortunately, I don’t think any colleges in the US have Catalan. Haha She’s considering doing the Spanish and Portuguese major since picking up Portuguese should be a lot easier with her experience and isn’t that much different from Catalan either. I think she decided to go ahead and take Spanish 3040 just for reinforcement even though she doesn’t have to, but the lady said she would petition for her to get out of the other 3000 level classes - it would seem silly for her to take introduction to Spanish culture after living there with a Spanish family for so long. </p>
<p>Our student was from Spain also, but further down the coast. My D is actually going to go visit him for a week before she comes home - I’m so jealous.</p>
<p>Letting her go on exchange was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it would have been nothing but selfishness on my part if I hadn’t. There are lots of parents not willing to do that. Sending her to college will seem easy in comparison. Letting our student go back home was pretty hard too.</p>
<p>You SO did the right thing. She will treasure this year in Spain her entire life, and it has no doubt given her priceless experience to build on for further adventures in college. Tulane has such an excellent Latin American program, with great ties to Brazil, Panama, Guatemala, and many other countries in that region. After all, it was banana money that built the President’s residence!</p>
<p>I am sure the advisors at Tulane will give her great direction, but I do wonder how different Catalan culture is from the rest of Spain. From what I have read, it is still pretty different. I guess she will find out over time!</p>
<p>Catalunya is all about Independencia! It’s fun listening to my D and our exchange son argue about it. I’m sure there are differences in the culture just like other regions in Spain, just like parts of the US.</p>
<p>It has been a great year for all of us - we’ve learned so much and now we have 2 families in Spain that we can call our own. I think everyone should host a student sometime. I’m sure we will be hosting more students in the future. My S16 isn’t interested in going anywhere long term but he’ll probably go spend a summer at our student’s house in the next year or two.</p>
<p>We are here now. I can’t speak to the sessions as this Mama snuck back to the pool. I talked to some of the folks running the show & feel like much of the Parent sessions focus on transitioning to sending your child away to school for the first time. Been there, done that. 
I do plan to attend some info sessions tomorrow.</p>
<p>Kiddo is requesting a single room. Anyone know his chances as a Freshman? He did the roommate thing at Exeter and feels like he’d rather have a single. I told him to ask during a housing info session as well. He has no problem making friends and is very comfortable living solo. </p>
<p>Time to wander to Cafe du Monde. :)</p>
<p>Not that many singles, and freshmen rarely get them. I would say it is so rare that he might as well resign himself to having a roommate. Hopefully he will get a good one and it will be a positive experience for him.</p>
<p>Thanks, FC. I know there are some singles in Monroe for Freshmen, hopefully he’ll present a good enough case for one! If not, he’ll be fine with a roommate.</p>
<p>Son’s group was last to register today. He ended up with Soviet Comedy 1960/1970’s for his TIDES course. :)</p>
<p>Other classes:
Symbolic Logic
Advanced French Gram & Comp
Intensive Portuguese
Intro to Development
International Relations</p>
<p>17 Credit Hours
4 classes MWF
2 classes T
1 class Th</p>
<p>He loved Orientation and made some great connections.</p>
<p>Housing guy says very few Freshmen request singles and that he has a great chance of getting one.</p>
<p>ExeterMama - Are they restricting the single rooms in Monroe to freshmen now? If so, that is a change from a few years ago.</p>
<p>H + S came home yesterday from orientation (they actually missed their 6am flight). S has never been so happy - LOVED orientation, met a roommate, clicked with a group of other students, loves his schedule: Philosophy, anthropology - human origins, Sp 3, violence in Europe in the 20th century, micro, and business tides - 17.5 credits. He held off taking a math + Eng to see what he got on his AP tests. He got his student ID and is decked out in Tulane apparel today - he is soooo ready:) There is nothing better than feeling like you chose the right school!</p>
<p>That’s awesome Bloomy!</p>
<p>SO HAPPY FOR YOU and HIM! We’re in the same mental place here! </p>
<p>Although right now my son is psyched to go work at camp, which he loves more than life itself. So Tulane Excitement is taking a little bit of a backseat… ;)</p>
<p>OH hey… are your kids not taking foreign language Freshman year? My son registered for Latin but the advisor said he might want to wait for Sophomore year and take an elective instead. (he has 5 years of Latin already…thought he might opt for French but he really loves it)</p>