Merit Weekend 2014

<p>Who's going? My daughter will be going to the second one. She received her University of Kentucky M&Ms in the mail the other day, and was very pleased. Have to give props to Kentucky for the attention and hospitality they have shown. We're starting to see blue here.</p>

<p>We are going to the second one also. DD had some very frozen M&Ms arrive last week. I am wondering what hapens regarding registering for classes when one is in AP classes currently. Specifically wondering about Calculus. Anyone know?</p>

<p>We are going to the first one. I will be glad to report anything I find out. We bleed blue at our house! Go Big Blue!</p>

<p>Do you know if we will find out about Honors before Merit Weekend? I am wondering how one would sign up for classes without that knowledge.</p>

<p>I contacted the honors dept. today via phone, and was told that they are in the process of stuffing the final envelopes with notification letters today. They told me that most should have letters in their hands by this Friday, but definitely by next week at the latest. You will receive a letter either way - accepted or denied.</p>

<p>ok … so they’re sending letters for accept or deny. we were wondering about that. I’d say acceptance is a long shot for DS … but good to know we’ll get a definitive answer. </p>

<p>we are attending Merit Weekend #2. :)</p>

<p>Honors acceptance letter came today! It was in a very thin envelope, so I feared the worst when I saw it, but he got in. We are unable to attend Merit Weekend, and I must have tossed the info about it since I knew we couldn’t make it. What exactly are the benefits of attending? Should we possibly reconsider? I just assumed it was more of an open house type thing and we’ve already toured the campus twice, and we live 5 hours away.</p>

<p>You would need to see if space is still available for your major. The biggest benefit IMO is being able to register for fall classes. My daughter’s boyfriend will be attending UK in the fall, and has decided not to go to Merit Weekend, but rather wait until summer advising to register. It is not the end of the world if you are not able to attend.</p>

<p>Naper Mom- I contacted my adviser yesterday and asked about AP classes that I am currently taking and they said that if we bring an unofficial transcript or a list of these classes, they will take these into consideration when scheduling your classes. Surprisingly, UK has also told us that they prefer dual credit to Advanced Placement. Just for everyone’s information.</p>

<p>Anyone know if merit weekend is casual or if we should require DS to dresss up. </p>

<p>Just got back. Wow information overload. First, VERY casual. Kids there in sweats, leggings and jeans. Second take a copy of your transcript, ap scores, or any other class credit and have your child take with them on Saturday. Many Kids seemed very overwhelmed when returned to parents because of scheduling procedure and process. Hopefully first session glitches that will get worked out. Many apparently had problems with not having proper info in computer. Third, Get to places early. Not enough seats to accommodate people at Friday’s breakout sessions and parents standing at the parent 4 hour meeting on Saturday. Lots of people in small spaces, bring patience and hope for great weather. The fact we could go outside was great. </p>

<p>Thank you for that information. I am hoping that you can provide a few more specifics about the breakout sessions.
Were some sessions repeated, or was there only one of each session?
Were there any that you thought were better than others?
Were there many staff members around who could answer specific questions? (Financial aid reps, housing)
I had heard that there would be a MathExcel table set up. Was there a time when people could browse tables of information, such as there is at seeblue events?
Is there anything that you would have done differently, besides the things that you mentioned?</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing!</p>

<p>Tables set up all around breakout rooms. People very helpful. Just very crowded and hard to get to tables. We split up. I missed first info session because too many ppl in room for fire code which was to my benefit because I spent time looking at tables while majority in rooms. Few others doing same thing. I found honors session most helpful. There were basically 6 sessions offered each of three time slots. Popular ones repeated at least twice. I also did food and dorm session but that one you can get off website. Food guy very good speaker. I would have given my child a better understanding of how to schedule classes and I would have him meet with an advisor before hand. I thought they would meet with advisor. Did not happen. Go on dorm tour if haven’t seen central yet. It was amazing. </p>

<p>Did you have to register for the housing tour far in advance? Was this separate from the campus tour, or a part of it?</p>

<p>I see in the program that it says that they would meet with an advisor. Was there something unique about your situation that you did not meet with one, or is the brochure not accurate?</p>

<p>We just showed up at visitors center at 2 and said we wanted dorm tour only. About 50 ppl on tour. There was another campus tour going out same time so be sure you are on the tour you want. No one met with advisors during scheduling to my knowledge. Have talked to few others who were upset about that as well. </p>

<p>I will say ds found experience helpful and found roommate. Everyone very nice and helpful. Campus beautiful. Husband and son liked uk game on during lunch. I enjoyed talking to other parents. All in all good experience and glad to have schedule done. Ds has his new student ID hanging from his new lanyard waiting for fall. Enjoy. </p>

<p>I agree with what’s been said so far. When we arrived on campus, we were able to schedule a tour of the Central Dorms at the Visitor’s Center (so it wasn’t necessary to reserve a spot in advance). I recommend that you go on the 2:00 tour so that you can be first in line to sign in at the Singletary Center. We went to that around 1:30 and got first pick for which time to take the foreign language exam. Another tip: the foreign language exams were running late, so those that scheduled to take the last ones were late for the welcoming ceremony. Therefore, take an earlier exam if possible. Also, in the emails it kept mentioning that they strongly suggest you bring a laptop. I had mine and I never once took it out of my bag either day, so don’t worry about bringing one. </p>

<p>After the welcome ceremony, everyone met with their departments. Then, there was dinner in the hallways and different booths to visit. If you are in honors, you should visit the honors table and grab the packet of the available courses and their descriptions (if you do not already have one). When I went to sign up for classes the next day, I couldn’t find the list online and used this sheet to pick my class and find the numbers to look up the course. Also, go to the Honors information session because they tell you what the requirements are as far as courses you need to take. When registering on Saturday, there were not any honors advisers and the advisers in my department really didn’t know anything about it, so I had to remember what they said in the presentation.</p>

<p>When registering for classes on Saturday morning, each student was with the department for their major. In my department there were three advisers for about fifty students. They passed out sheets with a four-year plan and then taught us how to look up a class on the myUK portal. I heard that for other majors on Friday the adviser told the students to pick their classes before coming to registration on Saturday, but mine did not. So your experience might be slightly different. </p>

<p>The advisers did not talk to each person individually, however, if you had a question you could raise your hand and someone would come over to help you. The three in my room were very friendly and followed the policy that there are no stupid questions. They gave advice on which classes students typically enjoy and why. They frequently estimated how long it would take to get from one building for another. Many people were confused with what classes their AP credits replaced, so make sure you ask questions to figure out which class you are supposed to be in. The registration went live at noon, so at that time, everyone put in their first preference for classes. In the folder you get on Friday there is a sheet to write down all the classes you are taking and your back-up options. All of my classes went through except for one, so I had to take my second choice (it was the same class, just at a different time). It sounded like there were only a set number of spots for students at the first merit weekend in some courses, so I don’t think being at the later date will be an issue. </p>

<p>Overall, the entire process was a bit overwhelming, but it feels great to be officially registered! Just a forewarning I didn’t talk about everything we did on the schedule. For example, like the parents, on Saturday morning the students had lectures about campus safety, K-week, getting involved, etc. Make the most of your time and ask as many questions as possible to clarify any confusion. I hope everyone attending the next session has a great time!</p>

<p>I met with my advisor during scheduling, but I am in the Global Scholars Program</p>