<p>LOL. He is bringing in so many credits that he is nearly a Junior already. I still have a hard time grasping that concept. Probably his biggest failing is a lack of initiative on things that are not interesting to him. He is in the Honors College and should have registered then, I believe, but he did not act quickly and missed a window…</p>
<p>He did actually take some advice and is only taking 13 credits. Math, Science, English, Government and then a 1 credit Engineering class. He should have done the AP Government test, but he was more worried about getting a 5 than about getting the 3 he needed for credit. He also seemed to think he would not need Government…smart, but sometimes drives me crazy.</p>
<p>I don’t know if Mrs. T is willing to go up there again on the Saturday. He did say something about it being on a flyer. Yet another reason(s) I am glad he chose OU. 1) they have this sort of thing for NMS 2) It is close enough that we can actually go if we wish. </p>
<p>Other than his Math and Science really being upper division classes, his 1st semester is not so much interesting as it is functional. Get him used to the system and knock out the few remaining Core requirements he has. Once 2nd semester begins, he will be hip deep in Engineering for the rest of his academic career!</p>
<p>Torveaux, starting as a junior is amazing, especially with five years of tuition! I assume he did that with AP classes. My D is starting as a sophomore. She was in an IB diploma program and took 3 AP tests. IB doesn’t yield as many credits for the time invested as does AP. D’s interests are similar to mine so the classes she’s taking are things that I find very interesting … anthropology, political science, economics etc. An engineering major’s schedule would have me running in fear. However, engineering students have enviable job prospects upon graduation. </p>
<p>I’ve got a little info on the NM picnic. Last year it was inside the ballroom in the student union, which I thought odd for a picnic. I enjoyed going as it was a chance to meet more people (particularly those on my floor), but it’s not something I think a parent would need to plan around. It’s information that you’ve likely heard before or that pertains to your child. The goal of the picnic is to make you and your child glad that they chose OU. If you’re already content in that decision, I don’t think you need to go. My parents did not attend it last year, as they had to return home after move-in day. It is a good chance to meet your child’s peers though.</p>
<p>Fun story re: entering with a lot of credits: my roommate and I both entered with just enough credits to be considered juniors. He’s an econ major and I wish I was an econ major, so one day we sat down and looked at the degree plans. If we had don 18 or so hours per semester and two summer’s worth of classes, we could have graduated with a doctorate in economics before our five year tuition waiver ran out. The point here is that getting an econ degree is INCREDIBLY flexible and easy if your child is interested in that. It’s also that when entering with a lot of credits, you can get a lot accomplished within the bounds of the scholarship if you plan ahead.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, WoolScarves. We will go to the picnic because we live so close and I’m curious about the other NMS students and families. If we were from out-of-town and it meant two nights in a hotel and hanging out all day Saturday, we would probably not go.</p>
<p>I’m inferring from your posts that you have been happy at OU and feel that it was a good choice?</p>
<p>I think I made the right choice at the time. Looking back on it and knowing what I do now, I likely would’ve gone to Northeastern University. I say this because of my new major and because I’m not the best cultural fit with Oklahomans and Texans.</p>
<p>That said, I’m very, very happy to be at OU. Northeastern is probably just a “grass is greener” thing. I like the wealth of opportunities provided at OU, I LOVE the early enrollment privileges (five of us had a discussion of how much of our scholarship we would be willing to give up to keep our early enrollment privileges and we decided around $5,000), and my friends here. I also love the job I’ve gotten within the athletic department and the environment of football games. The only things I’m dissatisfied with are the college I have to work with for one of my majors (the college of education) and the difficulty in meeting with professional advisers.</p>
<p>As I’ve said before, I’m always willing to help people when they visit campus or if their children need anything after move-in.</p>
<p>OK, so now that he is actually done with registration, the course looks nothing like what we discussed…much more brutal to me, but I can see it being interesting to him. O-Chem, Differential Equations and 6 credits worth of Engineering courses. </p>
<p>Also, he showed me the invite and the ‘picnic’ is on Friday, not Saturday. </p>
<p>Oddly enough, I wondered if he would have been better of with IB. I guess what I don’t like is that it is not available everywhere…He took a bunch of AP tests and Spanish alone was worth 19 credits at OU. Turns out that some of them are empty credits as they do not apply for Spanish majors. </p>
<p>Woolscarves…it is my understanding that a lot of PhD candidates, especially in the sciences, end up getting paid to go to school anyway. I would recommend broadening your education instead. I know a lot of people who don’t really like the work in their degree field and it can limit opportunities. Thanks again for all of your insight.</p>
<p>@Torveaux Thanks for bringing up the topic of “empty credits” this is something I’ve wondered about. My d will likely have several Dual Credit and AP credits that don’t apply towards her major, will these credits still apply toward class standing or to they just not count? </p>
<p>Yes, all of them apply to standing (which matters for when they register after their initial registration), but may not apply directly to a degree program. In his case, some of his Spanish credits don’t apply to Spanish majors (not sure about minor). They do count for him as the language requirement and as ‘electives’. Many of the AP credits fill the Core classes…English I, US History, World History, etc. He also got out of a many of his freshman Math as he got a 5 on the Calc BC test. Ditto the science courses. It all depends a bit on what major and what courses.</p>
<p>Torveaux, thanks for the suggestion, but neither of us is pursuing the PhD in five years. It was just a fun exercise. I’m graduating with degrees in science education and chemistry, while fulfilling pre-health requirements to give myself plenty of options post graduation. My roommate is majoring in math and economics and getting a minor while being involved in the jazz band here, so I’d say we’re both staying pretty diverse And I’m just glad to help. This section is usually dead so I’m glad to see activity in it and assist how I can.</p>
<p>The best suggestion I have is looking at the degree sheets and the AP credit equivalencies at OU.</p>
<p>That will give you a pretty good idea as to how your AP credits will help you in completing a degree. I know the stuff can be kind of confusing, so just let me know if I can explain any of it further for you.</p>
<p>We’ve signed up for the express move in service. We’re going to have a very tight schedule that day so it will be worth it to us. I’ll try to remember to report back.</p>
<p>(Sorry if the above comment seems a little out of order - just realized I replied to posts that were quite a ways back)</p>
<p>Not so very far - from Wichita. Because of some time constraints on this end we can’t arrive until late morning and we have to turn around and head home waaay too soon - so it will be nice to park close and have the hard part taken care of! </p>
<p>I just noticed on the schedule today that this is the move in day for Freshmen only. That should at least make it a bit less hectic. In my head I was imagining EVERYONE at the same time. We are going to try to not overpack too much. We are close enough that if he needs anything he cannot buy in Norman, we can get it to him on Labor Day weekend.</p>
<p>Torveaux and any other NMS parents, I read that the NMS students will be recognized at the OU vs. Louisiana Tech game on August 30. On-line it appears that tickets for this game are $55 each. I would imagine that any remaining seats would be so far back (or far up) that we wouldn’t recognize D. Do you plan to attend this game and, if so, do you have a strategy for obtaining tickets, We’re not football people so we have no experience at purchasing college football tickets. </p>
<p>Hmmm…I am not really a big college sports guy. NFL is more my thing. I seem to remember getting something in the mail for OU parents to get tickets for selected games. Our first reaction is to not go to that sort of thing unless S1 is speaking or being honored individually for something. With a mass recognition, I’d rather get the picture they try to sell us afterward. I doubt S1 will go to any game unless required. I think he went to 1 HS football game and this is Texas!</p>
<p>Torveaux, that’s one more football game than my daughter went to. I doubt D will care whether we go to this or not. We just are accustomed to going to everything, but there doesn’t seem much point in going to this game or I would have already bought tickets instead of waffling about it. </p>
<p>LOL. The one game was homecoming and it was more about a girl than the game! My guess is the recognition part will be something akin to: cue announcer voice: OU would like to recognize the 125? National Merit Scholars currently enrolled at OU. Let’s all give them a round of applause! - certainly a nice gesture, but not worth a trip to Norman for us. </p>
<p>I do have another question. DW seems to be obsessed right now with curtains. Window and Shower varieties. Does anyone know if the rooms have curtain rods? How do the kids in suites handle things like shower curtains in terms of who gets what? I am trying to get her to relax and let them handle it. They only have 2 weeks of school until the long weekend.</p>
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