Parents of rising seniors: Let the games begin

<p>Yep. That's the same 'tude we are getting. D was just pleased as punch with her outfit within minutes of her wrestling match with her wardrobe.</p>

<p>I never cease to be amazed at how my children are so completely unable to find things. And how I am "supposed" to know at all times where everything is.</p>

<p>carolyn, LOL at image of you rooting around for "lost" paper for D :D</p>

<p>My current junior S is VERY organized and almost never loses anything (better at keeping track of his stuff than I am, actually :o ), very punctual, all that. I'm more worried about him with a dorm roommate for other reasons. This kid has an absolute fit if he is sleeping and someone wakes him up :eek: . Oy.</p>

<p>My D (and now my S as well ) lived in piles of stuff on her floor..I used to call them her nests.You literally had to walk around them or step over them to get to her bed.Never used her desk (except for the computer)Darned if she couldnt find what she needed in the piles eventually. I never ever thought she would survive at college.Got matched up first year with an extremely neat roomate.They learned to tolerate each other.D's mess stayed on her half,lovely roomate stepped around it to get out the door.She's managed to meet all her deadlines,take care of herself, do her laundry.It's a learning process..they either learn or they go under.And they learn because all of a sudden there's no Mom to complain to or turn to to help find the stuff or remind them of stuff, etc.
Funniest part of this story is 2nd year D moved in with different girl,messier than her and started complaining about how messy she was! I guess its all relative.</p>

<p>I never cease to be amazed at how my children are so completely unable to find things. And how I am "supposed" to know at all times where everything is.>></p>

<p>Firefly, And, for some reason, they always seem to feel that it is MY fault if something is lost. LOL!</p>

<p>DrDrewsmom, Oh my. Imagine what his poor wife will go through. :)</p>

<p>On the other hand, most colleges provide three meals a day--no cooking, no cleaning up necessary. And if they lose things-basically they've only got one room for their personal stuff--so sooner or later they'll find it. If they're lucky, roommate will be someone's older brother or sister and may be experienced at handling a disorganized kid--or a really helpless roommate will bring out their own hidden " inner parent". College is the time to learn from the consequences of your own actions (or inaction).</p>

<p>I started to post last night but was too tired.</p>

<p>This year has been one of lots of lessons, conversations, and growth. Every time my D shows evidence of needing to know something that we have clearly thus far failed to impart, H & I exchange an "Egads!" look over her head. Last fall it seemed like each day brough new evidence of D never being ready to live on her own. </p>

<p>I am happy to report that as of now we only have the "Egads!" look about every ten days. She is (slowly but surely) incorporating all our last-minute life lessons and we are feeing really confident about her readiness for college.</p>

<p>They grow up soooooo much senior year. Help them keep their options as open as possible at this juncture-- & encourage them to keep an open mind to schools that are a little bit out of their comfort zone (i.e. farther from home, more challenging.) </p>

<p>Your kids will change and grow radically, and may be more than ready to take on these places by next April-- as these kids rapidly morph into their adult selves before our eyes! </p>

<p>Really, "fit" is a moving target.</p>

<p>SB, I've heard this from other senior parents, and also from people whose kids have already left for college and survived. But, sometimes it is hard to believe. :)</p>

<p>I know; last fall we felt that sending D to college was going to be like sending Bambi to the forest in hunting season!</p>

<p>Oh SB - LOL!!!</p>

<p>My husband's theory is that sending her far away from home will force her to mature rapidly. He's scared to death that if she goes somewhere within driving distance we'll be getting late night phone calls saying, "Mom...I can't find XYZ! Can you come up here?" :)</p>

<p>
[quote]
My husband's theory is that sending her far away from home will force her to mature rapidly. He's scared to death that if she goes somewhere within driving distance we'll be getting late night phone calls saying, "Mom...I can't find XYZ! Can you come up here?"

[/quote]

DD (and DH!) are constantly asking me where certain items are. What really gets me is when they are items that belong to them! I usually tap my chin, look thoughtfully at the sky and say "Gee, where did I put that the last time I wore/used it?" That gets the same response each time ... groaning. </p>

<p>Believe it or not, DD, who just turned 17 yesterday, still likes me to "tuck her in" each night at bedtime. And this is a child who wants to look at schools in other states?!!! Oh my. I do think her time at Girls State and Governor's School this summer will give her an idea as to how well she may do away from home. I think she can do it. Would I rather see her stay home and go to Vandy? You betcha, but I think it will do her a world of good to go someplace at least an hour or two from home.</p>

<p>Thanks for the laughs here everyone.( PJ's at 5 am going through the trash is merit worthy) Last night I was up , couldn't sleep thinking about how in a year our youngest will be in college, possibly in another state. I am going to have to find a job or go back to school or I'll have way to much time on my hands. He is a diabetic child so my thoughts tend to stray to the scary thoughts of blood sugars in the 30's while he is asleep and how will he be if he goes to low and no one is around to stay with him until he comes back up to a safe range or will there be someone to call the paramedics should the worst happen. He hasn't had a single seizure yet. I stay home (single income family, but hey at least we have an income)because there are a lot of sleepless nights when he goes to high or too low on occassion. Oh well, life of a parent is always full of worry I guess. Fortunatly of two children he is the most dependabale and reliable. He manages very well, but as you all know moms worry alot.</p>

<p>Our s has to name two colleges on his NM paperwork. Since the UC's aren't likely to be award any aid, and apparently they aren't to happy with the NM program either., we are thinking of naming the top 2 private schools he wants to get into. He will need a chunk of merit/financial aid to go to the $30,000 price tag school. So we are wondering if this is the best approach. He really wants the private schools most, UC next.</p>

<p>sweetkidsmom -- Can't remember if we've "spoken" on CC but I have a diabetic S who's a college junior half way across the country. S3 will be a high school senior in the fall and I can't imagine our lives with an empty nest. I worry about S2, the one with diabetes, lots. He's never been unconscious but we have had a few emergencies (broken glucose meter in another country, pump broke in middle of night after going in a hot tub and he had no back up syringes, etc.). This year he's living by himself so that's another worry. Guess it never ends even when they manage well.</p>

<p>3boysnjmom, I recall the hot tub thing with the pump so i think we have spoken here before. Yesterday there was an OnStar commercial that used diabetic shock in the ad to sell their car emergency system. My H and I just looked at each other with dread in our hearts. </p>

<p>The thing is letting him go away to school has been a huge hurdle for us to get over. And we are still a year away. I plan on sending him with a case of glucose tablets in hand, a cell phone and thought about tattoing 'diabetes T1' on one hand and 'hit bolus' on the other.</p>

<p>He is really interested in Whitman, Santa Clara, L&C, and UCSD.</p>

<p>s/n- q's mom
jr, m
NY
wants to stay on east coast
wants a "university athletic school"
business oriented
visited Boston (looooooooved B.C.) wasnt crazy about Northeasren or Amhurst
Going tovisit UConn, UMaryland and U florida</p>

<p>Sounds exactly like my sainted s! He is interested in business marketing or sports marketing, we are scheduled to visit Uconn in June, U Maryland in Sept. He loved B.C. but it may be a reach. He's all honors, AP, but bombed in math this year, SAt in March was 1650, Ap 26, he's hispanic with a baseball (4ys) and community service backing. Is Uconn really that desolate? We are in L.I. so I figure he can come home some weekends ?</p>

<p>Screen name: fishingmn
Is your junior male or female: female
Home state: MN (Twin Cities metro)</p>

<p>Preferred geographic location for college: Within 6-8 hours of Twin Cities
Any specific things looking for in a college (large, small, urban, etc.): medium-large, NOT small town
Child's possible academic interests: Journalism/Writing or something with Speech Disorders
Schools currently on child's list of possibilities: U of MN - TC, U of WI - Madison
Schools we've visited (whether or not child is still interested in going there): U of MN</p>

<p>GPA - 3.89/4.0 (barely top 10%)
PSAT - 200 (just missed commended)
ACT Comp - 30 (97th percentile - first try April - taking again in June)</p>

<p>We were extremely happy with her ACT results as they should get her in most schools in the Midwest that we'd consider.</p>

<p>We have agreed to pay 100% of instate public tuition (both went to U of MN) and think college debt should be avoided. Therefore, private schools are a stretch unless they give non-need merit aid (no aid expected).</p>

<p>There really aren't many good choices for journalism that are within 8 hours and fit other needs like in a city, and not too expensive. U. of MO is a good choice we'll probably look at as they have Midwest Exchange tuition option with MN.</p>

<p>Suggestions welcome.</p>

<p>q's mom - UConn is in a very rural area, but has an active campus. Niece transferred there for sophomore year from a small private LAC and loves it. Says there is always something going on. School spirit is strong esp. with recent good years in sports. We visited with our son on a cold, dreary Sunday in Feb. and the campus still seemed lively. Major development plan underway with many new, impressive buildings. Lots of ongoing research with opportunities for undergrads. There seems to be a real commitment to making UConn a top research university. Son liked the rural area and had good vibes about the school, but it may be too big for him.</p>

<p>For tudents interested in good combination of academics and social life-National Uniiversity category-Duke,Stanford,Northwestern,Vandy,ND,Princeton,Dartmouth. National LAC's-Amherst,Williams,Davidson,Colgate,Holy Cross,Bucknell and Bowdoin. These schools also have some of the highest alumni giving rates in US News rankings.</p>

<p>par72,
any on the west coast? LAC's I mean.</p>