<p>Fogfog, I think you win the prize for stamina! I plotted our trip and it is 940 miles through 4 states but your itinerary makes ours look like child’s play! We fly out Sunday afternoon, rent a car, and start the road trip. We fly back home Saturday.</p>
<p>I’m not looking forward to all the driving and am jealous of my DH who gets to spend the week in London with DD. But I am looking forward to spending tons of time with DS. Next year’s spring break will be spent on a beach somewhere sipping umbrella drinks!</p>
<p>Impressive list of questions, Novamom. Sounds as if your DS’s school is on the ball. We received an email yesterday notifying us that the college counselor will be meeting with students today and tomorrow “to help explore college options.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, DD is sick and only went to school this morning to take a test. Good thing we have CC.</p>
<p>Great questions, NovaMom–I am going to cut and paste them into a document for DD.</p>
<p>Driving in Boston–ok, now I’m really getting nervous. Then again, I’ve driven in Europe so it can’t be that bad, right?</p>
<p>Comfort Shoes: I’ve got plantar fasciitis so I have to be so careful. I’m a huge fan of Naot. They’re not exceedingly attractive–kind of spendy–but they cradle your foot like no other! Just bought another pair for our upcoming college trip (I will give you a full mileage estimate later!) Also, one can’t beat Birkenstocks–brings out my inner Northwesterner.</p>
<p>Naot’s are nice walking shoes. For short walks, like a college tour, I prefer my privos. I have a really cute multi-colored pair. They’re nicer than tennis shoes, and almost as comfy.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Go2mom-- don’t forget to wear socks with your Birkenstocks for the real Northwest look ;)</p>
<p>… it’s possible you could use the phrase ‘a dressier type hiking boot.’
(sounds exactly like something I would say- we are kidding only ourselves)
…the average heel height of your shoe/sneaker collection is 1 and an eighth inches
…You know the average heel height of your shoe/sneaker collection (Go Sneaker Moms!)
…You have waited for offspring’s SAT scores 6 times
…You have over 150 miles on your car, or you will
…You love the kid on the couch</p>
<p>((humor alert and apologies to Jeff Foxworthy - what ones did I miss?))</p>
<p>More seriously - DH and S visited WPI and were both very impressed. Their big selling point is that whole ‘cooperation instead of competition’ thing, and from appearances they are walking the walk, and also high job placement rates. I like the short Trimesters (helps keep student’s minds from being ambushed by the Procrastination Beast) and sturdy safety net. S said he could easily picture himself going there, getting a great education and enjoying it. There is also a Merit program for Valedictorians, which S might end up being. I’m glad they visited.</p>
<p>You know you are a CC parent (let’s not forget the Captain and the other dads) when</p>
<p>-- you can recite the 25%/75% ACT/SAT and average scores faster than the Ad com
– you know that “Meets Needs” really means LOANS
– you know how to smile and nod, smile and nod</p>
<p>ParentSparkle – Trying to interest DD in at least considering WPI as they send her a ton of mail and it seems like a good school and has support for women in STEM. Happy to hear the trip report was positive.</p>
<p>and a few more for the "you know you are a CC parent if…</p>
<p>“you know what it means to love the kid on the couch”
"you know what “fit” really means and you aren’t swayed by “name brands” (colleges NOT shoes )</p>
<p>You said: I think I will snap a pic of a few things. I do have my kiddos do a little “form” each day/night. Sometimes we work on it over dinner-- what did you like.hate…etc. </p>
<p>I’d love to have a peek at your ‘‘form’’ - can you post it for us?</p>
<p>S2 loved WPI when we visited with S1 – we will probably visit again in April. Especially since he’s definitely leaning toward smaller schools overall, it could be a very nice fit.</p>
<p>^ hey, I resemble a couple of those statements! ;)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>you have read all the meal plans and dorm options at the schools your kid is considering. You know where you’ll get fleeced the most. </p></li>
<li><p>you check the local news online for stories regarding each prospective U because that’s where you’re going to get the real story. </p></li>
<li><p>you have a collection of random college t’s you sleep in handed down by your kids after they pick ‘the one’ and reject all the ones they collected during ‘The Search’. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>It looks like I’m wearing wellies this trip. :o</p>
<p>Um, ok. So your GCs tend to meet with both the students and the parents? We’ve yet to experience that…</p>
<p>My older two were homeschooled in high school, so I was the guidance counselor. I’ve pretty much taken on the role for S’14 too, but I won’t be filling out the forms nor sending out the transcript since he opted for public school. I guess it’s good that I have experience. If it were just up to what I hear from S via school he wouldn’t have taken the PSAT nor anything else. It’s not that our school doesn’t suggest these things to the kids - they do - but that often doesn’t get relayed home.</p>
<p>I’ll have to ask him what his GC has even said about college so far (if anything). I think he had his junior interview, but again, I’m not sure.</p>
<p>I do know there was a group parent/family meeting last month where they had admissions folks from a couple of local colleges, but I’ll admit to skipping that since my guy isn’t interested in those schools and we already know the basics.</p>
<p>And congrats on all the finalists for mock trials! How exciting!!</p>
<p>Agent99 - We had one school that took forever to get the schedule to us, too. Finally came Friday before our Thurs. tour. </p>
<p>I’ll have to check when I get home, but I know I’ve already driven over 1,000 miles! </p>
<p>We enjoyed the mini-vacation at the beach. Visited Auburn today. Very impressive! Not sure the mobey would work out for that one, but I bet it will go on the list! This was the one that was a last minute add pn.</p>
<p>U of Alabama is tomorrow. Excited to see if it measures up to the wonderful things we’ve hearx about it! </p>
<p>Hope everyone has safe travels if you’re touring!</p>
<p>PS, thanks for the trip report on WPI! It’s good to hear they are “walking the walk” re “cooperation vs. competition”. Nice on the merit aid for valedictorians - good luck to your son!</p>
<p>S14 is going to Michigan’s state Business Professionals of America competition this weekend. They leave tomorrow at lunch time. He has his suits, shirts and ties all packed in a garment bag. I don’t think he’s ever packed in anything but a duffle bag before. Or a backpack, for Scouts. This is not like packing for Scout camp! He is impressed with the garment bag though. He finds it be very efficient with all the cool pockets. With the changes in air travel (charging so much for checked luggage), the garment bag doesn’t get much use these days!</p>
<p>Beadymom–drive safely and have fun tomorrow!</p>
<p>Creekland–Can’t believe you homeschooled! I really admire parents that have the skill, tenacity and patience to do that. Your children are very lucky to have you as their ultimate GC.</p>
<p>And what is the Business Competition all about? Nothing more darling than college boys in ties (okay, that probably sounds sexist…I will own it.)</p>
(colleges NOT shoes