Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of Class of 20xx
4841

<p>@spritle,</p>

<p>Thank you! And yes, QB is amazing…I so wish that she didn’t need it! But the reality is that she does…</p>

<p>Have you thought about the June 8 date? I believe the deadline to register is May 9th. I am vacillating over whether dd should take it as she just took it 4/13 and what is frustrating is that scores probably won’t be available until after 5/9!!! Or, should she wait til the fall…this testing is so completely out of control for these kids…she also has to decide about the SAT IIs as well!!!</p>

4842

<p>Good morning all! Quick attempt to catch up while I sip my skinny latte…</p>

<p>@Creekland…“youngest makes me ‘that mom’…” I completely feel your pain!</p>

<p>@BlueIguana…How did I miss Jenna Johnson at WaPo? Thanks for the heads up.</p>

<p>@incadinca and so many others…eyemamom said it best IMO “the role of our kids right now…maintaining/improving grades, test prep, activities…” For better or for worse, this concentrated and intense effort is the worthiest investment in our child(ren)'s future. What matters more than education? (Rhetorical, of course.) </p>

<p>Not gonna lie, when I come downstairs and Cheergirl’s laying on the couch scarfing my BBQ Popchips like its her job, and watching “Awkward” (‘taking a break MOM’ said with dripping sarcasm…), and I’ve spent the evening researching schools within a 1,000 mile radius that offer Atmospheric Science AND a Greek system…well, I do feel a pang of resentment. BUT, my controlling alter ego reminds me that I really do enjoy guiding this crazy journey!</p>

<p>As for Cheergirl showing interest and becoming part of the process, I hoped it would happen once we started campus visits, and I was right! Visits make it real, not just abstract, yikes! </p>

<p>Our first visit was UDel and we all loved everything about it. It didn’t hurt that it was a lovely pre-spring day and hundreds of students were out and about doing college-y things! Loved the architecture and green spaces and manageable number of undergrads. More rigorous than expected, not a bad thing, and very spirited, Go Blue Hens, yeah! (Didn’t see that coming, never thought those words would be coming out of my mouth!) Visited UMiami over break, wow! Work hard/play hard…far from home and a reach for sure, but its staying on list. UPitt is off the list. We loved the city but not the school. Too urban for Cheergirl, great visit that reinforced her desire for a school in proximity to urban area but not right smack in the middle of it. UMD/College Park…our in-state flagship, MY alma mater, MY first choice…so many options. (Not the least of which would be retirement for me BEFORE the age of 85!) A nagging concern that Cheergirl will need to bring her “A” game to survive and thrive, and not a safety school for most anymore. Visiting Elon this weekend to see a small school and a southern school…JMU next month (hear they have amazing food and eating’s one of Cheergirl’s favorite EC’s). Hoping to visit IndianaU, Miami (of Ohio), and PSU. And possibly Ohio State and 'Bama, based on favorable CC comments!</p>

<p>Wishing everyone a productive week! Last but not least, welcome to Stefalis and BIG BIG CONGRATS to NewHavenCTMom on QuestBridge!!! :)</p>

4843

<p>Hi All</p>

<p>Have been out of town for several days.</p>

<p>NewHavenCTmom… I am so blessed to hear the good news for your DD! The partner schools open to her are amazing AND many will meet full need. Such an exciting journey ahead of her! ((u)) ((dd)) </p>

<p>In our house, I came home from a long business trip, a long drive and a birthday alone in a hotel to find our our k2 let the english grade slip A LOT! Happy Birthday mom </p>

<p>I told DH that if K2 doesn’t cut it this term and doesn’t have a decent transcript–several schools including the 1st choice school will be off the list…</p>

<p>the problem has been … prom, new friends, and a prom date/S.O.
K2 is too much of a social butterfly…and is going to be pretty disappointed if we have to say that after graduation k2 must stay home, go to the local cc and get a job (because k2 may not make a high enough gpa to meet the state incentive grants)</p>

<p>big SIGH…</p>

<p>This is not the first time K2 has let opportunities slip away…I am still waiting for the maturing/frontal lobe thing to kick in…</p>

4844

<p>Well, I wish I had the some good news, but alas. Remember the cancelled course? Well, there’s NOTHING in the schdedule for d to take in it’s place. She’ll have two free periods first semester next year. She said it’ll look like she’s coasting her last year. And indeed it may. </p>

<p>Congrats on the Questbridge scholarship, NewHavenCTmom. It must be a breath of fresh air to take the financial concerns off the table.</p>

4845

<p>ordinarylives - Does d’s school allow for Independent Study? If she has a special area of interest she could work on that or if there’s an online version of the cancelled course maybe she can do that as I.S.</p>

4846

<p>NewHavenCTmom: Congrats!!! Questbridge is an outstanding program. My older son knew a girl from a summer program who got into MIT, Harvard and Yale through Questbridge. She’s now a senior at Harvard and doing well.</p>

<p>ordinarylives: Could your daughter take an online class? My oldest son found himself in trouble as early as his sophomore year. He had maxed out most of our classes, so we sent him to the community college to take BC calculus. When his schedule at school did not work, he enrolled in a virtual AP class. In the end, he became the poster child for the state’s program. Took AP Bio, Chem, Physics B, macro and micro econ, comparative government and AP stats all online. So perhaps AP online is an option?</p>

<p>fogfog: So sorry to hear about K2 and the grade issue. We had our moments this year, too, with our '14 son. He was very honest when his grade in AP bio was not what we expected. He did, however, rally, and now, he’s looking very good as they prepare for the AP exam in a couple of weeks. I did not nag when the grade fell. Instead, I just reminded him of our expectations, and there would be consequences if they were not met. Maybe a gentle reminder to K2 will be enough. </p>

<p>cheermom20878: Penn State has a marvelous Atmospheric Science program, as does Oklahoma. Alabama has a great Greek system – my oldest son is Greek, and he has lots of pretty female friends who are Greek. JMU does have great food – several former students of mine attend the school.</p>

4847

<p>NewHavenCTMom: congratulations! Your daughter sounds awesome and of course she has an awesome mom! </p>

<p>Ordinary lives: I second the thought of online classes. </p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I510 using CC</p>

4848

<p>FOGFOG–Welcome home! Sorry about the birthday. As much as we all dream about some “alone time,” a birthday without your family/friends is probably not what you had in mind. </p>

<p>Time to put on your cape and transition into your Super Mommy “crack the whip” mode lol! What you described is exactly how I feel most semesters with my social butterfly, but especially in the fall of Junior year–UGH! Football season…with 3-hour cheer practices/day. Then SHE had to orchestrate every detail of Homecoming for her entire group, the parade, the restaurant, the menu, the after-party…collecting the money, arranging special meals for GF friends…you name it! Anything to avoid studying haha! She’ll typically go through the whole marking period with a bunch of very high B’s (87-89), then, at the LAST MINUTE, she’ll somehow pull 6 of them up to A’s, with that nagging high B in English. She’ll be giddy with delight…and I’m a MESS, ready for strong adult beverages and/or evenings with my BFF’s Ben and Jerry <wink>! I’m too old for this…</wink></p>

4849

<p>I suggested online classes as well. They’re free while she’s in high school and would probably transfer to the kinds of schools d is interested in, but d wants nothing to do with them. If we hadn’t moved to that blasted block schedule, she’d have been free at the same time every day and I could have sent her to my employer for a class (no cost to the district!). Unfortunately, 90 minute blocks on alternate days for two week periods do not work well with the 50 minute standard MWF blocks at a college. </p>

<p>Oh my, cheermom, our d’s sound a lot alike, right down to the nagging B in English. D’14 is captain of the boys basketball cheer squad for next year, and I sense a flurry of activity as there will be “Things!” to coordinate.</p>

4850

<p>Let me clarify! She was selected for the QB College Prep NOT National College Match Scholarship…two different phases/applications in the QB process…the College Prep phase is a HUGE step in the right direction which is for juniors only. </p>

<p>Often times students who are selected at this phase are selected for the College Match Scholarship…which rising seniors/seniors apply for in late summer/early fall. I’m so sorry if I misled you all!!! Please forgive me!!</p>

4851

<p>Well it’s still a great step, and I hope she is able to get the match scholarship as well! It’s certainly a good sign that you both are doing things right.</p>

4852

<p>NHCtMom - Huge hugs and congratulations to your wonderful DD and you. No misleading at all! What an accomplishment and testament to her hard work and determination, AND your longstanding commitment that she will have a better life, she will not fall prey to the same cycle her peers will, she will have every opportunity to succeed and open doors her peers have silently been closing never even realizing. You are amazing!! When your DD is grown, successful, and decides to pen a book of how it all happened, all her cyber aunties and uncles will be cheering her on saying “I knew her when”! :)</p>

<p>fogfog - ugh, just ugh! I feel the weight in your words as you post. I hope K2 is able to readjust for the forth quarter and finish strong. Sometimes things happen all at once and it’s just the perfect storm.</p>

<p>OLives - Could your DD take an online course that let her do the work anytime during the day, with a weekly schedule? That way she could utilize her time in class to do the coursework with minimal time at home. I know when S3 took an online course he worked daily just to keep a schedule but was able to shift around depending on other things. Tests and quizzes had to be done on certain days, but not specific times. There was a lot of flexibility. With a larger block of time your DD could do two days worth of work and not be held up by the block scheduling.</p>

4853

<p>New Haven Mom - Congrats and I still think that’s great! It’s a great start for the process!</p>

<p>We’ve been home for almost a week from our college tours and I’m still trying to catch up on everything that needs to be done especially as it’s DD14’s bday this week and tech week for her school show. I think we’ll be able to have a few close friends in for a quick pizza and cake party on her birthday - for about an hour between rehearsal and homework time! At least her friends are as busy as she is so they’ll need to go home to do homework also. So it may be DD14 and maybe 5-6 other girls and her BF who is good friends with all the girls. Should be fun and interesting :)</p>

<p>As far as the college tours went, we walked around Yale without a tour (loved it but a total you know what kind of reach unless her scores go way up - then it’s just a total chance reach!). We did an info session and tour and she had her first interview at Fairfield (liked it - a pretty campus, but didn’t really get a good feel for the school so while it’s still on the list, she’s not really sure about it. Should be a safety for her?) Did an info session and official tour at Marist and then met a friend for lunch and an unofficial tour along with a meeting of a theatre person there so that was fun. Marist is a beautiful school and she’ll definitely apply there and it may be a good match for her and hopefully she would be able to get merit aid there. Next up was an info session and interview at Mt. Holyoke (we’d had an official tour last summer). We got there early enough to walk around before hand and she still really liked it. It’s a beautiful campus and I think a really good fit for her but again, we’ll have to see on the merit aid. She interviewed with an international student and I think got a good feel for the school. She’ll definitely apply and it still seems to be the top choice. Then we did an info session and tour of Smith. She liked it but not as much as Holyoke. Had a quick dinner with DS11 before heading home exhausted! </p>

<p>It’s funny - I’d love to go over what DD likes and dislikes about schools when they’re fresh in her mind but after each tour she’d rather just chill in the car. I think she needs some quiet time to process everything she’s experienced and recover from them all (we were each wearing pedometers and were clocking 12-14,000 steps a day!)</p>

<p>So we’re slowly adding schools to the list and I think we’ve figured out those schools around New England that she’ll be applying to, but will probably also tour Brown and if she’s serious about Yale will aim to go on an official tour also. This summer we’ll head down to see Drew, Princeton, Bryn Mawr and maybe something else in that general area. I told her once her school play is over and her AP tests are done, I want the two of us to meet with her guidance counselor to go over the schools currently on her list and to see if there are any others we should be adding. And I’m hoping the guidance counselor will have a better idea of whether she’d be likely to get the merit aid she needs at Mt. Holyoke, Smith or Bryn Mawr!</p>

<p>Sitting at home enjoying a glass of wine in front of the fire waiting for the cold rain to go away and spring to come back!</p>

4854

<p>Just checking in to say hi, and because I need to get to 15 posts to respond to a PM. So please forgive in advance my next 2 posts :)</p>

4855

<p>Hi again hope everyone is having a great night, thanks for all of the interesting stories here, I love to read them!</p>

4856

<p>And this is my last annoying post, sorry. But now I will be a full member of CC (I think, unless there is another surprise awaiting me)…</p>

4857

<p>Akmom - my D (hs 2011) got some serious merit aid at Fairfield $26k - so I would definitely keep it on the list.</p>

<p>Stefalis - hope you have now bulked up to the mandatory minimum post count. If not, most of us buy extra posts on cc- booster dot com</p>

<p>Kidding…that’s illegal. If you get caught. :)</p>

4858

<p>welcome to your new addiction Stefalis</p>

4859

<p>akmom124–I also tried to have my son jot down his thoughts as we drove from school to school. His brother posed a 1-10 scale with a school we visited last summer as a zero. The HS jr is the agreeable one and all schools seem to rate a six or seven, unless the school was eliminated. If I can just find one more safety that is also a six or seven in his mind, then I will be comfortable as he could be happy at more than one place. </p>

<p>Yale is beautiful. I have attended several swim meets there throughout the years but had never spent any time on campus until last fall. (The inside of the athletic facility didn’t count.) I walked around for a couple of hours last Oct while my younger son attended Yale’s Splash program. It was a picture-perfect fall day. Tons of students out on the quad promoting the various clubs and activities, pumpkin carving, frisbee throwing, etc. </p>

<p>I don’t know anything about Drew but want to pass along an excerpt from an article I read in the paper last week.
<a href=“Many Colleges and Universities Face Financial Problems - The New York Times”>Many Colleges and Universities Face Financial Problems - The New York Times;

<p>Take this line from a Moody’s report when it downgraded Drew University in New Jersey in 2012: “The rating is based on persistent operating deficits and thin cash-flow driven by a decline in enrollment and net tuition per student coupled with rising debt service payments and transition of several key members of university leadership.”</p>

<p>Translation: the private college is operating in a hole (though, Moody’s also notes, it’s helped by having an endowment); it is discounting tuition too much, and it is not attracting enough students, especially those who will pay more in tuition.</p>

<p>Michael Groener, Drew’s vice president of finance and business affairs, who arrived on campus last fall, says the financial decline is largely the result of discounting the $42,000 sticker price too often and too much — sometimes by 50 percent. “That is pushing it about as far as we can go,” Mr. Groener says. In the years ahead, he says, Drew needs to bolster revenue through other means, mostly fund-raising, and look more closely at expenses by prioritizing what really matters in a good liberal-arts education.</p>

<p>NH CT Mom–congrats! I have to look that up to find out what it means, but I trust that you will educate us and keep us posted on your D’s progress along the way. </p>

<p>Class of 2015–is cc- booster dot com some sort of underground currency? Less established than bitcoins perhaps?</p>

4860

<p>Son is scheduled to take his one and only SATII (French) in May and the SAT in June. I asked him (carefully, so as not to be accused of pressuring him!) what he thought of taking the ACT in June as well. Then, he could decide which to take in the fall one last time. He said sure! I was shocked. </p>

<p>I think it may be that some of his friends are starting to talk college, plus the fact that he loved the William and Mary tour this weekend. He realizes that W&M will remain a dream if he doesnt bring up his test scores to at least give him a small chance of acceptance. </p>

<p>So, he will be taking the two exams in June, but no guarantee he will actually study for them…</p>