Checking in for the first time in awhile. Like everyone else it’s hard for me to believe freshman year is almost over. We’re headed to visit DS16 in a few weeks for the school’s innovation and creativity festival. In addition to bringing home some of his stuff we’re going to hit the on campus store to try and spend down some of his remaining dining credit (which is forfeited at the end of the year ).
Two weeks later I’ll head up and help him finish moving out from year one…
DS16 looks to have a job working for a tech camp and will be taking one class at the local CC to help get one of his required classes out of the way (his advisor and major head both recommended it, so…). No doubt it will make the summer fly by and before we know it he’ll be headed back to school :-&
@dbjs70 GW’s dining dollars (on the GWorld Card) use to expire at the end of a school year but now they roll over to the next semester. Her GWCard also has a “Colonial cash” feature for other expenses including laundry/books etc. Our sweet girl has no funds left over because D.C. is expensive LOL! We really just want her to continue eating healthy and enjoy her time away from class.
@HappyFace2018, I wish RITs dining funds would roll from school year to school year. Right now they only carry from Fall to Spring. Which meant he had extra $ for this semester as he didn’t spend down the fall either.
@dbjs70 I think had our sweet girl not gone to GW she would have left over money. The other colleges we visited required the student to pick a meal plan at their cafeteria. They had great selections but she’s such a picky eater and never finishes a meal (she lost weight this year…at 5’10 and 135 she’s so slim). She eats small meals throughout the day…all organic. Between grocery shopping at Whole Foods and picking up lunch/dinner, we’ve just added money as we go. GW actually lowered the year “board” for second year students. This year first years received $1,950 per semester…next year it will be $1,350 for second year students ($1,100 for third year and $600 for fourth year). GW says it’s to give the student the “real world” experience.
@HappyFace2018 Does your D still have to get a meal plan when living in sorority housing, or could she cook some of her own food, the way she likes it?
My D had a meal plan in the first year, this year she cooked a lot and sent me pics of yummy meals she cooked. And spent less than half of what the meal plan was.
@mommdc That is an awesome idea! She just told me that the sorority hall has two updated kitchen’s! She actually likes Trader Joe’s a bit more than Whole Foods so this will be awesome…and hopefully less money :-bd
DS loved his first year so far too, has a month or so left, will do his own move out with university storage service.
He got the worst room draw for next year, and will be in a quad about the size of this year’s triple (!) but at least likes the kids.
I like a lot of things about Princeton, but here are two I do not:
The housing lottery gives no points for worse assignments in previous years, and no ability to prevent downgrades year to year...MIT let kids "squat" always as an option so you couldn't end up worse off than you already were, at minimum. Also there is such a huge variety in rooms that there's absolutely no standard. Some kids have big singles with en suite bathrooms and others in the same year in the same dorm have crowded triples with plumbing two floors down.
Nonetheless, as Tevye said in “Fiddler,” my child is so happy he doesn’t realize how miserable he is [re housing].
The way they do AP credit and advanced standing - I remember that I could progress and if I graduated early then that could happen as it happened. At Princeton, to graduate in seven semesters, you must apply and get permission in freshman year and then not come for fall of sophomore year and show up spring of sophomore year instead.
So DS instead will go for three years but it really constrains his schedule. Again, mom unhappy but kid fine, so I’ll just vent here…
Eta - one thing I was very impressed with was how they helped him get set up to use his obsolete land line in the dorm for the week after his phone got crushed in a jogging accident…
Our sweet girl was just selected for a summer internship in our home state! Next summer (God willing) she will intern in D.C…and we will be paying for GW summer housing $-)
@mommdc Well, it seems that all students living on in the residents halls much be on a meal plan. Her sorority has the top three floors of a “residence hall” not a “sorority house”. She can use her GWCard at Whole Foods but Trader Joe’s isn’t on the list yet. Oh well, at least she can cook more [-O<
D is taking her last final today and has 1 more paper due. After that she is done her freshman year! She has a week to basically hang around and wait for orientation training, so I’ve been brainstorming ideas for (cheap) things to do with her. I told her I’d better not hear her complaining of being bored because my list had something for every day of the week. I’m meeting her the day before she heads home, because I booked myself a RT that honestly, I won’t be needed for. But I’ll play tourist in Nashville for a couple of days before she returns from the off-campus training.
Her college requires freshmen and sophomores to get the full meal plan if they live on campus and D has become quite picky and like other kiddos, lost weight this year. She had a cookbook and a oversized microwave mug for meals after the caf was closed (she had a lot of night classes) but ignored both all year. Grr. She also learned that she has access to a full kitchen in the honors building so maybe NEXT year she’ll eat better? After that, we’re getting the smallest plan possible so she can both stop whining and wasting our money!
She and her roomie got a large room in a newer dorm-the upper class women’s dorm. They were advised to pick that room by a soph friend, and since the room choice event happened in their CURRENT dorm, they got a good place in line and got what they wanted.
D will be working here in Seattle this summer, but we all figure this is her last summer at home. Nice to see activity on this page again!
Of course, if the first year at college delivered an expected detour or unhappy events for any Class of 2016 families, please realize how common it is and find support if you need it.
There is almost nothing worse than worrying about your kid.
@sseamom My hubby and I have come to realize that she actually “lives” in D.C. For spring break we drove to St. Simons Island, GA and she flew in. As we were walking along the Savannah river walk she said “you know loves, this will probably be my last spring break…and maybe summer home”. Initially it made us sad but then we chatted with her and realized that this is a good thing…it’s suppose to happen this way…still sad
@HappyFace2018 We had to evacuate DS16 because of Hurricane Matthew. When he got home, he said " I feel like I’m visiting" I felt like I was kicked in the stomach.
@carolinamom2boys I know! I went to the bathroom and cried my eyes out :((
I was so so happy when she wanted to apply for an internship at home. I think it has a lot to do with my health/surgery scares. She said she’s looking forward to my retirement (January 2018) so we can visit her/D.C. more often.
DS16 asked to come home and work a regular job this summer. He plans to apply for some internships next summer after he gets a few more CS classes under his belt.
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