@lakeviking can I ask you about the CU housing you mentioned? was told by CU housing dept that you had to submit an intent to enroll (with $200 deposit) before you would be allowed to submit a housing application (with a $300 deposit). Did you go through that process? Are the deposits refundable? Thanks!!
My opinion on the difference between CSU and CU is sort of ‘country mouse/city mouse.’ CU is more of a big city type school. It is closer to Denver and the action, the businesses in Boulder are more tech/modern, the students are from Southern Cal and NYC and Chicago. Fort Collins is more ‘western’ with agriculture and veterinary sciences. The town is smaller (both towns are county seats so have government offices), more casual.
CU is in the Pac 12 so plays Cal, UCLA, USC, Stanford. CSU is mostly Mountain West, and plays Wyo, Boise State, Utah State.
We were at a CU football game this year and my brother said “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Northface jackets in one place before.” It is outdoorsy, but upscale outdoorsy. CSU is more cowboy outdoorsy.
@kt1969 Good to hear about L&C, but sorry to hear they gave her no merit. That’s what I though might happen if my S applied, but he decided he didn’t like it fairly quickly after stepping on campus. L&C is quite expensive.
@CAtransplant Congrats on boulder. We have already talked about it.
Nothing much has happened here on the college front. Took the teen to the mountains for the weekend for his ‘semester break’. He has tomorrow off as well… but it’s good to give him a day at home to just relax at home. Plus weather wasn’t being kind. But I did get some time to hang out with him, which I have had short supply. If he gets the job he wants (applies in Feb) he we be leaving us the day after graduation.
But he’s now a second semester senior. He did as expected on his finals and the only class it mattered was getting an A on the Econ final pulled his grade up to a B-. Unfortunately Physics is still a C+. GPA looks like it’s about the same place as his spring classes & won’t affect his GPA much. Had a talk with him that he should keep his grades up. Schools do rescind, taking the AP Physics exams depending on school might count for some of his school requirements (both major & gen ed.). Even though he got a C+ in Physics it’s very likely he gets a 4 or 5 on the AP.
Is anyone out there? No posts are showing over the past day and a half. Wondering if there is a problem with the site or thread?
This thread can be slow at times, @lakeviking 
@lakeviking it’s a bit slow everywhere right now. Lull in the acceptance cycle lol! I haven’t made a ton of changes to the big acceptance doc but will post it soon.
We are busy with semester finals and scholarship apps/audition stuff but no real “news” at the moment.
Has anyone in this thread applied to U of Oregon and not gotten a decision yet? I applied early in October and have been on “Holistic applicant review” since November, so no decision yet even though I was suppose to receive one December 15 
Hopefully I will hear before the April 1st notification so that I can visit
Yes, nothing really going on here. Still waiting for acceptances and financial aid packages. The aid packages that came in so far were a mixed bag - pretty good for FFSA schools and pretty bad for profile schools. Money will be a huge deciding factor.
Yeah, I was hoping to get some input on my post #2658 about Colorado versus Colorado State dilemma. Was looking for Snoozn and others to come out of hibernation.
Jmek15, to answer your question, yes, it was $200 enrollment (to even access housing) and $300 housing, and I believe both are non-refundable.
Out of hibernation! Not much to see here though. D is pretty hyper-focused on hearing from RIT. Based on last years admissions thread, they appear to start releasing mid-February, but those seem to be mostly the really high stat kids. I’m not even going to mention it to D. Hope for February, expect March. D spends some time on the school apps (for admitted students) for CSU and Gonzaga. I think these are a good way to fill the wait with fun, college-related stuff.
@lakeviking, I think your S may have a hard time choosing between CU and CSU!
There are plenty of outdoors activities at both schools and lots of students who do those activities. As far as rock-climbing, I know Boulder would be great. When driving down the canyon in good weather, there are always lots of rock-climbers to be seen. I’m not sure if CU has a climbing wall in their rec center, so you might want to look at that. I’m also not sure what outdoor climbing is available near Fort Collins, but that should be easy to find out on your visit.
I remember the CSU guide talking about how cheap their gear is to rent, with some perhaps being free. I would ask at both schools about renting equipment – what’s available, prices, etc. Both rec centers are great, so fitness is not a problem.
If CSU has the major he wants, that seems like a big pull. I don’t know much about environmental sciences or business at CU. My understanding is that it’s very hard to switch to the college of engineering from A&S, but I don’t know if the same holds for business.
From the little I know of dorms at both schools, I think CSU definitely has the edge. If you tour a CU dorm, let me know the name and I can get the low-down from oldest D on whether it represents the average room.
I do prefer Boulder to Fort Collins, but am probably biased there! I still think Fort Collins is a great college town – better than most of the ones we saw OOS.
Lastly, D and I found CSU to be more warm and welcoming than CU, which is a plus for her. Students at CU aren’t unfriendly, just more going about their own business and not paying too much attention to others. The vibe D and I caught was backed up by her HS GC as something she commonly hears.
Feel free to ask more questions!
@tacocat333, I’ve had the same dorm dreams! I’m usually navigating through an impossibly huge dorm with a maze of hallways, unable to find my room and feeling incredibly self-conscious about being an “old lady.”
@curiositycat333, do you really think a college would rescind based on a C? I guess I could envision the Ivy tier schools being that tough, but it seems a bit over-the-top for more normal schools to come down that hard on a C. Surely they know about senioritis!
@jmek15 I am not sure if this helps much but I can tell you for pure environmental science, CU will win. CSU does not have an environmental science or study major, however they do have related or focused majors like Environmental Economics and Ecosystem Science. They do have environmental engineering. Depending on the interests I’d really dig into the curriculums at both schools.
Generally speaking it’s hard to switch into engineering most places and CSU may be harder than others given direct admit freshman year, which I don’t think CU has if I recall. No clue on business though at either place. My outdoorsy kid loved both towns, different vibes and both with pro’s and cons. Great outdoor access to multiple activities at either place.
Nothing in the mail today, certainly no swag! Son17 has not recieved any swag from any accepted schools and certainly nothing from schools he has simply applied to. The only thing he has gotten from his visits was a lax pinney from a couple of schools and a pair of team socks. We have not purchased anything from any of the school bookstores either.
Mid terms week, so pretty quiet in the house. Kids are studying,
I’ve looked at past decision dates from a few schools son17 has applied to and he might hear by the end of January. Others not until March.
I’d like to college in CO !! Sounds fun.
@snoozn I must have mistyped. LOL Rescind because of grades below a C. If it was a school that would rescind for a C, my son wouldn’t have gotten in. He usually gets at least one C per semester. SIGH. This semester it’s Physics… at least it’s an AP and he gets the +1 point.
@RightCoaster I’d like to go to Colorado as well. I’m working on getting my son to go visit over his spring break. He’s being reluctant, I’m not sure why. He turned in the app and he’s never been.
LOL, @eandesmom, I think you mean @lakeviking. DS didn’t apply to CSU, only CU.
Well, we found out FA for Beloit and it was less than half of what Kalamazoo offered. Sad because that was at the top of her list. We will still see about the Rotary Scholarship but even with that it lowers it on the list significantly.
TacoSon received an acceptance packet for George Mason today, a month after the email. That’s it. I am relieved that college spam seems to be leveling off both via snail mail and email. @RightCoaster , I am dying to get a job working admissi
@snoozn , I’m SO relieved to know someone else has my old-lady-in-the-dorm dream! I’m pretty sure I too am walking down long hallways, and I always have a big concern about getting a roommate who might let my indoor cats out of the dorm room. I’m one of those people who has never, ever fantasized about returning to school, so the whole thing is pretty stressful.
I had another terrible night last night anxiously dreaming about William & Mary, TacoSon’s new reach school. (And somehow Trump’s press secretary kept sneaking into the dream, which didn’t help.)
@mackatarinasmom , so sorry to hear about the Beloit FA. All the Beloit chatter here made me wish TacoSon had applied.
@eandesmom , I meant to comment on your rookie counselor situation – that must be so awkward. I agree with others who say she needs to toughen up if she intends to continue in this profession.
@mackatarinasmom, I wouldn’t give up on Beloit yet. They consider Kalamazoo a peer institution:
http://www.chronicle.com/interactives/peers-network
You could try to leverage the Kalamazoo offer to encourage Beloit to cough up some more $$. That plus outside money could put it seriously in play. I wouldn’t mention that to my kid though, in case it doesn’t work.
@tacocat333, we can be dorm-dream roommates from now on. I promise not to let the cats out if you promise not to let Sean Spicer in.
Deal, @snoozn ! That may be enough to keep the dream from recurring.
Ah shoot well whoever was asking to compare the two, (CSU and CU) my lame input regarding environmental science still stands,
Lol!
As for the counselor, I don’t think it will be an issue for her going forward I think it’s more a matter of the fact that her son and my son are friends, peers and to a very small degree competitors. I think she was just honestly taken aback and didn’t hide it well. It may well have been my fault as I shared his acceptance early on as a way of thanking her for her input on putting the school onto his list and did share what he was granted. It’s really not a big deal, she was free he was doing her a favor for het class project so it is what it is. I wouldn’t expect that to be the case moving forward but I honestly don’t know.
It was just awkward. And made slightly more so given the fact that I mentioned it’s coming off of our list and she’s keeping it on theirs LOL.
In general I think she did an good job on the actual list recommendations however I do not think she is well-versed in the financial piece at all and so she should probably just avoid that part.
The financial piece is so integral. As a for fee college counselor, without that expertise? Don’t know. I know you were a resume build for her, for free, test case, and her recommendations worked for you. I also get the “your son did better than mine” when I’m supposed to be the expert reaction. She is having a learning experience. In your wonderful, professional way I am sure you will be able to give her actionable feedback on your experience and how to move forward with her business.