@curiositycat333 congrats on Boulder, @mackatarinasmom congrats on Wooster, @VAOptimist congrats on Muhlenberg. So much good news!
@eandesmom it was Trinity in Texas. He enjoyed the visit and said it confirmed the good impression he had from his research. No extreme “this is the one!” or “no way!” reaction. But overall positive. He can be kind of short on details sometimes…I’m hoping to hear more little by little over the next few days.
You guys realize I am going to be SO disappointed if I don’t get to hear Goucher’s president next week now.
Small vent. S17 got an email from UPS saying they’d received his theater scholarship app but there was **no audition DVD included in his application **. They then went on to tell him some folks had issues sending DVD’s and offering instructions how to do a digital upload or resend.
Um…he’s a tech applicant. No DVD (monologue) required. Double checked the website and emailed them back. Their reply?
Dear xxx,
You are correct!
Best of luck
Really? Not an oops, our mistake? Thanks for pointing it out and sorry about that? I know it’s a little thing but it really annoyed me.
Interesting side note this week. I’m at a work event and interacting with several colleagues I have never met before, largely east coast based with kids the same age (kids that would be on the other CC thread mind you…waiting on Ivy day Clarkson is a safety kinds of kids lol) Of the LAC’s we are visiting next week all had heard of Allegheny and Ursinus. None had heard of Goucher. They are all engineers, some at the PhD level…do you all think that is simply because Goucher obviously doesn’t offer engineering or does it say something about their STEM classes in comparison to the others? Trying to figure out if that is a data point or just an outlier based on that limited group. Not sure that it matters but it was interesting.
@93pilots yeah, sometimes it drips out drop by drop. I know S17 got calls from 2 schools on Monday and spoke to both of them. What it was about, I’ve no idea. I can guess it was students calling about his visits next week but who really knows. Biting my tongue.
@VAOptimist congrats!
Goucher is a very small school, and was a women’s college for most of its existence. I know of it because I drove by it twice a day for several years, but not sure if I would have heard of it if I hadn’t lived near Baltimore. We used it mostly for directions, as in “turn left right after you pass Goucher…”
That’s partially what I assumed (the women’s college aspect) Ursinus is actually smaller but they’d heard of that. Not that it matters a whit to be honest but I kind of expect many to have heard of none of the schools and to have that reaction be consistent was interesting.
@VAOptimist Congrats on Muhlenberg!
@tacocat333 good to hear the update on struggling calc son’s B! Struggling physics D was not (for once) shouting “i got this” when the teacher decided to give them a surprise test with one evening notice. Good move on the skip, I’m starting to wonder if college will be easier than high school for our kids!
@smakl70 I second your dream of an easy semester!
The good news is that the Spring Musical is underway so D is back in the throws of tech set up and rehearsals galore. This means she’ll be in her “happy place” for the next month or so until the show. She was at school until 8 last night, informed me she wont be home tonight, tomorrow and most of the weekend for tech. She also is going to a concert Sat night with her friends. With all the recent stress, I’m glad she’ll have her “love” to distract her now.
I guess it’s also time for me to get used to her being gone 
Crazy week–winter break from school for S17, hockey play offs, S15 was home last weekend because he was under the weather & just wanted some SLEEP, and work is just insane with schedule changes and general weirdness. So, I’m way behind…
@VAOptimist Yay on Muhlenberg!
@mackatarinasmom Awesome news on Wooster. They still stalk S, but he has no interest.
@curiositycat333 Good news about Boulder–yeah!
@CoyoteMom It sounds like you’ve had a bunch of good visits–That’s great!
@eandesmom I’m so glad dropping calculus is a non-issue for the colleges. And I’m jealous of the less stress for the semester.
OK, full disclaimer… I’m an engineer, and I’ve never heard of a ton of these LACs. Of course, I also grew up in one of the big rectangular states with low population in the middle of the country… Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of Clarkson before I met my husband… Even now, I know bigger state schools, the obvious schools that everyone has heard of, the SUNY system, and then some obscure schools in the center of the country. My guys stuck with applying to SUNYs and big schools-neither were interested in smaller LACs.
Trying to finalize visits, and S is being clueless. I asked about 3/3 for Albany’s Scholar Days, and he said he thought there was “something important” that day–but he might just be thinking about his hockey tournament where the 1st game isn’t until 9:30 pm. And I’m reluctant to sign up for 3/10 because there’s another tournament and he might have an earlier game… I told him to ask classmates today if there is something else going on because we HAVE to sign up for one of the dates tonight. Then I need to get H, S, and me all in the same room at the same time and pick one of the visit days for MSU in later Mar or early April.
No news on the calculus front–I assume he has a packet to do over break, so I should ask about that… And the IB papers and big extended essay are DONE. I’m holding my breath waiting for the next senior crisis to hit…
Question time: For those whose student sat in on a class during a college visit, was it worth it? There’s an Intro to Public Policy class that allows visitation and meets 45 min after the conclusion of the Scholar’s Day program at Albany, and I’m thinking of signing S up for it… It may freak out H who is his hockey coach, since we wouldn’t get back home until ~an hour before tournament game time, assuming good weather…
@MSU88CHEng - I’m usually that mom who always puts academics before ECs - but I say don’t risk your kid being late for his senior year tournament game for an intro to public policy class. It’s his senior year - he needs to have some fun!
He may not even get the same instructor or choose the same major if he goes to Albany.
Thanks everyone for the congrats on Muhlenberg!
@kt1969, hoping for a yes for your child!
@MSU88CHEng I will have a much better answer to that question on 3/3. S will be sitting in on a few classes over the week…at this point it’s at least 2 but might be 3? It’s a bit of a blur. LOL!
I agree though, I wouldn’t risk missing/being late for a tournament senior year over that.
@eandesmom I haven’t heard of 3/4 of the schools mentioned on this board. And I’m helping with my 2nd college search. A number of these smaller LAC’s aren’t really that well known out of their regional area. Is this a problem. Maybe?
I mean my D’s regional LAC from the opposite coast isn’t very helpful at finding her a job in our area. People in the area haven’t always heard of it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good enough program to teach your son what he needs to know. But it could be an issue if he moved back home to find a job later.
@MSU88CHEng Sounds like a lot on your S’s plate this week. It always seems to happen that way around here… it never rains it pours. My son’s first competition of the season was supposed to be this weekend, but it was canceled yesterday because it conflicts with Winter Formal. He didn’t really want to go to Winter Formal so I he is a bit frustrated.
@MSU88CHEng agree that the prior commitment would take precedence but at least for my S going to class has been helpful to get a feel for the place (and the classes have mostly been just what he likes so it has gotten him excited about college in general). Maybe some other time?
Thanks for ideas about class visitation… S15 went to a sleepover at his chosen college that included classes, so I want S17 to see a class if possible. Plus, when I told him it was a Public Policy class, his ears perked big time. Recalculating driving time, I think we can make it home in time for his game, too, so I’m going to see if I can get him in for the class… If the weather is iffy, I’ll have him introduce himself to the prof before the class, ask a question or 2, and then excuse himself before the class starts, using the weather as an excuse.
And yeah, the hockey games are non-negotiable. He’s been playing club youth hockey for 12+ years (our school doesn’t have hockey), and these 2 tournaments are his last 2 weekends to hang out with his teammates–the core of the team has been together for 5 years, and several kids have been together longer than that. So, pretty much the whole family is looking forward to these weekends.
@VAOptimist - Congrats to your D on Muhlenberg, and even better that she’s so sure that she’s already agreed to attend! Wohoo - it must be such a relief to have the big decision all done!
@kt1969 - so fun for me to hear you had the same reaction about Goucher’s prez – here’s hoping we didn’t put him on too high a pedestal – will be interesting to hear @eandesmom’s reaction next week, assuming she gets to meet him.
@tacocat333 - good call on skipping band to relieve stress and catch up in other classes. Here’s hoping that calculus (and physics) become less of a struggle this semester for all our various dear children!
@MSU88CHEng – in answer to your question, sitting in on classes has been absolutely key for CoyoteSon to help him judge not so much the academics but the campus vibe towards the academics. Almost uniformly, the professors have been interesting - but CoyoteSon has definitely used the quality of student participation (or lack thereof) to either keep (or strike) seven colleges on/off his list.
That’s why, if CoyoteSon gets into any of the reach colleges on March 31 - we’ll be doing some visits over spring break - we visited two in session and CoyoteSon sat in on classes there, but for the other four, the students were on break. CoyoteSon would want to sit in on a class at a minimum (and preferably hang out in a dorm, though I’m no longer sure that the overnight “sleep” on a college room floor is that critical. :-?
I hope that your Son has the chance to do both the class and the hockey game!
Some news here if still keeping the list–S17 was admitted to Arizona State University in Tempe into Mech. Eng, with $14,000/year merit award. It’s a good program, but location makes it low on the list.
Finally got financial aid award from Ithaca. It makes the school about $5K more than my max-max budget. So is it that much better than Eckerd, which will cost me about $10K less?
A few pages back we were talking about Saturday Detention. Last night my S handed me a permission slip I had to sign for the AP Physics is going to an amusement part in a few weeks to study rollercoasters. 
On the strip it noted that if a student was late coming back to the bus by 5 minutes they got 2 hours of Saturday school, 10 minutes and you double that. And if you are 20 minutes late you get a permanent mark on your record. Something that schools send to colleges.
I guess they take missing the time for the bus seriously. But really? They needs to lay this out so explicityly? I guess they must have had problems in the past. But the field trip I went on last year with AP Bio was the best group of kids and the teacher was very chill about the whole thing. I’m not worried since my kid is like me and perpetually early for things and should have any problems. And marching band has taught him to not only be ON time for things, but be early…
I think it’s good the ramifications were laid out so explicitly. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you…” Now, whether the ramifications should be that harsh is another issue.
@curiositycat333 , the consequences for being late do sound pretty extreme. I’m wondering if they were put in just as extra insurance for the distractibility of the destination? I was chaperoning a band trip a while back and two students were late returning to the bus. Someone had the idea to start driving away when we saw them heading to the bus, as a prank. You’ve never seen anyone move so quickly!
@“Queen’s Mom” , both Eckerd and Ithaca are great schools. For exceeding the top of your price range, I’d be pushing Eckerd (and warm weather) …
@CoyoteMom , PM me if you want to say at at the GMU event tomorrow! TacoSon asks if we can arrive at noon; no.
@Queen’s Mom, I think Ithaca has the stronger program for writing - based on the strength of the faculty, visiting writers, and internship they offer. Is it worth $5000 more than your budget? Only you can answer that. Also, your D may prefer the Florida weather at Eckerd. Does she prefer one school over the other?
If Ithaca is your D’s first choice, you could send an email that says that Ithaca is her first choice, but you need to consider your financial situation, and politely let them know about her other offers. I know from two friends’ experience that Ithaca does adjust its FA offers.
Good luck!