Parents of the HS Class of 2017 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Parents Forum
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@NolaCAR based on your description I think you found the perfect school for your D! I know a lot of Willamette grads and they are some of the most lovely (and successful without being competitive) people I know.

Love the umbrella. Although to be honest, the general rule/joke is that only tourists use umbrellas.

Unless you are at a kids soccer match. For real futbol you just suck it up and get wet. Water repellent with a hood is the key. I never even owned an umbrella until I moved to Chicago lol!

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@eandesmom - love the swag thank you gifts and the glass for Dad for Father’s Day. Yay that Ursinus did come up with more $$, because it was a reasonable ask, but I hope that doesn’t inspire any buyer’s remorse. I keep thinking about the Envirology program at UVM, plus Burlington plus mountains - it just seems like the “fit” can’t be beat.

@Hankster1361 - oooh, so sorry your Son didn’t come home with one clear winner, though that tells you that you had a good list, and there really isn’t necessarily one “best” - because kids can thrive at more than one school - the trick I think is to get the kid to own the decision be a use he can only attend 1.

Well, CoyoteSon is able to cross schools off - and despite some really nice features we both noticed over the summer (without students) - Conn. College is off the list. CoyoteSon just did not like the kids - too carefully dressed, especially the young women (not that the majority was overtly preppy, but definitely style conscious for both genders). The students seem more focused on having a good time, and perhaps less studious (CoyoteSon reported side conversations going on during class, and I was definitely underwhelmed by the two students who were picked to give presentations on their “honors” senior thesis projects as part of the open house activities). So, despite the fact that there are indeed a few t-shirt wearing video game players, CoyoteSon is paying attention to the majority “vibe” and does not want his own crowd to be such a minority.

Yay! Beloit is still the school to beat. Wheaton College overnight tomorrow night with classes on Thursday. (And Carleton the following week).

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@CoyoteMom you are correct, the fit can’t be beat. E1 spent the night rhapsodizing about the food options and then agonizing over sustainability versus the outdoor experience LLC’s. He can list both but oh he can’t possibly rank!

I suspect we are all going to get tired of hearing about “Farm to Table.” Which apparently is also a living/learning option.

lol. He’s in heaven.

Didn’t hurt to read today that UVM received a 6 million donation for a new environmental institute (thanks @klinska !)

I am loving coyote sons short list! Narrowing the list is a very good thing, can’t wait hear how Wheaton and Carleton measure up!

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@techmom99 The other two are at Cornell. Very different kids in their focus, LOL. In any case, TAP does decrease for 2 year schools, though it doesn’t seem to change if your kid is at a SUNY vs. a private (based on the TAP estimator tool).

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Our excitement was S17 was offered the summer job as a camp counselor. He will be going away for the summer for orientation only days after graduation. He is thrilled… although honestly I haven’t seen him in 4 days except for a wave while he left out the door today saying he won’t be back till 10pm. We did talk on the phone yesterday about the job but no time to really plan. It’s little odd since the job will only be paid for 2nd & 3rd session. But it’s not really about the money.

Still completely undecided about school. I am going to have to sit him down and go over pro’s and con’s with him. Not sure he has a clue how to make such a big decision about his upcoming life on his own.

Maybe I’ll take a look at the past few days of post now…

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@techmom First to relieve your mind reminds yourself of google age of consent in NY state. It’s not a over 18 vs. under 18 rule. He won’t get in the trouble with the law for dating or getting intimate with a 15 year old. It’s different though for every state.

That said… it’s still a senior with a freshman and that is a huge age difference. I wouldn’t have any problem with them going to the prom. Here prom is a junior/senior prom and the only way freshman or sophomores get to go are if an older students brings them. Often large groups of friends from theater or other mixed grade activities bring the younger students.

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@curiositycat333 -

Thanks, I know about the age of consent, but I told my son it was different to scare him. That worked with oldest son. In any event, the situation seems to have worked itself out. He told me that he discussed it with the girl and they decided not to go together since she thought her parents would go ballistic. Techson17 is probably going to go with a guy friend who graduated last year unless he can find another girl to ask. I feel a bit relieved about this since he told me that her parents are crazy controlling and have only daughters. At least, I shouldn’t have to buy his friend’s ticket; it’s not a date and both of his parents are doctors.

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@techmom99 I don’t believe in lying to my kids about these type of things. Particularly details that are so easy to google. They are adults at this point after all. My feeling is if I lie on details like this I’m loosing my credibility. Now I think it’s reasonable to talk with an 18 year old senior that a 15 year old freshman is too young to date and make rules in your own house.

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@curiositycat333 -

I didn’t lie. I told him that the age difference since he is above 18 vs. 14 is 4 years (18 -4 = 14), rather than saying that the actual difference is 3 years and x months, so it’s less than 4 years. I also emphasized the over 18 adult vs. the too young to legally consent. Sadly, techson is dyscalculic so math games are not his forte. I also told him what the actual age of consent is.

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Sorry, I am working on a couple of Sr class events, and have had a very busy week, so am late to congratulated everyone: @eandesmom - VERY happy for your S. It always sounded like his heart was leaning towards Vermont. He wanted to go away, for school, so I really hope he loves it there.

@NolaCAR - Congrats on several great merit offers! Willamette was a top pick for S, and he had a great relationship with his wonder Admissions rep, but his grades did not warrant as good a merit package as your S did, so he had to turn it down. Listen to @eandesmom about going sans umbrella. My niece went to Puget Sound, and she said she mostly wore a thick hoodie!

@jmek15 - Purdue is awesome! Close friend’s S is about to graduate, and another friend’s D is headed there. Both in the Engineering program. A long time friend works in the fundraising dept. and we visited. Lots of school spirit too. Go Boilermakers!! (although the name mostly makes me think of the old-fashioned cocktail!)

@4kids4us - Also love USD. Best college friend’s D graduated a year ago, and loved her time there. I grew up in SO Calif and my grandma lived close to campus - SO beautiful!

@brindlegreyhound - Wonderful news about WWU! When we visited OR and WA, last summer, we tried to squeeze a visit, as the campus and area looked really pretty and quintessentially PNW, with all the trees and water. Also beautiful, but is a totally diff way!

@tacocat - So Taco Son is also a trombone player! Cool! Like @eandesmom’s S, our S LOVES being part of the “Bones” in his band - Concert, marching, pep and jazz! Hopes to get a real Pep Band going at his chosen school:

As you can see, our S is an Ole, now! He went to last Friday’s class/Current student/Overnight visit. We are from the general area, so just dropped him off Friday AM, and came back to campus to meet him on Saturday AM, at Boe Chapel. S had a great time, on Friday, and was 90% sold by lunchtime, on Saturday. He spoke with the 2 admissions counselors he met with at the CTCL’s fair and on campus, in 2016, and finally picked out a pricey ST OLAF sweatshirt from the bookstore. I asked him if we were spending $$ to buy him a sweatshirt from a school he had not yet decided to attend. He said he thought was probably his way of “signing on the dotted line.” We went back to the Buntrock Commons, but they had just packed up the Admissions tables, and were gone. One of the reps saw us, and offered to walk us back to the Admissions office, in Thomson Hall, and we completed the deal there! As you could probably see, they are a very family-friendly/inclusive school, and we are very excited for our S! It is not where he thought he’d end up, as he was so set on heading out of state, to the PNW, for school, but he actually found his college home, less than 1 hour away. We promised to pretend he is farther away, and not get any more involved in his college experience than he wants us to be. :slight_smile:

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@eandesmom Congrats on the Vermont decision. I love your idea of school swag as Thank you gifts.

After visiting Michigan State, West Virginia, and Delaware, DS decided to accept Delaware’s waitlist offer, Michigan State moved up, and West Virginia has moved off the list. DS was concerned prior to the WVU visit about its party school reputation. Our visit confirmed its reputation. It was clear that students from nearby colleges come there for the weekend to have a good time. The other turn off was having several faculty members say they called or texted students who weren’t in class.

I’m hoping someone will have suggestions for helping us get to a decision. DS’s list is down to Michigan State and Nebraska where he was accepted and Delaware where he was waitlisted. The only school he hasn’t seen is Nebraska.

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@morningside95 Congratulations on St. Olaf! I have 2 friends who graduated from there and loved it. It sounds like your S definitely feels like it’s a good fit for him.

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@DMVmom -

A friend of mine has a son who was accepted to Delaware’s honors program last year. They drove down for accepted student day. They were early so decided to get something to eat. They asked for directions but took a wrong turn into what seemed to be an off campus frat row. My friend said they saw dozens of kids staggering around. It was either the zombie apocalypse or there is an awful lot of partying going on there. It was 10 AM. My friend’s son said let’s go, they drove home and he is happily at a SUNY this year. I mention this only because you said your DS is concerned about partying.

Good luck with your choice.

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@morningside95 - Congrats to your S on St Olaf’s, and I noticed the new avatar - yay!! Love that for your Son, buying the sweatshirt = signing the dotted line; and that Admissions was ready to help him sign up, even though they had packed away the table.

@DMVmom - so sorry I don’t know anything at all about either Michigan State or Nebraska. I have heard about Delaware’s party reputation, but I have also heard that kids are really happy there. What I’ve gleaned here on CC is that the bigger schools will likely make it easier for your own kid to find their “tribe”.

CoyoteSon has knocked one more school off the list, though this was a much closer contender - and even though Wheaton College provided the best host so far (they attended Gaming Club for an hour of Board Games, then they went back to dorm for some video games and TV - host went out to library for an hour or so to do homework), CoyoteSon felt that Wheaton College had plenty of “normal” people, but only some fellow “nerds”, while Beloit College still has a higher percentage of nerds or nerd-friendly in their student population. Given that CoyoteSon classifies himself as a nerd, that makes Beloit the clear winner.

My own observations are that Wheaton College felt a little “quieter” - and probably really comfortable for an introvert - a nice mix of all types (including a few nerds, a few fashion conscious, a few Purple Hair Factor types, a few atheletes, and a lot of kids wearing T-shirts and jeans). I think my son could be happy here, but he can only attend 1 school. I think Beloit and Wheaton are very comparable in academics, strength and diversity of student body; for my son Wheaton should have an edge because there are no fraternities, but Beloit has an edge with having walkable town. So given the virtual tie on the many items in my spreadsheet, I’m happy he has a strong preference. Plus, I’m really glad I won’t have to spend the next 4 years saying Wheaton in Mass, instead of Wheaton in IL. (Lol).

So, the only school left to challenge Beloit will be Carleton, which we will visit next Thursday and Friday. This is a different kettle of fish, because the strength of the student body and the academic rigor (and likely the workload, though that’s more difficult to judge) are all noticeably higher at Carleton. I will be very interested to see what CoyoteSon thinks next week. :-?

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As for partying I think it happens at almost all universities. It’s what you or your kid makes of it. And sometime reputations stay with a school long after they change. Particularly if it’s a large school. There are many different spaces to find your own tribe.

@techmom99 Sounds good and it seems like he now understands what the big deal is. Yes 4 years is a big deal when it’s only a 1/4 of your life. My husband is 4 years older than me… I first met him when I was 16 and he was 20 (he was a friend of a friends)… and that WAS a huge age difference. I wouldn’t have considered dating him then. We only connected and started dating when I was 21 and he was then 25 and those 4 years wasn’t as much of a big deal. And now of course it’s really no issue at al.

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@curiositycat333 -

I am relieved in a way that he made this decision. Not so much the prom but if they began dating. I have heard so many horror stories of post-HS breakups destroying the school life of one or both kids. Let him get to college and find a gf since he hasn’t done it yet.

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@morningside95 thanks! His heart was always leaning there, as frankly was ours but the final WWU visit confirmed that it was ok for the head to think it was the right call too and we would all be ok justifying the price difference, that it really was for the right reasons.

Congrats on St. Olaf’s! I think I mentioned a good friend of S17’s is likely headed there, it looks absolutely lovely and may be something we look at for S19.

@CoyoteMom, progress! Down to 2. I cannot wait to hear how Carleton goes. Both are lovely choices.

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I can’t wait to see the complete final list sometime in May. This has been such an enlightening and fun thread to be part of.

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Still no decisions in the Hanksterhouse . . . tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock

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Happy Easter to all who are celebrating!