Thank you @Mom2aphysicsgeek
Dās school sent out info re local scholarships. 1 application for all local scholarships. Great idea.
Today S17 received an email from an alum of his ED school asking to set up an interview timeā¦also today, ED school website posted its āD-Dā (decision day/day of destiny) for ED applicantsā¦so we rounding third and heading for homeā¦
I have heard mentioned that when you have all aid packages, you might be able to approach a first-choice school about possibly matching an offer from a comparable school. They will probably look at bottom line in the comparison, not simply merit amount, since the other school could offer higher merit, but be more expensive to begin with.
We live in Illinois so there is no need to compare non-existent instate merit aid to out of state merit aid.
Sorry if that sounds too much like a whine.
@snoozn You and I may have to go hide together lol.
Rightly or wrongly on the medical side, employment is still at will and legally it is really up to the employer whether they allow it or not and in the case of THC testing, it is simply not sophisticated enough to really indicate impairment. Weāve seen many suits and the employer has won every time here.
@CT1417 The concerns for impaired driving with pot are no different than that of alcohol. The difference, and it is significant, is that blood alcohol testing is vastly more accurate and sensitive. THC will show in a hair test for 30 days. By law, at least in our state, bascially any that shows is cause for arrest though the effects are long gone. I am actually more concerned abaout kids who are responsible users (aka not driving) getting pulled over for a dumb driving move (california stop or a headlight that is out), getting profiled, getting tested and being at risk for DUI when they actually arenāt even under the influence.
I worry about that one a LOT! And have seen tons of local horror stories to back up that fear. IMHO if you are going to useā¦donāt drive. Ever. take the bus. Ride a bike. And donāt work for anyone who drug tests.
@itsgettingreal17 I am sorry
@STEM2017 I wouldnāt wait for the financial aid package. I would call to make sure they have your FAFSA and ask outright about how to submit modifications/special circumstances.
@RightCoaster that sounds fun for your S!
@klinska congrats on Siena and merit $$!!
Red V Blue V Purple
While yes, many states may have been split to a large degree, rightly or wrongly there are states perceived by my kids as far too red for them to consider. Climate and school type is a factor here but the red kills the deal. there are schools that could have been a good fit in many ways that absolutely came off the table for their ārednessā for S17. Granted, part of that was their focus on fossil fuels versus renewables but still, it was a big part. In his mindā¦there is a bit of a link. So yeah, UA would never ever be considered by my kids. Which isnāt a slam against UA, itās just not what they want.
Kids need to go where they are comfortable. That said, out of the 5 states on his list, one is red. The cities are blue-ish but not without issues. But Iām seeing dailly issues in my own very very blue city.
For all the blue/red state discussion, it probably should be acknowledged that for the vast majority of college campuses, there is overwhelming blue speak and blue think, irrespective of the geographic locale. Hereās a link from a thoughtful piece in the NYTimes a few months ago (well before our election)ā¦food for thoughtā¦
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/opinion/sunday/the-liberal-blind-spot.html
Mail - Anybody get the big book from Stanford today? Do they even need to bump their tiny acceptance rate?
OH NO! Our school switched to some new Naviance format and at first blush, it is terrible. Why could they not have waited until after the end of this admission cycle.
Not that I am really conducting new analysis, but I do not feel like learning something new midstream. And I want the old data back!
Whiningā¦
@snoozn You and I may have to go hide together lol.
Rightly or wrongly on the medical side, employment is still at will and legally it is really up to the employer whether they allow it or not and in the case of THC testing, it is simply not sophisticated enough to really indicate impairment. Weāve seen many suits and the employer has won every time here.
@CT1417 The concerns for impaired driving with pot are no different than that of alcohol. The difference, and it is significant, is that blood alcohol testing is vastly more accurate and sensitive. THC will show in a hair test for 30 days. By law, at least in our state, bascially any that shows is cause for arrest though the effects are long gone. I am actually more concerned abaout kids who are responsible users (aka not driving) getting pulled over for a dumb driving move (california stop or a headlight that is out), getting profiled, getting tested and being at risk for DUI when they actually arenāt even under the influence.
I worry about that one a LOT! And have seen tons of local horror stories to back up that fear. IMHO if you are going to useā¦donāt drive. Ever. take the bus. Ride a bike. And donāt work for anyone who drug tests.
@itsgettingreal17 I am sorry
@STEM2017 I wouldnāt wait for the financial aid package. I would call to make sure they have your FAFSA and ask outright about how to submit modifications/special circumstances.
@RightCoaster that sounds fun for your S!
@klinska congrats!!! I would be THRILLED if any of Sās schools offers meet our in state public. None of the NPCās indicate that kind of result and that would be amazing. I do not expect to pay less than his in state safety anwwhere, he just doesnāt have the stats for it.
Red V Blue V Purple
While yes, many states may have been split to a large degree, rightly or wrongly there are states perceived by my kids as far too red for them to consider. Climate and school type is a factor here but the red kills the deal. there are schools that could have been a good fit in many ways that absolutely came off the table for their ārednessā for S17. Granted, part of that was their focus on fossil fuels versus renewables but still, it was a big part. The school itself is as purple as anywhere in teh state could be butā¦not very purple. So yeah, UA would never ever be considered by my kids. Which isnāt a slam against UA, itās just not what they want.
Kids need to go where they are comfortable. That said, out of the 5 states on his list, one is red. The cities are blue-ish but not without issues. He is very comfortable with the schools on his list. And in reality, Iām seeing dailly issues in my own very very blue city. Yes, campuses in general lean blue but I do think there are exceptions and I do think having a balance is good. Though he is quite blue , heās not targeting ultra liberalā¦just mostly lol.
This moves so fastā¦ As to red states. Nope S17ās start off by restricting where he would go to school by stating āWest Coastā¦ not the southwestā and I stretched it and got him to consider Colorado. Basically this eliminates red states from the start. And personally, open carry does worry me, states with legalized pot doesnāt really.
I would like to hope that by the time most students are ready for college, they are able to have a more sophisticated understanding of political nuances and voting patterns, but perhaps not. New Jerseyās voting pattern did not differ all that much from Texas in this election; North Carolinaās was very similar to Pennsylvania. But confirmation bias is strong and teens (and their parents) cling to the familiar, which is understandable. As they age and travel more, they may be more comfortable in other places.
2-3 more weeks and DS will have all his college decisions. He wonāt actually have his 2 RD in hand, but can safely assume heās in, given that he already received merit scholarships from both. Looking forward to DS making a final choice, and the suspense ending. Itās been a great ride! :)) =D>
Sorry about the scholly @itsgettingreal17. Canāt win them all, but I wouldnāt be surprised if you get dang close!
Chuckling over here with all the red v. blue state conversation. I thing it got lost in the point-counter-point, but I feel @Building spoke for me, personally, very well. Same with @itsgettingreal17. Probably some others, too, but I began to skim posts. If you donāt have a minority or LGBT kid, then the analysis is just different. For us, itās not about the election, itās about post-election reaction, which should be upsetting to anyone, whether your red/blue/purple/green.
Thought for the day (TFTD): I wonder why there arenāt any CACs (Conservative Arts Colleges)?
:)) :)) :))
Liberal arts [were considered essential for a free person to know in order to take an active part in civic life] - grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music (old) >> (nowadays) literature, philosophy, math, physical sciences, social studies, fine arts [wikipedia]
Conservative arts (may be considered essential for a conservative person to be civic) - religion? gun safety, hunting, farming/agriculture, accounting, finances, medicine, law ā¦ 
JOTD
A Physicist, a Botanist and a Statistician go hunting.
They spot a large buck and the Physicist takes a shot but misses badly 10 yards to the right.
The Botanist takes his turn, but also misses badly, this time ten yards to the left.
The Statistician then jumps up and yells āWe got him boys!ā
What makes a state red or blue? Just presidential elections? If so, its it just the most recent one or the past 2, 3, 5 or more? Do governorships and state legislatures come into play? Arguably state governments have more of an influence on colleges in their states (particularly state colleges) than does the federal government.
And if you or your kid is of the āno college in a red stateā view, would that have changed if we had a President Elect Clinton right now? If not, is your view really based on the 2016 election at all? If yes, why? What changed so much that would alter a decision that presumably has been ongoing for months (if not longer)?
Red or Blue - The most important thing to me is crime/safety on campus. Thatās why I was fine with DS13 going to Georgia Tech but I refused to let DS17 apply to Georgia State. They both may be in Atlanta but they arenāt the same crime wise.
On the fossil fuel note. I am so happy today because our golf cart is back in service. The brakes went out. Not thrilled to pay for it but now DS19 is driving himself. I had to be the driver for after school and activities for the last 2 weeksā¦ what a waste of gas and time.
DS17 had to do a budget for AP economics.He found out from the insurance agent that it is a lot cheaper for a 23 male to have car insurance with collision on a 2003 Ford Mustang convertible than a 2015 Nissan Versa Noteā¦I told him I wasnāt going to buy the mustang for himā¦lol
I just want this semester to be over!
@CT1417 Uck, they did that to our Naviance too! I donāt like it!!! Much less data available, it appears. Poop.
Looks like Naviance has changed for us too. No more āSchool Statsā page. Only āGraphsā
Terrible. Its gone from a useful tool to a college brochure.