Parents of the HS Class of 2017 (Part 1)

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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@itsgettingreal17 - I checked in to a few scholarships but they seemed to look at need so gave up. Not sure what is out there for strong STEM students that doesn’t factor in need.

@ynotgo. Wow he cranked out those apps fast - very impressive. I thought we had started esrly enough but the college specific supps very not all set until September or so and those were a lot and varied so much! Good luck on the last one!

Re health insurance better check how ours works in college. Had not thought about it yet.

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@itsgettingreal17 Shrinking of the list is a good thing :slight_smile:

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@WhereIsMyKindle As D is actually burned out on apps, she’s only applying to those that require minimal effort (i.e., able to reuse or piece together new essay from admissions essays).

List now down to 7.

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Hi, I have not kept up with the posts every day but I just read a handful of days’ worth! Here is where we are:

All of the these schools have the program she wants (American Sign Language - English Interpreting). Only applied to five schools, that were not too small for her taste.

In state: U of Louisville - accepted, waiting to hear about scholarships, but costs would be pretty low. DD doesn’t want to be that close to home:( But want to give it just a bit more time before we officially cut it.

Eastern Kentucky U - accepted, merit scholarship offered, would be the least expensive, DD is ok on the school, but not in love with it. Also need more time before cutting it.

U of New Mexico: basically is already accepted and half tuition scholarship, waiting to hear on additional merit, but I think in our minds is too far away. Was chosen simply based on internet search and info on the website that appealed to DD back in the summer. Probably need to go ahead and officially cut it.

Kent State U: currently ranking as the favorite, gave great merit $$ and DD liked it on our visit. Will be attending accepted student days. About 5 hours from home, which is similar to older daughter’s commute to Bama (7-8 hours for home) and has turned out to be manageable.

Rochester Institute of Technology - still waiting to hear on RD acceptance, probably February? it is the most competitive admission on her list. Possible small amount of scholarship. It is the most expensive.

Cautionary comment on marching band:
FYI I personally love music including band music, and was an orchestra student myself, but not in college. But my older DD’s freshman Bama roommate was a marching band member, and it is definitely something to be proud of, BUT it is very time consuming and definitely can affect GPA, which could affect other scholarships. At Bama, band kids arrive 1 or 2 weeks before the others, travel on some weekends, practice until late at night, etc. Also I would recommend any band members try to dorm with other band students, so they can walk back to the dorms at night together, plus have a roommate who relates well to your life schedule. (I have read similar recommendations for sorority members as well: should live with other sorority girls so that they have something in common.)

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All this talk about marching bands - did any of you or your kids watch the Rose Bowl parade? I mean some of those High School bands from all around the country/world were very impressive!

I was a clarinet player in high school, I was good at it, but wasn’t in love with it; I dabbled in tenor sax and liked that better but never spent much time on it; and most geeky of all, I was chosen to be the drum majorette as a senior lololol. I did enjoy learning about football and watching the games though. The uniforms we wore were just horrendous and my mother took about 300 pictures at each game. Every picture looked exactly the same!

Anyway, it never even occurred to me to play/continue in college!! My brothers, on the other hand, were excellent musicians and played throughout college (in local bars/gigs) and beyond. D is strong on piano as a ‘side’ talent and she loves it - it’s her sanity.

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All the medical insurance talks. We get to fulfill our deductible, in the first week of the year.
All is well. DH only needed emergency heart cath precedudure and ICU stay after casual snow shoveling.
Hope no more excitement for the year.
Things move fast once you overhear he is having a heart attack.

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@payn4ward Did this just happen? Are you both ok?

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Oh goodness @payn4ward ! I wish him an uneventful recovery.

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Oh my @payn4ward – hope he recovers quickly - very scary indeed. thoughts are with you and your family

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@payn4ward ((((hugs and prayers)))) I hope he is ok and recovering. Prayers for your family.

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@payn4ward hugs to you and your family-I hope your husband recovers quickly, and farm out that shoveling to kids!

D17 went for her 6 month teeth cleaning yesterday and her two top wisdom teeth are in and fine with lots of space, but the bottom one (only one on the bottom) is coming in perpendicularly to the back molar. Bummer. So we’ll schedule surgery for the summer, along with every other kid on the planet, lol. The dentist thought there might be an additional wisdom tooth coming in on the top behind the one already in @-) and I was like, what is she, half shark?!? Now the question is do you yank out the top two wisdom teeth that are in and perfectly fine? She’s against the idea, I’ll see what the oral surgeon says and we’ll go from there. It is her mouth, but who wants to go through surgery twice?

So I spent some time reading through my syllabus (all 8 pages) and putting in the due dates. I was reading some of the funnier stuff on it and freaking out D18. The professor (who I’ve had before and I think is terrific) has stuff on there like “don’t make restless noises or actions”. D was like, oh man I’d never survive his class! She also thought that it was “babying” that he gave all the assignments and plans ahead of time so I could plug them into my calendar. I think what she was really thinking was that she hoped not all professors do this in college (giving you all the assignments and due dates ahead of time) because there go all her excuses for not turning stuff in on time (or at all). B-)

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@BigMACLovin and @CT1417 Thank you for the insurance information. even if it sent me into sticker shock. We already pay an obscenely ridiculous amount/month on health insurance. I guess it’s about to increase. :open_mouth:

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@payn4ward hope your husband is feeling better! Maybe a snowblower for Valentines day?

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S accepted to SUNY Stony Brook! This is his second SUNY acceptance. So we have some very solid affordable options on the table. Still waiting for the bling from Bing. That’s his top SUNY choice.

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@STEM2017 --AWESOME.

How do the SUNY schools work as far as acceptance to major?

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@payn4ward yikes! Hope he is well now. Did he have to have a stent?

Yes—the way to move quickly through the ER system is to have chest pain and then associated EKG changes. The goal is to get those patients to the cath lab quickly.

@MotherOfDragons --when you say “she’s against the idea” does that mean your daughter or the dentist?

I’m one to minimize procedures and meds so I would definitely see what the oral surgeon says about the odds of the top row teeth eventually going wrong? D had hers done last year over the 3 day Presidents Day holiday weekend. She missed school on Friday and then Monday was off and she was good to go for Tuesday. It’s sad to say but she said it was the best 2-3 days…a few narcotics, lots of rest, Mom waiting on her hand and foot, milkshakes and Netflix. It was a banner weekend lol!

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@carachel2 Thanks! For both Buffalo and Stony Brook he was accepted directly into his major - mechanical engineering. I suppose if the applicant is borderline, they may offer a different route to the major. This may happen with Binghamton - very competitive.

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Congrats to @STEM2017 's S !! woot. Affordable options are great. I know some kids that have gone to Stony Brook and heard that they really like it there.

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@payn4ward – so sorry to hear your news, but hope that he is now on the mend. Very scary.

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@payn4ward Hugs

@RightCoaster Thanks, it has a bit of a commuter feel, but if he can get over that, its an excellent STEM school.