QOYD, Roommates: Caltech doesn’t have them choose roommates until the end of the first week of classes when the cannon is fired and they find out what House they are sorted into. He won’t find out whether he’ll get a double or single until then either (same price). He is enjoying talking with a number of people on their FB group, but will need to choose a roommate who gets sorted into his same House.
DS is going to a red state. DW was little concerned but everyone said college towns tending to have more blue than red. DS and I prefer Red politically but not fond of orange though ( you’ll know what I mean )
Congratulations to all the parents on this thread! You guided your children through 4 years of high school, helped them navigate the college application process, arranged college tours and guided them in selecting a college to enjoy the next four years at. You are all amazing! The advice on this thread was wonderful and very helpful.
My D will be taking 6 AP exams. She will be able to use the credits if the scores are 4 or 5. She has several AP shirts from the different classes she has taken. They are usually designed by a student in the class.
D has found a potential roommate through the college roommate match. She won’t find out until late July or early August if she got the dorm she wanted and the roommate she requested. She is registered for orientation and would love to leave tomorrow for college if she could.
Re: roommate - D doesn’t get her survey until some point this month, and they match you up with someone for first year. She’s debating whether to request wellness/substance-free housing right off the bat or if that’s going to curtail her social group prematurely (she doesn’t really care what people choose for themselves so long as they’re not idiots about it, pressure her, or put her at risk.) Anyone have experience with that?
In terms of orientation, she’s actually really looking forward to that. Hamilton has an Adirondack Adventure program where the kids are sent off camping for a 6 day bonding experience that can include hiking, canoeing, rock climbing and/or sea kayaking. D is thinking she might go for the rock climbing just to do something completely different.
Congrats to the decisions made almost at the buzzer - hope the DCs and you are still very happy about them!
AP exams - DS is taking 5 but only 3 potentially matter (AP Physics C M & E&M & BC Calc). Mixed in are a robotics competition & few other obligations. Then he has an internship, his last orchestra concert, & FBLA nationals.
Well when you think about it, choosing to to avoid a state that has recently swung one way or the other hurts your cause, no? Move there, plant your stake, vote, and make a difference.
Blues in Texas and reds in NY and CA vote in vain, JMHO.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean children want to commit to 4 years in regions of the country that maybe be hostile to them, and worst case scenarios be dangerous to them. I totally see your point, I’m not even saying the fear is rational, but there is fear on the part of young people right now, particularly young people in vulnerable groups.
@stem2017 - I made same argument to several people when they talk about winning popularity and loosing election complaints. @socalmom007 - yes, for some kids it may be dangerous to go to certain regions of the country but not for majority and lot more seems to be taking political stand in stead of focusing on education.
Agree fully on vulnerable groups. Really sad that any group is vulnerable in the first place. Really sad. Hopefully that will change.
Circling back to Kenyon, where this discussion started, if Kenyon is your perfect college but you decide not to attend because Ohio swung away from you (red or blue) in the most recent election is, in my humble opinion, short sighted. In making your political point, you are only hurting yourself.
I agree. It’s easy for my west coast liberal activist to say if he want to one of the newly red states that one of his top 3 schools was in, that he’d plant his stake, get involved and vote. He’s not a vulnerable group. At all. He might be lonely and not find his tribe easily but he’s not a vulnerable group by any stretch of the imagination (not to mention his general opinionatedness and confidence means he simply cares a lot less what others think and can stick to his own thing). White liberal boy, uncomfortable might not be a bad thing.
Very different story for many kids that are in vulnerable groups, kids trying to come to terms with sexuality, possibly not out to family, trans, etc and I think concerns are valid. They are dealing with a lot already and need to weigh whether to layer on to that or not.
My child isn’t an activist, we’re pretty centrist, I wouldn’t say liberal. But, she is Hispanic dating an Asian. They were very firm on the no redstates when we were searching for colleges. Not sure that Ohio was what they meant, but the South was definitely way off the table. Again, it’s not necessarily rational, but it’s there. I have no idea if Kenyon’s claims hold any water.
D is a little social justice warrior. I strongly encouraged her to be part of the solution and not to discount schools in red states. She eventually agreed and it came down to two schools in red states. She is looking forward to continuing her social justice activism on campus and off.
If every liberal person shies away from red states, nothing changes. I honestly believe that Texas will be blue in my lifetime. Demographers have been tracking and agree.
From my experience with UA, all the northern and west coast students attending UA, bringing their values on campus has already provided the school with a more national perspective on issues.
Can I suggest a separate thread be started for a Kenyon/Red/Blue discussion? This one has been remarkably free of that stuff over the last year and I don’t want to end up with jail bars over my avatar.
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