Hi all! D17 is having a good year (Go Green!) as well. Her move into a house with 3 other girls has resulted in more time on her hands. She didn’t realize how many social activities she participated in with kids on her floor until she moved out of the dorm. She is re-applying for the Goldwater scholarship a second year and feels like she will have a much stronger application this year. She is also working in a new lab this year with a new professor who moved from UT-Austin. They are researching neuropathic pain and she really likes the move. She will be studying for the GRE soon, and applying to grad schools. She is also planning a study abroad over the summer in what looks like ShangHai right now. Excited for football season to be over and basketball season to start!
Glad everyone’s kids are doing well! Congrats for jobs, study abroad, etc!
S17 still has good grades in all his courses and is top one or two in some of his tough sciences. Working on his schedule for next semester which will have the fun of cell biology, immunology and nutrition with a couple of minor courses. He did get the research job he interviewed for so is doing that and working as an LA for the Physics dept as well as his President work with the fraternity. I know he will be glad when that is over in December.
We are now waiting on his formal acceptance to vet school. Originally they told him October and now it is by Nov. 15. At least they said if he hadn’t heard anything yet that was good. For him it should be simple. Check his pre-recs and GPA and GRE and then he is in. (Early-Admit program). He is frustrated it is taking so long.
Husband went up last weekend for Dad’s weekend and I went a couple of weeks before that. He is happy and still with his gf, enjoying football and his last year undergrad.(Fingers crossed)
Mine had a great summer working full time at an engineering firm in Pittsburgh. She’s back in school full time and keeping up with her 18 hr load and just enjoying her school, friends and her hobby (photography) and hanging out with friends. I think she goes to student CivE meetings but that’s it. She’s in the dorm again but is on the hustle for an apartment for the summer. She goes back on co-op again in January and is looking forward to no homework and a nice paycheck. That’s it for her!
D17 texted me a couple of days ago and claimed she was burned out. She has a lot going on. Doing research, hold office hours for the intro to chemE class, her sorority EVP responsibilities, Tao Beta Pi officer duties, etc. etc. She scored a 60s (it is the class average) on the last test in her Mass and Heat transfer class, and this is the evidence that she thinks she is officially burned out! She thinks she will be fine next semester when she officially concludes her duties to the sorority and clubs. On the positive notes, she has her next summer internship offer in Houston accepted, high 90s in her other classes. I am hoping she was just startled with a test result she hasn’t faced before!
My D has settled into her room in the Vegetarian Co-op where she is in charge of ordering food. She plans to up their ‘cheese’ game as she thinks in the past it was sorely lacking 
She has been very busy with her major classes in Astrophysics and she also has to write one of her junior papers based on her research. She started working with a Computational Astrophysicist that has simulated model of the universe. I’m not sure she knows what her topic will be yet but it’ll be due at Dean’s Date in January so she has time.
Next summer she is hoping to land an internship at either Oxford or at the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (radio telescopes) in Chile. These are through the school so the competition is somewhat limited but I’m sure it’s fierce.
DD17 was supposed to be enjoying a relaxing semester since she built in time for internship interviewing in NYC and SF, but she secured her internship for next year in August. Instead, she has again filled every block of time. She was invited to become a research intern on campus this semester and she is getting more involved in her ECs in officer positions. She is also working on designing an honors class that she hopes to be co-teaching next year. We miss her terribly and know that visits will continue to be short in duration and spread out. It is exciting to see her follow her dreams but I see time racing by. Soon it will be 21st birthday! She has come to the realization that the opportunity to study abroad will not happen with her EC responsibilities so we are looking a some type of graduation trip before she begins full time work (fingers crossed) or job hunting.
It is great to read all of the updates and follow these amazing young adults as they prepare their future paths. It won’t be too long before we will all be looking to book hotels and share graduation plans.
Have enjoyed reading all the updates and hearing about all the wonderfull experiences our college kids are having. Hope more of our group will add to this thread.
My D is still loving BU. This year she was one of 3 students selected to help BU create and pilot a sustainability program for the dorms on the campus. The position offered free housing and a meal plan for the the year.
She is still working in the Biogeochemisrty lab and loves it! The lab selected her to help a PHD student with his field research this past summer. She is still helping him and was asked by him to help co author it so she will be published before she graduates.
She hopes being published will help her grad school applications. The university also selected her to recieve funds for her own reasearch project. Lots of great things happening her junior year.
Hello all! So glad to hear how well your young adults are doing. Bravo!
I’m her, once again, for advice.
S17 is doing well. He’s pivoted twice in his studies. He started with Aerospace Engineering, switched to Mechanical, and has now settled in to Civil. He thinks he’s found his home - he really likes the world of construction (public and private). He’s happy and that’s all that matters. He may need to add a semester to catch up, but I think if he takes a few classes during his breaks he may stay on track.
So here’s where I need advice from you all…
S17 applied for an internship with a MAJOR New York City construction engineering company. He’s made it past the resume/cover letter stage. He came to me for advice on his next step. They want him to submit a 2 minute video talking about himself. In their words, “In 2 minutes or less, explain how your experience is applicable to the current opening and why you have an interest in working for us. Mobile and desktop submissions are welcome.”
He has three options.
- Use their “click here to record your video” button and make the video on the fly.
- Upload a video that he has produced himself.
- Do not submit a video and explain why.
My initial advice was to go with option 2. Make up some cue cards, find a nice setting/background, and ask some friends to help with the recording. Don’t over-produce the video (although he has the ability) I think a relaxed video of him speaking about his background and why it makes him a good candidate comes across as genuine. By the way, a “selfie video” is way beyond his comfort zone.
Any experience with this? Any thoughts/opinions?
Thanks!!!
@STEM2017 I’d suggest option 2. My D usually goes that route when given the option then preps her spiel, finds a nice quiet spot, and then records. She’s been very successful with this route, far less successful with option 1.
@STEM2017 I would definitely go with option 2. That way you get a far better product and can review it for anything that stands out. As a person who has recently done some hiring I want to see someone who can speak well, looks comfortable and has done some research about who we are and what we do. I want it to be genuine and not looking like they are reading it or someone else wrote it for them to memorize. Good luck!
Perhaps the choice is part of the selection process. Who takes time to do it correctly. Not wing it. We are talking about engineering and planning.
To me choice 2 by far.
One of my kids would, I am certain, go with option 3 (based on a mixture of privacy concerns and people often initially mistaking her for being a bit of an airhead based on physical presentation). Done well, that one could be quite intriguing for a selection committee that had me on it, at least—but it would have to be done very well.
Wow, we are up to page 1693169416951696169716981699
@privatebanker You have a K17?
I also vote for option 2 - your S will have much better control of his presentation that way (who even knows what the quality, look, set-up of their system is?) With option 2 he can try a couple of different approaches and see what works best. Could also be valuable experience for the next time he gets asked to do something like this (which seems likely given current trends.)
@STEM2017 sorry I got to your post because I have a cracked screen (and I do have a 2017) but feel compelled to answer
My daughter had the same request as a freshman and she went to career services for direction (because she was so out of her comfort zone).They not only helped her with editing her answers but also provided her with a studio to produce her video. She was able to edit her video to include their buildings in the background too. She was happy that she did because they had experience with other students submitting to this company. Here’s what the company told her (after her internship) they were looking for a timely response, someone who was comfortable speaking, and the bonus was if they appeared interested in their company.
Her director also stated he despises filler words (like, umm, etc) so stay away from people’s normal pet peeves. Also don’t be afraid to show personality. Hope that helps.
Definitely choice 2, so I’m with the rest of the group.
S17 is on track to graduate one year early. He is looking forward to his winter break trip to London and to his final semester, when he will be TA’ing a class in lighting. He has already been assured of a job, at least part-time, with an old family friend who has a film production company in Manhattan, so he will be in NY, which is a requirement for his Excelsior scholarship (we were only eligible for one year’s worth, but it is a big help).
On another happy note, my only D’09 recently became engaged. She has also said that S17 can stay with her and her fiance when he is in the city - we live in a suburb.
Great to hear about everyone’s kids, especially those thinking of law school. None of mine is interested in the career both H and I love.
Definitely the second option. Heck if he can film the video in front of the company’s construction site it would even be better! Interest, passion and personality will win the job. Good luck!
D17 so far says that academically her junior year has been the hardest. If she had taken a full load every semester she would be on tract to graduate this spring, but due to illnesses (Bad Flu beginning of one semester and mono another) , she will just graduate 1/2 a semester over. She had talked about Grad school, but I think she is burnt out a bit. She has a great internship and is thinking about what she wants to do this summer. Also she has many EC’s with leadership . Recently there was an incident on campus and how she publicly reacted made me so proud . Turning 21 in a few weeks and time to take her out drinking.
This would be a WIN in my book. Good luck to her!