<p>DS14 starts driver’s ed next Monday. He will be driving by mid-June. He’s also started daily practices with the soccer team. These are just for fun but you must put in frequent appearances to be taken seriously and he hopes to move up to varsity next year. I guess I’ll be riding along to those daily.</p>
<p>Is it too early to do college visits this summer if we happen to be on vacation in the area? I have a friend with lots of experience that says it is way to early. On the other hand, I thought it would make it more real to my S. In his world, three years is a long way off and, kind of, unimaginable.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s too early to visit a college while you are on vacation now. We are happy we did that with DS14. We tried to work in a college or two on every vacation. Such earlier visits were more for learning the big pictures such as city vs rural, public vs private, big vs small, etc… As we got closer, we started focus on specific colleges. When he turned junior, he got so busy that we did not have time to go on many college visits. Thankfully we did some early on. Once he got acceptances, he was offered travel reimbursement to visit several colleges so he took advantage of that. </p>
<p>@jedwards70–I agree with @4beardolls, with only one caveat: you know your own son and if he is ready to listen. It would have been overwhelming for my older son to have started the summer after 9th grade. We took a couple of college trips the summer after 10th grade, b/c as @4beardolls said, Jr year is too hectic to allow all of the visits, especially if varsity sports keep players in town during Feb & April breaks. It was very helpful to hear the Ad Coms say the same things I had been saying, and I think my son took the standardized tests more seriously than he would have if he hadn’t visited.</p>
<p>Younger son probably took more away from those college visits than older son, but younger son is much more academically inclined.</p>
<p>It’s not too soon if you are in the area anyway. S17 has been looking at schools with D15 for two summers now. If you are specifically looking at schools two summers early, be sure to have a notebook for S to take notes on the schools. Also put photos in with the notes for the schools. Otherwise all of you will forget what a school is like and they will all run together. But it will help your S figure out what he wants in a school (large , small, etc.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! Yes, he is very academically focused but also dances every day after school and on weekends. In his mind, he wants to go somewhere in the Northeast and we live in TX so I figured since we would be in the Northeast for summer vacation, why not? I agree that it will help figure out the big picture (small/large, rural/urban, liberal/conservation). I love the idea of taking pictures. Now, I just have to figure out which campus would be best to visit. There are just so many from which to choose. </p>
<p>It’s probably not too soon however I have to say I took younger sons with me when we looked at college for DS13 three years ago. They all paid attention but at the end of the visits they all thought they wanted to go to a college in small college town with a nice campus with a lot of trees…fast forward when DS13 had to make a decision and he gave up on the whole small college town idea and went with Georgia Tech. So while it’s good to go and get an idea be prepared that what he thinks he wants now may not be what he wants come senior year.</p>
<p>When my D14 told her guidance counselor she wanted to major in history and go to a college in the Northeast, the GC said “well, that narrows it down to about 400 …” so yes, you’ll have plenty to choose from in the Northeast.</p>
<p>One method of planning your travels would be to pick schools with something to do on campus, e.g. Harvard has a Museum of Natural History so we added that to our visit to Boston. UVA in Charlottesville is a beautiful campus just to stroll around, but it was fun to find the room where Edgar Allan Poe stayed during his one year on that campus. D and I also toured the art museum at Mt. Holyoke on the way to somewhere else, and she liked the campus so much she ended up applying there. </p>
<p>@jedwards70 will your son be looking for a dance program? If your travels are bringing you to upstate NY and you think you may look at Skidmore, they also have a small art museum open to the public, The Tang. </p>
<p>We are taking our D on a college tour this summer, with a classmate. D’s HS has the kids researching careers and colleges as early as 6th grade so that by senior year they have a really good understanding of where they can afford to apply, where they can get in and what they want to major in. D is certain she wants to attend an HBCU and has a list of 7, and we all want to immerse ourselves in black history, so off we go. Her friend is adopted by white self-described science nerds who haven’t taught her much about her history, so she’s excited too. </p>
<p>We think that D needs to see what things are like in a completely different demographic and geographic area, and colleges unlike any she has been to as part of her school activities (she at WSU right now for a science fair).</p>
<p>Just popping in to catch up! Welcome newcomers! D3 just got her report card in the mail and ended up with 4.0 for her freshman year, and we are very proud. I’m trying to be very nonchalant about grades because her sisters were sooooo hard on themselves. She ended up with a 99 average in her AP HUG class, which was her first AP class and she loved it. She’s really interested in art and wants to be an animator. She’s really good at it, but I know NOTHING so hoping I’ll learn stuff along the way to help her. One thing I leaned already, look for and sign up for animation camps early : /
My 2 college girls are happy to be working for the summer… One in campus doing research and the other in nannying. Middle D is home, oldest D living close to campus with a friend, so my first real empty nest withD1! Right now I’m looking forward to a week without making lunches, no after school pickup lines or commitments, and some pool time!</p>
<p>@moonpie. Congrats on the great year for your D3! I completely understand what you are saying about being nonchalant about grades with kids who are perfectionists. Although my S17 is not that way, my S15 is. As long as he is doing his best, we do not add additional stress by hounding about grades. 3 more days of school here…can’t wait. S17 has AP World this year and all seems to be going well…as soon as school is out on Wednesday, he will be doing some review to take the SAT II in World History on Saturday…fingers crossed…</p>
<p>DS17 had his last finals yesterday is and sleeping in until unofficial soccer practice starts. They practice every day, run by the captains and DS is hoping to make varsity next year. I’m just very glad that this school year is done but with DS14’s graduation it all seems surreal.</p>
<p>Looking at schools early is a great idea if your son is interested. And it’s nice to combine tours at this stage with a vacation. Easier on the budget, too. Spykid was on just about every college tour with his sister who graduates high school this Saturday, so he was still too young to form a real opinion. That means we’ll most likely be repeating a few school tours for him. But that’s okay. </p>
<p>We won’t do any touring this summer, too busy with EC’s and moving his sister. He still has 7 school days yet. I’m ready to be done.</p>
<p>DS finished the classroom part of Driver’s Ed. today. They had a test and their homework was graded. While DS got a 92 , some kids didn’t get the required 70 to pass the class so they have to take it again starting tomorrow. Seems the reason they didn’t pass was they didn’t do the homework…the only good news is that the parents don’t have to pay the $390 again…</p>
<p>Yikes… I bet those kids are sorry they didn’t do the homework! S starts his class in two weeks. Then we will let him apply to get his permit. THEN the torture of teaching him how to actually drive begins (Oy).</p>
<p>So interesting how different states handle driving age. You have to be 16 in NYS to get a permit, and you need your permit before you can take drivers ed, at least in the program our school district buys. It’s $375 for the class, and includes classroom time and driving time. We think it did help our D14. S17 will most likely take it next summer, he turns 16 in May so he’ll have to be diligent about getting his permit asap. </p>
<p>Hi, I am new to cc. I have a daughter, 15, who goes to public school in iowa. We don’t have very many programs for summer. Can you recommend any online college credit courses</p>
<p>Welcome yellowsapphire! I don’t have any recommendations for you regarding on-line programs. My D15 takes summer classes at the local U. S17 isn’t ready to do that yet, partly because he cannot drive himself there (maybe next summer). Do you have a community college or state U nearby? That might be an option, although getting kids to and from the school if you are a working parent might be an issue. I am sure that other parents on this thread will have suggestions though.</p>
<p>thanks June5</p>
<p>I just signed S up for a hands-on defensive driving class through StreetSurvival.org. Does anyone have kids who have taken it? I am curious to hear about it. I also know of another organization called Drivers Edge that give hands-on classes around the country and is supposed to be very good. However, they don’t have anything scheduled for our area yet.</p>