Mine is too busy installing GPS, WiFi, and other gadgets on the bus to consider driving. He knows where he wants to end up based on the GPS and assumes the bus will take him there. But, he doesn’t really look outside to get a picture of the overall layout of the land or look at an old-fashioned map. He texts with kids on other buses to find out where they are headed and what they did on the way there.
Dd is in the driver’s permit position. ;). She is driving, but I am there making comments giving her direction along the way.
She has contacted depts, made apts to meet with dept heads, sit in on classes, and take campus tours. We are going on our 4th tour in a few weeks. I am hoping she has most of the touring /selecting process done this summer so that she can get her applications done late summer/early fall. She wants to dual enroll in multiple courses fall and spring. Touring in the fall will be difficult.
Hmm that’s an interesting question. Sometimes I drive the bus and sometimes she does. I helped her find lists of schools that migh fit and she narrowed it down before we began visits.
Unfortunately the list of schools gets shorter every week 
She has a major in mind (international relations, maybe with a security studies concentration) but she also needs a school with multiple higher-level Arabic courses (she already studies Arabic at the University of Our State). And if she gets NSLI this summer her language needs may change again.
D understands our budget (she’s the youngest of 3). She does not want to attend a college or university where everyone will be exactly like her, stats-wise. She’d like a smaller program or honors college within a larger university.
@whereismykindle Is she considering Ole Miss’s Croft Institute?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Yes, that’s still on the list. We’ll visit this spring if she gets NSLI. Her summer Plan B is their summer college or Chinese StarTalk. Her ACT scores make Ole Miss a good deal, even if she doesn’t make NMSF.
My son is sitting towards the back of the bus, although he is starting to get more interested. He is not very picky, and likes every college we have visited. That is good in a way, but it makes it hard to narrow colleges down.
@WhereIsMyKindle my son is waiting to hear about CBYX, so I am interested to see how NSLI goes for you. His plan B summer plan is the intensive German at Ole Miss summer college. The logistics of having him apply for colleges while overseas senior year gives me nightmares, so I am kind of hoping he doesn’t get it. Plus then I would have an empty nest a year earlier than I expected.
@caroldanvers … Help me out here. It sounds like you guys are talking about German language programs? I’ve never heard of NSLI. My daughter is doing the AATG German trip for three weeks this summer. Has your son been on that trip?
NSLIY is a critical language immersion program. German is not one of the languages.
http://www.nsliforyouth.org/
Oh well. I’m driving the bus, but DS17 just got off again. I have to stop occasionally to get DS on the bus but he keeps exiting the back door. 
DS19 is on the bus enjoying the ride, but DH is not and keeps crossing the street in front of the bus.
DS17 might just walk to a neighborhood school. He is probably auto admit there, but I ran a lot of Net Price Calculators and discovered that a lot of OOS schools would be half the in-state cost. If only I can get DS17 on the bus.
If not, I’ll wait till next time, DS19.
@carachel2 CBYX is an exchange program with Germany sponsored by the government. So similar to NSLIY, but not a critical language. The AATG German trip sounds great, my son hasn’t done that.
We go back and forth. My S16 was a total gung ho overachiever in wanting to think about colleges early though so it’s hard to compare. She resists doing stuff like visits, taking practice SATs, etc but if I suggest it and then leave stuff out I find she does look at it on her own time. I am forcing the visit issue though. She wanted to wait until she finds out where she gets in (except for the visits we have already done for her brother that she went along for) and visit all of them next April. But in seeing how much the dates over lap she has realized it won’t be realistic to visit many places after admission more like maybe 2 to make a final decision type thing if she is lucky enough that they aren’t the same weekend. We are doing 5 visits on spring break and hopefully that is it. She does have a general idea of budget but does have 1 school she really likes that won’t give her need aid and they offer almost no merit aid. I’ve kind of said that isn’t worth pursuing because it’s double what we have saved and lots of better schools would give her $$.
@dcplanner yeah my daughter sounds somewhat similar. She works so hard in school, and she knows she needs to in order to get into a ‘good’ school. But, she doesn’t put the same effort into thinking about which schools, and is even unclear of the major to pursue. All I’ve gotten so far is she would rather not have to wear pants, and she likes football. So, we’re including Clemson and South Carolina over spring break, with some LACs thrown in. Anything to get away from the midwest winter (which actually is bearable this year). I’m hoping that after spring break we’ll begin to share the driving responsibility for the rest of the trip.
DD17 did NSLI-Y last summer and Startalk two summers prior.
She just left for the ACT exam.
In terms of driving the bus, I am not sure if any of us is even on the bus. We are waiting for an improvement of ACT score today in order to begin discussing what colleges we should visit.
The good thing is that she has visited many school with DS14. Now we are waiting for her scores to narrow down the list.
I would like thank posters above for posting the list of old ACT exams. DD practiced with them this past week.
Good luck to all the ACT takers today!
My daugher is also taking today’s act.
At this point, I would say she is in the passenger seat and nodding off for long stretches at a time. I am trying to be ok with this. We are likely going to be trying to chase some merit money and she wants to pursue occupationally therapy, so this time will be different than DS '14. Of course, it probably would have been different anyway.
@2muchquan “she would like to not have to wear pants”… Hilarious!
Mine would like to wear sweaters and convinced me buy cute snow boots this week but her favorite school so far is in LA? Goofy kids!
LOL… “she would like to not have to wear pants”… @2muchquan My daughter feels the same way. She hates hot weather, and her top choices (for now) are SCAD (hot and humid) LA, NYNY, and Chicago. She did just make our state’s Governor’s School for the Arts, so that was exciting news over the weekend! We are trying to schedule a Chicago visit for the spring : )
I was a bit concerned that the school’s Google calendar shows that the two weeks before AP tests are the weeks for the Smarter Balanced (Common Core) state testing for 11th graders. That was a testing window that resulted in a high number of opt-outs last year for high-performing CA schools such as some in Palo Alto. (http://edsource.org/2015/11th-graders-opt-out-of-common-core-tests-to-study-for-others/79975)
But, I found out tonight that they have a pretty smart plan. English and math teachers can choose when to have their kids take the tests, including scheduling them after AP and/or IB tests. So, the non-AP classes will probably test in late April and the AP classes will probably test in late May. For math we have some 11th graders who don’t take math at the school because they took calculus last year. Those kids can just schedule times to take the test in the library during a free period or after school. The classes just reserve a cart of Chromebooks, so they can take the test in their own classroom. And, the WiFi won’t be overwhelmed, because classes won’t all be testing at the same time.
For kids who may be going to a CSU or community college, testing “proficient” exempts them from college placement tests in that subject, so there actually is an incentive for kids to do well. My son says the other incentive is that if the 11th grade beats the rival school’s 11th grade, the whole grade gets a free pizza party next September.
That sounds very smart.
Now, I’m thinking I should have signed up Opt Out form. Generally, I don’t Opt Out kids testing, but this year the juinors are suffering enough already
Oh, Well, if DS opts out a test, he cannot stay at the school. It is too complicated to come home and then go back to school in time. So I guess he gets to take CMAS Science test, whatever it is.
My son is definitely in the middle of the bus. I’m driving and my husband is the backseat driver piping in now and then. My S is all over the place with his interests so we will be going on lots of college visits this year. If anyone has any suggestions about language programs in Japanese, please share them.