<p>Welcome @magnetnh!! Just got back from east coast vacation this weekend and DD started her summer MUN class today. Surprise that no new posts. Had a feeling that everytime I share something, there will be many days of silence in our community … or maybe I just think too much? CC is actually my first experience of using blog /forum, so I’m always checking to see if there are new posting about out class 2018 HS freshmen … for those who knew my upcoming UCLA summer camp drama, my DD1 doesn’t want to go, but once she found out there will be no refund (penalty) and her sister wants to take her place, she is now willing to go… how funny teenagers change her mind so fast and didn’t recall her strong objection. DD1 will also start her golf Tryout next week, I’m just hoping she will have a good experience. </p>
<p>jjkmom - FWIW, my experience with older S was that these threads start relatively slowly (with bursts at certain points in the year) until late 10th grade/early 11th grade (whenever SATs start being taken along with college visits) and then college prep starts in earnest and the pace picks up until they decide what college they will be attending. </p>
<p>S’18 is half-way through his 2-week band camp. He seems to be loving every minute of it. Enjoys living in a dorm very much, though already tired of the food. He made the middle band, the only freshman percussionist to do so (and maybe the only freshman - I’m not sure), so he decided not to tell anybody how old he was, though I’m guessing the girls can tell. He was told yesterday that he is actually first chair and was then asked to play with the string orchestra as well as the band. So, this should boost his confidence.</p>
<p>Bummer about the US soccer team today. They had a good run. </p>
<p>Thanks @dadotwoboys for sharing with me how CC works… yes, I will think more discussions will be needed when they are in Jr or sr years. But freshman year is pretty important too, since they are really transition into high school. My DD’18 is taking two weeks of MUN overview for upcoming 9th graders and I told her this is only 2 weeks and she can make new friends…Band camp sounds fun, but surprise your S needs to stay in the dorm… is he going to the private HS that requires residence?</p>
<p>Not a private high school. It’s just a summer camp at one of the state universities. All the students (nearly 1,000 of them) live in dorms. My older son did the same thing for summer tennis camp at a different state university. I assume this is not uncommon across the country.</p>
<p>We’ll see how this thread plays out over the years. The HS 2013 thread ramped up over time, but this one may work differently.</p>
<p>Ok, I got it… my daughter will also have residential summer camp @ UCLA. Those summer camps are expensive., but I want DD’18 to live on campus and hope to inspire her for next 4 years. I’m glad to hear that your son enjoys every minute and living in the dorm. I hope my DD will have a good time as well.</p>
<p>For some reason it is finally hitting me this weekend that my son will be starting high school next month! I am trying to retain my calm and composure but when I think of all the upcoming changes it does seem overwhelming - and I am just the parent! Anyone else finally getting this feeling? Of course, he is my first one off to high school and some of you may have passed this milestone so any words of encouragement are appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi, @magnetnh, I think I’m more nervous and excited than my DD’18, she is also my first one off to HS. I started to realize she has grown up when she has opinions of things (summer classes, camps, activities) we planned for her. My kids have always follow our summer plan since my husband and I have busy work schedule. But since my DD1 is going to HS and turning 14, she asked to plan for her summer. Besides her sport team Tryout and practice, she will preview biology, math and read books on her own. She also excercise half an hour each day.since she is staying home alone, I’m really concerned that she waste her time on her phone and TV. But the reality is, so far she has been doing well on manage her own time. I knew she has grown up… how time flies…</p>
<p>Hi @jjkmom! Yes, that is a sure sign that they are growing up. It is also a sign that we have to start trusting their choices and decisions as time goes by since we can no longer do all the planning for them. My son is applying to a local after school program which exposes them to science and college in general and when I called to ask for the application the director told me directly that they prefer the students call themselves and they do not expect any assistance from parents. I was surprised but knew that from now on that is the way it should be so my son is now responsible for following thru on his own!</p>
<p>@Magnetnh, although we know our kids have grown, but its so hard not to tell them what to do or look up things for them. I hear you about school prefer kids to make the calls and be more responsible, I really think it depends on each individual … some kids are just more self-motivated self-starter. </p>
<p>Since we are starting this thread early I thought it would be fun to look back and see how the college list for our students evolves over time. Below is a list my S and I have developed so let’s see how we fare in the next 3 years! Please note that so far his interests are in the arts (visual), animation, film and the like. For those of you with older children with similar interests in college or who have already applied feel free to make suggestions to this list as it will continually evolve as does my S. I should also state that we are in the Northeast and favor LAC’s.</p>
<p>Amherst, Bennington, Connecticut College, Brown, Cal Arts, Cornell, Middelbury, RISD, RIT, School of Visual Arts, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Purchase, Syracuse, Temple, UCLA, UCONN, University of Hartford, UPENN, USC, Vassar, Wesleyan, Williams and Yale.</p>
<p>Oh man I am in the thick of this with D16, not sure if I can even think about colleges for S18 yet! </p>
<p>@magnetnh - you might want to take a look at Chapman in Orange County, CA. It is building quite a reputation in the film industry & is located near LA. </p>
<p>Yeah I just got done with DS2014 so I am taking some time to breath. Plus I know that it’s not uncommon for college lists and even interests to change drastically from freshman year to senior year </p>
<p>We won’t worry about a college list until later. The college focus is on the 2015 grad right now.</p>
<p>not ready to start a list yet. S’18 is still at the “I want to be a rock star or a surgeon” phase of his life. I will say that he came from his summer camp enthused about the idea of studying music in college, but we’ll see.</p>
<p>@GertrudeMcFuzz - thanks we will have to research Chapman further!</p>
<p>I have one in the class of 2018, too. He visited his first college a couple of weeks ago when I took him along for the most recent college tour of his sib, D15. We will concentrate on D15 for now. S18 will be an entirely different search as he is a different kind of student and learner and he is an athlete, too. His strengths are in different areas from his sib. I suspect that I’ll use little-to-nothing of what I’ve learned in the search this time around with #2 in three years because their situations are so different. Anyone else in a similar situation?</p>
<p>@Palomina, yes we are there with you. We haven’t started looking at any schools with S18 since the focus is on D15 right now, but D knew at an earlier age what she wants to do, the type of school she wants to attend, etc. Not only is S is a different kid, doesn’t know much of what he’s looking for, etc., but I believe the college admission process will continue to change each year and we’ll have a totally different process in front of us in 3 years. I also believe that many schools that may be safeties or matches today will be reaches in 3 years. </p>
<p>@Jennie11 You may be right about the upcoming changes in the next 3 years but I sure hope that safeties stay as safeties because each year the pool seems to get smaller and smaller! For my S18 that could mean that his list will continue to evolve and change based on the trends of admission each preceding year!</p>
<p>We went over D15’s possible college list with her GC last night which has me thinking “No not yet!” with S18. However unlike her. he’s sportsminded and much more opinionated and already thinks he’d like a Big 10 school. </p>
<p>What kind of orientation are your kids’ HS doing? D’s HS did a 1 day academic oreinattion and 1 day with team-building and games. But S’s HS has them come in for a full week, 9 to 3, a week before the official start of class. And before that he has 3 full days for football team conditioning which will also meet from 3:30 to 6 during orientation week.</p>