I hope everyone’s hanging in there with all that is going on. Just thought you all would appreciate this - my S18 got an email from an LAC he had applied to in 2018 offering to match the merit award he would have received as a freshman if he wanted to transfer to the school and be closer to home because of COVID 19.
Stay safe and healthy!!
@pickledginger that is very interesting. I guess everyone is scrambling to fill spots.
Had our first online learning casualty this week. D18 and econometrics exam that was due on Wednesday. She took and sent everything in via a PDF. However, yesterday she realized there were a couple of graphs that were not part of the regular exam that she had completed and somehow failed to scan and submit. She sent yesterday but no idea what Professor will do with this. Fingers crossed.
It’s amazing to see how hard our S18 works in college after putting forth minimal effort most of the time in HS. Not that he’s working all the time, but we can tell he knows when to put his nose to the grindstone. Can you all imagine what it would have been like to be unexpectedly separated from our friends back in the days of expensive long distance calls? I’m thankful that our kids have the lifeline that modern technology provides.
@mstomper It is fun having them at home, even though I feel a bit sad that the world has offered this up to them and caused a disruption in their normal college experience. D18 said she felt very productive here, which was nice to hear. I do think they are better off in keeping connected than we would have been under the circumstances. No smoke signals or carrier pigeons needed! 
Hi all! Been a while since I checked in so will start with a quick update.
DS18 has been back at home from U of Louisville finishing out the semester online. Not the same experience of course but persevering and making the best of things. Will sum up and say things have went excellent for him to date. He has really been thriving at Louisville and making the most of the Brown Fellows and GEMS experiences. Disappointed he isn’t getting to do summer abroad trips as planned. Has a wonderful GF now that we really like. Seems to be headed toward finishing BS Neuroscience in three years, taking the MCAT later this summer and then entering Louisville’s med school fall 2021.
DD20 will be heading off to Western Kentucky U this fall (of course subject to COVID-19 adjustments). Dealing with the disappointment of not having prom, graduation, etc. for her. This just sucks doesn’t it?
Wishing everyone the best health and COVID mercies to all.
@LOUKYDAD We are in a somewhat similar situation with an 18 and a 20.
D18 is home and doing well. Her online classes are not stressful, and she always finds nice ways to keep herself busy.
I have been very strict with social distancing (we are in NJ), and while, so far, we are not as hard hit as the towns up north, we have friends and relatives who have been very affected. In trying to find a way to balance everyone’s physical and mental health, we decided to have D18 spend the lockdown with her best friend’s family.
Weird times. I would really like an antibody test.
Things are going as well as can be expected at the moment.
Oldest D’s school extended spring break by a week and then went online for the rest of the semester. She just had her very last finals and is supposed to start pharmacy rotations in May.
The first rotation has been modified to virtual.
S had a two week spring break extension but then his school also had to switch to online. He moved out of the dorms and came home. Zoom classes have been going well but he does miss his ensembles. Thankfully the opera performance was at the beginning of March.
We got a prorated refund from the school for room, meal plan and some fees. We decided that he can take two LA classes this summer so he doesn’t have to take 19 credits a semester.
It’s nice to hear him sing and play piano and guitar.
He keeps in touch with friends and plays online games with them.
The youngest in middle school had a few weeks off from school while they set up online learning and made sure all students would have a device and internet access.
She enjoys sleeping in longer but misses her friends.
Meanwhile I find myself running out of ideas for meals and going to the store more often than I want.
S posted that he had submitted his last essay for his second year. No longer a sophomore.
He wanted to come home this summer…
Instead he will be staying in Memphis. Luckily campus have promised him some remote working and we don’t know when we will be seeing him next. Christmas?
He certainly has had to ‘grow up’ these last few months being so far from home. It seems I have to take silver linings where I can find them.
Here’s to an enjoyable summer for you and yours whatever shape that might take and here’s hoping third year will not be a repeat of this year.
I’m thankful we are healthy here in our household, hoping the same for each of you. I was asking my family what the silver lining to all of this was and was surprised that D18 said she felt she was more productive with her school work - it took her two days to come up with that answer. (I guess the parties at our house, don’t take time away from her studies lol) I was happy to hear it since I would have to say this whole thing has been hardest on her. She applied for several internships and two have canceled positions, the others she has yet to hear. She canceled her end of the school year travel plans with her besties and also a trip back to Amherst to see others graduate.
I hope you and yours are all finding silver linings, too.
My D18 is holding up much better emotionally than I expected. She was a finalist for a summer research REU that was her dream job, and then they cancelled the program. She’s in the middle of finals now. She was thinking of taking an online class through our public flagship over the summer, but has soured on that idea – I think she’s done with online learning for a bit. The class had a lab component that would normally be in the field but instead it was an extra six hours of synchronous online class time per week – on top of the regular 3+ hours online. Didn’t sound very fun!
Her college has listed some new remote working opportunities so she’s applied for a couple of those, and has an interview for one on Monday, so fingers crossed. It’s actually a COVID-related math modeling project to help the campus – so that’s cool.
I think once finals are done she will be more antsy to figure out what’s next. I think she will do some self-study on some subjects she wants to get under her belt.
She’s technically still supposed to be going to Spain this Fall, but we don’t see that happening. Just waiting to hear her college’s plans, and crossing fingers.
Good news – she got the research fellowship mentioned above that she interviewed for this morning! It’s 15 to 18 hours a week, starting in June and she’s very excited (and relieved) to have something lined up for the summer. It’s a slightly different project than she thought but still right up her alley.
She’s got another small remote job this summer working for a retail store doing website updates and social media. So yay!
That’s wonderful news @AlmostThere2018 ! So glad your D will have an interesting experience and something to put on her resume!
@melvin123 – Thank you! Funny thing is it’s about one third the pay she would have gotten from her REU and it’s from home instead of living up in the mountains at a field station (her idea of paradise) but she’s truly thrilled. I guess that’s a sign of how we’re all adjusting expectations as we try to keep everyone safe during this crazy time!
My D just finished finals and said, “guess what, I’m half way through!” Congratulations to all the rising Juniors! Wow was that fast.
Time has gone by fast!
D is in week three of her first pharmacy rotation and learning a lot.
S had his finals two weeks ago and is happy with his grades. He has been staying up late and sleeping in.
His summer classes start in June. He has some social science classes to take for his degree and taking them in the summer is more convenient than trying to fit them into his busy semester schedule.
Youngest has a few more days then she has summer break as well.
Hoping for continued good health for everyone.
Much quieter here with S18 and D18 both back in their respective college towns for the summer.
D18 is working part time in a fitness studio and enjoying the outdoors with her tight knit group of friends.
S18 went back to do his internship (with a well known DC think tank) remotely. He just got his final grades for spring quarter and has 8 A+s and 2 As for the year. He had a COVID scare this week when his summer roommate tested positive (but is completely asymptomatic, the test was due to a close contact with someone else who tested positive). Surprisingly he tested negative despite them sharing a 1 bed apartment for the last 2 weeks. Now we are wondering if the “flu” he had in late Feb (along with a different roommate who was much sicker) was actually COVID. They have to go back for retesting in 2 weeks to check the two of them are clear, and he will do the antibody test to see if he did have it in Feb. So will be interesting to see if it already went round their dorm without anyone realizing at the time.
@Twoin18 sounds like your two are thriving. Great to hear. Hopefully S18 has the antibodies.
So D18 finally was able to go back to Clemson last week to get her things our of her dorm and her car. While there she visited with a roommate who lives in town nearby. So my D18, her roommate and her roommate’s friend went to dinner hugs etc. The next day D18 finds out the friend’s father tested positive. D18 drove back to Pittsburgh on Saturday and today is going to go get tested. Crazy stuff.
She has done very well at school with a 4.0 and will be graduating next May. Studying up to take the LSAT’s at the end of August and will be applying in the fall once she knows her LSAT score. It appears that law school is the opposite of holistic. All that really matters GPA and LSAT score.
D21 is trying to figure out where she wants to go. We told her she until Friday to give us a list of 10 schools she is willing to apply too. I will be interested to see what she comes up. I have made lots of suggestions, but I don’t know how she feels about my suggestions. Trying to chance merit money as she wants NP or MD so there will be expensive graduate schools.
S18 has decided to have a laid back summer, after his summer abroad plans evaporated. He has split time between home and school, and is presently visiting with his girlfriend and her family. Waiting see see how many of his fall courses will be online. FSU is committed to having most music classes in person, but the exact number and which classes will be in flux through July. Will be very interesting to see how they manage choir. He’s been taking online voice lessons with his primary voice teacher, and is attending an online vocal performance summer institute with Northwestern
Our S18 spent a few weeks with his GF’s family, which allowed him to get an earlier slot for picking up his stuff from his dorm. We’re planning on having her down here after their summer classes are over. He started driving for PostMates right after he got home, so he’s out delivering food during a lot of meal times.