Navigating college search for D21 over here! S19 got to visit campuses multiple times, sit in classes, eat in dining halls, stay overnight and D gets none of that. It is way harder since, just like S19, it’s the vibe and location that concerns her the most and it’s very difficult to get a read on that.
S19 plugging away at Bowdoin. He’s says there’s no where else he’d rather be this semester. It’s definitely not the same but he’s happy to catch back up with non-XC friends made freshman year. 
It’s funny, my S22 shows no interest in replicating the kind of college tour D19 did, even if Covid weren’t a factor. He finds virtual tours and online flyovers perfectly adequate, and doesn’t really care about experiencing the feel of a campus. Different strokes.
D19 continues to thrive at Parsons. She had a bit of a battle with the professor in her typography class over a project in which she was designing a text-heavy Black Panthers poster (we’re Black; the professor is a White woman). The assignment was to design a poster with at least 100 words of text. The professor initially wanted the display-size parts to be in a handwritten font to seem more “street,” but D19 did extensive research to show that the Panthers actually used regular display fonts almost exclusively. Seems they reached a good understanding with D19’s final version. Nice to see the educational process in action.
@liska21, I share your optimism about our new post-vaccination reality. I’m very eager for my wife and I to get ours, and for our friends to get theirs. Massachusetts seems to be more restrictive than other states in its vaccine criteria, but slots will likely open up sometime in April.
@Vineyarder My S19 was more like your son. I really enjoyed college visits with my D17 and seeing a lot of different campuses up and down the East coast (funny that we saw so many colleges and she ended up at one we weren’t able to visit). However, my S was not interested at all in campus visits. I dragged him to a couple close to home and then he was done. He said he didn’t care about fit and knew he would enjoy any college he attended. 
I could barely get him to Nashville for an accepted students day. It all worked out well of course, but I still feel a little cheated out of that second round of visits!
Great to hear everybody’s updates. I was also thinking about the HS classes of 2020 and 2021, but also the 2016s and 2017s, who graduates colleges last year and are graduating this year. In many ways, our kids were “lucky”, They had a term or two (those whose colleges have a J-term) which were normal, and they will almost certainly have half of Junior year and all of Senior year back to more or less normal. Midd is already talking about a normal fall semester, if they get everybody vaccinated.
D19 is back on campus. She spent the pre-arrival quarantine at her boyfriend’s house in New England (she tested negative before traveling there, since rates are much higher here). It was great having her here, but she was getting antsy - none of her high school of college friends live anywhere close, so she couldn’t even have social distanced interactions with anybody close to her age.
She’s settling in. She’s somewhat stressed, but being diagnosed and now treated for ADHD is helpful. her boyfriend has also been very supportive, which is great.
Well, now Fall 2021 classes are scheduled. I keep a list of her major requirements to check off, and after that semester, she will have only required 7 classes left (plus internship, which has to be the very last thing you do).
I got a surprise photo sent yesterday from S19’s roommate of the two of them just having received their first vaccine dose. I was so excited for them. My D at Vassar also texted to say she is scheduled for one in April due to being a lifeguard.
Today D19 officially declared her double major (students declare mid-sophomore year at Haverford). There were a bunch of hoops to jump through as double majors aren’t very common due to the thesis requirement, and it was complicated by Oxford because one of her majors won’t take all of her courses in the subject from there (!!), but it’s all done now. She’s also plowing her way through the to-do lists for Oxford next year. She’s looking forward to a mini break this weekend. Haverford replaced spring break with a “pause”… a four day weekend with everyone remaining on campus. She has a Sunday class, so the long weekend is especially welcome.
We are counting down the days in our household! D16 is the only one left unvaccinated but she is in the last group so will have to wait until May 1 or late April. S19 is traveling across the country w 3 friends each from different states. They are trying to time visits to their home states to when the state opens up appointments to all groups. S19 got vaccinated in January due to being in Search and Rescue, but none of his traveling friends have gotten it yet.
GRRRR… Vermont just announced that they won’t be vaccinating OOS students in Vermont. They claim that it is due to supply, but that just means that they didn’t ask for enough to begin with. Other colleges, like U Colorado or OSU, are vaccinating their students, regardless of their residency.
It looks to me that the state government messed up. After doing so well, it seems that somebody somehow forgot that there are some 20,000 OOS students across Vermont (almost 75% of UNM undergrads are OOS).
So D19 will likely have to wait until the summer to get vaccinated, and that will mess up the summer plans pretty badly.
It also an issue that the state government actually told the colleges that they would vaccinate OOS students, so students made plans based on that.
Again, GGGRRRR 
Have any of you had a college kid successfully sublet an off campus apartment? DD has decided to graduate December 2022 and has a friend who will be doing the same so they will live together that semester. DD wants to stay where she’s at (current roommate will be gone by then) but landlord won’t shorten the lease unless she or landlord can find a renter.
Not sure how many kids are looking for a January start, but basically every place in town is currently full so it’s a tight market. I told her to ask landlord if he has been able to fill spring semester leases in the past. I know his website has shown some coming available in January before, and he is currently full.
I’m also thinking rather than find someone to sublet, that she does the buyout: She pays the remaining rent, then landlord refunds her if a renter is found. Then her name is off of it. If she finds someone interested, she can send them to the landlord. Does that sound best?
So sorry to hear that. I would be so upset, especially as it relates to her summer plans. Both of my kids are at out of state schools and I’m very thankful they’ve been able to get their first doses. I hope something will change about the supply in Vermont.
There are many states in which college students aren’t eligible yet. My son is in PA and I think they are opening for that age group in mid April. We are just planning to get him a vaccine after he comes home.
@bjscheel my older daughter sublet her apartment for the summer after she graduated (the lease ran into August). She used Craigslist to advertise and the management at her apartment building just allowed her to transfer the lease after the subletter had her credit approved. It was nice because she was completely off the hook at that point. I’m not sure everywhere would do this.
I’m thinking hers would let her get her name off. He did respond to her yesterday and said that it is harder to sublet in January but that there were very few times a renter hasn’t been able to. And I’d say she has an advantage in that her apartment’s location and appearance are better than most (a big reason she doesn’t want to leave it). So students looking are likely to choose hers over others.
Just have to make sure future roommate is on board with taking the gamble. Probably their only guaranteed short term option is on campus and neither of them want that.
She got a departmental scholarship this week. Small, but still helpful and nice to be noticed. It’s given to one girl and one boy in the major.
@MWolf I understand your frustration. Is there any way your D can get the vaccine elsewhere? I was considering having my daughter fly home just to be vaccinated once eligibility was expanded to 16+ in my state.
Well, friends, it’s hard to believe our kids are almost juniors. D declared her major (as required by the end of sophomore year), registered for summer classes, and secured her housing for next year.
More students are getting vaccinated and, with Covid positivity rates still less than 1% at Penn, campus life is starting to return. D has been going to the gym and meeting friends for study sessions and excursions to Center City. Penn has already announced their plan to return to full in-person learning this fall and we’re all looking forward to that. I’ve already booked our hotel for family weekend!
We have no big summer travel plans. We’ll spend our usual week or two in the mountains and may squeeze in a trip to visit family. We would love to visit Banff, but it’s hard to plan a trip without knowing when the border will reopen. I’ve planned some college visits this fall for S23 (yikes!) and that will likely be the bulk of our “adventure” travel. Stay safe everyone!
@mountainsoul Any tips on getting vaccines as a young person in Philly? My 24 year old lives in Center City (working and will be start grad school at Wharton beginning with “math camp” in July). I also considered flying her home to AZ just to get vaccinated but she is moving apartments and wrapping up her job so she can’t really take much time off from work now.
I sent you some information. Unfortunately, phase 2 doesn’t begin in Philly until May 1.
The state is opening to everyone April 19th.
Philly has said they are not joined to that, and they’re sticking with their original timeline.
Sorry you’re right. @Corinthian if your D can get outside Philly she shouldn’t have too much trouble finding an appointment.