@tutumom2001 @lkg4answers Thanks for your wisdom. Time for my S (and me) to slow down and do some more reflection on this.
I am running, I am sorry, but I see at #5036 that tutumom2001 is heading down the path I want to head down in speaking with you. My concluding point to all I write would be, it doesnāt matter how good a department or program are, but if it is a good fit for you [the student].
Some points:
We would not ever discount retention rates in consideration of a department or program, as understanding the trend toward (or against) is integral to the sense of cohesiveness of the cohort. Beyond that, it brings into consideration how the university is doing its job, and raises questions of what the university sees that job as being.
There are, of course, many factors leading to any individual leaving a university, but the impact of a mass exodus in the first year of a program signals that something is wrong with the program. Not being able to retain students from the first year into the next does not augur well. (Are the professors essentially creating a program where they weed out half the class, and, therefore, can be seen to be instructing in a manner which does not connect with most of the students? Is this weeding out essential for identifying and moving forward with only the brightest students? Are there other colleges and universities which are taking a different approach, using better and more effective teaching methods, connecting with and supporting undergraduates in more meaningful way, and as a result, retaining more of them in their own programs?)
In looking into both first-year retention and overall graduation rates at colleges and universities for our first two kids, each time we consulted the Journal of Higher Education for the statistics, their meaning, some root causes and impact.
Retention rates matter.
Support services for students speak more to what the university does on the whole for students, and I cannot say enough about the need for broadbased, innovative, responsive support services for students in rigorous programs, at schools known for the grind.
I found that the work being implemented at William and Mary geared toward mindfulness and the way one identifies and integrates into oneās idea of oneās health āhowā one is moving through the stress, ever cognizant of it and almost appreciating that it, too, has a role in our lives, very attractive.
This is a thread that is open and active right now, here at CC. The specific discussion is relevant to quite a few things one may or may not look at when considering which college to apply to/to say yes to. It gets heady, and some people simply dig in deeper than others. (True to everything in life.)
However, I found the thread really useful and more like a conversation at a parentsā meeting, so Iāll share it here, with two postersā comments that are instructive (though, once again, may be a bit much for anyone, especially one just getting a feel for the language of it all).
Hope it doesn't confuse too much, or scare you off! Thread by ucbalumnus:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2136016-how-closely-do-students-and-parents-look-at-academic-details-when-choosing-colleges-p1.html
How closely do students and parents look at academic details when choosing collegesā¦
ā¦ in terms of stuff like the following:
A. Course requirements for intended majors.
B. Entry to major requirements for intended majors.
C. Offered upper level courses and frequency of offering in intended majors.
D. General education requirements.
E. Class size and capacity in courses of interest as listed in class schedules.
22
OHMomof2
"A. Course requirements for intended majors. - there was no intended major for D, for S there was and we looked at it.
B. Entry to major requirements for intended majors. - NA for any of the schools they considered.
C. Offered upper level courses and frequency of offering in intended majors. - glanced at this but without a major, less useful
D. General education requirements. - Definitely, for both kids.
E. Class size and capacity in courses of interest as listed in class schedules."
23
Rivet2000
"Using a modified version of A-C, [son] was able to refine his list of schools to apply to. First, he added a track/specialization requirement to the major. It was not enough that the school offed his desired major (CS), it also had to offer a specialization/track in artificial intelligence. Each school he applied to had to have a guaranteed entry into the major upon admission. Each school had to have open course availability with an easy path to taking upper level and some graduate level classes (ease of petition acceptance).
Once he had acceptances in-hand he turned to D & E and other concerns. He accomplished this by actually mapping out a draft 4 year plan. During that process he was exposed to the wonderful world of gen-ed requirements, core engineering requirements, CS core requirements, and his track requirements. This was the time that he also investigated class sizes, Profs, major-advisors, and lab opportunities."
Yikes. There is something in my line of work we refer to as āanalysis paralysisā. The ability to get answers to these various criteria that are both accurate, and unencumbered by simple human biases is nearly impossible, IMO. When in doubt, go with your gutā¦or more importantly, your kidās gut.
I guess the analysis is helpful if your kid doesnt change majors. Since most do, Iām not sure it matters
Parents of the H.S. class of 2020. If you have a student who wishes to attend CU Boulder, for Engineering,
please submit your applications in October, for Early Action. Many qualified students are seeing Pre-engineering
as the Dept is full. Be advised CU fills 92.6% of the Engineering courses in Early Action. So donāt let your sons
or daughters be disappointed, itās far easier to decline admission.
Also know CU gives Merit scholarships to the top 1 to 3% of incoming Freshman. Top amount is $6,250. per
year, and there is also an Engineering automatic Scholarship for those 1 to 3%, payable for all 4 years, as well.
For those interested, go to Google enter CU Boulder and your question. This University is expensive without scholarships you are looking at over 220K for 4 years out of state. So if this amount is out of your budget, donāt
apply, unless your student is a 4.0 and 33/34 ACT, which will guarantee him/her a scholarships. If you are full
pay and these figures are in-line with your budgetā¦no problem, but still apply early for direct admittance to
College of Engineering. Aerospace has a brand new bldg. opening fall 2019. The COE expects 8,000 applicants
for all engineering within their dept.
Good Luck to all parents and students from Class of 2020! This is just a heads up!
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progressā¦
@bigmacbeth Definitely. Donāt rush away these final weeks with your teen. Once they leave home for college, your relationship will transition to something different. It can be absolutely wonderful (I love my adult kids), but it is different. College is just 4 yrs of school. Donāt sacrifice a yr at the altar of 4. Enjoy them as people and donāt make the college process forefront.
Hiya! Posted this in the other 2020 thread as well. I thought this was an interesting link - found it on CC while doing research. It lists percentage of students in a sorority (thereās one for fraternities too if you google it).
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-sororities
Could be used if looking to be in sorority or looking not to be in one.
Thanks for the link. There are so many reasons people decide to join a sorority or fraternity. At Berkeley, for example, housing is so expensive and difficult to find that many girls join sororities so that they have a place to live after moving out of the dormsā¦
First post in the class of 2020.
My D is eagerly awaiting results from summer program/jobs. She applied in December/January and still waiting. I almost forgot all the places she appliedā¦ Anyway, she ll hear back by the end of April and then hopefully we will have a more clear idea about the summer. My college kids will be working or going summer abroad.
It is spring break week so we are hoping to squeeze a couple more college visits.
This is the third time going through admissions. A very different kid and a very different college list (still shaping). I know what is coming ahead and I try to enjoy the last few months of Junior yearā¦
Welcome @am9799 !
Welcome @am9799 Hope summer plans turn out well.
Welcome @am9799! We are waiting for an result for a summer program as well. D thought she was set for the summer but then decided to do a Hail Mary at the last minute. The audition was last week and we are curious to find out the results. Weāve also officially finished her list- it includes every school in the whole country that hits all her wickets- 8 schools. Ha!
@milgymfam ha ha. My D until last week she had ONE school! But we added two more. So we have the tech school, the alternative LAC and the respectable university.
Welcome @am9799 !
Hope all DCs who are still waiting for summer program results get what they want and soon!!!
Welcome @am9799! With you on the third time through. Hoping itās third time lucky but it is DEFINITELY third time different.
D16 lined up a full time job for the summer. Sheāll be a Counselor in Training at the arts camp where she spent the last 4 summers. We didnāt encourage or discourage her, and she did the entire thing by herself. Applied and went for the interview, with 0 input or help from us. And she got the job! Iām really proud of her. Sheās still thinking of doing an online engineering class also, but Iām not sure how sheāll fit that in.
anyone take ACTās yesterday. D20 stated the English portion of the test was more challenging than any of the sample tests taken
@FlyingSouth my S20 took it yesterday for first time and said it sucked (especially the science). There is a whole thread about it on Reddit where students are saying it was incredibly harder than normal (many of them have taken multiple ACTs before and were trying to improve their scores). Hopefully a decent curve will help scores. But Iām pretty sure my S will not want to take it again, so hoping for a strong SAT score in May. We are not targeting top schools so not stressing too much.