Well, we made a campus visit to U of MN today. DS got his ID, went to tech support and got the software loaded on his computer. He was starting to really get excited about finding his way around and move-in in just a week when the email from the President came through. They are voting Monday on delaying move-in by “at least” two weeks with classes still starting on time. He is just devastated. If this vote passes, I don’t think they’ll go at all. They’ve already planned on sending them home at Thanksgiving.
@cshell2 I am so sorry your son got this news. This is a hard year.
D20 started classes online last week from home but they are currently still planning on moving them in and opening the campus mid Sept. We’ll see how it goes!
D attended her school’s orientation this week and registered for her classes which will be online. She got all but one. She wasn’t disappointed as she was prepared with a back up. One of her classes is a 1 unit class: Meditation in the time of Covid. I may have to sit in during that one! 
Well D20 is moved in. It went fairly smoothly. Covid testing was quick and she seems very excited to get started. UCF did send out an email saying noncompliance with mask wearing and social distancing can result in removal from campus and housing. So I guess that is good. Most of the people we saw were wearing masks and keeping their distance. To be honest I haven’t slept much thinking about all this. I’ve cried more times then I thought possible this week. I think it’s just the worry that she’s 3000 miles from us if she does get sick added to the fact we don’t know a single soul in Florida to call on for help if needed. But I am excited for her. Walking around campus helped us remember why she picked UCF and even though I would love her to be safe in my home, doing classes online, I know that isn’t in her best interest. She needs to go out there and attend the classes she has in person with other people. She’s so outgoing and she hated online learning this past year. Good luck to everyone. This is hard time to be a parent.
Please don’t worry- she’s going to be just fine. There’s a very small chance she gets Covid, and even if she does, she’ll be fine. Don’t beat yourself up.
D20 starts classes today in her childhood bedroom. So sad she isn’t getting the college experience she hoped for, but so proud that she has gotten past her initial sadness and is embracing this experience. Secretly happy that I get to have her home for a while longer. Good luck to everyone on this interesting start to college!
@cshell2 I’m sorry 
We were pretty disappointed about the “two week delay,” too. I think you’re right that they’ll end up just not having students in the dorms at all this fall, except for extreme circumstances and international students.
After talking it over, we decided S20 will stay home this semester and take online classes from his bedroom. We’re still holding out a small amount of hope for spring semester.
And I’m already worrying about where he’ll live next year, since he won’t have a chance to meet anyone in person this fall, but those decisions start being made in like October/November.
@myrna97 - I’m really worried about next year too if they don’t let them in. It’s not like the U has enough dorm space to accommodate TWO “freshman” classes if the class of 2024 wants a year to acclimate to campus life. There are a lot of parents cancelling contracts and getting apartments for their students and The Graduate hotel on campus is giving a deal on long-term rentals that people are snatching up too. DS was intrigued by the Quad and it would actually be cheaper than a dorm room, but not sure if being near campus is worth it if nothing is in person. I’m just afraid he won’t transition well into college life and the course load while at home.
Maybe so many people will cancel in the next two weeks that they’ll decide to open up because they won’t be so full? Worth hoping anyhow! At the housing meeting a week or two ago they said they were currently at 75% capacity, so still pretty full considering classes were mostly online.
@cshell2 Yeah I saw on Facebook a lot of parents getting their kids apartments. I had the same thought about what will happen if a large percentage of next year’s sophomores want to live in the dorms along with the freshmen. I guess my kid - along with a lot of others - may have to go straight from home to an apartment!
Interestingly, he still has a class that’s supposed to be in person. I wish I knew if I need to have him drop that or not; if it goes remote, he’d rather stay in it, but we live 40 minutes’ drive away so if it’s in person and he’s not on campus, that doesn’t work out too well.
First week of classes was last week for my daughter. She and her roommate, thankfully, have very little overlap with their schedule so while their classes are remote from their dorm room (until mid-September) they are able to take their classes without impinging upon one another.
She likes all her classes and her professors seem to be going above and beyond in making sure there is still a ton of interaction. Thus far, I am pretty impressed with what she is sharing and she is getting the interactions she was hoping to have at college (just in a different format).
A couple other girls in her dorm chose to leave school and go back home to take their classes; they found the restrictions too great to want to stay to see if the bubble the school’s trying to create will work and in person classes happen in September .
I can say my daughter has been bored enough that she and her roommate are doing laundry 2-3 times a week, and cleaning their room daily. Some of that is both girls packed light in terms of clothes, part of it is un-airconditioned dorm rooms so they are washing their sheets at least twice a week (sometimes thrice) because it has been hot since August 9th. They are also taking two showers a day, so spouse and I have been laughing about how their room (and they) are probably cleaner than they would be at home.
Hope everyone’s child who made it to campus is doing well. Stay healthy!
Hi Parents, what do you think are the most appealing/important/noteworthy extracurriculars for your child?
- Extracurriculars that give back to society
- Extracurricular opportunities with start-ups/brand name companies
- Extracurriculars that have transferable skills
- Extracurriculars that resemble series of small projects
@Armaanaggu re: ECs. I think that the most appealing ECs show a student’s passion, which can be in any of the categories you mentioned. My DS is quite interested in Mental Health so he was involved as HS president of a club that promoted good mental health, did research in behavioral health, won science fairs on the topic, and took coursework that showed that interest. In addition, he has a passion for music performance and it showed in the dedicated years of lessons, performances, and awards.
We read on the topic of ECs on Prep Scholar. You may try there for more info. I hope it’ll be helpful to you.
Four days into my son’s freshman college experience, a tornado hits campus. No power since yesterday afternoon except emergency lights and the room door locks. No fans or refrigerator. Classes cancelled for today. He’s taking it all in stride “kind of fun - not gonna lie” he told me. Crazy.
Well, that’s a wrap. Moved my daughter home from ECU. She has midterms (block scheduling) this week and is working to settle back in at home. She is also sick with some sort of nasty cold. She tested negative for Covid before moving home but is quarantining for at least seven days and then will be retested (and the rest of us with her). Does anyone have a guide on how to get your child through all this disappointment? She’s a pretty gritty kid in general and has been through tons of hardships much, much worse than this but she feels the rug keep getting yanked out from under her.
I’m so sorry @MBNC1755 Two of my daughter’s friends are already home from their universities as well - it’s just been brutal for these kids. I don’t have any specific advice, but just wanted to send my best wishes for you all.
@MBNC1755 I am so sorry to hear this! We’ve been watching N.C. schools closely as my DD20 hopefully will be moving in late in Sept. Here is my humble suggestion.
I would treat this the same as any other trauma. Let her take the lead and let all those emotions process as loudly or privately as needed. You can tell her how to behave (can’t throw things at others, etc) but you cannot tell her how to feel. We all have a lot to process these days and need to keep doing it so that those feelings do not overwhelm us long term, even if they do in the short term. It may be bumpy. Fasten your seatbelt.
Hey 2020 parents! I have a favor to ask. I have a 2021 S applying to an impacted major (CS), and a less impacted major for second choice. He’s applying to UCs, OOS publics and privates. With all of the Covid craziness, there is a chance he would pick a solid school for his second choice major that is closer to home, over an OOS safety in his first choice major. He is applying to moderately selective schools and a few reaches in the lower end of the T50.
On the apps, most of his schools do ask for a second choice major. I’m looking for some shared experiences from last year’s cycle. Do colleges frequently admit to second choice major in your experience? Does it depend on the type of school? Thanks so much in advance!
Hi, @NateandAllisMom – I have a D20 and a D21. The latter is applying for CS this year, but my D20 is a different major. So, although I can’t answer your question, I did want to make sure that if you are in CA, make sure to put one or more CSU’s on your son’s list. CPSLO and SJSU come to mind immediately as very good schools for CS (although SLO is super competitive). As for second major choices, my D is putting Software Engineering, if available, or Applied Mathematics, if not. I believe there are some schools that have some other variant of a computing major that she might be choosing, but I can’t recall exactly. For her, though, unless she gets into either CS or SE, she doesn’t feel she will attend a school with her second choice major. Best of luck to your son!
@amsunshine thank you! We do have Cal Poly on the list and GC said she is optimistic there. We need to do more research but my son is also interested in natural science. His ECs relate to that too. So at University of Washington for example, he is a good candidate for bio, but highly unlikely to get in CS.