CU Boulder is one of the few campuses I visited with D (we were in Denver for something) and we were very impressed. Best tour of a large school. They have an astronaut room, an entire school built of leggos, and the school was walkable (compared to UCLA, which seemed huge to my kids). Wozniak (Apple) is an honorary something or other and donated computers to the school.
We picked a random restaurant to eat at and it was the best food I’d had in ages, and the place was so funky. Tons of kids riding bikes to off-campus housing. And the mountains-you are IN them. We are from mountain country, but this was spectacular. D is a snowboarder and loves backpacking, so although she wants a smaller school, she and S are applying to Boulder. (I love that I can drive there!).
We didn’t smell pot, though I know it’s huge everywhere in Colorado. Older S did an overnight at Colorado College and was told he needed to partake to get the full CC experience! (abother school I loved).
Only problem with any of these schools and Oregon schools (like Reed) is the lack of diversity, if your child cares (this is an issue for D, not S).
It’s the same where I live. The first thing I remember thinking ages ago when we got off the airplane from the east coast was where are the Black people? It was like being dropped down on another planet. Yes, we have a majority Hispanic population and an indigenous population here (not the case in CO or Oregon), but it’s glaring. It’s still strange to me, having grown up in Baltimore, and living in the DC area and Philly.
Re, pot, it’s available at every school. Is it better to get drunk or high? If your kid is going to gravitate that way, they will. No one will force them to do anything.
The one negative I’ve heard re Boulder is a friend’s D said her advising wasn’t great. But that could be an isolated incidence, I can’t say.
Well, just got an email from ACT that our September test site is closed (I booked the same site for October, which is not been canceled yet but I think they just kicked out the students who are not their own.) At least ACT let us know in advance. Hope our GC can keep the October test or it looks like TO for us. However, ACT did indicate in the email that they are working on adding sites. Right now are no seats available and very, very few grayed out (booked) sites within 100 miles of here.
@NateandAllisMom is the school that your ACT test in September you signed up for having in person classes or is it totally online? My D21 school is going to be open for in person classes 4 days a week so we are hoping the ACT will happen on September 19
@burghdad totally remote. Everyone in my regional area of California is remote. The rules are very strict here even in counties with relatively low cases. This might change if numbers continue to improve on a county by county basis. The rules allow elementary schools to more easily apply for a reopening waiver but not high schools.
It looks like my D’s SAT is a go for this Saturday. Fingers crossed she doesn’t have any scores yet. Most the schools she is looking to apply have gone TO, the problem is she wants Nursing (and hopefully merit) that she has to get a score. Also just received an email that her ACT scheduled in Sept is still a go as well. Plus she has a school wide SAT planned late Sept too. We are in CT, numbers here are very low. School goes back with hybrid model on 9/8. I really hope at least 1 of these tests actually happen and she gets a decent score… On another note our Seniors here actually got to go in and Sign their names on the senior wall (its a tradition here). They had to sign up for groups of 7, masks, and gloves, but they are so happy they had a bit of normal and a Senior Tradition that happened. Good luck to all those that are able to test this weekend.
S21 was signed up for SAT this weekend but it was cancelled weeks ago. Good luck to all who are able to test this weekend. S21 is looking ahead to Oct 3.
Our school’ is suppose to do the rescheduled April SAT this weekend. School is remote, so not sure how exactly the SAT is going to work. Perhaps spread them all around the school?
“S is ok with people smoking outside and he doesn’t judge, but he wouldn’t want to be stuck with a roommate that smokes pot in the room.”
Note: A lot of colleges (even ones that pick roommates randomly) will have freshman take a survey and one of the questions they ask is “Do you mind if your roommate smokes?”, and they will try to match you up with someone who feels the same as you.
Other colleges allow you to pick your roommate so you can “vet” them before you commit to living with them. In general, it all works out for the vast majority of students living in the dorm.
S21 is scheduled for SAT this Saturday. Sounds like a go - the school reopens at 50% Monday, so not likely to shut down before then. Scheduled for ACT, same place, in September. I don’t have same confidence it won’t have shut down by then.
S21 will be 17 the first semester of college, I wonder if he would even be paired with someone that smokes since he would be underage. I read somewhere we will have to sign some extra paperwork, has anyone on the thread had a 17 yr living at school?
Downtown Boulder has street signs designating the “No Pot Smoking Zone” (I can’t remember the actual wording - it was a few years ago) with accompanying street map to outline the smoke free zone. I laughed walking down a street on the edge of this zone on which it was legal to smoke pot on one side and not the other.
Speaking of smoking, I don’t recall reading anything about this, but I’m guessing smoking may be a hazard in terms of potentially spreading covid, wouldn’t it? So could smoking be more restricted in some areas anyway in the foreseeable future?
Agree with @homerdog that taking colleges off the list because of pot smoking (and how about drinking-which is a much rowdier party scene if you ask me) you wind up with a smaller list.
I do think it wise to take Amherst off the list though, not because there’s much truth to that, but it really can’t be the right fit and maybe targeting schools with zero tolerance or I have even heard of some that have students sign contracts they won’t drink or drug.
I remember when we sent our oldest off to college and I was reminding her to stay away from the partying and she looked at me and said, “You need to trust that you prepared me in the first 18 years for this moment in time.” I tear up thinking about it. It’s true though. We tell them, they hear us, they watch us and with a hope and a prayer we send them off
So sorry about the SAT cancellation, @Momof3B! Frustrating. If we had known back in January that it would be this hard and take this long to get a test, I think D would have nixed the whole idea.
I have a question about scheduling – if anyone is up to it. My D21 is planning on majoring in Computer Science or Software Engineering. She’s been taking dual enrollment math classes at our local cc, and next semester, she has a choice of taking either Linear Algebra or Differential Equations. Any ideas about which would be more beneficial to take for someone going into one of her major areas? I’ve looked at course sequences, and I see both courses on course progressions. I guess I’m wondering if it would be better to take one before the other? This is out of my depth.
I can’t answer your question, hopefully others can.
But…is there a past or current teacher or DE prof she could ask? Or…perhaps she could reach out to the head of the CS and/or SE departments at some colleges on her list and ask? Potential applicants do this type of stuff often, and she might not only get some good feedback, but would start building a relationship. And of course, demonstrate interest at the schools where that is part of the admissions decision.
It probably really doesn’t matter @amsunshine - I’d take whatever fits better in her schedule or has a better professor at the CC. For people who have to take both, many people recommend Linear Algebra first as it’s helpful for Differential Equations, but many engineers go straight into DiffEq as Linear Algebra isn’t required (myself included).
