My prediction for fall is that most campuses will be relatively normal. There will likely be a required vaccination for all students who want to live in university housing.
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My S told me this morning that heâs not doing anything virtual with school visits, etc. He said heâs done with it.
He is so over this senior year. I think he will be crawling to the finish lineâŠwhich isnât until mid-June!!!
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@havenoidea Yes, the sunny even though it is cold and low humidity weather is what sold D21 on looking into Boulder. She also wanted a smaller school and would have preferred warmer, but when we got to Boulder she fell in love. She knew it is hard to find everything you dream of in one school so she was willing to go with a big school to get everything else she liked. She does not do any snow sports yet but does want someone to teach her how to ski as long as it is not me. I wanted to plan another visit and combine it with a few days of skiing but she said no thanks, Iâd rather just have a friend teach me when I get there. 
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I hope you are right. Iâm so worried about the mental health of all of our kids who left school so suddenly in the spring thinking theyâd get to go back in a few weeks but have instead spent their senior year on laptops in their bedrooms. Or, flip-flopping between hybrid, virtual, etc. Its so isolating and depressing for some kids.
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D21 wonât turn 18 until late summer, so we will have to hunt for the Pfizer vaccine. I know they keep saying vaccines are going to speed up, but there is such a backlog already. The OOS schools that D21 has her eye on, have resident only requirements as does D18- so if this doesnât speed up soon, I am a little concerned about how normal Fall will be at college and how OOS kids are going to get vaccinated.
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The way college students teach newbies to ski is they generally just say âgoâ! I highly recommend spending a little money to get her a few basic ski lessons so she doesnât develop bad habits and can become a great (and safe) skier faster! She might assume people like my kids who were raised on skis would be the best to teach her but my kids have no idea why they can ski so well and could never teach someone how, it is just second nature to them.
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Happy first-day-back-to-in-person-school-itâs-a-snow-day-fail!
After reading everybodyâs comments, I think that the schoolâs decision to do a block plan this year was inspired. Two classes per quarter moves quickly and the consequences of falling behind are real. This has kept senioritis mostly at bay, although I suspect that AP exam grades from courses completed early in the year will take a hit. Whatever. That everybody was online and teachers werenât dividing their time between two different audiences was a good thing.
I am not sure how well a return to in-person will go from a learning point of view, but sheâs so happy to be able to see real people again, that she has my blessing. My impression is that the majority of students have opted to return and the classroom with two masked kids in attendance and the rest on Zoom is less likely.
They are talking about a prom and an in person graduation although I have no idea how that might be accomplished safely and itâs really too soon to know what the public health outlook will be. Although COVID rates overall are going down, the number of people I know who are getting it is going up. If they end up having a live graduation for the kids with parents viewing remotely, Iâd consider that a win.
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Oh that is true! The only time she has ever tried was on a frigid, icy day in Vermont and she had a teenage instructor who was terrible. She learned a little more from our friend but not enough to like it. I will definitely have her get real lessons whenever she ends up going - I promised her most instructors are much better than that kid she was stuck with!
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Your post made me laugh because my kids grew up skiing too, and I didnât, and they never understood why I wouldnât move off the bunny slopes! I perfected my form on the greens, but no way was I risking my life going on a blue,lol. Last time we went, I ski biked, which I would recommend as a way to get out on the slopes with the least amount of peril! Itâs amazing zooming down those blues!
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I donât post here much, but I have read some of the comments, and some concerns about 2021 kids. I donât have a 2021, but I do have 2 in college, and 1 more in HS. I found these forums very helpful when I was helping my kids with a start on their searches, and am sure that many more do now, with such limited ability to be on the campuses and take in the schools. It is really hard, I know it was for my S20, who is now having a great experience at his school, even with covid limits. His texts about how well things are going, even with covid testing, group restrictions, and other issues that would not be there without covid, bring a tear to my old eyes (yes, I am feeling a bit old latelyâŠ)
For parents here, I just wanted to be a quick voice of hope, and specifically to @homerdog , who has posted such detail about her children. @homerdog, your D21 will find her place, and thrive, I have no doubt. You have spent the time with her, have gone through this terrible lockdown with her, and are now taking the time with her to work through how to choose a college. That process with her is so important â with her. When she sees what she can see and uses the available evidence of what matters for her, she will probably look at you and you both will know she has made a good choice. It wonât be because of ranking, or pretty buildings, or sports, or a hundred other things that seemed important at the time, but because she just knows it is right. It will work out, visits or no visits to specific schools, because you saw what you could, did what you could, and did it together. She will grow where she plants herself; it is obvious she has gotten great support.
I really believe that when the 2021 kids on here make their choices, on balance they will have made good ones. They will have done what they can, and all of you have worked hard to support them in this terrible pandemic. They have suffered through virtual school, which stinks, they have missed numerous events, and yet they will launch, and thrive, and you will be there with them. So wonderful to be there with them. I really believe that the âwith themâ is the secret sauce.
Sorry, just wanted to try to bring a little light into a difficult time.
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Itâs funny how AOs expect kids to innovate and pivot to find compelling ECs while we are in all of this. At least I donât think T20 would just be happy with, âI couldnât go anywhere, I was stuck gaming, and I really donât feel like attending a free virtual seminar to show you how motivated I am about the MIT coding framework.â Paraphrasing. Some will be scrappy and will definitely differentiate themselves and I applaud that.
All that said, I would think the Colleges would innovate a little with these virtual tours and sessions. The main and core audience (the students) are over the same virtual sessions. Theyâre just like any other ones. Maybe the drone shots are better than they were before March 2020, but really, colleges just have such a hold on this educational industrial complex and the burden is always on the kids. Sorry. Done venting.
Texas parents. How are you doing? I heard the power is out and things are still frozen. I thought it would be a one and done thing like sometimes in CA we have a dusting of snow every 3-5 years. Wow. I hope you guys thaw out ASAP. You donât need this on top of everything else. Iâm reading up and learning that TX has its own power grid?
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I hope the colleges wonât be so harsh as to judge the students who are struggling. A student can not choose their level of anxiety right now. While showing grit and determination to get through difficulties is something to assess, being able to continue on the same high achieving level during a pandemic isnât really a great indicator of being able to handle a college experience.
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Iâve felt the same way. The 2021s are expected to do even MORE. Itâs not enough to maintain perfect grades in the face of online school, no human connections, pandemic stressors, etc., they are expected to show how superhuman and resilient they are by finding meaningful ways to use their time, blah blah blah. Some of these admissions people should be ashamed of themselves for having this attitude. Good grief, if your kid is surviving without significant mental health issues, they are probably ahead of most! A little grace would go a long way, wouldnât it?
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Some of Dâs virtual events start as early as 3pm on a weekday. They mention using your name for attendance and turning on your camera. Have they met teenagers??
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My S told me today that his school is promoting âMental Health Weekâ. I quickly said that I hope that means they are giving you the week off bc that would be the best mental health break.
Nope. Apparently though each teacher will devote one period (rotated throughout the week) a âtalkâ in the importance of mental health and ways to improve it right nowâŠ
I SMH. How lame. Yes, I always applaud the idea of promoting mental health especially right nowâŠ:but how about letting the kids nap, listen to music, encourage them to go outdoors, etc during these Mental Health zoom events instead!!!
Edited to add:
Vent: My younger son was just informed he has to video himself making a Spanish food for his Spanish FL class BY Friday at 8:00 am. It was assigned today!!! Really?! During a pandemic letâs assign a cooking assignment to be completed in next 2 afternoons AFTEr I just returned from the store today of course AFTER the assignment was made known. And my dad is having surgery in Thurs. I hate this school year.
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I wonder if our 2021s will be the ones to tell their childrenâŠâwhatâs the big deal about visiting colleges? I never stepped foot on the campus I chose until the fall I started due to the pandemic.â
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I had a long talk with my kid about this the other day. She felt that it wasnât worth the COVID risk and the expense and the time to visit campuses that were going to feel dead. I am sad because those visits were really fun with my older child. With acceptances in hand, she might change her mind. But almost all of her options will require getting on a plane or the better part of a day in the car - each way. And there is no way she could visit them all.
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@1Lotus Thats hilarious and analogous to âI had to walk 5 miles up a hill in the snow.â Class of 2021 say, âGet over it. â to their future kids. What schools should do is send some sort of virtual or augmented reality set up to kids they accept to help with a tour to make the final decision.
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A couple of years ago our high school did âresilience weekâ and teachers were supposed to tell their own personal stories of resilience. One teacher told his class that he had once been so low that he had considered taking his own life, but he had gotten help and had treated his depression to become a better version of himself. So the next day the school district removed him from teaching. What a great lesson to teach the kids about resilience and honesty and mental health. Ugh.
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@rbc2018 Thatâs too bad that he was removed. Thatâs a learning moment that shouldâve been full of empathy.
In 10th grade, the AP Chem teacher had this big thing on mental health so I thought it was going to be a step change. It was talk. She literally contributed to so much of the class mental health issues with her process and lack of availability.
I think mental health should be a few days of saying, âScrew it, kids. We are going to have a jam session of just chit chat and no lecture or homework. If you donât want to participate, log off and nap or go outside. Play video games. Tomorrow report back to me and tell me the best part about your mental break!â
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