Parents of the HS Class of 2021 (Part 2)

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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It’s too bad that your GC needs to input those things manually - lots of opportunity for human error. At our high school, they upload test scores in a batch very soon after they receive them from the testing agency and GPA is connected somehow to the school’s automated system.

My freshman attends a different high school and while they have Naviance, it doesn’t appear that they are using it anymore.

I don’t know if any of you all noticed, but Naviance was sold to another corporation recently. Maybe they will make changes this summer.

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5629

I hope college application season is like labor – after a time, any bad bits fade from the memory or become funny tales because the end result ended up being a happy one.

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It’s very possible she just doesn’t know how to upload. I don’t know. I don’t want to overstep by asking her about it.

5631

Not sure I’d agree with that about kids having more fun at Texas than Cornell this year. Most UT dorms are empty, other than the private ones. Campus is empty since there is no testing and almost no in person classes. Most students stayed home to take classes remote and between the parent pages many more students on the Texas pages seem to be expressing loneliness and difficulty at meeting other freshmen. This surprised me too but I think part of that is the sheer number (more than 50%) of overall students that stayed home. You have to assume most are freshmen which means more than 50%.

At Cornell they could have done better with freshman socially but few parents are complaining about their kids socially and Cornell in general from a mental standpoint is very tough. Kids need outlets and the academic environment is very tough there. Many struggle with that piece much more than some at Texas which is why it’s so important to get out and be involved. Freshman don’t live off campus there so the ones who are off campus are older students and unfortunately many of them are socializing plenty and even some a little too much as is evident with the recent breakout of covid which began from off campus students.

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Also regarding off campus students or any student. All students must be tested at least two times a week and many must be tested at least three times a week. So no off campus student is leaving only once/week. Furthermore many classes are in person and hybrid. So again, these students are not locked up in their rooms or apartments. There are a lot of public spaces open to study and group spaces open. I think dining may be the only issue as far as take out but off campus students don’t use that anyway and again freshman should be living in the dorms on North Campus. If they aren’t then they didn’t do themselves any favors by opting out of that in the first place and set themselves up to have an unfortunate social experience since most everything freshman year happens in the dorms and/or on campus freshman year.

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5633

Lol, I think EVERYONE would have more fun in Texas than in Cornell during the pandemic! I mean, unless you actually get Covid or, worse, have lingering issues. D18 has several friends who got Covid and a couple still have issues months later. Brain fog or shortness of breath may not sound like big deals, but they can really impede longer-term goals like acing the MCAT or winning the Ivy League swimming championships.

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Well other than the recent freeze when the weather was warmer in Ithaca the weather there is definitely better but the covid protocols generally are not! I am very thankful my daughter at UT just got Dose 2 today. But also thankful many places down there have enough sense and are keeping the mask mandate in place. Fortunately both of them love where they are and wouldn’t change a thing.

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Well there too you just never know if she’ll change her mind if she gets an acceptance either. Like they could be emotionally distancing themselves now, but if they got in maybe they’d think differently. I see nothing wrong with that.

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Hot off the press and for those who still have UT in mind. While they haven’t done well with covid testing or tracing (thank the legislature for that - shocker) they at least have enough sense to keep in place their mask requirements! Hook’em! https://president.utexas.edu/messages-speeches-2021/staying-the-course-with-covid-19-protocols?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=UTAustinSocial&fbclid=IwAR3lBe8ZexOoLEwx93ifSOFgZemee5S3MxIK7_7OqoNB8FqQ6MTnkVoKXR0

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Well, I guess you didn’t use Ski’s prohibited phrases, I’ll give you that.

And maybe your kid is having a great time at Cornell this year. I would wager that puts her in the minority.

Setting aside you attacking the freshmen for it being their own fault if they are having a bad experience…

You are correct, they leave 2 or 3 times a week to test. I’m not counting that as socializing.

There are a few in person classes, but lots of students with none or very few. I know one student with one lab as his only in person class (he is taking 16 credits total) and the lab is limited to 4 students at a time, so he is only there about 1/3 of the normal time because they are all doing very abbreviated labs in shifts. I think he is only there for one hour, and not every week. Another lab he was “required” to take this semester his department emailed them that they would have to find a workaround next year, because Cornell is only giving it to juniors and seniors this year. Same student had one “hybrid” class last semester, and that resulted in exactly 2 in person meetings for him. But you are correct he went to campus 2x a week for tests.

Maybe there are more public spaces open now I haven’t asked recently but earlier in the year there weren’t. The 2 times he did in person class last semsester he had to jog back to his apartment to get logged on to his next (remote) class, because he couldn’t find a place on campus he could sit and do the remote class.

I don’t think any student organizations are having in person meetings. I can’t speak to all of them I guess. So maybe a few do now but I’m guessing it is nowhere near normal and nowhere near what is happening on most other campuses around the country.

Every other D1 conference has found a way to get the athletes on the field. For those kids, that is a large part of their social network and it has been severely curtailed. Being an athlete at Cornell this year is an inferior experience to being an athlete at 99% of the other colleges in the country.

I disagree that few parents are complaining about their kids socially at Cornell. We are obviously talking to different parents. I do agree that it is a bit of a grind school, and that having that social outlet is crucial. I also think it is lacking this year, not just for freshmen but everyone. Again, kudos to them for keeping everyone safe, but at what cost?

I think using Cornell as a place where students are having a good on campus experience this semester is a really poor example. If that is the good experience, I think 99% of college students must be having a bad one (which may actually be true).

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As far as the dining, that has been awful. Many off campus kids will get one of the limited dining plans, it seems like the 45 meal plan is popular but maybe that’s just the kids I know. The “all you care to eat” IIRC is limited to 2 chicken strips, and limits on other popular choices. When you price out the dining plan and realize you spent $14 for 2 chicken strips that are soggy by the time you get home to eat them, it doesn’t help your attitude any either. The kids I talk to (which granted out of 15,000 students aren’t enough to give a fair sample) scaled the dining plan way back for second semester.

5639

Mostly a NE thing and it’s definitely a thing! Where I live , Colorado, people are the polar opposite and a lot of NE people struggle mightily when they first move here. Eventually they start liking it though.

As for colleges here are some stereotypes I think still hold up:

Southern schools, especially south east, the students tend to be really put together. Nice clothes, hair is cut, make up, car is washed, etc.

California schools tend to be full of students who are ahead of the trends. Everything is current stuff.

Mountain West tends to be outdoorsy. Like skiing/snowboarding, hiking, frisbee, etc. They’re probably the exact opposite of the Southern kids when it comes to clothing.

NE- you already nalied

Midwest? They’re just so darn nice.

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Every public university in Oregon (at least all the big ones) have now announced plans to have full on-campus instruction for fall 2021. UO started it two days ago. And it took less than 48 hours for all the other schools to follow suit. They also just announced full regular fall football schedules. In making their announcement, UO pointed to the expected universal availability of vaccines for faculty/staff and students by fall 2021 as well as declining covid numbers.

I’m wondering if the rest of you are seeing a similar rush to promise on-campus learning next year in your states and regions? I expect no university is going to be left standing flat footed on the sidelines as we move into the admissions acceptance period full force over the next two months.

Question in my mind, is how easy or difficult will it be for any of these schools to backtrack. And perhaps, more importantly, what would make them backtrack? I’m guessing that the pressure to fully re-open for fall 2021 is going to be immense, both socially, but also financially. All those new dorms and dining halls don’t pay for themselves.

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5641

Only a woman can relate to this comment but totally spot on!

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5642

I think this will depend somewhat on whether the EUA for vaccines will be replaced by full approval. If so, then it becomes easier for colleges and universities to compel vaccination, at least for resident students.

Last year, some universities and colleges pivoted at the last minute so I suppose anything is possible this year.

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5643

We are going to be asking any schools that D is interested in how late they will accept gap year requests. I will phrase it as “if your plans change for the worse, will you allow gap year requests when you announce the change?”

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You sound like the kind of parent I wish more kids had. It is so important to raise our kids to always be looking out for the greater good. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that only part of the population has this altruistic attitude. But on the bright side, it is nice to be able to have a quick assessment of a person’s character. Thank you srparent15!

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5645

Yes, because I have to do this all over again in 4 years time! lol

5646

Pacific Northwest schools tend to be fairly anti-competitive outside of say UW which is famous for competitive majors and weed-out classes. But there is something of a slacker vibe that I don’t see as much in other parts of the country. And this is from someone who grew up in the PNW and went to school here and the Midwest, and has taught HS both here and for a decade in Texas.

What do I mean by that? Both at the HS and college level there is a much greater acceptance of kids who just check out of the rat race and do their own thing, even if it is utterly unproductive. You want to drop out of HS or college and work in a surf shop or sell espresso out of a food truck on the beach? That’s all cool in the PNW, but people would look askance at those plans in other parts of the country.

I notice it as a HS teacher. So many more kids seem kind of aimless and noncompetitive in the PNW compared to elsewhere. Parents seem far less concerned about it than they would in Texas. And it seems to percolate up to the colleges and universities too. Where pursuits of unproductive fields with little employment prospects are more accepted. There is also less competition for schools. Few schools in the PNW are truly competitive and parents/students seem just fine with any regional reputable public/private option. There isn’t the drive to seek out more selective schools in other parts of the country except from kids and families at the very top of society attending the top prep schools, or from the wealthiest neighborhoods.

This is a stereotype and there are many hundreds of thousands of students for whom it does not apply. But since we are speaking in stereotypes I think it is more true of the PNW than other parts of the country.

As for styles? The PNW is far more casual than any other part of the country. For example, when they crowned the homecoming court and queen during half time at the HS I teach at here in WA, most of the girls were in jeans and sneakers. Back in TX it was elaborate gowns and heels. That sort of casual vibe filters up to the colleges as well.

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I think you misunderstood me. I’m not attacking anyone and I know there are plenty of college kids everywhere not having the experience they expected to have. I am not sure many are. This is the hand all of us have been dealt. But, we are all learning to adapt as are they. I also am not blaming anyone, but college in general no matter where you are is not an easy transition. I really wanted my Cornell daughter to take a LOA but she wouldn’t. She didn’t want to graduate later than her friends which I thought was stupid, but it’s worked out. Ironically, I was less concerned about my other daughter when in the end she’s the one that wound up way more at risk.

On athletics I totally agree with you. I know plenty of Ivy athletes for one reason or another that chose to stay home this year. I know plenty who went and are having an ok college experience but are really disappointed in the athletic experience since they went there to play their sport and these kids are not only hard working bright kids they’re super talented athletic. These kids however, generally live together at Cornell. There is a set of freshman housing for most of them. Unfortunately athletes (not all of course) were the cause of the first covid outbreak there in the fall. Later ones were the result of greek (again not all) life and off campus students. Adjustments were made and the disappointment for the athletes unfortunately were no sports.

As the first semester progressed more things opened. But yes, 100% for freshman and even many sophs, even the dorms were very isolating because all you had was generally your roommate or the pod you formed unless you were an athlete. Even last year when things were normal they lack in the orientation activities for freshman relative to some other schools. What Syracuse did for their freshman this year is unbelievable. Cornell totally needs to think out of the box. If your kid isn’t social, and many there are not, it can be a rough adjustment.

Maybe there are other parent groups or maybe the parents you talk to are not on in the parent page but few are openly complaining about their kids experiences. It is generally the typical my kid didn’t get an A, they didn’t get into the fraternity or sorority they wanted, how do they get into a club, the food isn’t good this year, which dorm for next year is the best, who knows what this landlord is like, etc and is anyone else’s kid stressed out about prelims.

I guess if Cornell is having a horrible on campus experience this year than many students won’t be back in the fall and/or I would’ve expected many would have not come back this spring, but the opposite happened and many more came back second semester than were gone first. A few of course left after first, but more came back as a whole, why do you think that is? Meanwhile at UT 50% are gone.

Towards the end of first semester many of the facilities started to open to more in person and group things - ie fitness center and other shared spaces. Similarly this semester. They were not open due to an initial large covid outbreak but in the last few weeks the fitness center opened and people are thrilled about that. A few other things opened, but I can’t remember what else from the email. They are giving mental health days off instead of Spring Break, which I actually think is better as kids can catch up on things they have to do . They’ve applied to be a vaccination site. Kids just getting out of their comfort zone is a good thing, and yes, even if it is for a covid test because they generally go together.

As I tell my own kids and any of their friends, if they’re that miserable somewhere, especially with what’s going on, with the stress of college, then they need to make sure they have someone to talk to whether it’s a friend, an adult, parent, or a therapist to make sure their mental health needs are being taken care of. Hopefully these kids you’re referring to, and any kid no matter where they are, are taking heed of that and paying attention because we cannot risk losing one more kid to mental health issues. I have seen far too many losses to mental health over the past year.