@Momof3B what an amazing night for them! So nice that everyone came together to make it happen - love the slide show idea, too. They will remember it forever.
ETA: I have finally caught up on all the news! Congratulations to all who have recently committed. What an impressive group! And whomever posted that the WL bar did not have a cover charge but required LOCIs - comedy gold! 
Too funny!!
ā¦
D got in to Vandy tonight off the WL. She has until Thursday to decide. Sheās gathering info and has two students sheās arranged to talk with tomorrow and another student at her current commit- Rice- sheāll chat with too. Sheās torn. Lots to sleep on tonight.
Also @MommaLue My son needed some blood work last week and we went to a local lab since it was closer than the Dr office and I asked the Dr just that question about his vaccine and they said same. Send them a copy or just upload it to the portal so they have it.
They knew at his physical that my girls were vaccinated but weāre just about to switch them to internists from the pediatrician so Iām not going to bother sending it. Just feel safer that way. Heās also already uploaded it to the college.
@TVBingeWatcher2 Interesting tact to focus on E&M. Probably a smart move since when there are 2 on the same day itās so hard to focus on both. Our school is administering E&M in 3 weeks but thatās always so hard so who knows what will be. My daughter left her book here from summer school as an extra resource for him to study and he has an entire week of no classes since school is over by then so he will either make the effort or not. I have no idea what he will do but it would be great to get the 5 on one of them at least and X that off.
@flyawayx2 Not sure the states are doing that great of a job. Our county tracked that I had one dose elsewhere, but never showed that I had my second one. Hope itās somewhere in the system but having my card makes me feel better anyway.
@Rue4 Congrats! Not sure what her major of interest in but that is something to really consider between the schools. If Engineering, then the obvious choice should be Rice. Vandy is just not an Engineering powerhouse nor ranked as high in that regard. They also donāt have an undergrad Business school so anyone who wants business majors in Econ and that other major (I can never remember the name). The flip side, Nashville is an awesome town and everyone who goes to Vandy loves it. Obviously there are other factors to consider too, but sheāll have some thoughts and pro/cons to think over and can make a more educated decision hopefully.
Great question. My husband came home with his vaccine card after his first shot and they didnāt even put his name on it! He did say they looked at his license to confirm his appointment, so Iām hoping there is some type of state-wide system tracking things.
@Rue4 congrats!!!
I got an email from Walgreenās saying I could access my vaccine records using their app. It does show both vaccines as having been received and which type was administered but not the batch/serial number which I find a bit odd.
Here in MA, we are not at full capacity for baseball either. The school is just worried that an outside event could lead to a spike and jeopardize graduation. I get it but I feel bad that S21 will miss out.
Yes - my S18 had to join FB when he got to college in order to get meeting info for clubs, etc.
So, I woke up to find this the leading article at CNBC. Great news! Also not sure what the anti-vaxxers excuse will be now since I canāt tell you how many people Iāve heard say because itās EUA (and they think that means experimental not emergency use which drives me nuts) when it gets approved since so many have said thatās why they wonāt get it. Also the vaccine has been showing more than 99% efficacy from people who have gotten it which is amazing. I saw a report on how many cases (all asymptomatic) of the number of vaccinated people have gotten covid.
Pfizer plans to file for full FDA approval of Covid vaccine at the end of this month
My guess is that once there is full approval, more colleges will make the vaccination mandatory.
100%!! I think even now they will start and itāll be a domino effect.
I just came across a very interesting post on the Bogleheads forum (this is mostly a personal finance forum). So it appears that kids have been turning down Ivys in favor of the state flagships:
My son was applied to quite a few schools and had hoped to be accepted into MIT, but this year was tougher than the typical extremely tough years and he was denied. Thankfully he had quite a few good options and ultimately narrowed it down to GT, UPenn, Rice, and Brown. When he applied he planned to major in Physics; he also loves math and CS and felt like Physics would ensure he got all 3.
We told him it was his choice and told him to not consider costs initially but to think of the differences and determine if he felt he would actively take advantage of whatever Uni A had over Uni B and if he felt he would do that then it was fine. He talked to quite a few folks about the schools and ultimately said to him, GT was better than his other choices plus it was the least expensive.
You may be right. Looks like UChic is done; pulling WL students for the class of 2026 nowā¦ 
Prom 
AP Gov - easy 
AP Calc - expecting the usual shrug
AP Human Geo - should be fine
Then 3 more APās and heās done!
~ two weeks till Graduation
Last day for Senior video submission was yesterday. Yep, came down to the wire- suppose he likes living on the edge.
Life at at our school remained āsomewhatā normal since covid, but no Junior prom. I am so happy they got to have a normal prom (indoor, beautiful venue) this year! And we get to have an in-person graduation, too. 
Final stretch! Weāll all make it. 
No prom or senior events here but we do get in-person graduation with 2 tickets, as well as filming a virtual graduation. Last AP later this week and then senior year is pretty much over. DE classes are done, grades posted, final transcript sent over to SLO.
My daughter didnāt hit accept until Saturday evening but will be at Cal Poly SLO in the fall (Mech E) with a few other kids on this thread. Signed up for in-person orientation yesterday and will get housing app done today. Crazy year, itās strange that it is all over and decided now and after a lot of stress and ups and downs she is ending up where she has wanted to be since freshman year.
Itās interesting to see the different perspectives on first year roommates. We encouraged both of our kids to go random. First one did. Second one didnāt. What we told both of them is that the goal for a first year roommate is to have someone you can live amicably with, not to look for a best friend on campus. Our experience is that the college questionnaires leading to random match ups typically solve for decent matches (not always, of course, we all know the horror stories). Then first year is about finding your peopleāif that happens to be your roommate, fantastic, but if it doesnāt thatās actually normal.
First kid is still friendly with his random first year roommateāthey wave across campus and think well of each other but he found his people second semester that year and has lived with 3 of them ever since.
One of the challenges with choosing a roommate on your own is that it can add pressure when there are tensions in the room (āI chose this. What was I thinking?ā) vs. it being a decision someone else made and you can make a different decision moving forward.
With our second one, whoās chosen his roommate, he heard loud and clear the āneeds to be someone you can live with instead of someone just like your best friendsā and the kid heās chosen seems to fit that bill as much as someone can through digital contact.
But no matter what, these are kids having to figure out how to share a small space with someone not from their family for the first time (usually). No approach will guarantee a perfect match.
Clemson for the second year in a row announced a freeze on undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees. Room and board increasing 3%
I was surprised to see Clemson on the NACAC list as having spots still open for first-year students. Maybe in-state only?
Roommate helpā¦
S17 lived in an LLC at Virginia Tech freshman year. He found his roommate through a searchable site provided by the university - it worked out great and they are both seniors and great friends.
S19 also lived in an LLC at Penn State freshman year but went full random. They, too are sophomores, still live together off-campus, and are great, almost certainly lifelong friends.
S21 will likely live in an LLC at Penn State and weāre encouraging him to go random roommate. The LLC factor helps and tends to put somewhat like-minded kids together.
Hereās the wrinkle, S21 is a guitar player. His guitar (electric) is an extension of his body. He plays constantly. He plays while doing EVERYTHING - studying, reading, speaking on the phone, Zoom meetings, etc. During COVID, he would stop mid-exam to play for 10 minutes, then get back to the test and nail it. Itās his meditation, his outlet and his therapy.
Heās very good and his music is pleasant, if youāre into rock. Itās not just noise.
So my question to you all isā¦ should he try to find a roommate who will, at best also be a guitar player, and at worst tolerate his playing? By the way, he uses headphones - heās not totally obnoxious, but even with headphones, the playing is loud enough to be distracting.
Help!
I donāt have a solution but this was beautiful to read!
I like random roommates for all freshmen as long as the school had a comprehensive questionnaire and and they personally match kids according to those answers. That way, all freshmen are in the same boat. I do not like kids having to search social media for a roommate. That can start social anxiety even earlier. I know a student who had to ask five kids before someone agreed to be her roommate. Also, when kids come to school with someone theyāve gotten to know all summer, they seem less likely to branch out and meet new people. We know a lot of kids like this. Chose their roommates and really liked them and stuck with them and small social group from their dorm for all four years. Iād rather D have to put herself out there and have everyone else in the same boat instead of her showing up on campus with groups already formed over the summer.