Yeah! 
Go Dawgs! 
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LolâŠI guess we can live with xichigan winning once a decade!
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Grades are inâŠThe Boy finished his first semester with a 3.8 gpa!!! 4 Aâs and 1 B. So, so proud of him!
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First quarter is in the books. Pretty pleased how S21 has adapted to college. He had a little bit of anxiety going in because he was a waitlist admitâŠbut soon figured out that he belonged just like anyone else. Did very well academically, has made many friends and seems really happy with his school fit. He had the great fortune of pairing up with a good roommate; they seem to be getting along just fine. Cold weather hasnât been a huge issue yet, though heâs gotten sick a couple of times (sounds like par for the course for the incoming freshmen).
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Williams and Amherst College came out with Early Decisions over the weekend and let me tell you I have PTSD. I marked my calendar to celebrate the Williams decision for a second year. 
That was a rough time to be applying as you all know. Iâm hoping that those of you that had another kid and were back at it this year have experienced some early success.
I am counting the days til those sweeties are back home with us later this week. Enjoy the ones you love, because if we have learned anything at all through this pandemic, itâs to love your people well 
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Thatâs bad but after I booked my sonâs flight home from Detroit, I found out they get kicked out of the dorm a few hours after the last final time. Ridiculous. His final goes until 3:30 and I believe he has to be out of the dorm by 7! He packs fast, but if he were one of my daughters, forget it!
Iâve been super busy for the last couple of months and am finally now just able to check back in here to see what is new with everyone. Sounds like kids are doing great overall and it is hard to believe we are at the end of the semester. We have had an interesting one for sure.
My UT daughter finally went down to Covid right after Halloween. They have no mandate there, no masks required in classes or anything. While she always wears hers to classes, and tests regularly, she obviously didnât in social gatherings and got it from a friend. She hadnât been boosted yet even though I was pushing her to get it and was waiting until TG. So, she missed that window. Fortunately, the UT Professors were amazing and when she had a Exams during her Q time, they were all very flexible. She also has received her first Spring '23 internship offer at a Big 4 firm so things are going very smoothly for her. Recruiting season starts full force this Spring so hopefully sheâll have more options. Sheâs also going abroad to London this summer for an MPA program and weâre planning to go beforehand to Italy and Paris. Hoping we wonât have to cancel and that her trip is a go.
Cornell daughter has avoided Covid since they do regular testing, but they really blew it after TG by not having arrival testing and by not continuing with their 2x/week testing. So now they have a huge breakout there and most finals have gone online. If you get covid then you take an incomplete (if in person final) and take it in January. Crazy. She was boosted over TG and is testing daily because some of her friends have been positive. She last saw them a week ago so hoping she is still neg. Canât wait until she can get home (if she stays neg) and gets the break from there.
My S21 at Michigan, WOW what a year! Most of you may recall UM wasnât his first choice, but I can honestly say in retrospect this has absolutely been the best place for him. He is loving it! Loves his classes, is doing fantastic, and loves his clubs, loves going to the hockey, the basketball games (even though theyâve been a huge disappointment) and of course the football. Whew who expected that? He had sold his OSU ticket because he was coming home for TG (he wound up not, more on that below), but because he had gone to every other game early an had the max points by how they do it and put his name in early for the prospect of going to the Big 10 Championship game, he was able to get a ticket for that (they only charged $50 I couldnât beleive it) he went to Indy and had a great 10th row seat (also I couldnât believe it). Ofc, the hotel he split with a friend but that was the expensive part at $300! So exciting. He also scored a ticket for the Orange Bowl (2nd row!! Holy cow), but we will be in the Bahamas and while I told him he could fly to Miami and back, he decided he didnât want to try to deal with that over New Yearâs so he sold his ticket (even that they only charged $135) and the money will go towards a ticket for the National Championship game if they make it. To that, the student tickets are $500! We already have a hotel booked so it wonât be $300, but I think theyâre assigning tickets differently and seniors with full points get priority so he may not get a regular ticket, but really as someone who themselves experienced a college national championship in basketball (at Kansas) if youâve been there, you know it is so exciting and some of the most memorable college experiences youâll ever have. Add that to his loving everything about the classes, having a nice group of friends, etc. and by far this was really the best decision ever for him and Iâm so proud of him.
Now as for not coming home for TG. UM like UT doesnât test for Covid, although they did mandate the vaccine and require masks inside. He got boosted the Friday before TG and that same weekend they were doing pop up testing near his dorm and since he was coming home he needed to test to be near us so he went on that Sat before TG and on Sun unbelievably found out he was pos. No symptoms at all (did get a stuffy nose a few days later). None of his friends ever tested pos as they all got tested right after and the roommate tested daily throughout TG because of it. He has no idea where he got it, other than possibly a basketball game (although he was masked) a week before, or a party he was at (also the week before). Heâs already testing negative again so maybe he had a mild case. He did take two tests so definitely positive. He had the pleasure of spending TG and watching the OSU game from the UM quarantine place which actually wound up being a huge apartment where they also brought him a ton of food every day. He said it wasnât too bad, he caught up on work, read, watched movies and played games. Probably in some ways more enjoyable than the stress of being around a lot of relatives, lol. I was disappointed because it would be the first time since January all my kids would be together. A story for the ages. Now he just has to finish finals and get home on Monday night safely. The good news is now 2 of my kids we donât have to worry about for awhile and as far as missing classes or tests that is a lot less stressful.
Happy Holidays to everyone and Go BLUE!!
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I love the story of the not first choice school working out well! All in all, I think my S is having a great college experience at his unexpected choice. I have a friend whose kid ended up at the dream school and is really struggling. So, Iâm grateful I didnât have to worry about my S being competitive where he landed.
There is Covid in my sonâs dorm. He got the booster at TG and had a bad cold again so missed the last party that positive person was at. Hoping he can escape healthy and travel safely this Saturday. Iâm not sure there is a lot of testing going on at his school right now. We are going to buy a rapid test for when he gets home before he sees my dad. Everyoneâs boosted except my 15yo. 
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Thatâs the key. Going to the game 30 minutes (or more) early, Michigan allots students priority points. And those priority points get you better seats for the next season.
However, if youâre a senior in Greek life, then the tailgate party and rolling up to the stadium right at game time is more important, since thereâs no next year in terms of tickets. 
Heck, we âpartiedâ with D18 at the frat house prior to the Indiana game Parents Weekend and missed the first series of the game.
Yep, heâs learned the ins and outs of figuring out the best time to be at certain things and the best time to leave. We tailgated in one of the parking lots and then he and a group of friends left early to make sure they got the points. From what I can tell on the parent page, a lot of seniors are really upset they didnât get the tickets, but thatâs what happens if youâre not the one sitting there at game time, which is exactly what we noticed during that parent weekend game. Student section was half full until about 10 mins before the game. I also think with kids missing so much last year and not expecting this, no one rushed to get their early, and it was the sophs and freshmen who were probably most excited to go to the games after missing so much of this stuff their last year of high school/first year of college. He was definitely having fun at the frats pregaming before the games. Sadly, that is probably where he got covid! 
Great time for these seniors thatâs for sure!! What an experience for all.
Cornell just shut down and went into RED on their covid dashboard. All finals must be online, optional or pushed to Jan. They want people to leave as soon as they can if theyâre negative for a certain amount of hours. My D doesnât leave until Saturday, is thankfully boosted as I said previously and has 4 more (well now 3 since one was optional) to go!
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Thatâs been the norm since Iâve been attending games at the Big House.
D18 is actually with me at work, studying for her last final on Thursday. 
And D18 just got a text from a friend a few minutes ago, whoâs selling an Orange Bowl ticket. The ticket price isnât the big issue, but logistically getting her back to Ann Arbor and/or Miami is VERY expensive for the 12/31 game.
Also, we were planning some CA beach time here over the holidays. I think sheâll let the ticket go. Iâd love to go too.
Brown just mandated staff and students to have the booster shot before returning to the new semester. Itâs the last week so I wonder if they will mandate testing. They were doing two tests per week and then 3-4 weeks ago made them optional vs. mandatory.
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The Cornell shutdown is a good reminder that the increase in transmission with the Omicron variant means our kids need to be extra careful coming home. Get 'em tested early and often!
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S comes home on Thursday morning. He is waiting to see if he gets a ticket to the Fiesta bowl, I hope they find out soon because he need to make travel arrangements. This semester was a success academically and he has made some really great friends.
He still dislikes the food and is just eating salads at most of his meals, thatâs his only complaint at the moment.
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Haverford has done the same.
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They (Cornell) got complacent. I canât believe it! My D is still there for 2 more days, but fortunately, sheâs also negative and now her 4 roommates are all gone so she has the apartment to herself and shouldnât have any interaction with anyone else except she has to fly out of Elmira on Saturday so sheâs sharing a ride with someone else for the 45 minutes plus a 3 hour layover in Detroit ugh!
Tons of schools have already announced a booster mandate and I cannot understand what theyâre waiting for. They were one of the first to announce the mandate in the first place. Maybe theyâre just waiting for the semester to end at this point.
I will be happy when sheâs home, tested yet again and safe. We are leaving town next Thursday and all need negatve tests, Iâm just happy sheâs been testing regularly and Cornell is requiring a negative test within 48 hours of them leaving so thatâs something. Although some are, most kids are not boosted. They waited. She had hers the Tuesday of TG so knew if she had any symptoms they would be then. I think many just didnât think about it and I had her shot scheduled well in advance of her coming home. If I had waited, she wouldnât have been able to get it otherwise as appointments were 2 weeks out by then. So, maybe thatâs why so few were boosted.
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Agree that it would be so fun to go but also that while I think my son would like to have gone (weâll be in the Bahamas) and I told him he could fly back and forth, he realized flying in and out of Miami logistically for that game over NYE and a hotel then, would be a challenge. Also, Hard Rock Stadium is apparently in the middle of no where and he canât rent a car. So too much of a hassle. The airfare itself is cheap considering where we were. The other issue is you need a negative covid test to go in and out of Bahamas so heâd have to wait to deal with that to come back, so probably would just have been better off coming straight home alone and then talking about a different ballgame altogether.
He finds out tomorrow if he gets a ticket to Indy if they make it. Fingers crossed. Those logistics are still a pain without a car, but we have a hotel for him and I think we may just go to AA and get him and take him if he doesnât have any friends who get tickets and can go. It may be a once in a lifetime thing to see.
I think thatâs the key. What got them into trouble is that complacence and the thought that the pandemic was almost over.
I think the schools that are doing regular surveillance testing, even of asymptomatic vaccinated students, are seeing similar spikes. Itâs not unique to Cornell and I wouldnât say they were being complacent (at least comparatively to a lot of other schools).
I read somewhere else that the Cornell cases are all very mild. Doesnât help with community spread factor, but I think that should still be part of the discussion.
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