Thanks for bumping this thread! I have a HS junior so we’re back in the college selection game, but this time we’re way calmer.
D21 had the normal ups and down during her first year, but has had an amazing second year. She’s really matured and engaged in the things that interest her. I’m really proud of her!
Last summer she studied abroad, and this summer she will be back home (yah!) working for AmeriCorp tutoring/mentoring low SES high school kids. I can’t wait to have her at the dinner table every night talking about her day.
Also, the whole fam is going to see Taylor Swift. lol.
D21 is having a lot of fun at Miami of Ohio. She had 2 major switches in first 3 semesters, went in nursing, switched to Mechanical engineering for 2nd semester and then to Data Science and Statistics this fall with the goal of becoming an actuary. With all the AP credits she will still be done in 4 years. Hoping to go to Australia for January term next year.
Will work at a YMCA daycare and Whole Foods. Probably the last summer job that is not career related.
And yes the entire family is going to T Swizzle in June for D18 birthday
It was nice seeing this thread pop up again and reading your updates!
My D is doing well and loves her school, although this year had some tough moments as she struggled with ochem1/2 (ended up with A- and B, but it was touch and go). She is still on the premed track but changed her major to one that could more easily accommodate a semester abroad. And she is taking advantage of every abroad opportunity she can… last Maymester in The Netherlands, this summer a CDC internship in Kenya, next winter/spring most likely in Copenhagen. She is involved in ECs she loves and holds several exec leadership positions.
I’m a bit nervous about the summer in Kenya but also excited for her. I’m looking forward to the following summer when I’ll have her at home…she has a joint internship lined up for summer 2024 at the CDC & Childrens’ Hosp.
S21 is grinding away at Texas Tech! He’s a declared Finance major and added a certificate in Data Analytics. No internships found for this summer yet, but he still has a couple of leads he’s following so hopefully something will pan out soon.
Other than that I’ve been busy getting the Twin 23’s to the finish line! Twin 1 will be starting at Univ of Texas Arlington majoring in Comp Sci and Twin 2 is headed to UT Austin as an Econ major.
S21 is, not sure the right adjective. It’s going fine, classes are too easy and he doesn’t love them even though he really should. He has friends but hasn’t fully found his tribe. Stumbled into a last minute internship that aligns perfectly with his CS interests. Is taking some advantage of what UT Austin has to offer but seems like it could be more. Has plans to add more clubs and groups next year. Is aligning to finish by next year and then decide Masters or workforce. Barring a change in social situation, I expect he’ll be looking for full time jobs.
I hope your S21 finds a club or activity where he can have fun and meet some people he clicks with.
We have family friends whose son didn’t really find his people in college. He graduated a semester early, came home and got a good job (engineer). He is much happier in the work world than he was in college.
He’s not alone. D21 hasn’t has the smoothest transition socially either. She loves her classes and professors. Decided on Psych major and political science minor. Has picked up two leadership positions on campus this year both of which will help her resume as she looks for marketing type internships and eventually a job after graduation. She’s still interviewing for a summer internship. That industry posts jobs super late into the spring. Should get one decision today and is meeting with a different firm this week too. Fingers crossed!
She pledged a sorority this year (girls don’t rush until soph year) and that has helped a bit socially. You all might see me sometimes warning families looking at Colgate about the social scene. It is beloved by many but only when you fit the mold. Pretty cliquey with the NY/NJ crowd.
Plan for next year includes studying in Florence for spring. Time flying by!
I was happy to see this thread pop up at the top and read through your updates. I cannot believe that our students are completing their sophomore year! And, I really can’t believe that I can count my D21 among them. I’ve posted here about her ambivalence (to put it mildly) about attending college at all, our fears that it wouldn’t stick for her and even our purchase of tuition insurance for several semesters.
Well, she’s still there and it’s been better than we hoped. Not completely smooth sailing by any means but very good academically, socially, etc. She feels proud that she’s come this far and we are too.
She just accepted a summer internship that will take her to another part of the country. An adventure! It speaks to her level of personal growth during these college years that she has the confidence to do this.
We continue to be cautiously optimistic. I wish your children well on their journeys.
Great to see everyone’s updates! D21 continues to thrive at Duke. She has a major and two minors, is an Ambassador for the school and got to speak to admitted students at one of the Blue Devil Days . She loves it but of course no where is perfect—the very bumpy transition to QuadEx affected the 2025s the most(a lot of the issues related to coming out of covid 2021-22 and not as much Quad-social events for bonding as there should have been). She has a job on campus, has gotten two promotions, and has made all As but has definitely been challenged by her courses and professors/ peers. She has been accepted to a study abroad program in Rome specifically for her major, so that is exciting, and she is working on research with a professor and will be listed as an author on the paper once it is published.
D23 recently decided she will not be joining D21 at Duke, and is off to UPenn! It’s bittersweet for D21 but the best decision all around.
@homerdog that’s interesting about Colgate. I always thought of it more as “prep school culture” rather than a NY/NJ thing. But, my opinion could be out of date.
Hope that your D has fun in Florence! My D has Florence or London on her list of possibilities for next Spring as well after deciding against studying abroad this year.
S21 has done great at Chicago. Done really well on the academic front, crushing his math major. He originally started out with interest in Econ or Physics as a second major but has gravitated towards CompSci. This year he will do math research during the summer and is also TA for a math class.
Socially he found his people early on, many in his dorm. He has made a great group of friends (they visited Costa Rica last year for spring break). He even joined a fraternity (something I would have never imagined he’d do). First winter was rough but he didn’t complain. He’s adapted to the point that he wore shorts in February for one outing. First year he explored more of Chicago, this year he’s hung out around Hyde Park more.
C21 is loving Bryn Mawr. Such a perfect fit. Doing well in academics and declared major (English, maybe Classics minor). Having an excellent time with the theater program, working on campus as well, really enjoying the east coast (although it was so mild there this winter, they wanted more snow). They have found BMC to be such a warm, welcoming place with a challenging but very interesting classes with fantastic professors. They are thriving in the small class size (as they thought they would). They love the architecture and beautiful campus, and even with food allergy issues creeping up now and again (nice to have a hospital close by), they are finding the food service to be mostly acceptable. Having the airport nearby has made coming and going a breeze. Oh and they often go to Philly with friends or for appointments and have found it to be fun and safe so far. All in all happy and healthy and coming home to work for summer. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience, so far. (Now onto S24!)
So nice to see all the updates! My D isn’t loving her experience tbh, and has applied to one school for a transfer. If that doesn’t work out, she’s going to stick it out and make the best of it. The academic aspect of Dean hasn’t been what she was looking for, as she had been hoping to be a bit more challenged. She was also assured she could double major but recently realized that was incorrect information- and the bigger problem there is she would be shut out of classes in either of the major’s departments if she were to drop one of them. She’s also had an endless series of problems with food services, and even after an appeal to be released from the required full meal plan (with doctor note on her side), the school refused.
D21 started out at a small school in South Carolina. Ended up not being a great fit. Decided mid-summer that she wanted to transfer. Is a sophomore at TCU and couldn’t be happier with her experience. It’s been an adjustment having her so far away.
Interesting. My son also had food issues his freshman year and had to take a semester off to recover. He also made some bad course selections his first semester, but has gotten back on track and has really found his place in the lab. The close relationships he has been able to establish with many professors has really helped him academically and personally. Wishing everyone the very best over the next 2 years.
Love seeing so many updates! Sorry for those having a more rocky time - we are in the same boat. D21 had a hard time finding her people freshman year, it got better this year but she still doesn’t feel like she has a close knit group.
Over spring break she came home for a few days then went to visit her high school friends at FSU. Even though she was adamant about not wanting to go to school in FL with a pinch of high school kids I could tell she was a little jealous now that they at least have each other. I asked if she regretted her decision though and she said no.
When she was home she wold tell al sorts of stories of different people she’s hung out with and fun things they’ve done so I think it is a little bit of that thing where they like to dump the bad stuff on us then they are off having fun while we stress about it! She has gone to several concerts in Denver, joined a new intramural soccer team, throws little parties at her apartment, goes hiking and she even started her own radio show one hour a week which she is really excited about.
She is an Environmental Studies major and Education minor. She applied for and was accepted to a fall class called Coral Reef Ecology - one class a week with only 15 kids in the fall then a week trip to Curacau to scuba dive and study the reefs over winter break. She thinks she wants to go abroad in the spring - probably somewhere warm! I am pushing for Kenya or Patagonia so @DramaMama2021 and @UpNorth2019 can’t wait to hear updates on those trips!
Both her summer programs (Tanzania) and fall (Patagonia and Antarctica) are through SIT, which runs study abroad programs for SLACs all across the country. It’s highly recommended by my friends in academia and the returned students my D has talked to from her school. Both of the programs are ES/geology/geology programs – specifically on the effects of climate change – sounds similar to what your daughter is doing. I’ll report back with updates!
DS is doing well at GT. He had a co-op this semester and it will continue through the summer.
He has a close, small friend group and seems to really enjoy his time doing various things with them, mainly sporting activities. He participates in a few extracurriculars, but pretty much the same ones he has always done, which I guess is good and bad. He has a 4.0 and has only been mildly challenged but overall happy which is the most important thing. He is very happy with his schedule next semester which is great to hear as previous semesters were ok, but not great in terms of getting the classes he wanted.
