Thank you!!! (And our kids will be just 1-2 miles apart!) When do classes begin for GT?
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Awesome to hear!! We are from FL! Iāll PM you. 
Classes begin on August 25 for GT.
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Yes! Thatās so exciting.
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I just learned today that I have 3 kids that do their laundry this way! Canāt believe it. Both my sonās and one of my daughters. Although she claimed she didnāt have time to fold it. Considering she generally wears every pair of underwear before she does laundry somehow I find it hard to believe. I also noticed she had her clean laundry in her mesh basket and her dirty laundry in her comforter bag! No idea what Iām going to do with these kids!! Of course the one kid who is the perfectionist is the one who folds her laundry. Even though she too waits until sheās out of clothes to do it. Mainly because she canāt stand spending money on it. Next year her apartment has in unit laundry so that will save her money. But who knew my kids could care less about wearing clothes without wrinkles? Had I known that then for the 20 years I did do laundry maybe I wouldnāt have bothered folding any of it!
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Interesting you bring this up today of all days! Iām with my daughter helping her get her stuff squared away and stored for the summer. My flight was 3 hours late so she wanted to go to a wine tour. I told her if she drinks she better not get drunk while Iām there. She responded she hates wine and doesnāt drink it so no worries. Then as I was driving in she asked if I could come pick her up in town in 2 hours and go start packing up her stuff at the sorority because she wanted to go to a ādartyā and every time thereās one she hasnāt been able to go. Since I knew from packing up my other daughter last weekend that I could get more done without her I said Iāll go start myself but not get her. So she went and then came back to sorority and told me how a friend drove her and another girl back. The other girl was in bad shape drunk out of her mind. My daughter was continuously going down to her room to check on her thank god as the girl was passed out.
Later on our way to dinner some boy called her and asked who he should call for rides? I couldnāt figure out what was going on and then later mine told me that her and two other friends are basically considered the responsible ones because they basically donāt drink and will take care of making sure everyone has rides etc. She also told me about being in a room where she was one of the only ones not doing cocaine - ick. I asked her if anyone ever bothers or makes fun of her for not doing any of that stuff and her response was āno, thereās no peer pressure here for any of that stuff, no one caresā. That made me feel good that she has no issue saying no (her dad and I have instilled strong feelings in our kids about all of that stuff and if they do it what they need to do if they get in trouble) but I was actually more proud of her for being the friend who was there for the others and checking on the girl in her house regularly making sure she was ok. So often we hear of tragic stories when someone doesnāt check on someone.
The other topic we talked about on the way home was sexual assault and I asked her if she knew anyone who has been assaulted and sadly she knew of a girl in another sorority who when everyone was vaccinated recently and frats were starting to have parties again was allegedly assaulted and went to her sorority President who said she was passed out and it didnāt happen sheās remembering it wrong. Terrible. Itās a sorority that is known to be In constant trouble and so this is the last thing they need. This girl will never be the same again and the boy will get off scott free. She was supposedly slipped something. This is a topic we also talk about continuously in my house with my girls as well as boys!!
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I was off this board for a month because of another commitment that swamped me, and what a busy month! I quickly ran out of likes trying to catch up, then discovered this thread had moved on to a Part 3! Suffice to say, our kids are done now, at least with this where-will-I be-next-year chapter. Many congratulations to everyone, kids and parents - they have landed in good places and can make plans. And we parents can start shedding those tears - excited for them, but already missing them.
S21 and I visited Georgetown over spring break, he fell more in love, and he committed a couple of weeks later. A lovely outdoor prom happened, soccer season wound up, APs and senior project are done, and now he has just one final before graduation. And in-person graduation is happening! Outdoors, in a covered horse show arena (fitting - our area is all about horses).
Iām a bit nervous about the logistics of him going a 7 hour drive away. I know, many of you have to deal with a plane flight away, but I realized how easy it has been with S19 just an hour away - lots of quick visits, easy to haul extra gear back and forth from home to school.
I know @anaray has one going to GT. Who else? I have lost track.
Many thanks to everyone here for advice, support, and laughter through this journey.
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Wow thatās all pretty sad and heavy stuff. Not sure how some of those kids are getting their work done. I get that students drink and/or do drugs but the scenes you describe seem pretty intense. I hope your D has some friends who she doesnāt constantly have to take care of.
D21 was offered a spot at Northwestern Medill Fri. She hadnāt visited, so we hopped on a plane yesterday. I love the area and city. Of course, it isnāt winter. Campus was beautiful.Top journalism program in the county where itās easy to double major due to the quarter system. While she hasnāt ruled it out, and is going to make a pros/cons list, sheās clearly still in love with Barnard. I think sheād choose it over Yale (where she didnāt apply, and is so glad she didnāt get into Brown ED, a cautionary lesson on picking an ED school based solely on an inaccurate stereotype; although she wouldnāt have fallen for Barnard if she had been accepted there in Dec, so maybe she would have ended up liking it). I have to trust sheās making the right decision for herself. I know kids forced to go to higher ranked schools by well-meaning parents (after-all, weāre the ones footing the bill!).
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Yes, fortunately she does but unfortunately it does have a work hard play hard mentality here. It doesnāt need to be either but thatās just the way itās always been.
It only helped re-enforce my decision to saying no about her having a car next year. She doesnāt need to be the chauffeur. She doesnāt have a school job so doesnāt need it for that. Can take a bus if necessary. Have friends who drive and she helps pay for gas. Also her apartment has no parking! So, no point in having a car. Sheāll also be living right near campus. If she had one she would no doubt be the designated driver every time. I know what thatās like.
Fortunately her closest friends are not wild but I donāt get it. No reason to do this stuff every weekend. But I guess the semester is over, next up is finals and theyāve been restricted all year even though theyāve been open. They are only just now allowed to have all the open social stuff.
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I know your daughter loved Barnard but Medill at NU seems like it would very hard to walk away. Good luck to her with her decision.
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So, continuing the theme of college bedding, does anyone have suggestions for good mattress toppers? Iāve already ordered sheets and want to get other stuff early to wash/air out before move-in.
I doubt the topper is something youād wash (especially if itās made of foam) but it would be nice open the package to let it outgas a little on the patio on sunny days. My D isnāt sensitive to fumes but I am, and I think itās just healthier not to have a lot of new-stuff chemical fumes circulating in a stuffy dorm room.
We value sleep highly and went all out - bought the 3 inch tempurpedic supreme topper (twin XL). It is quite nice and if someone visits and stays in dorm can be pulled off bed and put on floor for the guest (should such things be allowed next year!!!). We figure by time D21 moves out of dorm it will almost be time for D24 to use it! It is already unrolled and āventingā!
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Final update on the final decision. D got off Vandy WL 5/3 and had 3 days to decide. It was a tough choice she literally made in the absolute last minute of the deadline, but she choose to stay with Rice. Hoping sheāll put all the stress of decisions behind her and start to get excited soon.
She has 3 more weeks of school, 1 more week of graded work. Sheās in the final push for rank, hoping to move up. Her school first ranks second semester junior year. She was 4th. She was still 4th as of the 1st semester senior year rank, but has played a little with the numbers and is hoping it may offer a boost. Current Val. and Sal. are in her magnet program that required a graded, unweighted internship that took place over all of jr/sr years, but is only reflected as a grade on the final report card (so has yet to be factored in). They can opt for a full or half credit. She did all the hours for a full credit, but had her counselor report it on her transcript as a half credit. No clue what the top two girls did. Her friend in the class of '20 suggested she play the numbers this way because there is less of a gpa āhitā only taking half a credit. Her friend went from 4th to 2nd. Dā21 has all A+ for the year and one more exam to go in AP Stats that will determine if sheāll have A or A+ in that class. She has wanted so bad to be in the top 2 and worked her tail off this year for all A+ to see if she can bump up. She has no idea how close mathematically the top kids are- but she did everything she could.
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Congratulations to your D, @Rue4, now she can feel proud about Vandy but know that Rice was her first choice all along. Iām sure someone else is now ecstatic about Vanderbilt!
Thanks, @phlped, my D values her creature comforts greatly so Iāll look into that one!
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I would love this suggestion, too! I saw that Costco sells Twin XL toppers online. The one thing many reviewers complain about is how hot the mattress pad gets. I am getting one of those mattress wrap thing that zips all around us (hypoallergenic, etc, but Iām getting it to wrap up the dorm mattress because it seems gross). When we get there, Iāll see what the mattress looks like and if itās got any plastic covering vs cloth material. If cloth, Iāll see if I can use the mattesss wrap/case to cover both mattress and topper. I did get bedding to be deep enough to cover a 3ā top and the mattress.
Anyone ever pack a mattress topper in a Samsonite tote a ton bag? I was at Costco and their queen topper seems to be small and compact so I imagine twin xl would be small enough out of a box to put in the Samsonite. I think I will have 2 Samsonite bags worth of stuff and one for S21ās clothes. Iāll also have a large suitcase and he will have his carryon.
We had a topper on our previous mattress and it did get hot for my husband. I sleep in flannel pjs during summer, so it was fine for me.
I just checked tempurpedic and they have a cooling topper, which Is more expensive, but likely worth it because most of William & Mary dorms are not air-conditioned and stifling for the first weeks (as you can imagine, Tidewater Virginia in August/Sept). But they are temporarily out of stock of the Twin XL cooling ones, Darn it ! Wonder if ātemporaryā means the rest of summer? thereās no way to pre-order, it seemsā¦
They have it available for the regular twin. My D is petite so Iām almost tempted to get it even though there would be a weird gapā¦maybe I could fit a block of 3ā foam just under the pillow area to close the gap. I think Iāll call customer service to find out when theyāre expecting more of the twin XL coolingā¦Whoās to say Iād get a straight answer thoughā¦
Any other good brands to check?
I wonder what the difference is with the cooling topperā¦a completely different mattress or just a thick cover? If the latter, maybe just a thick cotton mattress pad would make it cooler? Iāve never though about these thingsā¦
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I think your plan will work. They are small while still compressed. Maybe wrap it in a towel or something similar so it doesnāt get poked.
We flew D19 to college on Southwest, which allows 2 free bags per person. We took her mattress topper, unopened, in the box and checked it as one of our ābags.ā (3 of us = 6 bags allowed) We canāt take SW for D21, so weāll order from Amazon and have it delivered to campus.