Congratulations to you son for thinking it through and making an informed decision. He sounds like my daughter, which is not a skill many 17 yr olds have IMO.
SDSU has all that she wants, more affordable than the privates, which will help with grad school or whatever afterwards, great more practical program, beach volleyball for her, football to watch, and it’s in San Diego!
Absolutely. She’ll love SDSU.
21 posts were split to a new thread: Where to go in early July that isn’t hot and muggy
Please stay on topic. The conversation about where to go in early July has been moved to the thread link immediately above this post.
Ours only offers Physics C (Mech and E&M)
I’m really regretting letting my son take any AP classes, though. They’re his lowest grades by a wide margin, and I think it’s because the teachers are focused on what the test is looking for instead of focusing on the content. The amount of written explanation required in his Calc class, and the weight given to that in grading, is absurd. I understand that the students need to be prepared for the exam, but wish they hadn’t introduced this unfamiliar grading system right as the kids are all starting the semester that their college applications would be based most closely on!
UMaine sent out their housing forms last week, along with a note saying NOT to wait until you’re committed to attending - sign up anyway or you may not get a space.
So we did. And they went straight from “Well, they’re a great deal. Let’s not rule them out,” to being completely able to see my son there. Getting swept up in the question of which theme housing to request really made it easy to feel like he was actually going there.
A truly brilliant marketing move.
Not to mention that you’ve already put down that housing deposit there (that seems to be nonrefundable or partially nonrefundable)? On a side note, I do love the idea of living learning communities/theme housing etc.
Son was accepted to summer start program at his top pick. According to a few parents that called admissions, kids are randomly assigned to do this program. This was my son’s reach school (and the only school we haven’t visited yet). He wants to go but doesn’t want to miss his last summer with his friends. As parents, we’re viewing it as sort of a test to see how badly he wants to go there. We think it would be a great way for him to ease into college, esp at a big school in a totally different part of the country. But it’s his most expensive option so we are okay if he makes a different choice. So much to think about
How long is the program?
I feel the same way about encouraging D22 to take some of the AP classes she did, like AP Physics. It hurt her GPA, she didn’t pass the exam anyway, and it added so much stress to her junior year. Her younger brother starts HS in the fall and I will not be repeating that mistake.
5 weeks. 2 weeks off and then they return for the fall. They take 2 classes so they are ahead when they start in the fall.
A daughter of a good friend was accepted to her 1st choice school (big southern sport school) with a program like that. It was a hard decision for them, but ultimately she chose another school that didn’t require her to do a summer start program which base cost was something like $16k for the summer (not including travel costs, etc). I was shocked at the cost for the program, especially since it was required…she couldn’t choose a fall start instead.
She ended up at another school with all the perks she wanted (great academics, Div I sports, gorgeous rah-rah campus) without having to pay to give up her final summer before college.
Thinking it’s probably the same school (Clemson?). Its cost is closer to $13k and you do get credit for the 2 courses. It’s the only really big sports school he applied to so he’s really torn. Very social kid so missing senior summer would be tough for him. And of course the cost is a big consideration. Lots of other great choices as well so really no bad decision.
D got a fun surprise from our flagship school yesterday - they mailed her a logo’d hoodie with CoE printed on the back. Swag that we didn’t ask or pay for, and she hasn’t committed to them. She’s wearing it to school today. 
Says the school just went up in her opinion. lol
Ah, that type of program. Yeah, Cal Poly SLO has something like that at the end of summer. No big break at the end though. At the start of their program you’re actually dropping your kid off at school and they move themselves from the summer dorm to the permanent one at the end. I’m surprised they accept anyone to that program before accepting them to the actual university. SLO’s program is the reason why I want DS either accepted or rejected outright, not waitlisted. You can only apply if you’ve been accepted. The summer program is such a great introduction to the school, helping them make friends before the crushing onslaught of the entire student body arriving at once.
Just read your and the other responses. You mean Clemson randomly accepts kids to its summer program (before they’ve been accepted) but it’s mandatory to attend the summer program if accepted? And it costs $16k??? I’m assuming I misunderstood at least one of those details.
That’s nice ! All DS has gotten so far is a slingback and a stapler 
But we still appreciate it!
Oh wow!! That’s pretty huge. I wonder how many of those they sent out. I can’t imagine it was to everyone they accepted, so yeah, that’s a big deal!
The only thing DS has gotten for Cal Poly SLO was a pennant and a shirt. And we’re not sure if they came from the school. A few years ago it showed up in the mail. I asked my dad and sister if they’d gotten it for him because it came with no information. No gift info, no shipper info, no promotional flyers or letter from the college… nothing. It wasn’t long after a college fair, but SLO hadn’t been present. Pomona had been, and we talked to them and signed their interested-potential student register so at first I assumed if was for Pomona. But CPP are the Broncos and this pennant says Cal Poly Mustangs. Still to this day have no idea if the college sent it and if I’d ever given them our address. And my dad and sister are unlikely to deny doing something they did.
The pennant and shirt are usually given at WOW; did your student sign up for WOW and then not attend? Fall 2020 in-person WOW was cancelled, and my son received the shirt and pennant in the mail.
D22 got a t-shirt, a laundry bag, and a gold (colored) pen, plus some tote bags and stuff at visits.
We had signed up for a campus tour (but not WOW) in Mar 2020 that COVID cancelled. I had thought he received the stuff before that, But I’m probably mistaken about the timing and that could well be the answer. I’ll just assume it is.
@Sweetgum - I love the laundry items idea! Clever and useful!