Note that you can use a license plus social security card in lieu of a passport.
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I try to remind my son that the chatter over āwho is going whereā will quickly die down, and then there are four years ahead to live with the decision. The fact that your high school friends were impressed with your acceptance at school X will be cold comfort if school X is not a great fit academically, socially, or otherwise. I encouraged my son to think about how he will feel about his choice in October - when high school is beyond him, his friends are far off at their schools, and he is living and working at the school he chooses.
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We got the birth certificate cards done for our kids with the complete birth certificate. They are the size of driving license and laminated and can be used for employment purposes. Giving passport is not recommended as if it gets lost or stole your other travel documents become invalid . Additionally, you lose travel history which may be needed for security clearance for research purposes.
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Interesting. I can cross to and from Canada with it, but not get a job. Strange. Only 5 states offer enhanced licenses at this point: Michigan, New York, Vermont, Washington and Minnesota.
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My D22 reporting that several of her friends had disappointing admitted student visits over spring break ā visits before applying had been difficult or impossible because of COVID. A few are in a jam now, feeling like they donāt like their options. Tough choices ahead.
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Thatās too bad. We had no admitted students days in 2020 for DS. For my 22 kid we felt dazzled by the lavish attention and events planned for admitted students and their families at some colleges we had not visited before. Tough decision of a different kind.
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I appreciate hearing about Temple University Japan. My son (a junior) would like being abroad for college, but we need the federal financial aid. This would make that possible. He studied some Japanese and would like to continue with it. He also would LOVE to go to college in California (weāre on the other coast). Heās going to try for some private colleges in CA since I donāt think the UCs offer any financial aid to OOS applicants (never mind the odds of getting in OOS!). Congratulations to your son.
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@xcskimom We did a ton of research on Temple University Japan. Participated in live zooms with faculty, students, and chatted with other US parents with students there, etc. So DM me if you want to know more. It was our cheapest option even though itās in Japan because tuition was the lowest and we received full US financial aid for it and some merit aid. Kids there seemed to really love it. A lot of the āUS passportā holding kids actually grew up and went to school internationally in Hong Kong, Sweden, UK, etc so super international crowd and very interesting kids. Also a lot of support for finding jobs in Japan after they graduate if they want to stay.
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burgh, Thanks for the offer. I lived in Oakland for four years, and have a nephew in Da Burgh now, so we are covered.
granite, Itās all about the fit. We would rather our son go to a school that is a good fit academically, culturally, socially, etc., than go to a higher ranked or more prestigious school that is a mismatch. Of course, as with jobs and spouses (except The Lovely and Talented, of course), no school is perfect. We are making our son do a strength matrix for key variables (salary by major, freshman return rate, graduation rate, campus, neighborhood, student support, etc.) for his two finalists before he commits to one. The choice is his, but it must be a rational choice with the best information possible.
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In case itās helpful, hereās a link to a site with a lot of information available regarding scholarships for study abroad in Japan: https://www.aatj.org/studyabroad/financial-aid
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I love that!
very smart exercise to have your son do to weigh factors - our daughter did a less formal version of that to narrow down to her choices.
āfitā and āmatchā are the similar concepts in my mind, just occur at different points in the process- the match part is having the decisions in hand - for us, the āfitā part was to initially make the list of where to apply.
I couldnāt agree more. My husband and I went to top colleges and felt that was important at the time. But as weāve grown up and lived life, weāve seen that people can be successful wherever they go. We know many people from our schools who have done well, but we know plenty who didnāt go to brand-name schools who are happy and successful. In many cases, some of the happiest and most successful attended schools we wouldnāt have even considered.
What weāve learned is that a brand-name college doesnāt get you far on name alone once you are a few years post-graduation. Itās all in what you do with your college experience, wherever you go, and then with your first opportunities after you graduate.
Weāve brought this perspective to S22ās college process. Heās a smart kid who has very good grades and SAT scores, but not ones that are perfect enough to get into our schools. And thatās totally fine. Heās had a wonderful high school experience and will have a wonderful college experience.
Weāve encouraged him to find schools that are great fits for him. For him, that meant a ālargeā (defined as 2,500+) LAC. He ED1ād at his first choice and was accepted. Heās thrilled to attend and we are absolutely thrilled for him. We know he will thrive there. For us, thatās a successful outcome.
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@skh3 my DD also suffers from anxiety and for her, that was a big determining factor in picking the school she did. She was afraid she would always be swimming against the current at the higher ranked school in order to stay afloat and that would put her in an unhealthy place. She just related so much more to the people and vibe she found at the school she chose. After visiting, it was where she felt she would be the most comfortable and confident. How can I ask for more for than that?! We have always told her that its the experiences and connections and what she puts into something that will yield the greatest results.
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As parents weāre struggling with whether itās worth the money to send him to his first choice or to tell him no. I didnāt want it to come down to money. But itās a $150k difference over 4 years. The top choice is over the budget we set so heād have to get federal loans. I wish we could make him see why everyone who hears his choices say Roll Tide! They arenāt just being funny or trying to pressure him, but they understand what a great opportunity a free education is. Weāre headed out of town for a few days and I hope we have a decision when we get back.
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Not to be a wise ass but Roll Tide. Bama is a beautiful school with nice weather and have made a serious effort to improve its academic rankings by giving all this merit money to top tier kids. My D21 had it in the running but ended up getting more merit money at Miami of Ohio. Also Miami had direct admit nursing and Bama did not.
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Full ride at Bama? Roll tide! We just came back from a two day visit there. How much time has he spent there visiting with teachers, admin, and students? So many amazing opportunities with their honors programs and clubs, and such friendly helpful people that we met.
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My D has two friends that are graduating next month with engineering degrees that still donāt have jobs. They are freaking out about making their loan repayments. Itās hard for kids to understand the financial impact when they are still in HS.
Roll Tide!
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Why not start with āBama? If it isnāt a good fit, could transfer later?
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