Parents of the HS Class of 2022

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
7040

Many kids seem to struggle in it. Parents have implied it’s a teacher issue as well. My son is doing fine and is in Calc 2 with a strong A right now. It’s a fair amount of work, but he doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem. So, maybe some kids are just not as strong in math? Or don’t put the time in? I’m not really sure where the problem might actually be.

It did have me worried though, because it was mentioned very often! But, he’s doing just fine and will continue to take calculus 3 and diff eq at Bama next year and I’m sure he’ll be fine in them as well.

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7041

Congratulations! What does REU stand for?

7042

REU = Research Experiences for Undergraduates, paid research positions for undergraduate students. Many positions also come with accommodation, travel, and food. They are usually 6-10 weeks long and offered by selected colleges both in the US and abroad.

https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/

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7043

Thank you. this is fascinating. when do the students normally apply? probably too late for this summer for students. Thanks again for the link.

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7044

Winter. See for example
https://bowiestate.edu/academics/special-programs/education-innovation-initiative/summer-undergraduate-research-institute/cybersecurity-initiative/

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7045

It depends on the REUs, but the winter break is great time to apply. Most of the CS REUs S20 applied to were due between mid-February and mid-March. Most of the math REUs were due between Jan 31 and Feb 28 with a few extending to March.

The application process can be rather brutal with many REUs not bothering to even send out rejections. There are math REUs S22 applied to which are full (according to other websites or even their own website), yet they never bothered to notify him. Being ghosted seems quite common.

There is an entire reddit dedicated to REUs if you want to gather information for next year
https://www.reddit.com/r/REU/new/

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7046

No response for my son. Clearly he didn’t get in but we were surprised at not getting a rejection.

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7047

It seems rather rude to be honest. One would think that all applicants deserve a notification. As far as I know, S22 never heard back from half of the REUs he applied to.

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7048

I agree.It doesn’t seem like it would be too hard to tell them they were not selected.

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7049

D21 is an EE sophomore. She has a great 12 week summer internship lined up from the campus job fair.

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7050

Correct me if I am wrong. Didn’t your daughter do a Coop not an internship?

7051

Yes, she did co-op but not until the summer after her sophomore year. She had an internship, unrelated to her co-op, after freshman year. Her other friends in engineering, also found internships early, or did research on campus that first summer. My family member has found a BME internship after her freshman year as well.

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7052

Awesome!!!

7053

Anyone heard of/support the saying
“We pay for A’s and B’s,
you pay for C’s and D’s”?

Meaning if the child does well in college (and not fool around/party/goof off all the time), then the parent(s) would pay for college/tuition, etc.
But if the child chooses to just get drunk/party and skip classes, and earn C’s-F’s, then college is on them.

–

Our agreement with our children is that we parents pay 50% (full up front) and they pay 50% (to us back after graduation), to have skin in the game.
My aunt/uncle paid for my cousin’s college - every penny, and he didn’t care, skipped classes, graduated with a ?2.1?.

But I think we also mentioned to juggle both academics and social life,
because college is not just 100% academics.
While I would like my kids to get good grades in college, they only really just need to graduate/get that diploma.

Recently, I’ve read a few posts on Reddit where the students at DS2022’s college saying they want to quit, transfer, something because they can’t hack it there. Getting C’s-D’s or Failing, even studying 60-75 hours a week, just can’t catch up, etc, feeling like a failure, etc.

So I am not imposing any bars on my kids, especially when I know my son is working very hard.
He briefly mentioned thinking about dropping Principles of Microeconomics; the class seems to be very hard.
I told him it’s ok if he needs to do that.

Such a difficult time for some kids…

How are your kids doing?

(still hoping my son finds his people…/makes deeper friendship)

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7054

Good luck, you sound so wise and kind.
I agree, continue to be patient and encouraging. Freshman year is tough. Thankful my D22 seems to have adjusted to courseload. Lots to still explore with regard to activities or meeting students.
Some friends from fall have struggled or are thinking of transferring, or want to commute from home & save $. Mine is thinking of taking a class in summer to lighten load next year.

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7055

Our agreement with our kids is that they get to keep 50% of whatever is left from their college budget. They both have a full ride, so half of their college budget goes to them.

Their scholarships come with a minimum GPA requirement (3.0 for one and 3.2 for the other I think), so that theoretically works as a financial incentive. Luckily, so far, they are both doing great. We will see how things continue for S22, but S20 is almost done (only 1 semester left).

Many students find their first year of college challenging, especially in your son’s college. The material may no longer come easy to them. There is much less structure. They may no longer be the smartest person in the class, etc. It can be a big adjustment on many levels. For many things get easier in the sophomore year.

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7056

Our goal was for neither of our kids to have any college debt, and we’ve been able to achieve that. We’re not requiring them to pay any of their college costs, though they’ve both understood the need to have part-time jobs if they wanted spending money beyond a modest allowance. Our D19 graduated early, in December, and we agreed to keep covering her rent and groceries throughout what would have been her final semester whether she found a full-time job or not. She got a job in February and is banking some additional savings through our final support payment next month. (She also had a half-tuition scholarship throughout college, but we didn’t really factor that into any decisions.)

S22 has no scholarships and didn’t come in with IB credits (like his sister) or AP credits, so we’re probably paying full freight for a full eight semesters. Happy to be able to do it, and we’re confident both kids have appreciated our support and haven’t taken it for granted.

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7057

I haven’t heard of making tuition dependent on grades.My parents told me I was going to a state U or I would pay for a private U. I went to the state U undergrad and some years later paid for my grad school. I wanted my kids to have the choice I did not - any college whether public or private. They are both A students and hard workers. My D22 just obtained a summer internship. All good.

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7058

Our financial support is not based on grades. However, if S22 was getting all Cs and Ds we would have a discussion about whether or not college is right for him. I think for many families the idea of having their child pay 50% of college is unrealistic. We are full pay and there is no way S22 could come up with $17k per year. We pay everything and he covers his expenses. Fortunately, he has done well so far, getting mostly As. Don’t worry about your son wanting to drop a class - it happens. College is w big adjustment especially at a super competitive school.

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7059

The parent of one of my S22’s friends has told her daughter that if her grades drop below a 3.85 then the daughter has to pay for college. Which means, of course, that she’d have to leave her current school because a student can’t borrow that much themselves. Not sure the parent realizes that. So much pressure.

S22 is doing great at USC. If exams go as planned he’ll have a 4.0 for freshman year. He’s volunteering in a lab on campus for about ten hours a week, with an opportunity for a stipend to continue working there next year. But this summer he did not want to do an internship, as he recognizes it is likely his last summer off. He’ll work just enough to fund his expenses and traveling, with hopefully some saved for soph year.

Hope exams and papers go well for all your kids and that they have a great summer!

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