RISD has my most interesting mascot, but now I have a favorite G-rated mascot WuShock a big, bad, muscle-bound bundle of wheat.
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I forgot to add, the buildings Iāve been inside (Rawls College of Business, Holden Hall, the SUB, Library and a few others) have been very nice. I suggest taking a second trip to meet one and one with the Engineering Dept so that you can see up front. Because my son was Class of 2021 and Covid was at its peak, we didnāt get a chance to do any tours. his junior or senior year. He applied sight unseen. Our first visit was March of 2021 lol, for an admitted students tour. It was small in number and very in depth. After he committed, he got selected for an all expenses paid trip for Raiderland Experience. Tech paid for our airfare, housed us in Talkington Hall, paid for all mealsā¦really rolled out the red carpet.
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yes. RISD parent here!!! just shaking my head!
thanks for the trip report. We are midwest - and know kids whoāve gone to TTU, MS&T; and WSU. All seemed to like their schools. I appreciated hearing about MS&T. SO - i just did a google map to see where all those locations are; as i was surprised you didnt hit KSU or KU. But- can see why - out of the way. We toured KU this month. our D23 liked it. I will say, right now they basically offer in-state tuition for GPAs (weighted or unweighted); so that helps out quite a bit in our mind. Another school we liked in that geographic zone - was University of Tulsa. They had some great scholarships when our S20 looked there.
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I looked at Tulsa too - I wasnāt sure about the cost - it seemed high for us being OOS.
S23 really wanted small to medium - Tech is a reach size wise since itās the largest that heās looked at. My biggest concern (and his too honestly) is with his ADHD and anxiety, I wonder if he would drown and go unnoticed. He will need support from literally day one, if not before day oneā¦and needs a school that has the capacity to provide the support he needs. I want him to stand on his own two feet and find that support. He needs support that will go just a little more than standard support, ifykwim? WSU actually went so far as to point out that the engineering office has their own support person that would not only help him but also hold him accountable, which is mind boggling to me.
Also need to add that we only had 6 days - along with the traveling, we really didnāt have room for more tours. I had planned on another trip if he wasnāt satisfied with this trip - I think his mind is made up on WSU.
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To those of you posting college tour reviews, please also consider posting in Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?
That thread attracts a variety of CCers who might appreciate your thoughts and impressions. Any additional information, especially about about colleges that donāt always get a lot of love on CC, is helpful.
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We visited City College with my D19. She auditioned for their jazz program (vocal jazz) and also sat in on a music in film class. We didnāt have a formal tour but I recall it being a pretty campus with a mix of old style and some contemporary buildings. The music faculty was very welcoming and she really enjoyed the class/professor. She was accepted and loved the idea of living in NYC but decided to pursue pop music vs. jazz and wanted a warmer climate (we are from Buffalo) so Loyola in New Orleans was the winner with a great popular/commercial music/music industry program in a very artsy, warm city. My son is thinking about applying to Macaulay Honors and CCNY would likely be his top choice, although if he chose Hunter he would get 2 years of free housing in addition to full tuition (which is huge in an expensive city like NYC!) The CCNY dorms seemed pretty nice but not sure if they can dorm all 4 years. Both colleges seem great for psychology and Macaulay allows for study abroad and great research opportunities. My son is just not sure NYC is the place he wants to be for college, so keeping an open mind.
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Thanks @AmyIzzy !
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Next week(!) is finals for my D23. (Thatāll be followed by a one-week ājunior seminarā, covering things like applying to college/apprenticeships/military, application essays, standardized tests, and so onāand then the semester is over and she turns to full-time portfolio-building.)
Sheās a solid B in physics, solid enough that it would be hard to move up or down (harder to move up, of course, but so it goes). Sheās got a low A in poli sci, and thinks an A as her final grade is very likely, but to seal the deal sheās amidst taking advantage of a generous extra credit opportunity (basically, attend a public Zoom lecture last night and write a couple paragraphs in response by Monday). Sheās got a solid A in oral communication.
And then thereās the weirdness of her math class (precalc). She hates mathāand really, really hopes that this is the last math class she ever has to take in her entire lifeābut has also always been quite good at it. (At math classes, that isāmath standardized testing, sheās never been able to crack that one.) So despite facing a 7:00a exam in a class she doesnāt like next week, sheās totally unstressed about itāshe did the arithmetic, and as long as she gets a 46% on the final, sheās got an A in the class. I think sheās pretty much got this, you know?
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I am both sincerely happy for your kid and equally befuddled by a school system that allows her to demonstrate no mastery of a subject on a final exam yet award an A grade. If the final is of so little import, why even give it? No wonder employers are suspicious of grades.
The final exam is 10% of her overall grade, and she has a 98% to this point in the classātherefore, a 46% on the final will preserve her A grade. (Basically, previous demonstrated mastery of the subject matter has rendered demonstration of mastery on the final unimportant.)
Your concern about the grading system is understandable, but misplaced.
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Seriously, What is the purpose of a final exam that only constitutes 10% of the grade? That is not a final exam, that is a babysitting exercise. Either use other measurers to assess competance or donāt bother.
I say donāt bother. But thatās because I think what you do day in and day out counts more than what you do on one particular dayās test.
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I generally agree, but the issue with other measures can be their honesty and accuracy. Who knows who is actually completing homework, and why do some schools count attendance or participation towards a grade of math skills?
Summative versus formative assessments can be debated. Constructivist versus social learning theory can also be debated.
eta: We have school through second week of June.
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As an educator myself, I very strongly disagree.
Also, this isnāt a cumulative final exam, it covers the last unit of the class, and as the last exam of the semester itās offered during the final exam slot. There have been exams in her classes nearly every other week, so this will be her 6th exam (which means they make up, in total, 60% of her gradeāso your concern elsewhere in the discussion implying potential cheating issues on things like homework assignments doesnāt really hold).
You appear to be allied to something like the traditional 30% midterm/70% final model or something similar (perhaps incorporating a small homework component, or one with two midterms), which is quite simply gone in postsecondary education, and for good reasonāamong other things, itās been found to lead to good short-term retention of information, but very bad long-term retention.
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Oh I misunderstood then. It is just the last chapter test, not a cumulative final exam ( as would be the case in most colleges, for example). That makes much more sense then.
I donāt much care how you give your assessments, but if you know that most of your students will be attending a different school with a 30/70 split or whatever next year, it would be helpful for them to be prepared and have some prior experience with that. Or not, as others will.
I think there are two many different permutations and combinations of exams, quiz, tests, midterms for someone to worry about a student being used to one or the other. The important thing is that they know what is required upfront by reading the syllabus. They will figure the rest out
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Hello! Iām looking for information on the presidential volunteer service award. I have around 250 volunteer hours. I think I can qualify for the gold level. But, is there any time period that the hours have to come from (like the past year, etc)? Also, if the hours were not done through a certified organization, is there anyway to register them? TIA!
Yes,
The hours are from a certain year and canāt be combined. You need a registered organization that will validate the hours so it is something that should have been done before volunteering. I am not sure how organizations will go about retroactively validating the hours done unless they are with a registered organization. You need to look around your area.
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