I will look into them. Thank you!
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At 17 this is not so easy I have found. Flying isnât the problem. But hotels are. While I donât entirely trust him to make the best decisions at the moment, he is an experienced traveler.
Driving places are all about 6 hours away which would require a hotel.
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Yes, the âno more essaysâ factor came into play for us too. He just burned out on writing (not his forte anyway but certainly not when he has to write about himself - he said everything he wrote sounded fake!) I will have him look into both of those schools. Thank you! (and thanks for the hugs⊠back at you! We will get through this!)
And his stats are fairly strong and his LOR are very positive: 33ACT, 4.43wt/3.95un, ranked 15/386 in top 4% of class, AP Scholar and will have 9 AP classes at graduation, awarded the Tulane Book Award, 6 year Varsity Letterman for swim team (they can start in middle school) - Team Captain, earned All-County Team all 6 years, 50 Free Champion 4 years straight, 100 Back Champion 2 years, South Sectional (team won sectionals 3 years) and State Champion Team all 6 years (his relay took silver this past year) ⊠lots of accomplishments in swim as he also swims year round on a club team and on a summer league rec team (basically half of his resume is competitive swimming!), Model UN President and County conference Secretary General, 2 awards for Premier Diplomat and Outstanding Speaker, some volunteer activity through Key Club⊠and is a lifeguard year round and Summer Rec League Swim Coach.
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That is what we are running into, too. We are hoping that if S asks nicely, maybe some of the schools can host him overnight in a dorm.
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Are the hotels refusing a minor? I was thinking about the option of our son going to one of his auditions alone. The flights are so expensive to send two of us everywhere.
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The hotels we have looked at all seem to be requiring age 18 or older for checkin. (Some hotels have an even higher age cutoff.)
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Perhaps weâll send him to an airbnb if he decides to do this. Theyâre sometimes less expensive anyway and can be nicer than a hotel.
AirBNB also has a minimum age of 18. But you might be able to get around that requirement depending on the host. (If the parent rents the place and the host is okay with the student staying there alone.)
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Same with Uber. People seem to do it all the time, but the age is 18 as far as I understand. (I have never used a ride service so have no personal experience, but D17 went to college at barely 17 and did not want to break the rules back then with Uber.) That can make travel difficult without a car also depending on the college location.
Good idea that I may ask when we get to the final list.
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Yes, my son isnât willing to break the rules with Uber either. He is worried a driver may check his ID and leave him stranded somewhere (not likely, but I guess theoretically possible). Luckily he is looking at urban schools with good public transportation to their local airports, so in our case itâs just the hotel stays that are causing a problem.
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Have you reached out to the college to ask what they suggest? They might have a relationship with a nearby hotel if flying in scholarship/audition candidates is a common practice for them.
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Yes, he is going to send emails to the schools to ask if they can help him make arrangements, after he figures out his concert / rehearsal schedule for the spring and has an idea of possible visit dates.
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Does the age requirement apply to the rider or to the account holder? Iâm not familiar with Uber as we primarily use Lyft, but I can order a Lyft for my child and track the ride through the app. My stored cc is automatically charged for the ride. Itâs super convenient.
I know lots of other families who regularly use ride sharing services to transport their kids to practices, home, etc.
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Again, I have never used any rideshare, but I think it is for the account holder. Although I think they word it that all riders under 18 must be accompanied. And as seems true for most social media/app-based economy age restrictions to someone like me who doesnât participate, I think it is more typically broken than observed, but I also suspect any given driver could point to the policy and refuse a ride. To be clear- I myself donât know, but with the mention of Airbnb age, I wanted to mention the driver apps too for people with under 18 children trying to make arrangements for solo travel.
Addendum: Donât know what year this is from, but appears current:
From Uber page:
"Requests from underage riders
To have an Uber account and be able to request rides, a rider has to be at least 18 years of age. Anyone under that age must be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older on all rides.
As a driver, you should decline the ride request if you believe the person requesting the ride is under 18. When picking up riders, if you feel they are underage, you may request they provide a valid drivers license or ID card for confirmation. Please do not start the trip, or allow a rider to ride if they are underage"
https://help.uber.com/driving-and-delivering/article/requests-from-underage-riders---?nodeId=43b84de6-758b-489e-b088-7ee69c749ccd
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Underage riders arenât technically allowed on either Uber or Lyft.
Hereâs the policy for Lyft: âIf a driver believes a passenger might be underage, the driver may ask the passenger to confirm their age. The driver may also let a passenger know that the driver will have to cancel the trip if the passenger is indeed under 18.â Safety policies - Lyft Help
If I were using Lyft / Uber at home just for convenience in getting a kid to practice or something, it wouldnât be a big deal if a ride happened to get cancelled. (Although my son still wonât use it.) But I wouldnât risk it in a strange city far away, if there wasnât another way for my kid to get to his destination.
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Iâm already brainstorming for ways to get my D23 to a couple of admitted student days by herself. If she wants to go across the country she might as well get used to it now! First step will be for her to reach out to the school for suggestions. Iâd love for her to spend the night in a dorm!
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Yes to all of this - I am struggling with that same tension between wanting to get to late March and not wanting to accelerate the time with D at home. We have very low hopes of the #1 and #2 schools coming through in RD. There are others she likes, of course, but chances of admission are so low at the need-blind meets-need schools - especially in RD, and I think due to the fact that we have need and another student already in college (which means our EFC looks lower to colleges now than it did a few years ago when older kid was applying), admission at the somewhat more likely acceptance schools may still be tough as they are often need-sensitive for admissions. So itâs easy to start thinking she will have only the two safety options (one of which she is already in at and the other of which she added last minute).
On the positive side, I am looking forward to hopefully some spring break college visits to sort out options (trying to tell myself sheâll have some). Unfortunately we wonât hear from some of the schools until a few days before her spring break, so travel plans will be very last minute.
Hope you are able to find some distractions and fun with your D these next few months. Good luck!
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One option weâve considered is the hotels that have check-in on an app and you use that to open the door so you never go to reception. It is common for Hilton hotels for example. Iâve used my account for Dâs auditions but she wasnât under 18 at the time.
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My son did all of his auditions alone a few years ago. I was able to book him through Airbnb under my name and account but messaging the host that it was for my 17 year old son who was taking an audition at such and such conservatory. Hosts were very accepting, once they knew it wasnât a 17 year old inviting friends to a giant party.
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