So now that I got the water situation under control- any advice for a fan that they attach to their bunk?
K that I do not know, but we have a vornado that, in the corner, pointing up, does an amazing job of circulating the whole room.
My teen has a small WooZoo on her bedside at home. Itâs not very heavy. I think one of those bunk tray tables could probably hold it.
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But entirely dependant on staff timely servicing the station. So, you could have filling stations that are always red (like we did in our hs). Iâd buy a water filtering pitcher just in case.
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I think Costco has the WooZoo fan on sale right now - at least I saw them offered last week.
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As planned S23 skipped his graduation to go to New Orleans for his sisterâs college graduation. He is happy with his choice and doesnât feel like he missed out on anything - he even brought his cap and gown and took pictures with S19 in her cap and gown while we were there which was cute.
We got his dorm and roommate assignment this week. It took a few days but he emailed the roommate and now they have been chatting on Instagram. Hard to tell yet but seems like they might be similar which is nice since he went random. The roommate only lives about an hour away so they are going to try to meet before school starts.
S23 is working 40 hours a week at a commercial real estate company -a job he got through my best friend. He wanted to learn more about it and thought he could work part time but he is loving it so far and doesnât want to take any days off. The work is kind of boring (a little research, data entry, etc) but he thinks it is so interesting and comes home every day telling me how much different companies make, how many dollar stores there are in the country, what percent of the grocery market Publix has in Florida⊠so at least he is learning something. 
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My son is anxiously awaiting roommate choice!
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I have a D23, but I also had a D19, so this isnât my first rodeo like many others here. But I will say this because I truly believe it.
This is for kids showing up to college and dealing with all the changes in their lives. Some kids will go to a college and not know a single soul on campus before arriving. First, if you can do an early arrival program at the school by all means do it. These programs come in all flavors like leadership etc. Almost all schools have them. One you get to move in early. That means for parents you donât have to deal with the main move-in day. It will be less crowded and less traffic. For the students it let them spend time on campus without classes and they get to know their way around better and they get to meet other students.
I also believe in drilling it into their thick skulls that if you are going to go out to parties or club or whatever the most important thing is never leave a man/woman behind. Always make sure you travel in groups and make sure everyone gets home safe.
Also drill it in their thick skulls to get out of their dorm room the first couple of months. You donât meet people sitting behind a closed door. If you are going to dinner grab whoever is around the dorm and go as a group. At first everyone is awkward trying to find their place. Also it takes time to find your people sometimes. When I say your people I mean the kids you will want to hang out with. But you for sure wonât find them in your dorm room. Get out go to activities that might seem lame. Eventually the kids will find their spots and if they donât right away tell them to keep trying. One fun thing I have heard about is doing a game where you tell your student that you will give them X$ for each pic of special spots on campus. It makes the kids get out.
That is what I have. Good Luck
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Hi, itâs been a while, just checking back in with a few observations - so glad kiddo ended up picking Bama, because those work scholarships we were counting on? He didnât get ANY of them. Blergh. We really wouldâve been hurting if he ended up at Pitt.
But onward!
Heâs going to Honors Action, a week early, where the kids do community service stuff (in the blazing heat, better him than me). Heâs got a girlfriend already, whom we will all meet in person at Bama Bound orientation in two weeks. (I cannot believe I am going to Alabama TWICE in the dog days of summer. What possessed me to suggest this school and not anything in Cali?)
He and his sister are gonna roadtrip/camp at Yellowstone for a last sibling hurrah; she just graduated with her BFA and went straight into a very intense, very damaging first-professional-job production that has finally wrapped, and now sheâs chilling. Her life will be gig work, and it looks like weâre home base for the near future, so weâve been doing Ikea trips to get dorm supplies for Thing 2, and renovating-bedroom-supplies for Thing 1. The house is a shambles.
My only dorm tip, after doing this a couple times now - this applies to boys for sure, but also girls: Pack light. They will not use most of what you buy. They will, however, have an apartmentâs worth of absolute junk to throw out at the end of college. Steel yourself for that, because it sucks.
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I forget - didnât he pick Bama after he visited because - well it seems like everyone does who visits (Iâm sure an exaggeration but it is really nice).
I didnât realize it was still up in the air. I know you were hoping for PItt I get it - keep the kiddos where you can see them.
Honors action is great.
Heâs got a girlfriend at school, a place he hasnât been??? huh. Wow, kids today - itâs beyond me
Congrats to your daughter and awesome sheâs already had a job with the BFAâŠthatâs great.
Congrats to both kids.
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Thanks so much!
No, it wasnât still up in the air, I was hoping for Bama because it was cheaper, but also wanted him close because ⊠I am the mamaâŠIt was hell in my head, hahah. I was just sighing in relief that he didnât pick Pitt, counting on the outside scholarships to make up the price difference.
The girlfriend he got through the various social media groups that form for the incoming class - they have been FaceTiming daily for about two months and she seems nice, from what heâs told us.
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gatormoma - my kid was so self contained and packed SO Light! He ordered a poster, a flag, and took two hangars to college as well as his suitcase. He left his laptop in the car which we discovered 2 hours out of town! He was smiling ear to ear when we dropped him off (at bama) and couldnt wait for us to leave!
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A subconscious sign that he wasnât quite ready to say good bye to you, for sure. 
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(also posted on MIT 2027 thread)
In case accepted MIT students/parents are still following this thread,
highly recommend your children to take ALL the available ASEs (Advanced Standing Examinations) before Fall semester.
I want to share something that I wish I/son had known regarding ASEs:
- to take as many ASEs before Fall Semester freshman year, because theyâd be Pass/NoRecord, especially if theyâre not your major.
If you take an ASE before the Spring Semester or future years, the grade you get on the ASE shows up in your transcript. So if you get a C or lower, the ASE grade will be there.
My son (class 2026) could have passed the Chem and Bio and definitely Physic ASE, but since he took those classes during Covid years/may not have covered everything, he was hesitant to take the ASEs.
But when he took the MIT classes for those subjects, they were all reviews (and he was bored).
Point is: take the ASE (even for subjects you didnât take AP/CLEP) and if you donât do well, theyâre Pass or NoRecord.
NOTEs:
Son is a math major, and he placed out of Calc1, pass the Calc 2 ASE,
so he started in Differential Equations Fall semester.
for Spanish, my son âinterviewedâ with the Spanish department head and he was placed into Spanish 4,
skipping 1-3.
He got a 5 on AP Spanish in 11th grade.
So you may not need the Spanish/whatever language ASE since you have to meet w/ the Department Head for placement.
Your son is quite a stud!
My sonâs roommate is doing honors action. That kid is an NMF. My son said he wants to spend more time with family before moving to T-town. I am pretty sure it was the thought of hard work in the sun that put him off.
Roomie and son will probably run for mayor and alderman of Nerd Town.
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It is getting real. S23 got his housing assignment today & move in is in less than 6 weeks.
He feels a little anxious about the room he was assigned but I think he would have felt anxious about it no matter what he got. He is in a âhouseâ that sleeps 14 a bit off campus (but no kitchen, only bedrooms & bathrooms, and one small common area), rather than a traditional dorm.
It could go either way. If he gets along with at least a few of the other people, it will be a nice, cozy experience. If he doesnât get along with them, it will be pretty isolating. 
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Still waiting for dorm assignment here. I rarely see S23. Had his grad party on Friday. Kept it smallish. He had a good time as quite a few of his buddies came over and lots of poker and bags were played. He works Monday thru Thursday at his dads so he stays there (as dad drives him and he hates getting up early). His weekends are spent with buddies playing poker, fishing, concerts, etc. Im trying to convince him to give me ONE full weekend before he leaves!
No AP tests taken so no scores to look at. I finally glanced at his final transcript (3.48).
Buying a few things for his dorm (comforter, hangers, towels) but keeping it light as possible. His dad is going to road trip out there with him all 12 hrs while his sister and I fly out meeting him there.
Starting to slowly get a list together for D25. She is my horrible test take so test optional will be required. Shes only a 3.1 gpa too so being realistic.
Ive tried to look at a few schools scattergrams (our school does not use Naviance). Which of the following would you consider reach schools?
Mercer?
Bellarmine?
Butler?
Florida Southern?
Xavier?
SLU?
Ohio Northern?
Mercyhurst?
Shenandoah?
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âIve tried to look at a few schools scattergrams (our school does not use Naviance). Which of the following would you consider reach schools?â
Popping in to say that I have experience with Butler and Xavier from that list and based on my own kidsâ results would say that Xavier is a match and Butler might be a little bit reachy but worth the app.
Good luck!
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I personally think Butler could be a really great fit for her. They have some major combos I think would really appeal to her. Right now she says âtoo closeâ (5 hrs) and âtoo cold.â Hoping I can change her mind with a visit someday! (and hoping that gpa creeps up just a bit!)
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What are the finances again? Theyâll matter so take that into account.
Do we know rank? No test ? The gpa UW makes it harder to know. Also some seem to be tougher for female vs male - many more apps for females and some have lower acceptance. .
By gpa alone per CDS and just my opinion - may be totally wrong.
Mercer a reach - but if she likes - who cares - the worst they can say is no
Bellarmine a target/likely even
Butler a reach.
Florida Southern has no CDs but a 3.8 and 51% acceptance rate so Iâd say reach but canât really tell.
Xavier - Iâm guessing a chance here. Not great but their acceptance rate is very high and have some students with this gpa.
SLU reach but not Mercer reach.
Ohio northern - no CDS but likely reach but attainable.
Mercyhurst - no CDS but seems likely
Shenandoah - target/likely
Hope that helps - one personâs perspective anyway.
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It does. As I of course have done my own research and I trust the people more on here than most others. I would say its a very educated perspective. 
My own friends have gotten into SLU with lower gpaâs believe it or not so thats a hope if she can bring gpa up a bit more. I dont think she would like the city though to be honest.
Florida Southern would be one of the extreme reaches I think but hey, I wonât take it off the list if she wants to apply. Same with Mercer (although there maybe geographic diversity with D25 being from upper midwest?)
eta: Finances will be tight with S23 at a college with a COA of 20k/yr. Hoping to stay around there. TE schools will be preferred but with her even lower GPA, those are more reachy.
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