I have location sharing on. It’s helpful for things like, I’m going to text a funny meme, or ask a question that isn’t urgent, but if he is out somewhere, not at his dorm, I will save it until later.
Occasionally, I will check if he made it to his 8 AM class. Really that is just because I am curious, and, like someone else said, I would never mention it to him. I guess, though, if he was consistently not making it, I might ask him how his sleep was going or something like that.
When there have been heavy rains or storms coming up, or once already there was a shooting two blocks from his dorm, I will check where he is to see if it looks like he is in a safe place. I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t! So far it just makes me feel better. (I should add, he is only ~20 miles from my house, so I know what the weather is like without tracking that too )
My alarm is set at 4am on work days. There is just something reassuring and calming to me to be able to quickly check to make sure the boys are in their beds.
That being said, I dont check every day. If I did, I would have seen my kid was in the ER, twice. But likely better I didnt know until after the fact.
What a wonderful goal for your DD, Quest UMD. I don’t know anyone in it. She should talk to engineering career services office, for tips on the application.
I do see Quest UMD has an Instagram
And in previous years a blog. Hope your DD keeps up her hard work and sees who she can meet, or what open events may be coming , etc…
And an annual report
Our family of 4 is all on “Find My.” For me, it’s comforting to see that my two girls made it home after a late night at work, a late class, a party, trip, Uber/Lyft ride, etc. And if I keel over, then they know where I can be found.
And if someone is picking up dinner, then I’m calculating what time I’ll be eating.
Oh yes. Stupid while drinking has been his issue. Got punched and someone called 911 and he was nt in the right mind to refuse (he just had a bloody nose which he is prone to). Other time he punched a wall and broke his hand. Boys. Luckily my working background makes me pretty chill about these types of things.
Thanks a lot @Hippobirdy . I will ask her if she has checked this out. Appreciate it!
She is so happy doesn’t want to come home! Even to pack up her cold season clothes😁
So I am not sure if we had a bad home environment for her☹️ or just youth enjoying the new life among other youths😁
D23 seems to have made a pretty successful transition. She made the dance team after a multi day try out process; they are in full fledged practice mode for their Homecoming ‘premier’. Her texts are mostly about how sore her abs and/or legs are after particularly strenuous practices, but she loves that feeling so it’s all good.
She and her roommate are getting along well, and both like their classes (there’s no overlap in their schedules). Her roommate is also a teeny bit OCD when it comes to having a clean room - school match made in heaven, lol.
Fingers crossed that it continues to go well. She tells me she has some bigger papers/projects due the next couple weeks so we will see how she feels after those are done.
My child is just going to Welcome Week activities this week and classes don’t start until next Tuesday because Drexel are on the quarter system. We live a 15 minute walk from campus so living at home. Helped a friend move in though on Saturday and hung out some.
Roommate made it back pretty quickly. She is doing much better. D23 helps out. There was an issue with a prescription and D23 took her to CVS. It wasn’t needed but roommates parents gave D23 a $25 giftcard to Mejer.
Little gestures / acts of kindness (by your daughter), and little tokens of appreciation (by remote parents) can make for a wonderful, caring atmosphere all around.
We finally dropped off S23 on Thursday and are now enjoying a weekend of wine tasting. Missing our chauffeur of course…
His triple is reasonably spacious and with weather in the low 70s in Santa Cruz, no air conditioning is needed. Much better than S18’s tiny non-airconditioned classic triple at UCLA. And glad he’s not in the converted common room next door which has 5 people sharing!
On Friday we are heading out for parents weekend to visit D23. Looking forward to seeing her. It appears that roommates are nice and she has made friends in the dorm. I don’t think the roommates’ parents are coming so we will happily take them along to dinner with us. Because that is what you do, no child left behind. I remember being taken out to a restaurant meal while in college by people and it was wonderful not to have eat in the dining hall that night.
It’s been a while since checked in. S23 headed to Eckerd mid-August, a relatively easy move in compared to his older sisters! Driving with all of our stuff gave me the chance to unbox, put together and organize everything so unpacking was pretty quick and painless.
So far he is loving it - much more than I even expected. He loves his roommate (and we loved the parents!), likes his classes & professors and he met a nice group of friends in the first few days who have stuck together so far. He does not like the dining hall food at all so has been going to Publix weekly then cooks at the dorm kitchen with friends. He has been getting into town a bit and even goes out with a group of guys for trivia night at a local restaurant each week.
We did get to see him for about 6 days when they were evacuated due to a hurricane and it felt like he has already matured in this short time! He said the thing he liked most about coming home was not having to wear shoes in the shower.
Calling any Bama parents- can someone give me the lowdown on the housing process? S24 is in, it is near the top of his list but he has several other schools to hear from. Housing opens 10/2. We are planning on putting down a deposit this weekend and having him fill out the application. Is that all he needs to do until the actual housing selection process? I am guessing in his portal there is a link for him to pay the deposit and fill out the application? Do you know if applications are not able to be submitted until 10/2? I have heard there is a lot of stress regarding getting housing so I want to be prepared. But maybe the stress is when it is time to log on and pick the room? Can anyone enlighten me?
The stress is the actual room selection, from what I’ve seen.
Which is much later, in May I think?
OK, just looked it up on the parents FB page (highly recommend joining this - you can join as a parent of an accepted student; don’t have to commit - it is an amazing group):
“The housing selection process is based on when the deposit is paid. Those who pay first, select first. If your child wants a suite style dorm, you need to pay asap even if your child has not fully committed to Bama. Part of it is refundable if your child decides not to go.”
(My kid was accepted in September, ignored it until April and then committed, and that was when we paid the housing deposit. He was fine, though, because he is in Blount, which has its own dorm.)
ETA - the suite dorms - Ridgecrest and Prez - are the most highly coveted. They are two or four single rooms with private baths, with a communal kitchen and living space. I believe Honors kids live in Ridgecrest.
OK thank you, so we need to pay an enrollment deposit and a housing deposit? I see that the housing deposit is almost fully refundable minus $35 but I am guessing the enrollment deposit is not. It looks like we would have to pay an enrollment deposit ASAP so it clears and shows up in his portal so that we can pay the housing deposit? I definitely don’t want him to be out of luck with getting a good place to live. It’s just hard, not knowing if he is definitely going to end up here.
there was a shooting two blocks from his dorm, I will check where he is to see if it looks like he is in a safe place. I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t! So far it just makes me feel better. (I should add, he is only ~20 miles from my house, so I know what the weather is like without tracking that too 
)
By the time that’s available it will be too late for me. My only kid is 18.