<p>Mmmmmm. Yum.</p>
<p>Pour me a beer guys, I've actually now got one kid accepted to college. My older one (son, age 22) who is applying as in the wanna-go-back-to-school category after 2.5 years among the gainfully employed, informs me that he was accepted as a transfer to Evergreen. Apparently this is old news, in the "oh by the way" category - he says his acceptance letter was postmarked 2 days after the day submitted in his application. A quick check to US News confirms that Evergreen has rolling admissions plus a 95% acceptance rate, hence it is a beer & pretzels kind of celebration, hold the champagne. But I give my son credit for his excellent grasp of the concept of "safety".</p>
<p>Calmom - Congratulations to you and your son! I think that the decision to attend college, after 2 1/2 years among the working, is worthy of celebration all by itself. It is much harder, I think, to make such a deliberate change in one's life, and speaks to his maturity and focus. So go ahead -- open up some champagne!</p>
<p>congrats
I am actually spending the holidays with about 7 folks who graduated from Evergreen and who were so happy with their education and so successful( inc White house staffers) that it was D 1# choice for years</p>
<p>Evergreen is definitely someplace where they self select- but I still like it and it is wonderful to have someplace in the bag
I think an older student could do very well there- and I know lots of people who have changed paths in their educational life- and become more interesting and rich for it. ( not that I really consider 22 to be older- but at 22 if he decides to go to Evergreen he wouldn't be out of place)</p>
<p>EK, I was hoping that if he goes to Evergreen that he would find a somewhat older student body, so thanks for confirming that. I can't see him relating that much to to the typical 19 or 20 year old undergrad who he would find in many classes at a private college. (Though I think that he probably will be very happy with a dating scene that involves younger coeds easily impressed by his worldliness and his legal ID enabling him to purchase alcohol freely). I do think that the public universities probably have a somewhat wider range of students in terms of age and experience. </p>
<p>I will stick to beer, given the cost of tuition - he'll be an out of stater at Evergreen which wil add $10K annually to the sticker cost. He's also got a couple of other apps in that he's waiting on - Evergreen is just his middle ground financially.</p>
<p>Congrats calmom :)</p>
<p>My D was telling me about two 20 and 21 year old freshmen at her college-- both of whom took a couple of years off to play in a sports league of some kind after HS (maybe the league was abroad? not sure) then they started college just this year. </p>
<p>I don't think it can be that uncommon if my one kid at a small LAC knows two kids like this...</p>
<p>Calmom, my D is a junior at Evergreen. Yes, there are MANY older non-traditional students. She's not one of them, as she started straight from high school. She loves having 30 and 60 year olds in her programs. The older students add so much to the mix. Will your S live on campus? Most students live off-campus. My D moved into an apartment this year. PM me if you want more information.</p>
<p>Oh, and the out of state tuition isn't as unreasonable as the UC's are for OOSers.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Calmom - Congratulations to you and your son! I think that the decision to attend college, after 2 1/2 years among the working, is worthy of celebration all by itself. It is much harder, I think, to make such a deliberate change in one's life, and speaks to his maturity and focus... --sjmom
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yep, couldn't have said it better, myself! :)</p>
<p>Well, noting the hour, let's make that a Champagne mimosa</p>
<p>Celebration occasioned by DS coming through with a 3.66 GPA at Bates during his Visiting Student semester. I would not be so crassly celebrating this were it not for his current fate in limbo, needing to transfer due to Tulane's axing of his intended EE major. We kind of expected the good grade performance, but it's nice seeing it in black and white.</p>
<p>After the champagne, I will start mainlining Valium as I try to chill out on the sidelines; attempting to keep the stress meter from exploding its springs while watching DS pass day after day without writing the Transfer Essays. Just put a Reserved sign on a booth here in the Alley for me. I don't plan to be going anywhere.</p>
<p>How Santa got that big, orange amp down the chimney, I'll never know... :eek:</p>
<p>What was Santa's thought process this time? *Let's see...Brad, the local Deputy Sheriff, is on a first-name basis with the mother of this family because the almost-18-y/o cranks up his amps and sings cover songs from Pearl Jam loud enough to scare away the fish in a nearby creek. Hey, Elves...what's in the bag for this kid? </p>
<p>(Elf brigade) Oh, an amp the size of a Volkswagon.<br>
HO, HO, HO! Thwow it on the sleigh<img src="Santa%20lisps,%20sometimes." alt="/i"> ;) </p>
<p>And, for extra fun, those sadistic Elves threw in a pedal-steel guitar. Get ready, all of you folks up in New England. The mighty Orange and a slick, 1960's Fender pedal-steel guitar bring you the alluring and hypnotic tunes of Junior Slugg. (From the Best-Worst Country Western Songs) :D </p>
<ol>
<li><p>They May Put Me In Prison But They Can't Stop My Face From Breaking Out</p></li>
<li><p>There Ain't Enough Room in my Fruit of the Looms to Hold All My Lovin' for You</p></li>
<li><p>Bubba Shot the Jukebox </p></li>
<li><p>Drop Kick Me, Jesus, Through The Goalposts Of Life (This is also a working title for a college essay.)</p></li>
<li><p>Don't Chop Any Wood, Mother, I'm Comin' in With a Load</p></li>
<li><p>It Don't Feel Like Sinnin' To Me</p></li>
<li><p>It's Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night that Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long</p></li>
<li><p>Still Miss You Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better</p></li>
<li><p>I Wish I Were a Woman (So I Could Go Out With a Guy Like Me)</p></li>
<li><p>Peel Me a Nanner</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Enjoying the refreshing taste of a virtual mimosa - daughter has now completed 7 out of 9 applications (the remaining two are due 1/15). Unfortunately, the ball is now in my court with the FAFSA, Profile, etc. Blergh. In the past, husband has (proudly) completed tax return at the last minute, driving to the post office between 10 and 11 pm to hand it off (something about how he enjoys the circus atmosphere of panicky late filers). He has been warned that those days are definitely over!</p>
<p>Yum, Mimosas. H and I went out last night to...um, well...ALRIGHT, I ADMIT IT!! We walked to the nearest California Pizza Kitchen to get away from our kids! :D While we were sitting there fortifiying our excellent parenting skills with Blue Wave martinis, my glassy-eyed stare shifted focus from the top of H's head to the family seated just behind him. </p>
<p>A sophisticated brunette woman knocked back the last gulp of her martini, while her equally-sophisticated, grey-haired husband seated next to her leaned in toward the center of the table with that, "Go ahead, make my day," kind of expression on his face. We noticed when they came in because they had three semi-grown children with them. A 20-something daughter, the most contented one of the bunch, seated next to her dad. Another D, who appeared to be 15, or so, traveling with her conjoined-twin friend. They got up and immediately left the restaurant. And, a son. My mother radar zoomed in on him as the 17-year old. </p>
<p>I went back to gulping my own martini, when I heard the mother's voice shoot through the din of the crowded restaurant. I'm sure that I was the only one who heard it. In the same way that dogs are trained to pick up high-pitched dog whistles, my mother antennae picked up the sound of a high-pitched, parental distress signal. </p>
<p>Oh, not tonight, Josh! We just want to relax! I think I may have been lip-reading, at that point, but it came through loud and clear to my motherly ears...eyes. I glanced over and watched the son saying something to his parents, gesticulating in a way that reminded me of Gregory Peck in, To Kill A Mockingbird. A little vein stood up on his neck. </p>
<p>Shoot. I ordered another Blue Wave and decided to concentrate on the bowl of tortilla chips and the garlic-spinach dip in front of me. Anybody got a sleeping 7-month old for me to snuggle? The holidays are hard on families. We were still sucking our martinis when they rose from their table and filed out of the restaurant. Hail and farewell, do svidania, Comrades! ;)</p>
<p>I thought I wouldn't get used to my son's being gone off to college, but now that I am, I keep forgetting that he's home. Last Thursday I set the burglar alarm as I left for work. When my son got up at 11:00am (after being out till 3:30am), he had to deal with setting it off, getting it reset and then knowing the answer to the "secret question" from the alarm company to keep the cops away. Mea culpa on that one.</p>
<p>He goes back in a week. Just when I'll be getting used to him being home, I'll have to swing back the other way.</p>
<p>It was a strange Christmas. Getting back from Paradise (where it was summer and we saw cheers) left us with little time to decorate, send cards, gather gifts, and so on. I tried to find a real tree, but every tree in this entire city was GONE! I heard, "Wow - This has never happened before, but we ran out of trees early this year" over and over.</p>
<p>Can you pour one of those virtual mimosas for me as well. On second thought, I'll just have the champagne straight.</p>
<p>I'm in a GREAT mood so also pour me some bubbly. </p>
<p>Daughter is truly happy for the first time since her surgery -- physical therapy seems to (finally) be relieving some of her pain and making it easier for her to eat more normally. She's also VERY excited about going to Beloit next year - hasn't taken off the Beloit sweatshirt since it arrived last Tuesday. It feels like the veil of doom has been peeled back from our house, and, although I know there will probably be some roadbumps before we actually drop her off in Wisconsin next August, I'm savoring every moment right now. Of course, next year, we also start the entire process over again with our son.... ;)</p>
<p>Other good news: I will be beginning coursework in the college counseling certification program at UCLA in January. I'm not sure where it will lead, but life always leads somewhere doesn't it?</p>
<p>Carolyn,</p>
<p>Glad to hear your daughter's doing better. Cheers!</p>
<p>Carolyn, great news about your daughter and ESPECIALLY about you! I think that you will do a great service to many kids as a college counselor. Good luck with your own return to school!</p>
<p>Carolyn, </p>
<p>Always nice to hear about a child happy with their college choice: as happy for the parent as the child. </p>
<p>fireflyscout,</p>
<p>I'm just about to roll my sleeves up on the FAFSA myself. Think our taxes will be finished long before April...</p>
<p>Great news, Carolyn. Things are looking up for you and for your D. She must be (((((so)))))) excited! :)</p>
<p>Carolyn-
Great news on all fronts! Sounds like you ar headed for a wonderful new year!! Lets toast to happy times. I just heard about a drink called a Bellini-- Champagne, apricot nectar and triple sec. Please pour me one. Sounds like my kind of breakfast. <<<clinks glasses="">>></clinks></p>
<p>Speaking of happy and congrats to all happy folks.....</p>
<p>Just met one of my son's fellow students, dorm mates who lives on the other side of the border here. We met him at the crossing and then I took the two guys out to lunch. I got more information from the other kid about classes and school stuff than I would ever get from my own. We all enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the terrace and they are preparing to head back to the Wisconsin blizzards! Thankfully, they both are happy!</p>