Please advise on how your BS kid would pay application fees when submitting under the Common App while at school. Use a credit card on their own? Charged to a school account? Paid from home by parents? Thanks!
@ChoatieMom, I think I would be almost as appalled as I was proud if one of my kids went that way. Huzzah to ChoatieKid and may he always come home safely to his ChoatieMomandDad!
K2 lost his wallet and hasn’t done laundry in two weeks. How’s that for a follow up/ comparison to former Choatie kid and @ChoatieMom’s incredibly moving post?
@Charger78 - We did the ceremonial thing. When the kids set an appointment with their CC ( to submit their ED app ) they would text me the time and I would stay near the phone with my credit card ready. I don’t think schools charge application fees to Student Accounts ( our schools didn’t ) but if the kid has his/her own credit card… there’s really no need to involve a parent…
… Unless you want to share in the big moment- which is a lot of fun . It’s nice to hear the excitement/ relief in their voice and be apart of it… even if it’s over the phone.
~O)
I paid with my credit card. My experience is that kids either paid with their own CC or typed in their parent(s)'. School account was not an option.
If K2 hadn’t mentioned the laundry bit, I would’ve suggested checking the last washer he used for his wallet…
I’m in such denial right now.
@ChoatieMom Congratulations to Choatekid, the service academies are extraordinary and so are the young men an women who are privileged to be accepted each year. We visited Annapolis and West Point with my son and although he ended up going a different route, I have nothing but awe and respect for the individuals who answer the call to serve.
RuralSon is doing great at college in all the expected ways: academically, socially, dorm life, and living away from home. The uncharted territory seems to be dealing with the availability of alcohol at college. With ‘substances’ having been so locked down at BS, this was not something he’s used to dealing with, and he is unfortunately learning now and indulging a bit too much. I do worry, but I think he has a good head on his shoulders and will figure it out. Anyone else seeing this?
Bumping this thread because I’m interested in hearing how kids (and their parents!) from the BS Class of 2015 are doing — and what’s next for them…whether that’s work, grad school, a “5 year plan”, or whatever…
I’ll start to try and get things rolling.
As I recently shared in my “One Family’s BS Search…” thread. 7D1 was an NSF GRFP fellowship recipient. Since then, she’s made her choice of which PhD program she’s joining. And surprisingly, it’s a school that I’m very familiar with.
ChoatieLT graduates next month (at the top of his class), comes home for a 60-day leave, and then reports to Army Cyber Command at Ft. Gordon, GA in September where he will spend the next nine years. Yep, nine years—six-year commitment for Cyber, two years of grad school (somewhere*) and a one-year payback for grad school, so the Army owns him for nine years total. He’ll be 31 before the Army releases him. (Pay attention kids.)
*Earlier this year, he was selected for a Draper fellowship to MIT Lincoln Labs upon graduation, but Cyber changed the rules just three weeks before Branch Night: Six instead of a five-year commitment and all Cyber officers will attend grad school at some point during their stint, but not directly out of WP, so the fellowship went to another cadet. Army motto: Semper Gumby. He’s OK with all this because his goals align with the Army’s selections for him, but his mom’s martini count seems to be increasing.
BTW: After four years in the gray prison, he still says college and the military was/is easier than Choate.
Our 2 kids kinda qualify for this thread. Our daughter who left BS after 2 years went on to graduate LPS in 2015 . She ended up transferring colleges after 2 years to a higher ranked school for her major. As a result she lost some credits and is on pace to graduate from GT in December. She is studying this term in London. She will come back to DC this summer for her full time internship with the private wealth management company she has worked for PT during the last 2 schools years. Her serious boyfriend will be moving to the states with her from the UK for the next 6 months. From there, not sure what she will do. Hopefully get a FT position with her current company. If not, maybe look for a position in London as her boyfriend will only be here on a 6 month visa.
Our son graduated in 2014 but took a gap year. He graduates in a few weeks with an engineering degree. He is currently looking for a job as he decided to push off graduate school for a few years.
Appreciate the updates, ChoatieMom & vegas1 — especially because they underscore that there’s more than one way to go after BS…
K2 had quite the college saga, but the most important thing is he got through it and is currently doing very well .
K2: This will be quite the story to tell my kids someday, mom…
Me: No, for full effect - you should let me tell them . 
He came home ( very briefly ) for Easter this weekend and while we were at a family gathering on Sunday , there was a interesting conversation happening off to the side with all the " younger " BS ( alum ) cousins - some still in college or already off pursuing their own lives and fairly new careers. Interested in the topics they were discussing - I sat down with one of my less chatty in-laws nearby and listened with one ear when the conversation turned to BS fatigue and burnout and how it hit everyone at various stages throughout their college careers.
Anyway- most impacted by this were the cousins who went to BS for a total of 6-8 years JBS - SS, but from what I gathered- everyone seemed to have felt it at one point in college - for different reasons with varying degrees of disruption - if any . No one dropped out, but one niece described it as a constant undercurrent of discontent - which seemed overly dramatic at first, but later resonated with me a little more because it is similar to how I felt during my time at college after BS, too . I dropped out of college and started my own company… and eventually my parents started to speak to me again! 
BS fatigue isn’t exactly an earth shattering phenomenon , real world problem or a unique threat to mankind, and it certainly wasn’t the sole reason or an excuse for what happened to K2 ( he’ll be the first one to tell you that ) , but it definitely played a part . How big or how small - who knows… Honestly -we’re still too close to it right now to know.
K2 falls into the six year JBS- SS model, and was ultimately a college recruited athlete- which added a whole other layer since he started his sport with fierce dedication in the 7th grade. He was also a great student at BS and won many academic prizes along way. He was a sought after peer mentor… a very tough, feared but beloved proctor ( a real BS achievement- if you can be all three ), and the most kind- together kid on the planet who could always make you laugh until it hurt.
So at Sunday’s gathering - a cousin asked K2 what happened to him during FY college and the usually very private K2 unexpectedly opened up. He talked about the unrelenting grind ( year after year ) and all the warning signs he ignored… and then he shared something that I already knew to a certain extent … but didn’t fully grasp because I didn’t have all the details, and that was about how he finally started to mend with the help of a former mentor from JBS and his former SS advisor.
He went on to say that he was acutely aware that he was in trouble from the very start of FY ( in every way imaginable - academically - spiritually- emotionally - just name it - all of it ), and he was drowning… and he didn’t understand what was happening or how to fix it. He went to the college counseling center countless times … talked to close friends - even some old GFs - but at his lowest point when nothing worked- something told him to " reach back " to people he knew from JBS and SS- BS for help - and he did.
He said - those people saved me - they were my lifeline and the only way back to who I once was… and I wanted to go back. They were there when I couldn’t face mom or dad or find an ounce of courage to save myself - and something deep down inside told me that they would know what to do because they knew me better than anyone else- so I shot them both an email asking for help and my phone rang immediately . I heard from my old advisor about an hour later.
By now he knew that I was listening… and he went on about the kind of help he received- and it blew everyone away- including me . Former mentor and advisor were told about each other early on, and together they worked out a tag team ( for a lack of a better term ) schedule that included daily check ins - phone calls, FaceTime, text or email … constant daily contact for MONTHS until he was back on his feet again . … and they became friends through K2, too.
I’m sharing this because - BS fatigue aside- I think it speaks volumes about the how deeply forged these BS relationships really are - not to mention how incredibly grateful I am right now. Obviously, I have some letters of gratitude to write in the very near future - if I can do it without crying…
Before K2 headed back to school Sunday night , we had an amazing talk. He apologized again ( and again) for letting us down and I told him not to - that he didn’t let us down and then I told him that I couldn’t be more proud - and I truly am.
Anyway - sorry for the long detour and all the background information leading up K2’s Class of 2015 update, but it seemed relevant and an ultimately uplifting part of his BS - college journey. It was quite an interesting ride, but we all learned a lot a long the way and grew as a family.
Let’s see… so where are we? Well, K2 saved a lot of money from coaching over the years, so he’d like to take some time after graduation to travel a little bit on his own. - without his boat . Currently, as a side project, he’s co-writing a screenplay in his free time with someone already established in the industry.
It’s an exciting- out of left field- opportunity that came via a family friend who ( over the years ) has listened to K2 toast and eulogize and was either brought to tears, deeply moved or couldn’t stop laughing or is still laughing hysterically years later. With K2- Toasts = tears then laughter and eulogies = laughter then tears. The trouble is - he crafts everything so you have absolutely no time to breathe. It’s a gift- trust me and he writes poetry and short stories that are very good, too - which makes perfect sense because he’s an English Major!
He seems to be enjoying the creative process so far - and we’ll see where it takes him . He’s looking forward to the future- and that’s all that really counts right now .
All the rest will follow… in time.
It’s all good.
Oh, to be young again…
@PhotographerMom as a new BS parent ('23) this is the best account I have read in ages. Real, honest and uplifting. Thank you for taking the time to write and post K2’s story. I can only hope that my K2 will forge similar bonds with her BS mentors and advisors over the next 4 years.
@PhotographerMom: I set your post #851 aside so I could read it after I was done with the sturm und drang of my day job. Thanks so much for sharing.
It was the most difficult thing to write about @Hopeful0304, but after the thread got bumped, and after reading some older posts about K2, I decided that I needed to leave it on the field… especially before I really do logoff one last time…
Cough. Don’t say it , @ChoatieMom… I know.
Ugh- I got so much wrong - almost all of it, really. He takes full responsibility for everything that was within his control - obviously , but some of it was my fault, too - because now I know for certain that I heard only what I wanted to hear - and saw only what I wanted to see… and that’s very hard for someone like me to admit.
Just a quick - benign example ( for some much needed levity ) after all of this pain … I’ll just add - and not knowing what his major is, too, evidently! Thus- the exclamation point after English Major above - which was more for me than anyone else. Before he mentioned it in passing to someone at the dinner last Sunday- I thought his major was Psychology! Hey… in my defense ( like I have one at this point ) - there was a lot of back and forth going on there for awhile!
His response: Really, mom?
Husband: How could you not know that?
Followed up by a breezy text to me this morning - K2 : FYI - Your son is speaking to students interested in English Majors today.
Seriously - It’s still all good but you can just shoot me now.
Let’s hear it for the English majors of the world!
https://www.prairiehome.org/story/2008/01/19/english-majors.html
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2334820.A_Prairie_Home_Companion
I would have been THRILLED, @PhotographerMom. My kid is likely to be a Major someday, but not that kind. 
English major here too; and @PhotographerMom I am hoping you have not logged off for good! I miss seeing you here. Tell K2 that Columbia’s summer publishing program which is designed to be taken the summer after you finish college is the best path to publishing jobs if that is something that interests him.
COUGH, COUGH! Sitting.on.my.hands… 
Yesterday, ChoatieLT sent us a selfie of him getting fitted for his “real” uniform, the one he’ll wear for formal dress in the Big Army. He looks so darn mature. Earlier in the day, UPS delivered his senior portrait package, the one with him in the Nutcracker uniform holding his saber and the ridiculous “tar bucket” hat with the black ostrich plume. My brother wanted to know when he got the owl.
Well look on the bright side @ChoatieMom, ChoatieLT probably has not acquired as many piercings and tattoos as the Chimneykids in the last 4 years. I am sure he was very handsome in ostrich. Your brother is hilarious! My former boss sold his Naval Academy uniform (and those of his classmates who wanted some quick cash) to a Broadway costume shop the day after graduation many many moons ago… just a thought lol.