<p>My son said that the paper plates are being used because they have essential food service personnel staying at nearby hotels and that dishwashers are not “essential”. He is also complaining of limited food selection. He has food allergies so he already has a limited selection, and now it has narrowed even more.</p>
<p>He did send a text that he had a good time trekking in the snow last night.</p>
<p>They ended up not having on line classes this past Monday because some students didn’t have computers where they were. They’re going to have the same problem, trying to get any work done this week.</p>
<p>Check your email. There’s a memorandum from the school providing information about on-line classes and scheduling changes (there are none so far).</p>
<p>S reports food in the TDR. No mention made of dishes-- paper vs plastic vs china.</p>
<p>S said something about the pledges of his fraternity shoveling the patio of a house where fraternity brothers live near to campus…followed by a barbecue to which the girls of a sorority were invited?</p>
<p>I’m not sure how it got pulled off but it sounded fun.</p>
<p>S also reports that he has been doing massive amounts of reading/studying, figuring that classes will be moving at a dizzying pace to make up for all the missed time.</p>
<p>D has two tests and a paper due tomorrow–she’d better be back in the academic swing! She also spent a couple of hours today with a friend from home (and his family) who is a prospie and was touring the campus. She went along on the tour, apparently adding a little unofficial insider info to the official spiel. (I don’t even want to know.) I was surprised to hear that the tour guides at AU are volunteers. I think it’s a paying job–maybe work study–at most schools. D would love to do it, but it’s a lot to ask without some compensation.</p>
<p>My son confessed that he did not keep up with his work during the snow and now he has lots of stuff do. And he caught a cold, so he was feeling overwhelmed when I spoke to him on Sunday. He sees the orthopedist this week to get his wrist looked at.</p>
<p>Poor kid! he probably does feel overwhelmed. If he is not sleeping well because of the awkwardness with his wrist, it sets him up for all other sorts of things…like making him more susceptible to colds, etc. And when you are tired and irritable it’s even harder to do your work.</p>
<p>S also said he has a lot of work. He also said his fraternity had a lot of required study hours at the library during the snow break, and continue to have them now. So that’s probably one point in favor of his fraternity?</p>
<p>My daughter seems to be back in the swing of things. She had an oral presentation Monday that she was very nervous about - it had been postponed, so she had extra time to prepare. She also had a few papers due. She, too, is joining a sorority, (to my shock) but she’s been very excited about that. They have to have a certain GPA and they do community service, plus the bonding seems to have made her very happy so far, so I think, yes, these are definitely good points.
boysx3, Enjoy your visit. We were there just before the storm (the big, big storm, that is; when we were there, they had 6 inches and it was a crisis!). We had a great time nonetheless!</p>
<p>Tess,
I am so happy to see you posting! Welcome!</p>
<p>S had a very very heavy week academically–a test almost every day, 2 papers and 2 group projects this week, in addition to pledging activites and some ECs he is involved in, so he is exhausted. He may spend one night with us at the hotel so he can have a big bed (he is almost 6’3) and get coddled a bit, but I have a feeling his “brothers” may have other plans. I look forward to meeting some of them.</p>
<p>Thanks, boysx3. How was your visit?
What are everyone’s kids doing for Spring Break? My D wants to stay on campus since she’ll be home soon after anyway. She had applied for an alt spring break, but didn’t get it.</p>
<p>my D is coming back home for sping break! yay! she will be here March 4th. She had applied for an alt spring break too and she did not get it neither… she applied again for an alt summer trip and again bad news she didn’t make it!!! i was wondering why is it so hard to get it? i know she is a freshman but she knows some first year students who got it !</p>
<p>Our D went to Mexico for an alternative spring break trip on economic development. She was only one of 2 other freshman on the trip. I think it helped that she was fluent in spanish. This year she was invited to go with a friend to St. Thomas and stay with the friend’s family. She is very excited and I am jealous.
Ellen</p>
<p>Mini or ginger2, can you tell me a little about alt spring break? D just mentioned it today, and it was the first time I even heard the term. She said it was costly, but the students would do fundraising help pay for it. We can’t afford to pay beyond what college is costing us already, so I don’t want to get D’s hopes up for next year if we’d have to open our wallets. Also, I didn’t realize it was a competitive program or programs. Basically, I’m a little confused.</p>
<p>the cost for alternative breaks depends on the trips. Domestic trips around $ 500-$800 others between $900-$4000! trips include airfare, food, lodging and activities. Scholarships are available after acceptance…
I would like to know why those trips are so competitive? my D is an honor student with a 3.6 gpa, involved in work study and volunteer jobs on week-end, she is fluent in French and spanish and willing to give more of herself for community services around the world… but it seems difficult to be accepted on the trip!</p>
<p>^ for this school year all alt breaks are already closed!
Next year around October students can apply again for Christmas break( 2 weeeks) then around December they can apply for Spring break( 10 days) and around February students apply for summer( 3 weeks). Destinations change every year… good luck! not easy…</p>
<p>finally… my D will probably stay on campus for summer doing an internship and volunteering at the zoo during week-ends… i say" probably" because she had apply for a dozen internships and is waiting for… good news!!! (crossed fingers)… if not back home trying to find a job… what about everybody?</p>
<p>We had a great time in DC seeing our boys (and DIL) and meeting their friends. We ate a lot! Our favorites were a little crepe shop that we went to on Saturday night after S1 sang in an a capella performance and Cafe Ole on Wisconsin, where we went to brunch on Sunday with S3’s roommate and his family.</p>
<p>We ate in Tenleytown on Friday night with S3 and 6 of his nearest-and-dearest and had a really good time. The boys were just hysterical–on a roll all night.</p>
<p>Alternative breaks, depending on which ones you apply to are very, very competitve for Freshmen. Part of it, and some trips blatently state this – is that working with community development requires a lot of maturity and real world experience that is not found in many freshmen, regardless of their GPA and Work credentials. They just need a bit more growing up. Like one of the summer alternative breaks is to rural Mexico – and I haven’t heard of ANY underclassmen (Freshmen or Sophomores) accepted to the trip because there are only a few chaperones who can’t be on the lookout every night for underclassmen, unaware of their alcohol tolerance, in rural cantinas taking advantage of the 18 and over drinking age in an unsafe neighborhood. So unfortunately, the generalize with the exception of a select few. She has three more years, so tell her to keep her hopes up :)</p>
<p>Good luck to all those with students applying to internships – tell them to keep their heads up, it’s hard getting in the door. Last summer I sent out 80 resumes, got 4 interviews and 2 offers. I’m hoping now, with four solid internships on my resume that things will get a bit easier. My two highest bets are for the Campus Host position, which is on campus but you can’t beat pay AND free housing – and the STEP program (intern and then if they like you receive a job offer) at the State Department…both of which I’m still in the interviewing process for. </p>
<p>Boysx3: Glad you had a fun time visiting everyone – my Mom was down last weekend, and it is ALWAYS nice to have her come down.</p>
<p>Thanks for the alt break info, everyone. I’m amazed that there is intense competition for the opportunity to spend up to $4000! (Sounds like the college application process on a smaller scale.) It’s hard to believe so many could afford it.</p>
<p>As for internships, I have very mixed feelings about their prevalence at colleges today. While I realize that they offer work experience and connections to the student, many of them are unpaid and amount to a source of free labor to the employing organizations, taking spots that could provide paid employment to those who need it. My S was actually required to do an unpaid internship in order to graduate from his school, and it was essentially a waste of his time. Despite the hype, many internships offer little more than clerical work or go-fer jobs to students (who, after all, may not be qualified for much else). I think there’s an element of exploitation involved–students who feel they must have an internship or two on their resume will pass up paid employment (which they may need to avoid higher debt), while organizations happily get free labor. I certainly hope everyone on CC who is interning or planning to intern gets a rewarding and fulfilling position and one that pays a reasonable wage, but I fear that is often not the case. Internships didn’t exist when I went to college–we all manage to graduate and find careers nonetheless, so I’m not convinced of their value.</p>