CO’22 had some placement tests going on during move-in weekend.
We showed up 2 days before move-in day so that we’d have a day to decompress. Move-in day was on Saturday, and we arrived in Chicago on Thursday afternoon and had time to eat at a restaurant. Spent Friday getting some essentials and not having to rush around, as we knew OWeek would be coming fast and furious.
Yes, the Targets and those types of stores in Chicago (and probably any city) are like Targettes lol. They’re smaller than their suburban counterparts and not as sprawling.
Are these placement tests or accreditation exams? The latter (say, for math) actually bestows credit and potentially allows you to waive a core requirement. Accreditation exams have to be in-person so many take them early during O-Week or come in during the summer to do so. You are typically already registered for the subject but trying to test out of it and receive credit. Placement tests, in contrast, are online*, taken early in the summer (or by the time your AP results end up at UChicago) and you are supposed to (or have to) take them before you can register for the subject.
http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/examinationcreditandtransfercredit/
*Exception is Economics which is offered in person during the first week of Autumn quarter.
@milee30 and @uchicagomom
No, he didn’t want accreditation having understood that the rigor of the courses made it risky to test out of courses in your major. Under that scenario, the HS transcript should have waived placement tests. About two weeks prior to move in, they contacted him wanting exams done. And then were fairly insistent that he be aggressive with his coursework. There were multiple tests so may be it was a mix of placement and accreditation. I never was clear on the details but pleased that the advisors were attentive. Still would advocate though that at least the first quarter be lighter. The end result is that he could graduate a year early.
@uchicagomom - Got it. Sounds like they wanted to make sure he wasn’t bored his first year! I’m not sure that’s a “typical” path, even for a matriculating UChicago student, but totally understandable if the transcript and previous coursework and advanced examination to date suggest it. Nice to have that option to graduate early but he might be well primed to take grad. level courses at some point. Hopefully they won’t rush him through his four years there.
So yeah, there may be “higher level” / accreditation testing on campus for some who are very advanced (beyond the beginning collegiate level) in certain subjects. No doubt UChicago and other selective schools are seeing more of these kinds of students every year. However, the standard placement tests (F/L, Math, Chem) will probably still be sufficient, along with AP scores and coursework, to place most of the incoming class.
“Are these placement tests or accreditation exams?”
No idea and it really doesn’t matter. Son described his as a math placement exam that had to be done on campus at an assigned time, but it could have been either. Any kid who is qualified to attend UChicago is perfectly qualified to figure those details out on their own. No need for me to be that involved in the details.
The important thing for non-helicopter parents is to know that your kid may be taking some tests during the time you are there to drop him/her off so hold off on making any recreational plans that aren’t flexible.
I just want to eat some delicious food and see some awesome things ?
^ Fortunately either can be done at any time in Chicago.
@milee30 I actually think it’s important to understand the distinctions, but it sounds like the university isn’t doing much to help with that - understandable, given the skills levels coming in. I think what’s happening, to provide a bit of context for the benefit of other parents and students reading this thread (that, of course, is the primary reason why it “matters”), is that some kids are arriving with collegiate experience or equivalently-advanced coursework under their belts in some subject areas (guessing STEM). The College is likely administering additional “higher level” / accreditation exams to these special kids. Could be wrong but I believe this isn’t the norm for most of the class, although it might be the norm for an increasing part of it. The new college catalog will be out later in spring, and will have the latest instructions for when placement testing and “higher level”/accreditation testing are necessary. For now, the 2018-19 instructions which I linked a few posts ago are current and should provide guidance for new families.
Not sure it’s helicoptering to read the college catalog LOL.
It’s very important for the student to understand the distinctions and I’m confident my student did. LOL.
His reading comprehension is quite good.
@milee30 if he’s reading the catalog then he’s WAY ahead of the game. I’ve been informed by at least one other poster that the kids simply don’t read it (although I’m a tad skeptical that this is correct. . . ).
“Any kid who is qualified to attend UChicago is perfectly qualified to figure those details out on their own.”
One counterexample here.
Chicago isn’t the best about being clear about a lot of practical stuff, and they change important procedures seemingly every year, and advising is, as stated repeatedly on this board, “hit or miss”. As to the math exams specifically, I will say that for Class of 2021, there was both an online placement exam (which DD did not have to take, since she had a 5 on Calc BC exam), and an accreditation exam. The school explicitly in writing told us that she did not have to take the accreditation exam, then changed the policy without notifying us. We had to scramble to find a proctor for the exam here, since the deadline was in July, and we didn’t know until July that she had to take it (messed up a family vacation). This may not be at all relevant to future classes, or it might be. In any event, if something is important to important to you, don’t make assumptions.
^ The above post underscores exactly why I’m a tad vigilant myself about some of those little details. 99% of issues that come up my kids will handle but we’ve had one or two doozies that required parental involvement to move things along properly. Uchicago is a wonderful school but so much is changing there so quickly that sometimes the details don’t keep up with all that change. It can be a fun and exciting new ride every year, but just be cognizant that they might have forgotten some of the disclosures and warnings in the redesign. Not to mention that with the rapid growth, some of their counselors - from fin. aid. to academic advising - are newer and not the best informed (although they are always unfailingly polite and cheerful and do try to be as helpful as possible).
I agree. I have this impression that they debate changes and then when the decision is made, move at lightening sped to implement. On the whole this is great, they get a lot done to the benefit of the kids. In the beginning I think I was of some limited help by suggesting questions for my freshman to look into. We quickly found that it really was on him to make sure all was set. Success is in the details and whatever is published can outdate itself rapidly. The advisors do their best. But with the richness of the choices, it really is necessary to check in with the departments. And none of it seems to be info that parents have any real access to so it’s hard not to be anxious for some. It’s all good though. Better some positive chaos than the stupor of rigidity. My input now is limited to " Hmm, you’re doing that. Interesting, keep us posted" and I never book anything nonrefundable. Freshman parents: Be prepared to pivot and get comfortable with understanding very little. Regarding university practicalities, we become superfluous in a good way very fast. Their best sources for information will be their faculty and peers. And no fears, their quarter system lends itself very well to recovering from any miss steps. These are such smart, interesting kids. Not to be dramatic, it’s a wild unpredictable ride as they explore and define themselves.
JBStillFlying: I think I’ve convince him to stay the 4 years. I thought to have some time for just plain interesting classes he may never have the opportunity for again. College to me should have some segue ways. Looks like there’s a group of them planning on masters senior year. This quarter system sure enables packing it in. Sometimes I’m not sure what I think of that but it really doesn’t matter.
In terms of buying stuff, I highly recommend getting an Amazon prime student membership and then shipping everything. The city Targets quickly run out of the essentials around move in times.
If that isn’t intended to be funny, or a misapprehension, things have changed a lot. In my kids’ day – which is definitely receding into the mists of time – O Week consisted of about 2-1/2 days of actual meaningful stuff crammed into 9 days. By halfway through, they were bored out of the skulls and desperate for classes to begin. All the socializing was OK, but it would have happened anyway.
^^ Not intended to be funny, probably could be lots of downtime during OWeek; my son had a really good time, mostly social: trips to farms, downtown chicago, target for essentials, house meetings, etc. (there were other non social aspects like meeting with their advisors, etc.) and then the quarter arrived fast and furious.
^ JHS - isn’t that clever of UChicago! LOL. Getting them past “fear” to “impatience” for the quarter to begin.
This upcoming year the kids actually get an extra day of integration and immersion (or impatience) - classes start on a Tues.
O-Week is going to hit some differently than others but by and large the feeback seems to be very positive. My D loved it and I don’t believe she was ever bored, but she’s the type to take her time getting used to a new environment. Perhaps she just needed the comfort of being able to sleep in a bit in her new room. Some students may not have their schedules all worked out so they will appreciate the few extra days. There tends to be a lot of stuff with your house and that’s always fun - but not everyone participates. There will be mandatory sessions but JHS is correct that they are spread over the course of the week. But I think O-Week is about more than just these few sessions or the mandatory house meeting or two.
By the way, there’s an app for that. Move-In weekend will have a ton of stuff for students and families to do and we used the app. in order to stay up to date. Then, once the parents are kicked out they can still follow most of the programming for O-Week via app. Believe me, you’ll learn more that way than if you try to contact your kid! There are always a few families that insist on hanging around that week and making time to be with their student, but I wouldn’t recommend that [-X The 10 weeks will fly by, and there’s always Family Weekend in October.
@PepperJo - we decided to drive out (from CO) since we purchased most everything in advance. I like to see what I’ purchasing and wash all the bedding/linens so it just made sense. We had a great road trip out - my husband flew and met us in Chicago. We also came in early and had time to explore the city, do some shopping, and go out for some great meals. Move in was so-so, lots of waiting to get a cart, but then pretty easy after that - we did ship quite a bit as well so that helped - just be sure not to ship it until the week of move-in.
The Container Store has great Elfa storage drawers that we put under the bed for clothing, under the micro fridge for cutlery, in the closet for shoes, next to the bed as a tall nightstand, and as a tall stand for his coffee machine. He ended up with a ton of storage in his room which was great (kind of a pain to assemble) but they will be good to use next year in his apartment.
My son uses my Amazon account and just has it shipped to him - no need for a student account unless they are using their own credit card.
The school also had a cocktail party last year downtown the night prior to move-in, it was great to meet some other parents and for our son to connect with friends he had made online. We stayed downtown - I like to be close to shopping and great restaurants, we didn’t mind the drive to HP for move-in. Then my husband and I had a very nice dinner after moving our son into his dorm on Saturday.
The drive to Hyde Park is a wonderful 8 miles along LSD. I’ve been in stop 'n go traffic plenty of times but never driving south away from the loop.