Parents of the HS Class of 2011 - We're awesome! - Page 553

Pepper03 · 10-12-2012, 10:54 AM

mathmomvt my son is also at Northeastern.

So far we are into this for some serious $$$ for his new clothes-his adviser told him to wear a suit to interviews and it would be good if he could afford it to have a second suit if he gets a second interview-well OK then! My husband took him out when he was home over the long weekend and he got one of those buy one get one free deals-along with three new shirts and three new ties and a new pair of dress shoes! He was going on and on about how much fun it was-the store waited on them hand and foot! I don't think I have ever seen him so happy to spend so much money at once! He even upgraded the suits for him! Whether or not the kid finds a coop I am told he looks pretty sharp!

shaw that's funny!

mathmomvt · 10-12-2012, 12:37 PM

kinder, nice to hear how well things are moving along for your D, and the library w/s job sounds perfect given her career goals.

Pepper, understood about the expense of interview clothes. I think the 2nd suit for second interview is a bit of overkill, but who knows. Hopefully he'll end up working somewhere where he can dress casually or you may be in for a lot more $$$ for day-to-day work clothes!

Apollo6 · 10-12-2012, 02:16 PM

Had lunch with 2015 son today. He really isn't engaged in any of his 5 classes at I.U. this semester. I think he is pretty jaded about education in general because he has not experienced very good teaching. Right now he is planning on a double major in computer science and cognitive science with a minor in philosophy but I told him that if he really doesn't like it, maybe he should just graduate in 3 years and move on to an IT job. It's not costing us too much because he has a full tuition scholarship so we are only paying room and board but he feels like he is just paying for a piece of paper. The ironic thing is that he thinks he wants to go into online education. He wants to create more engaging online classes (instruction in virtual reality environments). I don't really know what to advise him but I don't think I'd be able to get him to transfer to somewhere more engaging. I wish I had been able to convince him to consider better schools out of state.

EmmyBet · 10-12-2012, 03:35 PM

Apollo, I totally understand where you're coming from. When my D was unhappy last year I felt so bad, since we want these kids to have a great time in college - and I also felt some relief, that at least we weren't paying a fortune for her to be disappointed. At this point she's had a total turnaround, fortunately, and a lot of that change was within her, not the school itself. We're just lucky that way, because there were many times when I wondered if there was no chance things would become optimal, internally or externally.

There is always the possibility that your S will meet a friend, a prof, have an opportunity that turns the lightbulb on and makes him (and you) so glad he went there. I think it often takes longer for kids at the big flagships to feel this way - a huge number at Madison say it takes well into their second year to feel like they belong, are inspired, etc.

Please don't beat yourself up over it - this was his decision, and it sounds like you let him know your opinions, and he made his choices. He'll learn a lot, for better and for worse. I do feel for you, as a parent. Good luck!

momofboston · 10-12-2012, 10:01 PM

kinder - Yeah! I am happy to hear that your D is doing well!

Pepper - ouch...but at least he looks good...

Shaw - you D sounds very funny and a like a good sport...

EmmyBet - another one that seems like she is doing well :-) Yeah! What a difference a year makes!

Pepper03 · 10-13-2012, 11:00 AM

OK as usual I got the story wrong or was given bad initial information!

The adviser didn't tell my son he needed two suits-I agree I thought that a bit of overkill too! The place they ended up buying had a two for one deal if you upgraded to a better quality suit which my husband the CPA deemed a value! He also said it wouldn't hurt to have another suit if he got a second interview-since my husband interviews for his firm I will take his word for it! The suits are Charcoal Grey and Navy Blue-the boy wanted black but dad prevailed on the blue-he told me the kid looks very sharp in it so works for me! They are a classic style that we will have for years and can have altered if he puts on a few pounds as he gets older! He ended up with the shoes and shirts and ties because my husband seemed to be really into the whole thing about him building up his dress wardrobe. So that's the story about the suits! Hey they are happy so I am very happy!

Back to the coop-the coops he covets at a big company in Downtown Boston are closing out accepting applications Sunday night. They will be on campus Thursday interviewing-so he is kind of on pins and needles since they will hear most likely on Monday if they get an interview. If he does get an interview the suits, which will be ready on Tuesday, will need to get to Boston ASAP! Yay for living one hour away.

I don't know about momofboston and her daughter but my son is more stressed about this than he ever was applying to college! It is kind of exciting actually to be watching the kid who some of you may recall was so unfocused during the whole application process being so on top of everything in his job search while managing a very difficult semester and doing some time consuming yet very rewarding EC's.

He did tell me his adviser came from this industry and was a recruiter for years before joining NEU. She is doing a great job with him-she won't let him apply for anything that she doesn't think he has a shot at and based on conversations we had over the weekend I think he is getting excellent advice.

mathmomvt · 10-13-2012, 04:36 PM

Sounds great, Pepper! Exciting times for sure.

gsmomma · 10-14-2012, 07:33 AM

Good luck to the co-op students in their job searches.

D1 is home for Fall break for a week. Actually, her stuff is home. I haven't actually seen her at all. I was out all day yesterday and came home to find a pile of her belongings in the house. She spent the day and night with a friend, and I will be graced with her presence sometime tonight.

She sent a note to get on the list ot substitute this week at the middle school and elementary school. She has a list of things to do, which includes voting her absentee ballot.

scoutsmom · 10-14-2012, 08:04 AM

Hazelnut coffee and high fiber muffins for breakfast this morning - help yourselves!

I'm thinking the "interview suit" would make a good Christmas present this year. Any suggestions on where to buy one, or what labels to look for, would be appreciated. Neither the boy or I are fashionable, alas! He is 5'11" and 155, so relatively tall and thin, if that helps with suggestions.

Pepper03 · 10-14-2012, 09:59 AM

The vote almost gotten forgotten in all of this-and only because I asked him what was the plan? Fortunately he was able to download a form from our local board of election and it was put in the mail with a week to spare!

scoutsmom they had great luck at a place called Men's Wearhouse-I don't know how they are overall since my husband gets his suits somewhere else but he seemed to think for the money they were a good value and they walked our son through the process so he didn't have to listen to dad.

siemom · 10-14-2012, 12:44 PM

My DS also home for fall break. He is exhausted from marathon week of papers and midterms and seems quite discouraged by the tough grading policies at his school. I've heard this before from him; the profs are actively discouraged from giving A's in the humanities. In math and science, they grade the tests really hard and then curve at the end of the term so things come out ok. As he said yesterday, it's really tough to get a test with a grade of 32 (I hope this was hyperbole) and then to have it come out to be a B+ by the end of the semester. Will see if this is momentary fatigue or part of larger picture for him.
Overall, I really don't want college to be a discouraging grind for him, and if he wants to think about a transfer we are fine with that. Actually reading about the coop schools makes me think about those; kiddo turned down 3 and chose his well-known LAC, but it might be time to reconsider....

Pepper03 · 10-14-2012, 01:07 PM

siemom the academics may not be as tough as where your son is but they are pretty tough at Northeastern-it may be because of his major but I hear the same things from him-for what it's worth.

I hope he gets some much needed rest while he is home.

siemom · 10-14-2012, 03:15 PM

Thanks, Pepper! My thinking on the coop schools is that all that hard work - tough grading too - at least has a good end: a job! And the academics are likely as challenging or more so but there is the career prep and support that kiddo also needs.
I guess I am back to the old argument of whether a LAC is worth it.
We'll talk after more days of rest - noon here now and no sign of him!

kathiep · 10-14-2012, 04:20 PM

siemom, Good question, but of course it's more complicated then just LAC vs. co-op school. My son's LAC is very career oriented and seems to have good support for the job search process. As a sophomore my son has been to two internship/job fairs. My guess is that a very laid back student that is not pro-active is going to have a tough time getting a job no matter what his school or major and a student that is on the ball probably will get a job. Many majors have required internships too. I too think that co-op schools are the way to go, but for us, the cost was going to be substantially more (even adding in the income from the co-op) and the job outlook is quite good for my son's field.

shawbridge · 10-14-2012, 04:39 PM

Pepper, I bought ShawSon a suit for a birthday present (or Chanukah present) and a blazer as well. One good place to do it -- which I used -- is Jos. Bank. They have rather high list prices, but have sales every day. So you need to subscribe to their emails and periodically read them. They then have sales of 65% and 70%. I often buy the highest end for me at 70% off, but for ShawSon, I bought the next highest-end line again at 65% or 70% off. These are excellent prices. I bought him a wool overcoat that was on sale at one point for $99. Quality is pretty good.

For dress shirts, I would only get the non-iron shirts. I have purchased from Brooks Brothers (high quality and expensive), Jos. Bank (pretty high quality and not expensive when on sale), and Costco (high quality and $20). I just bought two $20 white dress shirts at Costco for ShawSon as he will have job interviews later in the fall.