Parents of the HS Class of 2013 - Page 518

mummy24 · 06-18-2012, 03:17 PM

Wow! Everyone is so on the ball with college prep; I so appreciate all of the suggestions that have been posted...especially for parents of kids who apparently don't realize they're going to college in a year from now!

I am having a hard time keeping up with so many posts, though, so please forgive me for not being more proactive with this forum.
S14 finally completed his Eagle Scout project on Saturday, so now he gets to get his driver's permit. Yay? S13 continues to stall on his, even though we've told him it's going to be an important part of his college applications, due to his age (15 in Aug). Same thing as many of you...oil and water. Uugh!
I see several people are discussing schools in the Southeast. If you have strong opinions about certain schools that you don't feel comfortable posting, would you please write me personally? I grew up down there but now live in the beautiful Pacific NW, and my kids are quite liberal in their thinking. Don't want to throw them to the wolves!

Thanks. And you all are doing a great job with your kids! I'm so impressed by your dedication and perseverance.

fredricksdottir · 06-18-2012, 03:20 PM

Longsx3, so sorry to hear about your D. Hugs to you both.

megpmom, McGill has an excellent reputation in Canada, particularly for engineering but also for many other majors. I'm afraid that I don't know anything about the music program there. In terms of French, the girl that I know who entered the engineering program was not a francophone but did have high school French. A friend of ours lives in Montreal (teaches English at Concordia) and can definitely get by in the city with only fractured French. The language of instruction for most courses at McGill is English, I believe.

This is from their site!
Competency in English
The language of instruction for most courses and programs at McGill is English; however, students may submit any written work that is to be graded in English or French, except in cases where knowledge of the language is one of the objectives of the course.

I hope that this helps!

CBGMass · 06-18-2012, 04:05 PM

I need some help. S has a friend working at a sub shop. He is filling out an application and they want the SS# on it. I haven't worked in years (many years) but I thought you didn't provide that until they were ready to hire you. I don't feel comfortable with his SS# in the hands of just anyone. Am I over reacting? I'm willing for him to not work instead of working fast food with his SS# floating around.

Longhaul · 06-18-2012, 05:50 PM

CBG
You are NOT overreacting with the SSN. I work in an industry where I see thousands of SSN. They are too readily available. Complete the application to say "Will provide upon hire"

It MUST be provided for tax reporting.

To provide before hire not only has it floating around, but makes background checks, etc easier. Not a big deal with fast food, but better to teach the kids to not make it easy for future employers to pull credit history, etc before hire.

mommaof5 · 06-18-2012, 06:42 PM

Wow! You guys are all so on the ball. I have spent the past weekend enjoying the little time DS13 was around before he had to leave again. I did get him to register for 3 visits, including the departments he wanted to see. I had a surreal moment when he was doing it, though. All along I have been the one pushing to get visits scheduled and when the moment of truth came to do it....I was the one saying I wasn't sure if those schools were the ones he should look at. He and DH had to convince me it was a good idea to do this....the EXACT opposite of what has been going on in our house all year long!

Did any of you get the "book" from Yale? They should be commended on their excellent advertising...my anti-ivy husband now loves Yale! LOL!!!

Happy moment today...DS is on the cover of our county wide high school sports magazine. DH and I had no idea, one of DS friends texted him at Boys State the cover and he texted us. We were able to round up 5 copies!

CBGMass · 06-18-2012, 06:54 PM

mommaof5 - congrats on the cover and Boys State. S just got home Saturday from Boys State. He wasn't thrilled about going but was glad he did and had a great time.

We got the "book". S placed it in a place of honor on our coffee table. They did do a great job. I wonder how many extra apps they get because of it.

SteveMA · 06-18-2012, 07:11 PM

megpmom--McGill is talked about in the same circles as Harvard, Yale, etc. It's got an excellent reputation academically.

fredricksdottir · 06-18-2012, 09:52 PM

mommaof5, congratulations on your DS making the cover of the sports magazine, you must be so proud!

anniezz · 06-18-2012, 10:51 PM

McGill is a fantastic school. They have some specific minimum requirements for US students (or they did a few years ago when we looked for DS.) You can do fine w/o French in Montreal - I've never had a problem there - everyone seems to speak fluent English and French. Of course, it would certainly help if your DS had some French language skills before he went.
I love Montreal. But in the winter it is very cold. They have lots of indoor spaces and activities, but it is still a rough winter.

our2girls · 06-19-2012, 08:28 AM

Fred and anniezz,
I concur that Montreal is very cold, haha

My family lived there when I was in 6th grade and it, honestly, is one of the happiest years of my life. I smile every time I think about it. Alas, I cannot speak about colleges at all, but it is a fantastic city. It was extremely safe (my friends and I would take the train downtown by ourselves to eat lunch with our dads) and as I recall there was a lot to do.

Fred – do kids still do high school through 11th grade, and then CJEP (is that what it is?) for two years? Or is that different, or for just some kids? I remember something begin different than here in the states. Probably not applicable here, but just curious.

megpmom · 06-19-2012, 08:45 AM

Thanks for the info about McGill. I went to the website and now, I want to go there! I asked S'13 to get more info from his program director who works at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Specifically, we need to know if US kids get any music scholarships. It looks like international tuition plus room and board puts the cost slightly above our target (but still $20,000 below top US schools). S isn't crazy about snow, but as a Texan, he's never had the proper gear when we have encountered it. Maybe with proper boots, he'd like it more!

fredricksdottir · 06-19-2012, 09:01 AM

our2girls, when I was at university, centuries ago it seems, CJEP was necessary for students from Quebec and grade 13 for students from Ontario, basically university prep. We just needed grade 12 for university entrance (with the right courses) from Manitoba. I went to college in British Columbia and BC hs students also went straight from grade 12 (still the case). I'm not sure if this is still the way it is for Ontario and Quebec, but the provinces are individually responsible for education so there can be quite a few differences between them. The universities across Canada, though, know what to require from the students from each province (there are only 10 to keep track of after all).

megpmom, I came from Manitoba (very cold winters) to BC (like the Pacific Northwest) and actually found the winters here harder because of the humidity! It was so damp! If your S'13 has the right gear I don't see a problem. Also, Montreal does winter very well, they celebrate it - he might find it fun! My own S'12 hasn't much experience of snow, either (the longest it lasts here is usually about a week and some years we don't get any at all!) and thinks that he'll have a great time in Chicago! We'll see - but we're sending him off with some good winter gear. We may hold off on full out snow boots (no point buying them if he won't wear them) but we'll send him with some good hiking boots in the fall and go from there.

Youdon'tsay · 06-19-2012, 10:03 AM

momma, there was discussion of the Yale book a few days back, if you want to research. No big deal. We all just marveled at how big it was, and a few of us, myself included, had our heads turned.

Aren't SAT scores out this week?

anniezz · 06-19-2012, 10:15 AM

SAT Scores. Two. More. Days! Can you tell how anxious I am? Ha ha! DD is convinced that her score went up, and I am a nervous wreck waiting, since she needs a bit of a bump for a few schools. I just want to know so that we can finalize visits and I can lay off the lists for a while.

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dadotwoboys · 06-19-2012, 10:41 AM

Been lurking for a while. Lots of good stuff being discussed out there and I particularly like the Sunday college meeting idea. I am going to put that in place once S'13 gets back from his summer program in August. He says he is going to try to do some essay writing while he is gone, but there is all the AP reading and writing he has to do and he has a report and presentation he has as part of the program. And I want him to have a good time! So I am going to ease off the college stuff until end of summer and then the big push will come for EA apps.

He leaves this weekend. Lots of prep going on (ATM card, got the xlong twin sheets, packing, etc.). Good luck to others sending their Lucky '13s (and other kids) off to wherever they are going this summer.

And good luck to those waiting on the SAT scores. Hope they all go up.