Revival of Middle Class Black Posters

[lacrossemom]

Good luck to all with AP test takers over next few weeks!

[lacrossemom]

Checking in to see how summer is going for your children.

DS is spending summer at college and working hard. DD is enjoying her last few weeks of summer before her programs start.

[reeinaz]

Hey lacrossemom - Summer really just started around here. Schools only been out for 2 weeks. S is attending a week long computer science day program that ends tomorrow. He was the first week in July off, then he starts a Psych 101 class at the local community college. I'm hoping that seeing what college level work is really like will be the kick in the butt he needs. After that's done, I'm hoping he'll focus on getting the bulk of his admissions essays done. His senior year schedule seems like a tough one and I doubt he'll have the time or inclination to do a lot of essay work once school starts.

[SuperMom_I_Aint]

LM,

Glad to hear all's well with you & yours! D1 was fortunate enough to be selected for an SEO summer internship. Not sure if folks here are familiar with this program? Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (i think!) -- It offers high school juniors, seniors & college-aged kids opportunities for paid, real-world, corporate summer jobs. Truly excellent opportunity. D1's interning at a law firm before starting school in the fall.

D2 decided to accelerate graduation (and hopefully raise her GPA!) by going to school this summer. In the past, her grades have been better when she's had fewer distractions. We're still really enjoying Ohio U for our solid "B" student. She's made tons of friends, landed an RA job for next year (thank goodness!), and in general has been flourishing. :-)

[lacrossemom]

Checking in to see how summer went and how school the start of school has gone.

[Shrinkrap]

Hey! Almost missed it! Hi SMAI! Congrats to your D's!


My D graduated college, and my son narrowly escaped Calc 2 this summer, and is now a sophomore majoring in engineering. With a second year of what HAS to be called "merit" money....HUH???

Tonight he is attending "Glow; presented by Sigma Phi Epsilon....hmmm... don't know what that is, but it's NOT the "Divine Nine".

[lacrossemom]

Congrats on Calc 2!

My son is sophomore as well, but majority in Finance. He originally selected engineering during applications, but changed his mind and loving being in college.

My DD is a senior in high school. We developed our list of colleges. Now making changes to strategy. Not sure if she will stay apply SCEA or if she will explore this Posse route which means ED.

If anyone has any experience with Posse, would love to know how experience was in college. Just concerned about other student's reactions when they learn you are in Posse. As I was reading through the CMC scandel a bit more, they attributed the manipulations with test scores to the start of Posse and Questbridge programs. Very disheartening...

[Shrinkrap]

It's probably a "duh" question, but what is CMC? Claremont McKenna? Carnegie Melon?

[lacrossemom]

Sorry - claremont.

[reeinaz]

Lacrossemom - I don't think any school is admitting Questbrige and Posse students in such numbers that would affect test scores to the point that one would feel the need to fudge them. Now taking ALL special admits into consideration might be different.

[MSUalum]

I just discovered this thread yesterday. I have a son that is starting Rochester Institute of Technology as a freshman -Our first child in college what a process.

I am now focusing on my daughter who will be a high school freshman. I belive in allowing my children to select a career/college major that they enjoy and that they have skill sets to support. The issue is that she has expressed an interest as a horse trainer. her interest in horse riding has declined in the last year so I explained that when she succeeds in her career she gets to be a trainer with her spare money. Her latest idea is a Vet Tech. When I asked why not a Vet her answer is its too much school. The good part is that she recognizes the commitment that is required of certain degrees. The concerning part is that she has the tendency to be influenced by peers and do the least amount as possible to meet requirements.

She has a late summer birthday so she just turned 14. Any thoughts on guidance without pushing at this stage?

[LakeWashington]

Horse trainer preparation should be supplemented by an academic discipline.

[Silvermoonlock]

It's been a while. Hard to believe that it's been 4 years. Life happens. The kid lasted 2 years at Howard. She came home with almost crippling depression. Anyway, her last semester at Howard, she took an Anthropology class and was selected to go to New Mexico for 4 weeks for an archeology field school. Talk about boondocks!!..No cell reception and if I needed to reach her, I had to call the ranger station (!). They had weekend trips to Truth or Consquences and would call from there. The next spring her group went to an archeology/anthropolgy conference in San Diego to present their findings.

She was accepted to the local state university the 1st day of classes. By the time she applied, admissions for fall were closed. I was at work, she called me and said, "Mom, I just got a call from the school. I've been accepted, school starts today and I have to go and register now.". I left work immediately - lol.

In April of that year she tells me that she was searching for something to do that summer and had applied to a Nation Science Foundation grant program for an archeology field school through University of Illinois. Actually, she told me when she was notified of her acceptance. Out of the 125 students that applied, she was one of eight from across the country. We shipped her off in late May and saw her again in early August. It was work, but a learning experience. She enjoyed it, even being out beyond the boondocks.

Again, she was required to make a presentation on the findings and her work was displayed at her university.

Well here we are now. She was on track to graduate in December, but of course, a single class that she needs will not be offered until the Winter semester. She is looking to go to grad school. The GRE scores where good (apparently they get the raw score before they even leave the testing site. When I picked her up she grabbed her phone to look up the conversion!) The scores came about 2 weeks later and confirmed the conversion.

Now she is preparing a list of grad schools. She has her recommendations lined up. When she called person in charge of the U-Ill project to inquire if he'd write a recommendation, he not only agreed, he encouraged her to apply to the joint MA-PHD program tU-Ill. After she told us that he was the head of the program, we suggested she had absolutely nothing to lose and should apply. He worked with her for an entire summer and knows her ability.

So that's where we are. The depression can still peak through, but she has learned to manage it, as we all have. We are seeing where the next phase of journey takes her. lol Mom and dad are along for the ride and support!

I'd have never guessed that she'd head off to Anthropology/Archeology, but she really likes it. By going to the conferences and presenting her findings, she has met a lot of people in the field. We are also learning just how one can make a career out it.

[LakeWashington]

That's truly the only key to this thing, Silvermoonlock; whether or not our kids are happy with the choices they've made and if not, helping them get to a better outcome ahead.

[violinpiano]

Wonderful thread!