Are you or your child happy with the college.

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I asked my daughter after her first quarter if she could switch to any other school would she. She said no, she loves her classes (smaller than we thought they would be) finds enough challenges and seems to be surviving dorm life. Her biggest problem in my mind is the speed at which courses are closed out even before she gets to register.</p>

<p>How is everyone else doing?</p>

<p>Were there any surprises? Do students and parents still like the school, the classes, the atmosphere. Did the fit work or has something shrunk?</p>

2

<p>So far, for both my kids, one a freshman, one a sophomore, they LOVE their schools, couldn’t be happier attending, miss it over vacation, no complaints, turned into great fits afterall.</p>

3

<p>from reading everyones posts it sounds like most are happy with their colleges- even students who are attending what was originally their 3rd or even last choice.
My D has been fairly happy if exhausted at her school, although this year ( senior year) she seems to be pacing herself well.
She has come a long way from convocation freshman year, when we all were stunned by the level of academics and the “whole college thing”, and she burst into tears she was so overwhelmed. I think it was difficult for her, being first generation college and not having parents who really could prepare her for what to expect, although her school does have a mentoring program for students that she participated in freshman year- but since some of the concerns are ongoing, I have suggested that they continue the program for as long as students want to participate.
She is serving as a mentor herself, which I think helps, it is good to know that you aren’t the only student who doesn’t have a trust fund, and whose relatives didn’t expect you to attend college, in fact even spoke against it.</p>

4

<p>Another so far so good. Our son is a sophomore at Univ of Redlands,first parent’s day he told us he couldn’t imagine himself anyplace else. He seems to have found a family and several mentors. We just sent in 2nd semester fees-- :slight_smile: We are 1/2 way through with college tuition!! We ran into some parents last night who had questioned son on the school earlier in the evening. They were impressed with his answers.</p>

<p>Application year I read several times that the child will end up at a place they belong. I would tell this to myself when times were rough. The audition process was a huge roller coaster, one school seemed to lose everything until we could produce the proof of delivery. Now I tell parents it will work out-sometimes they believe me.</p>

5

<p>My S confirms all the posts about Cornell being a competitive, big-workload sort of place…he’s doing well (3.8 first semester), and absolutely loves it. But he also loves coming home (at least he’s loved fall break, T-giving break, and now winter break)…he makes me envious of how well he is adjusting, and how comfortable he is w/his choices and w/himself…wish I were as good at “life” as he seems to be! He’s accepting his growing independence w/grace and skill, and continues to demonstrate love and appreciation for home & family…what more could a parent ask for?</p>

<p>As for the parent’s view of the school: I couldn’t be happier w/Cornell…they’re terrific to parents as well as to their student body. I’m a huge fan…</p>

6

<p>D is at Amherst and LOVES it! She knew that the classes would be difficult, she just didn’t realize just how difficult. In 2 of her classes, A- was the highest grade anyone earned. But she has made many wonderful friends and loves the fact that the profs are so accessible. They really take care of the kids - she has had 4 meetings with her advisor already, and he says there will be many more. Her freshman seminar prof had everyone over for dinner after the class was over, and the FA and Registrar’s offices have been most accomodating with forms she must send to Germany, etc. Nothing seems to faze them. She loves the town - the restaurants, the snow, and has been to NYC and Wash DC with her freshman seminar, and took the bus into Boston. Already planning where she will live next year. Sadly (for me), she loves it there so much, I don’t think she will ever move back toward home. I asked her if she would consider transferring to her first choice school (Amherst was an afterthought) and she said, “No way!” She loves the open curriculum, and the individual attention she gets at Amherst. She gave me an Amherst mug and Christmas ornament for Christmas, and I know she wouldn’t do that if she didn’t like it. I fell in love with it, too, and have been invited to serve on the Parent’s Committee to help raise funds, and I said “yes.” It’s terrific, and they have been wonderful to my D so it’s the least I can do to help repay them. Their FA was terrific, too! It has become the perfect fit.</p>

7

<p>We have all been and continue to be THRILLED with DUKE!!!</p>

<p>There were some small adjustment issues in the beginning, the main one of which was the lack of AC in the dorms. Durham is very hot and humid into September, and my son had some difficulty learning to sleep decently in that type of heat, but he made it and has done fabulously since the weather got cooler.</p>

<p>The two issues I was most concerned about at the outset have ended up not being issues at all. The first concern I had was whether or not my son would be competitive academically among such a high achieving and immensely talented student body. Having attended a public school in small-town Kansas, my son was not certain that he was well prepared for the academic challenges at Duke. The classes HAVE been challenging, particularly the chem class, but he managed to finish the semester with a 4.0, which did wonders for his confidence that he will be able to succeed academically at Duke.</p>

<p>BTW, I’d like to start a small poll here…which of your kids’ colleges assigns a lower numerical value to an A-? At Duke, you receive an A if your grade is above a 93 and that is assigned a 4.0, but an A- is given a numerical value of 3.7. I had never heard of this before, and I was wondering how many other colleges did this?</p>

<p>The second concern I had was that my son, having come from a large and financially modest family, would feel out of place at a school with so many wealthy kids. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear from my son that this has been an absolute NONISSUE! He says that HE can’t even tell which kids are which…that nearly all of the kids he’s met are just fabulous kids who get along with everyone. I guess the common experience of being a “Dukie” overrides all of the differences in background and financial means!</p>

<p>My son is looking forward (with some trepidaton <em>lol</em>) to spending a great deal of time in a tent this coming semester. Yep, it’s TENTING time!!! He’s never been the camping sort, but he’s certainly the type to try everything once! <em>lol</em></p>

<p>I think the BIGGEST surprise of this past semester is how LITTLE money he went through! Duke has a very unique setup in which most of the off-campus restaurants and such surrounding the campus take the Duke Card as a form of payment, he has basically subsisted on what we put into in account when we took him there in August. Not having a car at school can have its benefits!! :slight_smile: </p>

<p>For our son, Duke has definitely lived up to its “dream school” reputation.</p>

<p>That said, though, I realize that many times students do not find the “fit” they were expecting, and I hope that those of you out there whose kids are in this position don’t feel too intimidated to post. To those of you whose kids are happy and thriving, I share your joy, and to those whose kids may be struggling, please share with us so that we can offer you support, make (hopefully) constructive suggestions, and learn from your experiences.</p>

<p>~berurah</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Berurah,</p>

<p>Happy New Near to you and yours.</p>

<p>The grading system you presented is pretty standard as most colleges grade on a 4 point scale:</p>

<p>A= 4.0
A-3.7
B+ =3.3
B= 3.0
B- =2.7
C+=2.3
C= 2.0
C- =1.7
D+ =1.3
D=1.0</p>

<p>At many colleges whose grading system I have seen an A is given for a grade of 93 or above. Yes there are some professors that will give you an A- for a 92.7 average.</p>

9

<p>Berurah- It sounds like your son ended up right where he belongs :).</p>

10

<p>My son loves his college (Indiana University), but wishes it weren’t in Indiana. He doesn’t like the high humidity in summer and frigid weather in winter. He said if he could find a school with a music program as good as Indiana in Oregon, he would transfer. He misses his friends and home more than he expected, and in-state tuition would make life much easier for all of us. However, he thinks his trumpet instructor is the greatest, did well enough in music theory to be place into Honors Music Theory next semester, and is looking forward to his classes and ensembles in spring semester.</p>

<p>He also added the famous “freshman 15”–not at school, however, but during Christmas break! He figures he will lose it again when he gets back to dorm food.</p>

11

<p>This is Columbia’s grading system:
A+ 4.33
A 4.00
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
B 3.00
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33
C 2.00
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1.00
D- 0.67
F 0.00</p>

12

<p>Susantm, my S LOVES Indiana (your rival, Purdue). He loves sledding and the snow, although I’ve been told the worst weather is yet to come. He’s so happy there with everything about the school, dorm, roommate, students. I guess his biggest complaint is lack of sleep due to studying.</p>

13

<p>At Brown, there are no minuses or plusses, so you can just earn A, B, C, etc. So, if you earned an 89 in the course, it is still a regular B. </p>

<p>At NYU, I believe, an A is 93 and above and I think a B goes up to 92. They do have plussess and minusses, but what constitutes a B range and an A range differs from the usual 90-100, 80-89, that we are used to. </p>

<p>Berurah, I hear ya about the wondering how your kid might fit in among other top students coming from a small rural public school, plus the issue of being mixed in with SOME kids from wealthy families, and I can say that I would have wondered the same thing for my own kids but can firmly say that neither has been a true issue at college. They both are “competitive” academically in their colleges and faring well on that front, and have even at times earned the highest grade in a class so I think no matter where you went to high school, you can be smart and prepared for the rigors of a selective college. As far as being mixed in with kids from very different backgrounds, some quite wealthy, this was on my mind when my kids started summer sleep away camps and I realized very fast that it mattered not. Their camp friends and many of their college friends come from backgrounds that are VERY different from their home friends but they fit in just fine in either grouping. It has not been of issue. Actually, as with your son, I presume, this is actually one time when they are not the only kid of their religion at school! That actually has been a nice change of sorts. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>sac~</p>

<p>That’s interesting…3.67 seems low for an A-, but I guess I’m still back in the day when it was a 4.0. <em>lol</em> And DANG, I wish Duke gave the extra for an A+…S got 3 A’s and one A+ this semester…~b.</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>Susan~</p>

<p>Ain’t that the truth?!!! Son has <strong><em>LOVED</em></strong> the diversity at Duke–can’t believe that I didn’t mention that in the post above because it’s been one of the things he’s spoken about the most!! And he can’t quite get over the notion that his being Jewish is somehow seen as “unremarkable”!!! hee hee! ~berurah</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>Thanks, Sybbie, for the response to my question. I know that one of my friends who has a D at UNC said that their grading scale is similar. But since both UNC and Duke are NC schools, I wasn’t sure if other schools practiced this same thing.</p>

<p>Also, thanks for the Happy New Year! Same to you and your family, sweetie! love, b.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Awwwwwwwwwww elizabeth, thanks so much. I think you are right. It really, really did work out for the best for him, and we certainly owe a great deal to all of our supportive CC friends from last year, including YOU! love, ~b.</p>

17

<p>Berurah, at our high school, there were no points given for an A+ and my daughter had many A+s and the GPA was the same as if those were regular A’s too.:slight_smile: Whether she had As or A+s, it was all still a 4.0. But hey, at least Duke has plusses and minusses…Brown has neither, just A, B, C, etc. </p>

<p>And yes, it has been a nice change at this time of year to not be treated as an outcast and so totally different, as was the norm here growing up, religion-wise.</p>

<p>Susan</p>

18

<p>Another take on grading systems. For a grade in the course, several departments at my soph D’s LAC use 93% as the bottom end of the A- scale. A 92% is a B+. Her A-'s would have been A’s at most other institutions. Oh well. No grade inflation here, and definitely no A+'s awarded. I assume that the grading scales already posted are similar to the one used to compute her overall gpa. As for the OP’s question, she is ecstatic to be returning to school tomorrow after a 6 week break :(.</p>

<p><strong>I see that soozievt and I cross-posted comments on ranges for A’s, B’s, etc.</strong></p>

19

<p>Maize and Blue, yeah, I think that scale at your D’s school is what my freshman D has at NYU. Definitely different!
Your D is finishing up a six week break now? Wow, she must have gotten out real early! One of mine has five weeks off and one has four weeks off, so one has three to go and one has two to go. However, most of this break, neither will be home. ;)</p>

20

<p>One of the benefits of Carleton’s trimester schedule is the long break from Thanksgiving week through January 1ish. After taking the first semester of organic chem (Carleton covers semester courses in 10 week trimesters), D wanted the time to vegetate and hang out so she didn’t plan on going anywhere or working anywhere during this break. We enjoyed our time together. I’m sure you are making the most of when your two are home!</p>