<p>Apropos of our discussion about visiting Germany and learning German and how Jews feel about that, this was a fascinating article:</p>
<p>[Israeli</a> expats flocking to Berlin for the culture and the passport | JTA - Jewish & Israel News](<a href=“http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/07/05/3088418/israeli-expats-flock-to-berlin-for-the-culture-and-the-passport]Israeli”>http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/07/05/3088418/israeli-expats-flock-to-berlin-for-the-culture-and-the-passport)</p>
<p>Slithey, that is interesting. I have some Israeli neighbors who got a German passport several years ago, for “safety”. They said that it was a common belief among Israelis that they should have a second passport. I thought that this was so ironic that it was a German passport!
They said, however, that they could apply for this because they had grandparents who lived in Germany, not because anyone had been persecuted by the Nazis.
The German passport allowed their daughter, who goes to college in the U.S., to skip some of the red tape regarding a visa when she was studying abroad in Europe (not Germany, but the European Union honored this German passport).</p>
<p>Just finished reading this book. Cant remember who suggested it- does anyone want to discuss?</p>
<p>pamom - I think it was Rodney. No one else seemed that interested. How was it? I thought it seemed long - but maybe I’ll give it a try if you both loved it. But between trying to get apps done with S2 this summer and figuring out my job situation - I’m not in much of a reading mood except for the lightest chick lit.</p>
<p>Re: GPAs on transcripts</p>
<p>I did ask our GC about what is reported and she responded that they report WGPA (phew!) but that the schools themselves will often recalculate.</p>
<p>Laugh of the day, yesterday my D received a very nice letter from Yale admissions telling her all of the reasons why they think that she would fit in at Yale and she should apply. OK, why am I laughing about this. D is a strong student A-/B+ with honors and ap classes. Excellent test scores, but not perfect. Our HS has sent a few kids to Yale over the past few years, but has rejected most. Most of those rejected kids had near perfect test scores and near perfect GPA’s (if not perfect). NO one with my D’s stats has ever been accepted from our HS.</p>
<p>But I have to tell you if I didn’t know better after receiving that letter I would have made my kid apply. Two pages on heavy paper stock. This letter makes it look like they are trying to get her to go to Yale, she would get in. In reality, they get another application fee, get to increase their number of applicants and get to decrease the number of students accepted. This letter really put it into perspective how much of a game this is. Oy!</p>
<p>^^MDmom:</p>
<p>Harvard does the same thing. What’s sad is how many people will apply to those schools with the hope of being accepted.</p>
<p>One of my S’s friends spent $75 just to apply to Harvard & then receive the rejection letter so that they could say they were rejected from Harvard. What a waste of money. The kid was far, far away from ever being considered for a top, top school.</p>
<p>We have two kids from my S’s class going to Yale this fall. They were the two that swept every award category.</p>
<p>U of Chicago must send something to my S nearly every week, including course catalogs, very nice brochures and personalized postcards. I long ago decided that this was more about application fees and increasing selectivity than courting my S.</p>
<p>^^911: good call since they bombarded my “B” student last year…</p>
<p>I read In the Garden of the Beasts and loved it…</p>
<p>I found it pretty interesting but thought that the book fizzled out at the end. Dodd, the ambassador to Germany in 1933, was an academic who was totally out of his depth in handling the tense diplomatic situation between US and Germany. Roosevelt set the priority as trying to make sure that Germany did not default on its debt, a lot of which was held by US banks. The Jewish “problem,” and other restrictions of civil liberties, were viewed as “internal” matters that US should not be involved in. Dodd awakens to the truth of the matter near the end of the book, but by that time it is really too late. Hitler has already consolidated power. One peculiarly interesting part of the story is Dodds daughter who was apparently quite free with her affections and dated everone from Nazis to communists. She was even introduced to Hitler, but he didn’t care for her! Anyway, I won’t say I “loved” the book but think it well written and provides and interesting window into that time period.</p>
<p>^^totally agree that the end fizzled out…I actually knew alot of the details but thought it was very well written for those who did not…</p>
<p>I’m thinking of reading The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks since it is on SO many freshman book lists…gonna read the sample this weekend and decide…</p>
<p>I feel like I need a good fiction book though; I’ve been reading a bunch of non-fiction and need a change…</p>
<p>on the topic of OOS public tuition increases, another thread posted that UPitt increased in-state by 8.5% but OOS only 4% (a little counterintuitive?)</p>
<p>mdmom - I am so glad you understood the validity or lack thereof concerning the mail from Yale. I find it so upsetting when more naive parents see their kids receive mail from prestigious schools and truly believe their child is being “recruited”. And when a more sophisticated parent tries to explain the reality to them - it seems like you are just jealous or trying to burst their bubble. There was a very good interview a few months back from a female student who was seemingly being wooed by Duke - a nonstop barrage of mail. She posed for photos with the stack - must have been two feet high. She applied and was rejected. This game is truly one of the worst aspects of the college admissions process. I always urge people to save a tree and save yourself from these games and have your child just opt out of the mail when taking the PSAT/SAT etc.</p>
<p>PS Fun meeting you for coffee yesterday!</p>
<p>Darn, I knew we should have paid the $50 to join when they sent that fancy letter saying that my D had been selected for the National Society of High School Scholars. But with her grades it seemed like such a surprize. Heck, if we had, she mighta got those invites from Harvard, Yale and Duke and we could have applied and visited them too.</p>
<p>rodney: if you want a light quick read, I recommend the Lincoln Lawyer or the next in the series the Brass Verdict- assuming you like legal thrillers- or are the type of person (like me!) who was riveted to the Casey Anthony trial. I’m a big Michael Connelly fan.</p>
<p>Not too surprised at the tuition increases as Pitt- the funding from PA helps to keep in-state tuition lower, so it makes sense that the loss of part of that subsidy means in-state tuition goes up. I’d expect to see PSU with a similar increase.</p>
<p>I like Michael Connelly too. I also finished a book recently called A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez that’s about an american women who owns a cafe in Kabul. I thought it was good.</p>
<p>Here is the article about Pitt’s tuition hike today:
[Pitt</a> hikes tuition 8.5 percent for in-state students](<a href=“http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11189/1159074-100.stm]Pitt”>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11189/1159074-100.stm)
I’ve been wanting so much to read “In the Garden of Beasts” but I first have to get through a bolus of reading for my new job.
I also want to read the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. My daughter was in Mock Trial this year and their trial was very similar to what that book describes.</p>
<p>I recently had someone try to tell me that Johns Hopkins had been recruiting her kid since 7th grade…through the CTY program. If only that were true…</p>
<p>I hate all the marketing for the programs like “National Scholastic High School Students” (or whatever it’s called). They look so official and they sound so prestigious. DS got one last year that I could have sworn was legit. I asked the GC; she said if you have to pay for it, forget it.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to read The Help next. Heard it was a good book, and now see it’s coming out in the movies. </p>
<p>Great call from DS this morning, who did an archaeology dig in Israel today. Great way to start the day!</p>
<p>Linymom,
Is the dig part of Birthright program? sounds great</p>
<p>^^^bookworm I’ll answer for Linymom, I believe her S is on the 4 or 5 week NFTY trip. Linymom that is so cool. I know this trip is the second time around for you my S did it last year and I can’t think of another single experience in my S’s life that had more impact. Really, that trip sounded like just about as good as a vacation can get.</p>
<p>As for reading I finally finished Triangle. I really enjoyed it I just needed a hiatus from the fire part of the story. As a former New Yorker it was interesting to read about the history that connected to reality that I knew growing up in Brooklyn. I am now reading The Case for Israel that mhc48 suggested on the book club thread. It has been a long time since I read a book with a pen in one hand and the computer at arm’s reach. It was a great suggestion to enhance the understanding of the establishment of Israel. Historically it follows Triangle nicely.</p>
<p>RVM and MDmom,</p>
<p>You two had coffee. So how did it go. Any surprises. MDmom, tell us the truth…Does RVM have teeth? RVM, did Mdmom chew with her mouth closed?</p>
<p>So nice that you two met. Were you nervous for your blind date? Details for all us here…</p>