<p>Spectrum, I hear you. Should I begin the recruting process? Let me at me…seriously, if he has questions, I will put him in touch with my d.
Linymom, you probably know this…Miami Ohio is similar toDelaware. Their campus is even more beautiful, but they share a look and feeling. Approximate same size school. If your son likes his sisters school, he might love Miami…</p>
<p>Thanks Socaldad, I may take you up on that after we figure out where he stands on his major. All along it has been a bit of a relief to me that the school he preferred was the one that was a sure thing. I would love for him to love UT but there isn’t much point to trying to make that happen if he will be stressing about getting into the major of his choice after he gets there. I will keep you posted!</p>
<p>socaldad, some banks don’t charge the additional $5 transaction fees if you are a premium customer. Chase did not when my son was in Europe this past Spring; I opened a joint account with him so it was covered by all my balances, and then he got an ATM visa card on the account. Also I was able to transfer money into the account when he needed it. If you can’t get the ATM fee waived by your bank ATM card, tell your daughter to take larger sums of cash out each time so that she doesn’t get hit with the $5 fee each time. </p>
<p>Amex Platinum does not charge the 3% foreign transaction fees and gives the best conversion rate. That may apply to Gold as well.</p>
<p>If she has a cell phone that uses a SIM card (ATT for example, vs Verizon which is CDMA) contact your carrier and ask that the phone be unlocked. Most will do it if you’ve had the account/phone for a while. Then she can buy an inexpensive SIM card in Florence and swap it out most of the time and all her intra- European calls and texts and data usuage will be at the local inexpensive rate. Often you can fill up the card with minutes via ATM. </p>
<p>Also a lot of places will have WIFI, so she should learn how to turn off the phone connection and turn on WIFI to use in cafes etc.</p>
<p>She could pop her old card back in to call you (but get an overseas rate). Both of you should get SKYPE accounts.</p>
<p>We learned while my S has been away that sometimes local banks don’t charge transaction fees for debit card purchases. We have a joint account as mhc suggested so I can deal with any issues that come up. One other important thing to know is even if the bank or credit card company knows that the student is abroad also let them know if they are traveling to other countries outside of the one that are staying at. My S took a side trip to Amsterdam and found his VISA debit card would not work there. I later learned from the bank that VISA has Amsterdam among other locations automatically blocked because of rampant fraud. The block can be lifted if a request is made to do so but by the time all of our communications happened it was too late. Fortunately my S had more than one card with him so he didn’t find himself without funds.</p>
<p>My S got a cell which he almost never uses for international calls because he says the rate is too high, I don’t know what it is. We haven’t used skype but have used MSN and it works just fine for video chatting. I also got international service on my landline which is less expensive than on the cell. The fee for that is just $3/month and then my calls to Scotland are about 10 cents/minute. Generally we just talk enough to plan a time to video chat which for me is both preferable and free. Its great to actually be able to see your kid when they are away!</p>
<p>Just popping in to say hi (first post !) and thank you for this very helpful thread. Currently in the process launching a “B” student and have really appreciated all the helpful tips here.</p>
<p>Welcome, justmystyle…please feel free to ask away…</p>
<p>Lots of helpful people here…</p>
<p>welcome justmystyle.</p>
<p>Ok wise people of cc: maybe you can help me out with this…my S2 as you know is a h.s. sophomore. He was leaning toward studying mechanical eng. in college, but wants to know more about computer science and could possibly major in that instead.</p>
<p>1) What do people actually do with a computer science degree? Would he need a Master’s?
2) It seems like there would be many more college choices open to him as a B student in computer science? Is that true?
3) Computer science is more of a general degree than engineering? Is that a good thing or not? Not sure…
4) Information Technology is what? Is that offered under the computer science dept?</p>
<p>Anything that you guys can educate me on this subject would be helpful, thanks.</p>
<p>justmystyle, welcome and let us know how we can help. this is the best thread and has been so much help to our family.</p>
<p>MHC and Spectrum,
Thanks for the good advice. I will speak to my bank, and see what they offer.
I have to find out if you can swap the sim card in an iPhone. Not sure if that is possible.</p>
<p>Welcome just my style. Time to share some details.</p>
<p>socaldad, I travel lots (right now I’m in Basel and will head this evening to Sao Paulo) and know all about which credit cards do and don’t charge foreign currency exhange fees, how to work with phone systems and minimize charges, etc. Plus, ShawD goes to school in Canada so we’ve dealt with lots of cross-border stuff. Please feel free to ask. </p>
<p>Typically, you have had to “jailbreak” iphones (which I don’t have) to use SIM cards (which voids the warranty), but my sense is that the current one can be purchased in a way that allows you to use other SIM cards – you’ll need to check that. All of my business partners have iphones and travel abroad regularly, but I prefer Android for the ease of making changes (and also for using t-mobile rather than ATT).</p>
<p>Shawbridge: jailbreaking, a term used with iPhones is a way of avoiding the restrictions of programs and being limited to programs in the Apple App Store and iTunes. It has nothing to do with unlocking the phone so that it can be used with a carrier other than the one you got it from at a discount. Most carriers will agree to unlock your phone if you’ve been with them a while or have other phones on your account and tell them that the owner of that one is going abroad.</p>
<p>iPhones can also be purchased unlocked at a considerably higher price than a carrier will offer it. $6-700 vs the $200 from a US carrier.</p>
<p>Once unlocked you can use any SIM card in it. Of course, this only applies to GSM phones. Verizon system for the most part isn’t GSM and doesn’t use SIM cards. T-Mobile does use SIM cards. </p>
<p>I myself use and love a Windows 7 Phone, but won’t open that can of worms here.</p>
<p>Welcome Justmystyle.</p>
<p>Choc: I’m not an expert in computer science, but I was a programmer back in the day and have some friends whose kids have majored in the field. There are a lot of job opportunites for people with a BS in computer science. Most of them get jobs as programmers, web designers or consultants. The plum jobs are with the giants like google or microsoft, but there are lots of regional opportunities also.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure how computer science compares to mech eng as a major. Some schools offer a more business oriented major under different names such as MIS (Management of Information Systems) which is usually a bit easier.</p>
<p>A few days ago someone asked about HS summer programs. I’m not familiar with the ones mentioned, but BU has a great program called Summer Challenge.</p>
<p>Hi justmystyle - welcome aboard. Why don’t you tell us a little about your child - if you would like to - junior year of hs? What type of school are you looking for? Any ideas on possible majors? We’re always happy to help.</p>
<p>Wow - just saw this - what a sad story.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Struck, Killed by Bus on the James Madison University Campus | NBC Washington](<a href=“Student Struck, Killed by Bus on the James Madison University Campus – NBC4 Washington”>Student Struck, Killed by Bus on the James Madison University Campus – NBC4 Washington)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That news is terrible, rvm. Really a shame. </p>
<p>Momjr:
Thanks so much for your reply. You can probably tell by my post that we are in a state of flux over here. Knowing my son they way I do, I believe he is better off staying with mech. eng. for the future. I believe that’s where his passion lies. However, he may be getting scared off by the two C’s he’s getting and maybe feels as if mech. eng. will be too difficult for him.</p>
<p>They really do grow so much each year, and at this age, even every 6 mos. or so. I really need to put this on the back burner and have him just concentrate on getting those C’s up. I plan on having him do the WPI Frontiers program for rising juniors this coming summer. He’s already done three other college summer programs in this area and loves it. It may have been UMICH who asked about summer challenge in one of her posts…I may look into it anyway, just to see what it’s about.</p>
<p>I may look into a tutor shortly, like someone suggested. Thanks for your feedback! :)</p>
<p>Gosh, that’s really horrible about the JMU student!</p>
<p>chocchipcookie, When my son was deciding between CS and IST majors, I came across this from St. Michael’s College [Saint</a> Michael’s College - CS vs. IS: A Comparison](<a href=“http://www.smcvt.edu/academics/csiscomparison.asp]Saint”>http://www.smcvt.edu/academics/csiscomparison.asp) My son’s major (freshman in College) is Computer Networking and Information Security. </p>
<p>At some point between Junior and Senior year he really decided to focus on Information Systems/Science because his interest is computer technology and how it interfaces with people versus CS which deals more with computer programming and software. He took three programming classes in HS as well as an IST class at a local branch of Penn State and all four classes helped clear up his interests. He also was the lead programmer for his robotics team. He is good at programming but thinks that others are better and would rather not have that as a key component his career. </p>
<p>When we visited the iSchool at Drexel [The</a> iSchool at Drexel University](<a href=“http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/]The”>http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/) they told us that there were more co-ops available then they had students and all were paid co-ops. At my son’s college, Champlain, we were told that 100% of the students from 2010 in his major were employed in their field. National security is not something that is being out-sourced. 
The more colleges we visited, the easier the major decision became.</p>
<p>Horrible news about the student at JMU. My heart goes out to her family and friends.</p>
<p>FYI - At Delaware, they have VERY strict jaywalking laws and laws about crossing against the light. My DD knows a lot of people who have gotten tickets. You have to be so careful…</p>
<p>Hi Kathiep:</p>
<p>Thanks for what you wrote and good luck to your S. Why did he decide on Champlain instead of Drexel?</p>
<p>I will pm you down the road if we end up looking at Champlain. It’s on “our list”, along with UVM. Drexel is on our list too. When I have “time”, I will do a more thorough in-depth look at each colleges web-site to determine the differences in their majors.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the nice welcome !</p>
<p>RVMom, I’m in the midst of this college process with my youngest of 4. He’s my fourth to go off to college in the last 6 years…whew! So while the process isn’t new to me, it’s always a fresh challenge with each one. He is absolutely THE “B” student, all through school, so I’ve really been a bit stymied. Been through this before for the kids on either end of the spectrum, but never a true middle of the roader ! More difficult than it seems when trying to gauge chances :).
Chocchipcookie, I have daughters at both of those Vermont schools. Happy to give you any info.
So very sad about the JMU student. So sorry to hear this.</p>
<p>The short version on his decision chocchip, was that it came down to money. Drexel was giving him something like $13,000/ yr and that may have gone up a bit in subsequent years due to a PA incentive for STEM majors but tuition probably would have kept pace too. Cost is about $52,000/yr. sticker price and IST is a five year program. Even putting in $10,000 a year from his three co-op’s would not have made it affordable.</p>
<p>Champlain is about $40,000 a year and they gave him a two or three scholarships and a promise of a campus job. Cost to us is $25,000 a year and it’s four years. He also really liked the smaller college feel and really likes the department chair. So far, so good! Also, it’s a very hands on learning atmosphere - perfect for a B student who aced the homework and in-school work but had problems with mid-terms and finals.</p>