<p>Planning a trip down to check out U pittsburgh with my 2 sons…anyone how generous they are with scholarships/aid money? Any other advice?</p>
<p>gerbilmom - enjoy your trip to Pittsburgh. Have breakfast or lunch at Pamela’s! From what I have heard Pitt can be fairly generous with merit aid for oos. </p>
<p>boysx3 - Thanks for the info. on Emory. Great that you can be part of Greek life or not. I think she wants more rah-rah than it sounds like Emory has. I’ll pass the info along.</p>
<p>momjr - thanks for the info on lacrosse at JHU. I don’t think she cares about D1 or D3 sports, so much as school spirit in going to games, etc. Did you mean Penn State or University of Pennsylvania…I always get confused when people just say Penn! Penn State…not going to pay oos tuition when she would be happy to go to MD and U of P…don’t think she will get in! But it could be a real reach along with Northwestern.</p>
<p>mdmomfromli: Aren’t you the one whose D1 is going to Cornell? And you didn’t think she’d get in there either?! You may surprise yourselves with admissions to both UPenn AND Northwestern! 
Active Greek life would be Lehigh.</p>
<p>Momjr: Glad to know your D2 is on Birthright now…I believe my S’s college has two options, either summer or winter. I believe he’s already registered and will most likely be going this coming winter break…the go with actual teenage Israeli’s as guides, I’ve heard. I know he’ll have an awesome time. I have to have his passport renewed…can you tell me what else I may need to know? Thanx-</p>
<p>Hi UMich! Your S2 will be a Junior this year too?</p>
<p>Hi Chocchip…yes, my S2 will be a junior. I’m enjoying the time off this summer because I know what a pressure-filled year this will be for him. Last year was very tough academically, and he really needs to figure out how to pick it up this year. I’m hopeful that ACT scores will be good enough to counter-balance the grades somewhat.</p>
<p>I think I read that your S1 had a good freshman year last year? </p>
<p>Hard to believe that it’s time to gear up for the next round.</p>
<p>Do any of you have a good college packing list that you are using. I just reviewed the A-Z list on CC <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html</a> which is quite amazing but I was wanting to cross it with another list perhaps one that is category based rather than alphabetically. </p>
<p>Those of you also about to launch, I’m just curious, how much time are you spending getting things ready to go and shopping. S has been away for the summer, originally he had 4 days to get things done, then he’s getting wishdom teeth pulled and then leaving for college 10 days later. He just called and told me he wants to take a side trip before he comes home. This will get him home the day before his teeth are pulled. I’m trying to decide if this will be reasonable. My gut feeling is, skip the side trip.</p>
<p>There’s a good, and somewhat amusing, list for the 2010’s of stuff that was never used.</p>
<p>Here it is:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/926984-10s-what-did-you-send-college-your-child-never-used.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/926984-10s-what-did-you-send-college-your-child-never-used.html</a></p>
<p>Spectrum! </p>
<p>Let him go on the side trip! I may be one of the more lenient moms on this thread, I’d say let him go! He’s only young once and he’s pretty responsible…plus he’ll be miserable with the pulling of the wisdom teeth…there’s nothing so earth shattering about getting his stuff ready for college. He can always buy what he doesn’t have or borrow from someone…plus he’s not flying off to college, right? What are your thoughts?!</p>
<p>Yeah UMich: We’re again in this together. S1’s freshman year was awesome. How quickly the time seems to go. He’s had a great summer in a working paid type of internship and has enjoyed hanging out with his friends. S2 has also had an enjoyable summer and is gearing up for Junior year! :eek:</p>
<p>ccc - good memory! Yes, D1 is starting at Cornell in the fall and I probably did underestimate her chances of admission. That being said, I think D2 has even a lower chance of getting into UPenn than D1 did with Cornell. I guess we need to see where Junior year and test scores end up. </p>
<p>The good news is that D2 really does love UMD and would be happy to go there. I just want to explore other options.</p>
<p>Packing - I have done almost all of the shopping for D1. She is away all summer and we have only a few days between her coming home and leaving for school. We picked out the major things together on-line, then I have gone to the stores to buy it all. As far as figuring out what to buy, I pretty much went room to room in the house figuring out the things she uses. The Bed Bath and Beyond shopping list is a good place to start and I have crossed out and filled in from there.</p>
<p>Spectrum, I agree with ccc that you should let him go on the trip. When he’s recuperating from the wisdom teeth you can use Mdmom’s stratgy and have him check things out online. If he’s not very picky, you can get everything you need in trips to BB and B and Target. My D1 loved dorm shopping and dragged it out all summer. D2 just needed a few trips and kept it simpler. If you forget something you can go out and get it when you drop him off, or order it online and ship it to his dorm.</p>
<p>Mdmom: I was thinking of UPenn. Your D2 sounds a lot like my D1. She really liked Maryland also. It does simplify things when they like the state flagship and have the stats for acceptance. I agree that Penn State wouldn’t be worth the extra $$, but you might want to consider Michigan and UNC. </p>
<p>CCC: Glad to hear that your sons are doing well. There’s not much to do before applying for birthright. Just make sure that he gets on the mailing list for the trip he wants and applies on the first day. Those trips are a wonderful opportunity.</p>
<p>mdmom - when I read this - my first thought was Wake Forest!</p>
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</p>
<p>And Jewish life - while still modest - is certainly growing.</p>
<p>For those of you who have not heard of this recent outrage - here is a short summary from the daily Beast:</p>
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</p>
<p>I mention this because while not directly college-related - it serves as a timely reminder that even in 2012 - even in the US - acts of anti-semitism still take place. For those who doubt the need of Jewish parents to discuss the safety of their teens away at college - here is proof that ignorance and idiocy still flourish.</p>
<p>RVM- that is horrible. My kids have loved Jewish camp. What a sick thing to do.
Spectrum- I am a lenient parent too, if the side trip was reasonable…
CCC: my son did birthright. It was easy. He just signed up, I added some extra health insurance ( they provided the link) as ours is not great. It was a great experience.</p>
<p>As to dorm shopping, my son was not picky- he was perfectly happy to let me buy bedding, towels, whatever.</p>
<p>For anyone thinking about shopping near school at the last minute: I found that a lot of bedding and supplies are just stripped bare at local Targets, BBB, Wal Marts and so on move in day.</p>
<p>And to Mdmom: I think it is a good idea to be modest in admission estimates- but don’t give up possibilities. Apply to the dream schools, like U Penn and Cornell if they are a possibility ( and in the budget) but also- as you have- have some very realistic ones. I don’t know anyone who can be confident about schools with very low acceptance rates- but definitely try for them. It is so nice to have the state school be a good possibility- and can save a lot of money sometimes too. Congrats on Cornell.</p>
<p>Spectrum,
My older son just graduated. I had looked at those lists before he went to college, but they are a bit over comprehensive. He never used his printer, by the way. Must haves were a power strip, those adhesive hooks and meds (eg Advil, etc). When they are sick, it’s not a great time to start shopping, especially if they don’t have transportation or it’s nighttime. I also would always buy his 3 subject notebooks on sale at Target to save the cost in the college bookstore, but we were not flying and had plenty of room to pack small stuff.</p>
<p>shalamit, and Mdmom, Thank you for your thoughts on packing. I agree that some of the lists are over the top, but I remembered when my older son went to school they were a good springboard for constructing our own list. I’ve seen many people say that kids didn’t use their printers. My older S didn’t get one but claimed one from a graduating senior a few years back and has used it. We are still trying to decide about S2 on that one.</p>
<p>Pennylane, thank you for reminding me about how limited college town stores are right around move in day. We had that experience when S1 started college but I had foregotten.</p>
<p>CCC and Momjr:Thank you for your thoughts about the side trip. I guess there are two other factors that I didn’t mention regarding the side trip; one is that it involved several hours of extra driving in both directions which worries me, but also that I really was hoping for a little bit of quality time before he leaves for school. I’m still mulling it over, but you are both right if we need to one way or another the shopping can be handled in the time we have.</p>
<p>Momjr: So glad your daughter has made it on her birthright trip, I seem to recall that she had to miss the first one she was scheduled for because she was sick. Was that your daughter?</p>
<p>RVM: I’m sad to hear that about the Jewish camp. Jewish camping has been such an important part of S2’s life. It is the one place that he is Jewish without explanation, it’s sad, and frightening that outsiders would come in and threaten the peace of that environment or worse.</p>
<p>RVM - I just looked at Wake Forest. I don’t think it has enough Jewish students for her, but I’ll run it past her. However, I did look at the board at Hillel and if your son hasn’t made his way to a Hillel event he should. The girls on the board are just stunning! Send him the link!</p>
<p>I hope the people who comitted those hate crimes at the camp in PA spend a very long time in prision. Jewish camping has been a huge part of my kids lives and this makes me so sad. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone with shopping and packing!</p>
<p>Spectrum, you have a good memory. My D1 had to cancel a Birthright trip when she contracted mono a week before the trip. She went on a trip last summer. This time it’s D2</p>
<p>Ok, I thought I remembered that she got to go before, but what I didn’t remember was that you have 2 daughters.</p>
<p>Hi, MDMom: Northwestern Graduate Here! Participated in Greek life there and went to every football game and basketball game in my four years. Went to some away games too…what fun! I would go to Northwestern again in a MINUTE. Met my still-BFF’s there (both Jewish). Actually headed to Chicago on business tomorrow, but won’t have time to get to Evanston 
Will get to reconnect with some college friends though - very excited!</p>
<p>I’m involved with local alumni association - did some interviews this winter - happy to share info!</p>
<p>@spectrum- I had an off-to-college list from college board.com but it is no longer on their website. Here is a link to one that is similar, with categories:</p>
<p>[Checklist:</a> Off to College - MyFuture](<a href=“http://www.myfuture.com/schools/tools-checklists/off-to-college]Checklist:”>http://www.myfuture.com/schools/tools-checklists/off-to-college)</p>
<p>some things to know: get an extra-long ethernet cord for the computer and one or two surge protectors for plugging in all those electronics.</p>
<p>also- bring bottled water and snacks for move-in day as well as to make sure your student has ample snacks/breakfast food for the first week of school.</p>