<p>rockville…unbelievable! so sorry that she had to go through all of that.</p>
<p>So, DS1 is home from his trip on Birthright and he had a great time. During the long car ride home from the airport (almost 2 hours from JFK in Queens NY to our house in New Jersey - gotta love NY traffic!) I peppered him with questions and being locked in the car, he could not escape me! He enjoyed everything, especially the people and the day at the Red Sea. The accommodations were nicer than he expected, and the food was good. The Bedouin tent was really cold even though there were heaters. He said that on the day that they were supposed to go to a Mosque, they couldn’t go, because the Iman was busy, however, they spent a long time with a woman who converted to Islam. She talked to them about what it was like to be a non-Jew living in Israel, especially what it was like to raise here children there (apparently, the educational options for non-Jews is very limited). He found that part of the trip fascinating.
They went out to the bars on two of the nights and only one, immature 18 year old got drunk and vomited on the bus!
Despite the rain, floods, hail and snow, he loved it and even said “you were right mom!” because I pushed him into going. He never felt unsafe, and even though I thought I would worry, I really didn’t
He went to bed at 7:30 pm and slept for 13 hours. I’m so happy that he went and would highly recommend that you all encourage your kids to go…</p>
<p>Hi everyone! I have been obsessing over my son’s college path for the past several months and driving everyone I know more then crazy with my constant college talk. I stumbled upon this group/forum and felt like someone/everyone was speaking my language… So thank you. I would need to write a book and most likely go through some therapy to explain why the obsession so lets just leave it at “I love my son and what the world for him” (I have 2 sons, but my younger son is a freshman so I have time with him). My oldest is a junior, he has a learning difference, ADD, is kind of quirky in a laid back cool way that he embraces and owns, he has a solid B+ GPA has taken approx 3 honors classes a year, and now as a junior an IB class along with 2 honors. He is a photographer/cinematographer and editor and has a real job working for one of the biggest video production companies in the city and has his own photography business as well (im a photographer so he kind of fell into all of that). He will take the SAT’s in march. He has dreamed of University of Colorado boulder for years (he’s a big skier and loves the west coast). He feels he fits in much better in a west coast environment but he fits in just fine right here too. He also likes UVM. Trying to keep him closer I suggested U Conn, U Mass, Quinnipiac, and Clark. I thought Florida would be nice (he’s also into water skiing, wake boarding etc) so I suggested Rollins and Eckerd. After reading these threads I researched Elon and am completely in love with this school! It seems to have everything I want for him. He is still a bit immature in his thinking about school in that he thinks about where he will be happiest not necessarily what kind of impact school will have on his future. I could go on and on but really just wanted to introduce myself and give a bit of background so I can start contributing to conversations and I wouldn’t be a stranger. You all seem like a wonderful, supportive group of people in somewhat the same place as me.</p>
<p>momentscaught: WELCOME! You don’t have to apologize about talking about colleges here! You are singing our song! We are here to help you! This is a wonderful thread (I’ve been on since almost the beginning I think - about to launch my youngest this fall) and the people here are so helpful. I’m glad you introduced yourself. Looking forward to “chatting.”</p>
<p>That’s the question of the year! Still waiting for decisions! You all on CC will be among the first to know when he gets his decisions and then decides!</p>
<p>Yes Vitrac that does sound funny when I read it back, but you know what I mean… Happy to him looks like ski slopes, girls, partying with friends etc… Happy for him doesn’t seem to include productive use of time and money. I am a firm believer that the definition of success is happiness but he needs to actually be able to support himself someday and hopefully contribute a bit to this world along the way and I’m pretty sure skiing and partying wont get him there?</p>
<p>momentscaught–welcome and feel free to obsess here cc. we love it. you will find invaluable information throughout this site and a lot of support. check out the threads on the individual schools, essay writing, financial aid etc. I find myself talking about my cc friends and info I have gathered all the time (I have to stop myself, as it seems kind of nuts to other people in the “real world” at times!).</p>
<p>Ok responding here to Vitrac’s private msg to me because I couldn’t private MSG back yet… Yes I absolutely knew u were kidding and I laughed at my words when I read them back. I think with this child at this point the learning might not come in certain environments so I’m trying to find that happy medium between all the things that sound like paradise to him and a serious academic environment being a priority of his fellow students. When I read about Boulder all I hear about is how hard it is to go to class when your stoned and the mountains are calling your name, I could hear these very words coming out of my sons mouth. Also for all with children at boulder I know that is not the case with all kids who go there, I just know it would be with mine. Oh and I live in Penn Valley so we were virtually neighbors. Jozuko thanks for the welcome! I can already see this group replacing my photography forum as the place I check in with first and last thing daily. We have a visit scheduled for Boulder spring break and are planning a long weekend in April to visit some New England schools. Has anyone here used private college counselors that seems to be the thing to do where I live. They charge between $4,000 and $5,000 and they basically do what we r doing for you.</p>
<p>Hi momentscaught - just wanted to welcome you to our group. No worries about being college-obsessed, you wil fit right in.</p>
<p>I personally see no reason to spend thousands on a private college counselor. Lots of free info here and on other websites. I think sometimes when a student has unusual needs or goals, a few hours with a private counselor might be useful, but I would select carefully and only if I could pay by the hour. I would never commit to a large fee for a package of services.</p>
<p>Moments,
I live on the other side of Philly so I know what you mean wrt the $4000 charged by college counselors but I agree with Rockvillemom that a few hours on this site can give you a great deal of knowledge at a much lower price. I have a friend who used one for his older son and he found out that his “exclusive” list of schools selected for his son was the same list given to every other client!!!</p>
<p>If your son wants to check out a somewhat smaller school with a strong Jewish presence, also have him look at the University of Denver. it has 5000-6000 undergrads, pretty campus, generally no classes on Fridays to facilitate internships (and, for some, a chance to ski/snowboard/hike etc), and is about 20%-25% Jewish.</p>
<p>My son graduated from Denver is 2009…he had a great 4 years, received a strong education, made some great connections with professors and professionally through his internships.</p>
<p>Mine is also home with having had an amazing time in Israel. She didn’t make it home until 9:30 last night, up at a decent hour but my night owl is already heading to bed. She said the staff was great and were buddy/friends rather then authoritarian. Probably made it much better like that then how my older D’s was. I’m probably send my younger S on the BBYO trip early this summer, sandwiched between pre-camp counselor training and counselor time.</p>
<p>As far as using a College Counselor goes…I used one for DS1, paid $2000 and I must admit that she made the process very easy. I literally never even set eyes on the Common App. She helped come up with the list of schools and met with my son several times where they formulated his common app essay. She filled out all of the forms and made up all the envelopes (this was 5 years ago, before everything was online). When it came to the supplemental essays, my son wrote them, I edited them, and then we sent them to the counselor for a final review.
When it came time for DS2, I knew that despite how easy things were with the counselor, there was no way I was paying that $$ again. With all of the information available on line and with the help of Naviance, I took charge and I actually enjoyed the process. Filling out the Common App is not rocket science. (If you know your name, address and phone number, have your kid’s transcript and current course schedule, you can easily fill out the form. Or, better yet, have your kid fill it out and then you just go over it - obsessively of course - got to make sure you don’t miss anything!)
Getting my son to write the essays was the hardest part, but he did them, one at a time. I kept him organized, with a file for each school. I printed out a cover sheet for each school where I kept track of the user name/password, deadlines, dates things were sent, supplemental essay questions and a to do list.
In my opinion, $4000-$5000 is absolutely outrageous. You can do this yourself. It just takes some research, organization, starting early and knowing your kid.</p>
<p>Well having invested countless hrs already in this I would have a hard time justifying paying someone p,us I’m not so great at letting go of control (can u tell). It sounded nice that I wouldn’t need to be on him about anything, but that’s about it. Living in “the main line” it’s hard not to get caught up in the craziness sometimes. Boysx3, that’s great to hear about university of Denver, it’s on my 1 star list so maybe I will bump that up and we can see it when we see boulder. I will search the thread but how about Eckerd or Rollins in Florida? My husband said to my son last night, “Jason think about it bikinis instead of ski jackets” typical…</p>
<p>Oh and Colorado college seems interesting too. I swear this could be a full time job, and I actually have one of those which I have seriously been neglecting lately. I haven’t even explored any other threads on this site yet… Found this and got sucked right in</p>
<p>I got into Denver but just applied ED II to GW! I have a question;is gw known for attracting a “JAPPY” student body as opposed to university of Denver that are just normal Jews/ if Anyone can help me with the stereotypes of Jewish students at both schools I would be so happy </p>