<p>…to do laundry - four big loads, in fact! And bought - ‘office’ supplies, vegan foodstuffs (miso soup, soy milk) and a shirt and tie for his first concert with a cappella group. While he was rehearsing for the chapel choir, I organized his room (Ok, I’m a sucker, but he had NO space on his desk!) put all the neatly folded laundry away in the dresser, and sewed a suit button back on. </p>
<p>My rewards for this ultra-mothering weekend? Big smiles, and I got to attend the Evensong choir performance and a really cool rehearsal with the a cappella group. After my London conference was over on Wednesday, he came into town on the bus for dinner and a show. All in all, I had a fine time and assured myself that The Boy Is All Right.</p>
<p>yulsie–very cool. Sounds like the ideal trip to me. That is my idea of heaven, listening to choirs in chapels and acappella groups–all the better if your child is one of the singers!</p>
<p>How wonderful this all sounds (especially the music!). By the way, have you read Colin Dexter’s mystery novels? They’re set in Oxford. There was also a TV series based on them.</p>
<p>He is taking a logic class with nine other students, is very impressed with his tutor and wants to do tutorials on philosophy of religion and philosophy of language with him later. Doing statistics (two terms) with his primary psychology tutor (strict but fatherly) with two other students, which is not difficult but has lots of problem sets, taking a one-on-one with a psychology tutor (current topic is perception) and another one-on-one with a doctoral student on nerve cell membranes. Seven to eight lectures per week, two-three essays, occasional labs, occasional participation in psych experiments.</p>
<p>Evidently he has more free time than he expected, even though he said that it is very important not to get behind on reading or tutorial work and he tries to make sure he is well prepared each week. Good that he has some free time, because the a cappella group, college choir, and next term’s musical should soak up most of the rest of his waking hours. But he has vowed to get at least eight hours of sleep a night, and so far has succeeded!</p>
<p>One interesting observation that I’d like to pass on to CC parents - he has said that in his view thus far, the undergrads can be divided roughly into three groups of students - the first is the partiers, who value having a good time above all else, the second is the middle-of-the-road, work/life balance set, and the third is made up of mostly introverted students who study all the time and seem to do little else, spending a lot of time in their rooms. </p>
<p>This last group seems to illustrate a difference between Oxbridge and the most highly selective colleges in the US - probably a number of these students might not be admitted here, with the greater emphasis on ECs and “having a passion that will contribute to the life of the college.” They might also not show to advantage in an alumni or addmissions interview if they are “too serious” and/or shy - whereas if they are intelligent, driven, and have a sterling academic record, they can get into Oxbridge and thrive. It is something to think about if a student is extremely serious and chooses to focus all his/her time on learning - Oxbridge may be a better fit.</p>