<p>I’m an empty nester mother of 2 boys – a 20 yo at Cornell and a 16 yo in France on sophomore year abroad. </p>
<p>I own and operate an independent pet shop in Connecticut, and at home, have two Shelties, one of which is a retired agility competitor. I also have a horse, a husband, and a house.</p>
<p>Single parent of 3, have one on Rotary Exchange in Peru as a gap year, her twin at a nearby LAC, and a college grad son getting oriented to teaching English in Shanghai, China. </p>
<p>Currently I’m a long time midwest transplant, but spent my early life in AZ/California. There are many other cultural influences in my life however, as I have Korean and Japanese family, and have lived in Hong Kong as well as traveled extensively, though years ago, and taught English in Asia. Though not fluent, I work in a Spanish immersion camp for a bit of each summer, and have been trying to improve my Spanish for years. Now that I’m an empty nester, will finally get some formal instruction, just after I finish my current class in Chinese. Culture and language are long term interests. </p>
<p>The never ending interesting discussions on CC have me hooked, and keep me thinking as I go through the day, though my formal education pales in comparison to others on here. </p>
<p>I work in a hospital, though don’t feel defined by my job, as the rest of my life is of more interest. We are a musical family, with long term commitment to Suzuki violin for my kids and various folk and classical instruments for me, though haven’t played much the last few years. I’m interested in divorce issues, and long term effects on families. I garden, bike, read widely, try to maintain my older house, take long walks, live in a wonderful community with interesting people all around me.</p>
<p>Some time ago, in the context of a possible CC parents party, I posted my stats:</p>
<p>Here are my stats. Please, what R my chances of being admitted to a first-tier party?</p>
<p>SAQ: (strategic age quotient): high
SAT: I forget, but I took 3 Scholastic Achievement tests before they were called SAT IIs
LSAT: 713 (when 800 used to be tops; ninety-umpth percentile)
AP classes: none (high school didn’t have them back then)
Status: dues-paying member
Hair: battling between turning gray and just plain disappearing
Number of posts: see sidebar</p>
<p>Plagiarized Essay:
I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam. </p>
<p>Minority status: ORM (over-represented minority)
Former status: BNTWRK (bright, not-that-well-rounded kid) (good academics, the kind of student colleges used to look for)
Current status: SLBSNSWRP (somewhat less bright, still-not-so-well-rounded parent)
Possible weakness: prone to give opinions about applying for college or becoming a lawyer or engineer
Possible hooks: Older than most Party applicants; survivor of the college application process</p>
<p>Sometime attitude towards ECs: Quote from the Wisdom of Groucho: I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me</p>
<p>Background: Native-born NYCer living in northern California for many years; conversation sometimes intelligible through my accent</p>
<p>Famous person I almost met: once danced the polka with woman who turned out to be Joan Baez. I am not now, nor have I ever been, mistaken for Johnny Depp.</p>
<p>Will agree to not submitting a video or tape of my singing.</p>
<p>DR (Dance rating) (for SBmom): fair-to-very good, depending on the dance
RR (Raconteur rating): on the low side, somewhat enhanced by fine wine.</p>
<p>Will my low RR keep me from qualifying for first-tier parties? If so, second- or third-tier parties could be a better “fit” for me; I might be more comfortable in a less competitive party. Note, however, that even though I am a SLBSNSWRP with a low RR, I do know how to have fun. However, my conception of “fun” is not always the same as that of others.</p>
<p>Please, fellow parents, what R my chances??</p>
<p>I like dadofsam’s format, so I’m stealing^H borrowing it:</p>
<p>SAQ: (strategic age quotient): pretty high
SAT: I forget, since I took the SAT test after being accepted to college. They told me that as long as I did OK, I was in. I also took 3 Scholastic Achievement tests before they were called SAT IIs
LSAT: 740 (when 800 used to be tops; 750 was 99th percentile)
GMAT: 667 (I think 670 was 99th percentile back then)
AP classes: none (high school didn’t have them back then)
Status: not so high – I drive a minivan
Hair: battling between turning gray and just plain disappearing, but the good thing about being a mostly-blond is that the gray isn’t as obvious.
Number of posts: Eighteen in the fence, two on the porch, and six under the back deck.</p>
<p>Plagiarized Essay:
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. Think about it. Awesome.</p>
<p>Minority status: ORM (over-represented minority)
Former status: BNTWRK (bright, not-that-well-rounded kid) (good academics, the kind of student colleges used to look for)
Current status: SLBATWRFATWR (somewhat less bright, and too well rounded for the wrong reasons)
Possible weakness: being an annoying know-it-all
Possible hooks: Read all of Isaac Asimov’s novels in the original English versions</p>
<p>Attitude towards ECs: If I have a little time, I do extracurriculars. If I have any left, I go to work.</p>
<p>Background: [dialog]
Q. Where you from?
A. California
Q. But where are you from originally?
A. California
Q. Well, yeah, but where are your parents from?
A. California
Q. Where is your family from originally?
A. My grandparents moved to California in the early 1920s
Q. Well, where before that?
A. You got me – not California.</p>
<p>Famous people I have spoken with: Lucille Ball, Ronald Reagan, Jane Fonda.</p>
<p>RR (Raconteur rating): Picture Cary Grant in any Hitchcock movie. I’m almost exactly not like that.</p>
<p>Please, fellow parents, what R my chances??</p>
<p>Oh, good one, dadofsam! I say you should go for the reach so you don’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering if you aimed too low. And who knows, you might be one of the lucky >10%.</p>
<p>As for me, I believe I’m in the upper quartile of CC members age-wise. I’m married, two daughters–one with a family of her own and the other a first-year student in an eastern LAC. I live in Germany, where I teach in an American high school, but I grew up in WA. I’ve been a CC member for a couple of years now, but I’m more of a reader than a poster. I guess people who know me would say I’m more of a listener than a talker…so my virtual life is consistent with the real me.</p>
<p>I’m back after about a year of not posting on CC, so I’ll re-introduce myself.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, I hang out here from time to time because the MIT board is lower-traffic and a lot of the posts on the student college life boards make me want to throw things. I hang out on the MIT board because I want to help prospective students…I was a student worker for MIT Admissions for a couple of years.</p>
<p>I’m a 22 year-old woman from Kentucky (and before that, Georgia) and went to MIT (I bet you figured that out by now) from 2003-2007, having graduated in June. I have a degree in brain & cognitive sciences, with a humanities concentration (the humanities mini-minor required of all MIT undergrads) in international politics/security studies. I also took a bunch of computer science and math-beyond-calculus classes, and even TAed a robotics class.</p>
<p>Right now, I’m working as a software engineer for a company that does applied AI research and development for the government, mostly the Department of Defense, and living in an apartment in Somerville, MA. This term I’ll be taking a class in analog circuit design at Harvard Extension, and I’m hoping next term to get into Tufts’ post-bac computer science program and use that as a stepping stone to their master’s program, which I’d like to do while working full-time and getting partial tuition reimbursement from my company.</p>
<p>I’m an avid reader, an atheist, an ACLU member, and a player (and starting to be a writer, now) of live action roleplaying games. I’m an alumni member of Alpha Phi Omega National Co-ed Service Fraternity, and represented the MIT chapter at the national convention last year. I do jiu-jitsu and bike to work. I’m a member of the IEEE, IEEE Women In Engineering, and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. I speak passable French and lived in a boarding house in Switzerland for the summer between my junior and senior years while doing a computational neuroscience internship. I’m the oldest of five kids. I have long, very curly brown hair that fades gradually to gold at the ends and brown eyes, and rather stereotypically Jewish-looking features, courtesy of my dad’s whole side of the family being Russian Jewish (and even had an anti-Semitic slur yelled at me in Switzerland on the street during the Israel/Lebanon War, despite being the atheist child of atheist parents). Politically, I belong to no party, and would consider myself a liberal/dove tempered by pragmatism. ;)</p>
<p>I bet you didn’t actually want to hear all that. :)</p>
<p>Gosh, you can think of me as the Importance of Proofreading Poster Child. That > in “>10%” was supposed to be “<” --just a typo. I’m not really math-challenged…it’s just that I don’t catch my errors until it’s too late to edit.</p>
<p>I kind of like the “famous people I’ve talked to” feature–my list includes Ernest Borgnine, Carlos Fuentes, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and David Robinson (he actually high-fived me–his hand is much bigger than mine, and I must admit it was more of a low-five on his part). </p>
<p>Hmm, I guess “my list includes” sounds a little pretentious. That’s really the sum total, every single slightly famous person I can think of that I’ve ever met.</p>
<p>I’m another up and coming 50 year old, working mom of two boys, 17 and 15 - unfortunatley it is the oldest son who requires much in depth exploration to find a match. He is a senior, hopeful NM semi whose taste in colleges has us searching hours on end for a match that would offer some merit $.</p>
<p>Older than I think I am. I do have a pony tail. When I grow up, I’m either going to apply to med. school, or become a children’s librarian, or work for the National Park Service.</p>
<p>Long ago, and far away, I majored in volleyball at a small LAC in California, and picked up a degree in Biology while I was there. I doubt I would get in there today, (with the stats I had then). </p>
<p>One each: DH, DS, DD.<br>
We have lived overseas for ten years, and would recommend that everyone take any opportunity to study abroad, and/or keep an open mind about job opportunities in countries other than the U.S. You’ll get a whole new perspective on other nationalities, other faiths, etc.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m 17, from India, and I’m a first-year at Oberlin College. I lurk here more than I post (on the parent boards), because I’m afraid I’ll say something irrelevant. I grew up in India, and am in the US only for college. I’m atheist and socially liberal, and a huge internet geek. I’m kind of random. I’m loving college, too and will be happy to answer questions.</p>
<p>…you should go to Oberlin, too! We’re awesome!</p>
<p>kimfred</p>
<p>It’s late, but not too late!</p>
<p>What have you/he looked at so far?</p>
<p>curly fry</p>
<p>No need to worry about relevance–most of us don’t. My hubby and lots of our friends went to Oberlin and loved it. Our son liked it too, but decided Grinnell was a better fit.</p>
<p>I’ve visited India twice, once when I was 15 and again 4 years ago, both amazing experiences.</p>
<p>The one good thing about growing older is that we really do not care if what we have to say is irrelevant!!</p>
<p>Son has talked about Oberlin . . . he’s worried about the alcohol/drug rep . . . he doesn’t do either, any thoughts you could share CuryFry?</p>
<p>Son had narrowed choices down to 5 midwest schools, Carelton, Grinnell, U of MN Morris, Luther and Carthage . . . then he decides to expand his horizons . . . from Illinois to Maine down to Texas, and possibly CA (this week, anyway!!)</p>
<p>He’s a mature kid, 4.0 gpa unweighted, 34 act, hopeful NMS (224 - WI), 5’s in two ap classes last year, tied for 1/225 with a few others, weak in ec’s . . . football and track for three years, eagle scout, limited volunteer work, good creative writer, found out he has not had proper preparation for academic writing, would like to write a fantasy novel, his hook would be that he lost and has kept off 65 pounds. January of freshman year he began walking 2+ miles to exercise club and would work out 2+ hours - every single night. Then went into football in the fall - became too skinny - then started weight lifting, eating healthier - that was really where his time went. Weight loss was not normal adolescent weight loss as he has grown maybe an inch in high school. (He was over 6 feet in junior high.)</p>
<p>Hoping, hoping, hoping for Merit aid as there is no way we can swing the estimated EFC, so would need major merit aid for him to go to the type of college he would like . . . intellectual, no greek life, lac - 1500-2500 students approximately, possibly a smaller university or larger university with honors college, not much alcohol/drugs, life centers around the campus, students remain on campus on weekends, CS major. We found several colleges with good merit aid that appeared to be a good fit for him but then found out they didn’t have a CS major. Were a middle class family, on the frugal side, I worry how he will fit in at a NE college . . . hear about wealthy families and sense of entitlement.</p>
<p>He’s searching for the peer group he has never found at his high school. When he was 4 his daycare provider said he would never have a lot of friends, but would have a few really good friends . . . she was so right!! But . . . after moving (husband promoted, residency in state across the river came with it) and having several friends move away, he gave up on making friends, stayed friends with a couple of friends from across the river, never had a peer group in middle school. He’s come into his own right these past couple of years, but still feels like he does not have a peer group. He hangs with the religious kids on occasion, but mainly sticks around home, although would love to be out with kids his own age. Socially he does well, he has a wonderful sense of humor, a great wit, but a bit shy initially.</p>
<p>Bethievt, now that that your sorry you asked!!! do you have any suggestions? Sorry to go on and on . . . but it has been FRUSTRATING as this kid is not going to fit in just any place, unlike his younger brother who will want to go where he can HAVE FUN and where his friends go - one of the colleges within a few hundred miles of us, I’m sure and it will take him all of a day or two of thought to decide and while he is as intelligent as his brother, he would rather play sports and socialize than apply himself - different kid, looks at life differently than his brother.</p>
<p>Just posted the previous post and realized the post was a bit of an inappropriate post for this particular thread. (Sorry, after I had used it three times, I couldn’t resist the fourth!)</p>
<p>Anyway, apologies!!</p>
<p>CurlyFry and Bethievt, would love to hear from you in email, etc.</p>
<p>I’ll be 51 on Wednesday. Hoping it’s easier than 50. DH is five years younger and about ruptures himself laughing at my AARP mailings. He has a Ph.D in population studies from Michigan, where I think they threw in some postdoctoral work in insensitivity to wives. Our one-and-only, far-too-precious son just started his first year at William & Mary. We live in NYC, but H is from India originally and I grew up in Florida. (I think from the hints it’s the next town south from doubleplay.) S attended NYC public gifted programs from kindergarten through HS. CC was a huge help to us in the college search process last year.</p>
<p>(Oh, and the "heli"copter part of my name was supposed to be ironic. I’m really more of a hopeful paper airplane in a world of giant Sikorskys and Apaches. It gets taken at face value sometimes though.)</p>
<p>Kimfred- no worries for posting in the ‘wrong’ thread. Who you are right now is defined by what you need to be to help son find his niche.</p>
<p>Just wanted to say- my son was in the same boat after a high school move. Not much of a peer group. But he has found his tribe now that he is in college. He is in a nerdy major, and living in the Science and Honors dorm. Lots of kids like him just down the hall.</p>
<p>There is hope.</p>
<p>kimfred</p>
<p>I scoured the guidebooks for intellectual (nerdy), unpretentious, unconventional schools for my son. We visited 20: Antioch, Bard, Bates, Beloit, Carleton, Evergreen State, Goucher, Grinnell, Hampshire, Haverford, Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Oberlin, Pomona, Reed, St. John’s (Annapolis), Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore, Vassar and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Of these, your son might get merit aid from: Beloit, Goucher, Grinnell, Hampshire, Lewis & Clark, maybe Oberlin, maybe not. Macalester gives $5,000 per year for NMF, Carleton gives $2,000 per year for that. Another great Midwest option might be Lawrence in Appleton, WI.</p>
<p>My son is very unconventional-- though he knows how to “act” normal, he’d rather not. He picked Grinnell as his first choice school and I think he’s very happy there. There are many different ways of being weird. I think we sampled most of them in the last year and a half. Please feel free to pm me for more info.</p>
<p>Honors programs at State U’s are another way to go, and if he gets NMF, some will be free. Worth checking out!</p>
<p>He would probably get merit aid from St. Mary’s of California, University of Redlands, and several other of the California LAC’s. If he is still interested in the west coast… might want to send out a few feelers that way.</p>
<p>BTW, it sounds like we should have gotten our sons together with Bethievt’s when they were all about 9 years old. sounds like they have a lot in common.</p>
<p>kimfred</p>
<p>Should add Knox College in IL. My nephew went there, got merit aid and loved it. You won’t find a school with no party scene. Your kid will need to find EC activities to make friends outside the drinking weekend thing. Both options, and everything in between, are there at most colleges. Finding your peers takes a bit of effort.</p>
<p>Back on track with the subject line, I’m somewhere beyond 50 with one son in his sophomore year at Carnegie Mellon (also one husband). We live in the Chicago suburbs but my intent is to relocate to California for eventual retirement. Hopefully with the one husband; I have lived in the snow belt my whole life and I am tired of it - he agrees on the move but the time frame is moving slower than I’d like.</p>
<p>I started college (U of Mich) in Honors College as a probable math major - my SAT’s were something like 663 Written and 718 Math and I was a NMF (like my son). But I found lots of fun stuff to do at college instead of studying (like sit-ins, protests - those were the years!) and one year later was in regular college as an Anthropology major (because that sounded the most interesting at to me at 19). I went to an archeological field school in Nevada the summer before my senior year and lived in a tent in the foothills of the headlands of the Sierra Nevadas. My life continued in 7 year increments like Joseph’s dreams - 14 years working for the government, 7 years as a stay-at-home mom, 7 years studying Accounting then working part-time, and now nearly 7 years as a virtual administrative worker for a major food company. I work completely online and sometimes I even manage to get dressed and out of my jammies by noon. So I have lots of time to peek into CC during the day.</p>
<p>OK, so you’re probably figured out my age!</p>
<p>My husband worked 31 years as an engineer and manager for the same company then retired and is now doing consulting.</p>
<p>I discovered CC in a search engine result when our son was a sophomore in high school and quickly became addicted. I’m a research fanatic and and am always looking for as much detail as possible in areas of interest; these boards certainly fulfill that need! It seems like there’s always better experts on any subject but I have tried to give advice where it might help. I’ve only just started tiptoeing onto the social threads, so to speak. I love the way you can ask any question and someone somewhere will have an answer. Thank you all!</p>
<p>I’m a 50+ BSEE from San Diego State, getting toward the end of a software career in Silicon Valley. DD1 is a psych junior at Reed; she likes working with autistic children, with probable grad work in that area. DD2 is a HS senior thinking about film scriptwriting at NYU, Emerson and UCLA. DW found CC during DD1’s college search, but I became the addict, trying to answer questions about Reed (we’re on Parent Council), and promoting LACs in general (though being overfull, they don’t need it). We plan to escape to Ashland, Oregon, for eventual retirement.</p>