<p>Hi Myth - thanks for visiting us. 
Your knowledge and advice is always welcome.</p>
<p>zoosermom - Union is on my list of schools that I want D to check out, probably over the summer. So far, she hasnāt shown any interest, however. If you go, please provide some feedback. Iād be very interested in hearing your thoughts about the school and the students.</p>
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<p>Yes! Antiquing! Thatās right up my alley. Thanks for the link and the suggestion.</p>
<p>zoosermom and LIMOM, my Dās dearest h.s. friend is a jr. at Union, so I hear a lot about it, both from her and from her mom. Biggest plus: The honors program offers some outstanding opportunities. Biggest drawback: The trimester system creates a lot of problems with internships, jobs, etc.
I think current students and parents would have a lot to say about whether or not the newish house system has been successful in helping to balance out the Greek dominance that was perceived to be a problem a few years ago. (Dās friend and her family would say, not so much.)</p>
<p>Thought I would chime in here, too, I am already on the Parents of Class of 2009. My son did very well on his PSATs and I asked him if he wanted to take the SATs in the spring and his reply was āNo.ā So I guess I will just leave him alone! He turned 16 in July and seems to have no interest in getting his driverās license yet. </p>
<p>By next year at this time, he will be the only one left at home! How quickly it all goes by! Maybe Only Son is looking forward to that, he has 3 older sisters!</p>
<p>Welcome, SLUMOM!</p>
<p>Harriet, thanks so much. Now at least I know some things to look for. I donāt think my daughter would like a heavily greek school. Sheās not much of a joiner.</p>
<p>Hi Slumom, nice to meet you!</p>
<p>Union has a great reputation, (I am from Northern New York myself, so I know a lot about NYS colleges) however people do love to make fun of Schenectady! Just the same way with Vassar & Poughkeepsie & Yale & New Haven.</p>
<p>Our family jokes about Poughkeepsie and weāve never even been there. Live far, far from there. Itās the same way we joke about Walla Walla, Washington, as when something is far away or in a very remote place. Remember the old Road Runner cartoons? All of the coyotes gadgets were from the āAcme Novelty Company of Walla Walla, Washingtonā.</p>
<p>This last summer we visited Whitman College, so now we have at least been to Walla Walla. Donāt think weāll make it to Poughkeepsie. :)</p>
<p>My brother used to live in Poughkeepsie. He moved.</p>
<p>My own personal joke is that I say I am from Northern New York, then someone may say āOh, Upstate?ā I say āNo not Upstate, to some people Upstate is Poughkeepsie. I am from Northern New York, there is a big difference.ā </p>
<p>A big difference like walking to school when it is 40 below, now they would cancel it, they didnāt back then! My kids never believe me, but it is a true story. Our hair froze as I recall.</p>
<p>Slumom, Iām from the City and I generally just flick my hand and refer to āupstateā outside of the five boroughs and Long Island! Itās ten degrees today and I kept my hothouse flower home from school.</p>
<p>What college search sites do you recommend to get good information on colleges? Best one for putting in information like GPA, SAT, etc. to get matches? I feel like I am all over the place looking, but not really impressed with any of the sites I have been on.</p>
<p>zm, I grew up in the city, and your post reminds me of that classic Saul Steinberg cartoon of a New Yorkerās view of the country: <a href=āhttp://strangemaps.files.ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā /2007/02/newyorker2.JPG[/url]ā>http://strangemaps.files.ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā /2007/02/newyorker2.JPG</a></p>
<p>Hahaha Booklady! I hadnāt seen that. I love it!</p>
<p>Booklady - I remember that cartoon! Thanks for posting it. </p>
<p>Harriet - thanks for the info regarding Union. D is pretty sure sheās not the sorority type, but the school is probably still worth a look.</p>
<p>Welcome SLUMOM.</p>
<p>linfort - I havenāt tried them, and seriously doubt that D has, but I know that collegeboard and princetonreview both offer college match services. Canāt say how good they are though, and youāve probably already tried them.</p>
<p>Harriet, your PM box is full.</p>
<p>Sorry, zoosermom - itās pruned now.</p>
<p>Forgot to say, but like zoosermom, I tend to refer to all of NY, other than the 5 boroughs and LI as upstate as well. </p>
<p>And Harriet, thanks for visiting us here! Iām sure you have lots of great advice for us, so feel free to share anytime.</p>
<p>linfort, I have used collegedata.com & saved schools to a data locker. Some turn out to be reaches, some maybes for my D#3. It has been kind of fun to alter the test scores & so on, then calculate the possibilities for admissions. It is also neat to look at the kids who post their stats to the Class of _____ and then see if they were accepted, denied or waitlisted. </p>
<p>While I canāt say that it is an accurate tool, it can be just something to fool around with.
Sometimes you can get a āhigh maybeā or a ālow maybeā. I donāt think any of these things are very accurate, they canāt calculate if you are a legacy or something or maybe you have a building campus named after your family! </p>
<p>That New Yorker cover, that is priceless!</p>
<p>jackief - </p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome. Yes, the ādualā classes are those taken in high school through a local college for both high school and college credit. </p>
<p>She learned the hard way last year that banking on passing those AP tests will break your heart. Seems no one whoās had her teacher has ever passed the APUSH so D is aiming for the duals first and letting the AP classes take up the slack in her schedule. Of course the duals may not be degree req, but at least sheāll have actual in hand credit hours at the end instead of a failed AP test.</p>
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