<p>
RL = Robots 
So, meet me in St. Louis? If we both make it, I’m buying!!</p>
<p>Well we are back from our grueling college visit. It isn’t so easy to do this when you have a broken leg like I have had since mid August. Yes, I am in a walking cast but climbing a lot of stairs still isn’t easy and even my mostly healthy daughter was exhausted after the total drive (about 7.5 hours) and the visit. </p>
<p>It was very helpful to her to see what she wants in a college. SHe attended a class that was not a freshman class and she was dismayed at the level of the class. It was a literature and culture class and they were discussing Don Quixote. Now she has never read this book but could answer more of the teacher’s questions about the book than most of the class. Not only was the level of the class very disappointing and the student’s lack of caring but the conversation before class was dismaying too. Several girls were talking about vandalizing cars and removing all the furniture from a girl’s room (a girl they didn’t like) and placing them around her car. I don’t know whether vandalism is so common or my d is just so unlucky because this is the second time at a college where she was hearing about vandalism incidents where the participants were proud of what they had done. </p>
<p>She has basically decided that this college isn’t for her. I am not sure why she isn’t ruling it out completely but I agree that it isn’t for her. It seems like a college more for kids who struggled in high school and need extra help to get through college. I think it is telling that the honors program has almost every general ed class and many non gen ed class duplicated in the honors program. She didn’t like it that there was not one word said about the honors program so she thinks that to the other kids, it is a very different group. She doesn’t want to go somewhere where being a good student is an unusual deal and she thinks the discussions in classes should be at least on the level of her high school lit class.</p>
<p>Glad you made it through MM. Visits are tough even healthy. We made the magical college tour last spring and had a great time, but were exhausted!!</p>
<p>Your daughter’s experience is unfortunate. Who knows if this is a ‘one-off’ event at that school, but it is a lasting impression for her that will be hard to break. The interpretation of the class is interesting, as is her thought on the perception of honor students. Sometimes these visits serve to clear the field as much by elimination as finding schools they love.</p>
<p>Congratulations GAMom and Daughter! </p>
<p>MM: It sounds like you had an exhausting day yesterday. The school does not sounds like a fit for your daughter. It’s good to know that now. I don’t think vandalism is common among college girls and I think my daughters would be turned off by that discussion also.</p>
<p>Congrats GAMom! MM - good to get that firsthand experience. My ds wants to revisit one of his app schools but I can’t see how we can arrange that before they let out for winter break. </p>
<p>Funny of the day - I ask my ds how the SATIIs went (since he never cracked open that Princeton Review book I got him about a month ago and yesterday went to a burger place after school with friends, hung out with gf, went to a b-day party last night and oh, “studied” with gf until 11) and he says “Great! Math was easy, piece of cake and Chem, well I only left 15 blank so I think I did really good! Do they curve?” As my dd said, he is not entirely in touch with reality. C’est la vie right? I’m a big believer in fate and what will be, will be. The scores will pretty much determine whether he has another app to do or if we just drop it off the list.</p>
<p>Sounds like a productive visit MM! Even finding out a college is NOT a good fit is as good as discovering one that will work. I hope it wasn’t high on the list. It is really hard to find that out with a visit that doesn’t involve a class. My daughter had a similar experience at a College class when she was a HS senior and I was pretty bummed because it would have been very convenient and inexpensive.</p>
<p>And blueiguana - Yes, Robotics son’s team is (for the first time ever!) talking about going to Nationals in St. Louis. Heck with studying for the AP tests that last week in April!?</p>
<p>gamom: Congrats to you and your daughter!!</p>
<p>A question unrelated to college for you wise parents – Do you have any good gift ideas for high school son to give gf? They have been dating for about 2 months. With Christmas approaching, this is his first gift giving opportunity and I’d like to help guide him to something appropriate. If you have a daughter, what’s the best gift she ever received from a boyfriend? Or if you have a son, what is the best gift he’s ever given? I know that this will depend on gf’s tastes, but my son seems rather clueless!</p>
<p>OhioMom - a 4X6 photo of the couple together in a nice frame - not too expensive, and shows he’s thinking of her in a special way.</p>
<p>Ohiomom: I have two sons and have advised them with gifts many times at many stages of relationships. Some ideas for a two-month relationship: movie DVD or compilation DVD of her favorite TV show, fun jewelry (nothing extravagant–and not a ring!), sweatshirt from their high school or a favorite college, board game, tickets to a concert. </p>
<p>Our older son dated a young lady who loved crazy socks. That made it very easy to shop for her. Another idea is to ask her friends what she might like.</p>
<p>Congrats Gamom! How great to be DONE!</p>
<p>Ohiomom- My D has liked homemade gifts, tickets to something for the two of them, simple pieces of jewelry. Inexpensive and thoughtful is OK, inexpensive and not thoughtful is not OK. Something that shows he has noticed her unique interest is a winner.</p>
<p>congrats everyone on the acceptances. hard to keep up here!</p>
<p>Ohiomom - regarding gift. My son is in a 2 yr relationship. (Yes, they started dating as sophomores – don’t know what will happen next year if they’re far apart. They’re applying to many of the same schools but one could end up in the midwest, the other on the east coast. They are two peas in a pod – even have the same grades in the same classes and their SATs are only 10 points apart!) Among the presents he’s given her are the suggestions made above – for Valentine’s day a photo in a nice frame; her b-day – a pretty necklace; music; a date at MoMA/dinner – not their usual date; and for this last b-day in November, she requested a handwritten letter. I thought that was so nice. She said that she had received plenty of text messages and emails but never a romantic, heartfelt handwritten letter from him and that’s what she wanted 
how lovely is that?</p>
<p>Pepper, hoping your son’s tests went well today. And kudos to him for, nicely, telling dad he was “steering his own ship” in terms of studying and other prioritizing. He sounds like a great kid, well on his way.</p>
<p>FLMM, thanks for the heads-up on CB comments. I will also give feedback on making score history easier to find.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping, what a relief! So glad it’s something that sounds fairly easily treatable. </p>
<p>GaMom, CONGRATS! Great news for your D, very happy for you.</p>
<p>MilMom, sorry about your leg! That has to make college visits even more challenging, no question! </p>
<p>We had a 5-hours-instead-of-2-hours blizzardy drive back from a college music dept event last night. </p>
<p>On our way there, had a scary skid down an icy hill, anti-lock breaks pumping like crazy to no avail. I got to demo for my (already-fearful-of-driving) D how to go into full-out adrenaline racing, scared out of your wits, but (if I do say so myself) smart damage control mode when the car simply can’t be stopped (you can’t conquer ice plus gravity).</p>
<p>As we gained acceleration sliding uncontrollably down the hill (despite all my efforts to stop, and I’ve been driving in midwest winters for 35 years), I did a quick assessment: car at the bottom of the hill, breaklights on, going nowhere. Option 1: plow right into him. Option 2: ease into the on-coming traffic lane (nobody in it at the moment), evading the stopped car in my own lane, but then sliding right into the intersection below, where cars were steadily crossing the intersection at fairly high speeds. We would have been killed, I’m almost positive. Option 3: Gently, but right now, turn right, jump the curb, and plow the car into the upward sloping embankment on the side of the hill. I went with #3.</p>
<p>Told D to hang on, that the airbags might deploy, and then I steered us 90 degrees off the road, hit the bank dead-on, which bounced us even further to the right so we ended up almost pointing backward up the hill.</p>
<p>When help arrived, remarkably, I was able to put the car in reverse, and ease us back up the hill. I guess the 4 wheel drive was able to get us UP the icy slope, even though no power on earth was going to stop that car while sliding DOWN.</p>
<p>Only very minor front end damage, lots of dirt and debris under the bumper, but I’ll take it in Monday to be sure everything’s ok.</p>
<p>Oh…we enjoyed the campus music events very much, and D slept the whole 5 hours home, while I averaged 25 MPH on the interstate in sometimes whiteout conditions, thinking my solitary, 2:00am thoughts.</p>
<p>Today, D said, “You know, Mom, that was really excellent defensive driving.”</p>
<p>Ya think??? :)</p>
<p>Very nicely done, MOSB. Most people would just keep bearing down on the brakes, hoping something good would happen.</p>
<p>RenMom, that is SO lovely! And how romantic. Ah…young love.</p>
<p>MOSB: What a harrowing experience. You handled it very well. I’m glad the only damage was to the car. I’m in awe of your driving bravery. I’m a complete snow wimp and usually stay home when it snows or threatens to snow. Of course, most things around here shut down when we get more than 2 inches of snow!</p>
<p>Mosb- greatly impressed with your clear thinking and driving skills. Situations like that make me terrified at the thought of d driving home next year from college!</p>
<p>Nice job MOSB - especially when it all happens in just seconds.</p>
<p>MOSB - glad you and dd are alright! good angels and one heck of a good call on your part!</p>
<p>MOSB: Thank goodness you and dd weren’t injured! Great job!</p>
<p>oh my gosh. Glad no one was hurt MOSB. Nice job.</p>