<p>I’m just re-discovering College Confidential, and getting used to my D being gone-- it’s a huge empty space, and I had NO clue what was in store for me… However, said child is fine, absolutely loving DC, working her tail off, and as far as I can tell is hanging in there with her new friends. What now??</p>
<p>I don’t post here much and I also don’t hear from my daughter unless it is on Twitter or FB. She only calls or texts if she needs money or something like that. That’s ok. </p>
<p>I found out she got an A on her math test via Twitter so I am really happy about that. She has joined a tap dance club and the gymnastics club along with political club and something else about diversity but not sure what it is. SO, she is very busy!</p>
<p>I try to comfort myself with the thought that if my D doesn’t call/text/FB message me everyday it means she’s enjoying her experience and I’ve done a good job of raising an independent, self-sufficient child. It sorta works…</p>
<p>As hard as it was to have her choose a school that is not within easy driving distance, when I see a FB post like this, I know she is in the right place :)</p>
<p>“Today, I had a famed sociologist and essayist in Freakonomics as a guest lecturer in class, saw a Broadway performance of Porgy and Bess, witnessed Barbara Streisand in the flesh, and had some freakin’ amazing cookies from the dining hall. You could say it’s been a good day.”</p>
<p>^^^
Where is the “like” button??</p>
<p>Yes, BarnardMom! What a great post to read. And that’s why we want our kids at schools that are a great fit for them.</p>
<p>I’m doing the mom happy dance this morning because I realize tomorrow I’m putting my packed bag in a car … this weekend is Parents Weekend so I get to see my son a month after launching him. I hope I don’t embarrass him and cry or something!</p>
<p>Well, ready or not … Overnighted in Champaign. Now it’s off to meet “Dr. Valve” (trumpet tech extraordinairre), then on to Evanston!</p>
<p>Trial1…My son is loving the classes and the other students. All of his professors are approachable and he says they are all available for meeting. Lots of help sessions are offered as well. He is Finding some of them more interesting than others but that is always the case with the entry level classes I think. He is taking 5 classes which translates to 18 credits I think - it might be 19, one might be a 4 credit class I do nto remember after he changed his schedule. </p>
<p>They are preregistered only for their core classes that they take first semester - Lit hum and u writing - I think second semester they take lit hum and a science class. it was tricky because you have to sign up for your other classes around the schedule for the core classes. It is possible to change a core class if you need to take a mandatory class for your major but it is not easy.</p>
<p>They registered for classes during orientation (NSOP) at a perscribed time after meeting with their advisor earlier inthe week. </p>
<p>The add/drop procedure is really easy for all other classes except the core classes. As long as there is availability my son has been able to register and then withdraw easily from a few classes that he comtemplated but ultimately did not take.
Language was the one area he did not get to take this semester although not sure how that is going to impact his needing to take all four semesters before going abroad. The language he wanted to take did not fit into his schedule and he tried another but decided against it -I do not know how the waivers work as he did not apply for one.
I know that you need to show your advisor your ap credits to apply for higher level classes in calc and comp sci. but you might have to take a placement test for chem.
Hope that helps - let me know if you have other questions</p>
<p>October hit early for DD. She got the dreaded first college cold, complete with aches and fever. It has been going on for several days so she was dehydrated and sleep deprived. She called feeling hopelessly behind, unable to concentrate and overwhelmed. So I told her to skip the two classes and two rehearsals that she had that afternoon and night and GO TO BED. She was all in a twist about needing to live up to her obligations - but finally I was able to convince her that singing in rehearsals in her current state could damage her voice and make the problem last longer - also that nobody wanted a typhoid mary infecting everybody else. As expected, when she sent the emails everyone said yes please stay away we will work on something you are not in. </p>
<p>So, a nyquil night and she is feeling a bit better this morning. Still behind, but better able to concentrate, and making progress in her work. I am glad that she is so committed to living up to her committments, but hoping she gains some perspective on her limitations - temporary or otherwise.</p>
<p>^^ Aww. Poor sweetie. This is where it’s tough to be far away. :(</p>
<p>itsthatime</p>
<p>Thank you for the detailed post. You mentioned they take lit hum and science class second semester - so do the students have to register for those core courses in the second semester or is it automatically assigned (pre registered) as it happened in the first semester?</p>
<p>Has your child completed AP foreign language already? Does one need to take the foreign language classes even after the AP foreign lang say a score of 5?</p>
<p>What did you mean by “before going abroad”?</p>
<p>Do 5 classes translate to approximately 19 credits? So on an average is each class 4 credits - was thinking around 3 credits each. </p>
<p>Generally, what are the classes one takes in the first semester other than the 2 core classes?</p>
<p>Would you mind elaborating the below line that you had written -
As long as there is availability my son has been able to register and then withdraw easily from a few classes that he comtemplated but ultimately did not take.</p>
<p>Ideally, when do the AP credits get applied? Is it after the end of the freshman year?</p>
<p>Finally dropped off my older daughter at the airport to go to NU, the term starts so late this year. Now I am truly an empty-nester; not so sure how I feel yet. It is odd to not have to be home for any real reason at any specific time. I’m not really sad, more a bit confused.</p>
<p>SteveC - your kid is going to have a great time this week and even when classes begin. Good luck to all the NU kids and others who are just beginning this journey!</p>
<p>It is wild that Snowflake is off to parents weekend the same day we leave for move-in.
We spent the morning packing the truck and horse trailer. I don’t know how she plans to fit all the clothes and shoes in her dorm room.
She has been busy with goodbyes this week. Tomorrow morning will be especially hard when she says goodbye to the horse she has jumped for the last 18 months.
It is hard to see her sad about all she is leaving versus being excited for what is to come. I have to remind myself that she will do fine.</p>
<p>1012mom, my D says she has a terrible sore throat. Already feeling pressed to keep up with all her work and extras. I told her to get some Vitamin D and start taking it. Can’t hurt. I remember spending the night in the college health center with chills and fever my first semester. Stress related?</p>
<p>I have been following along, but haven’t posted in quite some time on this thread. We did the launch for nearly a week for our youngest D. Honestly, I had no idea parent orientation could be that long. I now realize that by the time it was over, we we all ready to get on with things. As for myself, I just wanted a nap!</p>
<p>We set up a “proof of life” rule for Sunday’s that while we’d LOVE a phone call - with lengthy chats about all the interesting and fun stuff she is doing, details of friends, etc, we only require she prove she’s alive. I chose Sunday’s because it just makes me feel better knowing she’s survived the weekend. She’s texted a few times, but as has been pointed out, it’s generally for something she needs, money or both! But like someone else said, I guess I should be glad she isn’t feeling homesick and calling me crying. So in the absence of that, I am assuming all is going well.</p>
<p>H&I extended our time west in dropping off our D to spend a few days in the mountains at my inlaws but for the most part we’ve gone back east for a few weeks. I have only had occasion to have one full twinge of Empty Nest melancholy and that was while watching the season premiere of Glee when I clearly recognized that an entire time of my life is surely over and done. I can hardly believe I will never go to another parent teacher conference!</p>
<p>Lots of colds and weird little bugs will attack out kids’ immune systems the next few months. Best to make sure they have a small little arsenal of over-the-counter remedies at hand. S went thru quite a few tylenol and advil the first semester, not to mention a bottle of nyquil AND dayquil! But since freshman year, I think he’s really only been down for the count once in the last three years!</p>
<p>We have parents weekend with S the first weekend of October and with our D the last weekend of October. A nice way to bookend the month (although the travel between them is nothing quick or easy!)</p>
<p>My daughter mentioned illness going through the freshmen at her school, too. I had her check the allergen report and she realized that the allergens were really high. Time to take those allergy meds!</p>
<p>Trial - I will try to answer your questions but may not know some of the answers since he has only been there a few weeks. I do not know what happens for second semester yet - I will ask him but assume you stay in your lit hum section? I guess we will find out. In terms of what other courses to take first semester, I think a lot depends on what you think you might major in. My son wants to double major so he is also taking an entry level class in one of the majors, a calc class and a class that would go towards his second major. </p>
<p>He wanted to take a language because he took latin in high school and wanted to take a language he could actually speak. At columbia you need to fulfil your language requirement of four semesters of a language before you can go abroad for a semester. Most kids who go abroad go junior year so if my son wants to go abroad, he will either go second semester junior year or have to take a summer language course. I really do not know how the ap language credit works - perhaps you can look that up on the website. I also do not know when they get the credit applied for ap classes - </p>
<p>Classes tend to be mostly 3 or 4 credits - with a five credit class every once in a while. It depends on the specific class.</p>
<p>the add/drop period is a time when kids sometimes try out classes they might be interested in or are not sure if they are too advanced or just curious about. I know when my son was trying to figure out his schedule, he registered for a class or two and then for different reasons, did not end up taking that class and it was very easy to drop them - it is all done via the computer. He said kids were adding and dropping for the first two weeks trying to get a feel for a schedule that works - in terms of timing and intensity of classwork and type of work (for example heavy reading versus problem sets)</p>
<p>do you have a child thinking about columbia?</p>
<p>SteveC and others on their way to NU - Good luck and we hope to hear about the orientation soon. Say hi to Evanston (my childhood hometown) for me!! My D is very happy at P<em>M</em>A - auditioning for the ballroom dance team, doing work study in the theater department and liking her classes even though Calculus is quite hard and they all require a fair amount of studying. It’s nice to know she’s in the right place though. She’l be coming home for fall break in about a month.</p>
<p>I need some wack-advice!</p>
<p>Tomorrow is the last day for D to add/drop classes or change from a letter grade to pass/fail. I know she was contemplating changing her PE class to p/f. I don’t know whether she followed through. She’s in the middle of midterms, so it may have slipped her mind. </p>
<p>I emailed her a reminder a few days ago, but got no reply. Should I text her? Call her? Or would that be excessive hovering?</p>
<p>@mihcal1-text here. She might appreciate the reminder. :-)</p>
<p>I don’t look at myself as a hoverer-more of a personal assistant!</p>