<p>eyemamom- Doing alright here. I’m on a very limited diet- no fiber at all- so I’m eating eggs, chicken, ground beef, a little cheese (in my omelet usually), yogurt, jello, popsicles, broths, sherbet, and applesauce. It’s enough to keep me going, but not very interesting. </p>
<p>Got the invoice and the Parent PLUS loan approval so we are set for Fall for now- until she gets a room assignment and we know which meal plan to sign up for. I may or may not have a small bill to cover.</p>
<p>Geogirl - thanks for that info. Youngest and I’ve been talking about UM and we agree that we will visit it when we finally get to FL (now hoping for Oct). We’re also thinking it’s worth an app if he likes it. The worst that happens is he gets rejected. He’ll have other (good) schools to consider.</p>
<p>eyemamom – My D ended up with one of the wilder kids from her HS class in her dorm suite last year. She was really worried about it at first. But the other kid partied elsewhere, so that turned out to be a non-issue. Ended up being just another suite-mate who wasn’t a friend, but wasn’t an antagonist either.</p>
<p>Hoping to revive this thread…</p>
<p>I’m sure it’s quiet here because everyone’s enjoying their summers. :). </p>
<p>D is down to her last 4 weeks before she returns to school. Yesterday, we went to the beach where her friend taught her surfing. She will need a few more lessons…She will also need to squeeze in dentist and doctor appts. Even though she has been enjoying being home, she is eager to return to school. I’m so glad she’s happy there.</p>
<p>Next summer, she plans on heading east to volunteer somewhere or perhaps go on her study abroad. While I don’t like the idea of her not coming home, I know the opportunities are greater in the metropolitan areas. </p>
<p>Enjoy the rest of the summer!</p>
<p>Yes, D2 is looking forward to going back to school now. She did all of her doctor/dentist checkups. Today she flew back “home” for a long weekend to see her friends. She hasn’t seen them since she graduated last year. There has been a lot of volcano activities down there lately, so I am hoping she won’t get stranded down there due to the volcano ash.</p>
<p>Looks like, for the second semester in a row, my D will have to take a physics or engineering class while being unable to get into a math pre- or co-req. The math sections that fit around the rest of her schedule(*) are over-full, with huge wait-lists. She is going to try force her way into the requisite math class once fall semester actually starts (late-add, after talking to the prof), but is sanguine about her chances.</p>
<p>I’m more upset about it than she seems to be. She tells me “It’s no big deal. My friends ignore pre-reqs all the time, and it always seems to work out.”</p>
<p>It did work out OK for her last semester. My D was able to teach herself the math she needed by working with study partners and pro-actively going to office hours when confronted with HW problems she couldn’t figure out. It forced her to not procrastinate, and to start problem sets earlier than she might have otherwise, which is not a bad life-lesson. But it made last semester much more difficult than it would’ve been if she’d been able to take her courses in the recommended order. </p>
<p>Is anyone else’s kid wrestling with this??</p>
<p>(*) The main reason my D is having these scheduling difficulties seems to be that she’s undecided between a couple of majors and therefore is trying to front-load STEM classes to help her figure out which major she wants before the end-of-sophomore-year deadline to declare a major. She could delay one or the other of the STEM classes by a semester and take a humanities/distribution class instead, but then would risk needing a 9th semester if she changes majors later.</p>
<p>My D1 returns home tomorrow after 6 months in Argentina. So excited! Just getting all the bills now for next term. This is our last year of paying two tuitions - so that is the thought I keep holding on to as I write the big checks. Neither of my DDs have their schedules throughly sorted. D1 is thinking of dropping a class to write a thesis. D2 has too many big reading classes at once and needs to shuffle something.</p>
<p>I am definitely looking forward to a month with everyone home before the move back to school. So much easier this year though - I don’t even have to collect the BB&B coupons anymore.</p>
<p>We got our tuition notification too… no real changes to it, so no great surprises. In three weeks we get to have 10 days with our guy. It’ll be a whirlwind trying to visit relatives and see friends during that time - not to mention catching up on some TV shows he wants to watch that we’ve been taping for him.</p>
<p>No problems at all for either of my college two ever getting classes they wanted/needed. They’ve always had their first choices for schedules for both classes and times. I feel for those who do struggle with it, esp when it includes needed classes.</p>
<p>This fall we’re gearing up for youngest’s apps and visits, etc. He’s our last. What a year it will be.</p>
<p>1012 - Can’t wait to hear the details of that trip. Sounds like something so many dream to do, but few actually do it. </p>
<p>Here’s how far I’ve fallen…last year I was all over the forms and paperwork, physicals, shots, etc. Shopping already for dorm stuff. This year, I got the tuition bill and looked at it and forgot all about the insurance waiver. I’m like really, I have to remember this every year? So I am “that” parent, the one that I became with summer camp forms after so many years. (sshhhh…I just signed off on the physical form myself) Now I have to wait for them to check our insurance, the same as last year, and take it off the bill.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you what, my second child is way more on top of things with me and handles a lot of stuff on her own.</p>
<p>I got that bill also with the insurance included. I emailed them and they gave me a link to go in and sign off that my insurance covered all those thinks on the list like mental illness etc. I am also pretty on top of things but did not know we would have to do that form every year. </p>
<p>In terms of classes, my S did get the main classes he wanted but had difficulty with the electives. Was totally closed out of the audio music engineering classes as they were full after the the seniors and jrs enrolled. The ones he ended up taking needed instructor permission which I prompted him to get early otherwise they would have filled up too.</p>
<p>mihcal1, it seems odd that a math class that is a prereq for other classes would fill. Perhaps checking with the head of the dept to see if they would consider opening an extra section if there are so many kids on the wait list.</p>
<p>Hi all! Sounds like all the kids are having rewarding experiences over the summer. My son loves his security engineering internship and they like him so much they’ve asked him to stay part time during the school year. His car is as old as he is, so this may be a great way for him to save towards a new one as well as continuing work he enjoys that is in his field. </p>
<p>The only problem is that they want him to work 20 hours a week minimum, so it will be a lot of work in addition to his engineering curriculum. Luckily, as a benefit of being in the honors college, he can choose classes early and is able to arange his schedule so that all of his classes are on 2-1/2 days and he can work the other 2-1/2 days. In addition to the 20 hours, the commute is about an hour and half round trip per day. </p>
<p>I think I worked 10-15 hours a week when I was in college, but there was no commute as I worked right on campus, and it was good to have work experience on my resume when I graduated. </p>
<p>How many hours, if any, are your kids working during the school year?</p>
<p>Between her babysitting jobs and her campus job, my D works around 15 hours a week while in school. She had one month last year when she was working two campus jobs and babysitting and it was a bit much- probably close to 25 hours a week. She managed it though. </p>
<p>She got her housing assignment thank goodness! She got a single in a 6 person suite with their own full kitchen and bathroom. The downfall is, they have to clean that space themselves! We’re trying to figure out which meal plan to get now. She’s not sure how much she’ll want to cook on her own and how much she’ll want to walk 2-3 blocks to the dining hall. I think we decided to go for lower meals with more dining dollars and add more dining dollars if needed as the term progresses. There’s an 1100 difference between the higher level meal plan and the one we picked. Dining dollars have to be added in $300 increments. I figure this will end up cheaper in the long run and it gives her more options. If she just wants a bagel for breakfast, she can get one for a couple dining dollars instead of the 5.75 they charge for a breakfast. If she really finds herself eating at the dining hall more than she thinks, we’ll go with the more expensive one the next term.</p>
<p>Mihcal1, it’s great that your D is so cool and confident about skating around the prereqs, but I sympathize. It would be worrying me as well. My own D has had some scheduling challenges, but not nearly as bad as your D’s, I think. D wanted honors OChem next semester, but had to settle for an evening lecture section of regular OChem. Still, the critical thing is to get on with OChem, because it’s a key prereq for virtually every course in her major. D needs honors credits as well, but thinks she can cover that by adding an “honors option” to another class. I think scheduling challenges are probably more of a challenge for students at public universities. That’s true for my D, anyway.</p>
<p>@bookmouse</p>
<p>My D1 worked two jobs for about 20 hours a week last fall. One job was about 45 minutes from campus. In the end she was not happy she did it. She felt like she was pulled off campus too much, and the rigidness of the regular job schedule made it hard to balance academics, and fun. YMMV</p>
<p>bookmouse
my son had an internship spring semester 2 full days a week - 9:00-5:00
He had to commute maybe 1/2 hour total each way
He did it, good experience for his resume
but it was hard loading his classes on the other days and at night
he missed some EC’s sthat he would have liked to have become more active in
but I guess you have to pick and choose
I was hoping he would not have an internship this semester but he told me there are some he just cannot pass up trying for… we’ll see</p>
<p>1012mom- can’t wait to hear more about your D’s summer… </p>
<p>We are getting the list of things to do before leaving going and checking things off. Have made appointment for D’s hair cut scheduled. She did the dentist last week. She gave notice at her summer job. Getting car inspected and oil change today.
The hardest part will be what to pack for the fall as she is living in the sorority house and has less room then the dorm… </p>
<p>She is so ready to go back and I am realizing that I will miss her but the house will stay cleaner with her gone… lol</p>
<p>Here we go again-S leaves 3 weeks from today. I am definitley not as stressed as I was last year or rephrasing, have different stresses this year. Not all stress is bad-we are lucky to have these problems.</p>
<p>S did find out the name of the RM. Looked him up on FB and immediately is concerned he will have the same problems he did last year. Of course they tell you not to judge people by the FB page and I keep reminding him that RM may have done the same thing and can immediately see they have different interests. But-really…having differents interests may be wonderful. They will be off doing their own things with their own friends and may not see much of each other. Plus this guy may be really nice. S just needs to see that I am right sometimes. It will be much easier this year with only 2 people in the room. Twice the space and half the personality confilcts.</p>
<p>We bought a futon for the room and of course it won’t fit in my car. We already know we have to make two trips on move in day anyway, but now am trying to borrow a bigger mode of transport without making it a big deal. I don’t want anyone else down on campus for the intitial move in because it will be too crazy. So futon will join him later that evening or the next day. We all have to make sacrafices.</p>
<p>S & RM have not made any attempt to contact each other. Shouldn’t be that big of a deal this year as far as who is bringing what. With 4 in the room, it needed to be discussed last year. RM is from out of state so I am thinking he is not bringing a futon too. Although, he may have been smarter than us and was going to order one to be delivered to the dorm. If so-maybe they should talk to each other.</p>
<p>I am a huge talker so this avoidance of talking to new people-especially the one you will be living with-really irks me. But appearantly they both have that in common so it’s a start.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone as we head into year2!!!</p>
<p>How big is the room to have beds and a futon?</p>
<p>@Lakemom-It is considered a super double. It has a common area and a separate bedroom area. Last year it was the same layout but with 4 desks and 2 sets of bunk beds. </p>
<p>In the common area where they remove 2 desks to make it a super double is where the futon will go.</p>
<p>Sounds like the futon can wait until it is convenient to bring. Maybe even bring it during fall break. Don’t know how big your car is but maybe you could buy some type of roof rack and tie it to the top of the car.</p>