<p>gadad - I’m not talking about theft, plagiarism, cheating, etc. - I just got the impression that even small things (like picking up a $1 bill and putting it in your pocket) would be a violation of the Honor code - and that you would have to be worried about others ‘tattling’ on you. I mean technically toilet papering trees is vandalism, right? where do they draw the line? It seemed REALLY far to the right from the tour guide’s perspective. It was just a major turn-off to me.</p>
<p>W&M have the oldest honor code in the country - yet all their bikes were locked up outside the buildings…</p>
<p>Cal1985-I think you did the right thing. Obviously he is responsible enough to know himself and his friends. I would have let my son attend as well, and I would have made it clear that I would help out other kids if things got out of hand. I think it is healthy that he trusts you enough. If he had lied, he would feel guilty, and he is responsible enough to know that while illegal, drinking a little bit at a party does not have to be such a dark forbidden thing. I think that those kids who have been taught personal responsibility regarding alcohol are those kids that are less likely to be binge drinkers when they are out on their own.</p>
<p>IJustDrive - Thank you I was really feeling yesterday that I did the wrong thing and no other parent would have let their son go - I needed a little back up support (even from discussion board strangers)! I do trust him and he has to make some decisions on his own and I rather he test some of those out while I can still be his back up support! Thank you for responding in my time of great doubt!</p>
<p>MizzBee - Same to you - thank you for taking the time to respond and let me know I was not totally crazy to let him go. I know there are parents who would not let their kid go to this party but we are all different. I just wanted to know I was not totally alone! And even
having two parents let me know they agreed with me - makes me feel more comfortable that I did not fall off the deep end! Thanks again!</p>
<p>mompop - thanks for reposting the light bulb jokes - they’re hilarious! There aren’t many on the list my son will be applying to - maybe we should try to come up with some for the schools our kids are interested in. How about:</p>
<p>How many University of Rochester students does it take to change a lightbulb?
Four–one to change the bulb, and three to argue about whether or not there’s actually a football team on campus.</p>
<p>Hmmmm - guess I should stick with my day job. </p>
<p>To follow up on the Davidson/Honors code discussion - </p>
<p>How many Davidson students does it take to change a lightbulb?
Two–one to change the bulb and the other to watch and make sure he actually puts the burned out bulb where it belongs.</p>
<p>kttmom - thanks for the write up! My BIL went to William and Mary decades ago and loved it. He fell in love with it when he did something on campus as an eight grader. Any school that produces a Jon Stewart gets a vote in my book.</p>
<p>As far as the Davidson honor code. I don’t know anything about it specifically, but I know when I started reading about schools with strong honor codes, I thought, “oh cool - they trust the students and the student deserve that trust and isn’t that great…” but then when I read more about a few schools’ honor codes, I had a reaction similar to what I think kttmom is describing - just something about students being responsible to police each other, etc. I can’t articulate it well, but kttmom, I think I know what you’re talking about. </p>
<p>Cal1985 - what a pickle! It is great your son is honest with you about it. I don’t think I would have let me son go, but I don’t think you have fallen off the deep end! We parents just have to slog along doing our best - and sometimes there is just no easy answer! Your son knows that you don’t freak out about everything that comes up, and that if he’s ever in a situation where he needs you, or he’s worried about his friends, he can come to you and you’ll be there and not have a knee jerk over reaction to whatever is going on, and that’s a really good thing.</p>
<p>Your title made me picture Jack Nicholson coming out of his seat yelling, “You can’t handle the truth!” ;)</p>
<p>Wabash also has an unusual code, and that is why DS loves it over schools with higher stats that are a better matchfor him. They have only one rule at the school: “The student is expected to conduct himself at all times, both on and off the campus, as a gentleman and a responsible citizen.”
It implies a set of values, but allows for great debate and interpretation. Only this year did they decide to put definitions in writing based on plagiarism. Students are expelled on the second offense for academic dishonesty. On the flip side, the incoming students are taught about effects of underage drinking, but the gentleman’s rule in practice seems to be interpreted as don’t get stinking drunk and made a fool of oneself. Drinking and pranks are tolerated. If DS does attend there, it will be interesting to see how he interprets this rule.</p>
<p>How many Wabash men does it take to change a lightbulb?
5. 1 to tell the pledge to fix it, 1 to change the bulb, 2 to yell “Wabash Always Fights!” and 1 to observe how much better they did it than DePauw.</p>
<p>How many DePauw students does it take to change a lightbulb?
2. 1 female student to do it while 1 helpless male stands wishing that he was manly enough to be a Wabash man.</p>
<p>D2 and I did a mini tour to see GA Tech and Clemson. GT was a big hit, Clemson off the list. The current front runners are GT and Northeastern, she likes schools with a defined campus in a city with strong engr incl coop programs. We will visit Drexel next month. We were able to meet a daughter of a friend at GT who showed us her dorm room and ate with us in a dining hall. Neither were included on the regular tour. The Clemson engr session gave lots of good info about their programs, which I found very impressive, the campus was just a turn off for us. The weather was great for the whole trip, we are now back home in the northeast to our multi-feet of snow!</p>
<p>jackief-I don’t know if you’re looking strictly in the east but my son is at Purdue, junior year of MechE, he’s had a co-op for 3 semesters now and it will be 5, if he decides. There is a huge co-op program there. MechE’s usually have 60-70 co-ops and I think the others do too. He’s with a bunch of kids that are from U of Toledo and it’s also mandatory that all of their kids do co-ops. Purdue isn’t in a true city, but it’s a college town with 40K kids. Indianapolis isn’t that far away.</p>
<p>I’m very happy for S who just found out he got a 36 on the ACT. He had done very well on the SAT but not quite at that level. I think he is finished with the tests now and can focus on his classes, the AP tests and probably a couple of SAT II tests. </p>
<p>Spring break is quickly approaching and we need to think about which Boston area schools he would like to visit. I’m wondering whether reservations for tours are necessary at any of the schools.</p>
<p>Thanks Northernwoods (and congrats to your son!) - I had forgotten ACT scores were released today. We’re visiting Boston over spring break too. We did make reservations for the tours, but i don’t know how necessary it is…</p>
<p>fourkidmom - yes, Purdue has a very good engineering program with lots of co-op opportunities. It is expensive for OOS though, although I’m not familiar with scholarship opportunities. </p>
<p>Wow - what a rain storm last night! And somehow, one car had all the windows open. Wheee - cleaning out a wet car today. The back yard has flooded enough that we have a small temporary lake with about 12 ducks hanging out - cute!</p>
<p>If the schools accept registration, it seems to make things go a little smoother if you register – they already have all your data, so there are no forms to fill out at the time of the tour/info session.</p>
<p>Plus, it helps them to make sure there are enough seats, bottles of water, tour guides, or whatever else is needed.</p>
<p>Northernwoods - congrats on S’s fabulous ACT score! D also took it in February but as a stand-by, so her scores won’t be available for a couple of weeks, I guess. she took it reluctantly without prep, so my expectations are low.</p>
<p>PN - we had the same storm around 5AM today. lost our power for a while and school was delayed 2 hrs due to power outages. I haven’t mustered up the courage yet to go check the basement - when it rains that hard we occasionally get water down there.</p>
<p>DH and I had a good conversation with D2 last night, at least good from our standpoint - she might not agree :rolleyes:</p>
<p>as I’ve mentioned numerous times she isn’t really engaged in the college search process - she fell in love with one school when we visisted for D1 a couple of years ago, is convinced it is her first and only choice, and is sure she will get in. the school is a match, stats wise, but has an acceptance rate under 25% so I don’t consider it a safety by any means. so the point of the conversation was to review what colleges are looking for (rigor, grades/rank, scores, ECs/leadership,etc.), the things that will make her stand out (decision and commitment to commute every day to a second school for an interdisciplinary humanities program, independent language study, local and regional youth group leadership) and the weak spots in her profile. she’s made a series of decisions that each on their own don’t seem to have a great impact but they begin to add up. e.g., missing out on several AP opportunities by doing the off-site Eng/History program, not taking AP Spanish V next year, taking AP Stats over AP Calc, being satisfied with Bs instead of As where a little more work might have resulted in a higher grade, not taking the advice of the reading coach (she is a very slow reader which affects her tests scores) which may have made the difference between NMSF and not, etc.</p>
<p>she responded with lots of sighing and eye-rolling, but I’m pretty sure she heard us.</p>
<p>pinot noir and Purdue- we didn’t apply for scholarship but he automatically got one for his ACT scores and I assume grades (which were no where near perfect) for 10K a year as an oos</p>
<p>fourkids- thanks for the Purdue recommendation. My step-nephew went there for MechE and had a great experience. Besides the lack of urban environment it is a lot bigger than other schools we’ve looked at. I think the only potential school in that area which we will not have a chance to visit is case.</p>
<p>PRJ - If she is so set on one school, can she apply early there and see where it takes her? Would that be too late to have an alternate plan? I noticed the change of time now that the “talk” we have with kids mean something entirely different. My D is changing rapidly at the moment, her interest and her personality. I am sitting back waiting for it all to settle down.</p>
<p>Back from a week off in sunny Florida! Lots to catch up on here, not sure I can even try! Love the jokes - I’ll have to try and remember a few. Nice to hear about college visits and impressions. Trying to store it away for when DS is open to discussions. </p>
<p>Congrats Northernwood’s son! Great score! </p>
<p>PRJ - Good luck with the discussions with DD2. I’ve come to the conclusion after reading here on CC about kids that burn out in college or make poor choices and return home after freshman year, that I have to back down from those “if only you had done x, you would have gotten an A instead of a B, and your GPA would now be xx%”. I try, not always sucessfully, to let DS go on his own. I know this is not the method of most, but at this point, I think he really does have to want it himself. We’ve worked hard at keeping the door open for all possibilities for DS, but now that job has to be his. Hopefully your DD2 and you can find some balance that you are all happy about. </p>
<p>Two weeks till SAT testing. DS has actually studied the language section, but math has not seen as much effort. I guess we shall have to wait and see!</p>