<p>6 days in San Diego - what a fantastic opportunity! Where do the students stay? It’s absolutely jam packed here during summer. All available lodging is taken up by ‘Zonies’ - that’s our local term for every human from Arizona that drives over to San Diego in the summer, although it appears that some of them actually work because it is more of a weekend exodus.</p>
<p>So today I look on the website to see that the main freshman class that my D needs, Mass Communication, has 5 listings in the Fall catalog - every one of them is full with no openings. How the heck did that happen if freshmen cannot register? Did everyone else get a good schedule assigned by the Registrar except my D?</p>
<p>Coralbrook, I confess I laughed also at your post! It’s so classic isn’t it? I guess the good thing is the college plugged in required classes in lieu of NO classes? I’m sure she can sort that out…</p>
<p>Idahomom: What fun for your son! A perfect way to start his new life in California!</p>
<p>We are off to U of Oregon in mid-July for 2 days of registration, preceded by meeting with academic advisors and learning support folks to get that all sorted out. Maybe S will meet a potential roommate there, too. Then, nothing until the massive move-in and more freshman orientation right before classes start in Sept. He can’t wait.</p>
<p>S has a part-time retail job, yay! It doesn’t start for a few more days so I’m trying to leave a honey-do list (buy mulch, pick up these groceries, take this stuff to Goodwill) each day when I head off to work so I know he won’t fritter the entire day away. My blood pressure rises when I see that long form lounging on the couch when I walk in every afternoon…</p>
<p>D received her orientation schedule and the all-college reading book in the mail. The book is “The Feminine Mystique,” which I remember reading back in the 70s when I was her age (it was already 10 years old then)–not that my middle-aged brain remembers much! It’s probably going to seem like ancient history to her, but I was a little surprised that she’d never heard of such a seminal work. Most of her HS reading was more literary in nature, I guess. </p>
<p>She also discovered from the Facebook group that she could peek at her room assignment early by logging into her college billing account, so she knows she has a single and which Living-Learning Community she’s been assigned to. Because the LLC is an academic one (i.e. the girls on a floor all take a class together), she knows what one of her fall courses will be (comparative govt.). That makes me feel a bit better about her not being able to register before orientation in late August. At least one of her four fall classes will not be underwater basket weaving or whatever no one else wanted to take!</p>
<p>coral-- I am not sure where they stay. I know all the water activities are at the Mission Bay Aquatics Center ( I think it is owned/run by SDSU?) and I know he has to bring a sleeping bag. So maybe either a campground or cabins or someplace? It might be somewhere in the 7 attachments he received to fill out by July 8. Any progress on the schedule?</p>
<p>Jane–hope orientation goes well. It would be nice in a lot of ways to have the earlier orientation date rather than right before school starts. Do they have set activities to meet potential roommates? </p>
<p>I know the slug-kid feeling-- the other day when I left the house DS was laying on couch watching Everyone Loves Raymond (or whatever that show is called) When I got back hours later he was still (or back?) on the couch watching the same show. No work due to thunderstorms</p>
<p>Wintriest-- I remember Feminine Mystique ( no details about it–not sure if I actually read it or just remember hearing about it) Interesting choice. Not sure if DS has a summer reading assignment or not. It sounds like her room and class assignment worked out well for her</p>
<p>Update on our schedule saga… My D called Registrar yesterday to follow up on the fax about her major and schedule. They suggested that she email. She actually got a reply back that they had changed her major and her schedule.</p>
<p>She, of course, hasn’t even bothered to go in and look at the updated schedule. I did this morning and it looks like Intro to Painting has been changed to her major requirement - Mass Communications. But I laugh because she didn’t catch this earlier, she got the only seat left in a class that is MWF 3-4:45pm. She’ll be stuck in class until 5pm on Fridays - as far as I’m concerned, that’s what she deserves for slacking.</p>
<p>But, there’s still Intro to Dance and PE. Maybe that can get fixed during orientation at the end of summer.</p>
<p>D received her summer reading book - Black Dog of Fate. Let’s see if that even gets touched in the next few weeks Author will be visiting campus this fall.</p>
<p>Idahomom, I can’t imagine a coed college choosing The Feminine Mystique. I think Mills chose it because this year is the 50th anniversary of its publication.</p>
<p>So far my D hasn’t seemed enthralled by the choice. The book’s been sitting on the kitchen counter since it arrived last week, but I did notice her thumbing through it as she ate her cereal this morning. Maybe the plan is to get it read over breakfasts for the next two months. Since she’s working from 8am to 5pm, there isn’t a lot of other time!</p>
<p>Read The Feminine Mystique nearly thirty years ago at Cal in a class on popular culture in the 1950s (it just squeaked in). I recall enjoying it a great deal. It definitely helped to illuminate much of the motivation driving the mainstream (middle class) feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s.</p>
<p>Well, a miracle happened here. My D got off her butt last week, wrote a resume, and drove around passing it out. I didn’t believe anything would happen but she got a ‘text’ (what is up with texting from employers, same thing with her previous employer??) to come in for interview. She actually got a job at a small little beach caf</p>
<p>If any of you / your kids have been down the foreign language waiver / substitution road, I’d very much welcome hearing about it (either in
the forum or via PM), particularly cases where colleges which were
either particularly accommodating or particularly difficult.</p>
<p>I’m thinking primarily about Gen Ed / breadth requirements / graduation requirements.</p>
<p>Geez, finally was able to view AP scores today and I’m getting up for more ACT/SAT/College Board extortion. Of course D forgot to put her university on her exam so now I get to pay another $15 to send the scores. Her Soph/Jr scores were pretty horrible and not even worth the money to send. But at least she passed her two this year and will get to at least bump her English placement.</p>
<p>expat, the only experience that we had vis a vis language requirements involved American Sign Language since DD took three years of ASL. Most of the colleges to which she applied (and most colleges in general according to my research) do not recognize ASL as a legitimate language and will therefore not count it towards graduation requirements. Even those schools which did not recognize it however, did not hold it against DD for admission purposes - she was accepted to every school to which she applied - but they made it clear that she would need to take another language while enrolled in college to fulfill the college language requirement. This was not a problem for her since she has wanted to learn French for years and had planned on taking it in college anyway (her high school only offers Spanish and ASL.) The university which she will be attending actually does recognize ASL so she doesn’t need to take another language, but she’s already registered for French I and is excited to begin learning her dream language!</p>
<p>The summer is flying by! DS is working a lot now-- and actually saving most of his money for next year which is surprising but good. He got into his first choice dorm and heard who his roommates are (it is a triple) I asked if he had heard from them and he said they texted once-- not sure if he is planning to communicate more or not. Maybe I will wait and ask again in a few weeks. We are now trying to figure out how to transport two guitars, an amp and some kind of recording device to CA. </p>
<p>Hope everyones summer is going well-- coral-- glad your D found a job!</p>
<p>New (and expensive) laptop is arriving today. I hear a lot about things like bike theft on her campus, but not much about laptop theft. I’m thinking about getting her two kensington locks (one permanently attached to her desk and one for her backpack), as well as lojack locator service. Am I being overly paranoid? I remember being mortified that my dad wanted me to lock up my boombox when I went to school!</p>
<p>At my kid’s recent orientation, there was talk about bike theft (and that the campus police usually found the bikes, but few kids come to claim them!) and laptop theft at the library if left unattended and unlocked. Theft is not such a big problem from dorm rooms, apparently because only kids who live in a particular dorm have a key card to swipe that lets them into that dorm. </p>
<p>A laptop lock would be a great idea for the library, I think, if our kids will actually use them.</p>
<p>What kind of lock do you put onto a laptop when it’s sitting in the library? Do you chain it to the table leg or something? As you can tell, I’m not very knowledgeable about these types of things… :)</p>
<p>Student here: At my previous tiny liberal arts college I never needed a lock as theft was virtually unheard of. There were also plenty of security cameras in the study rooms so even if someone did take it, it would have been easy to identify the culprit (never heard of that happening though).</p>
<p>At my new school, I do what most people do. If I’m in the library and need to go to the bathroom, I’ll just stuff my laptop in my backpack and go to the bathroom. No one ever messes with textbooks, and since a laptop + backpack combo is very light, it’s easy to lug around. I don’t know anyone that uses a laptop lock.</p>
<p>Hope you all are enjoying your summer. The time is flying. I have been distracted by shopping and list-making for the dorm room (this may be sliding into obsessive behavior. Cannot. Stop. Making. Lists. In. My. Head.) Textbooks completely slipped my mind. I’ve certainly got my priorities set, don’t I? D mentioned it this morning. (Hmmm she is reminding me of something…maybe things will start to change?)
Any tips/suggestions on purchasing the books? Thanks much!</p>
Author will be visiting campus this fall.</p>