<p>^^^ That sounds correct.</p>
<p>VBCMom–I asked about that a while back elsewhere and they said to average it out over time. They also said that no one actually verifies the time so if you put 16 hours and it really works out to be 15 hours next year, no big deal. I think colleges know too that the time commitment varies through the year and like you during competition season, it’s 20+ hours/week but off season, maybe 4 or 5 for our kids too.</p>
<p>S and I just returned from his Ursinus visit. It really is a cute little school. The campus is compact, no more than an 8 min walk from one end to the other, but is well laid out with lots of open green spaces. They have sculptures on display throughout campus and inviting adirondack chairs in the grassy areas. The students weren’t out of their way friendly but doors were held open for us. We ate in the cafeteria around 1:00, and while full, it wasn’t overwhelmingly crowded or noisy. I didn’t see anyone eating alone and everyone seemed happily enaged in conversation. </p>
<p>The freshman dorms weren’t anything spectacular but the rooms are VERY spacious imo. You can have both microwaves and mini fridges in the rooms and even a window AC unit as those dorms aren’t air conditioned. Laundry is free. They have 2 dorms for upperclassmen (not freshman) on campus and the victorian houses across the street from campus along Main St are upperclassman housing. Housing is guaranteed all 4 years and 95% of students live on campus. They have more student jobs on campus than students who want jobs. The construction of the building that houses the dance and theater departments, The Kaleidescope, was funded 100% by alumni donations. </p>
<p>The athletic center was well equipped. They have a weight room, a cardio room, indoor pool with open swim a couple times a day, and indoor track. Our guide said that the football team does not crowd the gym 
She works out regularly and has never been unable because it was too crowded.</p>
<p>The school has no religious ties but does have a chapel on campus and holds a weekly mass there. They have another space for Jewish services and other religions also have space/time for their services. For a small college, they seem to do what they can for diversity. Speaking of diversity, I didn’t see much.</p>
<p>My son was scheduled for a 11:00 info session and tour. We arrived around 9:30 because he was invited to sit in on a 10:00 class. They had a student walk him over to the class and I just hung out in admissions. Everyone seemed friendly and polite. I didn’t overhear anyone (there were several student workers there) complaining about anything. My son got lost trying to find his way back from his class, so we missed the 11:00 group. No problem. We had a 1 on 1 info session with a student worker. And the tour was also personal with a different student. That was nice because my son actually engaged in conversation and asked questions, which he would not have done in a group. </p>
<p>He is smitten :)</p>
<p>Well the trip to UR was cancelled today due to weather. D and I decided we didn’t want to walk around in freezing rain. We live in the region so we have no excuse, except it was warm inside. </p>
<p>VBC- I would always average hours. LOL- earth mother. It is application questions like these that drive me nuts. I makes the ECs about racking up points instead of exploring yourself and your interests. I feel the same way about community service. I cringe at the thought of keeping score with volunteer hours.</p>
<p>VBCMom, I agree with what SteveMA said above, about the average, however, if this is an important EC then perhaps an explanation is a good idea! If, for example, the S/D doesn’t have time to participate in many other EC’s during the season, etc. the admissions staff will know why. There is a section after the EC’s where you can discuss some of the more important activities.</p>
<p>Smitten is good, ree!</p>
<p>reeinaz - So happy for you and your S. I know that you were expressing some concern that he just wouldn’t get ‘into’ the whole college process. Looks like things are already going pretty well in that department! (hooray!)</p>
<p>I’m new to this thread and amazed at how long it been going… My D is also "13"and is extremly stressed with classes, GPA, AP, SAT, ACT …it just goes on and on. I really feel for her but my feel most strongly for my pocket … which is not deep. My question to group is how much does student exchange plays into college process… My D will be leaving in June for exchange program to Argentina for a few weeks and then required write paper(not sure of length) for AP spanish thats due in Fall … thanks for any help</p>
<p>Welcome, zayda. Going to Argentina sounds like a great opportunity! I don’t know that it would be a big factor in the college process - although it could be one of the experiences that she writes about in her essays (although it can be cliche-y, so she’d need to be careful how to write about it).</p>
<p>you’ve given me a light at the end of the tunnel that my son will be smitten, too, some day </p>
<p>zayda4, i had the same feeling of being slightly overwhelmed but hopefully you’ll love the group and get great insights to help on this wild ride. I hope your daughter loves Argentina - I had gone in grad school, great country, super-friendly people, a different political reality than the US…so no matter what happens with university and her AP Spanish grade, you’ll have given her a new eye on the world. As for deep pockets, I’m all for transparency on what is and isn’t possible - there have been a lot of comments on the site around cost/having “the talk” with your kids/affordability…maybe i’m old-fashioned but i don’t think parents should feel guilty about needing to put limits, accepting that “ideal” isn’t always possible, that setting the bar high is great, but the agility to accept changing circumstances is just as important of a skill.</p>
<p>SteveMA: His un-weighted GPA is 4.0. He is ranked #3 out of a class of 500+</p>
<p>Merit $$ would be great, but the odds are not in his favor as a Track athlete. The focus is really using his athletics to help him get into the school of his choice.</p>
<p>He has had contact from a few coaches, but not sure how his injury will affect his chances of getting more serious looks. From what I am hearing just about all of Track recruiting is based on Jr times. His early season PR’s are good, but his season has been cut short in the hurdles with a strained hamstring. He plans on finishing out the season with the 4x400 only. So we will have to keep our fingers crossed. </p>
<p>We are hoping that he is 100% to run a few USTAF events in mid-June and build from there before camps start up.</p>
<p>VBC: I would give a brief explanation of the EC as well as approx time commitment. :)</p>
<p>ReeinAz- Ursinus sounds pretty wonderful! Glad S was smitten!</p>
<p>Talking to a mom at a sporting event today. Apparently her Dd is getting recruited to play at several Ivy’s for her other sport and they have offered her 1/2 athletic, 1/2 merit scholarships to go there :D. Her DD got a 26 on the ACT so she knows she won’t have any problems getting in because she is an athlete. Poor kid.</p>
<p>What a day! Drop kids off at school, deal with disasters at work, hurry home and put supper in oven, get sports clothes, smoothies ready for DH to take when he picks kids up. DD won her first match, DS in process of winning his. DH hurries home to pick up DD’s supper and dashes back to the courts. DH’s taxi service will take DD off to her first performance in her musical right after (I hope that she will eat most of the supper) and then will pick her up again at 10 (I hope they aren’t too late tonight). The school team is playing their deadly rivals this evening so they couldn’t spare her - they really want to get to provincials and she is one of three tournament level players on the team. This is the only big conflict between sports and the musical, though. She is really enjoying performing in Seussical. Has anyone else heard of it? I must admit that I hadn’t until it was chosen late last year! I’m looking forward to seeing it next week and filling in all the bits that she hasn’t been singing to me over the last few months!</p>
<p>Hi All…Quick question…is there a specific site that tells you whether or not the Colleges have interviews available? My D’s advisor wants her to practice interviewing…but with all the tests coming up she needs to study and why practice interviews if they don’t give them anymore…
Thanks…</p>
<p>fredricksdottir-I’m tired just reading that :D. Our school did Seussical 4 or 5 years ago. It’s a fun musical.</p>
<p>Oh Steve. Sounds like you got lots of practice doing a CC favorite move: smile and nod. </p>
<p>ree: yay for smitten:)</p>
<p>Welcome to zayda & any other newbies (and lurkers too!) </p>
<p>I’m afraid to say it, but school seems to be pretty calm right now. AP classes are gearing up for testing, so a lot of the other type of homework they’ve had all year has backed up. Math is manageable (huzzah!) </p>
<p>Confession: there is a college fair in town this weekend. There’s a few colleges on D2’s list that will be there that we haven’t visited yet so we really should go. But I don’t want to. I’m kind of college-d out. I mentioned it to D and she didn’t recoil but she didn’t say goody either. Guess I’ll see how we both feel on Sunday.</p>
<p>Ama, I don’t know of a list like that. We practiced a bit with ds1, just going over the kinds of questions he should expect. Turns out he loved all his interviews.</p>
<p>Rob, things are slow here, too. Not only are classes gearing up for AP testing, but this week is the state-mandated exit-level testing, so he’s only going to half of his classes each day. Practically no homework. Tonight, before he went out to dinner with friends, I did get him to do the Subject Tests questions for US History on the College Board web site. Is there a way to know how X% passed translates into an SAT score?</p>
<p>Oh, and he’s getting really excited about prom, I think. :)</p>
<p>fred, I like being crazy-busy like that! Well, sometimes.</p>
<p>RobD, perhaps by Sunday you both will have recovered!
Ama308, we had to look at each college site to figure out the interviews. DS12 worked on a script ahead of his interviews (admissions staff, coaches, etc.) and as he is a social kind of guy was fairly confident beforehand. DD13 is a lot quieter and I think that we will practice a bit at home first. (not shy, just quiet!)
Actually, I don’t mind being busy either, although I must admit I was gnashing my teeth a bit about some early morning work related panic e-mails. However, I think it is on its way to being sorted. Mainly I’m just a bit concerned about how much DD13 has on her plate currently. I think that ultimately it will be good for her to see how much she can do when she puts her mind to it. The frenzy will be over in a week and a half and then her life will settle down again.</p>