@akmom124: “State-sponsored” means that the state pays the fee for all Michigan high school juniors to take the test. I do not know if it’s a graduation requirement. The students also take a “Work Keys” test, which is supposed to prove employability after graduation. Oddly enough, that test is from ACT, and students will continue to take it. I’m sure this will be most difficult for school districts who have tracked annual progress based on ACT scores. I guess College Board offered the state a better deal…
My D goes back to school on Sunday. She has been home just long enough to lull me into thinking things were back to “old times”. I could go down the hall and see her sleeping peacefully in her bed or I could go in and sit on the side of the bed and wake her up in the a.m. I am taking off tomorrow so that we can spend some time together and get her ready to go back. Between Christmas and sales, she has too many clothes to pack and we need to take a trip to the post office to ship some stuff.
She is so excited about going back to school though I know she will miss being home. I am already beginning to miss her but refuse to spend these last few days in a funk. Plenty of time for that next week.
Oh thank goodness, @Tperry1982 , it’s not just us! Between Christmas, her birthday, and some really excellent clearances, d is going back to school with a ton of clothes, more than will fit in the seabag she brought home with her.
I don’t want to think about Sunday. It’s been so much fun to have her home, and I don,t want to think about how the poor cat is going to have to adjust to her departure. He’s going to walk around all night meowing and looking for her.
I’m driving back with D this weekend. She is switching rooms and moving to a different dorm (long story). She has a ton of stuff to move, as well as more stuff (yikes!) to bring back. Classes start on Tuesday so I want to help her move and get re-situated. I feel like I’ve barely seen her since she’s been home.
I ran around today trying to find an ice/snow scraper and some tire chains for D’s car. Not easy things to find in my area. I got lucky with the scraper. I’ll have to order the chains. Now I wish I’d gotten her snow tires. I told D not to drive anywhere if the roads are bad, but I’m taking precautions and worrying anyway. Sigh.
I know why people without kids look so young…
DS also goes back Sunday. He got some new clothes too but had the foresight to bring his large suitcase home so he has plenty of room for all his new things. I just ordered his books for the upcoming semester and it was surprisingly less than I expected to spend. I still cringe at the prices though - the most expensive was his differential equations textbook at $173.
My son has been back at school since earlier in the week. Classes started Wednesday, which was his 18th birthday, and already, he made a change to his schedule. He dropped a math class (math is his minor), because of a switch in professors. When he registered in the fall, he wanted a particular professor, because many of his fraternity brothers recommended her so highly. Then, he got to the class Wednesday and learned that they had so many people register for the class that the department decided to split up the load between two professors. Suddenly, although he was among the first to register, he did not have his original professor. The one he got does not have particularly good reviews from his friends. So he decided to drop the class. He still has full-time status, but just four classes. He said that he has more than enough stuff to keep him busy, as he is job hunting for something on campus, training for track/cross country and hoping to referee youth soccer this spring. He also would like to bump up his GPA.
As for the new clothing, yes, he got tons for Christmas and his birthday. We also did some shopping during the holidays. He’ll need some additional plastic tubs to keep things in storage this summer, as he cannot and will not bring everything home.
Re: The SAT/ACT testing for Michigan. Currently the state sponsored testing is part of the standardized testing given to all 11th graders in the state in March of their junior year. The state does pay for it so it saves some $$ for parents. College board was smart to get this contract because, as we all know, the most selective schools require SAT Subject Tests if you have the SAT instead of the ACT.
It seems to me that textbooks have not increased in price all that much since I was in school. I remember having new textbooks in my major which were around $150 each. The competition from e-books and textbook rentals seems to have worked in keeping those costs down.
We’re shipping some things back to the kids. I had them each bring suitcases, but I got S a keurig - with the k cups and other big things, and d got a cozy blanket. So off we go today to the ups store.
For those who remember - my d is the one who had the boyfriend who was going to take her to hawaii and then they broke up. Then they got back together for the summer, then they broke up again in October. They both attended a college discussion session at their high school. Both seeing other people now, but both now say that their relationship is on pause because they want to have their own college experience and they’ll stay in touch lightly and see how things go after college. ay yi yi They both love each other, can’t not have each other in their lives, etc…it’s like a teenage soap opera. They went out in a group bowling last night.
@2016BarnardMom – true enough. And my law school books were often north of $200. I did save a boatload by buying off Amazon rather than the campus bookstore though. I only compared those two places and Amazon was cheaper by more than $250 total and they had all the books he needed for this semester. I suppose I could have checked other book sellers but I was lazy.
My parents arrived today and we are waiting for DS to wake up and then we will head out to dim sum for lunch. Yesterday it was Korean barbecue for lunch and I’ve been cooking all his favorites as he fills up on his best loved foods (both home cooked and restaurant) that are not readily available at school.
I hope everyone on the east coast is staying warm! I am really looking forward to the 80 degree weather Sunday when DH and I land in Kona.
D called last night, a bit homesick. She was looking forward to getting back on campus, but now the stress of college life has returned. I actually think she is just missing being on vacation, not really missing home. Either way, I did not expect that phone call. Hopefully, she will bounce back with some weekend entertainment.
My engineering son texted me the first day of class to say how stoked he was for his “Kubrick and karate” classes to start. He had a great first semester and is happy he chose to study engineering, something I kind of coaxed him into considering his junior year of high school in the hope he might be gainfully employed sooner rather than later. So far, so good. I had my freelance income greatly cut at the end of the year, so while I look for new work I find myself (again!) immensely grateful he chose the most affordable option. And it seems he sacrificed nothing in terms of the “quality” of his classmates, many of whom are also there on scholarship and are very impressive kids. I think that has really surprised him–his private HS classmates were all hell-bent on getting into Ivies and other “elites” and he’s found his honors college chums to be every bit as smart and sophisticated as his high school’s best and brightest. Imagine that! 
It’s been wonderful having DD home and I have a feeling it’s going to make it even harder to send her off. I’ve missed her and having her friends around also! She leaves Sunday for a one week winter breaks project and then will come home next Saturday for one night. She’s close enough that I can pick her up and bring her home and she’ll be able to have one last night sleeping in her bed in a quiet room (rather than on the floor of a church!) before turning around again and going back to school next Sunday.
While she’s made friends at school, I don’t think she’s found her tribe as she has at home. They’re all still really close and have enjoyed having the time to spend together over this vacation. And she’s really enjoyed just relaxing this time - the first Christmas vacation in four years she hasn’t been doing study guides and studying for exams! She’s caught up on some pleasure reading and watched some favorite TV shows. We even had a great shopping/lunch date with her BFF and mother who is my close friend. Unfortunately, DD’s spring break doesn’t really align with those of her friends so I don’t know what she’ll do that week. I know she’s planning on coming home but it may be a tough week without anyone around!
D’14s books weren’t too bad. Differential equations was $130, the others totaled $100, I think. One class didn,t have a text. I think it’s very reasonable. My oldest is a nursing major. She’s paid close to $800 for a single semester, and since most nursing majors keep their books for board prep, the used market isn’t large or much of a bargain.
D2 is heading back tomorrow. She had a wonderful break but learned this morning that a Florida girl does NOT know how to drive on a sheet of ice. She’s sad because she’s learning of a number of friends who aren’t coming back to school. She’d already lost one of her best friends who she was planning to room with next year but who abruptly left at Halloween, and a high school classmate also dropped out early in the semester and still doesn’t know if/when he’s returning. Now two more friends aren’t returning and I’m sure there will be a few surprises on Sunday too. I’m glad she doesn’t realize not returning is an option.
@ordinarylives – that’s a great total for textbooks for one semester! DS’s books totaled about $600 for the semester. Thankfully one of the required books for his materials science class is his chemistry book from the fall so I didn’t have to buy that again. I do tend to buy new, especially if it’s a foundational class since I know he will keep most of those books for reference. DH still has a bookcase in his office at home with his old textbooks and class notes, and he keeps a few select books at work. He doesn’t do much applied math these days but every once in a while he likes to work on a particularly knotty problem with which his staff may be struggling, LOL.
Well, S2 flew back to New Orleans today for his second semester at Tulane. He loves it, did really well his first semester with a 3.89 GPA (yes, I’m bragging, but there were no givens here!) I felt really gratified to get a text from him towards the end of the semester, thanking me for helping him to find the best fit school for him, and making it possible. This is not a text he would have sent me last year, when he was so annoyed at me for making him apply to several schools, scholarships, etc. But he has seen several of his hometown friends want to leave their schools, not liking them or having issues with coaches, for the ones who went on athletic scholarships. He also got a letter today from the AFL-CIO, who gave him a small but welcome scholarship for his freshman year, from my teacher’s union membership. They invited him to reapply for a continuing $1,000 scholarship for next year, which is really nice. It’s contingent on his GPA and community service. Tulane really pushes community service, and my son has already been involved, so he stands a decent chance of getting his books paid for again his sophomore year.
He did decide that pre-med was not for him, despite getting an A- in the dreaded Chemistry class. He really loved Philosophy, and is extremely interested in law, especially sports law. He has become an avid Tulane Green Wave fan, attending most of the football and basketball games with his big bro, a Tulane alum for his undergrad and law school. Loves New Orleans, too, so it’s been a good semester. Relief!
@twoinanddone , surprised and a little concerned to hear of so many kids deciding not to return to school. Do you know what the reasons are? It seems a lot and so early too…I’m hearing more and more that this is a big issue. I’m sorry its hard on your D for her friends not to be coming back, hopefully she’ll be busy making new connections soon.
We are feeling grateful as well in our household for the excellent fit (academic & social) Tulane has been for our freshman son as well who we sent back to NOLA this morning; roll Wave!
Checking in here after son’s successful 1st semester. He got the grades that he needs to continue in pre-med, although he is still not completely sure that is his path. For the second semester, he has found a spot to do some real research with a professor. The academic fit has been mostly good, although his Bio has been a bit a review of want was done in AP Bio. He didn’t really enjoy the lab for Bio, calling it “soul-sucking”, but for pre-med you can’t skip it because you have to get a grade on the record.
His break was short, only 3 weeks. He spent one week of it out of town with his girlfriend’s family, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. He still had lots of time to reconnect with his brother and sister.
It’s amazing how fast these things move, he’s gone back and is working organizing 2nd year housing. He hasn’t told me what his exact plans are, but I think he intends to do honors housing again.
Books ran about $800 the first semester. They will probably be around that mark this semester, too, once my son finishes making schedule changes. He did some soul searching and decided to drop his linear algebra class this semester, because he did not get the professor he originally registered for. So he had just 12 hours. My older son agreed with me when I questioned if four classes would be enough. He said no, and he called and told him to register for an additional class. He decided on a distance learning class in nutrition. It is an elective, but we all agreed that he probably would learn a great deal from the class since many college students do not eat properly (yes, he is an athlete, but he still eats too much junk!). Because he took AP bio in high school and two classes in personal fitness, the nutrition class should not give him fits. He also likes taking online classes.
He heard back from one of the places that he applied to for an internship this summer. Nothing available, but the owner said that he should call him when he’s home. He wants to meet with him and chat about his college majors and the opportunities available in them. So maybe it will lead to something next summer.
LucietheLakie: My older son wanted the Ivy route, too. It did not work out – as an undergrad or law school. Best thing that ever happened to him! He took that more affordable option with a National Merit scholarship and graduated without debt. Now in one of the top law schools in the country, he also has a full tuition/fees scholarship, so his debt will be manageable. He is currently working an internship between semesters. Most of his undergrad friends were incredibly talented when it came to academics, and they had turned down some big-name schools to take that more affordable option. Today, they are studying for their PhDs at those Ivy and Ivy-like schools … and they are debt-free!