@CT1417
I used to live in SF in my younger years, so I learned how to parallel park (uphill and downhill). As far as housing at Cornell, I think the lottery is early March.
My son is having a bit of a rough term and I can’t go into details but he’s moved dorms and I’m not sure he’ll be staying at this school. Very rough term.
@2016BarnardMom - I hate to hear that! I’ve been absent from the board a lot lately, but I thought last I read last semester that he was adjusting well. Hope things get better!!
DS is trying to decide about housing next year. He is getting along great with his current roommates. They’d like to stay together, but he is wanting to move off campus because it is quite a bit cheaper and two roomies are wanting to stay in the dorm. He has it pretty nice in the dorm. Not sure what he’ll decide.
He has gotten a job - about 10 hours a week on Friday and Saturday night. He’s enjoying the little bit of extra cash. And he’s still trying to decide what to do for spring break!!
Classes are going well. He skipped Calc I & II after having AP Calc. Didn’t have a problem with that at all. Chemistry was tough - wished he would have taken AP Chem in high school to have been able to skip that one! He’s taking 18 hours this semester, but 4 hours are German I and he had 3 years of high school German so it should just be review at this point.
The weather has been nice, but they’re expecting cold weather this week, just like most of the country!
2016BarnardMom: Hope things start to go better for your son. I remember when my older son was an undergrad, he had a roommate who had a tough second semester. He, too, had to move because his roommates were smoking pot in the suite. Fearing for his academic career (at the time, he had thought about going to law school), he quickly went to the RA and got new housing. Another friend had to move, because her roommate’s boyfriend had all but moved into their room.
Hopefully things get better for your son. It did for my son’s friends.
2014novamom: After hearing my son’s reasons for living in the fraternity house, we were all right about it. It is nice to save a few bucks on housing, and food, especially if he chooses to cook some of his meals. He already said that he will go to Mom’s School of Cooking this summer. I have some easy, healthy ideas for him. We do not do fried foods. I love my crock pot (and George Foreman)! What was nice was that one of his current roommates came to him the other day and asked if he would be annoyed if he and another current roommate got a half of a suite in their chosen dorm. My son told him that everything was fine, and that he did make alternate plans for housing.
Meanwhile, my son is still job hunting this semester. He is thinking of working for a moving company that specializes in moving kids in and out of their dorm rooms. It’s money, he said.
@2016BarnardMom - I’m sorry to hear your S is struggling. I also saw that your D has been sick. You have a lot on your plate. I’m sure that’s not easy following your surgery and all. I hope things improve quickly. Hugs to you!
Sorry BarnardMom! We all want them to launch smoothly, but it’s not the end of the world if he does have to make a change. Life isn’t a straight path.
Sorry @2016BarnardMom 
My guy is also having a harder time this term. He seems tired and a bit sad. I think it is the academics, at least he said so. So hard to watch. I sent a package for Valentine’s Day but he didn’t get a notice that it had arrived, though tracking said it did. It has chocolate in it, among other things. Won’t make everything better, but it might help lift his spirits.
Sorry to hear that @2016BarnardMom - he will work it out.
@2016BarnardMom I know I’m a parent here, but I think most of you know I’ve been working in higher ed, mostly with freshmen, for the last 20+ years. Second semester, the excitement has worn off and our students are realizing that what they thought they wanted may not have been what they really wanted. For instance, the kid who wanted the excitement of a big city may now find himself exhausted by the constant go, go, go. The kid who wanted to get away from winter may find she misses snow and a change of seasons. The kid who felt like being away from home was no big deal may really crave being close to family. Additionally, all the extra support lavished on the newcomers starts to wane as institution turns its attention toward next year’s freshmen. Classes may get tougher and there are fewer college personnel checking in to make sure the student is getting it. Honestly, most of my students see a drop in their GPA during the second semester. Finally, personal stuff happens. A student may decide she made the wrong choice, doesn’t know what he wants to do, wants to be near an SO, has had something happen at the school that turns him off to it, or suffers a from physical/mental illness.
Tons of reasons why that original college choice may not be “the one.” Let him know, no matter what, you’ve got his back, and it’s ok.
Let’s see…minus 14 degrees driving to work this morning in Cleveland…while DS is expecting 72 degrees at the Mardi Gras parade this afternoon in New Orleans…I’m thinking he’s not missing home too much, at least in February of this particular winter!
@2016BarnardMom…sorry for the concerns…hopefully the weather will crack up here sometime in the next few weeks, and that may help a bit.
@2016BarnardMom – I hope your son gets over this rough patch soon. And if he decides to transfer, he won’t be alone. The Wash Post actually ran this article yesterday: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/02/16/think-your-college-search-is-almost-over-think-again-for-many-a-transfer-awaits/.
@2016BarnardMom - I hope things start looking up for your son. It’s so hard when things don’t go the way they (and we) expected!
You can add another to the list of those having a harder time this semester. The first semester went great.
My D hasn’t been feeling well since Monday, so she went to the clinic on campus and they said she has an inner ear infection. Unfortunately this coincides with her mid-term exams this week, and she has missed a few classes as well. Now she is sick and stressed out. Fortunately, she comes home Friday for winter break so she can get some down time and some tlc.
Does anyone know how long inner ear infections last? The wouldn’t give her an antibiotic, just an antihistimine for the dizziness.
My son also got ill during midterms. I must say that it’s the first time I’ve been underwhelmed by Yale’s response to a student issue. I will know more after debriefing DS, but it appears that considerable and unnecessary stress was added to the situation.
Movemetoo: If they had given her something, she would feel a lot better! My oldest son gets inner ear infections every once in a while. With meds, he is fine in 24 hours. I always worry that he will pop a fever, so I’m glad for the meds.
Meanwhile, my husband is heading to the deep south this week to visit with our younger son. Here’s hoping that the weather will not be too bad. The two plan to see a hockey game together and just hang out. My visit is in about six weeks during my spring break from school.
Classes are cancelled at Case today because of severe cold. I’m just glad I visited two weeks ago when the weather was relatively mild for winter in Cleveland. The snow was melting! It’s supposed to “warm up” to low 30s when DH goes to visit next weekend. Then DS comes home the week after that for spring break!
I’ve never heard of a residential college cancelling for cold. The students are “there.” Does the admin really think they’ll stay indoors?
With wind chills getting to 25-30 below, and walks of up to 25 minutes between classes, I guess Case thought it prudent to close the University. According to the Case website, hypothermia and frostbite can occur in 30 minutes under today’s weather conditions. Only essential personnel are required to come in (including dining hall employees). Several other colleges in the area are closed as well (Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll), and Kent State cancelled classes before 10 am.
I can’t speak for other students, but I can definitely see my DS staying indoors all day today except to venture out for food (1-2 minute walk). He usually studies in his room, and has a TV and a laptop, has his best friends in his dorm. I know he was out last night playing in an intramural basketball game but he got a ride back to his dorm from some upperclassmen.
I went to Case, admittedly many,many moons ago. And I can attest that the winds whipping off Lake Erie, down the corridors of buildings in University Circle make for a downright miserable trek to classes from dorms, be they on either the Northside or Southside. Sounds like the right call to me.
The University of Michigan closed due to the extreme cold one day last year. It was the first time they’d had a weather related closing in 30 years. This year, they closed one day due to big snow. We’ll see if they close tomorrow. Our low is expected to be -15 tomorrow before factoring in the wind chills.