<p>It is a stressful process. We went through it with my older one and I am thrilled to say that she loves her school. We are now at UPitt for our tour tomorrow. My initial impression: great school, great city- wow!! The campus is beautiful and although it is in the city, there are a lot of green fields to play ball etc. The campus and city are kind of intertwined. There are students all over. My daughter likes it, but she still does not know if she wants a city or not. Somebody asked her what her major will be , and for the first time she said. " probably biology" instead of " I don’t know yet." That’s a good sign!! I just love how the students seem to take over the city.</p>
<p>twogirls…Glad to hear your older D loves her school. It’s always comforting to know your kids are happy where they’re at, especially if they’re OOS and too far away for “non-break” trips home.</p>
<p>So far we’ve only visited a few IS schools over this past summer. We’re planning most of the OOS campus visits over spring break in April. List of schools still TBD, but PSAT score may factor in those decisions.</p>
<p>I know what you mean about possible majors. D2 has been consistent about wanting to major in forensic psychology/criminology for quite some time, but S has been just as consistent with “I dunno…can I play video games now?”. How twins can be so different is beyond me.</p>
<p>Hope the visit goes well tomorrow. Pitt is a great school. Enjoy!!</p>
<p>twogirls, would love to hear how the Pitt tour goes. This one is probably on my D’s list. I was a little worried that it would be too urban for her, so it’s nice to know there are green spaces.</p>
<p>My D is headed to a leadership conference this weekend. A ropes course is in her future and she is scared and I don’t blame her! I did one a few years ago through work. I climbed up to the first “level” and was paralyzed. Sat on the landing up there for quite awhile before I was able to move and by “move” I mean get myself down. ;)</p>
<p>I want to hear too. Pitt and CMU are on the visit list for this fall or spring.</p>
<p>I have followed this thread but only posted once I think. You all have so much information I can barely keep up! 
We are in Michigan in a respected school known for its strong academics. S15 took has taken Honors and AP courses whenever possible. He is taking 3 AP right now and adding a one semester 4th AP in the second semester. We may be moving to the Jacksonville Florida area this winter for a job change. We have done a little research and it seems that Ponte Vedra HS in Ponte Vedra is the strongest academic choice offering AP classes. Allen D. Nease HS is also nearby (and provides much more affordable housing options) but has an IB program that S15 would arrive too late in the year to join. He could take AP courses there, but would not be in the most rigorous category I would think… would the move allow us to note that in applications, or would he be screwed (to put it bluntly). Terrified that all the hard work he has done will be ruined if we can’t afford to get him into the right school. I am naming names as far as schools go, I guess hoping that someone will know more about the area and be able to point us in the right direction.</p>
<p>I will be home in a few hours and will post- I promise!!</p>
<p>Hi wrights! I would call the school that offers the IB and AP program and talk to them about your concerns. A nearby school offers both also, and kids doing either program can still get the “most rigorous courses” check mark. Good luck!</p>
<p>wrights, here’s a link to a Jax forum where you might get more local info:
[Jacksonville</a> Forum - Relocation, Moving, General and Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/jacksonville/]Jacksonville”>Jacksonville Forum - Relocation, Moving, General and Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum)</p>
<p>Just signed up my kid for the Jeopardy Teen Tournament online test. You can register until the day of the test, September 26–at 8pm Eastern. It’s kind of a crap shoot, since they do a random selection of whatever they deem to be a passing score. If you get past that hurdle, you go to one of several regional cities for in-person mock games and interviews. I’ve been through that as an adult. Three times I made it into the contestant pool, but (sigh) was never selected to be on the show. The put many more people into the pool than they need.
[JEOPARDY</a>! Teen Online Test](<a href=“http://www.jeopardy.com/onlinetests/teen/?hs308=email]JEOPARDY”>http://www.jeopardy.com/onlinetests/teen/?hs308=email)</p>
<p>I really appreciate the perspective on PSAT. Just like many of you have mentioned, I struggle with how much to encourage studying. But, like many of you also said, D doesn’t seem to be interested in the schools where NMSF would really matter anyway, but the SAT is a different story, and she is signed up to take that a couple weeks after the PSAT. I know she is trying to live this year more stress free than last year. Trying to find that balance can be really difficult.</p>
<p>Thanks latichever, I was wondering about schedules for Jeopardy! tryouts the other day. </p>
<p>My 13 yo and I were both in our respective contestant pools a couple of years ago, took the test and in-person tryout and never got called. </p>
<p>D15 went to the regional tryout for Kids’ Jeopardy when she was 12. Much to our dismay she was told that the search team had made a mistake regarding dates and she and all the other 12 yos there would have to be considered for the teen tournament! At least it was just a 40 minute train ride for us–there were several very disappointed families who had driven 6+ hours or even flown, were staying at hotels and had gone to considerable expense.</p>
<p>Ok home now after a 7 hour drive, dropping my daughter off at a party, and getting something to eat. We are officially exhausted! </p>
<p>I love UPitt. My daughter seems to like it but she got tired of the car ride and became a bit cranky! This school is by far one of my favorites and my daughter says that it’s staying on the list. It’s a perfect combination of campus + city. The buildings are beautiful and there are green areas and parks. Just off campus is the city, which is adorable. What I love is that the campus and city are kind of united as one, and the students kind of take over the entire place. It’s vibrant, energetic and fun. CMU is right there as well, but my daughter is not applying so we did not look at it. We spent a lot of time walking around before the tour. We ate Mediterranean food and sat in a coffee house. Both places were packed with students- it was great. You can feel the energy!!</p>
<p>First we had the tour. There were only 9 people in our group, which was nice. The tour guide was great and he used a microphone. We only had one hour before the info session so we did not get to go inside several buildings. We did go inside a brand new dorm which was very nice ( just opened last month), but the room was a little small. My daughter did not find it to be small. Each room comes with a fridge, microwave, and flat screen tv. We also went inside some other building which was beautiful, and seemed to house some lecture type classes and a computer lab. We did not go inside the library. The tour guide told us that this was the area where Mr. Rogers filmed his show!! He gave us quite a few interesting tid bits along the way. We also saw a few parks on campus and a dining hall, which looked very nice. Housing is guaranteed for 3 years, although if you want to live on campus senior year I think you can. The tour guide said most kids eventually move off campus. I don’t know exactly where off campus housing is, but we did pass an area of homes near the school that seemed very very run down- not sure if that is part of off campus housing or not. If my daughter attends Pitt I will have to research this more. Right now she is deciding on city/ no city. </p>
<p>The info session was pretty good, even though I already knew most of what was discussed. OOS COA is slightly over $36,000 ( less than I thought). Acceptance into the honors college is generally 32 ACT and top 10% ( I forgot what the SAT was). Merit aid is considered for kids with a CR + M score of 1450 or an ACT score of 33, and being in the top 5%. UPitt does not require letters of recommendation or a list of ECs, although they will consider them if they are sent. Essays are also not required, but will be considered to make the application more holistic. We were given a folder containing a paper application and everybody was encouraged to apply on the spot. An admissions counselor was there to help. Of course my daughter did not apply! The application was very basic and just asked name, address, senior year courses, major etc. it did not ask for SAT scores or GPA. There was no place to list ECs such as clubs, sports, etc. UPitt allows students to apply to their early assurance programs for medicine, pharmacy, etc. They seem to have a great study abroad program. There was a lot of talk about sports and I think there are three stadiums ( ?) in the city and the kids can attend all different games for a cheap price. Buses are free all over the city with student ID.
Lots of diversity with people from all over, which is fantastic. Great school, great city !!!</p>
<p>Thank you for the detailed report twogirls! It is much appreciated. As I said, it’s on my D’s list.</p>
<p>@twogirls - thanks for the report. D will probably give it a shot as well. When S2 (HS Class of 12) applied, I thought they were generous with their merit aid. I also liked their rolling schedule and fast response - S2 got admission decision in two weeks! </p>
<p>@wrights - I’d suggest you call both schools and see what they have to say. I was under the impression “most rigorous” will be checked for both AP and IB. Also, check their course curriculum to see how your S’s current courses fit in. You can usually find the curriculum on the school web site. </p>
<p>@Wolverine - welcome. Nice name!</p>
<p>We visited NYU this week. We have walked around a lot of campuses on our own but this was the first info session and tour we’ve done. They showed a video overview of the school which was very impressive. Half way through I thought to myself, “I want to go here” and about 5 minutes later, H leaned over and whispered, “I want to go here.” It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. After the video there was a powerpoint presentation from an adcom. She talked too long so no time for any Q&A. She was very upbeat and enthusiastic.</p>
<p>They split up the room into smaller tour groups and off we went. Our tour guide was very good. She was a tiny little thing from a small town in Colorado. I was very impressed with her and kept thinking if she can thrive in the city life then my kid can too. We were able to see some of the student center and the lobbies of the library and a dorm and we walked to the outside of other buildings while she said her spiel. There was plenty of security and we were only cleared to be in the lobby of certain buildings. The tour covered the route around Washington Square Park and ended in the park where there was music playing and people out enjoying the beautiful weather. It was electrifying.</p>
<p>What we liked in no particular order:
–D loved that all dorm rooms have suite bathrooms and there are no floor bathrooms anywhere.
–There is still a campus feel even though it’s part of the city. We felt that the whole area around WSP was NYU.
–This will sound silly but we all loved that graduation is held at Yankee Stadium…that’s such a cool thing for my family.
–Our tour guide talked about how students get discount tickets to shows, sporting events and concerts around the city. My D would definitely take advantage of that.
–D was happy that there wasn’t a huge emphasis on Greek life. She’s not into the party scene and felt there was so much to do and see in the city.
–It’s close to home but yet far enough away and easy to get to.
–The buildings were quite beautiful for a place that isn’t a “campus”
–Our tour guide spoke about safety and how a student can always call for a ride from NYU security if they feel uncomfortable. She told a story about how her roommate from Cali would call for a ride, not because she didn’t feel safe but bc she didn’t want to walk in the snow!!
–The internship opportunities and the career center sound very impressive. The job/grad school/starting salary stats they presented were all very good.
–There were plenty of places to study and they explained that the bigger lecture classes have a smaller seminar so you can discuss and review what was covered in the big lecture. I could have used that freshman/soph year back in the day.</p>
<p>The Cons:
– It is very very big. D doesn’t want small but she’s still not sure what size she does want.
– There is no big sports scene. That could very well be a deal breaker for her.
– D has always loved the city and has said she wants to live in the city at some point in her life. She’s just not sure if city living would get old before 4 years are up.
– Would she miss out on not having that traditional college/campus experience.</p>
<p>So that’s about it. It was a good experience for all of us. We learned a lot about the school but also about the touring process. We will continue to research and learn all we can.</p>
<p>Welcome wrights- sorry that I can’t be of assistance but I would like to wish you luck.
Keepme- NYU is great and we love walking around the area. I know 4 kids who go there and they are all happy. It’s too urban for my daughter. It’s more urban than Pitt, and that might be too urban for my daughter. She is still trying to figure out the whole city/ no city thing. Her favorite school so far is Lehigh, but they would have to give her some merit aid to make their $53,000 price tag affordable. Our next round of visits will take place during the February break. </p>
<p>School finally starts tomorrow. SAT tutoring started last week. My daughter went on line a few days ago and printed off her first homework assignment for US- an essay. She started doing it last night despite my efforts to stop her because school has not yet started. She already has plans to go for extra help at 6:30 am Wednesday morning to show the teacher her essay. Welcome to my world of living with a teen who is a perfectionist with a type A personality. I am excited for junior year but I am a bit nervous as well. Last year she learned how to take breaks, and as long as she continues with what she learned things will be ok. My motto for this year is " one day at a time."</p>
<p>herandhismom, sorry to have left your question unanswered for so long-yes, I mean the essay for the SAT. D does not write quickly or easily. Even back in elementary school she’d write, edit, and rewrite paragraphs for school. I’m not convinced she’ll be in shape for this kind of essay writing by November. </p>
<p>Welcome Wolverine and Wrights! Wrights, I’d call the schools you are considering and talk to them directly. He’ll have to submit transcripts from both schools and the majority of the work would have been done in the Michigan school so it would seem to me that the new school would have to work with him to construct an explanation. I wonder if you the current guidance counselor could also submit a letter of explanation to his schools.</p>
<p>Twogirls and keepmecruisin’ thanks for the very detailed and helpful descriptions of U Pitt and NYU!</p>
<p>My S may be interested in NYU Shanghai but there isn’t much info available since the school just opened this year. NYU Abu Dhabi is another interesting option for the adventuresome student.</p>
<p>Apollo…they spent a lot of time talking about the international opportunities. I can’t imagine any other school having so many easy options regarding classes and housing abroad. Our tour guide had just returned from Madrid and she is only a sophomore.</p>
<p>^ these kids do not realize how truly lucky they are.</p>