<p>Thanks for the Pitt and NYU reviews!</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions… I will wait to call the new school until we have a better idea if we are moving or not. A new possibility emerged on friday here… so that would change everything. We would do all our research and talk to both possible schools there and his school here before we would do anything. </p>
<p>Loved the NYU review… we will eventually look there. We have visited LMU, Stanford, Claremont McKenna, Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern, Indiana and WUSTL so far. Have Vanderbilt planned for November. Favorites so far were Claremont and WUSTL.</p>
<p>wrights…That’s an impressive list of visits you’ve already done!! We’ve only visited three schools so far (within 1 hr drive) and are looking at trying to squeeze in a couple more IS visits before the end of the semester. 4 APs, cross country, PSAT/SAT prep, homecoming, etc. all seem to eat up any free time we might have for some strange reason. :)</p>
<p>It’s great to read the detailed visit descriptions. Each of our kids have different likes/dislikes, but detailed descriptions like twogirls and keepmecruisin posted sure help to paint a picture for schools that we might not get a chance to evaluate otherwise. Thanks much…and keep them coming!!</p>
<p>We visited most of the SUNYs ( both kids looked at different ones), Cornell, University of Rochester, Boston U, Northeastern, Lehigh, Muhlenberg, and UPitt. If anybody wants any info please let me know. We still have 10 schools to visit during February and April break, with a few re- visits to do in the summer. My husband has lots and lots of hotel points, thankfully!!</p>
<p>In the meantime if anybody would like any info on the schools that we have seen, please let me know.</p>
<p>Today is the First Day Of School!! Last night we met friends for our traditional back -to -school ice cream, minus our older kids ( sad).</p>
<p>Seems that I repeated myself- it’s early here LOL!</p>
<p>Good luck twogirls and anyone else starting school today. Today is day 3 for us and the first full week. I already feel like emailing S18’s Algebra teacher. She puts the next day’s notes on her website and wants the kids to copy them before she teaches the material. Today’s notes included 4 problems which S18 did not know how to solve bc he wasn’t taught the material yet. He insisted that she did not specify whether they should complete these problems or leave them for the lecture the next day. Of course this stressed the kid out and he made H teach him how to do it. I’m really hoping the teacher clarifies the process today or we will be teaching the child Algebra instead of her!</p>
<p>S’s bags are packed and ready to fly to boarding school today, sigh. I wont see him until Dec.</p>
<p>Our schools (and I assume most schools now) have an online system where teachers can input grades, upcoming assignments, populate the calendar, etc. It’s a fantastic system…but it’s only as good as the info they put into it. Many of the teachers still opt to just write assignments/upcoming quizzes/etc. on the board, and some are PAINFULLY slow to enter grades into the system as well.</p>
<p>With S having Asperger’s issues, it’s an ongoing battle to try and stay on top of what he has due at any given time and what he has coming up in the near future. This year’s crop of teachers run the whole gamut as far as the online system goes. 4 days into the semester and only 1 grade posted out of 6 classes, nothing listed for any classes for upcoming assignments, and he’s copied next to nothing from the boards into his planner. We’re a little nervous that he’s going to dig himself into a hole early in the marking period with missed assignments and poor preparation for quizzes/tests and spend the rest of the MP trying to recover. This has somewhat been his M.O. for the first two years of HS, and we’re hoping history doesn’t repeat itself. Time will tell.</p>
<p>Deep breaths and perhaps some meditation…or heavy drinking. :)</p>
<p>Apollo - we are going to an infomation evening tomorrow about NYU Abu Dhabi. MY D’s uni counsellor has already said that if she is interested then she will recomend her. I have my doubts about Abu Dhabi mainly the weather D has red hair and pale skin. I will let you know how it goes.</p>
<p>Keepme- that is very frustrating! I hope clarification comes your way soon.
Muf- that must be very difficult. How far away is the school?
Wolverine- our school puts everything on line as well: grades, hw, tests, etc. I know it’s tough but just remember to take one day at a time. Does your son have somebody at school who can help keep him organized etc?
NYU Abu Dhabi sounds exciting! Keep us posted.</p>
<p>We made it through the first day of school and now she is busy working on an essay. She likes her teachers and is not yet overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Wolverine, sorry to hear you’re being driven to meditation or drink 
D is having some organizational issues too. She missed the school bus today because she was trying to print out homework at the last minute; luckily for her (and annoyingly for me) I was around to drive her.</p>
<p>Also I’m sorry to hear that U of Michigan isn’t more welcoming to in-state students, I spent a summer there doing postgraduate work and loved it and wish that it were one of our in-state options.</p>
<p>keepmecruisin, glad you liked NYU, we’re just an hour away and love the Village but haven’t really been planning to visit. I know there are students who love it there but D doesn’t really want an urban campus (crossed GWU off her list when we visited) 3 years ago Hubby spent a week at a seminar there and stayed in a dorm where the food was a banquet but the rooms were like jail cells. The Yankee Stadium graduation can be cool–I attended it last year for my niece and heard Sonia Sotomayor speak, but my younger niece had a panic attack when we were leaving–we were crowded into a corridor and she was on a medication that had bad side effects.</p>
<p>twogirls, I didn’t have UPitt on our list because Pittsburgh seems so far away–last time I went there, 19 years ago, I flew. A longtime resident told us about the city having a hard time recovering from bad urban planning in the 70s and i saw some ghost-town areas so it’s good to hear it’s recovering. According to Google Maps it’s a 6 hour 44 minute drive but that’s without factoring in NYC and suburb traffic–I’d say it would be more like 8 hours for us, but if it’s really a good school maybe I’ll look into it.</p>
<p>How did you like BU? We had limited time and didn’t even look at it because of its urban campus and its party-school reputation–but is there anything about it to outweigh those factors?</p>
<p>And we’re wondering about doing a PA weekend to look at Philly/Southern PA schools. Maybe Lehigh–but I hear it’s a party school? I’d like to look at Penn even though it’s a real reach. Drexel and Temple look ok on paper but their reviews aren’t great. Lafayette? Muhlenberg? Dickinson? Villanova is out because D doesn’t want a small homogeneous Catholic school. </p>
<p>So far D likes just 2 of her teachers, while the rest are “a bit weird” or “really weird”. I’m hoping it will get better!</p>
<p>Don’t you love it when they say “weird”? When you ask for a reason mine does not usually have one! Thankfully this years teachers are good.</p>
<p>Pitt is far- 7 hours by car and I am thinking she might have to fly sometimes. Right now it’s not her number one so it may not be an issue, but she likes it better than Bing so perhaps it will be an issue- who knows. I loved the school and so far it’s my number 1!! It has what my daughter wants- a campus where down the street you can sit in a cute coffee shop or restaurant. I think the car ride was a major turn off on that day ( their moods change!) yet we are planning to head south by car during the Feb break and she is happy about it. </p>
<p>I liked BU but I liked Pitt better. Pitt had a certain level of energy to it that i did not get at BU, plus there is a campus. BU is definitely urban, but yet it still has a warmth to it that we did not feel at Northeastern. We had a great tour guide and he knew everybody as we walked down the streets and around the school. My daughter wants to go back to BU- still thinking city/ no city? I did not hear about the party school rep- my daughter would not be happy.</p>
<p>Lehigh is my daughter’s favorite, yet it does not have what she wants- go figure. She wants to be able to walk down the street and go to a cute restaurant or coffee shop. I could be wrong, but Lehigh did not seem to have that. Her face lights up when we mention Lehigh. I heard that it is a party school, and that has been confirmed by several kids I know who attend. I am sure there are plenty who do not party. I have not told my daughter about the party atmosphere.</p>
<p>We visited Muhlenberg but it was too small for my daughter. I would like her to see Lafayette but I am sure that will also be too small. The area around there is also a bit sleepy for my kid- I think it’s the Easton or Allentown area and every time we are in the area she says she hates it. I go back and forth between Drexel and Temple and I doubt she will apply.</p>
<p>I would love for my daughter to apply to Penn, Cornell, and maybe another Ivy but there is no merit aid. We might be able to get a little FA the first year because we will have two in college, but after that I highly doubt it. $55,000 + is not in the cards for me, unfortunately. Both of my kids will need grad school.</p>
<p>We will be heading off to Emory, Wake Forest, UVA, Richmond, and Maryland in a few months. Then later on we will hit UDel and some DC schools ( unless she decides no city). Last but not least we will re-visit Rochester and hopefully combine the trip during a time when we are getting my other one, and we will also re- visit Lehigh and BU.</p>
<p>We have a big college fair by us this fall ( 200+ schools) so maybe we will find a few more that spark her interest. She wants to apply to Vanderbilt but we will not visit unless they give her some money. They have been quite generous with merit aid to some kids from our school.</p>
<p>My college roommate was from the Pittsburgh area and I drove home to NY from her house once. Only once. It was the longest drive of my entire life and that includes drives to FL and NC. Twogirls, I guess your D and I have something in common! Maybe she can just fly back and forth :).</p>
<p>So I made a stupid rookie parent mistake. We were planning to go to Villanova’s open house this weekend. I didn’t register for it bc I wasn’t sure if my boys were coming or if my H had to work. We ironed it out this weekend and when I went to register, the open house was full. I could kick myself for not just putting us all in weeks ago. I called and they said just keep checking online for cancellations, they don’t have a waiting list, grrrr. Live and learn, I won’t make that mistake again.</p>
<p>Thinking about heading to CT maybe to see Fairfield, Sacred Heart or Quinnipiac. I keep trying to explain the concept of a safety to the D, that she has to find one she may want to attend. I think after all those CR practice tests she’s starting to understand ;)</p>
<p>twogirls and crepes…Organizational issues has been (and will be 
) an ongoing issue for S, but we’re trying to emphasize the importance of keeping track of everything himself. In past years, his twin sister was in many of the same classes (though not always the same teacher) so we had her as a backup to know when tests/quizzes/assignments were upcoming. As they’ve progressed through HS their academic tracks have diverged as she’s taking several AP courses, etc. so we really don’t have that “safety net” anymore. It’s a somewhat painful, but necessary, transition towards self-reliance for him. If he’s going to be successful at the college level, he knows he needs to be able to stand on his own. He’s a good student (3.8-3.9 GPA, 26 ACT as a soph) but at least at this point he doesn’t have the life/organizational skills to handle a full-time, 4 year college dorm existence.</p>
<p>College visits are tricky for us given the different situations for D2 and S. As she starts looking at OOS schools that probably won’t be available to him from a financial/practical standpoint he tends to get down on himself despite his own successes. We’ll schedule visits for both of them at the closer OOS schools, and we’re trying to approach it as “here’s what can be available to you when you’re ready”.</p>
<p>Luckily, we have a solid cc, a college, and a 4 year university within 15 minutes driving time that will be available to us. He REALLY liked Oakland University when we visited (as did Mrs Wolverine and I ) but it’s about a 40 minute drive if he commutes and is outside our affordable range for full-time, live on campus. We’re encouraging him to consider the local cc for his general requirements then 2 years at Oakland to finish his degree. Now if he could just figure out what he’s interested in studying… :)</p>
<p>twogirls I am impressed with your work! We haven’t seen one yet!</p>
<p>My friend has two at Pitt and they love it!</p>
<p>I have never heard of BU as a party school-that is news to me. </p>
<p>We toured some of the same schools you mentioned with my son but my daughter is looking south towards VA and NC so if anyone has info on those school I would welcome that.</p>
<p>My son attends Northeastern so I can help anyone who is looking at that school.</p>
<p>I’ve been following 2014 NMSF cutoff thread. The cutoff scores are up for many states with some setting new records - see post 1159 below. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1427971-class-2014-nmsf-qualifying-scores-78.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1427971-class-2014-nmsf-qualifying-scores-78.html</a></p>
<p>Anyone care to guess what this means to HS15’ kids, if anything at all?</p>
<p>^ I plan to take a look later. Pepper does your son like Northeastern? We visited during spring break and it was packed. The tour probably had 75 or more people and it was impossible to hear the tour guide- I think that is the piece that made my daughter crazy. The school has an excellent reputation and we really need to take another look. I stopped a random girl because we were lost and she told me that she likes the school. Her only complaint was that when your friends go out on co- op they are not around anymore during the day, so you do not see them as often as you used to.</p>
<p>FromMD…We’ve been following the NM threads with our D2 as well, and what she had already determined was she needs to score the highest cutoff on record for our state +4 in order to feel “confident”. I understand that’s a pretty tall order for folks that live in MA, DC, CA, NJ, etc. but I think scores may tend to stay at the higher levels as more families realize the possibilities that NM can provide to their kids.</p>
<p>There were (IIRC) 10 states this year that set new highs for cutoff scores, but almost all of them were only 1 point higher than previous records. There have been some big swings over the last few years, but this year’s scores aren’t remarkably higher than we’ve seen in some previous years. A substantial jump overall from last year, but only slightly higher than historical figures. Better than a +3/+4 jump over historical highs across the board anyway!!</p>
<p>Yes twogirls he loves it but it is definitely a different college experience as he is also missing friends who are all over the place this semester-if you want a 4 year class experience it isn’t the right place. However. the coop at least for him was every bit as good an experience as they said it would be-he is starting his third year with a clue about holding down a real job and he also learned from the job that he wants to change some classes and rethink some things as he can see more now what will and will not help him out there in the world. </p>
<p>On the NM she has decided not to study and I agree with her decision-no way she is going to get in that range.</p>
<p>My guess is that there are more and more kids prepping for the PSAT than ever before and the cutoffs reflect that. D’s friends all felt that last year’s PSAT was pretty easy and if that’s true, that would also drive the cutoffs upward.</p>
<p>What does it mean for our kids? I have no idea except that the trend to prep for this test will continue. I don’t see cutoffs dipping lower. </p>
<p>I cannot believe that I moved from a high cutoff state to a state that used to have a lower cutoff…and now has a HIGHER cutoff than the high cutoff state. Oh well. D doesn’t know anything about the cutoffs and is not stressing over this test.</p>