<p>Ijustdrive, LOL I think it’s ironic that the person with the name “Ijustdrive” seems to be one of the most comfortable with flying as a primary form of transportation to/ from college.</p>
<p>I suspect it’s one of those things that the more experienced you are with air travel, the less of a ‘big deal’ it seems to be.</p>
<p>I would love to be one of those people who didn’t feel like it’s a big deal to get on a plane and go somewhere…but I do not like flying. at all. Now with all the security in the airports, that scares me more than the flying. It’s just that feeling of a loss of control or something. Anyway…D doesn’t like flying either. We’d both do it if we had to, but we don’t want to have to. ;-)</p>
<p>Welcome Sally305! I feel sure that I have ‘talked’ to you on CC before. I’d love to hear more about your D’s experience with the southern LAC. We would like to find the smaller LAC feel for my D, within a days drive from us in Florida.</p>
<p>Momsings, I have had those thoughts about just moving to where ever she goes too. Why do those great schools in the northeast (that she seems to like so much) have to be so far!</p>
<p>D12 is 800 miles away. D15’s favorite school (right now) is ~600 miles, another school she is interested in is more like 1000+. It is just how it is.</p>
<p>Hi Sally 305! I don’t post a whole lot outside of this forum but I do read and have come across your posts and enjoy them. It’s nice to see you here. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there are no dancers in this family. I can’t even manage zumba. Aside from Bunheadmom, Mihcal has a D who dances. Both of them are very knowledgeable about a range of subjects so they will probably be excellent resources. </p>
<p>Shoboe, I’ve had to become a frequent flyer over the past three years and I think the more I fly, the bigger the deal it becomes. I’ve gone from not minding it to dreading it. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of realistic options for D within driving distance so our family may just have to get used to air travel delays, lost luggage, uncomfortable seats, and a lot of time waiting on various airport lines.</p>
<p>Momsings, carting a bass across the country must be quite a feat!</p>
<p>@jazzlandmom - I’m pretty sure that they are only counting Math & CR (or was it writing??). I’ve seen this at several schools and it confused me at first, too.</p>
<p>I think it’s because I’ve driven so much during the HS years that I’m really ready to leave the driving to the airlines for college. Not that I would object to D’15 going to school closer to home, mind you.</p>
<p>Someone once told me that the ideal distance for college was 500 miles or greater from home so that the student could really experiences something different from the environment in which he or she grew up. That’s also far enough away to prevent arbitrary visits (either to home or from home). I think if there isn’t the artificial barrier of distance, there needs to be explicit agreement to foster independence and set reasonable expectations – for both parents and student.</p>
<p>Add me to the list of people who hate flying. Up until recently I assumed my D15 would be within driving distance, but now I realize that some of the schools she applies to ( at least one or two) may be airplane schools. I guess I am spoiled because my older daughter is only 3 1/2 hours away by car. I have second thoughts about my kid going someplace that is more than a 7-8 hour car ride because of her meltdowns- but at the same time she is getting a handle on them and I do not want to limit her. </p>
<p>1400 is for critical reading and math. Most schools look at cr/m more than writing, which bothers me because you still need to do ok on the writing section. Meanwhile on the ACT they look at the composite including the English section- ifs not like they take it out. Makes no sense. Merit money seems to be based on ACT composite ( including English) or SAT cr/math ( excluding the writing section).</p>
<p>Jazz nice to see that somebody else is on my crazy early morning schedule!! </p>
<p>A friend from work told me last week that she was still waiting for her son’s October (26?) ACT score and she was getting a bit anxious. That basically made me realize that my kid has to be done by June. I suppose the Sept date would be ok but anything past that would stress me out too much.</p>
<p>As far as distance of college goes, my kid is looking at colleges 3000 miles away in the UK. I don’t even know why I bother letting him get his US drivers license since he’s going to be confused on which side of the road to drive.</p>
<p>As a pilot, I have to say all this anti-flying sentiment has kinda hurt my feelings a little…sniff, sniff. I mean, I’ll probably get over the pain…eventually…but it may require an extensive round of culinary therapy (bring on the chicken wings!!).</p>
<p>I flew a mother and her son on a college visit trip last fall. We hopped around the south over 3 days and they visited USCar, Clemson, Auburn, Bama, and Ole Miss. Talk about feeling like a failure as a parent!! Here’s lowly little me having to resort to DRIVING my kids to nearby schools for campus visits. Gotta admit though, flying certainly allowed her to expedite the process and expand the list of schools…now if I just had a spare $30K I could charter the airplane myself. Yeah…probably not gonna happen.</p>
<p>ahsmuoh…I thought the same thing. How nice would it be to have the resources to pay full freight for your child at any university he/she wanted, as well as chartering a private jet to go visit the schools. Thank God there are people that do have those deep pockets though. It keeps me gainfully employed so I can contribute at least SOMETHING towards my kids’ education…and pay for the gas during our (insert derisive snort here) driving campus trips. :)</p>
<p>twogirls, I know there had been some glitches in the ACT based on the ACT forum but your friend’s son should have gotten his composite score by now. D took that exam - with writing - and got her score a while ago (at least a week, maybe two - when did I post about her unchanging score?). She didn’t get the writing score then; I think that will be available later.</p>
<p>I was also thinking (hoping) that D needed to be done by June as well. This waiting is awful, even when there is “no” pressure. I can’t imagine how students wait while they are filling out applications, praying for higher scores. I would crack.</p>
<p>November SAT scores available tomorrow.</p>
<p>Wolverine, no offense but I hate flying. classic case of fear of flying. Shorter flights are scarier than long flights. I’ve even found myself looking up the crash stats for specific planes and airlines (this is where the internet is an enabler, not a resource). No way I would get on, off a plane multiple times a day. The best way to travel is the train.</p>
<p>keepmecruising, that’s a very poignant story. Given your life experience it’s understandable that you wish your kids to be nearby. I’m sure they understand and hope things work out happily for you that way.</p>
<p>Turning it around, D called the other day because she was at a university doctor appt and listing me as emergency contact. They required her to call and tell me. Thinking how absurd it is really to have your emergency contact on the other side of country, but no choice as there isn’t anyone closer. I got anxious and started checking travel possibilities. 26 hour drive, too long. Discovered that if she called with a morning emergency I would be able to be there that evening. Expensive, but doable. I’ve never had to buy emergency plane tickets, assumed it would be more difficult. But, if it were an evening emergency, couldn’t get there until next day. It’s unnerving to know that I can’t get there quickly.</p>
<p>Funny about the idea of moving to be near kids, seems like a joke, but… We met the head of honors college assoc. at D’s school. He sent both kids across the country to the school and then they were retired, so packed up and moved there themselves. It’s something of a retiree destination as warm climate. Never thought that our family would be considering something like that.</p>
<p>H isn’t retiring yet, but we’ve been talking about moving as soon as kids out of HS, waiting for that. It isn’t about weather. Our state hasn’t been kind to professors, no raise for 6 years and then finally 1%. Governor gave them across the board 10% pay cut the year before, so the 1% was kind of a slap in the face. Morale is pretty bad. But the funny thing is that H has been going around complaining about the cold for the first time in his life. I guess that’s what happens when you get older. Fussing with the thermostat all the time and grumbling. I give him daily weather reports on Phoenix. The shocker is he’s started talking about moving there. Not Phoenix, necessarily, but maybe Tucson or the state next door where he has a collaborator he visits frequently. It’s a shocker because we have never talked about a move to warm climate ever, and particularly not to SW where long term water supply outlook is so grim. I feel secure with the big lakes near me,neurosis of mine. Now I started teasing him about it. Looking at programs at D’s school, came across a professor who was at H’s school for 22 years, head of dept, and then moved there. I sent link to H saying maybe he got tired of the cold too.</p>
<p>We haven’t even signed up for the SAT. Waiting for the PSAT results. I think my D is going to need some tutoring but want to see how she does first.</p>
<p>As for the flying/driving thing, my son’s school is what some people would consider a day’s drive, but it is a long one (12-13 hours). That is too much for me. It’s an easy 5- to 6-hour trip door to door by car/bus and plane, though. By driving him or putting him on a bus to the closest major airport rather than our little one, we can avoid connecting flights and also save on airfare. Since we live in the Midwest I am happy to not have to fret about winter driving for any of us.</p>
<p>slackermom, D hates hates flying, but was determined to go to this school anyway. She is not coming home for Thanksgiving because the stress of all the flying is too much for the few days at home. Her ears bother her no matter how much she chews candy, and she just hates it generally. </p>
<p>There are 2 ways to get home. She can take 2 legs and get to our aiport 15 minute drive from home, or take a nonstop to an airport about 1.5 hours away. I was planning winter break travel and asking which she preferred. My thinking was nonstop is preferable so she doesn’t get stuck at airport in blizzard, but her thinking is it’s preferable because it means less flying and airport time. She doesn’t care about the time spent in car at all, says it will be nice talking time.</p>
Why do those great schools in the northeast (that she seems to like so much) have to be so far!</p>
I mean, I’ll probably get over the pain…eventually…but it may require an extensive round of culinary therapy (bring on the chicken wings!!).</p>
Gotta admit though, flying certainly allowed her to expedite the process and expand the list of schools…now if I just had a spare $30K I could charter the airplane myself. Yeah…probably not gonna happen.</p>