I have a 21 year old without a license.
Outside drivers ed is required in our state for a license but not to graduate. I imagine it is a hardship for low-income kids (and adults). Our S16 invested the time in his junior year, the freedom he now has to stay after school any day he wants is very helpful. He picked up a new EC, math team. Transportation for ECs has always been a challenge. Are we selfish for not organizing our work-lives around them? Was he trying to avoid the inconvenience to us and claiming he didnāt want to do more than one (thatās what he told us, so it never seemed worth pursuing carpools). Or is he just a late bloomer finally getting more involved? Anyway, being a driver has given him a lot of confidence.
Congrats to all for your acceptances and for getting all those apps in. Weāre still aiming to have most of them in by the end of October, and will be way ahead of most at his school even though none is in yet.
We are missing College Night (out of town) but we went two years ago and learned nothing we didnāt already know. GCs are actively meeting with classes of seniors weekly and starting to hound parents by email so thatās a good thing. Weighted class rank will be available Oct 1 ā hey, if it is weighted maybe my S16 wonāt do so horribly.
In our home state , you can get a permit at 15 after taking a written test, then 8 hrs drivers Ed class , then complete 40 hrs of additional drive time ( 10 hrs of night driving) and wait 180 days from permit and then take the driving test including behind the wheel to get a restricted license as young as 15 1/2. Then you keep your restricted license until 16. After 17 years of age, you are eligible for unrestricted license . DS16 got his permit at 16, and then waited until he was 17 to get his license. He went almost 7 months without driving until we purchased and additional vehicle and I forced him to drive so that he would be ready to drive his brother and himself to school . He loves it now. DS19 turns 15 in two months and we will start looking into drivers Ed shortly thereafter.
So my son was called into the principals office to receive his National Merit Commendation certificate. He had to explain to the principal what it was because he had never seen oneā¦Oh Well. It is a newer principal but still.
I LOVE that DS drives. I understand that in places with public transportation it is not as important but here it is a huge help. I second the idea that it was a big confidence booster. I also think it has expanded his idea of which schools are ācloseā and which are āfarā from home.
I wish S drove. He honestly hasnāt had the time to get in the hours. And by the time heās had his permit long enough to get a license, heāll have turned eighteen.
Meantime, I am Mom-Taxi. Sometimes itās a colossal PIA (like, for instance, homecoming, the four-times-weekly band practices). OTOH, all the band kids know me because Iāve driven them home at some point or another-- and you just learn so much driving carpools.
A lot of his peers have their licenses, but enough donāt that my kids arenāt unusual. It helps that there are a lot of families who canāt afford the additional $3k a year to insure a teen driver.
We have good public transportation here, so both of my older kids took driverās ed in HS but didnāt actually get their licenses until they were 18. BUT, they both went to school here in town, which made their driving unnecessary. Youngest is in school in another city and the buses just donāt line up, so I drive her everywhere that school is involved. The out-of-school ECās arenāt really bus-friendly either. It would help if she drove, but it just hasnāt worked out.
Congrats @LKnomad 's S! Thatās great!
DS16 is trying to complete his Honors application this weekend. Iām amazed anyone gets admitted based on these essays they have to write. Tweet in 140 characters or less why we should admit you. My sonās never tweeted a day in his life. 
I was reading all your comments while waiting for S19 to get his Learnerās Permit and thinking about what a wide range of driving experience our children have. D16 has been driving for over two years and itās been a lifesaver for me.
I have a question for the group. D16 has finished her Common App and the Supplement for her SCEA. She has an interview scheduled at the EA in late October, about a week before the deadline. Better to send the Common App and Supplement now or wait until after the interview? If she is admitted, she is sure she wants to attend that school, but wonders whether she will seem āflat and uninterestingā if the adcom member reads her application first and then she talks about the same things as are listed in her app. On the other hand, she wonders if it is an advantage to have it in early so adcom member has plenty of time to see it. Yes, we have gotten to that level of minute stressing and second guessing.
@LKnomad ā That is an absolutely wonderful anecdote. You couldnāt make this stuff up.
Itās a real testimony to what a great parent your child has. Your having learned all of these ins and outs of college admissions on your own will serve him well. Congrats.
Free lunch kids get driverās ed for free and reduced lunch gets get it for half price here in Iowa. I am unsure about other places. I think the state must reimburse the drivers ed school, not sure about that.
S just got his license this past summer, about a month after his 17th birthday. I didnāt want to pay for the insurance before that and he doesnāt qualify for the good student discounts.
My son has had his license since the day after he turned 16, so heās had it for almost 1.5 years. He just got into his second accident a few weeks ago Itās a mixed blessing that he can drive. Itās so helpful that he can take himself to all the places he needs to go - school, job, volunteering, etc. But with the newfound freedom his social life has dramatically improved too, so heās on the road way more than I think he needs to be. I told him that I dread when he calls me versus texting, because it means he needs my immediate attention!
For our school district in IL (not sure if this is statewide) - The driverās ed class can be taken in school during the school year, sophomore year, and costs nothing. The driving instruction does, though. So, the actual driving instruction is not required. Itās optional. I also donāt think formal driving lessons are required by the state of IL to get a permit and start driving with an adult, but - the permit itself also costs money.
So, in short - the rules of the road class is required - actual driving lessons are not.
I donāt know why the rules of the road class is required either.
@BeeDAre. - I see the IL Secretary of State teen driver website is requiring driving lessons. In Seattle, poor kids can no longer afford drivers ed. So, I love the idea above of subsidies for free/reduced lunch kidsā instruction. Safer roads, better employment chances. I would think. I wish our school had classroom and road instruction .
Oh, are they? I stand corrected, then. I am under the impression, though, that for over 18, lessons are not required as long as one could actually pass the driving test and knew the rules of the road and passed the written test. So kids have the option of waiting until they are 18 or over.
Again, though, the class in school does not require driving or lessons or even getting the permit.
But, yes, oneās employment chances are better if one has a car. Unless youāre in a city with lots of transit.
Our area is very similar to @carolinamom2boys. Daughter has been driving to school, ECās, errands for mom (love this) for approximately 1 1/2 years. I was recently hit by a deer so my car is being repaired and I needed to borrow hers. Ohā¦the complaints about how uncool this was to be picked up during senior year. My car should be ready early next week and everything will be alright. :))
Put us on team driving. D16 got her permit at 15, drove tons with us that year, got license the day she turned 16 and has been driving full time ever since. The girlsā charter school doesnāt bus from our city (and public transit would make a 20-minute trip into nearly an hour). The driving has been worth its weight in gold since we only occasionally have to do pick ups (for younger sister, when activities conflict).
After Dās first acceptance, sheās been on a big pause with applications. She is meeting this weekend with a family friend (journalist/college prof) who does informal advising on essays, and another friend (photo editor) about college/programs/photography. With volleyball, yearbook and, uh, school, thereās a lot on her plate. Iām hoping after this weekend she will submit final piece (essay) for NM application. Her school apparently didnāt give the kids a deadline for that, so Iām making one up: Oct. 1.
Iāve been gone a while, but hope to join the discussion again. DS16 has his license, which is great since I needed him to drive himself to school this week.
My son has now submitted two applications - both with no essays, which is why they are submitted. Hope to hear back soon from those as they are rolling admissions. He only has one other school on his list, which is a big reach.
He plans to study engineering, but is also interested in linguistics. He had a list of possibilities, but has crossed a lot of those off.
Drivingācheck.
But applications seem to be at a dead stop. Just found out last night that she has not talked to her teachers about recommendations yet. What! Pulling my hair out.