@Mom2aphysicsgeek I organize monthly luncheons for technical people in our community (tomorrow: ocean wave energy conversion). Most of the attendees are electrical and mechanical engineers, including a number of actual “rocket scientists”. Some are physicists and chemists. Many have PhDs. They ask great technical questions. They understand and love talks ranging from genetic engineering to swarm robotics to hacking/malware to pipeline corrosion to astrophysics.
I’ve had 3 quantum computing talks from 3 different quantum computing professors. Everyone says they really enjoy the quantum computing talks and get some things out of it, but they can really only hold it in their head for ~10 minutes and then realize they don’t really understand it. And, that’s not even pure quantum mechanics … it’s just the applied computing with qubits part.
We attend public talks at the local Institute for Theoretical Physics. The quantum talks are always the hardest to understand, even at a level aimed at the educated public. String theory talks and Higgs boson talks are typically easier to get something out of.
Hey, don’t pick on USC! My impression has been that they’ve worked really hard over the past decade to shake off the “U of Spoiled Children” label. They also have a strong commitment to diversity and first generation college students backed up with lots of $$. Like all schools, there are students from wealthy families who are very privileged, and they are easy to spot on campus (whether they drive on the walkways or not). But judging from their recent acceptance stats, slackers need not applyl.
:)>-
p.s. have I given away where D15 is a student?? lol
omg ha ha ha I got the same email from our GC and had the same thought :))
Maybe Duke as a reachy reach because they offer good merit money and she’s familiar with the campus, but then again, since she’s familiar with the campus, why go to the visiting info night?
@Ynotgo my mind is totally blown by spooky action at a distance. Totally.
@ynotgo Thanks for sharing that as well! BTW, ds has asked what we would think if wanted to travel to Mars. I do think he would prefer wormhole travel, though, over SpaceX. (Huge Stargate fan!)
Yikes! I had a crazy busy week (conference followed by finals and graduation at the college) and I came back to 600+ posts. I don’t know if I can catch up, but I’ll throw in our experience with the Rensselaer Medal. DS '15 was awarded the R Medal, but we are a Pell grant family and it wasn’t nearly enough to make Rensselaer possible. I felt bad not to use it, but what can you do? DS is very happy where he is though.
@payn4ward See, how those micro-managing NASA engineers almost failed miserably by trying to control the action, rather than letting the one person closest to the situation use their own judgement in the situation?
It’s kind of like the college search process, and we are NASA. Oops.
@payn4ward First flower grown in space? I like it! Orange and yellow are my favorite colors. They cheer me up. If I’m stuck in space, I want to see orange and yellow rather than blue or purple.
I liked Martian way better than Interstellar also.
Those are lovely flowers, more so since they were grown in space. How cool is that? From the time Spykid could speak he would incessantly ask if I would accompany him in space and if I’d move to Mars. He never liked my answer as I’m partial to Earth. He is obsessed with all things Elon Musk and SpaceX.
Welcome back @mdcmom! We’ve been all over the board and back again these past few days.
You know it @srk2017. But I think the contingent they need to be concerned with is right here on CC. :))!
@HiToWaMom that’s pretty interesting. I guess I’ll wait till we get June ACT results back before making the Judgment call (which would be making S take the Oct SAT lol).
Good to hear many of you are doing happy dances due to good SAT results! What a wait that was for you all! My D won’t take the SAT, since her ACT is fine and she is above commended but below any chance for CA NMSF. So, in a way, easier for us I guess, no choices needed. For that. But… I am having trouble understanding the potential impact of SAT subject tests on college admission chances, especially for UCs where for several campuses/majors, they are recommended. Based on what “most” people say, she should have them and she does: math 2 (800) and chemistry (700). Chem is a bit low, I guess, by SAT 2 standards, so that is the dilemma right now. She wants some kind of STEM major, but undecided as to what (except a big NO for biology, which is my area, so of course it’s a no, lol). She is preparing for Physics SAT 2 in June. Do you all think that it makes sense for her to take it if a practice test shows she is likely to beat her 700? If she does apply to engineering or physics, the Physics SAT might be helpful to have. I’m assuming we are going to have to report all scores to UCs. I’ve seen conflicting info on this, but her HS puts all the scores on her transcript, so I think we have no choice but to just report everything. Sigh. My D is very capable and independent, but I for sure have been a micromanaging “NASA” for her standardized testing plan just due to the overwhelming nature of it for our 2017 kids. In fact, without CC, we would not know about her commended status (nothing from the school) and the zero chance for NMSF. So, being on here is a real plus for sure.
@canypava Is your D taking Physics this year, but not next? I had scheduled Phys SAT II for June, but her teacher (who will be her teacher next year) told her to take the Phys Subj test next October, as they will be prepping a bit for it. Her Chemistry and Physics AP class is a little unusual, covering 2 years…so maybe it does not apply to your situation. But, if you’re not needing SAT I you could always put off the subject test until next fall.
The added advantage is that you may decide you don’t need it by then.
@2muchquan, no physics option for next year. I think it would be hard for her to do it in Oct. Thanks, @srk2017, not sure if she’s there yet for Physics score, that’s what we’ll need to gauge I guess.
@canypava I recommend having her study a bit and retaking the Chem subject test. And she should also consider taking Physics. Can you look at the common data set for the schools you are interested in and determine whether they have score choice or require all scores? D’s HS puts all scores on the transcript, but only on the unofficial one. No scores are reported on the official transcript. So you may want to check the policy at your D’s school about reporting standardized test scores.
but I’m slowly coming around. As I said, it’s nirvana to Spyboy.
I do think he would prefer wormhole travel, though, over SpaceX. (Huge Stargate fan!)
He is obsessed with all things Elon Musk and SpaceX.