Welcome @BlueAFMom You’re name makes me chuckle as the AF is an abbreviation that some kids use. Tsk tsk!
@BigPapiofthree that was the funniest summary! Spot on! =))
@BlueAFMom definitely visit CSU as well, very different vibe from CU and Fort Collins is wonderful!
We are still sad it fell off S17’s list.
@BigPapiofthree – so funny - we need it – stay around!! I was worried we’d all be a bit on the serious side while @2muchquan is away!!
@greeny8 – your conspiracy story is so upsetting - so sorry that conspiracy nonsense happened. But pleas - no Zika for us!
@Ynotgo – mine too had/has fine motor skill weakness - his preK Montessori school had him do “bottle cap” work to try to strengthen his grip and pick up tiny things with tweezers - he reluctantly complied but it did not help a lot. He can write but now types most everything on his computer / phone!! And thanks goodness for teachers who are accommodating about things and allow students to do what works for them. :>
@greeny8 OMG…had to check the Urban Dictionary on that one…I’m so out of touch. That’s much more interesting than the intended abbreviation–Air Force. 
Of course, when I asked my DD what “AF” stood for I got a smile and a blush.
@CA1543 Mine didn’t “reluctantly comply” too well at the Montessori preschool. That school only lasted 3 or 4 months for us. :-q It seems like 7 years of piano and 3 years of fencing brought his fine motor level up to average, but he does prefer to type. (Well, probably most adults do these days…)
Our school doesn’t rank or do Val/Sal. I honestly don’t think colleges care about ranking beyond top 10 percentile which counselors will disclose to colleges only since more schools don’t rank now than do. They do have a special recognition for all students with a weighted 4.0 or higher. I think they should have an award for an unweighted 4.0 too which they don’t have. The 4.0+ students elect one of the group to be a special honor speaker. The big issue I have with schools that rank is that many students take classes other than what they really want because it can effect rank like taking less foreign language classes if they aren’t available as honors classes. All of our honors and AP classes are open so anyone can take anything. The only exception is to take Algebra in 7th grade they have to get above a certain percentile on the IAAT.
See and I’m just waiting for everyone to stop talking about math. This Poli Sci major/marketing gal who didn’t take math past Algebra 2 (which mind you I do regret a tad) is entirely lost.
Faring slightly better with tracking the materials science convo but, sigh. I feel I need to go back to school to keep up! :-/
@eandesmom Just do what I do…fake it. :-B I can only make through the first half of alg 2 before my kids leave me behind. My physics is worse. I don’t know Latin, French, or Russian. But, man, I have mastered the supporting mother wonk wonk nod and smile!
@262mom My son was very interested in UCB and UCLA but did not apply because he wasn’t willing to switch out one of his senior classes for a fine art. Our school allows a choice of fine art, business, or home ec class and he had already taken a baking class. We visited three UCs and asked numerous people and they were insistent that he needed the fine art to even be considered. He did have a few friends apply without to UCLA and they were not admitted but who knows if that is why. Our school had an unusually rough year with UCs.
Long weekend here so had a lot of catching up to do. D and I took a road trip to go see a concert we missed in our own city then had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to UT for her summer program then long drive back home for me.
D is happy that the dorm she’s in for this program is nicer than the one she stayed in last time. The program is in the business school and should help D decide whether business/accounting really is for her. The week’s activities look amazing, but totally exhausting. I think she’s going to need to sleep for a couple of days when she gets back. :)) She’s already checked in with me and is having fun. So, so far so good.
UT - lots of much needed construction on campus. Still a rather ugly campus, imo.
So all the STEM talk has me asking the following:
** QOTD ** How did your kids decide on these less common majors?
We had no imagination in my day. My circle is made up of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and professors. :))
My D15 never made it to Montessori because when I toured the school I was turned off by a teacher who wanted a kid to sort beads by color and the kid just wanted to make designs with the beads. The kid was 3. I though the kid should just do what he wanted. D went to a different preschool.
In other positive news, during all the driving, D decided on 2 essay topics.
Thanks for the info, @dcplanner. We are in a similar boat, in that S doesn’t want to give up anything he’s already planning to take next year (though his spring semester is not yet set and he might be willing to take a college class in Art History in the spring, if after reflecting on his recent visits, he decides that applying to one or more CA schools is a priority).
It’s frustrating that the messages we’ve been getting are so inconsistent, though, and it would be nice to know whether he really needs the art class if test scores can be used to waive the A-G requirements.
@BlueAFMom LoL I did not think of Air Force even while watching pictures of neighborhood kid doing summer program at AFA. I only thought about the kid slang =))
@BlueAFMom If it makes you feel any better, I thought Air Force. of course, my mind is G-rated and my dh whispers meanings (or tells me I have misunderstood, but just let it go) in my ear when things zip right overhead.
I have no idea what else it can mean, and I am not brave enough to google and find out.
@payn4ward I thought slang too. :)) It wouldn’t be that unusual for CC. There’s a poster with a really inappropriate name … so dirty that I don’t know why people dignify any of his posts with real advice. :))
I only remember all both DS’s did was cutting bananas and washing windows/desks/shoes during 2+ years each of Montessori preschool. They did not learn to read/write nor do math, left beads/cones untouched. When they entered public Kindergarten, they could barely scribble their first names. It looked like ant scrolled by.
This reminds me,
From Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
AF - my D just defined it for me. It is synonymous with “As heck” but substitute a bad word beginning with f for ‘heck’.
@itsgettingreal17 Maybe we don’t recognize it? Mind sharing a not linked, non-serchble form of the name so that we know? (Now I am going to look at posting names and think twice about every name!)
I never studied classics, so never learned greek nor latin.
I was chagrined to find my diploma was in latin (another story.) :((
After years of math and physics writing equations with greek letter symbols, I was surprised to find that I mastered greek alphabet and was able to read the map of Greece with city names written in greek ! 
If someone says it’s all greek to me about physics, it is true. :))