From the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies…
“To address environmental issues, society needs a deeper understanding of the natural world, and the ways we can [b ] regulate our own behavior. [/b ] Faculty and students at F&ES conduct research in eight broadly conceived areas of environmental concern – biodiversity, forestry, global climate, industry, law and economics, urban systems, water, and social ecology. The scope of these programs reflects not just the complexity of human interaction with the environment, but the fact that the easy answers have been exhausted…”
I wonder if the Forestry department knows what the Admissions department is doing to our trees.
It was on our long list for D16, for big merit aid. The details are fuzzy, but UNL came off the list, in comparison to what U Kentucky and U Alabama offered. Fewer majors? Fewer OOS students? And something about the way the GPA is calculated spooked us re: keeping the scholarship.
Well, the Yale book made its way even to the wilds of Montana, but it took a bit longer. Maybe it is still on its way to some of you!
On a sad note, I learned last night that a co-worker of a friend was killed by a grizzly yesterday afternoon while mountain biking on a nearby trail – right about the time I was reading CC and stressing about EFCs, etc. Kind of a somber reality check. Thirty-eight years old, local guy with a family. Our little community is pretty subdued today.
Wow, @picklesarenice, bear attacks are rare (much, much rarer than people often think). Attacked while mountain biking—I wonder if he accidentally got between a bear and her cub—that’s what normally leads to that here.
But yeah, condolences at a distance—being in another place with lots of very wild wildlife, we get hit with that sort of news occasionally, too, so I really do feel your pain.
I second the nomination for @Gator88NE’s Chinese take-out folder. I can’t believe how hard I laugh at some of these posts! A sense of humor comes in handy in this process.
Back from our visit with DH’s family and there are 500+ posts, so little chance of me catching up! But it’s exciting to see everyone’s senior course lists and summer college trip plans.
My only news is that while on vacation we discovered that a form that we submitted to Cornell via IDOC in May still hasn’t been sent to them, so DD’s financial aid is still on hold. Normally there would be plenty of time to get it straightened out, but tuition for DD’s semester abroad is due July 15 and the FA office says it it usually takes two weeks to finalize the FA once all documents are in. Poor DD is pretty anxious . I’m less so because I have many many years under my belt of seeing things work out OK even whey they look scary, but I wish I could help her!
** Grand Canyon **
The summer before my oldest’s senior year we borrowed a 15 passenger van, filled it up with camping gear, and drove from NY to CA and back again. We saw Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon, King’s Canyon (right next to Yosemite but SO much less busy and full of sequioas!), Redwoods State Park, and Crater Lake. We camped on the Pacific beach at Gold Bluffs too. It was the best thing we ever did.
** Senior Year Schedule **
English 12, Calculus, Economics/Participation in Govt (NYS requirement), Principles of Engineering, Cisco Networking, Forensics. He has already taken Bio, Chem and Physics, and so the only other option for science for him is AP Bio which he is very nervous about. I need to call a couple of his colleges and find out whether Forensics will count as a science class because a couple of them would like to see 4 years of science. I’m not sure how hard to push DS to do AP Bio, because he has a legitimate fear of damaging his 3.5 GPA which he needs for the merit awards at a couple of his schools (which don’t require 4 years of science). So all your kids’ AP loads are sure impressive from here!
FWIW, our school offers three APs. But the % of 5s they get is way above the national average; for instance, roughly half of the APUSH students get 5s. So I guess they do a good job with what they do offer, or maybe the group of kids who take it is a different demographic than at some schools.
Son was bumped from AP Art History due to schedule conflict (he’ll take Comp Graphics and Web Design instead), which drops his grand total to 4 APs (maybe 5 if he self studies for Calc BC). Oh well, he was never Ivy league bound anyway. I just hope this doesn’t hurt his chances at the mid-tier (merit-aid generous) schools.
@picklesarenice So sorry to hear about the grizzly attack. I recently read an account about a marathon runner who was attacked by a bear (inadvertently got between mother and cub), rolled into a ball and played dead and narrowly survived. Can’t remember if it was black or grizzly, though. Condolences to your friend and to the victim’s family.
@kac425 I know a girl who sounds very much like your daughter who applied to a very few art and design schools but got into her school of choice and is thriving.
OK, now that I’ve been poking around the CA and looking at school sites for the materials they require, I have a question: The “Secondary School Report” is required at several schools. This is not the “School Profile” that we have been talking about. But, is it a document that the HS produces, or that the GC fills out, but belongs to the school the DK is applying to? I believe UofSC (?) has their own version, so I’m just wondering where it originates from? (or is it “from where it originates?” or “whereith said form originates”?)
Also, Tulane identifies it as: “Secondary School Report/Guidance Counselor Recommendation”, and I do believe there is a spot in the ones I’ve seen for the GC to write stuff. Does it take the place of the GC LOR? So, if a school requires the SSR, does the kid’s GC know what to do, and takes care of it all?
Analysis Paralysis going on over here…I need a little Chinese (oh, I already have 2)
@Ynotgo, we also finished that vaccine. D felt slight pain in the area for about a day each time.
@STEM2017 , D took Honor Physics sophomore year, which turned out to be AP physics I the next year. She got punished by being ahead on science. Go figure! Luckily we don’t rank, but AP is higher on GPA.
Intro:
–D17 and DS 20. I still don’t understand the concept of donut hole, but those NPCs are not our friends!
–D is a swimmer, Captain next year. Some interests from D3, but she doesn’t want to swim n college.
–Health-nut and foody…I am afraid she is going to judge her schools by the quality of cafeteria food and proximity to Whole Foods or Costco. The college list is hers and hers alone!!
–D informed me that she visited Emory and took notes, which she shared with me through Google Docs. She is in Hotlanta for FBLA. No, she is not visiting G Tech! “It is a little sketchy!”
–Compared to her trip two weeks ago, she checked in with me regularly “as requested”… She started each checking in with “I am still alive…”
–DH just got her a credit card…I guess she can start building up her credit history.
@SincererLove – good luck to D at FBLA in Hotlanta – hope she has fun - my DS’s flight got cancelled Tuesday night but he got there yesterday - today his team got through round 1 of their tech related competition (not running for any office), I did not hear from him at all till after their competition - thankfully went well but they brought a LOT of backup technology for their live demo as last year there were major problems. Think our school group (about 25 students) are going to the Coca Cola Factory/Museum. BTW we visited GATech & liked it (in Feb.) - thought the area around it was pretty nice.
@picklesarenice how horrifying and scary! I am so sorry for your co worker.
@curiositycat333 and @IABooks CSU is good across the board. It came off our list simply as the campus was too sprawling for S17’s tastes (wants traditional look and feel and less walking) and they only had one of the programs he was interested in. As he is unsure, we really need options and they do not have Environmental Studies or Science, just engineering. Boulder has it all though. Both are good solid schools across the board.
I will say though, as someone who works for an engineering firm…a degree from Mines is worth more at the entry level for salary (and honestly for even getting the interview at my firm), especially at the MS and PhD level. However, for your S it would be a reach. SD was recruited for soccer and was a solid match stats wise and was rejected. In her case I suspect it was lack of rigor comparatively speaking. From a quality of life standpoint, CSU and Boulder will be a far easier road simply as Mines is fairly cutthroat academically competitively speaking and just isn’t for everyone (would not have been the right fit for her anyways).
@CA1543 He was so funny. He told me that he LOVES the sciences but isn’t sure that would actually be fun to work in. Fun to study but not to work? Definitely a change from the “I want to be Stephen Hawking and go to Cambridge when I grow up”.
According to him he’ll need to do undergrad in film and then grad in screen writing. I told him he needed to double major so he could actually have a paying job upon graduation and plan on a break in between to finance said grad school, oh and that self sustaining was a prime goal…not living with us. To which he said fine and he thought business would be a good double major. LOL!
@kac425 You are not remotely alone. Our kids are not off doing research projects, amazing co ops or competitive academic programs, nor will any of them have AP’s into the double digits. The oldest manged to graduate college on time without ever taking a single oneSD is the highest achieving of the bunch academically though I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up the lowest earner unless she goes to grad school. SS11 and S17 are motivated hard workers and will be fine. S19 has his head in the clouds almost all the time so who knows! By CC stats though…S17 is a slacker.
Thanks @dfbdfb and others who have commented. I think that is probably exactly what happened-- he probably came racing kind of silently around a bend in the trail or something and surprised a sow and cubs. But it’s not known for sure yet. They are still looking for the bear. There’s a KOA about a mile away from the attack site. It’s fenced all the way around, I think. But I can imagine that a few tenting tourists may have spent an unpleasant night last night regardless.
I’m curious about Agnes Scott College. Has anyone on this board considered it or visited or anything? D17 is pretty certain she doesn’t want to end up in the south (she’s VERY liberal) but it seems like it might be a decent fit otherwise. I’m intrigued by their SUMMIT program and I think my D could possibly get merit aid there. I would be interested to hear your thoughts. @MotherOfDragons , I might be remembering incorrectly, but I think maybe you live outside of Atlanta?
@itsgettingreal17 , DH requested online, with us, as another card. The card is Citi Professional if that helps!
@CA1543, there are only 3 of them from our school, which is definitely better than just herself last year. They have been having fun!! Best of luck to your son and his team! I thought she would visit G Tech, but again, that is her list.
. I’m less so because I have many many years under my belt of seeing things work out OK even whey they look scary, but I wish I could help her!
