I mean a bus from nearby the school
Can you get merit from Tulane from the Sat score or is it only the act score?
Do all schools have the brag sheet? My son was suppose to fill out some survey but hasn’t? If he doesn’t have one do you think he could send in a reseme
Yesterday, I got no communication from my child at neuroscience camp other than a “Going to bed! Goodnight!” text. And the previous day I only got a text from her that said she’d had a language cognition class, understood why I got so fascinated with the field that I became a linguist, and reaffirmed that that is not where her life is ever going to go.
This is a Good Thing—I’m being very pleased that after the intense nervousness (probably fed by the jetlag, really) of her first couple days there, things have calmed down and she doesn’t feel the need to check in about everything. For me and my wife, the goal has always been to have them able to handle stuff on their own—glad to see it starting to happen.
Taking a break from the beach - this New Englander is loving the South Carolina coast!
@picklesarenice, so sorry for the tragic loss of a young father.
@kac429, we know someone going to Mass College of Art for animation. Not sure if their program would be of interest to your D. It’s a very urban school in Boston, if location/type of campus matters. It’s wonderful that your student has such a clear sense of what they want to study.
@rightcoaster, it’s interesting to hear about the LAX recruits from your son’s team. When a Naviance graph shows an outlier for a high end school or ivy I must admit “athlete” is the first thing that pops into my mind. If a school is not a good fit they’ll find out soon enough. My LAX-son periodically gets caught up in talk about “recruitment” and imo he would love to be on a college team. A parent told me last fall that if he didn’t have a recruitment film online then we were already way behind - that kind of mind-set makes me cringe but I’m not really into sports. Thankfully DS has decided that he would rather play club at a “better” school than be on a team for a school where he might not be as academically challenged.
@fun1234 you can get merit from the SAT score from Tulane. I’m not sure where they go for the outing club, but I’m sure he would meet people with similar interests. Partying is a part of life for many at Tulane, but do a search for threads on this topic. It’s sure to have been discussed! There is a moderator - @fallenchemist - who knows all things Tulane. You should send him a message and he will have some good advice about transportation as well.
Welcome to all the new posters!! S17 is my second time through this process (D15 is a rising college sophomore). CC has been a great way to share information (and occasionally vent some frustration about the whole process). The amazing achievements of some CC students is intimidating, but also inspiring.
Ok… think I caught up with posts this morning. Not sure who to attribute all these messages to…
Scary news about the bear attack. I’m so sorry for this family.
DS’s school is a large highly competitive public school. They offer 25 AP tests but a few are for classes they don’t offer like AP Physics C, Macro Economics. They still have students who takes these anyway. Our H.S. only allows students to take 2 of those AP classes before junior year (there are a few exceptions made) and most only take APUSH because there isn’t room in their schedule. AP classes the top honors students usually take 1 sophomore year, 4 junior year and as many as 6 senior year.
My S17 couldn’t handle that kind of homework load. He took 2 AP’s this year. I’m anxiously waiting his results (supposed to be out July 6th) although I expect they will be good & I don’t have to worry. He will take 2 next year. Because of this he won’t look very competitive around our school. But he’s a lot happier & doing better overall not trying to take 4 AP classes at once.
Good to hear more about CSU. Will have to see what he thinks & look at majors. Thanks for mentioning mechanical engineering is impacted. S did mention interest in mechanical, but I don’t think that’s going to be likely given where his GPA is… Anyone know if these schools look at senior fall semester grades.
Just trying to refresh my memories for some abbreviations…
CC = Community College
CC = College Counselor
CC = College Confidential
CC = Credit Card
So sorry about the bear attack news.
I had recently decided we no longer need additional term life insurance other than the default small term life through work. Now, to get reminded of life insurance for kids. It is a good suggestion though but I was like Ugh, I thought I just finished thinking it through.
I’m never going to be able to catch up. I’ll reemerge end of July after various trips and vacation.
** Home alone ** Never. nada. I guess we are overprotecting parents. We don’t go out much, I guess.
** Alcohol ** At home, we let S17 try a few sips of wine or beer. So far DS’s don’t like bitter taste. As I mentioned earlier if they got our genes they would sit up straight and walk home after three bottles of vodka.
About 1994 tax binder and Chinese takeout menu (I had to go back far looking for it :)) ) it reminds me that I need to shred those tax files from 90s and 00s. I found a pile of music (from concerts, Beethoven #1, etc) in DS’s room which I didn’t feel like recycling. Perhaps I should use that as the binder filler 
@fun1234 Tulane runs a shuttle to an from Louis Armstrong Airport, so students are always able to get a ride. I live near Tulane and know many students who attend who are not drinkers or partiers. Tulane has a reputation as a party school, but just like every other college, there are many students who aren’t interested in partying. I can’t say anything about the outing club since I don’t have firsthand knowledge of it but consider posting in the Tulane forum
Credit and Credit Cards,
We signed up our two D’s for their own visa thru wells fargo. They have a college account. I think they got 1,000 dollar limit to start. It went up each year. We also added them to our Visa account for emergency only. While they were at college, they used their debit with their own money for many expenses, and would charge airline tickets and books to the visa. I would pay off the approved expenses. They rarely used our Visa. But their was a huge benefit. They were building credit not only on their own visa, but by being on ours. My oldest daughter had 780 credit rating when she graduated college. Got approved for a lease on car with no problem. D2, just leased a car, and her rating was 830. The dealership was shocked. It is a good idea to help them now build their credit. We will get s17, his own college visa when he turns 18 this fall.
Hope the info helps…
ACT question…to write or not to write?
S will be retesting in September. Some of his schools superscore. None require tACT with writing though a few will consider it (and used to require it). He is not a strong test taker (at all) however comparatively speaking to the rest of his ACT scores, the essay ones are not horrendous or at least are consistent.
Sept 23C/Essay 26
Dec 24C/Essay 24
He superscores at a 25C. Sigh. Clearly we want to get this up, he has done as well as a 28 on practice tests though does not have the self confidence to think he can do that in Sept. We do plan signficant studying and work in August but who really knows.
So. Given all that, I worry that the writing score would actually go down in relation to the rest given the recent reports and make marginal scores look worse. We are not going for super reachy schools as between gpa/test scores and the merit hunt, none have made the potential financial viability cut but there are a few high match, very low reach on the list. I need to reschedule the missed June test (from the fractured wrist). Should I (I mean him) even bother with the essay?
Or, do I hope that the writing score actually helps him?
** credit card **
DD’14 was able to get a non-cosigned credit card the summer before her freshman year of college from Discover, but a year later DS’15 was denied. Same college, same $ statistics…go figure. He’ll try again this summer but for now he’s relying on his debit card.
** home alone **
I missed the original post, but it sounds like someone was asking if we ever leave the kids home alone? DH and I have roughly two multi-day conferences a year, and we started leaving the kids home overnight when DD was a senior in high school; so, an 18 yo, 17 yo, and 15 yo. It helps that 1. The 18 yo and 17 yo are both more cautious and conservative than their parents, and the 17 yo is also a no-nonsense take charge guy, and 2. We live in the parsonage next to the church and so church people are there all the time .
DS’s report card came today. 97 in math 12, 93 in US history, 90 in physics (a disappointment there), 87 in English, 81 in Engineering (yay! it had been in the 70s all year but he nailed the final). And of course 97 in PE :), since running XC, indoor track, and outdoor track and going to states in two of them doesn’t count for PE. :-/
@eandesmom Just an FYI, they are changing the essay scoring on the ACT beginning in September. Same rubric but it will be calculated on a 1-12 scale instead of 1-36. Don’t know how that affects things. 
@mamaedefamilia ^^^ kids will score a perfect composite and then a 4 on the writing! :))
@fun1234 “Do all schools have the brag sheet? My son was suppose to fill out some survey but hasn’t?”
The way my school does it is any student who needs to have a councilor letter sent as one of their letters of recommendation must fill out a survey/brag sheet & have a meeting with the councilor before they will write it. (Not all 4 year college bound kids needs this… as our state schools don’t ask for this.) It’s a form that they get from the counceling office, or maybe part of it’s done on Naviance I’m not sure. (Naviance was only added 1/2 through D senior year.) Once it’s complete the students turn that in, and only after that’s done get an appt. with their councilor. This is done fall of senior year & includes a brag sheet, a parents questionnaire, and a list of schools with their admissions dates, and if they are applying ED/EA etc. Dates for the appt. are assigned based on how early you turn it and and your earliest submission date. Students with ED/EA are mostly handled first, and dates for when it needs to be turned are based on when you need the letter written.
@eandesmom I would tell you to leave well enough alone with the writing, since those scores aren’t bad at all, but before you do, make sure you aren’t applying to a college that requires the writing piece and doesn’t superscore!
@eandesmom I would do without writing. Maybe he will be able maintain his pace/stamina w/o the additional stress of the essay.
Also, has he tried the SAT? My kids have always scored higher on the SAT than the ACT due to the way the test is structured. They can keep their pacing better.
CSU- I think CSU is fine for all subjects. I was looking at the winners of a local scholarship that gives a full ride to any school instate (private or public) to ivy level kids to keep them here and I was surprised to see that so many had picked CSU. And I too was wondering why the engineering majors hadn’t opted for Mines or Boulder.
I will ask around once school starts.
Donut Hole- I don’t get it either.
Alcohol - I won’t offer alcohol even if it is legal, but I would watch to see if she seeks it out on her own to see if I’m off base about her lack interest.
donut hole I was watching the kids swim and dive down through the holes in the inner tubes. There you go, you are drowning and all you get thrown is the hole. The tube is not for you!
There is a public bus trolley combination from Tulane to the airport but it may not run on weekends or late evenings, check the schedule.