@MotherOfDragons I’m super impressed with your college meeting outcome. That is awesome. I wish that would work for us!
Also, for those who have looked at the Public University Honors site or gotten the book, and update is coming in September. This book/guide provides information on (the top) 50 public honors programs. Here’s the dish: http://publicuniversityhonors.com/2016/07/23/update-2016-edition-of-honors-ratings-and-reviews/
Quite a few schools do this AFTER you child has been accepted. So look into this after the acceptances start rolling in.
My D12 did this for the school she attended. I found it very useful because I used it as a test of her maturity. I sent her on her own over her spring break to see if she was really ready to go to school across the country on her own.
U Kentucky-
I know this is a silly question but I’ve never been to Kentucky. Do they speak with southern accents in KY?
Yes to a southern accent/dialect. I visited and didn’t really notice. I had to think about it, so not too pronounced in the urban areas.
We really need a like button on the board. Love it… we used to love that game.
As for D17 he doesn’t know. And honestly I think this is OK & I think this should be encouraged more. Not enough specialization in H.S. to really figure it out.
He will end up mostly likely something in STEM because he’s good & math & science. Which includes possibly Engineering or possibly not which makes things complicated in the college hunt. Applying to a few Engineering programs as well as other schools who are just strong in STEM. His list is all large public schools at this point.
As a toddler he loved animals. Then dinasours, and magical creatures, dragons etc. But lost that in upper elementary. Still likes Biology & Nature. So IDK.
@262mom Good to know UC Santa Cruz is still lets you applied undeclared. It’s one of DS’s top picks. We visit this fall. And there are other reason’s I’m partial to the school. 
@dustypg Many schools have graphic design. It’s a fairly popular major these days. How about Cal State Fullerton or Chapman. Are you mostly looking in S. California? Try looking at Cal Arts, or OTIS although both of those are art schools. Check out Cal Poly SLO, they have an art program and I would be surprised if it didn’t have a graphic design program. Keep in mind information is a few years old, and we were looking at something slightly different.
Okay, I’ve been researching design programs at different schools. This is a new area of research for me, so any advice will be appreciated!
FYI, here are D’s stats:
4.0 UW GPA (most challenging curriculum available EXCEPT that she is not doing the IB diploma - but she is taking all IB classes)
ACT: 34
SAT subject tests: 760 Math II, 670 US History
ECs: barely existent. She’s been in the dance program at her high school all 4 years, and next year she’ll be on the board of the Gay-Straight Alliance club, but that’s it. Summers have included 2 stints of computer programming camp, and this summer she’ll also have a week of being a counselor-in-training at a kids’ art camp. She’s also taking an online digital painting class this summer through a community college.
Of the schools that were already on her list, it looks like UCLA, UCSD and UCD offer design/media programs. Cal, UCSB, UCI, and UC Santa Cruz (which she likes and which has been her safety) don’t.
The Claremont consortium offers a “Media Studies” major but it looks mainly theoretical, no real technique-based classes. Of course, she could always learn the techniques on her own or through CC or art school classes.
Someone here suggested Carnegie Mellon. Boston University also has a graphic design program. It looks like CMU is a reach and BU is maybe a match for her?
Cal Poly (SLO) does have a graphic design major. Last I checked it would probably be a safety for D, but I know this depends very much on how impacted particular majors are.
This is all still tentative and D may decide she doesn’t want to pursue this path after all, but I’m in information-gathering mode, so any contributions will be appreciated!
Dropped S17 at his one week course tonight. I was given cool mom brownie points by current students and program coordinators for letting him self check out and take the train home at the end.
He’s in a triple, top bunk, really really hope the kid doesn’t roll out of bed and fall out. I don’t need any more broken bones! I think we need to look for doubles or doubles that are suites. Kid is too long and breakable!
Pretty funny. One set of parents was in the room when we got there. I’m asking the kids what class they are taking, year in school, etc. Other mom is telling my kid where he can put away his stuff and asking if he brought a fan (no AC). The other 2 boys had small mini fans already running. Room wasn’t that warm though it is supposed to be a warm week here. S looked at her, grinned and said “I can be your biggest fan”. As in no, he didn’t bring one.
Sigh. Poor roommates. They don’t know what they are in for.
Happy to see the student teacher ratio looks like 6:1 or 7:1 tops. One roommate in his class and one in a related one, all local kids. Total program around 43 kids so not too big or too small for the 6 classes offered. Early reports for night 1 are positive.
@dustypig UCLA design program is very good if you can get into it.
Keep in mind that applying for art/design programs is a bit different. Often a portfolio will need to be created. Keep your eye open for freshman core courses needed for any art program.
As for EC’s your daughter are not nearly existent. Nearly existent is the kids who goes to school, barely does any homework and plays computer games. You listened dance, a club, & and helping at at art camp for kids. How many EC’s you need vary as to the type of school. But for UC’s EC’s are only a small part of the application decision. Local H.S. tells us a few EC’s they are consistent and have passion for is the best route.
Is the 4.0 UW or UC GPA?
Honestly most of the Cal States are more likely to have design programs, than UC’s. I wouldn’t expect the Claremont Colleges to be the right place to go into graphic design. Do look at Cal Arts. I know it’s an art school, but it’s a more practical one & less what I call art with a capital “A” OTIC or Laguna Beach School of Art & Design are more traditional art schools in the S. California area. For a good design program most are found in large schools (like UCLA or USC) or dedicated art schools. You want to look at the reputation of the art program vs. reputation of the school as a whole. Honestly check out Chapman. It’s very well known for it’s video & film program as well as it’s art program. Make a good safety.
Lots & Lots of other options out there if you are exploring on the east coast. I personally wouldn’t go to Boston University for their design program. Check our the Brown-RISDY duel degree program. I’m sure it’s difficult program to get into but it’s quite unique.
I have a DD who just graduated with a degree in "art’ from a Boston area school. (I don’t want to be more specific on this board but it’s not BU.) We are from S. California so I did a lot of research into this 5 years back but she didn’t have even close to the stats your daughter has.
What is she taking next year for school? If doesn’t have it already I would recommend at least one H.S. art class in her senior schedule.
@dustypig VCU’s Art dept is #2 in the country, #1 amg public universities; graphic design #7 in the country, #1 amg public universities. http://arts.vcu.edu/about/
One of our closest friends’ Dd graduated with a graphic design degree from there last year. Very talented young lady.
My kids do not like VCU bc it is a city runs through it university. It doesn’t feel like your typical college campus. The one thing they did like, probably irrelevant for most people, is that the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart sits right on the edg of campus. Some of the classes are large. Univeristy physics 1 (cal physics) had 250 kids and multivariable had 90. No one took chem, but I think I remember being told that a friend’s chem class had 400.
Art classes, otoh, are very small and kids have access to their studios 24/7.
Meant to add that I agree 100% with @curiositycat333 that she needs a portfolio no matter where she applies. She needs a professional to help her complie it bc admissions is based on the portfolio. They have very specific requirements, so she needs to research sizes, type, etc and make sure her portfolio complies.
@dustypig – re Graphic Design – have you seen this - might be helpful as it lists a range of schools.
http://gdusa.com/news/top-stories/highest-honors-2016-top-design-schools
Major choice D will be majoring in International Relations or Studies, depending on the particular school’s name, with Arabic as a second area of interest. Arabic may end up as a second major or minor, again depending on the school. If the major/minor requires a large number of literature classes in translation D would be inclined to not complete it. Her top schools have enough classes in Arabic
She decided on the IR route two years ago, after discovering that what she wanted to study has a name (politics and history and psychology and geography and anthropology). She’s really good at Arabic, too.
@2muchquan I’m reserving my opinion of how successful it is until next weekend when I can see if she did any of the “to do’s” on the “to do” list. If she hasn’t, it’s going to be one of those “either you let me help you and you trust me with it and do what I ask you to do, or I’m out-I’m not going to watch you half-ass it.”
I am front-loading the hell out off all the to-do’s because I know once I start back to school, and once she starts back to school, the luxury of time that we have right now will totally go poof. Plus I know there’s a lot I DON’T know that’s going to pop up in Sept/Oct/Nov, plus we’re going away for Thanksgiving, so I fully anticipate a couple of battles on this front.
@Nw2this When I was in Louisville a while ago (decades) I thought the accent was different than the southern accent I’m used to here in Atlanta (which is actually its own accent), and different from my friends from Alabama, and different from my friends from Texas. But it definitely was not a midwestern accent. Atlanta’s accent is more like a mid-atlantic accent, if anything. It’s a bit odd but fascinating-both my kids have a version of it (being Atlanta natives). Nobody ever thinks they’re from Georgia. I have a good ear for accents, and I’ve traveled all over the south, and it is SO fascinating to see how geography creates variances in accents. I love the New Orleans accent, but it varies a lot just within Louisiana!
@dustypig if she’s going to get a BFA in graphic art or design, the grades and scores don’t matter as much as the portfolio. The qualification numbers for kids at CMU in the art department are significantly lower than the kids in the CS department, but you have to go for a portfolio interview. If she is super academic, be aware that if she chooses the graphic art/design route, those killer numbers she’s achieved will not matter to her peers like it would if she did a more academic major.
As an artist, I would never let my kid apply to a college for fine or applied art/design that did not require a portfolio interview. If you can’t draw/do photoshop/create some sort of good maker portfolio, you shouldn’t be in that program.
The size of the program, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to make a big difference in quality. My classes right now are tiny, and the art program at my uni is very tiny, but that just means you get more support and attention from the teachers, and the dean will run your program of study over to the registrar’s for you after she signs it because she knows you live an hour away and didn’t want to make you drive in just to walk it from her office to the registrar. Intangible benefits like that are pretty cool. Plus, our art classes are all protected for art majors, so no non-art majors are allowed in until all the art majors know they have the classes they need. Things like that really matter-you know your department values you and that means a lot.
@nw2this The elephant in the room was asking me why you were asking about the KY accent. B-)
QOTD for Monday: All things being equal (and I know they never are), would your DC prefer semesters (~15 weeks) or quarters (~10 weeks)? There are pros and cons for each. Overall, I’ve read that semesters are more common except that there are a number of quarter-based universities on the West Coast (Stanford, Caltech, CalPoly, UCs except Berkeley and Merced, some in OR and WA), in the Chicago area (UChicago, Northwestern), and a smattering here and there otherwise.
DS17 recently got it confirmed that he’ll be able to register for Linear Alg at the local UC this fall at the time he requested, so that will be his first 10-week quarter class, though he has taken 6-week summer classes. (Probably he’ll take 1 or 2 other classes for fall quarter, but we haven’t gotten confirmation on those yet; he will have to talk with the professors to get permission to register.)
Semesters or quarters: Semesters, maybe only because she’s heard me complain about once teaching quarters, and how I felt like we could never actually get anything properly done.
Southern (and other) accents: Here’s a link to [the overall findings map](http://hugh.thejourneyler.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/dialect_map2.jpg) of the *Atlas of North American English/i, which is based on phonetic and phonological (read: pronunciation) data.
TL;DR: Yes, pronunciation in Kentucky is Southern.
QOTD: D17 hasn’t thought that far. I would put a slight preference on semesters due to holidays matching better with D20, better(?) access to summer jobs, longer semester abroads. Here, the NU students are in school for what seems like forever!
I don’t feel it’s a big deal either way though.
@ynotgo My ds didn’t apply to any quarter system schools but that is b/c he is severely dyslexic and he didn’t think he could keep up with the reading pace for the quarter system. One consideration is how they fit with most REUs. Ds had a month between the end of his semester and his REU starting, but he finishes 3 days before classes start. With 1/4 system schools, the opposite will be occurring.
