I had several other permanent teeth besides the wisdom teeth pulled. So I had room for mine, and still have all 3. I don’t have the Julia Roberts jaw.
We expected to still be testing this fall too @STEM2017. D17 score last October surprised all…it was just a practice. I think it has probably had a negative impact on the need to look ahead to other deadlines, and general getting-things-done-ness. (I feel like I stole that term from @MOD).
@Mom2aphysicsgeek your plan B was New College right? I was afraid that would be the case if we tried to cobble together a Neuroscience major. I can just imagine you situation! It just wouldn’t look the same. I think that route works well in some situations that are more straightforward. That was my analysis after 5 minutes on their website, so what do I know? :D. We’d just do a straight Bio degree if the planets don’t align and D17 ends up there I think.
Its just now gelling for us that some school’s on S’s list may want SAT II scores. I really have no idea what he’d take besides Math 2. Is SAT II Lit like the MC part of AP tests? He’s only had Physics 1 so physics isn’t even an option.
And as an added bonus, he has a competition on the Oct test day. I’m too scared to look if any of the schools he likes want a sat/act+essay. (None of the schools on MY list want any of this nonsense, which is clear proof that mine is the better list.)
@Mom2aphysicsgeek That’s a GREAT suggestion. Let me contact ACT and see if I can change his registration.
@TimEnchanter , @CA1543
Wisdom Teeth:
Mine JUST did all 4 yesterday. she did amazing. our tips…
1a. have at LEAST 2 sets of pea baggies--they thaw quicker than you'd think. i probably should have done a 3rd for backup. be prepared to rotate these every 20-30 min as needed.
1b. frozen peas did help with lip swelling, alas couldnt figure out a hands free option on that tho.
its all good. its DONE.
Best of luck to your kiddos!
ps: there was an actual sign in post-op prohibiting video taping of patient 
@TimEnchanter – Thanks for those timely tips - glad your went well and now in recovery phase. I love the bra idea but my DS may freak out - unless he’s sedated. We’ll be lining up the movies, favorite ice cream flavors etc.!! Really hope after a couple of days they are feeling much better!!
@STEM2017 On the ACT test date, at least at our test center, they allowed kids to switch from ACT w/ writing to ACT w/o writing and vice versa. The same was true for SAT.
There was quite a scramble when the kids needed to line up for the correct testing room for with or w/o writing.
After all were seated, the proctor confirmed several times “this is the one without writing, if you are in wrong room …”
** Washington University at St Louis campus report: **
We were delighted to get into our AIR CONDITIONED rental car to drive 6 hours to the St. Louis suburbs from Hyde Park. En route, we passed abundant corn and soy fields and occasional placards of a religious or political nature.
The WUSTL campus is lovely. Its origins as a seminary are still very much apparent in the architecture and layout, which is reminiscent of a European monastery. Nearly of the buildings are made of a local pinkish stone and are harmonious in style. Exceptions were the library (under construction) and the business school’s main building (a beautiful modern structure flooded with natural light). The buildings surround a huge green quad which serves as a social space for student events during the school year. Freshman live in a residential area called the south 40. We saw a suite (they are phasing out traditional dorms) that houses four students in two doubles with a shared bath and small sitting area). Bedroom size was reasonable. Yes, they have Tempurpedic ™ mattresses. Dorm lounges were inviting and attractive. Interiors of all buildings were modernized, up to date, and attractively designed. It was a bit too affluent for my taste; imagine the letdown when students have to go home to their regular mattress. Or rent a typical “student apartment” post-graduation.
The campus is nicely situated. It is surrounded by Forest Park to the east (larger than Central Park, full of museums and a world class zoo, all free, as well as running and biking trails); the Delmar Loop to the north - a gorgeous upscale residential neighborhood and a pleasing commercial strip with theaters, music spaces, coffee shops, restaurants, bars; Brentwood to the south (Big Box stores and the Galleria Mall), and Clayton to the West, a mixed residential/commercial area where many students get jobs/internships. The university is connected to downtown by light rail and all students get a “free” public transportation pass when they enroll.
Over 200 people showed up on a (very hot) Saturday morning to see what WUSTL had to offer. The info session was nicely presented. A young woman named Ariel gave a fast-paced, entertaining run down of the basics; her counterpoint was a student from NJ named Steve. They did the back and forth with Steve providing the student perspective. High points – WUSTL does not have barriers across its five divisions. So if you are admitted into the Sam Fox Art & Design program and then have a change of heart and want to pursue engineering, you don’t have to go through an additional admission process to switch programs. Study abroad and undergraduate research are both very popular. About 1/3 of the students are in Greek life but they claimed that it was more community service-oriented and less Animal House. There is lots of funding for student groups, including unconventional choices like butter churning and bee keeping, as well as the more typical political, social, and recreational activities. Entrepreneurship and practical applications are embeded in many courses. Overall, there was a pre-professional vibe that I found very appropriate. They seem keen on getting their students to apply their academic learning in a practical way that will prepare them for post-college life.
The student tour guide was informative and clear. Thank you WUSTL for providing microphones to your guides. I’m sure they appreciate not having to yell and the folks in the back of the group are happy not to miss anything. We were divided into groups of about 5 families per guide. The majority of the guides were young Asian women. We saw the student union building, a dorm, the business school, the dining hall, a couple of classrooms, and a performance space.
The tour included a voucher for the student applicant to eat in the dining hall. On a summer Saturday, only a few stations were open. We went to the Italian/salad to order place and the food was very good and fresh. The lunch ladies are the motherly type that call you hon’ with a smile. After lunch we visited the Kemper Art Museum, on-campus, which showcases student work and modern art. It is small but nicely curated. As the heat wave was continuing, we drove around the campus perimeter, checked out Forest Park and called it a day.
Conclusion: My daughter enjoyed the tour, felt comfortable on campus and in the surrounding area, and is excited about the academic offerings and curricular flexibility at WUSTL. Its location and integration into functional public transportation provides myriad opportunities, both leisure and professional. Despite the slim possibility of admissions and even slimmer chances for merit scholarships, she is likely to apply here as a reach school.
updated:
10:15 am Day2: felt dizzy in bathroom while salt water rinsing.
made her go back to bed. clearly she overdid it.
@kac425 – I am sitting here laughing at your suggestion of an old bra. It is brilliant but I can just imagine the reaction of either of my boys!
Agree completely that having back-up bags of frozen veggies is very helpful. Also agree that prescription pain meds not really needed.
Another helpful device is one of those bulb syringe things to squirt water at the surgery sites. One of the boys had bits of broccoli ‘stored’ in the crevices when he went in for follow-up appointment.
I cannot remember what they ate, but it wasn’t much the first day.
Best of luck to all going through this.
@kac425 Thank you so much for the play by play and suggestions. Still have a month or so until their surgery, but I was already planning on having to wait on them hand and mouth. That’s why I am doing both D’s on the same day, that way I am only going to have to through it once.
Can someone in here give me a rough estimate on how long it should take son17 to fill out the Common App?
Just the info parts. He’ll work on the essay beforehand. He only needs to write 1 essay and all of the schools he wants to apply to take the CA. Not going to bother filling out fafsa or css either. Just want to get it all finished and over with asap.
Thanks for the tips, @kac425 ! We are 11 days away from D17’s surgery, and I’ve been dreading it. So glad to hear the success stories.
I’m so impressed with the progress everyone is making on app’s already. I’m having a hard time motivating dd to even talk about it. Before she got sick she had crazy ambitious goals, and now she says she wants to live at home and go to our local school. I’m fine with it if that ends up being the best solution, but I’d feel better if she seemed more excited about it. I just have a feeling she’s afraid that if she goes away she’ll get sick and have to come home. I’ve sent off for info from some Big MAC schools, and I’ve considered filling out the basic apps (shh, I know that’s awful!), but I’m feeling a little panicky as the weeks go by. I really want her to have choices.
@momtoaphysicsgeek , I’m sorry New College isn’t looking good. Do you know if a degree in Russian is a must for recruiters? In other words, could your dd major in economics or IR, continue private Russian study, and still be competitive? It would be better to be in a program, of course, with other motivated students. Just a thought - we’ve wondered the same thing for our dd.
Sorry to hear about food allergies. Luckily DS doesn’t have any allergies, but he told his second grade teacher that he is allergic to chocolate (after hearing another classmate has sever allergies). @ that time he was into chocolate so he claimed it as an allergy 
He wouldn’t let us tell this story to friends 
I am allergic to raw Jalapenos.
Wisdom teeth Sympathy for all the teens getting their teeth out.
S17 is one of those lucky kids who have space for the Wisdom teeth. I believe two have already erupted fine. (And surprisingly he has not needed braces) After all the dental issues with DD it’s a relief. DD had hers out the summer before senior year. It went smoothy, but she was uncomfortable for a few days.
I highly recommend if you are going to get them removed get ALL 4 removed. I had two removed at this age (and it was fairly common where I lived) & was told my uppers ones were so impacted they would NEVER come out. WRONG… upper ones started coming out in my mid 40’s. Only during a root canal that I shouldn’t have needed did we figure out the problem was the wisdom teeth were coming in. I had to have my upper wisdom teeth pulled as an adult. NO FUN.
@lemetz She knows how her French skills developed and how different forms of interaction have affected her pace of mastering skills. She is not close to being satisfied with her French skills, and yet she has been told by her French tutor that her French essays are on par with high school students in France. Her reading level is close to being equivalent. (She runs into problems with unfamiliar topics like ships in Les Mis.) When she says she wants to be fluent, she means really fluent.
She knows her Russian is in the baby stages compared to her French. She really needs it to be a focus if she wants to reach that sort of level. If anything, she could take that approach with French, but she is pretty stubborn about what she wants to study.
It looks like the only allergy D17 has is to alcohol (Asian Glow). Glad we found out together instead of letting her find out on her own.
We suspect a wheat allergy with her, but have had workups done on her when she was a youngster and it’s never been totally clear.
@RightCoaster My D15 did the common app in stages, and then went back over and over it several times, rearranging and checking for typos. In spite of all of that, she found a few typos after her first app went through.
Then she asked me to proof-read everything before every app that went out after that. She re-checked every section every time. It was very time-consuming. So it’s hard to say how long it takes, but maybe an hour for the first go around, not including adding the essays. Then about another hour for each app when she was ready to send, going over every section again and again.
Maybe D’s example isn’t typical, on second thought. But she had better results after the first app. Taking the time to get everything right is really important.
The state flagship (separate application, not common app) required proof-of-residency info, and that took a lot of extra time.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Has she looked at universities in Europe? Or is that too expensive & too far away. Just wondering if those might have better options.
@curiositycat333 Thanks for the suggestions. Way toooooo expensive. But the distance would also be a problem. She does have a few good options, but they avg about 10 hrs away. She was trying to find something closer, but that isn’t going to be possible. She also needs to find schools with lots of study abroad funding or where she can use her scholarship $$ for study abroad. $$ really limits her options.