I just read @flatKansas post to my husband as my '17 is not talking to me because I pointed out that the essay that needs to be finished today before going out, has nothing to do with the prompt. Sigh.
@flatkansas - I feel for you. DS has had a month to write the scholarship essay for Ole Miss. I have repeatedly told him to get it done before school starts… School start TOMORROW. Ugh.
Well, dd had planned on working on one of essays earlier today. I walked into her room and told her we needed her help moving some furniture. I have to take the blame for her not getting things done this weekend, (I volunteered her for something yesterday, too!)
D hasn’t worked on any essays since Thursday. Hung out with friends all day Friday and been glued to the Olympics all weekend.
Thank you for sharing your frustration, everyone, about your dear children’s essay writing. I feel not alone anymore.
DD visited Franklin and Marshall unofficially. Verdict- pretty BUT OMG Lancaster is tiny with nothing to do.
Not a single essay started. For UC app, Common app, or UK Common app (which is 4000 words!!!)
D was gone all weekend, and leaves for band camp tomorrow. Essay doldrums.
Essay doldrums here. On the crunch for summer assignments. Lots of stuff happened last week though:
- IB summer research academy
- yearly physical
- DRIVERS LICENSE!!! ( huge huge huge. Seems like such an ordeal to get it these days!).
- solo trip by her to local restaurant to meet with friends.
2 applications completed. One in progress. Lots of procrastination towards anything in “Apply Texas” app portal lol.
D17’s GC sets a deadline for all incoming seniors to have their common app essay completed for review (about 2 weeks from now). It’s nice that somebody else can play the heavy!
QOTMoment:. We have lived in the same house since S was 2. However, S does not go to the school we are zoned for. He goes to a magnet-type school. His friends are now not in the neighborhood we live in. He loves the school, but has to go out of his way to get together with the crew. They tend to get together virtually (while playing games) more often than in person.
UVM review
First, I have to say that the Vermont vacation was wonderful. Sure the mountains are short :)) but they are very pretty! We had family ranging from age 2 to 84 and everyone had a great time. My oldest D and my Dad joined us for the campus visit. On to UVM…
This was a special visit day (just lucky it fit in with the vacation!), so before the information session there were tables set up where students could talk to representatives in the different departments. From the website, it seemed EE was doing renewable energy work, but not clear how big a focus it was. D headed for the engineering table and asked the rep if they had any kind of focus or concentration area in renewable energy and the rep said no, that there were no particular concentration areas. But then an EE prof who was there talked to D further and told her that even though there wasn’t an “official” concentration or certificate, that there were two EE professors doing research in that area and that is an expanding area in the engineering department. There is also a “Smart Grid” class and that is one renewable area D is leaning towards.
She then asked about UG research, co-op/internships, and hands-on work. According to the prof UG research is common, but there is no co-op. He said as far as internships, they are mostly local and not something most students do (although paid UG research is available). He said hands-on is very big, with two hands-on labs each in freshman and sophomore year, three junior year, and a design project senior year. He told D that the EE department is a great place to be. There are 800 students in engineering, but only 150 in EE, so they are a pretty close community. The prof was very helpful and D really enjoyed talking to him.
The information session was pretty useful – not the best but above average. They really emphasized the green and sustainable aspects of the school which made D and I more confident about the EE program being serious about renewable energy. I didn’t write down everything, but they have 22 environmentally themed majors and concentrations. Burlington is the #2 greenest place to live, and they are one of the top schools for using locally sourced food (and working on improving in this area). Burlington is also the #1 college town. (Says who? :-? ) Okay, well I’ll grant them probably one of the best. They are the #9 school for having <20 students per class. (Not quite sure how the math works with that – I guess it would have to be proportional). Tutoring is available one hour per class per week. This seems on the low side, but I’m not sure if other schools have specified or just said generally “tutoring is available.”
So then they split into a question and answer session or financial aid session. I started out going to the finaid session (while the two D’s went to Q&A and Dad played with his smart phone in the lobby). But after a few minutes I decided I wasn’t going to get anything out of it I didn’t know (or couldn’t find out about) on CC, so I went to the Q&A which is when trouble started brewing.Oldest D explained in whispers that instead of old-fashioned hand-raising, questions had to be asked on twitter with a special hash-tag. Well, D17 doesn’t even have a twitter account, I don’t have it on my phone (and don’t remember my password). D11 has twitter, but had no reception! And of course D had a question. So I went out and eventually found an information desk to inquire about guest wi-fi, which the kid assured me they had, but he wasn’t sure how to find it, tried for a while, eventually went and got someone else and finally I had a password. Seems like the info desk should have this info close at hand. Anyway, I hurry back, D11 signs on and D17 types her question. They say they have time for one more question and holy-shamoly it is D’s! So yes, you can do study abroad as an engineer without pushing back graduation because they have programs designed for engineering (this often is not the case).
And then, the tour. The tour groups were big (20+ people), of course ours was on the quiet side, and they didn’t use headsets. Unfortunately we were near the back of the group for much of the tour and missed much of what she said. The standard double dorm room we saw was average and according to the guide was the smallest one. It did have a bigger than usual window. There are no forced triples. Students are required to live on campus for the first two years (seems like it’s usually only first year). Laundry costs 1 cent/load. There was a reason for this but I can’t remember it!
We then went down to the waterfront and ate at “The Skinny Pancake” where even my gluten-free vegan daughter was able to find good choices. The waterfront is a nice place to walk around. While we there they were setting up for a concert in a big field. There were a number of vendor tents and the D’s found one where they simply had to buy some clothing (and take a while making their decisions) so I joined Dad under a shady tree. A security woman came up and told us we had to leave because they were clearing the field for the upcoming event. We explained we were just waiting for the D’s to buy stuff but I don’t think she believed us. After some further questioning, she grudgingly let us stay put. Later when we were walking back out we came across her and she asked the D’s what they had bought. I seriously think she was checking up on our story! Anyway, this was our only unpleasant encounter in the state, so I just repeat it for the sheer oddity.
Just before leaving the waterfront area we all had “Creemee’s,” the well-known local soft-serve ice cream which was quite tasty. Watch out for that freshman 15! We headed up to Church Street and felt very much at home because it is so much like our local pedestrian mall. Apparently the main difference, at least as noted by D11, was that street performers can use amplifiers/speakers which is not allowed on Pearl Street. She has done some street performing and has to bring along a real live drummer! Anyway, we loved this area as well.
D’s thoughts post-visit: She really liked UVM, but with some reservations. The whole twitter thing and badly planned tour put her off, even though I reminded her that those probably shouldn’t affect her decision about attending the school. She felt very positive about her conversation with the EE prof (which I think is much more important). She found the campus average, but campuses don’t affect her judgment of a school unless they are actually bad. She loved Burlington and the surrounding area (so basically, the state of Vermont!) I think the biggest negative for her was the lack of a co-op program or strong support for internships. UVM ended up tied for #5 out of the 8 visited colleges that still remain on the list. She will definitely apply.
Congratulations if you made it this far – you deserve a Creemee! :)>-
@snoozn … I just read all of it. Sounds like a good visit but a weird QA session.
D attended a camp at Champlain last summer. I loved the walkable town and waterfront and D did too. Alas, it is not on her list but it was great to visit.
Your family vacay in the mountains sounds blissful.
** Essay related stuff: ** University of Houston Honors College requests a 3-5 page original piece of work that you are particularly proud of, in lieu of an essay. I think this is brilliant and my son probably has 4 or 5 to choose from. UH is not high on his list, but I wish other schools would request something like this.
That’s a really weird QA session. Not everyone even has smartphones or Twitter or data to use or questions that can be asked in less than 140 characters. I would have definitely been put of by it.
@snoozn Great tour details! UVM is on my D17s list. I personally struggle with paying OOS tuition and if it’s worth it since we have a good in-state university and my D is undecided on her major. But you made it sound worth looking into closer. Thanks!
RE: QOTD we’ve lived in the same house pretty much all my kids lives, and same school until 7th grade when D17 started at a private school. I think this is why she is so interested in leaving the state!!!
@flatKansas This is why I’m not pushing essay’s right now. My S17 would be doing exactly what your son is doing, and all I’d do is make us all stressed and mad at each other. I’ve been there before with him. I just don’t want to get close to the deadline with still no idea what to write on the essays, and a pile of homework to do. I really want to hire someone to work with him, but he’s asking me to give him a chance on his own first.
What I asked him to do this week, which he seems to be doing is looking up HIMSELF & getting a good idea when everything is due. Additionally S17 seems to be working through the other stuff he needs to do right now without much nagging. (AP homework, online health class.)
Good Luck.
@snozn Have you or your D ever heard of the Solar Decathlon? http://www.solardecathlon.gov
This is a very interesting bi-yearly (every two years) competition that various schools around the country work on in various departments. It’s hard to explain, go to their web-sites. I’ve visited the past two Solar Decathlons because they were in my general area, and they were very interesting. Although many not practical. Two years ago Cal Tech’s entry was fun but completely impractical. It sounds like something your D17 might find interesting & maybe looking at schools that plans on competing would highlight schools who are working on renewable energy. There should be a list of schools that have participated in the past on the web-site.
I know what you mean about those New England mountains. DD & I were in New Hampshire & S. Maine this spring and were a bit underwhelmed with what they call mountains.
@carachel2, congrats to your D! I bet it felt strange seeing her drive away without you.
Moving Around
D17 was born in Germany, but has been here in CO since she was 8 months old. D11 is the one who remembers growing up in the lovely German village we lived in right next to a giant forest. She was 6 when we moved back. I have to link a photo (not taken by me – just found it on the internetz): http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/29564267.jpg
D17 and S18 have lived in the same house we’re in now for as long as they can remember.
Diversity
When I was in college in Atlanta, my best friend (white), her roommate (black) and I (white) were eating in a diner and got to talking about what it was like to be a black woman at GA Tech (it was very very white at that time). She said she had come from a much more diverse place and that it was quite a shock starting out at such a white school. What I most remember is that she said whenever she was in a big lecture class and feeling overwhelmed she would look around to see if there were any other black students. When there were, she felt some comfort just to know she wasn’t alone. My friend and I looked around the restaurant and both said something like “Oh, we didn’t even think about the fact that everybody in here is white until you said that.” She shook her head immediately and said “no, look,” pointing to the black grill cooks behind the counter. One of those moments that truly makes you think about how you think.
@curiositycat333, wow thanks for the info on the Solar Decathlon! That’s definitely up D’s alley and what luck that it’s going to be in Denver next year. It’s too bad it will be in the fall instead of earlier, but I guess either she’ll be around at one of her safeties or she’ll have to come visit us in order to see the cool solar houses. I looked through the past and present teams. Several are on her list and there’s one I’m going to take another look at.
http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/power/
@snoozn, Pitt’s program might interest your D. And they have a coop program.