@nw2this Most likely it will be a UC which are very different from a pretty conservative school in TX. A school like Austin would probably be more his style.
@carachel2 I can relate to the impersonal school experience - also, neither of my kids are/were interested in my school. Very happy with their choices and options though. One school out here that has an excellent engineering tour and reputation, has smaller classes, and is not football-obsessed is Cal Poly. Not ridiculously bad for OOS tuition either. I don’t have a kid there, but it popped in my head as I was reading your post. If hands-on engineering is your kid’s thing, that’s a great place.
Thanks. That information is also helpful. The political spectrum is not an explicit factor for us, but now that you mention it, a more balanced environment would be better.
@nw2this For the most part we don’t even think about the political climate at the schools he’s considering, but possibly that’s because most of them are pretty similar. A few schools farther away we should probably look into the environment more so there are no surprises. Mostly we’re looking for strong engineering programs at a cost no more than the in-state UC cost. A strong want is as many years as possible of on campus or university owned housing (knowing our kid, it’s important to us). Big time sports isn’t important, but isn’t a problem either. We’re fortunate to have a lot of great in-state options. An unspoken thing, I think, is that he wants a school he feels will have a student body largely of his caliber. Undoubtably there is some peer pressure at his school regarding that factor.
@Dolemite
That is true, just not a big a concern for us.
@youcee
Those are things we want as well. A preponderance of serious students, cost no greater than our state flagship and on-campus housing to prevent malnourishment from eating nothing but cereal and ramen.
@Dolemite I had a hard time finding something clear about the GPA requirement, but I found something that said 3.5. Not impossibly high, but pretty high and not trivial.
I haven’t read through all the posts but have to second @MotherOfDragons book recommendation. If you liked Mr. Penumbra try Annabel Scheme. Or, maybe a darker book like The Shadow of the Wind for a book store themed book.
No progress on apps for DS since visit and acceptance to Bama. Maybe he liked it more than he is letting on or maybe he is just bored by the apps.
Oh! I forgot about the audio book discussion. My recommendation would be The Martian. The movie was great and the book was even better, but the audio book is the best!
With my user name, I can’t let a book discussion go by. Thanks for the recommendations. I try to find long but good audiobooks and a few I really liked lately were America’s First Daughter, Amy Snow, Letters to the Lost, and Three Sisters, Three Queens. These are all kind of historical, I guess. For another shorter, bookstore-themed book, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry was entertaining.
There are a couple of books threads in the Parent Cafe, and I second recommendations from there for Underground Airlines, The Girl with All the Gifts, and Station Eleven. I read, as opposed to listened, to these if that matters to you.
Hi. Curious if any of your kids applied to Pitt. M daughter checked Pitt Passport account for the first time yesterday and under “Admissions” there was something called “Program Status” which indicated “Admitted”. Not sure if this really indicates anything or not, as she applied in mid-August and wasn’t expecting a decision for a little while still. Anyone know what 'Program Status" means? I posted in the Pitt thread, but it was kind of dead, so I thought I’d try here.
She’s also among the other acceptances at UA, and really gets excited with each and every one. Good luck everyone!
Interesting @carachel2. Thanks for the info. I’m sure you’ll get positive news soon. I think we’ll wait for some other indication…email or snail mail. I thought Pitt sent an email, but I will go through the old threads today and double-check.
@carachel2 She’s interested in Neuroscience right now, perhaps with a Psych or Math dual/minor. How about your child?
@WhereIsMyKindle I think I agree about the acceptance, but will wait for further information. What I’ve learned, especially between UA and Pitt, is that I could make a gazillion dollars designing web portals for schools. I think they should involve parents in the process more.