@ShrimpBurrito – the one in New Braunfels? I grew up in NE San Antonio. We used to go there all the time in the summer. This was well before Schlitterbahn was created, basically in the middle of nowhere. It was the “Chute” we were there to enjoy. Tubes were for sissies … we went down it barefoot and dove off the end (tried to, at least).
@droppedit How fun! Yes, New Braunfels. I love that part of Texas.
@1822mom We are visiting Trinity more for S20 than D18, but I’m sure D18 will have plenty of opinions to share 
We are going to visit Southwestern, also, while we’re in the area. S has a Big School bias, so I want him to see what a great-fit-for-him (IME) small school really looks like before he focuses solely on the state flagships. He could do his sport at DIII Trinity and be pre-med, with access to that awesome new sciences facility. (And they are very generous with merit. Jackpot.) H and I are discouraging S from trying to do pre-med and DI sports.
Congrats on a complication-free surgery, and best wishes for a low key but productive summer! 
@NamePoster the autonomous vehicle revolution is approaching, but probably not as fast as some predict. The vehicle technology will move much faster than the rest of the needed parts to make the whole thing work (liability issues, infrastructure updates, driving laws, etc.). Also, the average car on the road is over 11 years old. So, fleet turnover is pretty slow.
Time will also tell what the most common ownership model will look like. Some predict the adoption of the individual ownership model. Others predict a membership model (like current car sharing operations, Zipcar and the like). I personally would much rather become a member and just call for a vehicle to pick me up (assuming the monthly membership is competitive with the cost of ownership). I’ll turn my driveway into a garden or something.
@ShrimpBurrito sounds EXACTLY like what we’re telling our S18! Also with big school leanings but could do sport and have great academic experience at Trinity.
Visited Wash U this past week. I was underwhelmed, but S keeping it on his list for now. Summer tour was a bummer. Not recommended if you can avoid it.
DD’18 hit “enter” on her first application this morning! She has one more in the works, but the majority on her list have not opened their applications yet.
S is on a church youth trip. Then he will be busy with work and community theater for a few weeks.
HS guidance office will open back up around 20th of August, he might apply around that time.
Merit deadline is End of October, and we have to see when audition dates are in the fall/winter.
D18 is back from Guatemala. She arrived yesterday. While there, they had two large earthquakes and volcano eruption. As a joke, I decided to make one of those signs, with her name on it, that the limo and ride companies use when guests come into town. And one of those drivers actually told me where to stand, which I found both hilarious and insulting at the same time. I told the guy when they post the “Where to stand and wait at SFO” rules, I’ll be happy to comply. =))
Other than that one driver, everyone else got a big kick out it.
Anyway, D started working as a summer TA at our local middle school this morning. She was actually ready to go early, unlike during the school year, where it takes a monumental effort every morning to get her out of bed to go to school. I could get used this.
Otherwise, we’re just waiting on AP and SAT2 Lit scores in July.
D’s eagerly awaiting those AP scores as well. (I’m not. Not at all / ) We will get them the day before D flies solo to Montreal for her two week McGill Summer Academy. It will be an emotional couple of days!
There are 100 kids registered for the McGill thing. About 40 of them are on this group chat that D has been glued to the past few days. These kids are from all corners of the world! After chatting with them, D is surprised ( ) and relieved to discover that they are “just a bunch of teenagers.” I think she’s going to have a great time.
Just resurfacing after being away for what feels like an eternity after our 10 day trip to Montreal (McGill) and Chicago and back up to Northern Ontario. Lots of fun and really enjoyed both Montreal and Chicago - fun cities to go to school I am sure. Anyways, just thought I’d share some comments from our McGill tour.
As many of you probably know, McGill is located right in the heart of downtown Montreal and the city itself is a great draw for students looking for a safe and colorful urban experience. Our tour guide was from DC and had just graduated with her degree in international relations and planned to stay around a few more weeks as she wanted to enjoy the last of her Montreal days. Our tour basically included stops at the library, a large lecture hall, short stroll through the lower campus, and a quick look at a dorm room. The campus itself was beautiful with old stone buildings and greenery. While beautiful on the outside, the facilities/buildings we saw seemed tired on the inside. The dorm we saw was the same - dark, old, and a little depressing. Dining facilities and athletic facilities were not part of the tour and we were pretty spent after our red eye flight and walking around all day prior to the tour so we did not look further. No doubt that McGill is world class with tippy top students and profs - just may not be for D18 as much as I wanted her to love it.
Interesting Observation:
I am not an advocate of sending my D to a school that is a “resort”, but I could not help but notice the contrast between McGill vs. several US schools we have visited. Seems as though many US schools are raising the bar by investing in top notch lecture facilities, recreational facilities, dorms, and dining - I’m sure necessary to compete for students. Personally, I really really like McGill and admire it’s strong academic focus and reputation . . . but a few more frills might be nice.
@glido Woo Hoo on getting that first app out!
@sushiritto I’m glad she made it back safely, and what a hoot at the airport.
Re: AP scores - we’re waiting here, too. Micro, Lang and Bio.
Re: apps - S has started his app for UNM, and he’s aiming to have it ready to submit by Tuesday. He’s auto-admit, and I don’t think there are any essays, so as far as I know, it’s mostly just filling out all of the online forms. He’s do one for Tech, but he’s swung so hard toward UNM that he’d only apply there if I didn’t insist about Tech just so he has a backup in case he changes his mind down the road.
On the topic of backups, part of me keeps wanting him to apply to at least one UC and maybe a CalState just in case. That or maybe OU. It’s not like I think UNM will fall off the face of the earth or anything, but… kids change their minds, you know? What if he gets serious with the GF and she doesn’t want to go out of state? etc.
@vistajay,@droppedit, thank you for your suggestions. I was hoping we will be done with testing this summer but I guess not…
@my2caligirls But it is those frills that contribute to the high tuition at US schools. There is a “nuclear arms race” among US colleges, especially private colleges, to see who has the best rec centers, resort like dorms etc. and all that gets factored into the cost.
@TomSrOfBoston You are absolutely right - all the frills cost money. Anyways, with getting a good education being the primary goal, I think McGill is hard to beat. Was just commenting as even I noticed a difference in the frill department but for me the academics, and city itself more than make up for it - great school.
@DiotimaDM l had similar backup concerns, which is how UCR ended up on the list. Our situation is completely different from yours but I understand the little “what ifs” that creep into the back of the mind (usually late at night when I’m trying to sleep lol)!
Now I have banished those what ifs with a bunch of why’s. Like, why am I paying an app fee and sending test scores to a school she isn’t really interested in? Why does she have to write 4 essays for this school? 8-} The answer for us ultimately, is peace of mind, and she even agrees that it’s worth it (so far, she hasn’t gotten to those essays yet!) YMMV, and like I said, your situation is different. It may just be jitters because you are finishing this process so much earlier than you thought? In any case whatever you decide it will work out. Your S is awesome and seems to be making this process work for him very well
@TomSrOfBoston I would agree with you, except that UBC has frills out the wazoo. The attitude of treating students as adults is still there, but the facilities are (gasp) amazing. There have to be other factors at play here, like provincial funding. And of course McGill’s international tuition is very affordable for some faculties–that’s not the case for UBC. (My2caligirls’s D has Canadian citizenship.)
@my2caligirls I’m glad you had a good trip. I concur with your observations of McGill. The way my H puts it is that at McGill you are buying your (excellent) education a la carte. Other aspects of the college experience are up to the student. My personal opinion is, that’s great for humanities or business students, but I’d hesitate to send a STEM-focused kid there, where the facilities and equipment matter more.
@DiotimaDM, maybe show your S some of those “I have changed my mind/I made a mistake” threads that always pop up here in May. There is no downside to filling out an extra safety app or two, especially the CSUs that don’t require essays.
In a completely different context, I visited the McGill genetics lab, and if there is some STEM area lacking in funding, it is not that. Wow. They are funded. No idea if that trickles down to undergrads.
I’ve been reading a lot of other threads were people are dropping schools because the dorms are old, etc. and I can see why schools think they need to spend on that. I went to a LAC with crappy dorms and it didn’t affect my learning or my college experience at all.
I definitely think it’s jitters on my part, especially with UCR. It feels very strange to be done this early, and it makes me feel like we’re doing it wrong, you know?
UCR has an early entry program (the Haider) for med school that I think would be a perfect fit for S, especially since we’re residents of the local county, and S is participating in their early leadership program. There’s also a scholarship for area locals that covers all med school expenses not covered by other aid (not sure if this includes living expenses) if S agrees to practice for 5 years in the local area.
I know he can get his undergrad elsewhere and still apply to UCR for med school, but I have a feeling that particular scholarship would go to a local who went to UCR for undergrad over a local who left and came back. The downside is that we can’t really afford UCR for undergrad, so the point is kind of moot. I still get angsty over it, though. X_X
I kind of wish he would apply so we could compare the aid packages, but I may not get that wish since I’m not willing to spend one of my “because I said so” cards over it.
Wow, some college apps are already open? Good for you guys, already getting them in!
We are getting back on the campus tour train, with another one this Friday. I’m kind of excited to see this one, since someone we know went and loved every minute of it (again, a college no one here has heard of, lol). A lot of my friends who are on Facebook have been posting pictures from every campus visit. I won’t post anything until she has an accepted offer.
Still waiting on ACT scores. Grrrrrr.
In other news, my daughter won a small local scholarship that was only open to juniors. She gets the big cardboard check and everything, lol. The money goes directly to her college of choice for tuition costs only, and can roll over to the next year if there’s any left over (there won’t be). Every little bit helps!
Checking in…my daughter returned from Girls State and now I’m trying to motivate her to focus on the Pitt application…to no avail. Her summer coursework is a bear though. 30 pages of calculus, 4 novels including Dostoevsky and several papers. So much for summer haha. She has her Drexel summer academy coming up in 3 weeks so she’ll lose more time trying to accomplish all that and field hockey has already started…4 days a week plus strength training. They don’t really get to relax over summer anymore. 
Other than that we still have 2 more college visits to squeeze in and trying to decide if she should throw a hail mary and apply to a few ivys…which means another visit or 2. Once fall season officially starts in mid Aug there is no way to visit until Nov which will be too late. I need summer extended by 30 days LOL.
My guidance department informed us that we can’t request transcripts until September…what the heck? Also they aren’t updating gpa and class rank until that time either.
Congrats to your D @bearcatfan !!! I also can’t believe her ACT scores aren’t in! What a bummer!