So I called the university where DD will have her nursing interview - it will last 3.5 hours on a very urban campus, and I was wondering if there was somewhere to wait or if they had some activity planned for whoever brought them (they asked the number in your party, so I thought maybe).
Nothing.
I was told I could I could go somewhere on or off campus, or wait in the lobby. They are not super welcoming to begin with, but I’m a little miffed that they didn’t have a lounge or somewhere available. I guess I could walk around a bit, maybe get coffee, etc., but that’s a big chunk of time to kill if I want to stay around (and I do).
Am I asking too much? I could see if it were an all-day scholarship day or something where you are expected to drop your kid off in the morning and come back at the end of the day, but it seems too short to go somewhere and too long to wait. The things we do for these kids, lol.
@bearcatfan, that doesn’t sound like much fun. I hope you find a nice way to kill time.
I drove my oldest to specialized hospitals an hour away once or twice a week for several summers, just for her to volunteer. It was nice when those experiences seemed to pay off. I usually brought a computer and sat in the cafeteria or a nearby library and planned the school year.
Am I the only one not looking at things? I haven’t even really seen the CA portal. I only look at things dd asks me to check over. So I reviewed the data for the CA before she started submitting apps and I looked over her McDermott app before she submitted it. We made a posterboard to track her progress so I do not have to ask what is subitted, what is left etc. Every weekend we make a list of things to complete but other than that I am totally hands off.
@PlateauMama I’m pretty hands-off when it comes to the applications. I only look over something when D asks. But I do frequently ask her questions, to make sure the critical t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted. So much could go wrong and there is too much at stake.
@MACmiracle that’s awful, I hope your D heals quickly. No fun in senior year :(.
@PlateauMama I have been mostly hands off…which makes me a bit nervous as she didn’t even have me proof read some of her essays before she hit send. But yeah, I really didn’t get overly involved aside from contacting her guidance counselor when there was an issue with her transcripts missing from one of her top choices, despite it being “sent” via Navaiance.
@MACmiracle I hope your daughter feels better soon. It’s such a stressful time between applications and schoolwork, it stinks to have that thrown into the mix.
I just found out that our PTO is paying for the English teachers to hold after school individual college app essay reading and advice sessions for seniors. I think that is a great thing for the PTO to do! DS was able to snag one of the earlier slots so he’ll get some advice on his McDermott essays before submitting them.
@bearcatfan 3.5 hours? Oy vey. My first inclination is to find a good gym or find a trail to run and then find a good place to eat some food. Maybe see a movie, if there’s a theater nearby.
We visited a school where D had a tour, info session, lunch, class visit, then interview. We had our other kid with us, so so we did the tour only and then went out to lunch and a movie. We planned to be back after the interview. We got a text from D asking us to come back early because they wanted us to participate in the second half of the interview.
They didn’t tell us beforehand. I guess we were supposed to just hang out for 4 hours in case someone wanted to talk to us? The AO was very nice but seemed really surprised that we had left D there and not shadowed her (and sat outside the class or something?).
@daffodilpetunia That’s my dilemma. I’m not going to leave her on campus. It would be one thing if there were a day-long agenda that was supervised (like one honors day schedule I saw). This is just very ambiguous, and it’s the first year they’ve done it so I suspect no one will be super prepared, even the interviewers.
@PlateauMama I’ve been almost totally hands off, as my D would stab them with a fork if I tried to get involved. Seriously, though, her HS has hammered home to the kids that they need to own this process. I admit, though, to the twice a week “I saw on CC today…” comment. Last year that was welcomed, this year, not so much as she is getting down to the real work. I miss the fun days of Junior year, looking at all sorts of colleges with an eye towards whether she was interested in them; it’s not so much fun sitting on this side of the table, where we are wondering if they are interested in her.
@melvin123. DD picked her safties well. She had 3 acceptances, two of which she would gladly go, so we are all chill about the rest. It is driving me crazy that after hearing from the safties so quickly we have to wait until December for the next batch!
@PlateauMama Hands off here, too. I answer questions, offer support and gentle reminders. D handled the apps and acceptances to fly in programs (including travel information) well, so hoping some of the same goes for her college apps.
S18 is being asked for a housing deposit already. He’s still waiting on financial aid info to come in from other schools. Is this a common practice? How long does he realistically HAVE to submit?
Santa is going to have to do some unusual shopping this year. S already knows he’ll be getting a lot of college-related stuff, such as bedding and maybe a laptop, but I can honestly say that I’ve never seen the following on a teenager’s Christmas list:
a beefy jump bag / first aid / trauma kit to keep in his dorm room or car
a chest seal to go in the above kit, because off-the-shelf kits never have one and when you need a chest seal, you [b/really** need a chest seal
EMT boots that meet bloodborne pathogen resistance standards
The boots are expensive, but I found a returned pair in his size for a third the normal cost. We also found out that his summer class to get his EMT-B (basic) actually gives him EMT-I (intermediate) instead. Woo hoo!
S also got his first piece of mail directly referencing his NMSF status today. It’s a letter from UNM congratulating him and detailing the scholarship he’ll be offered if he advances.
Congrats to lots of you for application progress, acceptances and scholarship offers! Go, 18ers!
S applied to my alma mater. Today, husband got a letter from my alma mater, which is not husbands alma mater, saying essentially, “Dear alumnus, We love it when the kids of alumni apply.” So it seems my alma mater thinks husband is an alumnus and that I am not. Would you do anything to set the record straight or just let it go?
@apraxiamom I’ve already put a tuition/housing deposit down on one of DD’s top choices to get some preference in housing. They swear up and down it is all refundable. There’s some discussion a couple pages back.
It really depends on the school … I don’t think he has to sign on the dotted line until May, but some housing might be limited.
Seriously, though, her HS has hammered home to the kids that they need to own this process. I admit, though, to the twice a week “I saw on CC today…” comment. Last year that was welcomed, this year, not so much as she is getting down to the real work. I miss the fun days of Junior year, looking at all sorts of colleges with an eye towards whether she was interested in them; it’s not so much fun sitting on this side of the table, where we are wondering if they are interested in her.