I’m enjoying the conversation about our “sassy” kids. Just like previous poster’s have mentioned, D18 is actually a great kid and a dedicated student. But – sometimes her harsh comments can cut like a knife!
College Visits: other than our local State U. (20 minutes away, which she’s toured several times during summer camps) we haven’t scheduled any campus visits yet. Are we behind the curve?
Is anyone looking at summer programs for the last summer before graduating yet? DS is focusing on visual arts summer programs and many applications are now open.
@magnetnh My D has submitted her application for the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). She’s hoping to spend the summer in a Russian-speaking country, learning the language. The program is funded by the State Department, so it’s completely free for the lucky students who are selected.
Actually, some colleges do have “pre-law” and “pre-med” majors. The best way to think about it is like a “liberal arts major”. It might not be “real” in the minds of most people, but they do exist.
Anyone who is looking to attend a professional school after college really needs to look at what kind of pre-law / pre-health program each targeted college has. Though the college I work at has a pre-health program, it is not supported by the university so in some cases the students do not have the minimum required for the professional school applications.
@MotherOfDragons thank you for the feedback on graphic design and industrial design. I don’t see UC schools offer such major, but mostly in CSUs. My DD’18 is aiming for UCs, so she might be open for different major (mechanical engineering or computer science). But I’m thinking of different opens as well!
So how are those college funds looking this morning?
@LMHS73 We have only visited one school a couple years ago - my husband’s alma mater - just to get a feel for a college (she was a freshman). Now, ironically, that is her first choice so off we go again this summer, lol. Most of our visits will be done over the summer, leaving the fall to attend a special admissions day if desired.
funds should not move with the market for our kids, Too close to bill paying time for the money to be in stocks
@ShrimpBurrito, I would get the tic to USC now and cancel it later for a refund if you decide not to visit. My D is at USC on the NMF scholarship and loves it. It is certainly one of the best schools that gives significant money for NMF.
Thanks @vistajay. We are going to wait two more weeks to make the call. D and I are going to a special event for prospective American students at UBC in Vancouver over Thanskgiving weekend. (D is a dual US/Canadian citizen so Canadian schools are a fantastic value.) After seeing UBC (second time), D will decide if she wants to spend spring break at USC or revisiting another Canadian university. She’s pretty focused on Canada right now, but H and I are encouraging her to keep her options open here in the States. We used to live in So Cal and still have connections there, so USC is very appealing to us. In the end, we are not the ones attending, though.
D18 had her meeting with her GC today (it’s mandated for all juniors). The parent is “strongly encouraged” to go, but I felt like D (and her sister last year) are prepared enough to not need me there, and I’ve said that to them, that they are ready to have a conversation with the GC that doesn’t involve me.
What I don’t tell either of them is that sometimes it’s good to hear stuff about college without your super overbearing overprotective overprepared college-obsessed mother there with you. :D.
So D was ready and said she was very proud of herself for being so well prepared, and had actually gone and done research on one college that is her favorite right now (UCF and the (I can’t remember the name) school of Hospitality Mgmt). There were two other kids in at the same time talking to the GC (which I don’t remember D17 saying from last year, but since we’re ghastly overcrowded I can see it happening). The two other kids had their moms with them, and one mom commented that her daughter was so lucky to have her there to help her.
D18 shot back “my mom prepared me so well for this meeting that she doesn’t need to be here, because I am ready to go to college.”
She got a huge kick out of telling me this story, and including the fact that the girl of the mean mom burst into tears when the GC told her that her grades and rigor wouldn’t get her into UGA. Nice going, mean mom. I can see you’ve been prepping your kid well.
D18 felt very bad for the other girl that her mom was a. being a stuck up jerk, and b. had told her kid she could get in to UGA.
The third kid wanted to go to college for animation, and the GC got that confused with D18’s other major-animatronics. D18 was like, they’re nothing alike, and came home saying the GC didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know, but that the GC could probably brush up on the difference between animation and animatronics, lol.
But wait, it gets better! Never one to let me rest my laurels of good parenting, D18 tells me her boyfriend has decided not to go to college because “I nagged him so much about it.” Evidently he’s going to move to whatever college town she’s at and work while she goes to school, all because I talked about college too much.
Awesome. Good luck with that, kid. (I’m assuming he’ll grow out of this since he’s actually very bright). My only response back to D18 (while thinking in my head “don’t engage! don’t engage!” ) was “gee, I guess he’s easy to push around if his girlfriend’s mom is making his reverse psychology decisions for him”.
Ok, I may have engaged…but c’mon!!!
Love that story @MotherOfDragons ! You have prepared her well =D> I am mildly horrified for that other girl though, seems like an invasion of privacy to have the merits ( or lack thereof) of her record discussed in front of other students.
@1822mom yeah I really didn’t like that, either. If I’d chosen to go, I would not have let the other kids sit in on our conversation. Our experiences with the GC’s at the school has been consistently meh.
@Aida, that’s funny – my S18 is also a million times less prickly than D17. I think my problem with S18 may be lack of interest and putting things off, whereas D is really into the whole college thing and likes to get everything done as early as she can.
@MotherOfDragons, great story – just what I needed right now. I’m glad your D had a razor-sharp comeback for icky mean mom. If I think of comebacks at all it’s not until the next day. S is very good with them though.
A GC confusing animation and animatronics?! 
Maybe her brain was saying “those are both things Disney does – how different can they be?”
If your reverse psychology is as powerful as it seems, maybe you should start praising the bf’s “no college” decision to the high heavens every time you see him!
My daughter is the enviable (?) position of looking for a cake class for senior year. She busted her butt for three years, , and now has to have a full-year class (or two half-credit classes) for next year. She has plenty of credits to graduate and has fulfilled all local and state requirements there.
She’s done the honors track for math/science, and is deciding between honors cal and AP calc, and will definitely take dual enrollment physics (the BEST course in the school … some kids are a little teary on the last day because it’s been so good). She’s made the decision to NOT do AP bio or AP chem. She did the honors versions of those, and believes - as do we - that she should still take those introductory classes at college since they are the foundation for her intended major. She is planning on getting a BSN in nursing. Plus, the chemistry department is horrible. She is currently taking AP Statistics (another nursing requirement many places) and will hopefully get some credit there. Also taking anatomy (another great nursing add) which most kids take senior year.
Sooo … I suggest economics (half year). “No, you made me take personal finance when I didn’t have to so no way” (this was a half year elective that didn’t kill her). AP Environmental Science? “No, it sounds boring.” And so on. We will sit down with the course catalog over Christmas, since scheduling starts in February.
Right now her senior year looks like:
AP or honors calculus
DE physics
AP or honors spanish 4 (probably honors)
regular English/literature
regular social studies
study hall
We have eight periods in the day, and I’m sure it looks bad to have two study halls (although we’d both love that). Do you think that looks bad? I’d love for her to have that kind of schedule, since I believe applying to college could be a class in itself. I told her that if we are really stumped we will go into the guidance office - luckily our guidance department is really top notch.
@bearcatfan my D17 is taking sculpture as her “fun” class this year. She absolutely loves it, and finds it a very relaxing escape from the rigors of IB bio (2nd year).
Next year D18 is taking the second level marketing class and IB psych-those are her “fun” classes.
@bearcatfan My S16 ended up having 2 study halls his senior year. Even with the shortened day, he was still taking 3 sciences - AP Bio, Honors Anatomy and Physiology and Honors Nutrition and Health. He had met all requirements needed for graduation and for college admissions at that point. I didn’t feel the need to push him to take an extra class. He could have taken a 4th year of Spanish or another math (already had 4 years of math). His schedule was arranged so that he had lunch 7th period and one study hall 8th period. He was able to leave school after 6th (senior privilege).
I’ve only seen those as “tracks” not actual majors, but I suppose there are some colleges where they are actual majors.
I always wonder why they have pre-law tracks though because unlike med school there are literally NO prerequisite courses for law school. Major in aything you like, take the LSAT, get some recommendations and your application is ready (getting accepted is a different story).
Med school requires all kinds of prerequisites, plus shadowing, etc. so I can see why tracking and special advisors are needed although even then it can be done without.
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Actually, some colleges do have “pre-law” and “pre-med” majors.
I am uneasy with the idea of group counseling sessions where grades and other achievements are discussed in front of others. I think that’s confidential information that should only be shared with parents and student.
Our counselors carry nearly 250 students each (across 4 grades) but manage to have individual meetings with parents and students.
Yes, this is the first time it happened-last year D17 had an individual meeting with the counselor. I think with 800 kids per class, and (iirc) four counselors, they’re pretty overburdened. The school (public) is one of those super high achieving schools that keeps growing insanely fast. When the girls started there there were only 1000 kids for the entire school. Now it’s cracked 3k. It’s crazy.
I’ve also started a Binder Of Destiny (from now on referred to as the BoD) for D18. In it goes all the paperwork (like what just came home from the counseling appt), possible colleges, test scores, spreadsheets for potential colleges, etc.
I made one for D17 last year and it was very helpful to have the info at hand. I have a lot of it on the computer, as well, but it’s nice to be able to hand your kid the physical binder when they’re doing college apps and they start asking you questions about what their achievements were in 9th grade and you’re like “look at the BoD”.