Prom is done. District track meet tomorrow, then half and State the next two weeks. 5-and-a-half weeks until graduation. We’re definitely in the final stretch now! And we found out that S won his first outside scholarship this weekend - $500/semester. Yay! DW gets almost full credit for that one, since she pestered him into submission… I mean, submitting.
Thanks for all the commiseration on the online roommate search! D says she almost wishes it was like back when I went to school and everybody had to go random. She has been talking to a girl she seems to really like for a about a week, now comes the hardest part - when and how does she bring up the roommate question - haha!
@Britmom5 Congrats on Penn State and good luck with the decision making!
@Trixy34 I was not outdoorsy when I went to St. Lawrence and I survived. I did go on a pre-trip (not sure f they still do them), it was a 3 day hiking trip and I was unprepared and was always the last one huffing and puffing behind everybody! I signed up because I am pretty outgoing and wanted to meet people and I had been hiking with my friends and family a little bit so thought I would be OK. Funny thing is we had a group of about 10 girls and 1 guy (it was a beginner trip, I think most of the guys tried to be cool and sign up for higher levels) and that 1 guy is still one of my very best friends today! We go on family trues together and have kids the same age who have been BFFs since they were born even though we live 1.500 miles away. 
@michele4 Congrats on Juliard!
@cakeisgreat and @kermit3 Congrats on COC! I did a mini self tour there when I was in Charleston last year and loved it. D19 was not interested for some reason but I am hoping I can get D21 to look there.
@scholarme I had the same problem with D -she knew she wanted to go to Tulane, talked about it as if that was where she was going, even let me book hotels for move in but would NOT let me put down the deposit for some reason!
@me29034 Good luck in your final decision! I pulled a similar move when I was looking at his schools. I accepted at an all girls high school and my parents put down the deposit. Later I got in to my reach school. Like you, my parents were nice enough to tell me they were willing to lose the deposit to let me go where I wanted and I appreciated that so much!
@milgymfam Congrats on all the gymnastics success!!
@professionaldad Congrats on the scholarship -that is awesome!
I guess this is really happy we just received the postcard to pick up his cap and gown on Fri.
Yey @kermit2345! Congratulations and nice to see other multiple colleges families on here. I’m wearing my CofC shirt now! Really looking forward to the experience.
Our family is also a multiple college family–even H and I went to different UG institutions (though met when we were at the same school when I was undergrad and he was grad student). The 3 kids each went to a different college (Wesleyan, St Olaf, and soon Dartmouth). None applied to the others’ alma maters nor could they imagine themselves attending the others’ colleges. At the same time, they are extremely similar in temperament and academic interests, but very different in what they were looking for in a college–except all ended of at various types of liberal arts colleges. Neither H nor I went to LACs and find it interesting that all 3 kids gravitated to that.
@drewsmom17 Leigh was my S16’s “wouldn’t get out of the car school”. Full disclosure, it is due to us driving around campus first (because we were very early) and he saw all the many frats lining the (steep) street one right after another. (He does not like frats at all. Especially when they dominate the culture of a campus). So we didn’t even go to an info session so I can not comment first hand on any of the academics. (I do remember reading that the academics were very good though, that’s why we were stopping in on our way back home from touring Villanova). But whenever I hear Lehigh I will always think of that campus tour that didn’t happen. As for RIT, I know two parents who have their kids there now and they love it. Both have kids that have “techy” majors. One is actually in DC this semester on a coop (thru RIT) in cyber security with the government. That family in particular has high praise for RIT.
@Stuffedquahog - that was Bucknell for us. I drove him through during the summer after I picked him up from a summer program not too far from there. When he heard it was preppy and lots of fraternities, that was the end. We also came at it from the wrong side - saw how far the dorms were from middle of campus (which was actually really pretty and charming), and he just didn’t get the feels. That was written off summer before Junior year already.
@Trixy34 It’s part of the process eh? It makes me smile when I remember some of our most memorable campus visits. I’ll miss the exploring! The road trips! Trying out every school’s dining hall and then critiquing them as a family on the ride home! D19 is our youngest and sadly most of our adventures were actually on S16’s college journey. (Since D19 favored S16’s university right from the start of his freshman year, our college adventures with D19 were at a minumim). We did a few tours with D19 just to confirm her first choice was solid and to come up with some good back up plans. Cheers to the journey! I will definitely miss the tours! The “good” and the “not so good”.
I have had some fun with the kid, but honestly, he really didn’t bless us with the joy of the college process. He has been pretty resistant - college touring felt a bit more like a chore than anything else. Though, to be fair, I only saw a few schools with him. I did the upstate NY schools and Georgetown - and the last time we went up, we had the dog with us and it was so cold I had to stay in the car or hotel with her and he did interviews and tour on his own. Oh, we did check out Brown on the way back from summer vacation, but he had already spent 2 weeks there for a summer program - I was just eyeing the place and giving my stamp of approval.
He toured Chicago Boston schools with his Dad and uncle, and Vanderbilt with his aunt. I don’t think he ate on even one campus (unless you count the cookies, lemonade and chipwich at Colgate) We still haven’t even gotten him up to Penn State main campus, which he was insisting until mid-December was a sufficient safety - and he’d be going there next year if we didn’t insist on more schools.
Maybe my daughter will make it more fun, but I tend to doubt it - school is not her thing.
But still - cheers to the journey! I shall never forget the tour guide at Georgetown who I decided should be my daughter’s future husband. Lol!
I really enjoyed the college visits and road trips with my D17, especially since most of her high school years were spent at school, play rehearsal, or in her room. It was nice to have that extended time, just the two of us seeing a nice variety of schools and imagining the future.
S19 was less than enthusiastic about visits and we only did a couple that were close by. However, after over a year of no visits, we headed to Nashville last week. We spent Thursday doing Nashville stuff (music, food, walking around) and then went to an accepted students day at Vanderbilt on Friday. We liked the campus a lot as well as the residential house system. The dean of the College of Arts and Science gave a great presentation about the academic philosophy and curriculum. Overall, we were very impressed and we bought S some swag. It is definitely a contender! And I’m really ready to have this decision made.
@michele4 Congrats on Juilliard! Amazing!
@BritMom Congrats on Penn State and good luck with the decision!
@cakeisgreat Congratulations on College of Charleston!
@kermit2345 Congrats on College of Charleston!
@Trixy34 S19 wasn’t really into the college search either. He didn’t usually complain, but he wanted short visits and wasn’t super interested in exploring the areas. He wanted a general sweep of the area and maybe one meal.
I just started touring with D20, and so far, it’s totally different. She wants to explore the shops and restaurants, look at the town squares, etc. It’s what I imagined the college search would be.
How do you deal with the pain of their impending departure? Mine is an only child and it’s getting a little too close and too real.
@Lynnski I know what you mean, and we have two daughters. D19 is going with my husband to visit two possible schools later this week (both very far from home), and this trip feels way too real. I keep telling D21 that we’re going to have a good time on our own, but we’re both very aware that this will be a little taste of what is to come. I do think D19 is ready to move on to the next stage of independence and education, and I feel confident in her character. I have started reminding myself that it’s great she has multiple options for schools where she can thrive, and that we raised her to move on, not stay, that she needs to try a new place…And then I freak out about how much I’ll miss her.
My first kid D14 I sobbed convulsively (privately) after she left for college. Her whole life passed before me that day. Each day got better and better though and our new normal kicked in fairly quickly. My brain adjusted to understand that she wasn’t really gone, just experiencing another stage of life. We kept in touch regularly and I was/am so proud. Now she’s back home, graduated and that part is all over. I stare at her a lot marveling at how adult she looks. She thanks us a lot too. It’s very cool.
Drop off for my DS16 was a comedy of errors including our car breaking down, catching a ride to the airport and renting a car to get my youngest son back home to start his sophomore year of HS. That was a blessing in disguise because we had to move quickly and didn’t allow for long , emotional goodbyes. I hugged him in the lobby of the dorm and off we went.
We text or talk often. We watch sporting events “together”, he Facetimes his younger brother. He attends a school a little over 3 hrs away and we try and visit at least once a semester. The emotions have eased over time. Sending my youngest off to school will probably be more difficult. Sending off to the school where his brother attends with a group of friends waiting, makes it a little easier.
@liska21, I have a kid at Dartmouth, so feel free to PM me with any questions you might have. He’s a freshman, and loving it!
I was sad and crying a lot for one week after D15 went to college. Now we have a dog so I hope I’ll handle D19 leaving better.
I’m a “wear my heart on my sleeve” kinda gal so I thought I was going to be emotional, esp since D17 is across the country. Dh and I each wrote her a letter in our hotel room and I cried quite a bit while writing it. There was an event on the last day for students/parents and at the end, a school club sang a song. I was holding my tears in fairly well until the dad in front of me started crying, I could see his shoulders shaking, then noticed him wiping his eyes. That’s when my tears started falling but not too noticeably. Oddly, I did not cry when I hugged my daughter goodbye nor when I got in the plane home. Her absence at home wasn’t that obvious - b/w work, school, social life and lounging in her room during her little bits of free time, we didn’t see her much anyway before she left. However, the first time she came home, it was clear she missed us - she was very present, hanging out with us in family room, long conversations after dinner, etc. I missed her more when she went back second semester bc she spent way more time with us during her winter break than she ever had before she left for college. We talk on the phone at least once a week, but we text a lot during the week as well.
We will definitely notice S19’s absence. He’s a three sport athlete. Even though he’s not home much, we spend a lot of time going to his games. It will be strange after years and years of being a spectator on his sidelines to having a lot of that time back. He’s playing one sport in college and fortunately only going to be 5 hours away, so we will still get to go to more than half his games, but it won’t be nearly as time consuming. We will still have two kids at home but their schedules are a little lighter. S19, though, has been a huge help as an extra driver (he drives my youngest to school every day and home when it doesn’t conflict with his practices). S21 won’t have his license until after S19 leaves. I think what will be hardest for me is getting S19 to keep in touch. He’s not the best communicator so unless he’s homesick (doubtful) or needs something, he won’t be texting me like D17 does.
@carolinamom2boys I’m sure it must be of some comfort knowing your younger son will have his big brother nearby. Are they close? I see my S19’s school as being a good fit for S21 too and wouldn’t mind seeing S21 end up there. He and S19 aren’t close but they get along alright so I would be secretly happy if they ended up together for a couple of years.