Change in topic. This summer for my D21 was going to consist of travel softball, a job of some sort and college visits. It looks like none of that might happen. Does anyone have any ideas of ways to keep our kids busy this summer, besides college test prep? Are there any virtual volunteering situations that anyone is aware of? Any online personal enrichment programs etc?
If your kid can sew then there is always mask-making. Thereâs a lot of community effort going on where I live in that arena.
@homerdog If it helps, the IHME model has you at 4 days past peak https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/illinois. Similarly, a week or so ago, our gov said we wouldnât peak until May per the stateâs own model, and yet here we are with the safer-at-home reopening beginning next week; IHME has us at more than a week past peak. It takes time to actually see the past peak, with bouncing up and down plus reporting lags, if that makes any sense.
S21 is a baseball player, we are in Illinois. Some recent talk in our household of going down south for the summer, to states that are more likely to be open and where baseball is [likely] going to be played.
Separately, sent you a PM.
@burghdad D21 is still undecided on major. We are thinking about online classes in some areas sheâs considering. Wake Forest has a summer institute (usually in person but now online) with a dozen categories of subjects. Coursera has some classes sheâs considering. None of these are for credit. Sheâd look at Psychology, Political Science, and Pre Law classes to start. Iâm also looking for some sort of English class for her so she keeps reading.
Volunteering might be rough. I know Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers to deliver meals here locally. Seems fairly safe but I havenât looked into it too much.
At this point, I just want to help D21 find a plan to keep her mentally and physically healthy through summer. Iâm all ears if anyone else has any ideas.
I feel like D has been spending way too much time up in her room! She has been exercising 4/5 days a week, walking the dog, etc⊠Iâm holed up in the basement WFH pretty much 9-5 (occasional CC breaks LOL!) everyday. I try to pull her our for a movie here and there. But not a lot of options!!!
Would a self-visit to Lehigh be allowed??? We live pretty close by. Thinking just taking a drive to get out of the house, parking and maybe just walking the campus. We have our masks. Would that be frowned upon??? Or just driving through and not getting out of the car? Just something to get out of the house after 6 weeks!!!
I vote yes on local driving tours of colleges! Lehigh is a beautiful campus. Too bad you wonât be able to go in the spectacular libraryâŠbut hopefully by the end of the summer!
OooohhhhhâŠis my kid a weirdo because she really wants a nice library!!!
Definitely. I remember 35+ years ago when I was looking at colleges, and a nice library was the first thing I looked for 
No! D19 loves libraries too, S21 not so much
Hereâs one pic of Lehighâs library. https://www2.lehigh.edu/news/linderman-named-%E2%80%98most-amazing%E2%80%99-library
@NJWrestlingmom Yes. Do it! We are even thinking of driving all the way to NC this summer just to walk around campuses. Lol!
For summer, S will probably just get a job at a fast food place if he can, things are opening up here already. All his other stuff has been cancelled or moved online.
He is still volunteering at the food bank and will continue thru the summer.
The residential summer math camp for my S21 finally moved online-only, so I guess he will be doing some online work, hopefully continuing to tutor some other kids in math, and working on a little business with a friend of his.
In other words, we are looking at 8+ hours of Minecraft and group chats every day as well, if they donât get the beaches and parks opened soon. 
@NJWrestlingmom once Pa governor lifts stay at home order then my guess is you will be able to do a Lehigh self tour with masks and safe distancing. It is in effect until May 8th right now.
@NJWrestlingmom @Mwfan1921 @OneMoreToGo2021 When I was doing tours for my D18 it was always funny to see which schools included actually going into the library as part of the tour and which didnât. At Udel no tour of library but a tour of the relatively new student athletic center. Same with Miami University. Tour included the hockey arena and beautiful and relatively new student union but not the library.
I guess, understandably, they love to show the the shiny objects.
Hey @burghdad you are in Pittsburgh right? Thoughts on Duquesne?? D not loving the Catholic angle, but is the campus nice? She wants a defined campus, which it seems like it has. Itâs a hike for us, so wondering if the trip would be worth it.
I posted this on another thread, but thought I would put it here too:
Cornell went test optional today: https://cornellsun.com/2020/04/22/cornell-waives-2020-2021-applicants-act-sat-requirements-due-to-coronavirus/
On a webinar with Northwestern this morning they said they are unlikely to go TO.
@NJWrestlingmom The Duquesne campus is really nice. Itâs also really close to the city which is a huge plus! From personal experience working in the city, itâs very beautiful, especially the rivers and parks. Although the school Catholic, I donât think that they really emphasize that part, so your D doesnât have much to worry about. Pittsburghâs a great city and having a campus that close to downtown is even better!
I donât read this as saying they wonât be looking at test scores at all. The article just says applicants âdonât have toâ submit test scores. I read that as test optional, not test blind. Inside Higher Ed also characterizes it as âtest optionalâ
But, to be honest, Iâve been searching for more clarity about this and havenât found it yet. I canât seem to find a direct link to the wording of the actual policy change.
I would hope the CSU system will not prohibit applicants from submitting test scores. My D21 worked hard for her high score and it would be disappointing for her to not be able to submit it.