OK - I was picking up on the nervous because there are similarities to Hamilton in environment.
I wish people could flip a switch to find their people - but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. it’d be nice though. Hopefully it happens.
I hope it works out. Obviously on this website, the feedback on St. Olaf is outstanding.
Congratulations! We hear positive things about Olaf quite a lot. I think she will find friendly students there and if she joins activities that interest her should be able to meet her people!
Congratulations to D23! She has run the gauntlet this year and I continue to be impressed by her courage and determination to find the right school!
Wishing her a wonderful summer and I cannot wait to hear about her adventures in the fall!
Have many students at St. Olaf posted about their experiences?
I don’t know - but many people have - parents, etc. Yes.
It’s like the “it” LAC on the CC.
S23 has been home for the summer since Wednesday, and sick since Thursday.
Got the grades today. Not feeling great about the rigor of the classes! Prof gave him a 100 on the paper for a B in the class. Ended the year with a 3.67 gpa which (especially given his social & emotional difficulties this year) is a huge success for him.
He won’t see a counselor, but he acknowledges he needs a lot of social & emotional help before next year. We’ll see what we’re able to manage this summer. He also wants to look for a job outside the house. (He could be a health aide for his brother but wants to try something different.) I think it could be valuable experience for him…if he can do it without significant anxiety leading to meltdowns.
Can you tell I’m feeling anxious about the summer?!
FWIW, I don’t think this is a rigor issue. Most of us* don’t grade reflection essays to quite the same standard as other papers for a class. The purpose of a reflection essay to to get the student to think about what was learned (or not) during the class, what came easily or was difficult, what they think could have been done better, and so forth. It’s a weird genre, and for the vast majority of classes isn’t a genre that has been at all a focus.
The purpose of the essay is simply to provide evidence that there’s been some reflection. Therefore, the absolute quality of the essay isn’t what’s critical—what’s critical is whether it touches on the points requested in the assignment outline.
*There are exceptions to this generalization, of course. Always good to know the preferences of a specific professor for a specific course.
Our S23 successfully made the 13-hour drive home from Bama on Friday. I helped him unload his jam-packed car at 1AM, so his bedroom is a bit untidy at the moment. He’s home for ten days and then going on a two-week trip to Europe with a friend from school. He has a world travel itch that he wants to scratch before his life gets even busier. His girlfriend, who is graduating from HS next month, recently committed to Bama, too, so they might be in it for the long haul. Academically he continues to shine, and he now feels comfortable at Bama as his second home. We were a little nervous about sending him to college so far away, but so far, so good. Everything seems to be working out fine.
13 hours - omg - that’s a long long drive. Glad he made it safely.
And the last exam of his first year is done! We go pick him up tomorrow. He’s pretty comfortable with his grades and should be able to get his first choice of major (aerospace), but has a solid backup if that doesn’t work out. He’s learned a lot about living on his own, learning how to balance work with fun, and also a bit more about what he wants to do in life (although that still isn’t very solid).
It’s been very cool watching him grow into something very closely resembling an adult.
Is that a shift from what he was thinking when he applied/started the year? For some reason, I was thinking he was leaning toward a different field
He’s been all over the place. When applying he initially planned to go into engineering, but for his early decision school (Virginia Tech), he made a mistake and picked undeclared Science, instead of General Engineering, and that’s what he was accepted to. It wasn’t a disaster because he wasn’t really committed to anything in particular… just something science-y. But it also meant that if he wanted to switch into engineering he’d have to keep a 3.5 and take a winter class (b/c it’s a pre-req for declaring an engineering major and it was restricted to only engineering students in the fall).
All fall he basically kept switching his choice between physics, Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (with a physics focus), electrical engineering and aersospace. He did well his first semester and most of his friends are engineers, so he took the winter class to keep his options open, and wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do until like March.
He seems pretty comfortable with his choice now, so we’ll see. He still needs to officially keep his gpa above 3.5. He still plans to get a minor in physics, so he’s taking two math classes to make it feasible.
I hope your daughter is still cheering for the Avs and not that other team in her recently adopted state, @dfbdfb. They could go all the way this year! We’ll be in the crowd next week cheering them on the Cup. 
Home stretch of final projects and exams this week for my S23, then I am driving out to meet him on Monday, ferry some things to storage and pack the car with things to bring home, and then…I’m leaving him there; his ultimate frisbee team is headed to nationals the following weekend so there’s been an abrupt shift in plans.
We already had a trip booked abroad on the same day as the finals, and so he is flying home from the national championships, landing after midnight, and then coming home and packing for 3 weeks away…and we head back to the airport together at 5:45am.
He said he could just stay at the airport for 5 hours and I could meet him there with his pack for abroad, until I reminded him that he’s going to have his own bag of gear, coming straight from the field in Milwaukee to the airport, he will be unshowered and will have been wearing the same (stinking) jersey for 3 days in a row. There is no way he’s then sitting next to me for 15 hours of travel without a hot shower and a fresh set of clothing!
This is an insane turnaround, but I booked this trip months before the team qualified (and it also didn’t seem as if he’d make the cut for nationals as a first year).
I just couldn’t say no to his opportunity to play at nationals, but I am steeling myself for a rough couple of days to start our trip - fatigue, scrapes, bumps and bruises, and jet lag!
I hope she loves it! St. Olaf was a top contender for my D last year. She chose Elon instead and it was the wrong choice. She is transferring for next year. I sort of wonder of St. Olaf would have been a better choice last year, but it was not on her list this year.
I will anxiously await your (her) feedback!
A whirlwind, sounds exhausting to me but the youth are hardy! My daughter (junior in college) is playing at Ultimate College Nationals too (D1), and my husband and I are headed to watch. Enjoy your trip abroad!
Where is yours transferring? We have to let them know by the 15th but are still waiting to hear from one school!
Probably UVA but still waiting to hear from other schools.
Son is home from Bama. Year 1 is in the books. We went and picked him up on Sat. He had a test late afternoon on Fri. Because graduation was that weekend, ended up spending a night each way in Atlanta. Ate some fabulous food. He seems happy and survived all his classes. Got his Diff Equation grade and said “I am done with math classes…forever.” GPA in the mid-3s. Can’t complain. He had to work hard for those grades. Going from studying some to studying hard has been a shock to the system.
We have some travel planned for summer. Heading to Greece and Spain for a few weeks. He has nothing else planned. Wants to veg and chill. Says it is his last lazy summer. Lol. We shall see about that.
I had a grad school classmate that went to St. Olaf. Decided that he wanted to go in a different direction after finishing his PhD and attended law school. He had nothing but great things to say about St. Olaf. Sending positive vibes to your daughter. She will do fine. I am glad it has all worked out so far.