Parents of the HS Class of 2024 (Part 2)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
2310

Hmmmm…they did have free coffee and a very cute dog for petting outside the info session (we did, to the point we didn’t even notice the information table with name tags and swag bags).

The departmental tour was very odd, our student guide was noticeably snarky to the professor and we later found out why. “I’m not getting paid for this, so ask me anything and I’ll be honest”. Not a good look for the school/department. I don’t know what they were thinking…marketing would not approve.

I do not seem to have a good radar for this stuff, because a year ago I really liked that school for D24.

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2311

This is really good thinking! The computer that D24 needs is going to run around 2K to meet specs and I would be annoyed if I had just bought her a perfectly decent but not major specific one the previous year.

The answer to this has to be…one shower a week, on laundry day :face_with_open_eyes_and_hand_over_mouth: The perfect plan endorsed by your roommate, girlfriend, and others!

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2312

And the 2 nicest NYC airports! LGA used to be a 3rd world country (have you seen that SNL skit??). Now it is beautiful! And they both have nice airport bars - so maybe time for a cocktail :slight_smile:

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2313

My daughter is at Newark right now. First flight cancelled, new flight (with connection) delayed. Poor 17 year old kid had to manage that whole thing by herself. She survived. Makes me feel better about her moving away for school!

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2314

We’re flying through LGA for admitted students day to Rice. I havent flown out of LGA for years.

The best things about NY airports are:

Price - super cheap because of so many flights.
Non-stop - so many non-stops.

Delta from LGA to IAH was only $250 roundtrip per person and they are all reasonable hours. It’s actually pretty crazy. But they are a pain to get to.

When we went to St Thomas through JFK, we took a train to Grand Central and then hopped onto the LIRR to Jamaica - which was pretty easy overall.

I think Grand Central to LGA is going to have to be Uber which is going to be a nightmare. Open to suggestions on Grand Central to LGA.

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2315

For future reference, if you are renting a car and driving, Albany can be an easier drive than Newark (and yes, I have done both!). Vassar is actually perfectly situated right about 1.5-2 hrs from many airports, including Hartford, LaGuardia, JFK, Albany and Newark.

It’s only an hour from White Plains, but there aren’t a lot of flight options. Personally I love the White Plains airport–the rental cars are right outside–and they always have cars. In fact, when you go to pick up your rental car, they check your name off a paper list on a clip-board and hand you the keys. It reminds me of travel in the old days!

Unless of course you live in Florida or Iceland, in which case you can fly out of nearby Stewart Airport.

2316

Side note: It is by no means a good airport (which is a nicer way of saying it’s mostly a bad airport), but I would love to stay at the TWA Hotel at JFK. The MCM/Jetsons-esque design is exquisite. Do a google image search for confirmation.

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2317

I don’t think JFK is that bad because each terminal has their own security line. That’s a huge plus.

2318

Hmmm - yeah - there is no train that goes direct to LGA. I live in Northern NJ and usually just Uber there. I am actually about 19 miles from both LGA and Newark. Of course 19 miles to Queens is very different than 19 miles to Newark for me (unless very off hours). To me JFK is another planet and I avoid it unless there is no other option!

Sorry I don’t have any better options for you.

2319

I actually envy you all your exciting trips–but I’m really glad I don’t have to actually do them! Pollen is 6000 here today, and I’m feeling the sludge. At least life is relatively slow today. :melting_face:

2320

Was the chemistry professor Dr Smart? I think he actually went to vassar as well. He is great, if you have any interest in chem/orgo

2321

Power of positive thinking?

In fact the time between the end of events at Vassar and takeoff at LGA is intentionally generous, and we will be traveling light. But if something delays us too much, well, life happens, and we would presumably have to fly back Monday. Speaking of which . . . .

Yeah, fortunately we are always flying in the night before (WUSTL, Vassar, school, Carleton), so landing time is not hugely important as long as we get there that night. But then the next day starts early in the morning, so overnight delays would be a problem. There are going to be morning flights, but not so early we wouldn’t miss something.

This does not appear to me to be a solvable problem given the windows I was given, so my plan is just to be very clear on who deserves the blame if things go wrong. And then accept graciously when I am blamed anyway.

I think it can go different directions depending on the underlying reasons for the indecision, but I would like to believe if our kids really like all their options a lot, with a little support they can choose one and feel great about it.

Because they do have to choose, or at least I am led to believe that is still how it works.

OK, finally some useful commentary.

Barring those nasty flat tire scenarios others are trying to manifest into existence, we should have time at LGA, possibly STL depending on just how quickly the day wraps up at WUSTL.

I looked at both Albany and Hartford, and actually White Plains, but we couldn’t get direct flights and that killed the schedule. And those of you thinking the Fates were trying to tell me something should just be keeping those thoughts to yourself.

I’m led to believe the best driving route to LGA from other NYC airports actually goes through Poughkeepsie . . . .

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2322

Yes it was! There are multiple professors there that did undergrad at Vassar, left for industry and PhDs, and are now back teaching.

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2323

Have been planning a 4 college visit trip for mid April (spring break. S24 does not want to miss school) and going crazy.
Going to UMD, NYU, Case and UW-Madison in 8 days going from CA.

We have not visited and OOS schools before we applied and so now its going to be crazy and some timings are so tight. No buffer any where so fingers crossed we can make all of them with out issues.

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2324

Oh, a friend of mine stayed there! She said it was totally awesome.

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2325

Oh. I wish D23 or D24 would have met him. He was a great professor for me and I’m sure he still is. I’m hoping he sticks around for S36 twins, what’s another decade?

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2326

I am excited to hear about everyone’s upcoming visits! How exciting to be closing in on final decisions! Kudos to all of you parents doing your best to help your kids feel great about their final decisions.

@NiceUnparticularMan I am so glad you are working in a visit to Vassar. That is “the one that got away” for me. Both D24 and I absolutely loved it when we visited. I am interested to hear if your S24 will think it is a fit for him. He has so many great options.

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2327

@southernfemmom I came here to post the exact same thing. My daughter got into some fantastic schools, but Vassar was always the one I thought she should have chosen.

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2328

More visits - I am finalizing a road trip for D24 and I to see Hamilton and Mt. Holyoke leaving this Saturday. I’d love to add Bates to the trip and be done with visits, but that would pull her out of school for the entire week and that won’t do. So I’m kind of hoping these visits will produce a winner. We have an added bonus of being able to swing by Williams on Sunday and take her brother out to lunch for a quick visit, so that’s nice.

My head is spinning.

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2329

Wow. Good luck. There’s a certain poster who’s really good at making flight arrangements to multiple cities.

Maybe he can do some planning for you.

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