UCLA alum here, in-state, that discouraged my own son from going there. And he is pre-med/bio as well.
Is there a particular reason for discouraging?
Also forgot to mention that DC got into honors program at purdue.
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Need to derail the topic a bit.
When moving into OOS school dorm, how do you bring a musical instrument, like a trumpet, onto a plane? I think it is too big to be a carry on. Would it be safe to check bag it?
A trumpet should fit fine as a carryon. Thereās actually a federal law that they have to allow instruments on as carry ons as long as they fit in the overhead, even if theyāre bigger than what the airline generally allows. My son has flown with his bass clarinet multiple times; heās found that it always fits, though airline employees have often tried to tell him it wonāt. The key seems to be acting confident and not asking permission (and carrying a copy of the law just in case)
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Various reasons, but the main ones being UCLA has one of the biggest premed student populations in the US, which doesnāt bode well for access to research opportunities, joining clubs, and intense competition among peers. Itās not very collaborative.
Iām still involved with UCLA and am there almost every Sunday, so I see and hear on the ground whatās happening. Of all the UCs, it has th largest student population on the smallest UC campus. Easy to find pictures online if the lines to get food, register etc, too many kids in too small of a space.
I love my alma mater but Iām not thrilled with where itās at right now.
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Any other kids have a bunch of things they need to do to prepare for their orientation? S24 has a math placement test, a Spanish placement test, several on-line modules and ten all the admin type stuff like uploading a picture, accepting/declining financial aid awards, etc., etc. It is a LOT and I hate that I am annoyed he has not done it all. He has time, but it needs to be done by mid-June. I feel like he should do it now while he is still in school mode.
The math placement is the biggie. It is called the ALEKS and they are allowed to take it up to three times. If they achieve a certain score, they place into a basic college level calculus class (this is the required math for his major). If they do not make a certain score, they are required to take a basic ācollege algebraā class for NO CREDIT in order to then place into the calculus class in the spring semester. This would suck because he would need to take an extra class to make sure he has enough credits for the semester with the added burden of a 5th class. OR he waits and takes it in the spring, requiring him to then take the required calculus class in the summer- $$$!!! So needless to say I am pushing him to do well. He took it once and missed the required score by ONE point. Now he has to do a five hour practice module (required by the ALEKS software) in order to take it again. Getting him to do this next step is like pulling teeth. Again I am trying to just let him be but it is hard. And I donāt think he fully grasps what it means if he doesnāt get that needed score.
Anyway, I am sure it will all work out but it is def adding stress to my plate. I am feeling fragile these days with the school year ending, all the friend group drama that ensued after Christmas and just the idea of him being so far away in the fall.
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Totally agree with @kokotg. Just take it on with confidence. One of my favorite things I learned inCC is how to book a seat for a cello on an airplane but a trumpet in a hard case should be fine.
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Yes! And I am frustrated w/D24 not hopping to it to get it all done.
For example, thereās a French placement test she has to take online prior to her virtual advising appt on 5/28, in which sheāll be selecting her fall classes. Itās a 90 min test. I want her to do it before graduation next week. My kid has literally no academic stuff going on anymore right now. When is she going to do it? On 5/20. Why? āBecause I have a lot going on right now.ā
Like what?! Sleeping in and shopping with your friends?! WHAT? 
She still needs to formally apply for the fed student loan and do a student loan advising session with financial aid, too. And we need to get her health forms submitted. Iāve given the kid a deadline of end of this month for that because I want it all done before she goes on her senior trip with my sister in June.
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Yes, D will have all this to do too. But the info hasnāt been loaded to her portal yet, although she did get an email that itās coming soon, and now has access to her college email address. She still has a month left of school (graduation on 6/14) so Iām hoping she can get it done by then, especially the placement tests.
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we had a very frustrating ALEKS experience (for dual enrollment classes) a couple of years ago, so definitely sympathize! I couldnāt believe how much time it took!
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Thank you. this is helpful.
thank you
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My S22 is at Bama on the NMF scholarship. He turned down Michigan engineering, Purdue, Northeasten for the big scholarship. He is enjoying it a lot and is quite happy with his decision. He is in the marching band and loves it. Hoping to get more involved with some teams this year - band has been a conflict for that. But, no regrets with his choice.
My D24 didnāt apply to any selective schools, by choice. I believe she could have been accepted to some, but her criteria were pretty specific and she just didnāt find what she wanted at the higher ranked schools. Works for us.
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Well, she is moving along on the IB testing. In total, she had 14 testing days/times. She has 5 left. She says physics was the worst as the teacher didnāt get to all the material and apparently he didnāt go over the format of the exam clearly enough because none of them did it right :(. Math seemed pretty okay, except again they didnāt get to all the material in class. History was all essays and she is pretty confident there. English starts today and Spanish is next week. She got a 6 or 7 on the IAs so at least has a good starting point. Only the math score will make a difference in her classes though. At least there isnāt the pressure to reach a certain score. She does want the diploma though.
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Random question, but how do they register for classes in June when AP scores donāt come out til July? For my d she may be able to test out of an intro math, lit, and gov class. So do they register the freshman and then re register in July? (Sheās going to Syracuse, but this must be a universal issue). Seems like it would make more sense to just register in July once scores are in hand.
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S24 school has told students to register for the later orientation times so their scores will be back (they register for classes at orientation). They also said if it comes to it, students can meet with advisors and their accounts will be flagged that AP results are pending. I am sure schools have their own way of addressing but agree it seems to be a universal issue.
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Good luck to your D24, mine is doing the IB, as well. Chem and English is today. Spanish and Psych is next week. Unfortunately, for NCSU, only English really matters. She took the Chem AP last year and already has received all the credit there she can get. Soā¦she is sitting these solely for the IB diploma. My mantra for her has been to just pass.
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Each college at Cuse handles things a bit differently, but in engineering they fill out a thingy to say which courses they want. This happened after AP scores were released, and heād already taken his math and foreign language placement tests. Then in late July, the advisor enrolls them in a standard set of 1st semester courses for their major, taking into account what they said on their thingy. In August, their portal opens up to the student so that they can make any desired adjustments to their schedule and add electives.
My kid was only enrolled in one of the typical 1st semester courses, because he had AP credits. The advisor got it perfect, based on what heād put in his thingy. The only thing he wanted different is that he decided to add an academic excellence workshop for Calc 3 (supplemental instruction), so he just emailed the advisor and she added it that same day. The process will be slightly different if your kid is in a different college. If you join the parent FB pages, they usually have good details about the various processes.
He made sure to send his AP scores to Cuse (I think he did this when he took them his senior year? Not sure). They got successfully populated in his myslice, so he had no issues registering for anything that required the credit as prerequisites. I could see there being issues if the scores donāt show up in the Cuse portal.
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Do you know if her school has class registration for first years students in June? At D21ās college, freshman registered for classes at the end of new student orientation, which was the week before classes began in September.
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