S24 got a 96 on first exam in stats. Unlike above, he is decidedly NOT adding data science to his list of majors.
As a statistician and data scientist, I had to hold back tears.
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I hear ya! I LOVED my stats classes in college. 
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Big day, youngest submitted applications and done. I never have to do this again!!! 
Then, S24 sent us email he received from Chem prof congratulating him on scoring in top 10% on midterm. Heâs got orgo coming next semester so this helps a little making me think itâll be okay or so I hope!
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Hey, d22 loved organic chemistry so much that she interned in an organic synthesis lab over the summer and is continuing during the semester. Orgo is fun. Yours could love it too!
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Funny the rhythms of thingsâwe just had a nice long chat with S24 about classes, possible majors, and so on, and Orgo came up. That is because he is still looking at a possible Bio major or minor, and he does not want to entirely rule out being a pre-health student of some kind (although I think that might be fading a bit). WashU typically does not advise doing Orgo before Year 2, but he is still looking ahead.
Incidentally, he mainly wanted to talk to NiceUnparticularMom, who had a very successful business career, because that is definitely something he is contemplating as a possibility. And among other things, he was wondering if he would have to major in Econ. Her answer, which I share, is no. But of course he could also consider an Econ minor, or just take select Econ or Business courses he thought would be interesting and useful.
And the last bit of context of all this is the class he has actually enjoyed the most this term so far has been . . . the advanced Latin class he placed into. And it turns out if he uses Latin for his language requirements, he will be most of the way to a Classic minor. But if he does a Classics minor, a Classics major would not be all that much more. And in fact, of the majors he has considered so far, Classics has the least amount of total credits required, which makes it easy to combine with up to two minors, or indeed possibly even two majors and a minor.
Of course this is based on not even one full term so far. Still, as I told him, this is sort of the WashU way, to possibly combine all sorts of stuff. So it definitely would be fine with us if he ended up doing something like that.
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Very fond of the WashU way in being able to combine so many majors and minor, and all the possibilities for exploration.
I was surprised Brown only offers the orgo sequence spring/fall, so all the kids that test out of intro and want a shot at no gap year end up taking spring freshman year. I do wonder how common this is or isnât in terms of only offering in the spring. It forces a gap year for many and Iâm sure plenty donât even realize until in.
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Well, I donât have an âorgoâ kid, but I do want to offer some scandalous SEC school gossip for your amusement. This weekend, there is a UGA game against Floridaâplayed in Florida. This happens every year, and there is an event called âFrat Beachâ that the Greek-life people organize. It is in St. Simonâs Island, off the Georgia coast. The game is played in Jacksonville. My daughter wants no part of it, thank goodnessâbut my question is, what parent doesnât try to talk their kid out of this, or refuse to foot the bill? Itâs not that I expect my child never to drink or âgo outââbut âFrat Beachâ seems like a great way to engage in dangerous behavior, or get arrested if youâre underage. Side note: I hope the kids who are staying in Athens have a mellow, happy time this weekend! 
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That is wild. I can only speak to WashU, but I was looking at their example PreMed paths and I can see the problemâif you were not done with Orgo before junior year, all those paths ended up with a glide year. So the standard sequence is fall/spring sophomore year, although you can also do it in the summer.
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Yes and I know itâs become the norm to take a gap year or more, but makes me wonder if Brown was this way before all that. Itâs a big deal imo, I vaguely remember S24 mentioning it back when because he reads a lot, but I can easily see how this could get overlooked in college selection. It also further matters if planning any study abroad, really limits flexibility.
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lol, I spent a week every summer of my childhood on St Simonâs Island with my grandparents. My granddaddy said he used to vacation there during college (UGA) and thatâs why they retired there. Now I am wonderingâŠ.
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Absolutely, and I feel like this is a specific example of a general problem.
At least in theory, it would seem important to investigate how any academic program you might be interested in actually works at a college before you decide to accept their offer. In realityâhow many kids actually get beyond âX has my majorâ or âI hear Y is good for premedâ or so on? And in some circumstances it could have significant implications, including possibly financial implications.
And to be very clear, I donât think my S24 was all that interested in trying to do that sort of detailed inquiry either. I think it is going to work out anyway, but not because he knew it would.
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Absolutely on financial implications and agree many wouldnât investigate especially when itâs explore and declare sophomore year mentality many places, why would they, they have time.
Ironically, the front runner became clear for youngest due to how well laid out the course plan was in her chosen school at the college. It has two different majors within the school of interest and seeing the courses and how much overlap there was if she wanted to pivot within it was a real selling point. Weâre both visual, so it was so helpful to see.
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Last weekend was homecoming at D24âs SEC school and she got to be on the parade float of her academic program. She sent video from the bonfire and the drone show and all I can say is it seems like she is having far more fun in college than I did.
Sheâs applying to be an RA and a program mentor to the first years, which is a benefit of the program. Mentors have maybe a dozen students and are there to provide pre turn-in essay advice, etc. It was Dâs mentor who told her that all she needed was Calculus to get a BS instead of a BA.
She was also interested in Classics, but the one reason she didnât pursue it was because she doesnât want to learn Greek. It seems that she may be lining up a double major + double minor plan. Psych/Philosophy + Liberal Arts(her program)/History. After AP credit she only needs like 3 upper level classes for the history minor.
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Can anyone help with a quick question. S24 didnât let me near his school portals so donât know what they looked like and D25âs school does stuff differently than Iâm used to. Do letters of recommendation show up as a checklist item on portals? Not seeing anything. Old school sent into CC, maybe attached into their report?
My recollection is they were not separate line items in the portals for my S24.
Thank you so much, thatâs reassuring.
D22âs school has a one-semester general chemistryâwhich canât be skipped, even with a 5 on the AP testâso organic 1 is only offered in the spring. It seems Chemistry majors take these freshman year, and most pre-meds (who are not chemistry majors) take them as sophomores after taking the biology sequence as freshman. Careful planning is pretty vital.
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Oh yes! Historically there is a huge UF-UGA rivalry, though Georgia has dominated the last few years. Locally, we call it âthe worldâs greatest outdoor cocktail party.â It is quite the event and I have been several times (Iâm a UGA alumn and 7th generation Floridian). I agree itâs not the most wholesome event for college freshman and it definitely gets wild. I am glad my son is not going this year. I hope your daughter enjoys a low key weekend in Athens. Go Dawgs!
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It really varies per school/portal.
Does the HS use Scoir or Naviance? On score we can see what was sent out to each school. Having said that, our CC might not send things out until Nov 1st and/or when the student notified them via Scoir that the CommonApp was submitted.
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