Yeah, I’d personally be comfortable with something like a carport as well, and actually ours is in our porte-cochère (our front porch roof extends over the driveway, so it is on the wall of the house along the driveway but under the roof, where we like to park a car anyway).
No existing shelter at all, I think you would at least need to spend more to make sure it was properly sheltered itself. And that may be more of an investment than you would want to make if you are thinking about moving at some point anyway.
So we’re back from the final out of town boarding school interview/visits for D30. D30 liked all of those schools she picked to visit, so will apply to them all. Which is fine, but she has some essay writing to get working on.
S24 seems no more stressed than usual about finals, so that’s good. But we’re trying to figure out how he will get home. He is thinking of maybe driving by himself, and possibly even after his last final (which is in the morning), which I am not sure we really love as a plan.
We don’t have a driveway or protected area but have a charger, as do a number of our neighbors. So far, so good. These things are installed in open parking lots and other unprotected locations, so my sense is that they have been made to withstand the elements.
I live in Maine, so my response is obviously going to be Subaru. In fact, we just very unexpectedly bought a third one for D24 to take back to school with her. We had talked a while ago how the best situation would be “someone we know selling a decent used subaru” and one of my facebook friends posted a few weeks ago asking how one goes about selling a car, not trading it in. (A retired professor downsizing) within 24 hours, a low mileage, base model older Impreza was ours and ironically the two people interested were us, and one of the professor’s academic friends who is a professor at the school D24 attends (200 miles away in MA). So, I guess it was going to end up on campus one way or another. I am honestly a little bummed that I am no longer needed for the down and back campus retrievals (she would take bus/train to return) as it was a nice 5ish hour visit to hear how things are going.
This semester has been really fantastic for her, by all accounts, and she has a final on Friday in the last slot - 2-5 - so is going to drive home on Saturday so she isn’t doing the whole thing in the dark in this new-to-her car. We have a whole shared note of things she wants to do and meals she wants to eat while she’s home, so I’ve been laying in supplies for that.
Oh fellow parents – I am done with the College Board!!! D26 was accepted ED WashU tonight and she’s over the moon!!! Thank goodness. Honestly, after two S24 “why do I need that” dorm decor experiences (actually we can’t call rejected items like waste baskets and laundry supplies decor…sigh), I can’t wait to decorate an adorable dorm room with someone who CARES!
We love the school too! Her older sibling goes there and has had an outstanding experience thus far. I wish it wasn’t half the country away (I 100% voted for Smith or Wellesley all the way…not like anyone cared about that !) but it is the perfect school for her. I’m going to be very sad on move in day though. Empty nest.
Spoke to her last night and she was very nervous about this morning’s calc exam, and has been studying nonstop for days. She has struggled in the class all semester - it has been a combo of an instructor who sounds kind of terrible and D24 not doing all she could to set herself up for success. All along she was under the impression she would have the ability to retake an exam she failed earlier in the semester during finals week. She learned that the instructor is not allowing her to since she has missed more than 3 classes. You guys, I bit my tongue so.freaking.hard to avoid scolding her for missing classes and just murmured some non-committal, but slightly supportive-sounding noises I can only hope this has been a good lesson for her (not convinced, though…she’s pretty hardheaded).
Anyway, all of that to say that she needed to score a minimum of 70 on today’s exam to actually pass the class and she was nervous about it. So, we’ll see. Again, I was pretty proud of myself for just calmly saying, “Well, if you have to retake the course next semester, it’s not the end of the world.” Inside I’m freaking out a bit, wondering what this will do to her chances of securing a required summer coop, and lamenting that having to retake the class will make next semester another heavy (18 credit) semester, when it was looking like it would be a bit of a breather for her (only 15 credits).
Her physics exam is this evening. She said she hasn’t had a ton of time to study for it yet, given the calc pressure, but overall she has done well in that class, so it is less high-stakes. Then, orgo on Monday and she is done. She’ll have Tuesday to just chill. Her boyfriend will be returning to town after a semester on coop, so they’ll get a nice day together, and then she flies home Wednesday. Can’t wait to have all of my chickens back in the henhouse for an extended visit.
D30 had her visit and interview today at S24’s HS. While we were hanging around the Admissions Office, several people came by to ask about S24–it was very nice.
S24 is home! He flew home on the red eye after a very intense finals week. He piled on the pre-med courses this fall - organic chem 2, physics, and biochemistry. It was a lot, but he still wants to be a doctor, so it didn’t crush him.
He’s glad to have 3+ weeks at home and I’m thrilled to have him. While he’s v happy to see us, he’s most excited to see our dog, who was beyond thrilled to see him!
S24 is finally on his way back across the pond (still 17 hours to go, but who’s counting…)- he’s probably going to be exhausted with jet lag and an intense semester with 5 full-time courses (i’m told it’s 20 credits, apparently), but then again that’s on him wanting a film major on top of his already intense BS Business and Economics . Exams apparently went well, expecting mainly As with the odd A- thrown in, so all’s great. London better be prepared for him and his friend group who are normally scattered around the UK, and my fridge is already weeping… Happy reunions and holidays to all !
So we are on campus now waiting for a concert tonight and then to take S24 home tomorrow. At his last final now. Excited to have a relaxing few weeks, except that he has to start on summer applications that are due in less than a month
Where is your student attending university? There are few programs set up to accommodate business and film. But some students do both and take an extra year or two.
He’s at the University of Richmond- the Business School Econ major has A LOT of required courses, and no real accomodation for doubling up in the Arts and Sciences, but it’s not a big issue. He’s certainly going to complete at least a Film minor, but he’s only really doing it since it’s his passion so the major is not a do-or-die scenario. Also, as an international student on scholarships, getting extra semesters in would probably be complicated. We’ll see, but he’s certainly loving his time in Virginia and getting a lot more exposure to Film courses anyway than he could anywhere in Europe, so definetely no complaints! Thanks
D24 wrapped up her ochem final on Saturday and drove home Sunday. Immediately spiked a fever, climbed into bed, and hasn’t been seen much. I’m not surprised. She had an indoor track meet the prior Saturday (why are they taking 12 hours of a day to do a meet the weekend before finals start?) and didn’t do well, then finals. I think her body was just hanging on, and the moment it knew it could waive the white flag, it did. Hopefully, she’s mostly recovered by Friday when we leave for a long-planned trip.
S24 got back home late Wednesday after driving by himself from St Louis. He actually called and talked with me for a couple hours, which was great.
Overall he is in excellent spirits after a strong finish to the term. The really big news is he got a research position he is very excited about. It isn’t a huge lab so he will get to work directly with the PI quite a bit, and this professor is particularly known for really liking to mentor his student researchers.
Sounds great! However, this means the odds of him spending the summer in St Louis and not with us have gone way up. He is still looking at summer programs in both cities, but working at the lab is now his default plan. Sniffle.
D24 is home. Nice to have everyone together. Our dachshund is especially happy. Hopefully she’ll be wrapping up her summer internship interview process soon (D24, not our dachshund).
D26 was just accepted to Brown so we’re all thrilled for her.
Running joke on the Parents ‘26 forum is I now get to say…… Brown Rice.
D24 came home on the first flight of the morning on Wednesday. Picked her up at 7:30am, brought her home…she ate something and “took to her bed” for the next 9 hours.
Final grades will be posted today. She knows that she for sure passed the course she was worried about (Calc III). And she knows she did very well on her Physics final. So, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Overall, she’s just relieved to have survived what is widely considered the weeder semester in her major.
We had family over for dinner the other night, and I got tremendous joy in hearing her explain to her humanities-centered grandparents what she’s been doing/learning in her classes and how that will translate into real-world skills and career. I feel like she randomly chose ChemE as a major because she enjoyed chemistry, but didn’t have a solid understanding of what the program/career entailed (surprise! not a ton of chemistry, as she’s just finished the last required course in the curriculum sequence - orgo). It has been really nice to see her understanding–and thankfully, enthusiasm for the major–grow over the past 3 semesters.
Her plans for break involve sleeping, eating, finding her way back to the gym, connecting with high school friends and applying for summer co-op positions.
D26 was accepted ED WashU tonight and she’s over the moon!!! Thank goodness. Honestly, after two S24 “why do I need that” dorm decor experiences (actually we can’t call rejected items like waste baskets and laundry supplies decor…sigh), I can’t wait to decorate an adorable dorm room with someone who CARES! 
. Exams apparently went well, expecting mainly As with the odd A- thrown in, so all’s great. London better be prepared for him and his friend group who are normally scattered around the UK, and my fridge is already weeping… Happy reunions and holidays to all 
!
