that is so great!
mine doesn’t hate them all or anything, but is eager to be done with them regardless… There is one that annoys kid to no end (and many others’ kids). The rest rate between “pretty good” and “eh” this year.
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Dang, can I have a two-week spring break, please?
The school district here ends in late-ish May, but the university ends right at the beginning of May, and thus that’s when my kid’s high school’s classes end. So why is C25’s graduation the back half of May? No idea.
When did it arrive after the acceptance? Because C25 never got a package. (Although we’ve since learned on later mailings that they had the wrong address, but we learned that by getting them, and we still don’t have the dang paper tiger!!!)
you mean Alaska-Fairbanks? The letter (and emails) are dated 11/9. I think maybe they got a package (stickers, luggage tag, pen) maybe 2 weeks later? I can’t recall exactly, but I think it was pretty close.
Champlains was ages after acceptance - we got it like 10 days ago and they got in Jan 4 EA. WPI and RIT came relatively soon after acceptance - maybe a week?
Anyone else with a kid that applied to Cal Poly SLO? D25 had a change on her admissions portal with a section added about verifying math placement for course enrollment. Anyone else??
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I’ll ask my son. He applied.
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Ugh. Not trying to get political, but it looks like Trump is announcing tomorrow the dismantling of the Dept. of Education. I knew it was coming sometime, but now it is imminent. My job is completely funded by Title 1, so this is devastating news. I’m near the top of the district seniority list, so I won’t be out of a job if Title 1 funding goes away, but I love the work I do now and it is important work for our neediest students.
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I’m so sorry to hear this- but not a surprise.
You do good work - I wasn’t familiar with Title 1 but just looked it up. Ugh.
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My son got nothing from Cal Poly Slo. Maybe that’s a sign 
There wasn’t an email, just a change on the admissions portal with a new section. Did he scroll all the way down?
He said he checked the portal. No change .
My kid is going to drive me nuts! He apparently did get the change in his portal but only after I had him check it 3 times!
He said he was checking the wrong portal- the CSU not the Cal Poly one. I don’t have access to his portals and it drives me nuts b/c he is kinda spacey about that stuff, but it’s for the best.
But man how the heck is he ever going to graduate from college?
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He’ll find a way. When I was in HS, even the Cliffs Notes were TLDR.
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thank you for the optimism!
The College Board needs to be set on fire and allowed to burn to the ground, then nuked from orbit, and then once the radiation has died down salt should be tilled into the soil where it once stood so that nothing will ever grow on the ground they have touched ever again.
What’s that? Why yes, I have been fighting with the IDOC system most nights for the past two weeks. How could you tell?
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Senioritis hasn’t fully hit this house yet, but I think it’s creeping in. I hope it doesn’t show up too soon because we have miles to go before we sleep. Graduation isn’t until the third week of June.
If anyone is thinking third week of June is late, just wait. Graduation is a whole WEEK before our district gets out. I cannot tell you how much I dislike the public school academic calendar. They get out right be before July 4 and then suddenly all the back to school stuff is in stores. It makes summer feel so compressed. To make matters worse, my college typically ends in early to mid May and we start back at least a couple of weeks before the public school in the fall. It means the only time we can do fun family things like go on camping road trip is in the dead heat of the summer. D25 doesn’t like that calendar either, perhaps a bit unintentionally influenced by me. She ruled out Union because they’re on a trimester and she wants to “finally have a long summer” before her days of having a summer break are over.
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Finals for seniors are April 28-May 1. Then they’re out until graduation on the 19th. The last day for everyone else is May 23rd. S25 is beyond ready. He only needs to pass one of his classes (Econ) to graduate, and it’s pretty much a gimme. I think maintaining focus will be an issue. (It always is!) I’m pretty sure he’ll wind up with a mix of As and Bs.
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We’re in NYC, so everything runs LATE. They only just finished up the first semester. Classes are until early June (prom is June 6), and then there is a break for Regents 'Week," which is nearly two weeks. Graduation is June 23 and the official last day is June 26. We then have a small window to sneak in a vacation.
I work for NYC Public Schools so my absolute craziest, busiest work month is August. Which is, of course, when we need to be shopping/packing/prepping and then moving into college.
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I hate this too! Our LPSs end last week of June sometimes as late as 28-29th. I really wish that the local stores (at least) didn’t have to put out notebooks and stuff in early July!
That said seniors graduate a couple of weeks earlier in most towns, so for this year '25 graduates in early June and basically has no school first week of June, which isn’t as bad. Of course they will have to go back in August for orientation etc, not in Sept (like LPS) so summer is still about same length 
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We’re checking some random things off the to-do list. Have I mentioned that S25 still doesn’t have a drivers license? He’s had a learner’s permit since July 2022, but really really hasn’t been interested in driving until recently. We’ve finally gotten to the point where he’s done enough practicing with us that I feel like he can drive on neighborhood streets and the busier connecting roads, but not, like in DC or on the interstate. He’s signed up for some private instructor time to get some more work in. Because he’s now 18, the rules for what he needs to do are a little less stringent than they were before then. Anyhoo, we have his behind the wheel test scheduled for late April. It’s a bad day, it’s the day after we get home from our big trip, but it’s a no-school day so it seemed like the best option. Plus if he fails, there will be more time to get him practicing and to take the test before the end of May. End of May is the goal because he’s going to be working with a construction crew for his two-week pre-graduation “senior experience” and then working with them over the summer and I assume he’s going to need to drive to get wherever he’s going. (Which also means I will need to buy another car, which I’m not looking forward to.)
In other random news, I had him write to a different faculty person for his program at Virginia Tech and this guy answered, answered promptly, and provided a ton of useful information. Then he connected S25 with a current student who ALSO reached out promptly. So yay!
The next to-do - figure out what to talk to the current student about. S25 had asked if he could meet with someone, meaning while we were on campus. Thinking they could show him the space, talk about their experience, etc. Have the sort of more organic conversation you might have while walking around. The student offered to connect via phone (or Teams or something) before hand to answer any questions, which I appreciate, but now we need to come up with some questions.
What would you all ask? What S25 is really trying to determine is which program is a better fit for him, VT or Clemson. But he doesn’t really know what fit means. From my observation of the things he seems to like or dislike, I think he wants to feel like it’s a welcoming community that feels friendly and accessible. How do you ask about that? That feels vibe-y, which I don’t know how you get that over the phone.
So far I’ve thought of:
(1) Are you enjoying your program, what’s your favorite thing about it?
(2) How are the faculty, are they accessible if you have questions or concerns?
(3) Do the students in the program work together on any projects or have activities together? How would you describe the attitude about team or group projects? What’s the general dynamic amongst students in the program?
(4) Were you considering any other colleges? If so, why did you choose this one?
(5) What’s the best upside of attending VT, what’s your favorite thing? And relatedly, what’s the biggest downside of attending VT, what would you change if you could?
(6) I’m trying to choose between two great schools, both of which have seemingly great programs with equally great career placement. Do you have any suggestions for things I should consider or evaluate to help me decide which is the best fit and choice?
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