My daughter does this with her accommodations for dyslexia and says it’s very helpful in spelling and keeping her organized.
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Oh no. I’m so very sorry. What a sweet little ball of fluff – I’m sure Speedwagon knew how very loved she was.
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For St. Olaf specifically Ole Dollars are a great gift. They can be used in the bookstore, some of the extra dining options on campus, and even in several of the stores or restaurants in Northfield.
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My daughter is a microbiology major but UW requires every student to take 2 writing classes. My daughter got the IB diploma so had very strong writing skills going into UW but I have to say- I am totally impressed with how the 2 classes at UW have developed her to be an even stronger writer. That skill is required no matter your profession and I am truly impressed on how UW Seattle has prepared her.
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Rest in peace, Speedwagon. You brought joy to more than you know with your fluff and pep, and you will be missed.
Virtual hugs to the ones who will miss her physical presence.
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Thank you! Yes, Williams is fantastic for art history. I was a pre-med biology major/neuroscience concentration but even I took art history classes. Fond memories!
D is not sure of her major- part of why I think an SLAC will be a great fit for her. She is interested in psychology and sociology, and more specifically in social justice and having a “socially impactful career”. She studies Spanish and has an interest in study abroad- hence how Middlebury would be a good fit (but all her choices have strong study abroad programs). Vassar has this Community Engaged Learning opportunity that seems like a really good fit.
When did your D graduate Williams? What was the workload like? When I was there we worked hard but definitely had downtime. I’ve heard from a few (but only a few) that students “study all the time”. A friend & her daughter toured recently and apparently the tour guide’s answer to every ? about extracurriculars was “I don’t know about X, I spend all my time studying.” Makes me worry something about the vibe has changed.
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My D is a senior. She is definitely working hard, but is involved in several activities–radio show, interning at WCMA, TA, campus job (by choice) and, in the past, literary magazine, WOOLF leader, and others that I’m probably forgetting. Her friends are all involved in some ECs, but it can be a grind, perhaps more than Vassar or Midd. She did study abroad last spring which was a wonderful experience. I think it was nice to step away from the grind, but she came back to school energized and excited to get back to Williams. After a bit of a challenging start her first year, in no small part due to COVID protocols still being in place, she loves Williams and hasn’t looked back.
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I have heard this about my alma mater as well (not the same as yours), and it’s…troubling. C25 comes from an exceptionally competitive HS and, while the education has been great, the atmosphere is not healthy, imo. While I would have been excited for C25 and I to share a connection to my alma mater, I honestly hesitated because I want them to learn AND have fun! Adulthood is full of working hard and nose-to-the-grindstone times, and I’d like for them to learn that there can and should be balance in life. That’s hard to do when your peers prioritize work over all else, and define success as being better than those around you.
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Worth noting: Anecdotal sources (and some more reliable data, but it’s understudied) say that today’s college students are simply more likely to spend more time doing school- and work-related activities rather than allocating lots of time to socializing.
It’s a slow cultural shift if it’s real, but a meaningful one, and not limited to any one or two institutions.
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That’s so interesting! My kid is the opposite, spends way more time socializing than studying and I worry that will get amped up in college, especially because he’s leaning toward a school with a heavy party rep. Ugh, there’s always something to worry about…
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Anecdotally, I’ve noticed this with my S23 and his peers.
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@gotham_mom and I have been in this together! My son graduates from Williams in 25.5. He certainly does spend a lot of time studying, but he definitely has time to go on hikes, ski, garden, etc. His ECs have been TAing, working in the lab, working for admissions, working with middle school students, and taking music lessons. That might not seem like ECs to some, but it really is what he enjoys doing with his free time. The relationships he has developed with his professors, the admissions office and the administration are really beyond anything we could have hoped for. They really are going to have to kick him out the door 
. I wish your daughter the best in making her decision!!
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Definitely interesting about the studying vs. socializing.
My D22 is a hardcore introvert and wasn’t super social in high school – she often turned down weekend activities to decompress in her room.
She landed at a rigorous school (Rice) where she does have to spend many, many hours grinding on schoolwork. The workload is nutty.
BUT, she also found her people and discovered that she loves socializing – and she spends many hours in student-run theatre. She acts in, produces and directs shows, and when she’s not doing that, she’s just “hanging out” with her theatre friends.
So, consequently, she never sleeps. Ever. It makes me crazy. (Do you know how hard I worked to get her on a good sleep schedule when she was an infant? )
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I mean, it fits well with that old line about college, right? You know: Grades, sleep, social life. Pick two.
(And for grad school: Pick one.)
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I have been drilling this into them since they were little. Quizlet is never as effective as paper flash cards. The learning is in the making them not reviewing them. I haven’t sold them on a stack a flash cards, but the spiral notebooks, thankfully, stuck.
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My college student with a language disability uses a (accommodations approved) computer app to record every lecture so that they can take notes/listen without worrying about missing a chunk of the lecture while writing their notes.
They then get a written transcript of the lecture from the app, which helps them complete their handwritten notes and more easily flag parts of the lecture they need to follow up on during office hours.
I am a huge believer in hand writing for understanding/retention and I also love that there are now more ways for students who need accommodations to have a better class experience.
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My kids have had various teachers over the years that required paper flash cards for various assignments, and oh my goodness, they were SO put upon, lol.
But when left to their own choices, both my girls loved Quizlet and used it extensively – even to memorize lines for a play, etc.
I can’t count the number of times I told my oldest that she shouldn’t listen to music with lyrics while trying to study – or worse, have YouTube videos going in the background – and that she should sit at her desk (in the same position that she’d sit in to take the test) instead of lounging in her papasan, etc.
Her response – “I’m literally graduating as salutatorian, Mother. Clearly my methods are working.”
(I did NOT respond with, well, maybe you would have been valedictorian! HAHAHA!)
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@gotham_mom @Pnwfamily thank you for the inside scoop on Williams. I talked to my husband earlier- he was glorying in the mountain views and enjoying everything he was seeing during the Previews events. BUT, he reported that the class D25 sat in on may have intimidated her. Of course, she procrastinated signing up for a class until a few days ago-- and at that point there were only upper-level classes with openings. So she sat in on upper level poli sci class. Apparently the students were really engaged and it was a great classroom discussion- but she felt really out of her depth.
@Creekside231 @dfbdfb @DadBodThor interesting to hear that maybe this is a cultural shift. Something my daughter does I have to admit I’m guilty of too… if I’m working away getting something done on my computer I might “treat” myself to breaks looking at fun websites (like CC, hah!) and then of course it takes longer. So the time working isn’t really time fully working, but it’s not stepping away from the computer, either. An unhealthy habit we are both working on.
@SpreadsheetMom this is giving me hope! D25 is an introvert but does like to socialize when she feels she fits in. We are really hoping she will spread her wings in college and find her people.
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I wish this for all these kiddos!
I really couldn’t be happier for my D22 – I worried a lot about her going off to college out of state. She’s always been such a homebody. But the fit at her school was just right, and she met the right people, and it’s just been so gratifying to watch.
I’m holding my breath for my D26 – she’s a quirky kid, and she hasn’t really found her people in high school. Trying to do as much of a deep dive as we can so that she, too, lands at just the right place for college and has an experience like her sister. (I guess that’s what this site is for, LOL.)
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If Vassar is a real contender and you want to DM me I’m happy to answer any questions I can. My D22 is finishing up her junior year and her experience has been generally good and she’s happy she went there. Her friend’s experience at Williams has definitely been more academically intense than hers, to the point of burn out, but could absolutely be related to personality and not a true difference between the schools.
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