DS committed to UMD this morning #NowATerp
53 Likes
p.s. the stress was really wearing me down, leaving it to the last minute with so many angsty discussions. But we can be sure we examined it from every angle. I told him even this morning, āwe will pay for Cornell if you want itā but he just did not want it more than he wanted UMD. During all the registration stuff, I asked him again, āwe still havenāt paid and still havenāt said no to Cornell,ā and he said, āIām feeling more and more like UMD is the right choice with each of these steps.ā
Hopefully this is going to be great!
33 Likes
This was so awesome to read. I know we all feel our kidsā highs and lows intensely, but I can just feel your joy - and his - through your post.
So, so great. 
9 Likes
Not that you were wondering, but the roommate roller coaster drama continues. D25 tells me potential roommate did reach out the other day and share prom pics and there was some brief discussion about how to add each other in the roommate portal (which Iām not sure they can yet). So maybe she still has a roommate. She makes me laugh. If this ends up happening these two sound quite complimentary as both seem quite chill and not stressed at all. (And side note, D25 showed me the prom pictures she sent. Great Gatsby theme. This girl looked PERFECT! STUNNING!)
12 Likes
Our droids just wrapped up a fantastic first year at UMich (in fact theyāre coming home TODAY). Congrats and Go Blue!! Cannot say enough great things about the school and Ann Arbor.
Re: big vs small, ours attended a SLAC-like boarding school, so they were very much ādoneā with that sort of environment. Big won in a landslide 
12 Likes
My hs had us finish a couple weeks before the rest of the school. It was mainly so the teachers could get grades finalized and the graduation requirements met leaving room for the kids who might be on the cusp of failing English and potentially not graduating to do what they can to bring the grade up. Iām not sure when the last day of class is for D but the ceremony is on the last day of class for the undergrads.
2 Likes
This is the norm at both my girlsā private school and my sonās public school.
The seniors finish tomorrow at our private school, and graduation is May 24. In the interim, theyāre still taking AP exams, and they go on a one-week senior trip. (It used to be something bigger involving flights before Covid, but now itās a week at a camp/retreat in a neighboring state.)
My S25 finishes next Friday, May 9 ā and graduation is May 15. Shorter interval, but in that time he has an exit interview, grad practice, senior carnival, etc. But the younger grades are still in school through May 22.
ETA: Back when I graduated many moons ago (private school), the seniors also finished early, and then we went on a two-week senior trip to Austria, Switzerland and Germany. We spent all year fundraising for it. My memories from that trip are epic. 
(But obvs easier to do with 40 kids instead of 400!)
1 Like
He cut his list to 5 once all his acceptances came- We did the tours and the final 3 were UW, UMich and Vassar (Carleton and Macalester got cut). He realized UW wasnāt the best fit for his major (a late major choice) so he gave it up. It was a tough decision for him b/c he really did love it.
So it was down to UMich and Vassar- a weird combo. Could have gone either way but in the end the big school was what he wanted. I think he made a good choice.
10 Likes
You could tailgate from your car beforehand!
3 Likes
Love to hear this! Thank you for sharing. Iām already pretty impressed with how organized they are with information and details. Really good at replying to emails too, especially for such a big school. My son, who is pretty shy at times, has already been getting replies for roommates so heās feeling great.
5 Likes
This is so funny and sweet!
Got all the feels reading your post. What a wonderful way to cap his senior year.
1 Like
We have this too. Classes for seniors end 6/5. Graduation 6/23. Last day of school 6/26.
Congrats to everyone!! Iām sooooo jealous of all of you with early graduations! Ours is June 27ā¦
And the senioritis is STRONGā¦
3 Likes
Thank you guys for the nice words and encouragement re: the track meet. It really did make me so incredibly happy to see my kid so happy and to see people recognize him. I know heās been frustrated that he just hasnāt been able to get everything back where it used to be, and heās going to have a few more disappointments (unless he makes some miraculous long jumps at the invitational on Saturday, he will be the only senior not continuing on in the post season). But finishing out at home and finishing well feels good.
Our schedule for the next month+ is also weird. AP exams for the next two weeks, I think kids are supposed to go to class when not in exams, but Iām not 100% sure. Friday the 16th is a half day āsenior send offā thatās sort of like an outdoor party - itās got food trucks, a DJ, a mechanical bull, a photobooth and, apparently axe throwing (who thought that was a good idea?). Then the seniors have two weeks of āsenior experienceā - it used to be four weeks, but theyāve moved graduation up. During this time they basically do some kind of internship, most use it as a lead in to their summer job. Graduation is June 4, which is two weeks before the rest of the school finishes for the year.
3 Likes
Is a temporary disability permit a possibility for parking? And if not, can you drop your MIL (plus someone else to hang out with her) close to the venue and then the rest of you go park the car?
Seniors finishing 2 or 3 weeks early seems bog-standard normal from my observation of school calendars across lots of states. Iāve never understood the actual logic of it myself, but it seems to be whatās usually done.
Where you get the real variation is start and end dates. Here the Kā11 school year ends mid-May (with seniors having their last day either this Friday or the coming Monday, canāt remember which), which feels humane. I hated being in school til late June growing up.
Iāve spent most of my career as a professor in English departments (even though none of my degrees are in English), and I still remember the sweatshirt one of the lit professors at a place I used to work would wear: Aināt no party like a Gatsby party 'cause a Gatsby party donāt stop until two people are dead and everyone is disillusioned with the jazz age as a whole.
27 Likes
I thought of this seeing we have at least one student who is going to end up generally near me, and canāt remember if Iāve said this here before or not - but if you have a student coming to the DC metro area (GW, Georgetown, American, Catholic, Howard, Galludet, George Mason, UMD) and something goes awry, feel free to message me if you/your student need some local help. I can get to any of those (and probably others) in 45 minutes-ish and while it may be extraordinarily weird for your kid to get a delivery or be helped by an internet stranger, if itās urgent and another adult on hand would help, know that Iām here to help.
29 Likes
I hear you about how hard it is to give up a school they loveā¦.but Michigan, great choice! I have a lot of family ties to U of M. Go Blue!
4 Likes
We know the date and time for graduation (itās about a month from now), but they still havenāt told us when the students need to be there! Itās at 7pm, so Iām hoping no earlier than 6. Maybe we can have a dinner out somewhere close by? Our school does the after-graduation party for the students. Itās not quite āall nightā like mine was eons ago, but it goes until I think 3am? Itās a weird time to send kids driving home!!!
In past years the seniors at our school always got out the last week of school, but the timing of graduation vs. the end of school is different this year, so I think they only get 4 extra days of not going to school when everyone else is there, and one of those being the āsenior sendoffā day where they do have to go to school to turn in chromebooks and textbooks, and have a special senior breakfast.
3 Likes
Maybe it was just where I grew up. Seniors had to do the full state mandated 180 days. no exceptions. (still is so, to my knowledge - all my relatives still live there). With all the public school rules that are SO specific and hard-line, I find it weird this one rule doesnāt follow for seniors. Once again, not complaining, just weird IMO.
3 Likes
This is such a lovely offer and I want to extend the same for anyone with a kiddo in NYC. I work for the city and have lived here my whole life (other than college years) so I can help with tips, advice, and emergency help if ever needed.
20 Likes