Parents of the HS Class of 2026 (Part 2)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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It’s a really fun, music-centered city, and D22 has a few peripheral friends there. We were talking through her decision, and I mentioned that if she hated the program or discovered that it just wasn’t the right thing, she could always quit and just find a job – she’d already have an apartment – and figure out what comes next.

It helps that it’s only about a 4-hour drive from us, and Chattanooga is halfway between us and Nashville, so we’ll have a fun place to meet in the middle for lunch or to hang out for a few hours.

I can’t tell you happy this makes me. :smiley:

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1006

Starting this summer, D26’s college’s counseling services will offer free counseling appointments to all students. Previously there was a $20-$25 fee per session. This is pretty great because sometimes, some students really really need a therapy session but they have to choose between doing that or having food to eat for the week.

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Same at D26’s school. She carries a BMO backpack from Adventure Time. :grin:

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I was just realizing that without even trying, we ended up having a chat with the President of all four colleges we visited for Admitted Students Day. I’m guessing because they are all small colleges (biggest one just under 1900 students) makes that possibility a bit easier, but still kind of a neat “fun fact” of the visits.

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1009

Unit One in Allen Hall?

The Greek system at UIUC is quite large - it used to be massive, and the largest in the country (both in terms of absolute participant numbers as well as the discrete number of Sororities and Fraternities) so as a percentage of total students it was a major aspect.

In the past 30+ years, it no longer makes up nearly the percentage of total students it once did - however, the total student enrollment has also grown.

Then you look at the increase in international students, many of which do not go thru the greek system, and if we back of the napkin math it, while the absolute percentage of students at UIUC who participate in Greek life has dropped the total number has not dropped as precipitously proportionally.

So it’s not surprising that it seems a large number of Instagram affirmation seekers are in greek life there.

As far as;

So the state of Illinois is predominantly “Chicagoland” population and then the rest of the state.
The entire state of Illinois is around 12.8-13 Million people.
The greater Chicagoland Metro Area has around 9.5-10M (of which Illinois residents are likely around 8 - 8.5 M+)
Thus around 65% +/- of Illinois residents are in the Metro of the City.

Also, for the most part unlike many other states, Illinois doesn’t split out their main flagship(s).

You have UIUC. And then there are all the directional Illinois public schools (Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western).

So yes, while there are going to be farm kids, kids from Carbondale, Rockford at UIUC, percentages indicate that a larger majority (supermajority) of students who aren’t internationals or OOS are going to ID as Chicago / Suburban, and the competitive nature of getting in probably means there will be more clusters of kids coming from the Private Schools, Gold Coast Schools, and then the magnet / presidential schools of excellence in the massive suburban sprawl.

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Yup. Hoping they get in - it’s basically tailor made for them. Understand the free music lessons are by lottery but even without that it’s definitely their vibe.

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I lived in Allen Hall - Unit One in what I believe was it’s second year wayyyyy back in 1989. I don’t know when the term LLC came into teh common vernacular, but Unit One predates it - this was a first of it’s kind situation for Illinois.

I was a Bio/Chem major from (wealthy) suburban Chicago , living in a triple with an international Engineering student from Japan, and a Black student english/comms major from the Southside of Chicago.

It was just different across the board from all of the other other general student dorm housing on campus - and over the course of the year, we’d get a large influx of people from other dorms who would find their way there for meals and stay for the atmosphere (Artists in residence - paints, poets, musicians,novelist) along with the special programing events.

It was, by far, the most eclectic group of people with diverse interests and points of view that I’ve ever lived in.

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1012

It seems the school calendars vary a lot. Our school ends in middle of June.

But the AP test will in May and if the students have AP tests, how do they prepare after the 10 days?

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1013

UIC is pretty large too but seems a very different vibe (urban, many commuters, seems a lot of people who either couldn’t get into or couldn’t afford/couldn’t justify cost differential vs UIUC). It was a serious contender for C26 given what seems to be a very good architecture program, though we had reservations about the commuter aspect and consequently what apparently is a pretty empty campus on weekends. I believe there is another UI campus too (Springfield?) but don’t know anything about it. TBH though I am not super familiar with how most flagship state systems work outside the many options the UCs and SUNYs offer.

Btw, thanks for the detail re state population/Chicago concentration- that was interesting.

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C26’s AP classes have already finished their syllabi and are just focusing on exam prep this month. Perhaps they are similar?

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Maybe. I did not know the progress my kids in the AP classroom.

Maybe those kids will have more self control if the school day is officially over and yet they are self preparing the AP exams.

My kids told me their school day will be practically over after AP exams even there is still about one month in the calendar.

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D26s school also gets out over a week before the AP test. They are just expected to self-study and prepare as they want during that time.
I would also assume that if they are not ready a week before- then that last week or so will not make much of a difference :person_shrugging:

After this week- D26 also only has 10 more ‘school days’ left.

It is crazy to think about it!!!

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D26s prom is next weekend.
She is wearing her dress from last year. Kinda makes me sad- cause I really like shopping and wanted to go see her try on all the pretty clothes :innocent: :rofl:
The not having to drop more $$ on what would most likely be a rarely (if ever) worn again dress does make me a bit happy though!! :wink:

She is making a capelet to wear with it this year- perfect example of the old
“Why pay $30 for it when I can spend $50+ and hours of my own time to make it myself”
lol :melting_face:

She loves crafting- so just needs an excuse to break out her sewing machine!!

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I guess for AP classes but we have many non-AP classes at our school and unlike some other schools, they still need to write final school exams for all subjects regardless of having done the AP tests. We have one full week of school after the AP test schedule ends mid-May (that week is also senior week which includes a lot of senior specific events), and then finals week after that. Graduation is the last day of that week as well.

C26’s placement exams open in May which is also perfect for them to do the math and physics ones as they will have been revising for the AP exams for these few weeks. Assuming it’s the same as last year (the updated info is probably ..somewhere) it looks like they are exempt doing the composition placement because of their SAT English score and that they will get automatic credit for the required rhetoric class for all freshmen GEs, but I’m not clear if they will need to do another more advanced one or not. They seem a little overwhelmed right now in figuring all that out, but that’s why they have advisors, right? Anyway time enough after school exams are done for them to do more research on this prep for the advisor/registration meeting (3rd week of June).

Post graduation trip for C26 is going with a friend to NYC for the governor’s ball. D19 will be chaperone for the ball and we do have a bevy of other adults around in NY if needed (friend has a close mid-20s cousin in NY as well as my stepmom, sister and BIL). C26 thinks they are funding this trip out of their summer earnings (agreement is I’m paying upfront and they’ll pay back when they get paid) but I think after the fact I will tell them at least some of it is a grad gift.

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Did he make his choice yet? My daughter finally decided on Tulane. She had great options (UF, UT Austin, UGA, GTech, UMiami). We were secretly hoping for UF, as her brother goes there, but she wanted a smaller school. It will definitely be a great place to visit! Good luck with the decision.

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It’s only the seniors that get out May 1 – everyone else is in school for another three weeks after that. So for younger kids that have AP exams, I think there will be review in class.

I suppose seniors could show up for these classes if they wanted to review – but I don’t think a single senior will do that, LOL. They’ll just review at home in whatever manner they’d like.

My kiddo has three AP classes – Bio, Lit and Calc BC. I believe they’re on May 4, 6, and 11. So she isn’t really missing much review for the first two.

Graduation is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. In between May 1 and graduation, the seniors go on a senior trip. (Not the whole time – only for four or five days. We’re also flying to my older daughter’s college graduation during that time.)

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1021

D26’s STEM presentation went well. PHEW, I am so relieved, lol. She was a bundle of nerves this morning. She’s not the best public speaker, and she always talks super fast so that it’s hard to understand her.

But she was fairly poised and articulate – and funny – today, although she still had to talk fast to stay under the time limit! It was a year’s worth of info to cover. And then the panel of judges kept asking her questions even when time was up, so I hope she isn’t docked points for going over because of that.

Her answers sounded intelligent, though. And I am clearly not biased at all as her mom. :joy:

I feel so much better – now she needs to finish the giant document (which is well over 100 pages) and turn it in next Friday, but that is much less pressure.

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1022

I see. Our school has only one calendar for everyone. S26 and S27 have only AP classes. So for them, the school is practically over after AP exams. Graduation will be in middle of Jun.

Not sure what they are going to do after that? Hang out everyday in the classroom? lol

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1023

I love this, and I so wish in an alternate universe that my kid had landed at RIT, because I really think our two would have been fast friends.

Hmm, this seems familiar. :rofl:

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1024

Only AP classes?! Oh my goodness. What about electives like art or band or anything else?

Our school is really different – they don’t allow high school students to take more than six AP classes in total. (It’s possible for very strong students to petition to take more, but rarely does anyone have more than seven or eight.) So mine took one sophomore year, two last year, and three this year.