I asked C26 to do this but they’ve got so much going on I don’t think they have. And not all portals have decline buttons.. I doubt they’re going to bother looking up email addresses etc to decline. 
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The sooner the college knows, the easier their task of taking other kids off the waitlist, so I’d encourage it.
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A number of colleges seem to have started the mid-summer orientation about ten years ago(?) to combat “summer melt” and to reduce anxiety around drop off. Great idea for local kids, pretty rough for those with demanding summer jobs or long drives. My wife’s institution made language placement exams mandatory in the middle of July for awhile, and it was a predictable disaster. They’ve made the orientation “suggested” with some online options since, and that compromise seems to be serving everyone better. (Except the faculty grading the placement exams when they aren’t being paid.)
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I think that’s a great way to tackle it.
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But wait, can she move into her actual dorm room for the summer thing, then continue to stay there for the week in-between and into orientation/school year? Or does she have to stay elsewhere for the summer and move again?
Georgia Tech has a summer start where you take two classes – it’s offered to some students as a requirement of their acceptance, and then other students have it as an option. Mine had the option. I’ve heard great things, because you get an easy core class or two out of the way, get to know other students and the campus, etc. – a lot of people really like and recommend it.
But the housing is different than whatever the student will have in the fall, so I could NOT talk mine into doing it, because she didn’t want to move into a dorm room twice. Also, both her siblings will be home this summer – my oldest for the last time for several years – so D26 really wanted the time to be a slug and hang out with her sister and do a family vacation, etc.
Mine has three AP classes, but she doesn’t have regular finals in those classes because the school figured that would be cruel and unusual on top of preparing for the AP exam, lol. And she’s exempt from a final in another class – I think? – so I don’t think she has any regular finals at all. The giant STEM thing is done (praise be), and she’s got a few smaller things including a presentation for Gov, but nothing major.
She is not preparing nearly as much as she should be for AP exams, especially for Calc BC. But I just cannot with the nagging any longer. It needs to be on her. She knows full well what’s at stake. (Infamous weed-out class at her college that she’ll have to take if she doesn’t get a 4 or 5 on Calc BC.)
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I actually love all the silly traditions that colleges have – I have another friend who is a UVA alum, and she’s always posting “Wahoowa!” on FB after a game, and it makes me laugh. 
This is GT’s actual fight song –
I’m a ramblin’ wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer
A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer
Like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear
I’m a ramblin’ wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer
Oh, if I had a daughter, sir, I’d dress her in white and gold
And put her on the campus, to cheer the brave and bold
But if I had a son, sir, I’ll tell you what he’d do
He would yell, “To hell with Georgia,” like his daddy used to do
Oh, I wish I had a barrel of rum and sugar, three thousand pounds
A college bell to put it in and a clapper to stir it ‘round
I’d drink to all good fеllows who come from far and near
I’m a ramblin’, gamblin’, hell of an еngineer
It’s sung to the tune of an old drinking song. But D26 needs to learn it – plus another fight song – to audition for marching band, LOL. I am endlessly amused.
The school administers them as usual on the designated day in a classroom – the seniors that aren’t in school just need to show up (in uniform, bleagh) to take them.
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Historically- this program had you move into your permanent housing- but this year they unfortunately have stated that it is very unlikely that this will happen. So looks like 2-3 weeks in a temp dorm and then move into permanent dorm during regular move in time.
She still wants to stay that week- 
so good on her. We have no issues with it (besides not being ready for her to leave!!! )
They have changed things already a few times- so I am hoping that they may revert back to being able to move into your own dorm room. Not planning on that- but secretly hoping doesn’t hurt anything 
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I’ll hope for you too, lol. It does sound like a fun program regardless, and a great introduction to the school!
Mine did, yes, but she committed awhile ago. She had six acceptances, committed to one, then declined the rest of them. For a couple she had to send an email because there wasn’t an obvious button in the portal.
She probably wouldn’t have been too worried about it, but her school really pushed doing this, and she had friends that were on wait lists (not at those same schools, but in general), so she felt it was important to do.
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My husband went to WPI in MA and their fight song/chant is heavy on the math nerdy side 
.
E to the X
D-Y, D-XE to the XD-X.Cosine, Secant, Tangent, Sine3.14159E-I, Radical, PiFight’em, Fight’em WPI!
Apparently there are 13 mathematical expressions in that fight song/chant
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Okay THAT is hilarious. I’ll have to show D26 – remember WPI was on her list! We flew up there to tour last summer. I know they have a small marching band – hahaha she could have been learning this one instead.
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It still makes me laugh!! My husband still knows it by heart . Find it on YouTube so your daughter can hear it .
It’s a much shorter chant (therefore easier to learn) than GT’s! Lol
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Does anyone know if once you register for the AP exams you can still go in and change your mind about sending scores to a school? D26 said “No” to sending the scores but now I am realizing that she should just have them sent to her school. I heard that they tend to send scores to schools up to a couple weeks ahead of when they are released which means her school might actually have them for her orientation. This would help (assuming she gets at least a 4 on the exams) to decide which classes she is given credit for. She already paid $15 to send her scores from last year.
I think you have up until test day to opt to have the scores sent, but I’d recommend to check on the College Board website for sure.
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You may want to double check but I think you have till June 20th to put the name of the college where you want to have the scores sent.
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Technical question for the prepared packers and movers here! I’m looking at you @SpreadsheetMom and @sbinaz though I bet there are others who know the answer. Am I delusional or am I correct that one can pack up those heavy duty zippable rectangular storage bags from Amazon and check them on a plane? I ask because one of my sons has somehow lost his real luggage while at college.
You absolutely can. Or at least, I’ve heard many families in parent forums say they’ve done so while flying their kids to/from school. I might check the maximum size limit of luggage on the airline you’re flying just to be sure.
The bags themselves vary in strength, and I’ve heard of people putting one inside another to make sure they don’t rip.
Good luck! (How exactly does one lose a suitcase? )
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Yes, but be aware they can be unwieldy. You’ll probably need a luggage cart at the airport. And hopefully the dorm has an elevator. We used them for D19’s freshman year but she gave up on them for regular travel because of that. But just to get things home they’re fine.
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About AP exams score reporting. If you stated on the Common App that you are taking xyz AP classes in your senior year, does the college that you committed to expect you to report all the AP exam scores you said you are taking during your senior year?
Reason I’m asking is because S26’s college is only giving him credit for 1 AP class (I can’t remember exactly but it could be AP Lit or AP Lang). Since he already took the AP Lang exam, there’s really no point in taking the AP Lit exam if his college isn’t going to give him credit for it. Right? He needs to check with his HS to see if he is required to take the exam to finish off the class, but just curious if anyone knows.
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