@sbinaz One more popped up for me. UAH is adding Cyber Operations Management. UAH | News | The University of Alabama in Huntsville I’m not sure how that differs from Cybersecurity, but thought I’d throw it out there.
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Thanks! Will go check that major out!
For those following our ACT saga, we received word that students can either (1) void their test last week and re-test for free in a couple of weeks, or (2) keep their original test. Of course, this decision must be made blindly – without knowing your score. My D has decided against the free re-test and wants to see her score. Depending on how she does, we can either schedule another ACT at our own expense or stick with the SAT (current score 1390 and scheduled to try again in May).
The only problem with her plan is that there are no open ACT seats in June or July anywhere near us for the computerized test (there are seats for the paper ACT). She actually likes some of the computer features – but that may not be an option.
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Ok…so from the article/press release, sounds like they’re implementing it a bit like U of A initially did with their CAST (College of Applied Science & Technology) majors…you do first 2 yr at community college and last 2 yr are all online coursework. Looks like UAH’s website doesn’t have many details yet but we will keep an eye on it!
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That’s a different type of program being community college and then online. Probably good for certain people, but I’m sure my kids would have no interest in that. It’s nice to have some options.
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I don’t think Cal takes LORs either, but you’re right, the UCs are definitely more holistic than the CSUs. And yes, I totally agree that we don’t want the same few people getting all of the competitive acceptances!
They use PIQs though, vs the CSUs which don’t take anything that gives insight into the student via either LORs or essays.
Around 10-15% of applicants receive requests for LORs from Cal as part of a supplemental review after the application has been submitted. I remember that some of S23’s friends were only applying to UCs and CSUs, and therefore had not lined up recommenders because none of the schools required LOR… so some who received the request from Cal had to scramble around to ask for LORs in Nov-Dec.
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C26’s school has final week /final exams the week of Memorial Day ..so that’s 6 weeks away. Eek.
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It’s so soon. Eeek.
My D26’s finals week is the week before Memorial Day – but it is so insane how much has to happen between now and then. 
(I started listing it all out, but I started getting stressed so I have to leave it alone for now, LOL.)
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WOW!!! D26 doesn’t get out until mid June!
Final stretch of junior year! They’ve just got to hang in the for just a little bit longer. I know, easier said than done.
The last of the spring college visits is this coming weekend, then a little reprieve until late summer.
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S26 gets out the second week of June. He has to hang on for 8 more weeks, which feels like both a marathon and a sprint. He has some big moments at the end of this month, finding out his ACT score and if he was accepted to the CSSSA summer program for drawing. If neither of those things go his way, we will need to adjust summer plans.
We are also having a debate on whether he signs up for a 4th year of Japanese. He’s ready to be done after 3 years but I think it’s something that might set him apart as it’s an unusual language to study, his art is influenced by Japanese artists, and he volunteers at the Asian Art Museum. He doesn’t have super great ECs and this is a potential thru line. Maybe 3 vs 4 years doesn’t matter. I don’t know. (I also think 4year helps if he can test out of future language requirements in college but he is living in the present and can’t imagine how annoying it will be to have to return to Japanese later or choose another language to fulfill requirements in college)
We don’t have to decide right away since it’s a private, accredited language program that can begin any time, but it’s another thing to sort out before he applies to schools this fall. I don’t want to and won’t make him, obviously he has to be all in for himself.
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I feel this dilemma. My D26 was debating whether she needed AP Latin next year. She’s in honors Latin IV now.
Against the advice of her school’s college advisor, she opted to register for a STEM Seminar class instead – it’s a capstone class where she’ll be working on a year-long project, and it’s weighted like an AP class at her school. (And there was quite an application process to even get into this class.)
The college advisor said that GA Tech wants to see four years of all five core classes – including language – and she’s already docked for that because she’ll only have three years of social science (honors modern world history, APUSH, and a semester each of standard American Gov and Econ).
She opted not to take a social science this year because she really wanted to take an honors architecture class – which was helpful with her narrowing down what type of creative/tech field she might want to pursue (NOT architecture, as it turns out, lol).
Ugh, I totally understand the dilemma, though – four years of Japanese would set your S26 apart, esp if it’s relevant to his other pursuits. Mine does love Latin, and she applied for a summer program in Latin thinking she could spin that as the reason she didn’t take it in school next year – but alas, she didn’t get into that program.
It’s all about pivoting, at this stage!
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They changed our school years a few years back - it used to be end August till mid June, now it’s early August to mid May. Gives us a couple weeks at the beginning of summer before the crowds hit anywhere!
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Yes! We are doing a family vacation from May 27 through June 8. I wanted to jump on it because who knows how much longer we can do long family vacations as the kids start interning/working/grad school/whatever?
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Our schoolyear is also early August until late May (graduation in 2026 will be May 8). Unfortunately we can’t take advantage of the early weeks for family vacation anymore because of sports. So we will duke it out with everyone else in July.
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C26 is a bit dinged on language, with only 2 years. It was a condition of the IEP that they took a learning skills class, which supplanted an elective. I wanted them to do Latin 3 and drop a VPA class, but they really want the arts distinction award which requires 6 years of VPA and honestly, when we were planning out after freshman year, it had been so rough I was thinking they were probably headed to CC anyway. They’re moving back from IEP to a 504 for next year so that frees up a class, but they don’t have space in the schedule for Latin as they want to do AP physics (unlike some here, C26 loves physics - as did both husband and I) along with the VPA classes, and there is requirement for 2.5 years PE/health to graduate which messes up another possible slot by using up a semester. It doesn’t seem to be a problem for their target school/s but it will be a deficiency for their reach. (They’re still in Latin club which is why they went to convention.) Anyway - we’ll figure it out as we go along. The true safety is still the CC route - there are a number of CCs in CA that have articulation agreements for architecture to a handful of CA colleges - although after the weekend in Boulder I suspect that will not be viewed as good a backup option as it seemed on paper before.
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More and more I can see S26 starting out at a CC. It seems like a positive way to punt on the unpredictable and very stressful nature of applications. And it would allow him to marinate at home a while longer. I know so much will change between today and a year from today (when all of our kids will be making their choices—wild!) but I need to make sure I’ve talked about CC as a real option that we would be happy and proud if he chose. (We live in a competitive area, and CC is often seen as a “failure to launch” sadly, by both students and parents)
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There’s pros and cons for sure of your son’s dilemma. As a parent, it’s a challenging situation, too.
For example, depending on where your son is thinking of applying, not doing a 4th year of foreign language could end up shutting him out of certain colleges which expect or require 4 years of foreign language. And by “expect,” what I mean is their website says 3 yr are required, but 4 might be preferred…and maybe the students who actually get accepted have 4 yr of foreign language.
On the other hand, you could force the matter and MAKE him take Japanese next school year, but if he’s so burned out on it already that he’s got no more gas in the tank for Japanese, it’s not going to serve him very well to get a low grade in the class and be totally burned out.
There’s pros and cons of either choice. Do what seems best for your family and your kid and try not to second guess yourself later on.
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I think starting at community college is an excellent choice for a lot of people. My spouse went to a community college before finishing at a 4 yr university. When you get your bachelor’s degree, nobody gives a care that you started at community college.
At CC’s, class sizes are smaller and a lot more often now, CC professors also teach at local 4-yr institutions. It’s a great way for a student to get a bit more one-on-one attention and assistance, especially if it doesn’t feel like the student might be ready at age 18 for big lecture hall classes with 300+ people in the class.
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