Might have the college app list up from 3 to 5-6 schools now. Still plenty of time to figure it out though!
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To answer my earlier question, it seems the common app wonāt let you submit anything until the writing section at least is completed (maybe any of the sections, but this is the only one C26 has incomplete now), even to schools where the essay is optional and you can choose not to submit it. I guess itās a safeguard against unintended incomplete applications.
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Correction. 5 schools, not 6. The Computer Information System major was an option at University of Houston, but thatās only available at the Sugarland campus. And the Sugarland campus doesnāt have housing. So itās not on the list!
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I think they are spying on us!!! lol 
D26 just got emailed an application fee waiver from RIT.
From googling- they pass these out like candy, but I thought it was funny to happen so close to this conversation 
(But I am glad she got this- I love a great freebie!!)
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We visited UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
Great locations but the general vibe was that they dont have a ton of resources and you have to kind of do things on your own. Im not sure if thatās accurate but several students told us this.
Cant imagine paying OOS tuition for these large public schools. Probably a great deal for in state residents.
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I guess itās that time of year - C26 received a fee waiver in the mail from UMN today.
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As an in-state UC parent, I have often noted that whatever is getting parents riled up on the UCLA FB parents pageāwhich has ranged from fire alarms going off at all hours in the dorms to broken laundry machines to long food truck lines to TA strikes that actually do affect students and their learning, itās always the OOS parents shouting about how they pay too much for their kid to deal with [insert latest issue here]. The in-state parents are far more tolerantāand this makes sense. The perceived value of a UC education is super high. They are among the top ranked public universities in the nation. But value relative to cost is dramatically different and the in-state folks are just feeling damn grateful to send their kid to a fantastic school for a fantastic price.
That said, my D22 has tons of OOS friends, including her girlfriend, a roommate, and other close friends who are having a phenomenal experience there, and who wouldnāt trade it for anything. Doing things for yourself is actually one of the best things UCLA teaches young adults. Sure, it would be lovely to receive more handholding on the career advising front, but my kid can whip out a custom cover letter in 20 mins and sheās hustled her way into 4 internships without help from anyone at UCLA. Gotta say, I think itās one of the outcomes no one celebrates on the surface, but itās super important in life.
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One of the people we met said the professors care about 3 things in this order: Consulting (they do this as a side gig?), get grants (for the school), and 3rd job is to teach.
If they dont get enough grants, their lab space and office get smaller.
No clue if true (or applicable to all UC schools) but itās what we were told.
I donāt think my D22 has had that experience, but Iāll ask her. What I have heardā¦ her freshman year, she took an astronomy class with the person who discovered the Kuiper Belt and they went on a field trip to an observatory. He insisted on everyone coming to his office hours at least once. She also had a history teacher (she is a history major) who won Obamaās teaching award. She took 3 middle eastern history classes, one on the Israel/Palestinian conflict with a professor being quoted in the media during the current war and UCLA protests. She said he was brilliant and has tried to take more of his classes. Sheās had other teachers she vibed with less, but sheās never once told me that she felt they didnāt care about her and her learning.
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Even back in the day, some of my professors did consulting as a side gig (econ) and my then-boyfriendās PhD supervisor (applied math) did too. I donāt think itās uncommon for those who can to supplement their salaries this way?
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Overall, she crossed both schools off her list.
She liked UC Irvine better. Thought the campus and surrounding areas were nicer.
UC San Diego seemed like a big cluster. They gave us directions to some visitor parking lot that we couldnt find and were supposed to take some shuttle far away.
Almost seemed like a factory of students on a coveyor belt.
But the San Diego Zoo was fantastic and the highlight of the trip.
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Love the San Diego Zoo!
San Diego and Irvine are both amazing.
SNA is one of my favorite airports in the country.
SAN airport is surprisngly run down and the rental car situation is kind of a mess. But the weather in San Diego cant be beat.
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For sure. I went to SDSU in the 1990s and stuck around SD for a few years before my career took me elsewhere. I love getting to go back there every so often for the beach, gaslamp quarter, balboa park, old town and a huge margarita and some touristy Mexican food. Such a fun town.
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Yes, that is exactly what I remember about my professors at Stanford. Consulting and research were their priorities. One guy was particularly low effort and just read out of the textbook he wroteā¦ some of my best teachers were actually grad studentsā¦ and of course I had some good professors too. But I think these priorities are probably true for professors at all research universities. These schools are known as research universities for a reason.
My S23 at UCB has had mostly great professors so far, even though many of them clearly have research as a first priority (and it is the priority of the institution). My sense is that all the UCs do have tons of resourcesā¦ but it is up to the students to figure out how to seek out and take advantage of these resources.
Yes, yes, yes. I see that at UCB also. And it was one of the reasons we chose to send our kids to a big public HS as well. It really helped them grow up!
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Re: college professorsā priorities -
Just wanted to give a shout out to professors at LACs, where teaching tends to be a big big priority.
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D26 definitely leaning towards a small/mid size private school.
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100% agree that research is professors top priority at a lot of research universities, and certainly at the UCs. Teaching is an obligation, but they get rewarded for research. And even within teaching, many prefer to teach only grad students if they can. I read somewhere that a disproportionate number of college/university professors send their kids to LACs for undergrad, and I think this is part of the reason why. They know that undergrad teaching is not the focus at large research universities.
The consulting piece likely varies significantly by field. While it may be a high priority in some, it is less common in others. I wouldnāt put that as a universal high priority of research university professors.
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Hee, nice! Definitely listening, LOL.
D26 got their āWomen in STEMā scholarship awarded this past spring ā they have a handful of these that they give out to juniors whose school nominates them. She asked her guidance counselor to do that, and since no one else at her school is interested in RIT or asked about it, they did that for her, and she got it. It comes with an application fee waiver if I remember correctly! 
RIT is going to be in our area to conduct admissions interviews (totally optional) soon, but D26 canāt make any of the times because they conflict with marching band. (Have often been tempted to buy her a T-shirt that says, āI canāt, I have bandā LOL)
But we saw that signing up for a virtual interview was possible, so weāre debating whether or not to do that.
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That is so awesome that they got that scholarship!
Unfortunately, D26 did not start considering this school until more recently- it was part of the forced (by me) exercise of looking outward for other potential fits. Looking at her high school school stats- only 1-2 students apply to RIT each year- so there would have been a great chance the counselor would have tried to put her in. I am going to mention this to her counselor anyways in hope that any future students could benefit!!!
She is looking to see if she qualifies as an NTID supported student- that would mean an extreme tuition discount! She falls into a grey area for the criteria so it is not obvious if she will qualify or not. Currently waiting for her audiologist to finish the needed report so she can send it off and see.
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