Those are great acceptances already! And Marist isn’t a denial - I am not sure about Marist, but many schools defer a lot of kids to later on accept. I hate that they prolong the waiting though. Hang in there - you son has a great attitude about this stuff!
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That’s a nice way of putting it. His father and I just call it "lazy”.
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Me too
D24 is home for winter break. It’s nice to have her back.
We adopted a new cat on Saturday. Keeping it in a separate room for another week and a half, using Jackson Galaxy’s method of introducing cats to each other (it’s worked really well for us before). D26 said it kind of felt like getting an early Christmas present. 
This cat is a snuggler and mega-biscuit maker.
haven’t done ANY Christmas gift shopping, either in person or online.
D26 won’t need a new laptop for college, at least not that we’re aware of. Not going to get her an Apple pc due to her major…all of those classes use Windows.
Juggling all of the travel costs this academic year has been difficult. Can’t afford yet to buy D24’s spring break plane ticket home. That’s going to be ~$700 round trip. Ouch. So it’s really awesome that D26 likes the in-state option that she’ll get admitted to 1 month from today.
D26 took the ACT on Saturday, said she’s pretty sure she did pretty bad on the math section. Didn’t review any math or do any self-study/test prep beforehand like I’d suggested. So that’ll put the UTulsa presidential scholarship out of the running and, therefore, that school is not affordable and gets crossed off the list. She doesn’t currently have a high enough ACT or SAT score to apply for that scholarship.
That’s ok. She said she prefers U of A over Tulsa. And by attending U of A, she can double major in Intelligence and Cyber Operations like she’d hoped to.
Here’s a list of the Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence colleges → https://www.dni.gov/files/CHCO/documents/CAE/ICCAE-Grant-Receiving-and-Legacy-Institutions-Jan2025.pdf
We haven’t managed yet to put our Christmas tree up, but that’ll probably happen later today. The wreath is on the door at least!
I have a college shopping/packing list. will post some of it later.
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S24’s second set of SHEETS were unopened and unused in May. He said “huh. I wondered why I only had one set of sheets. I sometimes had to take my sheets wet out of the dryer because it was late and I wanted to go to bed but I didn’t have more sheets.” I’m sure everyone here believes me when I say I showed him ALL of his bedding and towels–what he had and where in the (teeny!) dorm room it was stored. So this basically means he did not open one of the big drawers in his dresser the entire year. And this dresser had just two drawers. 
College is for learning all kinds of things. At least he knew how to do his laundry.
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Okay you guys, I think this will work? Here’s hoping it doesn’t display all of my info, LOL.
College packing spreadsheet –
This was edited for my D22 for her junior year when she moved into an apartment, so some items are specific to that – and I probably left off a shower caddy because she didn’t need that. Also, there are clearly some things specific to her, but you get the idea. This does include which items to include in a first-aid kit.
Let me know if you can’t see it.
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yeah although I can usually make a copy of a sheet and this one I can’t. I have to say your username is very accurate.
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This is the only way I could figure out to share it anonymously. 
(But I’m not overly worried about that – if you really want to copy the sheet, I’m happy to message you a link to the actual Google sheet.)
So this is funny- S24 lives in the frat house this year and his roommate moved in first- used up a lot of the available shelving, storage space. So S24 had a hard time unpacking and finding space for stuff. I told him he should bring home a duffel or two at Thanksgiving of stuff he knows he won’t wear/use (kid has easily 60 t-shirts). So he comes home with one of the Ikea type duffels at Thanksgiving and says “this is all stuff I won’t use”. I asked him what was in it and he was like “I have no idea but I never unpacked it so I guess I don’t need it”. 
We open it and it has the most random stuff in it- not even clothing, other than a few shirts. But has like 50 of the wooden hangers I bought for him freshman year, half of which broke from being checked. Then there is this mega shampoo and conditioner combo I am guessing from Costco. I asked him “This is yours”? He says “NO, hm, someone must have thrown their stuff in this bag”. We go one to find body wash- also not his, a contact lens case (he does not wear contacts or glasses)…I was like “Are you sure you did not bring home your roommates bag by accident”? Silence…
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It definitely stung for D26; it’s her first non-acceptance and her reachiest school so now she’s doubting herself again. She’s going to pursue regular decision but in her mind it’s already a rejection. And it makes her that much nervous for the school in her top three that she’s still waiting on- slightly higher acceptance rate, but not by much. I know some people have already received EA acceptances but they seemed to have applied earlier.
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Same - it’s a google doc so I I figured I will ask my kid when she gets home LOL. She will know how to save it.
If D26 chooses FSU which is summer start, I will have to way scale back since we then have to move her out at the end of 6 weeks. Will need to pack more like for summer camp and then the “big” move in Fall. Hearing about the elevator wait times and all that causes me anxiety. Praying for a second floor room LOL. I will likely send husband to do that and I will be the go to the store person or something. I am not cut out for crammed elevators.
Fingers crossed for her on her top three school!
We’re not getting D26 anything college-related for Christmas. We will do all of that in the spring and summer once she makes her decision. I have started my Christmas shopping- S23 isn’t as much fun though because he already bought some clothes as an early gift and his other big present is a ski package that he has to be measured for ahead of time. I have a few surprises for under the tree. D26 has given me a list so her surprise will be which items made the cut
S23 used to FaceTime me every time he did his laundry. I like to think it was an excuse to talk to me 
I think the most useful thing I got him was the first aid kit- his was the go-to room for Band-aids.
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Thank you!!!
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Mine sent me a list in the Notes app complete with direct links, sizes, etc. I have to admit, makes it super easy and I know she will like what she gets.
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D26 uses an app called Giftful. Super easy!!
I mean we can lead the horse to water but we can’t make It drink lol.
I’m pretty sure my S’s ended up in our home last summer but A for mom effort
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I second somebody else’s suggestion above about bringing a hand cart/wheelie thing for college move in day. Learned our lesson with that for D24’s move in and we made sure to have one for move OUT day.
If your kid will be attending college far from home, you can rent a storage unit somewhere near campus for the summer. Store the kid’s things there instead of hauling them all home.
One thing to be careful of re: furniture is there might not be a bunch of extra room for additional furniture.
I also second the suggestion to check w/the college re: items that are not allowed. For example, at UTulsa, you can have a e-scooter in your room but at U of A or D24’s college? No. At D24’s college, e-scooters are allowed on campus, but you can’t have it inside any campus buildings at all. Meanwhile, U of A doesn’t allow them on campus at all whatsoever.
Some particular things on D26’s list are:
- air purifier (she has bad allergies)
- bed shaker alarm clock (she sleeps like the dead)
- bed shelfie + bedside caddie that hangs off the bed (replaces need for bedside table)
- Nightcap drink cover scrunchie thing
- some posters to put up on the wall (not framed)
- a book safe (to hide her passport or other small important things)
- small toolset (D24 has used hers a lot)
- some Command Strip broom holders (for D26 to hang her lightsabers on the wall; I think she’ll need 6, or 2 per lightsaber)
- 1 plate, cup, and bowl
- she also wants a tabletop ice maker (it’s hot in AZ )
- probably 3 of those big rectangular storage bins you can buy from Walmart, Home Depot, etc.
- a rolling 3-tiered cart. Got D24’s at IKEA, but these are available all over the place. D24 uses hers for storing snacks & kitchenware stuff. D24’s dorm doesn’t have a shared set of pots & pans students can check out of the dorm’s front desk, so if you want to cook something for yourself in the communal kitchen, you have to provide your own. So this year, I got D24 a saucepan and that’s come in handy.
- a storage ottoman. Will be used to store extra stuff + use it to get in/out of bed
- a Woozoo fan
- a lap desk for her laptop
- 5x7 rug from Amazon that looks like hyperspace like in Star Wars
- if she goes to U of A and gets into the honors college, am going to get her an IKEA Kallax 2x2 shelving unit (it’ll fit in the honors dorm rooms just fine)
- plus all the other regular dorm-y things like a comforter, sheets, etc.
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Okay, talk about a school not reading the room, LOL.
Miami of Ohio EA decisions are being released today “by 6 p.m. EST.”
Meanwhile, the school just sent a message through SCOIR to both my D26 and me, so we got emails notifying us of this fact – but it was just a marketing email about their blog! Are they kidding me with the timing of this?
Here’s what it said –
Miami U, Miami University’s official blog, is serving up stories, tips, and insider info for future students and their families.
Search by themes like First Year, Advice, Miami 101 and more to find exactly what you’re looking for. Recent articles include:
-
How to be Considered for Scholarships at Miami University
-
Applying to Miami: Why Showing Your Love Matters
-
From Mascot to Management: A Miami Graduate’s Path to JPMorganChase
-
Love, Honor, and Traditions: The Traditions To Know at Miami
-
From Miami to the Cavs: Bailey Mincer’s Path to Art Director
Want more? Listen to our podcast, Major Insight, featuring real students sharing real stories about finding their place and purpose on campus.
Whether you prefer to read or listen, Miami has the inside scoop for you and your student!
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