<p>16 days everyone, 16 days.</p>
<p>ahhh! but i just have a few questions…</p>
<p>1)i’ve heard about the computer clusters and how one can manage fine with them, but are they really practical with the amount of work needing to be done? or are laptops a better way to go?</p>
<p>thanks :)</p>
<p>There really is not that much work (writing-wise) to be done. Many kids came last year without laptops, etc. and did just fine. Most of your time and efforts will be spent acting/singing/dancing, etc. in the studios and rehearsing in your room or with friends afterhours. You will have to do some reading, but there really is not that much writing. (The number of books you have to buy is deceiving in that way: makes it seem that you will be doing much more book work than you will be doing.)</p>
<p>My S found using the computers at CMU worked for him!</p>
<p>Well, 2 more days until they move in…</p>
<p>Just a shout out to everyone going to Pittsburgh this weekend to HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! You are all going to love the program and the school (except the food!). One word of warning: do NOT forget to check in each evening at the table in the lobby of Morewood Gardens. If you have not checked in by (I think it is) 11 p.m., you will be penalized by having to talk to an administrator and so forth, so it’s better to just sign in every evening earlier than 11, especially if you are just messing around in the dorm. And don’t forget to religiously check the bulletin board in the lobby of Purnell for important missives. Have a great time!</p>
<p>Younguest D is on her way up to Pittsburgh (from Santiago, Chile). I join her in Atlanta (I am in Miami this week on business) tomorrow early in the morning and drop her at CMU on Saturday. </p>
<p>She is looking forward to the experience!</p>
<p>I hope your D loves it as it is supposed to be really great. And boy oh boy, she is coming from really far away! </p>
<p>I noticed something I have in common with you…younger D is in Musical Theater and older D is in Architecture! LOL While this is not the right thread, I see your D is at Syracuse’s BArch program and I just want to say that my older D did the Syracuse in Florence program for Arch (which your D will likely do) and she loved it (but was not a SU student…attended another university). If you ever want to ask me about that, I’m here. She got into Syracuse’s MArch program and we were recently there for a visit but she has opted for another Architecture graduate school. Hope your D loves CMU. I’ve been there too but my D did not do their Pre-College program. Happy travels and good luck to your D!</p>
<p>Just wanted to say that I dropped my D off at CMU on Saturday and it was an exhausting but exhilarating day! I was so impressed by the faculty I met and the acting head of the program. I was sad saying good-bye for six long weeks (I have a feeling it will go much faster for her than for me and my husband!) but so thrilled for her. I spoke with her last night and she sounded busy and happy, has met a ton of friends already and is excited for classes to start today. What an amazing opportunity for these kids. Thanks to all who have had experience with this program and recommended it and answered questions. I will repay the favor next year to people who are considering it. By the way, the dorms are pretty nice, my D and her roommate have their own private bathroom with both a shower and a tub. Paint is peeling a bit, but I’m not complaining–much better than a lot of other college dorm situations!</p>
<p>One more thing. What was the deal with the all the people in the city dressed like Furbies? I kept on getting different stories from cab drivers.</p>
<p>Hmm, I don’t remember people dressed as Furbies last year. There was a gay pride parade going on at one point, but Furbies? No …</p>
<p>I live here in pittsburgh, at work last week someone was talking about there being a “furry” convention here downtown… just did a google search here it is…</p>
<p>[Anthrocon</a> 2008: It’s A Jungle Out There! | “Fur, Fun, And So Much More!”](<a href=“http://www.anthrocon.org/]Anthrocon”>http://www.anthrocon.org/)</p>
<p>whatever floats your boat, I guess…</p>
<p>Thanks, KatiesDad. I checked out the link. The group of “furrys” at our hotel were, unfortunately, uh, kind of in need of a shower. Maybe they were trying to smell like the animals they were pretending to be?</p>
<p>HSN - Dropped our daughter off too. She was excited and couldn’t wait to get there. We were impressed by the teachers as well. I’m just nervous that since she is around so many like minded people she isn’t going to get enough sleep. She was up past 12 last night writing a play with two other kids and up early this morning finishing it so they could use it for an audition for one of the workshops. She couldn’t wait to start class today. It’s hard to even get a short text message from her. So far, so good.</p>
<p>I think this will be such a growing experience for them all. It’s very exciting for them.</p>
<p>HSN & racmom: Ditto!</p>
<p>Your posts were verbatim what I would have said. Down to the dorm room description! Very exciting. Hard to fly back to Portland yesterday, but so happy for D to have this incredible experience.</p>
<p>I think our daughters are roommates!</p>
<p>Sooz, you are right. We corresponded on cc a while back in the Architecture forum when discussing Syracuse’s architecture summer program in Florence. D is just a year away from it. They have added London, so, now she plans to spend the whole year overseas.
I have been reading all I can regarding MT. It is really foreign to me (an engineer, tone deaf to boot and with no dancing skills). I find it fascinating but the competition to get in is daunting.
Thanks for the good wishes.</p>
<p>PDXmom,</p>
<p>Sixth floor, right? The girls got their fridge/microwave combo today. D was pretty tired tonight. Apparently the entire floor stayed until quite late last night.</p>
<p>It was very nice meeting you and your D.</p>
<p>Yes! That’s right 
I remember your posts from before, thinking, “Wow, They’re REALLY coming a long way.” It’s a fun coincidence to have our daughters end up as roommates!</p>
<p>So…my D is having the time of her life, loves her classes, her teachers, th other kids, everthing, but it’s hard to hear stories like this one: yesterday she and her friends (two other girls) decided not to go to the amusement park for July 4. They took a bus to what they thought would be the nearby town area (Oakland?) and ended up on their way to the airport. I guess at some point they told the driver they didn’t want to go to the airport and they were dropped in a “sketchy” part of downtown. They were trying to figure out what to do,( three lost teenage girls in summer dresses, I think you get the picture)and what bus to take that would get them back to CMU when they spotted some boys who they recognized from the APEA program, so they joined up with them and they all managed to find a bus back to campus. It was during the day, and they’re fine, and I’m not really posting because I have a problem with the program, it’s just, wow, this is hard, hearing this kind of story from almost 3,000 miles away. And she’s on the young side, not much over 16, a rising junior. I know this is all part of growing up, but sometimes I wish this program didn’t have quite as much freedom. Anyone else hearing similar stories?</p>
<p>Yes–there is a lot of freedom at CMU during the summer program. As long as the kids check in at the appropriate time, well, they’re on their own!</p>
<p>We live in Pittsburgh, so it was easier for me, knowing that my son could call ME at anytime if he were to find himself in a jam. Honestly, though, I think Pittsburgh is a pretty safe town, and it is unlikely that these kids will find themselves in a neighborhood that is dangerous, especially during the day. They’d have to look for trouble, not stumble into it. Hopefully the kids will heed the advice of the staff and always travel in groups.</p>
<p>There is an area of Pittsburgh called the “Strip District,” and while it might sound suspicious, it isn’t, really. There are bars and restaurants, upscale condos in renovated warehouses, markets, and such, in the Strip. The kids last summer went to an underage dance club called “Club Zoo,” which is in the Strip. While it is not a place that my kids normally frequent, my son had fun there with his CMU friends last summer, and my daughter (who is 15) went there as part of a sweet 16 celebration for one of her friends just a few weeks ago. Both said that there are adult “bouncers,” and that there were no individuals who were causing any trouble at all.</p>
<p>CMU is in-between Oakland (where the U of Pittsburgh is), Shadyside (a bit more up-scale living and shopping), and Squirrel Hill (like Shadyside). The CMU kids will spend time traveling between these areas, to eat, shop, and go to the movies, and they will be just fine in all three.</p>
<p>Just a note: My son did not do the weekend activities offered. He preferred to prepare for the week ahead and to just hang out. While a few out-of-town kids did a few trips early on, for the most part, it seemed that the kids my son hung around with did not do the excursions.</p>