<p>I mourned the “schools not selected” too! They were all so great, I still don’t know how he chose just one–but he’s happy there–all that matters in the end!</p>
<p>lindz-- glad your son was able to express his concerns. My son is bottling those up and trying to sleep thru the decision-making process, hoping to wake up on Saturday AM (the day we’ve told him the check must be written) with a decision made by osmosis. </p>
<p>I know he will be fine at either school; my big worry is that because one is less expensive than the other, he will choose that one not because it has what he wants but because he feels it’s the school he “should” choose. Then he will enter with a bad attitude and the gut-level knowledge that it wasn’t what he really wanted to do. </p>
<p>In two years, on the other hand, D2 will definitely base his choice on cost because he is a pragmatist by nature so for him the opposite will be true-- he wouldn’t be happy at one college knowing he could have gone to just as good a school for less money. He keeps trying to tell his big brother this, and perhaps that is where some of the “should” stuff is coming from. They are very close, not just in grade (2 years) but really are each other’s best friends.</p>
<p>Now, taking more orders for the morning cafe, I’ve got croissants both plan and au chocolat, strong tea, and my DH is making whole wheat waffles and strawberries in the kitchen. I’ll save some for the later sleepers.</p>
<p>acme–so nice to hear your kids are best friends–kudos to you and them–</p>
<p>my s same as your d2-practical and I am concerned he’s choosing largely on that and may not be best match, however as we talk, (and I obsess) I truly realize that each school will have it’s unique pros and cons and it is often an illusion that one school is the perfect match–“at school A the classes are small and personal but conservative, while school B has more liberal campus but more competitive” kind of choosing which pros are most important while realizing you will also be dealing with certain cons too" like jobs, relationships, life…good luck as your son moves toward his decision Saturday–</p>
<p>I must skip the croissants today–all this virtual food has taken its toll</p>
<p>Good morning, all!</p>
<p>Congrats, Defying!</p>
<p>my-3, I read this: “Final decision for our last one, and he’s headed to the land of Oz.” and thought, “He’s going to college in Australia?! Wow!” I’m barely into my first cuppa joe, and it shows. I had to read “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk KU!” about five times before I finally got it!</p>
<p>lindz, much of the food I mention isn’t virtual, at least here… and yeah, I should lay off some of it, indeed, and might, as soon as I’m done with my muffin. :D</p>
<p>acme, a croissant sounds great! Alas, I read your gracious offer moments too late!</p>
<p>mountains, thanks for leaving me a slice of cake. 
IIRC, Skidmore’s cafeteria is amazing. Unless I have it mixed up with another college’s, which is perfectly possible.</p>
<p>I have <em>got</em> to finish my coffee…!</p>
<p>Well, shucks: I wanted my-3-sons’ S to go to that “other” midwestern chool so we could meet each other after PMing and posting about the choice. And j-n-s-q’s D chose Smith over my alma mater, which I guess is okay. And then there is oregonianmom, who has been a great online companion as our sons pursued journalism school options and generally acted like, well, teenagers (procrastination here, indecision on the other coast). In the end they chose different schools, with no consideration for their mothers’ social lives (to borrow what my-3 wrote to me in a PM). </p>
<p>A toast to CC from me, too (a good, strong cup of coffee in my Outer Banks mug, a souvenir of happy family vacations). My vigil was over quite a few months ago, so I haven’t prolonged the agony by hanging out on this thread. I can’t wait for the “they’re gone–now what?” thread. Or maybe the “I can’t wait 'til they’re gone because they’re getting really annoying” thread?</p>
<p>owlice I always have an extra or three on hand.
Geezermom, despite your vigil being over, we welcome your input from life on the other side, where we’ll all be in just a few days, one way or another. Next we’ll be holding hands over dorm selections, roommate worries, etc.
This keeps us from hovering over our kids-- they think we’re cool–because we can come here and “virtually” wring our hands, cry, wail, and even whine if need be.</p>
<p>I brought some Mandarin orange cheesecake. Try it.</p>
<p>Dorm selection: don’t fall for that dorm size sheet deal, chances are you only need regular twin sheets. Maybe it depends on if you are sending a son or daughter and when they move in, keep in mind, dorm sheets will be reduced in late August.</p>
<p>cottonwood513, any other words of practical advice like this for those of us who are sending our first child off to college this fall?</p>
<p>I started reading CC about a year ago, but only started posting a couple of weeks ago.</p>
<p>One of the helpful threads I read was “Is the summer before college the worst?” reminded me to not take my eighteen year old’s distancing personally. In fact, I didn’t have to read the thread, just seeing it on the board, you feel better knowing we’re all going through this.</p>
<p>Your lovable child will come back and communicate with you again. In our case, he started talking to me again a week or two after being home for Christmas break.</p>
<p>DS’s comment to DH when he got off the red-eye at 6:17 this morning: “I’d be happy at any of the three schools. The question is where I’ll be most fulfilled.”</p>
<p>OK, so this is probably going through the weekend. And it looks like we night have three on the table again, not two. And I have to eat matzah during all of this, too. Sure feels like we’re wandering through the desert for forty years… ;)</p>
<p>Acme, my son has two roommates. They seem to get along swimmingly.</p>
<p>I think you will see a “last year’s shopping thread” here.</p>
<p>I was disappointed once he moved into dorm, there wasn’t extra space at home.</p>
<p>Pack light, but take the hammer, duck tape, thermometer, LED flashlight.</p>
<p>Okay, since you asked, observations from the “other side”: My S has a dorm, a dorm room, a roommate, a living/learning community, and quite a few Facebook groups, including his class of 2012, his dorm, his floor in the dorm, maybe even his wing, for all I know. The roommate is bringing the fridge and he’s bringing the microwave. (I think this is the extent of male dorm room decorating.) He’s hit the ground running. In his case, the Facebook stuff is increasing his comfort level, though I imagine it could have the opposite effect for some kids. It’s a little much for me!</p>
<p>And the purchases have begun. I asked him to make a list of everything he will need and the cost so that we can spread the expenses out over the next four months. We have a whiteboard in the kitchen that temporarily contains the college list instead of the grocery list. And oh, the technology. Be prepared for the technology, especially if your child is a self-professed geek like mine. We’ve gotten the computer already using his student discount. Other stuff will be a graduation present.</p>
<p>My goal for myself during this phase is to keep my mouth shut, especially about course selection, which has already begun. I’ve just offered one piece of advice: Balance reading-intensive courses with others so you won’t be swamped your first semester. But I’m trying to keep quiet on things I would LIKE him to take, because it’s his choice–and it’s so much fun. I remember opening my college catalogue back in the day and feeling like a kid in a candy store.</p>
<p>Writing this makes me realize how delightful it is to see him taking on adult-like qualities. Maybe the parting won’t be so bad after all.</p>
<p>Countingdown: Oh my goodness–this sounds like agony!</p>
<p>Countingdown-- I feel for you and yet I also chuckled that we are all like the wanderers in the desert, except our “leaders”, our kids are as clueless as we are!</p>
<p>Geezermom, you have just given me my next lifeline-- instead of obsessing about the decision, I must be prepared with a whiteboard and an expense list and think about the purchases, how we’ll finance them, etc. A laptop is first on the list-- all else comes after that expense is handled…</p>
<p>One thing we’re doing this week, now that my S has made his decision, is figuring out which AP exams he is going to take. We’ve paid for all of them, but it seems that probably only one will do him any good (i.e. course credit or placement) next year. Fortunately, that’s the only course in which the teacher requires the students to take the AP exam. We can get part of the money back for any exams he doesn’t take.</p>
<p>Then we’ll start worrying about purchases. I remember from my D’s experience two years ago that it’s not so simple as just deciding to buy a laptop. There are lots of options and variations to research.</p>
<p>I think I’ll get a second job to avoid having a cardiac arrest and let H take over.</p>
<p>New developments, mountains? It sounded like your S was making progress towards a decision yesterday.</p>
<p>Hi all! I’m in for an afternoon cup of tea, and thanks for the croissant, almond, of course. Then I breeze out to teach again. Four colleges courses today because of weird Passover juggling at one of my schools.</p>
<p>OMG: That’s a lot of teaching.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m always obsessing about college, my job!</p>
<p>I recommend the nicest comforter you can afford. Then it lasts all four years. This is especially true for D’s of course.</p>
<p>And somebody’s S turned into a D! on the posts. Haha.</p>
<p>My D is going to be a senior. She wanted to get cheaper comforter (thank goodness she hated it or I’d be worried about her, some aweful faux sixties mod horror) to be a good girl. I insisted on the Liz Clairborne very lovely and subtle, but still exciting comforter in very subtle squares of orange/pink and really gorgeous pink sheets with a purple throw and the Indian palette made a great dorm room going on her fourth year. The extra $50.00 was well worth it.</p>
<p>S picked out aweful bed in a bad, so reasonable, but so ugly and insisted it was good enough. But I took it back for Ralph Lauren navy with white stripes. S had said, “too nautical” but I knew he meant too pricey, and since he has a single made a wonderful backdrop for the fabulous posters he put up, including Chagall’s blue violinist. And he has said thank you because unlike at home, people actually visit his room!</p>
<p>CountingDown: Your son is a guru and a math genius! And all that wandering! Dayenu! So no decision yet?</p>
<p>Everyone else, yes, things are moving along. My S just said, “I love it so much here, I can’t believe it’s almost 1/4 over! That makes me sad.”</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with my son who is making a visit now. The schedule of the first school’s visiting program was such that he didn’t get to attend any classes in his area of interest which is very unfortunate. Today he’s gone to a couple of classes which he really enjoyed, and an academic and activities fair. He said he will probably try to go to at least one more class tonight and hit some extracurricular events. The classes are the big thing for him. He figures there will be plenty to do wherever he goes. So far, the verdict is the first school had better food and the second better dorm rooms. As far as food goes, he says the second school may help him not pack on the Freshman 15! He leans toward the second at this point, but realizes it is because he got to go to classes. He’s not going to decide till the last moment. He says he wants plenty of time to think things over, and may make some phone calls for more info once he gets home.</p>
<p>These careful sons are a foreign species to me. My S looked at no catalogues, attended no classes and met no students. </p>
<p>He just knew, according to him.</p>
<p>I don’t know how.</p>
<p>Mythmom-- your S sounds like mine.
2blue-- you are probably waiting anxiously for each call with the up-to-the-minute details and the barometer reading on the “vibe”. I was, when my S and H went without me!</p>
<p>5 PM EST- time to switch from tea to wine, anyone?</p>