Parents of the Class of 2019

[Eureka]

I like the explanation Brown gives on their admission page...makes it harder to swallow if DD doesn't get into several of the schools on her list. They are looking to create a class with different characteristics known of course, only to them. So if you don't have the hook they want, it's not that you're not good enough, it's that they wanted a purple llama that crochets and you're a pink walrus that plays the clarinet (ridiculous examples but I don't want to offend anyone).



This is my thin thread of hope...DD can write and hopefully will sell herself.

And on our can't be in two places at once frustration..DD took the online test for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament and made it to the live try out phase...which will be held when she is in Spain. Drat!!! Seventeen years ago I had the same experience-invited to the live try out but couldn't due to a military obligation. Not sure when we'll learn we're destined to watch, not play

I guess that tells us what we needed to know...DS took the teen tournament test too and has heard nothing. Sorry for your DD’s conflict, what a bummer.

DS is taking AP Bio, Calc BC and World History tests. He opted out of the AP physics test. Normally we say plan to take them all but he is struggling in that class so no point. Many of his teachers have been having study sessions on Saturdays and after school. He gets to them when he can, but we are kind of in the mindset of, if he hasn’t learned it by now...he’s not going to know it. Last year he took APES and Calc AB and didn’t do as well as he had hoped but it was not for lack of studying. He said his APES teacher didn’t teach them all they needed to know for the test, which was disappointing. The entire class felt that way so I know it wasn’t DS.

 

[KristiMc]

Prom night. My son and his girlfriend
.

 

[StephMK]

Kristi-what a great looking couple! Hope they have fun!

I am trying get through the end of the teaching year, DS’s lax season, plan out the college visits this summer for DS, as well as all of DD’s senior year last events. It is a bit much to have a graduating and rising senior back to back!

Most of the schools DS wants to see are within a few hours of my brother in Philly. I can’t wait to see what he thinks but not looking forward to all the driving.

DS scored slightly lower on his second ACT attempt so he’s going to use his first test and is done with that part! AP Calc, APUSH, and Lang tests in the next two weeks.

I love reading about everyone’s accomplishments and plans! It is such a busy but exciting time!

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Boston is a great city, and free is awesome. What are the pros and cons of each?

Yes, Boston is full of college students all year long. I went to college in the suburbs of Boston and loved it.

That's awesome! DD applied for one of the internships at MIT in the Biological Engineering track, but hasn't heard, so I'm thinking that it was a no. However, in good news, she and her team got 1st in the state JAS competition (Junior Academy of Science if you're wondering). It's actually for Colorado and Wyoming, so I guess it would be 2 states! They were the 3rd place project overall, but 1st in the Plant Science division! She's been invited to the national competition in DC!

Still no college visits, she's so busy with 3 AP tests coming up (AP Lang, APUSH, and APES) plus her biotech research class and the presentations for it and the state JAS that she barely has time to turn around! They'll be done with school by 5/25, so the tests and finals are pretty much sucking up all of her time. Then she'll be off to Thailand for a week so we'll basically have the last 3 weeks of June to squeeze in some visits.

Hi all--things got really crazy around here this week and I haven't had time for the Disboards. There were no cons to either program (other than having to cancel our summer vacation if she chose the UT Southwestern STARS summer research program and loosing already paid for airfare), and both gave something she really needed for college or for making decisions about college majors (WTP @MIT teaches a coding language that will be helpful for her major. At STARS she is matched with a research professor who has the same major she thinks she wants to do and she thinks she wants to focus on research as a career so this will help her figure out if this is really what she wants to do). She ended up choosing the STARS program. I truly think this was the hardest decision she has had to make so far in her life. I would have had a really hard time saying no to MIT and a month in Boston, and she showed a lot of maturity in looking down the road to what would be informative for her future. Both are incredible opportunities and such an honor to be chosen.

ColoradoDisneyFreak congrats to your DD for JAS!! That is really exciting.

Also, I completely agree--DD is so insanely busy with studying for AP tests, finishing up dual credit classes and research papers and projects, college tours have gone on the back burner. We did go to a Rice/Columbia/Cornell/Brown/UChicago 5 in one spot presentation last Thursday. And she came away with a new college "on the list" after making a connection with one of the admissions reps. I was hoping we were in the weeding down stage. lol

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Me I'm ready for the stress of Jr year to be over. I don't remember it being this hard back in the dinosaur days.

I completely agree with your statement!!!! Just reading what everyone's kids are doing makes my head spin!! My kiddo has been in her room finishing a dual credit online class and finishing a paper ALL day today. It does not seem she will have any break or down time between now and the last day of school (May 31st).

 

[bjscheel]

Our schedule is winding down just a bit, as far as homework at least. AP Lit just has the test left, and College Algebra will be done soon too. She didn't have anything to do on Saturday for once and she didn't know what to do with herself.

We do have 4 soccer games this week. I hope DD gets along okay. Last Tuesday night we think she hyperextended her big toeand wasn't bearing weight on it after the game. Wednesday she walked gingerly and sat out of practice. Fortunately Thursday was stormy, no game or practice, and Friday was only 1/2 hour practice for her. She's been walking normally since Thursday and we got her new cleats that hopefully will keep her toes more stable. There's only varsity tonight so it will be a shorter night to ease back in.

In discussing this weekend where she might want to apply to avoid going back to work at the ice cream shop, she actually ended up inquiring with our church camp 3 hours away. Her cousin is working there all summer starting next week, but DD would have to wait until mid-June to start and would need a week off for our vacation, and our family camp up there. Anxious to see what they say about working just part of the summer. I would miss having her around home, but if she's going to be away, that would be the one place she would be very comfortable being at.

 

[soccerdad72]

AP Comp Sci is this week (I think) and then AP Calc AB next - those are the two that our son is taking this year. He's still not sure exactly what his finals week will be like - many of his classes will be pretty thin in a couple weeks as seniors start wrapping up their classes.

Just booked tours at Miami OH and Dayton for the Friday before Memorial Day - those are probably the last two Ohio schools he's planning on visiting. This summer, we're hoping to get to two or three more (Pitt, Va Tech and maybe RIT).

 

[design_mom]

My son has AP Psych today, then AP Lit later this week, and AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics next week. I think all four of those tests count as "finals" in their classes, so he's looking forward to his year winding down soon.

@soccerdad72 -- We were just at Miami OH on Friday. (My sister is a graduate.) I think it's on my son's short list.

 

[soccerdad72]

@soccerdad72 -- We were just at Miami OH on Friday. (My sister is a graduate.) I think it's on my son's short list.

My wife and I are both curious how he'll like the urban setting. I've never been there - my wife visited when she was in HS, but it didn't make her list because it was too in the middle of nowhere for her tastes (and she didn't envision herself getting involved with Greek life - and that seemed to dominate the campus, in her opinion).

He seemed to really like U Cincy, so I think he's maybe looking more at an urban campus, but we'll see.

 

[design_mom]

My wife and I are both curious how he'll like the urban setting. I've never been there - my wife visited when she was in HS, but it didn't make her list because it was too in the middle of nowhere for her tastes (and she didn't envision herself getting involved with Greek life - and that seemed to dominate the campus, in her opinion).

He seemed to really like U Cincy, so I think he's maybe looking more at an urban campus, but we'll see.

I think that's my son's question too. Will it be *too* rural? It really is kind of the middle of nowhere and he's not interested in joining a fraternity. My sister is a graduate, wasn't in Greek life, and had a great experience. When we went down on Friday we were able to meet up with a neighbor's son. He is also not involved in greek life (nor was our official tour guide) and they both said there's plenty of other stuff to do if you're willing to get involved.

My son has Cincinnati on his list, too... as well as Ohio State main campus (which is close to home). We did the main university tour at Ohio State in March, but we're going back there next Friday for a meeting with the school he's interested in.

My sister was trying to get my son to divulge which way he's leaning and he just kept saying "he didn't know. They're all nice." My sister was incredulous, "They're all so different. How can you like all of them the same!?" I'm not sure it's "the same" so much as they all have their pros/cons. You have to figure out which pros/cons are the most important to you.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our schedule is winding down just a bit, as far as homework at least. AP Lit just has the test left, and College Algebra will be done soon too. She didn't have anything to do on Saturday for once and she didn't know what to do with herself.

We do have 4 soccer games this week. I hope DD gets along okay. Last Tuesday night we think she hyperextended her big toeand wasn't bearing weight on it after the game. Wednesday she walked gingerly and sat out of practice. Fortunately Thursday was stormy, no game or practice, and Friday was only 1/2 hour practice for her. She's been walking normally since Thursday and we got her new cleats that hopefully will keep her toes more stable. There's only varsity tonight so it will be a shorter night to ease back in.

In discussing this weekend where she might want to apply to avoid going back to work at the ice cream shop, she actually ended up inquiring with our church camp 3 hours away. Her cousin is working there all summer starting next week, but DD would have to wait until mid-June to start and would need a week off for our vacation, and our family camp up there. Anxious to see what they say about working just part of the summer. I would miss having her around home, but if she's going to be away, that would be the one place she would be very comfortable being at.

Ds15 has been complaining about his big toe hurting, for weeks, he runs track 6 days a week and plays on 2 soccer teams. Finally I brought him to the doctor, it’s fractured. He can still run and play soccer, it’s just going to hurt, and he has a high pain tolerance.

 

[tink1970]

@soccerdad72 -- We were just at Miami OH on Friday. (My sister is a graduate.) I think it's on my son's short list.

My SIL works in their alumni office. I've been to the campus to visit her and it's beautiful...of course I'm not a teenage boy

 

[mjkacmom]

UDEL is now at the top of her list after visiting a grad school program. Some of the others she’s visited have a 3 year undergrad/3 year graduate program for PT, UDEL has 4 year undergrad in anything, then a 2 1/2 year accelerated doctors program. But, they only accept 60 students, last year 900 applied. Great facilities, working physical therapy facility, hugs cadaver lab...

It’s going to come down to $.

 

[design_mom]

My SIL works in their alumni office. I've been to the campus to visit her and it's beautiful...of course I'm not a teenage boy

Yes. They do have a beautiful campus. My son and I laughed about it though. When we toured Ohio State, everything was "Our legendary football team..." and "O-H! I-O!" and "I'm sure you know about our legendary football team... O-H!" Then we went to Miami and it was "our beautiful campus..." "Ranked most beautiful campus..." "Robert Frost called it 'the most beautiful campus that ever there was'...

I guess they each have their thing, huh? ;-)

 

[tink1970]

Robert Frost called it 'the most beautiful campus that ever there was'...

Well, it's a selling point I guess.

I will be happy when the indecision/touring/applying/decision making time is over but wow, in a year it's going to be over. If senior year speeds by like junior year has been, it will be here before I know it.

AP tests this week-APUSH and Lit/Comp; IB Bio next Mon/Tues then finals May 21, 22, 23. School is out here May 24th!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Well, it's a selling point I guess.

I will be happy when the indecision/touring/applying/decision making time is over but wow, in a year it's going to be over. If senior year speeds by like junior year has been, it will be here before I know it.

AP tests this week-APUSH and Lit/Comp; IB Bio next Mon/Tues then finals May 21, 22, 23. School is out here May 24th!

We're out of school the same week, we've got APUSH and AP Lang this week, APES next week and finals the week after. They did already take their APES final and she got a good grade on it, so hopefully the actual test won't be too bad.

Has anyone looked into Texas A&M? They've got a program that DD is interested in, and my Dad is a graduate from a LONG time ago, but the school has gotten so big, I don't know if it would be DD's style. Plus there's the whole out of state cost. I'm really hoping that DD being a girl in STEM will also be an advantage for her in applying for schools. Narrow down the pool a bit at least.

 

[tink1970]

Has anyone looked into Texas A&M? They've got a program that DD is interested in, and my Dad is a graduate from a LONG time ago, but the school has gotten so big, I don't know if it would be DD's style.

Funny you should ask, I attended undergrad and med school there (class of '92 and '95-skipped my senior year).

It IS large but was even when I attended-around 40,000 or so then and I think not too much larger now (undergrads). Basically like a city, where you live (north side or south side dorms or off campus) determines a lot, as well as your extra curricular activities. It's a great engineering and ag school; has great traditions, out of state tuition is hard to swallow (if your DD might be a national merit they do allow in state tuition to out of state students with that...or have historically). I wish my DD were into STEM or I'd really want her to consider it although she isn't much for large schools. Attending Fish Camp prior to starting your freshman year and living on campus really helps overcome the size (I say this although in typical Aggie fashion I didn't attend fish camp AND lived off campus my freshman year then on campus for my second and third).

Also, if she's accepted into the Honors Program https://honorsprograms.tamu.edu then she'll be in a smaller cohort...plus they have honors housing...AND the classes are smaller. My Honors Poly Sci professor wrote one of my letters of recommendation for med school and apparently that was a big factor in my acceptance.

I loved my time in Aggieland and if she's into the sciences would recommend a tour-especially during football season. If you have any other questions please message me. Gig 'em!

 

[mom2rtk]

Last day of school here is 5/25. We're definitely on the down side, but still a number of big finals left to go.

We made our first official campus visit yesterday, to Mizzou. She was convinced before visiting that it's where she would go, and she's even more convinced now. It's going to be hard to get her to even put other options on the table.

Prom was Saturday night. She had more fun bowling after than at the dance itself, but she said it "didn't suck". So a decent evening.

Prom 2018 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[laughinplace199]

Beautiful!

 

[Colleen27]

Well, we survived prom weekend. It was crazy - the juniors plan and decorate for prom, and they couldn't get into the venue until after 2:30 because of a baby shower there that morning, so we were there at 3 to decorate and then rushing around for her to get ready before the 6pm event... not NEARLY enough time, considering that the venue was about 45 minutes from home! I somehow managed not to get ANY pictures of her on her own, only with her date and with friends, so I faded her date out of this one to share.



We've got one AP test down - gov., which DD thought she did well on - and one more to go. Graduation is this weekend and the reception after the graduation mass is another thing that the junior class/junior parents handle, and we're spending Saturday on her senior service project (a parish vegetable garden to supply the food bank with fresh produce), so it'll be another busy weekend. But DD is ready for this end-of-year stuff - with the tests over, the AP classes turn to college application/essay prep and study hall, so her workload for the last couple weeks will be a lot lighter than it has been all year.

Is anyone else thinking about senior pictures already? DD wanted to do hers at the county fair since 4H has been such a big part of her life, but since she's going to miss it for Japan we're thinking about plan B. Most of the kids seem to do theirs over the summer or early fall, and with her gone for all of June & July she kind of wants to at least have an ideal of what we're doing about pictures before she leaves. The school is super-flexible. Some parents submit snapshots, some spend thousands on professional shoots - the only guideline is two photos of the student with no other people in the frame, one can be candid/creative and the other has to be a posed headshot, of a certain resolution that I'm pretty sure even my phone can achieve, and I'm a fairly good photographer with semi-professional equipment, so I'm game for her idea that I should do the shoot myself. But I'm idea-less for where and when! The whole thing a far cry from when I was in school and families had to use the photo studio the school selected.