OT - Do you have a child in the double cohort?

[Tink42]

I was wondering how they are doing. I have a DD in OAC this year. She is doing okay but feeling a lot of stress and so are her friends. What should be one of the best years of their lives is one of stress and uncertainty. She is working part time and doing extra curricular activities but not as much as she used to. Time spent with friends has been cut back to spend more time in the library.

I think it must be even harder on the students in grade 12 who are one year younger and working with a new curriculum.

 

[PoohBWV]

Hi Tink: I actually have two daughters in the double cohort. One in grade twelve and one in OAC. Talk about stress in our house right now. My eldest is trying to get into a program at Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier that last year required low to mid nineties and they have just announced that the requirements will be even higher this year! My younger dd isn't sure what she wants to take at University, and at 16 I can't say that I blame her. I don't want her going away to Toronto at 17 to live at university. She is a talented singer and wants to do something with music/drama. She is considering music therapy at Laurier, drama in education at Windsor and media and IT at Western. She is also thinking about taking a year off.

 

[NancyK]

My son is in grade 12. He really wants to get into Computer Science at Western. This year, the lowest person accepted into the Faculty of Science at Western had 80 percent. Next year it will be a bit higher. We went to a University of Waterloo presentation on Monday night, and Computer Science was mid to high 80s this year. They expect it to be raised by at least 3 percent for next year. It is scary for the kids. My son is planning on applying to at least four (maybe 5) universities. His average is right around the 80 percent mark, so he should get in somewhere - maybe not his first choice, though. The application fees are $80 for the first three choices and $25 for each additional choice. I think it will be worth an extra bit of money to keep his options open.
PoohBWV - my oldest son started at Western this year and he loves everything about it. Mind you, he has the best of both worlds. He lives on campus, but my mom and sisters live in the area, so they are only a phone call away. They have an awesome music programme at Western. And London is a beautiful city (okay - I'm biased because I grew up there).

 

[DSNY FN]

Tell them all to go to Western and yes I am a Western brat went to school there loved it but was way to fond of the social aspect of school. I lived at home though as school was a 10 minute drive from my house back then. Western is bumping up thier requirements for next year and apparently again for the year after and they have also adopted the entrance requirements of Harvard for Business and law school there along with the curriculum. They figure they were slipping in the academic sector and the entrance grades required were way to low so they tightened up the system. My BIL goes to Western in Comp Sci and he is having a tough go of it and he has workied with computers and programming for over 15 years it is getting tougher every year he said.

 

[Tink42]

Yes, the entrance requirements are unbelievable. The thing that bugs me is the schools are saying they would like to see a well rounded student with extra curricular activities etc. but how can kids get those kind of marks and do sports, choir, student council, etc.

My daughter is hoping for Laurier Business. She will need to have about a 90 average. She too will apply to about 5 - 6 schools.

PoohBWV: I can't even imagine what your house is like. I have a DS in Grade 11. He is going to take 5 years to graduate because he has a late birthday and would be 17 going away also.

 

[MaryannF]

Stress, stress and more stress. Even Saturday night has become a homework night. I have a daughter in grade 12. She is at the top of her grade in English and has been on the honour roll every year. She is the editor of the school newspaper, plays water polo, is on the swim team, helps out as a timekeeper at sports events and helps a seniors group at the church for her community service. Three weeks ago she was diagnosed with pneumonia. I think that the cold she had escalated to pneumonia because of stress. We went to the Ontario University Fair and have been looking over the brochures from all the universities. She has come to the conclusion that she cannot afford to go to university outside of Toronto. She is hoping that her grades are good enough to get into U of T or York. Occasionally we joke that if she doesn't get into university she can apply to work at Epcot at the Canada pavillion. PoohBWV, I can't imagine having 2 daughters going through the same thing.

 

[PoohBWV]

Hey Maryann: The Canadian pavillion thing is actually not a joke in our house. My youngest would love to go and work there. Only problem is she won't even be 18 until she is out of school for 6 months.

Saturday night in our house also has become a homework night. What kind of a life is that? I never even thought of doing homework on a Sat. night as a teen. But there is so much for them to do, the only alternative is to stay up way too late during the week. It is definitely worse for my dd in Grade 12. Those kids have really had to do much more and the universities we have talked to have said that they won't take that into consideration when deciding between an OAC and grade 12 student. They are basing on grades only, not on curriculum. Some of the colleges we talked with have said that they are allowing a 10% differential for the kids coming out of grade 12. Why won't the universities do that?

 

[mom_rules]

I totally agree with you guys. I also have a daughter in grade 12-really bright but... how do you balance a part time job, last year in high school, extra school activities, volunteering and community service - then they tell you not to bother applying to the two local (10 minutes away) universities in your city without at least 85 to 90 % average? Major stress in our household.

Now at 17 yrs old wants to apply to the US, Europe or out of province (across the country) university.
I have a problem with letting my 17 yr old live that far away not to mention the expense-no university fund we set up when she was a baby would cover this kind of situation. Who could have predicted this?

 

[minnie56]

My DD is also in OAC and sweating big time!! I also have another DD in Grade 11 and the heat is also being turned up on her!! There certainly is an increased stress level at our house!

The school my daughters attend offered SAT prep courses and testing in anticipation that some students may have to apply out of country to the U.S which I really don't want for my daughter.The one presently in OAC is looking towards Engineering at Waterloo and has also been told the requirements will be higher than last year. She's a great student....but...how high can they go??

Poor Kids!

 

[PoohBWV]

Has anyone been to a university night in your city? We attended one last week. I think it only served to make things less clear for us. We are going to go to Laurier Days at Wilfred Laurier on Thursday of this week. Anyone else going to be there?

 

[Tink42]

PoohBWV: My daughter would love to go to Laurier Day either Thur. or Fri. but she is not sure she can take the day off school. She did go last year but at that time she wasn't sure she wanted Laurier, now she does. I think it would be great for you and DD to attend. I hope the strike does not affect things too much or maybe it will be settled by then.

 

[PoohBWV]

Hi Tink42: I am actually planning on taking both of my dd's. The one in grade 12 is also having a hard time deciding whether she can afford to miss a day of school. I can't believe that it should even be an issue with her teachers. She has a 88 average and this is for her future! My OAC daughter is definitely going. I really hope the strike is settled by then. I don't want a lack of services to cloud by dd's overall impression of the school.

 

[Tink42]

PoohBWV: The strike at WLU is over. They settled late last night and the employees will be back on the job today or tomorrow. This should help with Laurier Days on Thurs. and Fri. Still not sure if DD is going to be able to go.

 

[PoohBWV]

Yay! I'm so glad that strike is settled. Now I am really looking forward to going.

 

[mom_rules]

I also heard the UofW is having their open house this
Saturday and that they are having an College Fair
(25 or so Colleges)at Conestoga College (Doon Campus) at their Rec Complex and open house on Nov 12th((7:00) and 13th.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Dan (OAC) is going to the U of W open house on Saturday. This is where he really would like to go ~ co-op program/Architecture but I think it's going to be difficult for him to get in from the sounds of it. Then next Saturday he's going to the U of WO to their open house ~ he's interested in the Media, Information and Technoculture program. If he can't get into architecture anywhere, his other interest is digital media. He will also be applying to Carlton and Ryerson for architecture.

I was talking to the guidance councellor on Monday about having their applications in tomorrow (Wednesday). She told me this is just to get their names into the computer and they have until the end of February (I think it was) to make any amendments to their applications. Now I'm not sure if Dan should apply to all four of the Universities he's considering or just the 3 that have the architecture programs he's interested in. He may even consider Universities in other provinces. What do you all think? This is all new for me!

 

[NancyK]

Hi Julie,
Last year, my oldest son was interested in Computer Science, but did not want to rule out Engineering. Since it's hard for kids to know exactly what they want to do (and let's face it, they can change their minds several times before the spring) he applied to Computer Science at Waterloo, Western, and Ottawa - and- just to keep his options open, he applied to Engineering at Mac (since most universities will only give you acceptance to one program). By the time May rolled around, he knew he definitely DIDN'T want Engineering, but I'm glad he applied (and paid the extra fee). If I were your son, I would probably apply to all 4 universities and keep the options open (especially with the double cohort). It's an exciting time for the kids but I think I worried more about this whole process than my son did! LOL! Now, my youngest is in grade 12, so we are doing it all over again.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Thanks Nancy! I think I'm worrying more about this than Dan, too! LOL!