Congrats! Having options will be nice when decisions have to be made.... Susie

Things I liked about it - read whole books which ds enjoyed, about 8 essays written for the whole year, easy to use with schedule/guideline, some writing instruction. Essays were worked on after 2 pieces read and the student had a choice which one to write about. I thought that was good because though you may have enjoyed the book, you don't always have something earth shattering to write about it. Sometimes it is nice to just read a book and talk about it. I have continued that option with our literature studies. If you have particular questions - pm me, Susie

SCOOOOOOORE! Great news!

My experience is the both "sides" of the country favor SATs and in the middle more ACT. We are a rarity in middle TN and only taken SAT/SAT2s.

.. What about the fibonacci sequence? Lots of interesting info around on that. OR I am working on an afghan for my mathie senior to take to college in the fall. It is a design based on the "Curve of Pursuit" - chase theory? http://woollythoughts.com/afghans/pursuit.html What course is she taking? That may help with ideas. I am enjoying the brainstorming! haha It is taking my mind off college decisions....

Mobius? Natural occurance in nature, seen in knitting/art, and even used as conveyor belts! haha Would be a blast to photograph ... artsy. Not sure how the 5 related problems and solutions would go?

My son received a ton of postcards and pamplets via snail mail and an equal amount of emails - unbelievable amount of them. You could always tell when the test scores became available...

Out of all of our college trips/inquiries and such of the last 2 years, only one college has given us a full school catalog. The rest had "pamplets" on different aspects of their school such as a particular major/department, honors program, study abroad... and then referred us online for more info.

Admittingly, all apps were done by Aug/Sept. Then he received all acceptances by Oct with a couple of scholarship notices. Second visit trips made looking closer at classes and college life. Then FAFSAs. Now the upcoming trips for honors college interviews and scholarship days and the realization that mid -March, the financial pkgs will finally arrive. Finally, all the cards will be on the table. The stress level is increasing as the final decision is approaching.... both for me- counselor, teacher, and mom, and him- student and beloved son!

Gentle bump up.... I am listening too since ds is heading out in Feb for scholarship/honors days. :bigear:

Creekland's ds - Covenant College, Union University, Calvin College - all acceptances at this point. Susie-Knits ds1 - Rose-Hulman, Valparaiso, U of Evansville, TN Tech - acceptances

My senior is getting snow boots under the tree this year along with some thermals. Rarely needed in the mid-south but I would think a must in mid-IN. (I don't know why I act as if I don't know anything about cold and snowy, I used to live in Chicagoland and in Germany?! But be a senior mom moment! haha) Any other must-haves?

the standard dorm, food, major, TA/prof were... Are scholarship $s given in Freshman year good for all years? Some times there is a number of semesters limit. And would the $s be usuable for study abroad? What is the criteria for keeping the scholarship .. gpa? What is the return rate (retention) of students from freshman year? We felt that was an indication of a "happy" student body. What is the average number of years before graduation? I was surprised at the number of schools where very few students graduate in 4 years. Cost of 5th or even 6th year may even out a lower cost school with expensive school with 4 year guarantee. Number of out of state students ... are students there on the weekend or will the dorms pretty much empty out. This point is important if you are an out of state student and not coming home on the weekends. What is the general vibe of the student body (and profs)? Are they hanging out together studying, talking, interacting? Does your student see himself/herself there amongst them? For us, was there a church of our denomination that was easily assessable to my student? On campus? Within walking? ... Administration - easy to work with, friendly, interested in your student? Best wishes on your student's search. The year passes so quickly (sigh). Susie

Did you guys figure it out? Basically, you are working on one needle with 2 balls on yarn attached. The first ball you will work till you get to the bind off (center of neckline) and then the second ball used in bind off and other side of neckline. Then you work the appropriate ball as you continue working that section. It is a fairly common method of working the top of a sweater/shirt. If it is still clear as mud, pm me and I will try to help. susie

Kudos to the both of you! Yippy for scholarships!:D

Your child's circle will at some point grow bigger than your home, your selections, and such. He is young as you stated "at this stage" not interested in things outside the home. From your response above, it sounds like you are talking with him about why you select or do not select certain things. Not sure what you consider "secular" music - is that classical, bluegrass, jazz, or broadway musicals? haha Any music can be evaluated - modern Christian praise music or even old hymns - does it line up with my beliefs/theology? Doesn't quite, do I still choose to listen to it? Why? (What Christian music is or is not, is a whole other thread, in my book. But definitely not picking a fight about it here.) Does he read books? Does he play games - board or computer or gaming system? Does he spend his own money? Does he pick his own clothes? Does he decide how to wear his hair? Does he ... there are so many things - major and minor- that we decide every day. Perhaps it will involve you becoming more transparent with him on how you are making your decisions about what to watch, eat, do....live. Eventually, the selections available will leave the boundries of your home. What do you want him to measure the world with? Give him those tools. Nan in Mass is so eloquant and thoughtful in her response - who could respond any better?!

Basically my goal is to raise "thinking" kids. When they were little, I expected them to obey because I am the authority. But as they have gotten older, I expect them to know why or why not and even more importantly, how to decide for themselves. Perhaps starting with choice of music. Is xyz an acceptable choice in my music? Look at the lyrics on-line, is that what you want to listen to? Eventually, the decision making will include music, movies, books, on-line possiblities, ..... a world full of decisions. It needs to go beyond "just because my parents said so" at the emerging adult stage. Consider it real life critical thinking skills. I personally have spoken to too many hs kids who just regurgitate their parents' opinions without knowing why or owning this opinion themselves. Yes, it can be "dangerous" to allow your near adult kids to have their own opinions! haha But teach them how to think it thru, judge for themselves, and make choices while you can walk them thru it, and they will be (more) ready for the world. IMHO.

I used it in 9th grade with my oldest several years ago. It was a good match for him at the time and we liked it though we moved to Lightning Lit in the following years. Guess my suggestion would be to look at the volume of reading, do you think she is up for that? If my memory serves me right, the writing was one paper for every 2 works read and ended up to be about 8 literary analysis papers plus a bit of grammar work. For my children when in 8th grade, reading would have been no problem but the issue would have been the quality/quantity of writing especially literary analysis style essays. But as with any curriculum, you can work it they way that would benefit your child. That is a beauty of homeschooling!

My son is also interested in small engineering schools. He attended Rose's summer program and it is a good match all around for him. He would already know the campus, some profs, and some students. Think he would also have a good roommate lined up already. He/we are Lutheran. Valpo offers an interesting "Core" humanities course that looks very interesting along with a small but good engineering program. The campus is bit bigger than the other schools but not quite medium sized. Only negative is the drive for us (We have moved too much to have the southern twang! haha). And U of E is a very similar school to Valpo, slightly smaller, and much closer to us. The England soccer, I mean semester, is of great interest to him too. Though it is not what I would consider a particularly religious school, a LCMS church is directly across the street and they seem very welcoming to the students. He liked several of the profs and thinks that they have good material for explaining their program. The admissions people has been very friendly and attentive to him. Ds has been offered very nice scholarships to UofE and Valpo. Hoping to get good news from Rose too - though they are not known for big scholarships. I am all for debt free - Dave Ramsey is headquartered in the TN town we live in by the way - but we are willing to go low debt for the "right" school. Money will be a factor in the final decision but not the whole deciding factor. We are going back to schools now so that he can attend classes and shadow students. Hopefully, that will help in the decision process. What does your daughter think about Rose and UofE?

but I see that our kids have the same interest and have applied(been admitted) to some of the same schools. My ds has been accepted into Rose, Uof Evansville, Valpo, and TN Tech. I did look at the website for Trine - looks interesting - but for us, Valpo is stretching the length from home mark! haha Good luck, Susie

check with the colleges that she is interested in. They may have different cutoff dates.

Thank you on behalf of my ds. Oddly, the schools he is most interested in were all rolling admission starting in August or non-binding early decision. All the schools also noted that the best money opportunities would go to students who applied early -- so he did in August and Sept. We heard in Oct about admissions and were very surprised with Scholarship letters in the packet. Additionally, those schools also had a note that he will be invited to their Scholarships Day in Jan or Feb where he can compete for more $s. His 1st choice school will not mail financial aid info till March ... a very long wait after having been admitted in early Oct. We are praying it will be equal to the other offers he has already received. But if it is not, he has options. We are now spending some time re-visiting schools so he can attend classes, talk more with profs, etc... Hoping he will be prepared to make the big decision for May 1st.

... no, was definitely my thinking. Most of his facebook friends are people from his summer experience at his 1st choice school. I think it is awkward at best though he hasn't posted about college things on his wall. Guess I was more surprised by the timing after being admitted and offered the scholarship ... not before. Thanks and any further comments are definitely welcome. Susie

Opinions please - Son has applied to 4 colleges, been accepted to all, and received nice scholarship offers to 3(4th one doesn't inform till March). One of the admission counselors (his 3rd choice school) sent a friend request to him on facebook last night. So friend or no friend?

Praying for health for him and peace of mind for you. Susie