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idnib

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Posts posted by idnib

  1. DS and a friend got a room together for next year in the sophomore housing sign up. The actually started chatting last summer when they met on discord and did a Dungeons and Dragons campaign together.

    Still waiting to hear about what he's doing this summer; hopefully we will know in the next couple of weeks. He's done with finals in a little over 5 weeks so he's definitely cutting summer plans fine but it's out of his control as he waits to hear about possible research opportunities.

    • Like 4
  2. We have someone do them. We started when we had complicated tax situations and although things are simpler now we still go there. It's good for us to not stress about it and we go to dinner afterwards as a treat. We like that they scan everything and save it so we always have copies of documents handy, and not just tax-related ones.

    That said, our tax person is in his late 60s, and when he retires we will likely do them ourselves rather than move our business to his younger business partner. We've been going to him since the 1990s; I'm guessing the DIY software options have improved since then.

  3. 7 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

    Anyone’s freshman have solid summer plans? Mine will spend a week at the beach with her fellowship group, then work at camp for most of the summer. Home about 3 weeks. 

    No solid summer plans here. DS is applying for various research positions but no decisions until April. We may have to scramble for summer housing, depending.

    For next year, course registration is April 8.

    Fall housing sign-ups are coming soon too, and he and his friends have banded together by creating housing groups so one person can grab suites for the whole group. There's a lottery for when you get to choose your housing, and whoever in the group gets the earliest date will be the person choosing for everyone. They require sophomores to live on campus so I know he will get housing, but I know it means a lot to him to get to live with friends so fingers crossed. The control freak in me was definitely more comfortable last year when I was there as he chose housing, as opposed to whoever in his friend group gets the earliest access by lottery. I'll be glad when it's done.

    ETA: I can't believe there are only 8 weeks left for the first year. It went slowly but also quickly?!

    • Like 3
  4. I also don't have experience with those classes, but we've been with Lukeion for 7 or 8 years, starting with the pre-language classes and summer workshops and moving into Attic Greek and Latin.

    I agree with purpleowl that they are very well-organized and strict about deadlines. I like how they encourage students to plan ahead, and even give guidelines for things such as writing a proper email to the teachers directly instead of having parents do it. While they are strict about timing, they are never harsh nor sarcastic. The teachers are supportive, the work is rigorous, and the Barrs themselves are responsive. They also send out emails ("Peri's Points") that keep everyone informed about what's going on, but they also use those newsletters to do things like encourage students to try difficult things, let go of perfectionism, and work hard.

    • Like 2
  5. On 11/28/2023 at 12:02 PM, Roadrunner said:

    I keep wondering how a CA kid finding Cleveland. Is he happy with Case? Financials don’t work out for us,  but DS2 is thinking he can get more money through music. Just curious what the atmosphere is like at Case. 

     

    He's really happy with Case. It's not for everyone, but I think he's specifically the kind of kid it's for. He really enjoys the classes and there's a fair amount of hand holding and reminding as far as administration stuff, which is not his strong suit. He is also not a person who cares much about things like school spirit, sports, etc so while some kids miss it compared to say OH State, he does not. (A lot of kids are local-ish to Case, and so I think they tend to make that comparison more than he does.) He loves the maker space and how welcoming the clubs are. He's not a super social person and prefers to have a few close friends and he found a group fairly quickly, which was nice. The dorms are not that fancy compared to more modern dorms but he's not there much so it doesn't bother him. He hasn't had much time to explore off campus, although he did make a few trips here and there.

    He also likes that you don't apply to a specific major and he has lots of options, like a 3-2 program, double majors (which are encouraged), and strong possibilities for doing research. It's definitely a research-heavy school, I think the stat is 80+% of undergrads do some research.

    All in all, he feels he's where he belongs and is very happy. I agree the financials are steep, even with merit aid.

    • Like 4
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  6. 1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

    Make sure he has those rideshare apps installed. Once I was on my way to SFO to meet my husband and Caltrain had to stop because of a car on the tracks. People in a rush had to Uber/Lyft or take a cab. Its rare but safer to be prepared. My DS18 is used to SFO craziness so we are used to being 3hrs early even for domestic flights. Ironically, I have more trust in the speed of SFO’s international terminal customs than their domestic terminal customs.

    Good idea!

    • Like 1
  7. 16 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

    Mine needs to negotiate alone his way to the airport from campus. I just hope I see him on Wednesday night. 
     

    He easily got into every class he wanted for next quarter. So far 🤞

    DS is also negotiating his way to the airport by train. Luckily he train comes in at one of the airport levels.  He's not coming home, he's heading to his uncle's house, which is closer and least doesn't involve a transfer on a busy travel day. I'm stressed about it. He's flown alone, but we've always taken advantage of homeschooling to avoid busy travel times. He sounds a bit doubtful when i emphasize how much extra time he needs at the airport. He's also never gotten to the airport alone, he's always been dropped off. I'll be relieved when he arrives at the other end.

    • Like 4
  8. 4 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

    Had a bit of a homeschool mom win with my freshman this week. No one else would understand this irl but I knew you all would! dd registered for spring semester for the first time on her own. (DE and even Fall I was around to help and suggest). Her advisor told her that she had taken the wrong Biology course in DE and that she would have to take it again and take the "Biology for majors" class. When she told me about it I assured her that she did take the bio for majors and screen shot her the prerequisites for a PT program at a uni. near us with the course number for the bio she took. She emailed the advisor who in turn contacted the registrar. Lo and behold dd was right(read her mama/teacher/principal/guidance counselor/curriculum developer) 😜 The advisor said that because of dd they found a glitch in their system that defaults all biology DE to the general course and they now plan to fix that so she can better advise students for Graduate school prerequisites. She emailed dd and congratulated her on her proactiveness and said it was so great to see that in someone so young. 🫣🤣 I read that as, "good job mom" LOL

    I love your wins! You both did great.

    • Like 2
  9. Got to have a long talk with DS tonight.

     

    Good stuff:

    He looks happy, thinks he did well on midterms. His major advisor and another of his profs have invited the students they advise out to lunch so he's happy about that. They offer tutor positions to students who do well in a class, and he's hoping to demonstrate some interest to his prof so he can be offered a position next semester if things finish well in this one. I also found out he's been teaching DD15 calculus via texting?!

    Not as good:

    He's thinking of switching up some activities and giving up one I think is really good for him, but it's up to him. A few roommate conflicts when roommate was doing some noisy stuff right before exams. Someone in his dorm drank too much and passed out. People couldn't get them to wake up so medics were called. They're okay, apparently, but scary stuff.

    • Like 7
  10. 34 minutes ago, SanDiegoMom said:

    Every family and every kid is different.  I hope we can all see that.  What might be high anxiety and control in one situation might in another be an acknowledgement of different issues that are at play. 

    Absolutely. Given that we're in a thread for people with kids in college, I'm sure we all have seen many instances of families doing things differently based on what works for them. There are literally billions of ways to raise good people, as evidenced by the billions of good people in the world!

    • Like 9
  11. Just now, Roadrunner said:

    No, I find it odd that one would go with interacting with a kid daily while they live with you to “off you go to college, you are an adult.” In my culture we interact and check on each other daily no matter the age. We are all extremely close. We talk to our parents daily. 

    I'm from a similar culture and also talk to DS just about daily, as well as my brother and parents. I still don't do the phone tracking though. We wouldn't have liked that when we were at college and so we don't do it. We're two Gen X latchkey kids so it might come from there.

    • Like 2
  12. We used a combination of E.O. Wilson's Life On Earth and Campbell's Biology, but yeah, you can use the labs with anything. I think the intros to each lab are really good, as in the intro to the book, which covers things like safety and how to properly maintain a lab notebook.

     

    ETA: I forgot to add we also did a couple of dissections that I picked up at Carolina Biological Supply.

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  13. I like the physics idea, myself.

    But in case you decide to do biology at home, check out The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments. It also comes with a kit and while you have to supply some common household items, it's pretty good. You'd also need a microscope. I have used both that book and the chemistry one. DS is taking chem at college now and feels it prepared him well. I think your DD is on top of things enough she could set up and run the labs herself, along with all the documenting, if you're pressed for time. The book used to be a free PDF before it was published in hard copy and while you can pay for the bound book, the PDF is still offered here if you want to look. The kits are here.

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