I had no idea, so I asked ds. Math and Econ PSETs are pencil and paper, graded and returned. For Computer Science courses they have one-on-one interactive grading sessions with the section leader. Sections are smaller groups of students that meet once a week in addition to lectures. Students sign up for a "section" at the beginning of the quarter.

Have any of you purged china and/or stemware? I have looked at Replacements, Ltd, and I apparently have items that have value (and quite a bit of it - it was all my mother's). You can fill out an on-line form about selling to them, but I sure would like to hear if anyone has ever done this or used them for such a purpose (or other places). I am not going to sell stuf on ebay/Craig's list myself. I just can't imagine the challenges of shipping stuff to Replacements, Ltd. I have twelve complete place settings plus extra serving pieces, etc. A similar amount of water goblets, wine glasses, champagne glasses. Any and all thoughts on how to get some $ out of this stuff would please my dh immensely. ETA: Okay, just read some not great reviews about Replacements, Ltd. I guess maybe the best bet is to find someone locally who sells that sort of thing. No idea how to do that.

We aren't making it to the Big Game but will be there the following week to watch the Cardinal take on ND! Sorry I have hijacked this thread!

We all know that real greatness is determined on the football field!!!

I am going to toss out one issue one of ds's friends faced. He had narrowed his choices down to two LACs. Had waited until the VERY last minute to decide. Started at the first school, and it was NOT the fit for him. He and his family were trying to figure out whether he should transfer at semester or wait it out a year. The parents were inclined to have him wait it out a year UNTIL they found out that the second LAC would still honor the MERIT scholarship money they had offered him but ONLY if he transfered at semester (while he was still a freshman). At that point, they decided for him to transfer at semester so that he could still "claim" those scholarships. The second school was abundantly clear that he had to transfer at semester and that they would not give the scholarship money to him if he transferred after a year. This was totally MERIT-BASED scholarship money. These were both private LACs. This family does not receive any need-based financial aid. So, I have no idea how or if this might work, but you *might* consider going back to some of his other options where he had been offered mert-based awards to see what their policies would be if he were to transfer at semester.

Boo, hiss!! Ha ha! JUST KIDDING! I prefer Laura Corin's list...Go Cardinal!

ScouterMom - I am so sorry to hear this. As I read your post, I was thankful that you are able to come here and share how you are feeling about this. However, as I *re-read* your post, I noticed that these were all concerns and sadness that *you* were expressing. How does your ds feel about the school and the atmosphere? Does he seem sad/regretful about being there? Is he stating these concerns as well?

I don't blame her! I was basically putting that info up to say, "It depends..." - which is the case for many questions on our boards!

Some schools require that you submit ALL standardized test scores. Stanford and Pomona come to mind. Interestingly, that rule does NOT usually apply to Subject Tests results where one can pick and choose.

Well, if she qualifies as a NMSF she will have to take the SAT to advance to NMF. I suppose you can cross that bridge when you come to it. Though, prepping for the PSAT with an eye toward obtaining NMF can yield much in scholarship money at some schools. I do believe that some tippy top schools either require (or recommend) at least two Subject Tests whether one submits the ACT with Writing or the SAT. In other words it isn't *always* ACT with Writing OR SAT with SAT Subject Tests. Some schools want the Subject Tests regardless. Or at least "recommend" them. If most other students have them, you are going to want to have them, too. However, if she knows that she is ONLY going to apply to schools that just require the ACT or SAT (such as your in-state flagship), then just doing the ACT is fine. I am in the camp of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

Get to know their friends. Talk to their friends. Have the house where the friends want to be. This does NOT mean you are the lax, "cool" parent. I am neither of those, but the kids still liked to come to our house. Be around when they are around, but don't hover. Feed them when they do come. Hopefully, your children will make good friend choices. My ds did, and it gave me a lot of comfort that he chose "good" kids to hang out with as I felt like this was indicative of his overall decision-making ability. When I was newly married, I was back in my hometown visiting one of my friends and her mom and she said, "I was always so thankful that you girls had such a great friend group." I didn't get it at the time because I did not yet have a child of my own. I mean, I valued my friends both then and now, but I still didn't see it from her perspective. When my ds was a teen and had such a great group of friends, I remembered her saying that and finally understanding just how true it was. Parents still have much more influence over their children than the children would like to admit, but their peer group will be greatly influential as well. Help your children to be particular in choosing good friends. Looking back I can see how beneficial it was for me as a teen and for my ds as a teen.

I am so very sorry, Faith.

Y'all are making me giggle.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-deen/salted-caramel-crispy-treats-recipe.html Here's a link to the recipe if anyone wants it. They are crazy good!

I have found a scrumptious recipe for salted caramel rice krispie treats. You make a salted caramel sauce on the stove (butter, dark brown sugar, whipping cream, little corn syrup, and salt), then stir in the mini marshmallows, then pour over rice kripies. I would LOVE to include these in a college care package to ds. Usually I bake things on Sundays, and his packages arrive for pick-up on Fridays after I mail them on Mondays. Any reason NOT to send these? Any thoughts on the best way to package them? I have done some googling and there have been issues of marshmallows melting and sticking to saran wrap if they are individually wrapped. That is how I usually send brownies - already cut, individually wrapped in cling wrap, and then packed into Ziploc bags. I was actually thinking of just pressing them into a disposable aluminum pan (the recipe calls for an 8 x 8), wrapping in Saran wrap, and just mailing the entire pan with a plastic knife. Not even cutting them myself. Any and all experiences with and wisdom about such an endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

I like to send some breakfast items in care packages. That seems to be the meal that my ds doesn't make it to. Baked goods are nice (I send those, too), but things with a longer shelf life like oatmeal squares or Nutri-grain bars or little bags of granola can be grab and go when heading to class.

Several of the moms from ds's high school class (and now the class behind theirs) get together three times per year to do "group" care packages. Out of all of these kids, only has has divorced parents. He is very tight with the friend group, so we didn't want him to be left out (his mom is not local, he lived with his dad in high school). So, last year, when we would gather for group care packages we just added one "extra" to the number of items brought, and everyone kicked in a buck each to cover shipping. However, he is now overseas studying abroad in the UK (Scotland, to be specific). We don't want to not include him, but the shipping costs to get anything there expeditiously are exhorbitant. We are trying to brainstorm ideas to have something to send him in a card. Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone know how to do an Amazon UK gift card? Or is there some sort of e-mail gift card we could do through Amazon UK??? We always make the kids homemade cards to include with their packages, so we certainly plan to at least mail that, but we would like him to have a "thing" as well.

My ds flew back yesterday, but his classes start on the 21st. He, too, is on the quarter system. It was certainly easier on us with regard to the move-in since he was completely on his own this year. Last year, dh drove out with him (it's around 1,860 miles away), and I flew out to join them for move-in day. Ds flew on Southwest and checked two bags and carried on his backpack. He took more clothing back than he brought home as we purchased two new suits and some new dress shirts for him this summer. His pod where he had stored the majority of his belongings had been delivered, so that was a relief. We'll likely learn how it all went when we have our weekly conversation this Sunday, but I am hopeful his having to do it all on his own made him appreciate our help last year. ;) His room has a different configuration than last year, so I am eager to learn how he and his roommate decided to set it up. I did have to ship 13 lbs of sheet music that he couldn't fit into his suitcase. I am truly grateful for those flat-rate USPS boxes! ETA: Changed class start date - typo!

As far as I can remember, this question was only on ds's Rice supplement. He listed them alphabetically. He had a good mix of safeties and reaches with a couple of matches. His list made sense given his interest at the time. It was probably clear that the safeties were on there because of merit money. He was also asked about this point blank at a competitive scholarship interview at Ole Miss. I think they asked him where else he had applied in the interview. Then, after he replied to that, "What would you do if we offered this to you but you also got into Princeton?" N.B. It was probably lucky that was the one they chose rather than Stanford. ;) He was able to honestly say that he did not know. That he was waiting to see what all his options were and that cost certainly would factor into his decision-making process. He was offered merit money at Rice and was offered the competitive scholarship at Ole Miss as well. But, again, his list "made sense" given his interests at the time. I don't think it's that sinister of a question.

Just pointing out the consistent pattern here: the "issue" for those with far-away kids seems to be ER visits. I didn't list this in my post, but we had one of these as well due to a dislocated knee cap.

My ds is far away, and it has been fine. Sometimes in hindsight I think we were kinda crazy sending him so far away at such a young age. He graduated at 16 and turned 17 the summer after, so he was 17 his entire freshman year. He never verbalized any anxiouness about being so far from home, but I think there probably was some as his appetite really dropped off about a week before he left. Unlike his mother who tends to stress eat, he tends to stop eating when he is uptight. Like your dd he had spent many summers away from home doing various and sundry activities, camps, academic programs, etc. He had spent three weeks on his chosen college campus the summer before his junior year. During his freshman year, we talked once a week and had *some* (not much) intermittant texting. He has just returned from a three-week trip abroad, and he actually communicated a lot more frequently than when he is at school. I hope that continues. I think he felt like we would be more interested in that than in his day-to-day campus life. Not true! We very much would like to know more about life on campus. He came home Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break. This year we will fly out there for Thanksgiving. He did have a medical situation that occurred that was pretty nerve-wracking, but we all managed to get through it. We have no family close by at all. I think it is important for the parents not to express doubts about their child's ability to navigate new situations and handling being far from home when those situations arise. There is bound to be some self-doubt, but a parent saying, "You'll figure it out, " "You can do it," etc. is helpful. I have a bit of "out of sight, out of mind" with ds being so far away. Because of the distance, there really isn't anything tangible I can do for him. Gosh, that statement coupled with my other post in the other thread about not really missing him probably makes me sound like a bad mother!!! I do actually worry about him more when he is out with friends at home and is driving. He has no car at college. My ds has no trouble with time management, but I bet your dd will figure it out quickly. Encourage her to avail herself of the opportunities she has for help with that and to go to office hours. Not in a way that expresses doubt in her own time-management skills but in a way that the smart kids seek out such opportunities and she is a smart kid!

Ds had Denver on his list. I think he received around $20,000 - $23,000 per year in merit money there? Something like that. Honestly, $20-$25K was a pretty common merit award among middle-tier private schools. IME, it is tuition discounting. With prices as they are for tuition, room, board, and fees, this will still only get one down to about $38,000 - $40,000 per year at most privates that are not "elite." This is why ds had few match schools. He was very much "come big or stay at home." To him, a private school that was not a top school was not worth that - he would have taken something much cheaper (or free) at a Big State U if discounted privates and Big State U's had been his only options. It's tough when you are looking for something so very specific and limited.

Yeah, I'm okay with that. I have never been known for softness or kindness - ha ha! Wish I was smart enough to double quote, but as to your other point, Reg: Ds "fired" me from homeschooling as he did not want to stay home for high school. I hadn't become obsolete because the natural end (high school graduation) had occurred. That *was* tough - it's not like I was doing a bad job! But, I am not nearly as smart/educated as some of the folks on here. No way could I have gotten ds to the point where he ultimately arrived. It would have been selfish of *me* to have kept him home. But, honestly, for me, the difficulty was more about being cut off from the homeschool community rather than having ds being away at a B&M school each day. It was a loss of identity in a way. I am not saying there isn't a time of adjustment. My point was to a protracted period of time. Please don't misunderstand - I do like (LOVE!) my ds, and I very much enjoy having him around. I am just not one of those moms who has struggled a lot. I do feel bad for those who do - I just don't get it. If your child was miserable, struggling, flunking, homesick, lonely, etc. then I could understand it better.

Absolutely! I was not particularly sad either. I did get weepy on the plane ride out (ds and dh drove and then I flew out for move-in) because there was a cute, one-year-old, brown-eyed-boy sitting across the aisle from me. Got a little choked up at the actual good-bye, but that was really about it. I do miss ds occasionally, but he has thrived and done incredibly well academically and socially. And he is far (1,800+ miles) away. Mostly, I miss knowing about the day-in and day-out routine of his life. I miss knowing his friends and their families. However, I have friends who seemed to have gone through a true grieving process. I try not to be judge-y as we are all different and have different types of relationships with our children. But, I think there is a point where excessive sadness or long-lasting sadness is a sign of selfishness on the part of the parent. They have focused on their sadness/loss rather than their child's happiness/gain. Our goal should be to raise well-adjusted, independent, functioning adults. Some people just have a hard time letting go of their role of being a parent to a child and transitioning to being the parent of an adult. These parents need to be needed. I do think older chidlren still need more than just financial support from their parents, but it is different. The college years are an in-between time period between childhood and adulthood and they are a bit tricky to navigate. I will also say that those I have known who have struggled mightily with a child or children going off to college have been extremely child-focused and not marriage-focused (for those who are married) in their families. Just an observation. I think being overly clingy and sad and sharing TMI about how you are feeling WITH your child can be damaging to the relationship. Guilt is not a very fun feeling. Sharing the sadness with your peers is far preferable. Dh and I have enjoyed the empty nest quite a bit. Grocery bills are lower, house is tidier, and things are much more predictable. I, personally, like that. Sorry - got to rambling. All that to say, that I don't think you should feel bad because you are not particulary sad! There are many normals.

ARGH!!! Okay, does anyone have any idea how to KonMari fold slicky gym shorts and tops?? I was going to fold my husband's drawer that contains these items, and I gave up. The fabric is just to slick. I tried folding, rolling, etc., to no avail. Most of the tops are that Drifit material. They are just going to have to be folded and stacked - no way am I giving up hanging space in our closet for gym clothes!