I posted earlier about a thread I started a few months ago regarding this very question. Since that post I have since learned that you shouldn't look to other people for deciding what's normal anymore. Each student, and family, is completely different: different goals, desires, grades, scores, finances, likelihood of merit aid, etc., etc. That being said, there is a growing trend in both institutional and home schools to apply to many, many schools. Not sure why, not sure I care. My older son applied to one school (transfer). My younger son knows where he wants to go, so will probably apply to that one and maybe, maybe, one other as he has a very good shot at getting into his #1 choice. Neither is a tier 1 school (Harvard, MIT, etc). We're leaving that for grad school! :001_smile: Yolanda

Check out the thread with the above title (see below as well) and you'll get lots of answers to that question. You'll also get absolutely no consensus whatsoever! There is no right answer, just the one that works for your student/family. Yolanda

My bil went to Worcester Polytech and I know a recent grad and a current student. It has a very good reputation in these parts and the people I know who are going/went there are quite happy with results. They have a senior project which is where you show that you know how to apply what you've learned. One of the 3 is a strong Christian who hooked up with other Christians on campus. Even though it's an engineering school, lots of kids get drunk (just like most other secular schools), but the people I know were definitely not partiers. Yolanda

For years my husband and I have believed that our son's brain is wired for some kind of research career. Family members have also commented on his bent for that type of field since he's always researching stuff and retaining incredible amounts of information. But for years our son has wanted to do many things none of which include lots of school beyond 4 years or anything we thought he was suited for (i.e., being an entrepreneur or going into the Marines). So imagine our surprise when he announced last week that he had been seriously thinking about either doing pre-med or going into some type of medical research field.:001_huh: He's a transfer student going in as a 2nd semester sophomore so has time and also has a cousin who just got her PhD in biology and is a research scientist. She kept telling us that his mind was wired for research and couldn't understand why he wasn't going into that type of field. Why do kids insist on resisting what seems to be clear as the nose on your face? Is it to be completely independent? :confused: Yolanda

Don't you love bureaucracies? Even if the rules don't make sense, we gotta' follow the rules. Yolanda

Thank you! :iagree:

I think I'm going to print this out and show it to the next person who tells me that the school my son is going to is a top 10 party school! Why do people tell me, my husband or my son, "Oh, you going to Zoo Mass? (UMass Amherst) That's quite a party school." Is that supposed to encourage my son who is clearly not going there to party? It's such a put down. That really annoys me and my son to no end. I'll stop now. Thank you for listening. Yolanda :001_huh:

My son also got a jury summons for an Oct date and he, too, will be away at school. In Massachusetts you can push your date out up to a year, which is exactly what we did. Easy as pie, all on-line. I rescheduled for June. I'm surprised Illinois doesn't have a similar system. That stinks! Yolanda

Check out Write at Home: http://www.writeathome.com/ Yolanda

I purchased the US history syllabus and the $6 were well spent. There are excellent suggestions for activities, papers, projects, etc. I, too, didn't use the required texts. You can use the ideas with any curriculum. Yolanda

As always, lots and lots of good comments and perspectives for people to consider. That's why I love coming here! Yolanda

[quoteThere is something to be said for living in a place that is set up to try to let you focus on your education. -Nan All your points may be quite valid for your cousin. But there are many situations when living in a dorm is a distraction from your education, and not a place that allows you to focus on it. I can think of several students in our homeschool group who opted to live at home after experiencing dorm life at our local state u. campus precisely because they couldn't focus on their studies. Each of us have to carefully evaluate the school and the student before deciding whether dorm life will enhance or detract from the student's education. Again, depends on the school and the student. Yolanda

:iagree:I think that's one of those myths that persists. Yes, dorm life can be exciting at some colleges for some kids, but we're not talking summer camp here, we're talking about an education. Dorm life may enhance the college experience, or it can detract from it as well. Yolanda

Although my older son won't be living at home since the school is close to 2 hour away, he will be living off campus so will be a commuter of sorts. There aren't enough dorms for transfer students, but he wanted no part of living on campus anyway so he's happy to be off campus. Dorm living is highly romanticized and highly overrated and definitely is not for everyone. My son deplores the idea of living in a tiny, ugly dorm and sharing a bathroom with many people. Yes, getting involved will take some effort but as someone posted, when you've had enough or things get dicey or weird, you can leave and sleep in peace. Yolanda

My oldest son, who is also extremely bright, did 3 semesters at cc and is starting at the state univ in the honors program this Fall. We had him start at the cc because he had no idea what he wanted to study and we knew he was definitely not ready to leave home. His confidence has grown, he has had the chance to make bone headed mistakes from the comforts of home (the home truly is a sanctuary), he has matured tremendously, and he's gotten most of his gen eds out of the way. He will be 20 when he starts the 4-year school and so much better prepared emotionally than he would have been 2 years ago. I shudder to even think what would have happened. He was never challenged intellectually at the cc, but that's not why he was there. He was there for all of the above. Yes, it was hard when hearing about all his peers going to these cool 4-year schools, especially knowing he could do the work. But it was more important that the time be right for him, and not simply to do it for my ego or to validate our home school decision. Enjoy the time with your son at home. I have been told by so many moms that they wish they hadn't sent their son/daughter off to a 4-year school so quickly and wish they had sent them to a cc for at least a year. Yolanda PS - Didn't even touch the $$ savings!

My ds had the opportunity to do just that at 3 of the colleges he visited. He got to hang out with lots of the students and realized that he would not be happy at 2 of the 3 he visited. Based on his overnight visits, he did recommend one of the colleges to his brother, however, who will be doing an overnight. I know how miserable a person can be if they end up at the wrong place, and although you don't know for sure from a visit, you can learn enough to know whether you'll hate the place. Ironically, he ended up at a state u where he only got the 'once over' tour. He loved the campus, distance from home, and the rich course offerings the others couldn't match. We'll see how it goes. Yolanda

Before you spend a dime, check your library. Our library system has a ton of them. I'm sure other systems around the country are every bit as good. You don't have to spend any money to enjoy them. Pair them with History Channel or PBS DVD's, get some books, also available through the library, and all you've spent is money on gas! Yolanda

I'm rather curious as to why a student would bother applying to a school they're not interested enough in to visit. I understand that finances play into the decision not to visit, but it seems that some of the students are applying to schools they're only mildly interested in, if at all. I'm not talking here about so-called safety schools either. Yolanda

I, too, read the article and while I believe it to be true anecdotally, there is no data to back up their claims. Maybe I read it too quickly this morning, but I did not see any data or explanations as to how the authors reached their conclusions. Yolanda

After almost 3 weeks of searching for rooms in houses, 1BR apartments and roommates, we succeeded in finding a roommate and a 2BR ap't. What a relief! My son will be in a lovely 2BR ap't that has 2 baths so he gets his own bath! Laundry facilities in the next building and the bus stop 200 yds away. It's clean, lots of light and quite comfy. Much, much better than a nasty dorm room with all its drama. We learned a lot along the way, especially how rude and presumptuous many middle aged women who rent rooms/ap'ts can be when you tell them that your student is a male and an undergrad. The men were much nicer. One woman told me my son would be happier in a dorm room (!). Talk about prejudiced. Thankfully, they were so intolerant of his gender and age that my son didn't have the misfortune of having one of these women as a landlady. Yolanda

I read the whole thing in college, in Spanish no less, and it was awful. I felt like I needed a shower after finishing it. I just don't care for books about dirty old men with young girls. Truth be told, I don't care for most of 20th century LA lit. Yolanda

He has no car so we're only looking at units on the bus line so that takes care of the parking. As for food, he'll be on an unlimited meal plan but he will have to have some food for breakfast and late night snacks. If he ends up in town (we're checking out a studio this Friday) shopping should not be a problem. Thanks for the tips, though. Yolanda

No, he does not have a car, but UMass Amherst is in a 5-college area which enjoys free public transportation - a rarity. Most of the buses even have bike racks in the front. Yes, we've learned about the co-signor/guarantor requirement as well. Learned tons of new stuff in the last week! Good thing we've been homeschoolers for so long, coming up to speed on new topics comes more easily. :D Yolanda

Chris and others, Although I initially "freaked out" at the thought of my son having to go off campus, I now realize it's much better than having to live on campus! The dorms are pretty awful according to my son, so he much prefers to live off campus as long as he can get there easily. This has been so stressful for us, however. In the last week, my husband and I have done lots of searching, on-line and phone calls, and visits while there for transfer student orientation using the information from the school's off campus website and have come up with some very good possibilities ranging from a room in someone's house to a studio apartment right in the center of town 1/2 mile from the campus. This last one is the one we're honing in on quickly and will be making a trip to see it this week. We figure that as he gets to make friends this year, he'll be able to find a 2BR with someone he knows well for next year. What fun, huh?

My son will be attending UMass Amherst this Fall and we just learned this week that transfer students have a less than 20% chance of getting on campus housing and we won't know for sure until Aug 6th. Most, if not all, of the parents were shocked to learn this on the day of orientation, however we had learned this earlier in the week when I called the housing office for information. One mom I met was devastated since her daughter had been accepted at another school where she could have gotten a dorm ass'gt. All this to warn/alert you that you need to investigate thoroughly the housing situation for your transfer student before making any final decisions. I have learned that UMass Amherst is not alone in the lack of on campus housing for their transfer students. Some private institutions also do not have enough housing. Recommendations: (1) If your student is interested in going to a school that does not guarantee on campus housing, then start looking early for off campus housing. Most off campus housing searches start in Feb for the following year. Pickings are slim in the summer. (2) If off campus housing is not desirable for your student, then hold a spot at a school that does until you know for sure whether you will get a dorm assignment in your #1 choice. Lastly, off campus is certainly not the end of the world. My son (will be 20 in a month) much prefers going off campus as he doesn't like dorm life. Can also be cheaper, depending on the situation. Yolanda