Christy B
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Posts posted by Christy B
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My daughter is 99% graduating from high school and heading off to college in August. She will actually get her final English credit and Economics credit in her first semester of college. However, for all intents and purposes she is graduating from high school and entering college as a college freshman. She did NOT want a graduation ceremony this spring, nor does she want a graduation ceremony next spring, or any time in between. :-) (She's so over high school and ready to move on!)
We want to give her a party, though, and honor her accomplishment. I'm using an evite invitation that has a gorgeous picture of paper lanterns and sparkly white lights, and that's going to kind of be the theme of the evening -- we're going to send up those beautiful Japanese lanterns at the end of the evening. So I need to come up with an "event title". Graduation Party isn't what I want; Going-Away Party doesn't seem to be exactly right . . . Fond Farewell came to mind but is that too sentimental?
Suggestions?
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On a related note, we've discovered that some planning is in order to avoid risking your student's freshman status, if you want to use CC classes to fill high school requirements and then apply as a freshman to a four year university. Many scholarships are intended for *freshman* students and it is possible to have too many credits to qualify as a freshman if you've taken advantage of two years of community college (which is available to us in NC, for example). If you're wanting to earn the associates degree or do two years of CC and then transfer, you're all set. If you want to enter a four year university as a freshman, then you might be wise to talk to an admissions counselor at the four year university regarding credits.
We were surprised to discover that it made more sense, financially, for our dd to take advantage of a huge scholarship offered by her first choice college (a private school) and attend there as a freshman. We had always assumed she would do two years of CC and then apply as a transfer student; however, she would then not be eligible for this scholarship. Bottom line, the cost is about the same for four years at her school, as it would have been for two years of CC and two years, without the scholarship.
Just another angle to consider, fwiw.
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We've signed on the dotted line . . . she starts in the fall!
She was accepted into the VWIL program, which is incredibly structured. It's one of the reasons we said "yes". Dd needs the structure and accountability, we believe.
YAY! We have peace about our decision. Thanks for all of your comments; it was helpful to think through the different angles.
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My ds was accepted into his school of choice, Honors College, nice academic scholarships. FAFSA was required to process his package, even without loans. I'm guessing that varies school to school.
As another poster said, just because they calculate what loan amount you qualify for doesn't mean you actually have to take them up on it. You never know what a day may bring...
Yes, all of the above applied to our situation, as well. Our daughter's college would not process her application without the FAFSA. It took about 30 minutes, was painless, and all of the information they asked for was duplicated on our taxes anyway -- I have no delusions of privacy. If the IRS already knows everything about me, FAFSA may as well, too.
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My dd is in an early college program but it's in our home town. She did well her first semester but it was a lot of work. She wasn't used to the style of testing and keeping so many classes going all at once since we homeschooled year round. The students are all so young. My feelings remain the same as when she started. It would work either way but be easier if she waited. She was determined to go and made it work. If your dd can't easily get a good paper written, it will take even more time for rewrites. It sounds like the study skill program/hours will help a lot. My feelings would be to send her if it won't hinder her to have a rough ish first semester. If every grade is going to count and she's going into something extremely competitive I would have her wait. I wish her well.
Does/did your daughter live at home, or on campus? And do you believe that her determination to go and make it work was a determining factor? (As opposed to, say, had she been ambivalent?)
I appreciate your insight!
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What book did you find?
The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2012 by Gen and Kelly Tanabe
Looks promising, anyway. :-)
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I posted about my daughter's attempts to get outside scholarships in this thread. The thread refers back to an older thread that is also worth reading.
Regards,
Kareni
Thank you! I found a great book with up-to-date scholarship listings. Yes, many deadlines were in February but many were not. We will be very busy between now and June, but there are plenty still open.
I was also encouraged at how many scholarships are available for enrolled college students (especially juniors and seniors). The fields of study are more narrow but it's encouraging to think that each year we can look for more to apply for.
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I went a year early, at 17 years old. I never regretted it, not once. My only concern is the schedule you mentioned. If she is in study hall until 11pm, doesn't get back and in bed until midnight, and then has to be somewhere at 5:30 am that doesn't sound like NEAR enough sleep for a teen.
I wonder about the schedule, too. I think the study hall hours are in the dorm (although they are allowed to go to the library). I believe the emphasis is on "no phone, no facebook, no TV" during those hours, as opposed to actually insisting that they study. Definitely a concern, but I may have mixed up "curfew" with "study hours". I agree, 11 pm to 5:30 am would not be enough sleep for me!
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Thanks, everyone! 3 for 3 positives -- very encouraging!
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Yes, yes, yes. Send her if she wants to go! She will get out of bed because she won't have you to fall back on. She will write to the best of her ability, and maybe struggle, but one more year is not going to magically fix that if writing is her weak spot. You couldn't have a more perfect set-up for this. Isn't Mary Baldwin the college that has the program for younger gifted girls, too? So it's not like she'd be the youngest girl around. Obviously you need to do what's right in your own opinion, but I would absolutely send her. Heck, I'm excited for her just reading about this! (ETA: I went to college at 16 and yes, it was a big adjustment, but I grew a lot.)
Exactly what changed our mind -- she will likely ALWAYS count on me to get her out of bed, if I am there. And she is a math/science major -- writing will ALWAYS be her weak spot.
Yes, MBC has two programs for younger students -- one for the very young and very gifted, and then the early college program for high school juniors and seniors (it is this program that accepted her into the college).
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We're inclined to let dd take advantage of the opportunity to go to college a year earlier than anticipated.
It's March -- we've already missed a lot of scholarship deadlines (4H, for example).
Aren't most scholarships awarded to freshmen only? Is there any hope of her being able to apply for scholarships, still? Or once she's already in college?
Also, what is the likelihood, *really*, of getting more scholarship? She's already been awarded the maximum amount of merit scholarship by the school. I hate to walk away from potential scholarship if waiting one more year (she can defer her enrollment and not have to re-apply) would result in thousands of dollars of renewable scholarships. On the other hand, I hate to frustrate her by having her wait a year, only to find that there really aren't that many scholarships available to her.
One other consideration: we homeschool in NC. The college she will be attending has accepted her through an "early college" gateway. Could she be technically considered a highschooler, taking dual enrolled classes for her senior year of high school? I do not have to award her a diploma in order for her to go to college. Could I call her a high school senior next year, because she could be, as far as her NC state homeschool status goes (I think).
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Well, this is a fine pickle I've gotten myself into.
We let dd apply "for practice" to an early college program. She was invited to an overnight visit . . . it started to appear that she would be accepted. We asked and found out that she could defer enrollment for one year, no need to re-apply, and decided -- great! She'll have a wonderful senior year, knowing she is all set to attend her first choice college . . .
The acceptance letter came. They are offering her the absolute top merit scholarship. We can, with careful budgeting and shifting some funds, make up the difference (at least for the first year -- and then start saving like crazy for the the rest). Dd says that if possible, and if we give permission, she would very much like to go ahead and start.
She wants to do a 5 year masters program in mathematics; she sees starting a year early as a great way to not lose motivation to pursue the more demanding program.
I'm torn and need some objective insights, please.
The particulars:
The school is Mary Baldwin College in Staunton VA. It's a women's college. DD will be applying to (and we feel confident accepted to) a program within the school known as Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (sister program to Virginia Military Academy). It's the only all-female cadet corps in the county (maybe in the world?) Were she to apply for an ROTC scholarship, she would get a free ride, but she is not ready to commit, at 17, to years of military service after college. However, she is definitely interested in entering the Air Force after college. She'll make that decision at the end of her sophomore year. She can stay in VWIL all four years even if she decides not to commission. There will be quite a few other younger-than-traditional students all throughout the college, including within the VWIL program. They would likely assign her a roomate the same age. Within the VWIL program, each freshman is assigned an upper classman as a mentor and "big sister" as well.
VWIL is highly structured: for example, drill at 5:30 am every morning. Mandatory study hall between the hours of 8 pm and 11 pm -- no phone, no facebook, no TV (and yes, they enforce).
Staunton is my home town; we live less than four hours away, but my best friend, aunts & uncles, and cousins would be about five minutes away. She would have a wonderful support network.
Because of the highly structured format, and the proximity of close friends and family, I'm inclined to let her spread her wings. She is already quite independent and has proven herself to be responsible and capable. She's been involved with Civil Air Patrol and has been something of a prodigy there -- rising through the ranks quickly and earning a lot of respect along the way. She's already acclimated to the para-military mindset and protocol. Oh, and she would be in the band platoon so I have no real concerns about her adapting socially -- she'll be with "her people".
My hesitation is along two lines: academic and "living skills".
Academically -- she looks amazing on paper. Because of four years of band, Civil Air Patrol, 4H, and martial arts lessons, she has a wonderfully well-rounded transcript. Her grades are all As and Bs. My worry is that as a homeschooler from the beginning, I have no point of reference as to whether or not she is really on par with her peers with a similar transcript. My friend's child is in honor classes in public school and I can tell that his courses are much more demanding than my dd's.
Her writing skills are very, very weak. She has a B from a 200 level college history class on her transcript. But because it was a dual-enrollment program specifically for homeschoolers, I was encouraged to help her with her papers. So she got that B with help. The college does have a writing lab and they strongly encourage students to ask for as much help as they need. Upper classmen in the VWIL program are also required to help the lower classmen (in fact, they know if their lower classmen are falling behind in a class and will go insist that they help!) So there is support there.
Living skills -- well, this is a child who STILL uses me as her human alarm clock. It's been a point of contention all the way through high school. She's even known that it's one of the markers we are looking for in determining whether she is mature enough to go to college -- she's still not getting out of bed in the morning. However, I've heard that she is the first one up at a CAP event. I imagine her fellow cadets will not allow her to oversleep, since the whole flight will be penalized if they are late to drill. But still, it concerns me. She is also a total slob!
I do not want to send her off to college a year early so that she can struggle for the next five years, if keeping her home one more year will make the college experience more rewarding and less stressful. At home, she could probably take a couple of community college classes to lighten her course load for at least her freshman year. We could work hard on writing (not that we've made much progress in the last 11 years!). And she could have another year to mature. And learn to get OUT OF BED.
On the other hand, she doesn't love school for the sake of school. I would hate for her to be bored and restless her senior year and decide not to go to school at all. (That happened to me.) Writing will always be her weak spot, will one more year make that much difference? And with me in the bedroom next to hers, will she really learn to take responsibility?
If you've read this far, thank you!! And if you have any thoughts, angles to consider, "here's what you're overlooking" advice -- I would certainly appreciate it!
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I never put people on pedestals, so to speak, but I came to a point where I was so disillusioned and sick of the hypocrisy about how the churches were run that I walked out. I came to a point where it was nothing but me and God and that was it because that's all I trusted. It was that way for years, while I worked through all of my anger/mourning. 9 years, to be exact. And it wasn't a lukewarm time, it was a time of me throwing everything I had at Him. And I was angry. Very, very, angry. But I learned that if anyone can handle anger, God is it. So, you can call bull*&%$ with God. He can take it.
Time is how I moved beyond it. Like a kid growing through stages, I let it all play out. I was in no rush, and I knew God had all the time, so I just went limp, so to speak. And then, I slowly started coming back-and some of those ways weren't brilliant, but they were there, and I learned, so it's all good.
I think it can be an excellent thing. I think everyone should ahve them and grow through them. I HATE that they are spoken of as the boogey man of True Faith. Don't believe that they are the end of faith, they can be the beginning of something wonderful.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm currently in the very, very angry stage.
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I never homeschooled in VA, but I grew up in Staunton and was actually born in Rockingham County. I do believe there are some good homeschool support groups there, and I hope you are able to connect with them!
Hope you love the valley as much as I do . . . I think it's one of the most beautiful places on earth!
Be sure to check out the Museum of Frontier Culture and Blackfriar's Playhouse in Staunton, VA -- a homeschoolers' dream come true. You'll probably be within an hour of Staunton if you're in Rockingham.
I have lots of friends in the area -- if you want to PM me with your exact town/city I can see if there are homeschool groups that they recommend. Or anything else you need to know (doctors, dentists, etc) if they are close to or live in your town.
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I will be going to San Diego for a week in December; traveling with dh on business. What will the weather be like? I have no idea what to wear/pack!
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Please share any experiences -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Feel free to send me a PM if you don't want to post on the public forum.
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Please share experiences, if you have any: good, bad, ugly.
PM me if you prefer not to post on the public forum. :-)
x-posted on High School Board
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An update (thanks for asking!):
"organized despite the chaos" is indeed the lesson we have learned (a positive lesson).
As it turns out, there was a complete turnaround in the classes.
The computer class, which had some rather random postings of assignments, is going much better. Dd was able to communicate with the instructor. She explained that she was going to be out of internet range on some search and rescue training weekends, and asked if she could get her assignments ahead of time rather than risk something being posted on Friday, due Sunday, and miss it altogether. The instructor was tremendously encouraging and cooperative. In fact, since my daughter missed that one exam, and initiated contact in which she respectfully pointed out that postings were irregular, the instructor has started posting weekly "heads up" messages with assignments that will be posted and when they will be due. She even encouraged my daughter that despite her missed exam, she was pleased with her work and she was confident that she would get a good grade.
The other class, we ended up dropping. The instructor failed to reply to three requests for information, help, and an explanation of why there was a failing grade. The admissions office was WONDERFUL to us. They consider ME my daughter's "faculty advisor", since she is a dual enrolled student. They welcome my input and involvement and assume that it is perfectly natural and reasonable that I would be involved with my daughter's courses. My daughter filled out the drop form and emailed it to the instructor. The way it works, he was supposed to fill out his portion of the form, return it to her, and she was to then take it to Student Records. However, my dd cc'd the person in charge of online classes (per instructions from the admissions office). She also sent a separate note to this person, explaining why she was dropping the class. The next day, she had a response from the lady who said she had received the form, and SHE was taking care of it -- filing it with student records and everything. Nothing was said, exactly, but I got the distinct impression that they were not surprised, and that they fully supported my daughter. It's a shame; it was a fascinating and very useful class. I hope she will try it again -- maybe ON CAMPUS this summer. :-)
Whew. MANY lessons learned. Thank you, everyone, for your feedback, suggestions, and moral support.
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Maybe I am the only one who thinks so, but I really don't see this as unreasonable. My BIL is taking an online class, and it is not unheard of for this to happen. He checks his account a couple times a day (morning, afternoon, and before bed at 11PM) He has had many assignments that are given at 3PM and due the next morning by 10AM. I looked at his syllabus and, I saw no concrete due dates or assignments. The school's view is usually that it is the student's responsibility to keep up with assignments. I have never heard of a prof. taking other classes, work, or volunteer work into consideration. It is up to the student to juggle those things.
I know it is not what you want to hear, and I really do feel for you. When I was in school I was raising two troubled teens and my own two babies. I was on little sleep and stretched very thin. I actually lost percentage points in one class, because I was called out of class for an "emergency" at my BIL's high school. At this point, I really think your dd should work on getting as many points as possible, and checking her account a few times a day.
I hope this works out for you.
Danielle
I absolutely understand where you're coming from. I do not expect the instructor to take my daughter's other classes or volunteer work into consideration and I agree it's up to her to juggle those things -- that's why she enrolled in an online class instead of a classroom. She was told in online orientation that assignments would be posted on Monday and due by midnight the following Sunday night. That's the part that I'm finding unreasonable.
You are absolutely correct, though, in saying that this is commonplace. We know that now and she won't be signing up for any more online classes. A huge part of the problem is that it is very common for instructors to "forget" to make their assignments visible to the students. Apparently it's a two step process it is not at all unusual for the instructor to think they've posted an assignment and forget to make it accessible to the students.
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Does the instructor have office hours where she is available by phone or Skype?
Does the syllabus give a breakdown of the points and values of the tests, assignments, etc.? If so, one place to start would be to look at how many points are available for the rest of the semester and figure out what the best case scenario is and work from there. If that information isn't on the syllabus or the online classroom, your daughter needs to ask for a breakdown and if she doesn't get answers then go to the department chair.
While it is understandable to be upset or feel it is unfair, if it is past the date to withdraw from the course, the only option is probably to shift into the mode of doing whatever it takes to get as many of the points available for the rest of the semester.
This is excellent advice, thank you! Withdrawing may not be an option, in which case focusing on getting the best possible grade in the time left will be her only option.
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Step one would be for your daughter to email and set up a time to meet with the instructor, preferably in person if possible. If the instructor does not respond or is totally unreasonable the next step would be for your daughter to go to the department chair. I would only suggest the later if the instructor has actually violated policies by for example not responding to emails, not posting tests on schedule, etc. If it is past the date to withdraw from the class this may be a "make it work" moment where she's going to have to figure out whatever she can do to get as many points as there are available for the rest of the semester.
The instructor is not available to meet on campus; she has responded to e-mails but obviously she has no intention of following her self-proclaimed "policies".
She has already asked if there is anything she can do to make up missed work, turn in assignments for extra credit, etc -- the instructor said no, that she ALWAYS posted assignments on Monday before noon. This was on Wednesday. The instructor then posted an assignment YESTERDAY (Thursday) due tonight at midnight. Until tonight, my advice for my daughter was "do the best you can on every assignment and try to pass".
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I'm trying to navigate through the ridiculous college website, and it does look like dropping the class might be possible. We're going to drive over to the college on Monday, with printouts of all correspondence between my daughter and the instructors, and meet with the director of enrollment. If there is any way possible, I'll withdraw her from at least the one class.
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I would check immediately on whether you're in time for withdrawing from the courses. It doesn't sound at all fair with the time given for the exam and assignments. W is better than a poor grade. :grouphug:
Sadly, we are well past that point. Things went fine for the first six weeks, and then it's been rapidly downhill from there. But you are absolutely right, and if we were still in that window, you can be sure she would be withdrawing!
Please help me find the right wording for my dd's going-to-college party!
in General Education Discussion Board
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I was able to include as much typing as I wanted in a smaller section, so I put "Please join us in celebrating DD's accomplishment and adventure as she transitions from high school to college."
And yes, we are considering this her graduation celebration, because she does NOT want to drag that out -- she is so happy to be considered graduated! We felt like it would be so anti-climactic to have a high school graduation AFTER a year of college. :-)