Would it be okay if messaged you about music at Amherst? DS (piano, harp, conducting) is applying to college in the fall, and Amherst is on his list (sister went to Williams so this would be funny). He's probably majoring in a sciency thing but good music is a must. Older sibs applied with strong music and supplements and all, so I'm familiar with the general process, but none of them was interested in Amherst for music.

So weird. DS (17) has been on Vyvanse for ages but we were using our out of US provider for the meds because our insurance didn't cover it. They supposedly do now so he went to a pediatrician (new one because old one went out of network) and she had him do a drug test but gave him the prescription. Insurance refused to cover it anyway so we're back to square one lol. DS presents as a supernerd though so maybe that does make a difference.

Good point! I suspect that there is no janitor and that the person doing that is the person we've been dealing with over the last few months (who I was going to tip anyway) but will confirm.

I like this answer. I think the caterers provide staff, and the venue provides set up but no staff who stays or serves plates or anything. I will probably tip the person at the venue who has coordinated the venue stuff but would rather not pay 20% on top of the venue fee.

DD is getting married in May, and I'm trying to figure out who gets tipped and how much. Several of the vendors have already included their tips in the contracts that I've already, but the contract for the site for the reception does not specify. This is for the use of the space for the reception; we don't have a wedding coordinator there, and all the food, flowers, etc are being brought in. I expect to tip the caterers and will check whether the tip goes to the wait staff. For the venue, I've looked online and can't quite figure out what protocol is. I would be happy to tip the person we've been dealing with a couple hundred, but tipping 20% on top of the fee for the use of space is rather a lot more money. What is usual?

You may already be doing this, but if not, it would probably be helpful to provide a cv or summary of activities to the recommenders. DS will ask his recommenders this week (that is, if he listens to me and the school counselor lol). He will send a request, along with a summary of his background, ECs and college majors, and likely ask for a call to discuss any questions. It's a small school so the teacher will likely be happy to have a quick chat with him. I know from speaking with the teacher he is asking that the teacher had no idea DS is very much a STEM kid, which made me realize it is important for the recommender to understand how the class s/he teaches fits into the kid's profile. I don't expect the teacher will write the rec until summer/fall, but this avoids the last minute rush for the teacher. Somewhere on the Common App you will be asked to waive your rights to see the recs, and the general advice is to waive your rights.

King's Interhigh, in the UK. The IBO has a list of schools that offer the online IB, and it looks like the number is growing.

[editing for privacy] In terms of European universities, if you check the websites for those that are of interest, you'll see what the requirements are for the AP exams. It may be easier to meet those than to find a two-year IB programme and jump through the IB hoops. Having had kids in IB, AP, and A-levels, I personally prefer the A-level system. International A-levels may make it easier to take A-levels outside of the UK. The IBO is expanding the number of schools that may offer the IB online, though, so in a couple of years you will have more options. I'm not sure whether our disappointment this year is with the IB system or the school itself. Feel free to DM me if you would like more info.

Not SOHS but in case anyone is considering Dw*ght online school, one of mine is in this. It's supposedly the second-best online high school. I know some of his classmates considered SOHS as well. Happy to share our experience if that would be helpful.

DS had an issue this week with his online beginning language class, in which he is one of three students. Second term grades came out and he dropped a full grade. One of the others in the class got what he had and the the other one got a full grade higher than DS. I question this, because when I listen in on the class (DS and I work in the same room), it's clear that the other two cannot string sentences together, while DS can speak reasonably well. The teacher does assign written work, and wants the students to use sophisticated, grammar and cultural references that he has not taught them in class. His expectations are somewhat unreasonable, given the textbook and what he does in class. It's incredibly easy for the kids to have AI write up a paragraph or two, or to write their own paragraph and have AI make it fancy or correct all errors. I now suspect the other two are turning in written work that is well in advance of their ability in the language because they're making use of AI or similar (either that, or they are excellent in writing and reading and poor in speaking, which is a possibility, but seems unlikely as they struggle to understand anything the teacher says). I review DS's work and help him fix it up a bit, by way of teaching, but won't let him include anything that is not representative of his actual level. It's a bit of a gray area though, as the teacher has not stated what is allowed and what not. The "final" exam for this class will be spring 2025 so it will be interesting to see what happens then, when students are proctored and cannot get any outside help. Our solution to the current problem is to have DS work harder on grammar and vocab, so he can "catch up" to the desired level.

I noticed this the other day with DS. He was asked by a friend in a language class to send her his language homework because she didn't have time to do the work. He and I discussed this, why it was not okay and how to respond in a kind way. He told his friend quite firmly that he would not do this and that it was cheating. She responded that she didn't think this was cheating! I don't know whether she was just saying that to make it sound better or whether she genuinely did not realize that taking someone else's work and passing it off as her own was not okay. DS is in an online school, and I am quite sure that many of the kids are using AI for work and using the math checkers to check their homework. I don't mind the mathchecker as long as it's being used to check the work and catch errrors (and it's not forbidden, so I believe the teacher is okay with it, especially since the teachers will often send the answers to the students so they can check their work) that the student can then fix. The grey area for me is using AI and other sources to correct language homework by, for example, running a paragraph through AI to check for errors. It feels a bit wrong to me, yet at the same time the teacher insists the students use vocabulary and grammar that he has not taught them, and failure to do so results in a low grade, so AI is an effective way to learn the grammar and usage that isn't being taught. I do mind the AI for essays and so on. The school doesn't have a good handle on it. For tests they have to install an extension (Honorlock) that turns on the camera so if the AI behind the camera detects unusual movement, a person will come on and watch the student doing the test. DS thinks this is super-creepy. He also talks to himself while doing his work, so we had to go to the school and tell them to put a note on his file so that this would not trigger Honorlock. I'm glad the school takes action to avoid cheating but the solution is an unpleasant invasion of privacy.

I like this! For fun I googled future SIL's name and food stuff but unfortunately all I found was sausage links and patties lol.

Those are pretty. DD's fiance has mentioned candles as one option he likes, so this might be a good one.

DD generally yes but her fiance quite likes the idea. They don't want to do something just randomly for the sake of giving favors though but want to give something thoughtful.

I love the idea of pictures, especially as everyone is dressed up and people will be with people they see infrequently. I think we are doing a thing where we have a QR code so everyone can upload their photos, and then everyone's photos will be available to everyone.