Parents of current college students, how is it going?

[elegantlion]

I have to add one more thing that makes me smile. Ds sat down with one of his professors last week to ask questions, then he went back to him today with more questions.. They seem to have hit it off, ds thought it was great that when he emailed him at like 1:30 in the morning, the professor replied within about ten minutes. Ds is normally so laid back, it's nice to see him being proactive. 

[Mom22ns]

I have to add one more thing that makes me smile. Ds sat down with one of his professors last week to ask questions, then he went back to him today with more questions.. They seem to have hit it off, ds thought it was great that when he emailed him at like 1:30 in the morning, the professor replied within about ten minutes. Ds is normally so laid back, it's nice to see him being proactive. 

This has been a really positive thing for my ds as well. He has had multiple professors that he now considers "buds". He can ask them questions or make requests. He requested an interview with one to use in another class and had a great time with it. He really thinks of the guy as a friend and mentor and is in the process of making him his advisor. Ds is ASD and relationships don't come easily. The professors at his college have been fantastic and he is growing through these interactions. Very cool. 

[DebbS]

DS is finishing up his sophomore year at a very large university and is doing great both academically and socially. He is on the highest deans list and is in his departmental honor society. Homeschool plus a gap year prepared him both academically and maturity-wise. His first year, he and his girlfriend both started at the same college and in the same dorm and since he tends to be an introvert, I was worried that he wouldn't branch out socially.  He is still dating the same girl but he also found his guy-tribe within the first few weeks of his freshman year. They are all still good friends, all academically oriented and have a standing appt. to play pathfinders on Saturday nights. Next year he and all of his friends will be moving to various off and on campus apartments but all within a block of each other. They found it important to stick together so it looks like the friendship group will continue.

[FaithManor]

Yes, he does have plans. He will be making the trip to TARC with us as a NAR volunteer, then off to Misspuri for a week to visit a friend of the family, a trip with us to upstate NY and Vermont which of course includes seeing our precious grandbaby - turns out he is pretty good with his nephew - and then a lot of tutoring for pay throughout the summer.

[creekland]

In talking with middle son earlier today he reminded us that MCAT scores come out tomorrow.  I'm not all that sure if I'm glad to have been reminded or not.   :lol:

[Granny_Weatherwax]

In talking with middle son earlier today he reminded us that MCAT scores come out tomorrow.  I'm not all that sure if I'm glad to have been reminded or not.   :lol:

I am positive we will all be celebrating tomorrow.  There may even be some thread stalking just to see when you post the results.  Not saying by whom but it may happen.

[creekland]

I am positive we will all be celebrating tomorrow.  There may even be some thread stalking just to see when you post the results.  Not saying by whom but it may happen.

 

I'm currently debating breaking open the bubbly (that would be Mt Dew w/caffeine!) to try to stay awake tonight rather than going to bed around my usual time.  We told him he was welcome to call "whenever."  He has no idea exactly when scores will be released, but I expect he'll be checking sometime after midnight.

 

I am totally unable to stay awake at night without caffeine.  Staying up late won't help me sleep in tomorrow morning, but I don't have school tomorrow due to an appt, so that's ok.  I can nap at some point to catch up.

 

So... my crucial question... stay up or risk being woken up by the phone?  Tough first world decision!

 

I'm hoping he does well.  The lad put in so much time and is really hoping for that final pin in his med school and MSTP apps.

 

He also told us Kaplan called him today (personally) asking him if he'd be willing to teach a course.  There's no way they could get results early... or at least I don't think so... but one has to wonder why they called.  His friends didn't get called.

[BlsdMama]

DD is finishing up her second year this week.  Because of heavy loads and summer classes, she will be a senior in the fall.  She is taking the ENTIRE summer off to work and I think it feels wonderful for her.  She did not like her last semester... a lot of very liberal mindset classes while finishing up her GenEd.  This semester, however, was almost entirely about education, the brain, learning disabilities... She loved it.  She found it fascinating.  One class had no instructor, just a different researcher would come in each week and speak on their area of expertise.  

 

Academically she's done well.  She's living at home though so she knows very few people on campus.  She doesn't mind.  She's found *the* guy and she's plugged in with a good church and a few really great kids there so she is feeling pretty content and happy about where life is right now.  I think she wishes it would fast forward to graduation though.

 

DS is dual enrolled... No idea if that counts?  He's living at home, has decided on his major and university and is spending next year polishing that resume.  He wants to do Mock at the college level if they'll have him so he's beginning to look forward a year already.  

[*LC]

My college kid, aa junior, has been studying abroad since January. While her school has numerous engineering abroad opportunities, she decided only take foreign language classes and a fun classes. In addition, the program has an internship component. She did not know anyone who had studied abroad as part of this class. Since it is a foreign language program, she did not have high hopes for the internship being relevant to her career goals. However, it was a 2-day a week unpaid job, so she figured she would just grin and bear it. She was wrong. The job was exactly what she wanted; it even met her longterm career goals more than the internship she had last summer with a big tech company. She has enjoyed her time abroad and spent a lot of time travelling. She lived in an apartment with two students, one male and one female, who are from the country where she was studying. Most of the study abroad students lived in host homes, but she wanted control over her food, because of food allergies.

After she comes home, she will go immediately to her school to visit friends there for a couple of days. Then, she will be at home for six days. My next oldest graduates during that time. Then she goes to California to intern with a different tech company. She returns from that the day I move him to school. He is going to the same school she attends, so she will see him on campus after she gets there a day or two later. I am not sure if I will go with her to move in for her senior year as she has most of her stuff already there. She will live in the same apartment where she lived last fall. She was able to sublet it to friends for spring and summer. She left her furniture, bed, etc, so just need to bring clothes & school supplies.

[elegantlion]

I can now happily report that ds is abroad. He emailed from Japan yesterday. I replied and told him I hoped it was everything he'd thought it would be. His reply was "It is awesome" and his feet are killing him. Awesome is not a word he has used much ever. I'll be excited to hear his plans for the future after his return. 

[Lilaclady]

So happy for him elegantlion. It is great to be able to reach a goal he set long ago. All the best

[Lolly]

I can now happily report that ds is abroad. He emailed from Japan yesterday. I replied and told him I hoped it was everything he'd thought it would be. His reply was "It is awesome" and his feet are killing him. Awesome is not a word he has used much ever. I'll be excited to hear his plans for the future after his return. 

 

It would be hilarious if he and C crossed paths. Too bad they wouldn't know each other!

[creekland]

Middle son is now officially done with his four years and on his Take Five program.  Someday soon I'll have to update my sig.

 

All I can say is it's totally awesome being at graduation where they tell you what each and every graduate is doing next year and hearing some really cool things.  It not only gives me hope for our planet, it helps me realize that kids who go to "good" colleges (not meaning just private schools!) can and do get some wonderful jobs and opportunities when they graduate.

 

We also got to attend the Awards Ceremony where he received his special award.  Only 12 students in Arts & Sciences got an award for Academics.  There were 17 for Engineering.  When a school is graduating somewhere near 1200... yes... that makes a mama proud!  It also makes me really glad we live on a farm so he could learn science growing up in spite of homeschooling!   :lol:

 

But many, many more were and are doing incredible things - research I'd love to delve into, etc.

 

One other special thing?  One of his "major" ceremonies had a pic of each graduate as a young child.  Those kids looked so "ordinary" as babies or toddlers - and have grown up to do such deep research into making our planet "Ever Better"  (URoc's motto) while still having tons of fun along the way - oodles of double majors - oodles of clubs - oodles of impressive futures ahead.  There's definitely hope for our planet.

[elegantlion]

It would be hilarious if he and C crossed paths. Too bad they wouldn't know each other!

 

Yes, too bad there isn't a WTM beacon that only other WTM kids (can we still call them kids?) can see when they spot one another. I hope C has a wonderful time. 

[*LC]

I decided the post about calling home from abroad would be more useful as its own topic.

 

So this post isn't wasted, I will brag on my daughter a bit. A large tech company invited her to attend its developer's conference this spring. The e-mail said they were inviting 100 students to attend. When she responded that she would not be in the United States at the time of the conference, she was told no problem; the company would still pay for her plane ticket. She decided it was worth a little jet lag and attended the conference. She learned a lot while there. During the conference, she heard that the company's recruiters chose a student to invite to the conference. This company had flown her to its headquarters for an interview during the fall and offered her an internship. She had turned down the internship, (because she was still in the running for her dream internship at the time she needed to commit.) At that time her recruiter had asked my daughter to keep the company in mind for after graduation. 

 

She also was invited to join the overall honor society Phi Kappa Phi and the engineering one Tau Beta Pi. 

 

I cannot believe she only has 1 more year of college left. 

Edited May 19, 2016 by *LC

[plansrme]

You know the old phrase about how sometimes it is better to be lucky than good?  Well, here's mine for the week:

My daughter leaves for a study abroad in China on Friday morning, the Friday that is two days from now.  This morning, as I am sitting in traffic while driving home from an out-of-state funeral, I checked email and find an overdraft notice on her account.  Overdraft?  She never spends her money--impossible.  It turns out that someone had initiated two transfers of $1490 each out of her account, overdrawing her account--and incurring an overdraft fee--by over $300.  They stole just under $3,000 from her (yes, that's a lot, but she really never spends her money).  Thank God, we had just set up an account with a different bank for her to have a debit card for access to cash while she's in China, and that is the card she is taking to China.  If she didn't have another card, we would be up the creek without the proverbial paddle until we could get a new card issued and mailed to her in China.  The ironic part of this is that we set up the different account primarily so that Chinese thieves wouldn't have access to the bulk of her assets, only to have said assets cleaned out by, presumably, American thieves two days before she leaves for China.  (Nothing against Chinese, of course, but when our cards have been compromised, it has always been while traveling.)  

 

Thieving aside, she had a successful semester and is very much looking forward to getting out of town.  I will be here tapping my fingers impatiently while the bank takes its sweet time restoring her account.

[creekland]

You know the old phrase about how sometimes it is better to be lucky than good?  Well, here's mine for the week:

 

 

That did work out well for timing, but I sure hope she gets her $$ back from the transactions!  What a mess!

 

We've quit using debit cards having switched totally to credit cards.  They seem a ton safer.

[FaithManor]

That did work out well for timing, but I sure hope she gets her $$ back from the transactions! What a mess!

 

We've quit using debit cards having switched totally to credit cards. They seem a ton safer.

We have sone the same. We use the credit cards because they have such great fraud protection plus insurance, and then every month we pay them off. We have an Amazon card which we earn a lot of points on which we apply to college textbooks, and a Cap 1 Venture card which is a really good one for traveling. The points we earn on travel we have converted to amazon gift cards all of which go to, you guessed it, college textbooks, LOL. We pay all our bills on them so we can rack up a lot of points.

[plansrme]

That did work out well for timing, but I sure hope she gets her $$ back from the transactions! What a mess!

 

We've quit using debit cards having switched totally to credit cards. They seem a ton safer.

Using her debit card, though, is not what got her money stolen. Someone (someTHING, more likely) figured out her online password and paid themselves $3000 through BillPay, which she has never even set up. So if you have a checking account with online access, you are just as vulnerable. The real moral to this little tale is to always have a back-up source of temporary funds. Her bank is replacing the money, by the way. It will just take a few days.