Long time no visit--just popped in to say hi!

[Halcyon]

Oh my it's been forever!! How is everyone doing? My older ended up at Bard College and so far, he's very happy--he is still considering transferring after Freshman year only because he wants a school that has graduates going to good Econ master's programs--however, their Econ program is very strong so either way he will be good. Bard is holding classes and has not had any cases, knock on wood. 

I appreciate so many of you helping me during the app process---very stressful--but he got a very good scholarship and we can afford his attendance with no loans, so i'm happy.

I want to hear from everyone, where your kids ended up, and how they're doing. 

[Roadrunner]

We are still in high school, but so good to see you!!! Glad your boy is happy at Bard. I hear nothing but positive about the college. 

[crazyforlatin]

So glad to hear from you and knowing that your son is doing well in college. Dd is still in hs but it won’t be long before we need to start applying.  

 

[RootAnn]

Thanks for popping in to update! I wondered where he ended up. How are you doing? I know things were rough for a bit.

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

So glad to hear from you and knowing that your son is doing well in college. Dd is still in hs but it won’t be long before we need to start applying.  

 

You too have disappeared! 

[Lori D.]

SOOO nice to "see" you! Glad you're all doing well. I know you all had a rough patch several years back, so it's good to hear you're doing well. If you feel like keeping "one toe in the water" on these boards, a number of alumna and "moved on from homeschooling" peeps participate in the Book a Week thread over on the Chat Board, and I think there's also a private lit. group. So pop in whenever you like! 😄

All our antics since graduating DSs from homeschooling are down in my signature. 😉 Cheers!

[MorningGlory]

I am so thrilled to see this update. I've wondered many times about how you and your dear son were doing. 😊

[Halcyon]

16 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Thanks for popping in to update! I wondered where he ended up. How are you doing? I know things were rough for a bit.

Things are okay. My divorce finalized last November. I sold the family home and moved to new home a few miles away with the boys in January. Spent the next few months helping DS17 with college apps--he applied to 20 schools and it was very, very hard to manage all the apps and requirements and such, especially from a homeschooler perspective. He tends to procrastinate and I was suffering from a sort of post-traumatic stress from the move and the divorce. DS17 was waitliested at his first choices: Oberlin, Trinity and Lafayette, and finally recognized that he wasn't getting off the waitlist and reluctantly accepted a spot at Bard. In my mind, I thought it would be a good fit for him, but he wanted a more prestigious school (I think i mentioned how his dad is all about the prestige). He left in august for Bard-- as they have a special 3 week program for Freshman before eveyone else arrives and I didn't get to go with him due to COVID. Within a week I could tell he was happy and I was so relieved. He was very impressed with the quality of his teachers--even had a class with Neil Gaiman (so jealous!!). 

I haven't actually seen him since he left--so that's tough. He made friends quickly though, which surprised me as he always was a bit of an introvert. He says there's a fair amount of drugs on campus, and a LOT of pot, but it doesn't bother him too much. He steers clear of the hard users. Classes are wonderful--he's taking a film class, an econ class, and a few required courses. Luckily, no cases of COVID so far. He likes his roomie; they're not close friends but they get along.

So all in all, I am really happy. He is getting only A's from his papers and is determined to do well academically, which is a bit of a change from high school when I had to convince him that getting goood grades is a good idea LOL. He is determined to go to business school. that may change but that's his plan right now.

Younger is in 10th grade in public and overloading himself as usual. 5 AP classes, 3 community college and one online class. He's the opposite of my older, and it's a relief in a way to have  a child i dont have to constantly monitor. At the same time, he takes it all WAY too seriously; got a poor grade once and I thought he'd never stop crying. Maybe my older's approach (Oh well, better next time) is healthier? ANyway, I think when midterms and finals roll around we'll see if he's overdone it in terms of class load.

How are you doing?

[RootAnn]

Neil Gaiman! Lots of us Hive moms would be jealous about that! So glad to hear he's thriving in class & socially.

I definitely remember the prestige-factor in your ex-H's opinions about colleges. And how your view of the college application process was very different from his.

My oldest is a sophomore math major (with multiple foreign language concentrations) at U of Alabama -Huntsville. She's surrounded by other nerds & definitely being challenged academically, especially as she's taking 20 credits this semester. She loves it there but Covid makes everything difficult. Glad your ds's campus has been free of it so far.

Next younger (as my two oldest kids straddle your oldest grade-wise) is a senior in high school. She is taking one class with me & her younger sister (which she will hopefully be able to CLEP in January), two college classes online & one in person. She's not started college applications yet & finally took the ACT for the first time on Saturday. Couldn't be more different than her big sister! She wants to stay local so it'll be low-key here. She's my artist/author & she runs a non-profit TNR group, so academics aren't a top priority. (So, in that way, she IS like her sister at the same age.)

It is so great when you have a kid with a plan (business school) but sometimes the kids need a bit more time to figure one out... 

[Halcyon]

2 hours ago, MorningGlory said:

I am so thrilled to see this update. I've wondered many times about how you and your dear son were doing. 😊

Jetta!!! Still his absolutely most favorite online class he took in high school was yours! Luca has matured tremendously since he was in your class. He;s definitely a late bloomer! He worked for a Marine Science and Turtle rescue in his 11th grade and 12th grade year and will always have a love of science. I have no idea why Economics is his major interest right now--certainly isn't an interest of mine beyond the public policy aspect! Bard has a tremendous and broad-based western literature and philosophy component thankfully (no business major, which i'm grateful for) which greatly appeals to the classical side of me!

 

I know he'll be thrilled to hear that you saw his update.

[Halcyon]

20 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

We are still in high school, but so good to see you!!! Glad your boy is happy at Bard. I hear nothing but positive about the college. 

If anyone has any questions about Bard, please reach out. They were VERY willing to work with us as homeschoolers, and made us feel very comfortable with our approach to their application. If anyone is considering Bard for their child, please let me know and I'll fill you in. 

My son is very excited about their abroad programs in Berlin, Kryzykstan, Vienna and St Pete Russia. He's leaning towards Russia right now. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Halcyon

[Halcyon]

20 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

So glad to hear from you and knowing that your son is doing well in college. Dd is still in hs but it won’t be long before we need to start applying.  

 

Where are you looking?

[Halcyon]

14 hours ago, Lori D. said:

SOOO nice to "see" you! Glad you're all doing well. I know you all had a rough patch several years back, so it's good to hear you're doing well. If you feel like keeping "one toe in the water" on these boards, a number of alumna and "moved on from homeschooling" peeps participate in the Book a Week thread over on the Chat Board, and I think there's also a private lit. group. So pop in whenever you like! 😄

All our antics since graduating DSs from homeschooling are down in my signature. 😉 Cheers!

That sounds fun! I've been wanting to get back to reading real books--I've been so obsessed with the news the last three years that it's been hard for my anxious mind to settle down and simply read. Will go find it now!

[Roadrunner]

12 minutes ago, Halcyon said:

If anyone has any questions about Bard, please reach out. They were VERY willing to work with us as homeschoolers, and made us feel very comfortable with our approach to their application. If anyone is considering Bard for their child, please let me know and I'll fill you in. 

My son is very excited about their abroad programs in Berlin, Kryzykstan, Vienna and St Pete Russia. He's leaning towards Russia right now. 

I still remember your prealgebra thread. Shaking my head that you have a college freshman! 

[GoodGrief3]

I just went back to re-read some of your thread. This is a wonderful update!

[chiguirre]

Hey Halcyon! Nice to hear from you.

Congratulations to your ds! I'm glad he's enjoying Bard.

Dd is a senior this year and will be graduating in May with her AA from our local CC and her high school diploma from Memoria Press Online Academy. She decided to join the Navy as an IT instead of going to college directly. UT Austin (her first choice) has had to move most classes online and tamp down on all the fun activities and it's just not appealing right now. She's hoping to get stationed overseas and will enroll in an online degree after she finishes boot camp and A School. Her first choice now is Arizona State which was one of her back ups before. Another possibility is the University of Florida. She's planning on doing a BS in Computer Information Systems or Computer Science and then going on to an MBA too. 

[crazyforlatin]

6 hours ago, Halcyon said:

Where are you looking?

When we heard that RootAnn’s Dd was  going to U of A, we took another look at the school. Both of our Dds were in Spanish together, and her Dd is an awesome kid. But since we’re in CA I hope she can stay closer. I don’t think UCs will work out because I feel like a smaller setting will be better for her. Yet we need aid or merit and will need to figure that out. And without international students coming here and paying full price, I wonder how that affects our students. 

[madteaparty]

I wonder if my kiddo and yours are in an Econ class together. Though, mine is not allowed on campus so probably not 😉

[Roadrunner]

4 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

When we heard that RootAnn’s Dd was  going to U of A, we took another look at the school. Both of our Dds were in Spanish together, and her Dd is an awesome kid. But since we’re in CA I hope she can stay closer. I don’t think UCs will work out because I feel like a smaller setting will be better for her. Yet we need aid or merit and will need to figure that out. And without international students coming here and paying full price, I wonder how that affects our students. 

We feel the same. I also think now that admission by exam is out of the question, PSA kids will be shut out from UCs. I still think College of Creative Studies at UCSB could be great. Other than that UCs are only good for their price. Nothing else is appealing about them otherwise. 

[Guest]

Congratulations, and good to hear from you!
 

DD15 graduates this Spring. She’s had a hard time emotionally this year with COVID (one of her best adult friends died due to COVID complications about a month ago, and she has had almost no contact with her friends due to a combination of homeschoolers limiting social media and Covid concerns), college apps, and life. She’s all online this fall, but is hoping to get at least one in person class in the Spring. 

 

She did most of her college apps in August, and has some acceptances in hand already, so now the focus is honors college and scholarship applications. She plans to major in organismal bio or wildlife biology (if the school has it) and science education, with an eventual goal of being a zoo or natural history museum education director.  Right now, her front runner is Mizzou if she can get enough money to make it viable, although UAH and MTSU also have a lot of appeal, and she hasn’t heard from the more reach-y schools yet (she loves everything she has heard about Agnes Scott, and also applied to Vanderbilt and Emory).