ScoutTN Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Huge (for us) snow and very cold temps hit Dd’s Uni too. Classes have been cancelled. She stayed with friends in an apt for a slumber party a couple of nights, then back to the dorm. They have gone sledding, built snow people, watched movies, made cocoa and soup, and are ready for things to get back to normal. Uni and town between them have kept the roads on and near campus reasonably drivable, but another layer of icy precipitation is due late afternoon. She has been glad to have good base layers, a warm, waterproof ski jacket, snow boots, etc. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) Snow in the south has cause a snow/ice-mageddon. DD went home with a friend last Sunday and roads and school have been closed since. Over a week and she is so ready to be back on campus. I am just so sad she has been off of school and I didn't even get to be with her. ETA: dd just texted that they are FINALLY headed back to campus! Woohoo! Hope they are able to have classes tomorrow! Edited January 23 by ByGrace3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 DS19 gets to experience his first earthquake at his college 😆His dorm building shook. He had experience earthquakes many times so he was just amused. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) 12 hours ago, Arcadia said: DS19 gets to experience his first earthquake at his college 😆His dorm building shook. He had experience earthquakes many times so he was just amused. I was on the phone with my friend down in Pasadena and they felt it too! Edited January 25 by Roadrunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 5 minutes ago, Roadrunner said: I was on the phone with my friend down in Pasadena and they felt it too! South bay earthquakes are quite frequent and higher in magnitude so he was just amused. His dorm complex is newer and already built taking into account earthquakes so we aren’t worried. Besides the expected “big one” is near us. Last fall has been good with no major wildfires here or there 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Dh and I are going to pick up freshman in NYC today! I was too intimidated to go alone so he agreed to come with. We plan to get some yummy city food takeout. Such is our empty-nest life that driving 16 hours = date night. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Kid’s school has issued 1098-T. We don’t qualify for AOTC or LLC. Just a heads up for those of you who do. https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/aotc https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/llc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 We hired an accountant last year and have an appt. scheduled for the first week of March. No regrets, no worries. DD will also be using her GI bennies next year so FAFSA is...blessedly...not an issue. The year after (DS's baseline) we will likely have an extra dependent so not worried about that either. This roll-out is a shit show to be sure. I feel for those hamstrung by it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 We had a mini disaster this week with dd and I am blown away with how much she has grown in maturity and how she is handling being 15 hours away from us. So thankful! She has been dealing with mold in her dorm since she moved in August and they have bleached it a few times but that obviously doesn't work. She along with my dh have been on disaster relief teams for years and know how to treat mold. So dd treated it with shockwave several times but it's deep in the walls and not helping. DD has a serious mold allergy and has been sick since she moved in. It all culminated a few days ago when dd called me and she had an anaphylactc reaction -- throat closing, couldn't breathe, rash all over face and neck. She took her inhaler but called to tell me she forgot her epic pen at home (AGHGHGHGHG). Thankfully Benadryl was able to get it to stop and she spent the night at a friends in a different building. Next day she went to the dean's office and pleaded her case to get into another dorm ASAP. My husband had to get involved and send a strong email but thankfully she is being moved. Man, that was stressful. I am thankful she is ok and that she is advocating for herself and knows when to get us involved. Now I am seriously hoping the next 2 pick schools closer to home! lol 1 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 On 2/11/2024 at 7:31 AM, ByGrace3 said: We had a mini disaster this week with dd and I am blown away with how much she has grown in maturity and how she is handling being 15 hours away from us. So thankful! She has been dealing with mold in her dorm since she moved in August and they have bleached it a few times but that obviously doesn't work. She along with my dh have been on disaster relief teams for years and know how to treat mold. So dd treated it with shockwave several times but it's deep in the walls and not helping. DD has a serious mold allergy and has been sick since she moved in. It all culminated a few days ago when dd called me and she had an anaphylactc reaction -- throat closing, couldn't breathe, rash all over face and neck. She took her inhaler but called to tell me she forgot her epic pen at home (AGHGHGHGHG). Thankfully Benadryl was able to get it to stop and she spent the night at a friends in a different building. Next day she went to the dean's office and pleaded her case to get into another dorm ASAP. My husband had to get involved and send a strong email but thankfully she is being moved. Man, that was stressful. I am thankful she is ok and that she is advocating for herself and knows when to get us involved. Now I am seriously hoping the next 2 pick schools closer to home! lol Yikes! Glad she is ok and being moved! No students should ever have to live in a room with mold! Ugh! Outrageous. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 (edited) DD is wicked homesick and lonely. She has a sweetheart at home that dh and I love but I do think the texting and face timing is getting in the way of dd being present to the options available to her that might take her mind off home. She doesn't party so also "misses out" on all the bonding that sadly goes along with drinking and smoking pot every weekend 😔. Edited March 11 by Eos 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 @Eos Sorry your Dd is struggling! So hard. Will she be home for SB soon? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 I can relate, both with watching a long distance relationship prevent full engagement in the here and now, and also with watching a kid struggle to get out of a social rut. It is so hard to watch them going through these things. It is not that I didn't have similar issues, but I definitely wasn't sharing them with my parents. I am glad these kids are more willing to open up to us. Eos, are you a member of or can you join a parent FB group for your kid's school? I've been listening in to parent FB groups at schools my senior has applied to, and parents often post asking for suggestions in this kind of situation. Sometimes responses include another parent saying their kid is in the same boat and eager to meet new people, so they try to connect them for coffee or a workout or just meeting for lunch in the cafeteria. Sometimes responses suggest clubs or activities that might not be as well known, but provide rich social support. Sometimes responses include been there done that accounts, and parents report that things got better sophomore year (esp as students get more engaged with their major departments), or a parent reports that their kid transferred and is much happier now. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 2 hours ago, Eos said: DD is wicked homesick and lonely. She has a sweetheart at home that dh and I love but I do think the texting and face timing is getting in the way of dd being present to the options available to her that might take her mind off home. She doesn't party so also "misses out" on all the bonding that sadly goes along with drinking and smoking pot every weekend 😔. My now husband (college boyfriend) was at a different college and I absolutely wasted my time at college focused on him. We of course didn't have facetime then, and he could only call me once a week until he was a senior (Naval Academy) but I pined nonetheless. I wish I had gotten involved in clubs or the newspaper or anything. Just sat and pined away. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 4 hours ago, ScoutTN said: @Eos Sorry your Dd is struggling! So hard. Will she be home for SB soon? Yes, I am so glad! Thank you. 4 hours ago, jplain said: I can relate, both with watching a long distance relationship prevent full engagement in the here and now, and also with watching a kid struggle to get out of a social rut. It is so hard to watch them going through these things. It is not that I didn't have similar issues, but I definitely wasn't sharing them with my parents. I am glad these kids are more willing to open up to us. Eos, are you a member of or can you join a parent FB group for your kid's school? I've been listening in to parent FB groups at schools my senior has applied to, and parents often post asking for suggestions in this kind of situation. Sometimes responses include another parent saying their kid is in the same boat and eager to meet new people, so they try to connect them for coffee or a workout or just meeting for lunch in the cafeteria. Sometimes responses suggest clubs or activities that might not be as well known, but provide rich social support. Sometimes responses include been there done that accounts, and parents report that things got better sophomore year (esp as students get more engag Thanks for this, I hadn't done it with my olders but I think I will do now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 How did 3/4 of the year go by so fast?! We have signed an apartment lease for next year. The FAFSA delay means scholarships for next year don’t show in her portal yet, but they should be the sane as this year. Dd has an advising appointment soon and registration for fall classes is the first week of April. She found a good minor and is researching study abroad options. Exams are done May 2! Anyone’s freshman have solid summer plans? Mine will spend a week at the beach with her fellowship group, then work at camp for most of the summer. Home about 3 weeks. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 No solid plans for summer here. Sigh. But he’s doing well otherwise. I should check on his housing. We got our Fafsa results but I think they are wrong. Dh said it never asked him about assets. That has to be wrong. Did other people get asked about assets? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Dd will work at a take-out lunch place, nothing exciting but good money. She'll probably also do some landscaping and a few catering jobs. Cash is the goal! Plus having time to swim and hike. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzberrymom Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) My DD got a research job on campus at the beginning of the school year, and she’ll be able to keep doing that over the summer. Her professor gave her a fantastic research project, but it’s totally unstructured—this will be her introduction to the ‘it’s up to you to get it done’ life of a grad student. I have no idea how it will go. I’m crossing my fingers for some big jumps in maturity over the summer. Her voice teacher is on campus all summer too, so hopefully she can make real strides there too. For next year, she’s stuck in a triple room again—I thought she was going to cry when she found out. Her school guarantees housing for all 4 years, but the options aren’t great. Off-campus is extraordinarily expensive, so she’ll have to bear it another year. 🤷♀️ Edited March 19 by rzberrymom 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) My ‘I don’t want to travel’ kid came back from her overseas, school-sponsored trip and wants to apply to study abroad next year! Woot!! DD will be continuing her mathnasium gig this summer. She's also keeping her roomie for next year. Edited March 19 by Sneezyone 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) 7 hours ago, ScoutTN said: Anyone’s freshman have solid summer plans? Mine will spend a week at the beach with her fellowship group, then work at camp for most of the summer. Home about 3 weeks. No solid summer plans here. DS is applying for various research positions but no decisions until April. We may have to scramble for summer housing, depending. For next year, course registration is April 8. Fall housing sign-ups are coming soon too, and he and his friends have banded together by creating housing groups so one person can grab suites for the whole group. There's a lottery for when you get to choose your housing, and whoever in the group gets the earliest date will be the person choosing for everyone. They require sophomores to live on campus so I know he will get housing, but I know it means a lot to him to get to live with friends so fingers crossed. The control freak in me was definitely more comfortable last year when I was there as he chose housing, as opposed to whoever in his friend group gets the earliest access by lottery. I'll be glad when it's done. ETA: I can't believe there are only 8 weeks left for the first year. It went slowly but also quickly?! Edited March 19 by idnib 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) 9 hours ago, ScoutTN said: Exams are done May 2 Mine is having finals for Winter quarter this week 🤣 Spring break is next week. His academic year ends on June 14th. Fall quarter starts on Sep 23rd. ETA: he has already renewed his suite this January for the next academic year. He is in a four bedroom two bathroom suite. Edited March 19 by Arcadia 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 @Arcadia The quarter system! Does he like it or would he prefer traditional semesters? Are all CA unis on quarters? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 4 minutes ago, ScoutTN said: @Arcadia The quarter system! Does he like it or would he prefer traditional semesters? Are all CA unis on quarters? The community college he picked for dual enrollment is also on the quarter system and he likes it. He finds semesters too long for his outsourced high school classes. He gets bored easily. Besides, being on the quarter system means he has one more chance per year of getting the classes he wanted. It also means we pay three smaller bills instead of two bigger ones. California State University system is on the semester system. UCB and UCM are on the semester system. The rest of the seven UCs are on the quarter system. UCSF does not have undergraduate programs and is on a quarter system for their postgrad programs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Mine is in the midst of the finals for the winter quarter as well. He gets to come home for a week and sleep and then do it all over again and another finals in the middle of June. He has a love/hate relationship with the quarter system. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 @Roadrunner my kids like the fact that fall quarter starts in late September because our school district starts back in mid August (8/13). So from mid August to mid September is a good time for road trips for us. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 28 minutes ago, Arcadia said: @Roadrunner my kids like the fact that fall quarter starts in late September because our school district starts back in mid August (8/13). So from mid August to mid September is a good time for road trips for us. September travel could be a real perk going forward! Although I will say last year we felt a bit desperate as everybody left for college early and mine was sitting bored and alone most of September. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Can we do a hit/miss for roommates? Mine really struck out, her roommate is kindly but a party girl and dd can't wait to not live with her. Her college has a kind of self-matching board where she has been approached by two different women who seem compatible and she is going to meet each of them. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 @Eos I am sorry that your Dd has a bad match! That is so hard! ☹️☹️ I hope she finds a good one for next year!! “Home”, whatever it is, needs to be safe and peaceful. Dd’s is a hit, they will share a four-bedroom apartment with two other girls next year. Her school had a decent process for housing. Each student seeking a roommate completes a profile with specific questions to answer and space for a personal statement. Students choose, not the school. And the school keeps a fairly tight reign on dorms; partying generally happens elsewhere or is quiet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 @Eos DS19 rarely sees his roommates since they keep to their bedrooms. However, they are all quiet, respectful of the shared kitchen, and do cook. One of his roommates use the microwave rice packs you can find at Costco and Korean supermarkets to pair with stew he cooks. A roommate’s mom brought the instant pot (the one with separate air fryer lid), as well as pots and pans for communal use. Her kid actually cook the least among the four of them. Coincidentally all are asians. I was a party girl in college but we kept the partying to the communal game room and the TV lounges. The only time we partied near the dorm area was after exams and before everyone leave for home. Mostly, we went out to party on Friday or Saturday nights. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Mine has a somewhat unpleasant roommate situation but it’s livable. He is hoping to struck out next year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 2 hours ago, ScoutTN said: Students choose, not the school. This only happens for subsequent years, first-years are chosen by the school. Older dd at the same school had a perfect fit and they roomed together all four years! Ds never really saw his first year roomie, but they were reasonably compatible. A positive outcome of the roomie situation has been that dd has found a very quiet spot to study in the science library, which will be a good foundation to build on next year. She's also discovered that she can't focus with her shoes on, so she's learned to take them off when she studies or even taking tests. This is kind of hilarious to me, as I used to proclaim/exaggerate that my kids would shed their shoes on the day the snow melted and not put them back on again until the next winter's snow arrived, but apparently it's more true than I knew! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Dd's first semester at the University of Florida is going well. She has another 6 weeks of class this semester. They just opened summer registration. She plans to do the second semester in the intro to programming sequence and Discrete Math over the summer. She's managed to finish up her language requirement, technical writing and one humanities/international studies flag with CLEPs and DSSTs. She needs to take the Art History CLEP for a very specific humanities requirement and another flag and then she'll be completely done with required gen ed courses. She's managed to keep on top on her classwork through two wisdom tooth extractions (they couldn't do the tops and bottoms on the same day), a big move into her own apartment and a step up in responsibilities at work that came with her promotion. It's been a busy semester for her but she seems happy and not overly stressed out about it all. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Ds isn’t fond of his roommate. He’s not one to share so I don’t know any details. They are civil, but don’t really talk. Ds will room from a friend from his high school youth group who is part of his friend group at school. They had decided not to room together the first year, but will next year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) DS19 landed at SJC. His flight landed 26 mins early. It was his first Southwest flight and I paid for a business select ticket. He was happy to be able to text us on the plane. Edited March 21 by Arcadia Removed photo 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 My freshman is on the way home for Spring Break today. She just finished up winter quarter. We actually went and visited her last weekend for a really big performance on campus. Ugh, so fabulous and fun! She is having a pretty GREAT freshman year in most regards. She is actually taking a train home for the first time which is pretty exciting lol. It's the most economical and efficient way to get her home so I hope it goes smoothly! Though if we're on the ball with flights, that isn't typically too bad for one. She is having some roommate woes. Less that the roommate is awful and more that she is having some mental health struggles. She had a group she was going to try and find an apartment with and that kind of fell apart. So she will probably be on campus again next year. And as a parent, it's more expensive, but hooray really because she's in a big city and it's one more year not to worry about signing a lease with the right people in the right location, etc. and another year to make good social connections on campus. I think it's normal and even good to have to navigate some less than ideal situations on campus. But other than that one thing, everything has been pretty GREAT. I have seen some parents complaining about advising/registering but again, been fantastic for my kid. She made dean's list first quarter, we'll see what happens this quarter. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 On 3/20/2024 at 6:49 AM, Roadrunner said: Mine has a somewhat unpleasant roommate situation but it’s livable. He is hoping to struck out next year. 3 hours ago, catz said: She is having some roommate woes. Less that the roommate is awful and more that she is having some mental health struggles. She had a group she was going to try and find an apartment with and that kind of fell apart. So she will probably be on campus again next year. And as a parent, it's more expensive, but hooray really because she's in a big city and it's one more year not to worry about signing a lease with the right people in the right location, etc. and another year to make good social connections on campus. My daughter became best friends with her roommates from her SOPHOMORE year, after a less than stellar freshman year. The freshman roommates weren't terrible, but one was never there and the other was still stuck in high school mean girls kind of behavior. The second year she got super grounded and loyal friends who she ended up convincing to go on a cross country road trip with her in January! 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 2 hours ago, SanDiegoMom said: My daughter became best friends with her roommates from her SOPHOMORE year, after a less than stellar freshman year. The freshman roommates weren't terrible, but one was never there and the other was still stuck in high school mean girls kind of behavior. The second year she got super grounded and loyal friends who she ended up convincing to go on a cross country road trip with her in January! I am still super good friends with my sophomore roommate after a less than stellar freshman roommate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 @mlktwins How are your boys doing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Dd is in her way home today too, right before a messy winter storm tomorrow. Yay! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, Eos said: Dd is in her way home today too, right before a messy winter storm tomorrow. Yay! Picked up kiddo in a snowstorm last night! Winter has returned- boo! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 16 minutes ago, catz said: Picked up kiddo in a snowstorm last night! Winter has returned- boo! Glad she’s home safely! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 DS19 probably lost his room key at the TSA when he was flying home, first time flying alone. We waited until his RA opened his dorm suite for him before leaving. He’ll be able to get a replacement key tomorrow so he can’t leave his suite today which is a non issue since he has food if he wants to cook and dry rations if he doesn’t want to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Poor guy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberries Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 DS has been in a four-person suite this year. 2/3 roommates were hits; the third seems like a reasonably nice acquaintance but they didn't really click or talk much. DS just signed up to be in a four-person suite in a different dorm next year with one current roomie and two other guys. They all met up for dinner earlier this week and he happily described the new ones as "amiable nerds." This semester DS started an on-campus job as an AV tech and is enjoying it. Hopefully he can pick that up again in the fall. No solid plans for summer; he'll be home by May 5. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 1 hour ago, freesia said: Poor guy! It’s an expensive mistake but Ontario Airport was really confusing for him as there was no ticket counter, it was straight to boarding gates. Also he has his keys on a chained keychain to attach to his pants. So he had to take it off during TSA and somehow forgot to grab the keys when grabbing his belt. I nearly left my keys in the TSA bin too so can understand how it could happen. This is the kind of keychain DS19 and I use. I have a few spares at home so I gave him mine today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 DS and a friend got a room together for next year in the sophomore housing sign up. The actually started chatting last summer when they met on discord and did a Dungeons and Dragons campaign together. Still waiting to hear about what he's doing this summer; hopefully we will know in the next couple of weeks. He's done with finals in a little over 5 weeks so he's definitely cutting summer plans fine but it's out of his control as he waits to hear about possible research opportunities. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Mine is back to school for another 10 week quarter. He is super excited to be taking all new classes. This is definitely the benefit of a quarter system. But not so excited to be dealing with finals second time since January. And that is a drawback of this fast paced madness. Having him home for a week with nothing to do I realize his life here is over. This is now a temporary relaxation station in life. It’s sad and exciting. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Dd was home for Easter weekend. ❤️ Lovely to have her home and I miss her tonight. We looked over her course planning info for next semester together yesterday. Registration is this week. They are out May 2. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 15 hours ago, ScoutTN said: Dd was home for Easter weekend. ❤️ Lovely to have her home and I miss her tonight. Same! She had a hard time leaving but the next 7 weeks will go fast. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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