GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Jul 5, 2016 22:26:34 GMT -5
No one would ever describe me as an overly emotional person but I must admit that I cried a few tears of joy while reading your post. The college entrance process is so stressful for kids. To imagine that less than half a point could cause an applicant to be rejected is mind-blowing. I'm sure many kids come that close to being accepted but the British system is painfully transparent about it. I am certain his immediate follow up with the school made the difference--he clearly demonstrated his interest in the school and the maturity to address problems directly.
Congratulations DS#3!!!!!!!
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 23, 2016 1:42:00 GMT -5
DS3 (who is away with a friend's family) found out yesterday he got his first choice of campus accommodation. DH paid the deposit. It's a residence with a bunch of 12-person "houses" rather than a big dorm. It has the cheapest single rooms (80% of the rooms on campus are singles) but they look nice. We're paying a little extra for a room with a sink (because they are bigger and more modern). Communal kitchen and bathrooms. Hopefully DS3 will cook at least most of his meals. DS3 has had a 1.5h-2h daily commute to the international school for 7 years, all through MS and HS. So living on campus will be a nice change!
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obelisk
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Post by obelisk on Jul 23, 2016 7:40:37 GMT -5
OMG what a roller coaster today was! DS3 did NOT get his required mark ... he missed it by 0.04 points. He was completely and totally distraught. DH took him to school to get his marks but then DH had to leave for a meeting, so I left school to be with DS3. The college counselor said he might still get in but only in late Aug, after the UK kids get their marks. She told DS3 to write, but not call. He also needed a second required mark (English), which he totally exceeded. The college counselor was planning to write too, tomorrow. DS3 wanted to write the letter tonight. I said no, you should write it today. Please, let me pick you up, take you home, help you write the letter, then I'll drop you back off to be with your friends (most of whom were celebrating). He said you're right, it's better to do it today. So DS3 wrote a short explanatory email, included his transcript, AND called. The Admissions Officer was very kind, and told him he needed to upload his transcript on their portal. He did, and then called back to tell them he had uploaded it. (In the meantime our internet went out, just to add to the stress.) They told him they would try to answer by end of Fri, but that depending on his marks, he might have to wait till end of Aug. They validated his acceptance 4 hours later!!! So he's in!!! 0.01 pt increase in acceptance per hour!!!!!!!!!!! That is a record. How many points increase would that be if it was 4 months. Congrats and celebrate, I would could not imagine a 4 month wait after 8 or more years of schooling.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 23, 2016 9:47:51 GMT -5
Obelisk, we did celebrate!
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obelisk
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Post by obelisk on Jul 23, 2016 10:03:20 GMT -5
Obelisk, we did celebrate! Tres Bon!
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 23, 2016 11:32:28 GMT -5
My oldest cousin -- the one who has blazed the trail for my generation in my family -- sent me a Washington Post article about the emotions that arise when sending a child away to college. This tweet from the Modern Family producer, Danny Zuker, was quoted in the article. I don't necessarily share the sentiments, but it is funny in a Sad Sack kind of way. Danny Zuker Aug 18 Danny Zuker @dannyzuker My twin girls left 4 college this week but I'm trying to stay positive as I start this exciting new chapter of my life where I wait to die.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Aug 23, 2016 16:46:12 GMT -5
GRG, I suggested DS3 read some articles about going to college, living within a budget, etc.
He ended up reading the articles for the parents, and said, WTF, what is this grief business, I'm going away to college, not dead. TGd and LOL! But we did have a talk about the other definitions of grief (although I agree it's too strong a word).
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Aug 23, 2016 17:32:32 GMT -5
My DS3 has 2 best friends, both girls. One is going to college in the US. One of my best friends from college lives in the same town where she is going, and I put them all in touch tonight, the girl with both the mom and her DD who recently graduated but still lives in the area.
I am SO FREAKING HAPPY ABOUT THAT, DS3's friend is like my 5th child. Her family is either on the left coast or in France, so I'm absolutely thrilled that she has people she can count on locally. That makes so much difference, IMO.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 24, 2016 7:06:04 GMT -5
This isn't a big deal but I'm sure common enough. Soph year my DD drove up to college by herself. She said she didn't need us for move in day. I stayed home and worked. All of a sudden I get a frantic call. Frantic enough that I thought someone had died in the parking lot. I finally realized that all the freaking out was because she had locked her keys in the car. My question then was "why are you calling me?" Her college is five hours away. I wasn't driving ten hours round trip to get her a second set of keys. The school said they don't help with anything like that. We never needed triple A before but I told her to call up and see if she could sign up on the spot. She moaned about the money. Like I hadn't just spent thousands of dollars on tuition. My only other suggestion was to leave everything in the car and I would mail the key. I figured two days without all her clothes wouldn't kill her and if she was desperate someone would loan her a shirt. She coughed up the $120 and got triple A.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 27, 2016 20:20:50 GMT -5
Well, DS4 moved in a few days ago. That was the easiest college move-in we've ever done. Ground level at-the-door unloading access, carts to borrow, ELEVATORS. One trip into the building, just 2 people needed, even with his cello. Amazing! I swear in the past I remember all 7 of us hauling boxes and totes across campus and up stairs, multiple trips. I was always dumbfounded by the dorm buildings that had zero elevators - what about anyone with disabilities? I remember multiple students in power wheelchairs in my dorms 30 years ago. Both DD1 and DS2 were in at least one building without any elevators whatsoever, just concrete stairwells.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 27, 2016 21:00:24 GMT -5
At la di da Kenyon College, the football players help move you in.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 28, 2016 9:33:33 GMT -5
At la di da Kenyon College, the football players help move you in. U of Rochester does this, too, but freshman year move-in only. The freshman building has only a loop for drop off, so the routine is snake everyone's cars thru various campus lots, when you get to the front of the chain the driver stays with the car while the new student goes with the swarm of athletes that speed empty your car into giant carts and whisk your belongings into the building. The driver moves the car off to a distant lot. Actual move-in is quick, but you wait hours in the conga line of cars. They had entertainment wandering along the cars while you waited, jugglers and school a'capella groups. They also warned you in advance to have a full tank of gas. DD1 got to meet other students from her floor and wing before we ever got to the building, and had a lunch date by the time I left her.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 28, 2016 11:58:02 GMT -5
At la di da Kenyon College, the football players help move you in. ODS' lacrosse coach and the senior lacrosse players swarmed our car and moved ODS in his freshman year. This year he is in a college-owned house with 11 other lacrosse players on the edge of campus along a public road. DH merely pulled up and the other housemates who were already there swarmed. YDS just moved in Friday to a medium size school with the largest freshman class ever. They staggered arrival times alphabetically, and most people appear to have heeded that schedule, so traffic was negligible. A team swarmed the car and moved him. I then drove to a second dorm where a team swarmed and moved his kitchen stuff into the special kitchen he will have access to. I then parked in a distant lot and walked back to settle him in. Those of you whose children are not yet applying to college should bear the move-in process in mind when choosing the school (cuz academics and price have no priority, LOL).
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ken a.k.a OMK
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Aug 28, 2016 12:08:07 GMT -5
When our son moved into Virginia Tech, fraternity and sorority members helped the freshmen move in. It was efficient. I never saw so many empty boxes before on the lawn. All electronics.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Aug 28, 2016 12:39:50 GMT -5
Neither of my sons wanted xH (not yet x at that time) or I to be around for move in so we stayed home. At least I could safely dissolve into tears when they left without embarrassing them... Have to look for something positive here right?
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 28, 2016 13:58:21 GMT -5
DD's college has the freshman move in help also. They had a time to check in plus people to help haul everything up the stairs. It kept the conga line to a minimum. It was nice, but I know that it isn't just to be nice. By them carrying the things up they get a chance to see anything that shouldn't be brought in the dorm. And I don't mean things that are really bad like drugs, more like things that colleges can't stand in dorms like a George Forman grill or a light fixture with more than one bulb in it.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 28, 2016 14:52:18 GMT -5
DD's college has the freshman move in help also. They had a time to check in plus people to help haul everything up the stairs. It kept the conga line to a minimum. It was nice, but I know that it isn't just to be nice. By them carrying the things up they get a chance to see anything that shouldn't be brought in the dorm.
And I don't mean things that are really bad like drugs, more like things that colleges can't stand in dorms like a George Forman grill or a light fixture with more than one bulb in it. Ain't that the truth, LOL. Both kids have accommodations through their respective Disability Offices to have small (2 cu. ft.) chest freezers in their rooms (because the freezer compartments in the dorm fridges barely hold ice trays, never mind a supply of safe, microwaveable, food). I'd be rich, rich, RICH!!, I tell you if I had a nickel for every person who tried to tell me on Friday that freezers aren't allowed in dorm rooms. I know they were just doing their jobs, but, c'mon...let me move my kid in, then come inspect the room and we'll chat. The whole campus didn't need to know YDS' life story. ODS' school, on the other hand, FREAKS out over anything upholstered. They can't even have those rocking game chairs or papasan type chairs for guests. They're lucky to be allowed pillows and comforters. I suspect there was a horrific bed bug infestation in the not too distant past...
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Sept 7, 2016 16:36:01 GMT -5
So DS3 just got his arrival info, only 36h before DS1's wedding LOL!!! I've been off most of the summer but now I have to figure this out LOL!!!
Thankfully I planned well, we leave on the Fri for the UK and stay with DH's cousins overnight. Ferry is booked. But we need to leave their house at 8 am to get to DS3's uni on time to unload. I just emailed the cousins asking them if it was OK with them for us to leave at 8. They have a 4YO, we don't see each other often, and they are very easy going, and we absolutely have that type of relationship (they show up here at crazy hours when they are coming to or through France too) so I'm sure it will be OK.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 7, 2016 16:46:03 GMT -5
So DS3 just got his arrival info, only 36h before DS1's wedding LOL!!! I've been off most of the summer but now I have to figure this out LOL!!! Thankfully I planned well, we leave on the Fri for the UK and stay with DH's cousins overnight. Ferry is booked. But we need to leave their house at 8 am to get to DS3's uni on time to unload. I just emailed the cousins asking them if it was OK with them for us to leave at 8. They have a 4YO, we don't see each other often, and they are very easy going, and we absolutely have that type of relationship (they show up here at crazy hours when they are coming to or through France too) so I'm sure it will be OK. YAY!!! I'm getting excited for you for BOTH big events!! And, of course, they both occur in the same week/weekend, LOL!!! Isn't that always how it works out, LOL?! You will bring your (packed) car across on the ferry with you? Since the UK is (still?) part of the EU, you don't have to pay any duty taxes or have customs search the car, right? Because, if so, just buy his stuff there or ship it. And I think the 4 year old will be awak hours before 8 a.m. out of pure excitement from having guests so I can't imagine your departure time would be a big deal. Get your tissues ready for both boys. ;-)
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Sept 7, 2016 16:54:08 GMT -5
GRG, the wedding is this weekend, we take DS3 over to the UK in 2 weeks. So thankfully although close, NOT the same weekend! It would have been literally impossible to do both things on the same weekend. Yes thankfully the UK is still part of the EU, but DS3 is British, since his Dad is British (like he's American, since his mom is). So even when Brexit finally happens, he will be fine. I always keep a small packet of tissues in my bag (hey I work in a school LOL), but tonight I packed one in my "evening bag" for the wedding LOL. Thank you!
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Sept 15, 2016 7:39:58 GMT -5
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garion2003
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Post by garion2003 on Sept 15, 2016 10:56:11 GMT -5
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Sept 16, 2016 13:51:28 GMT -5
I took DS3 shopping for his dorm room today. Thank goodness I got away with spending less than GRG. (I'm kidding GRG! Probably no new computer, and no new phone yet, we'll get it there.) I spent 283 euros (= $316) total, mainly at Ikea, but we also went to 2 other Home Depot / deco stores, and I had already ordered 1 set of sheets and the towels on Amazon. In total we bought: - 2 sets of sheets/quilt covers, 2 sets of towels, a set of 2 frying pans, a set of 3 pots, cutlery, 2 plates, 2 bowls, 4 dishtowels, 4 glasses, 2 trays, 2 mugs, a small drying rack, hangers, a pillow, pillow protector, food storage containers, baggies, veggie peeler, small rug, clothes hooks, bathroom items, desk items, and corkscrew. I have an extra single quilt at home and an extra mattress cover, so he's taking those. I also have a bunch of other kitchen utensils (spatula, wooden spoon, etc) I have to bring up from the basement. I do realize they have stores in the UK but we'll only be there for 24 hours, and we need to use that time to get him a bank account and a phone (plan). We had fun (but it was bittersweet too).
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Sept 16, 2016 14:56:31 GMT -5
Glad I got bored and looked in here, DS pretty much does his own thing with his school money stuff, but not sure he knew about the new FAFSA deadline.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2016 17:31:57 GMT -5
Glad I got bored and looked in here, DS pretty much does his own thing with his school money stuff, but not sure he knew about the new FAFSA deadline. Well, it's not really a deadline is it? It's just that you can file earlier.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Sept 16, 2016 17:34:41 GMT -5
Glad I got bored and looked in here, DS pretty much does his own thing with his school money stuff, but not sure he knew about the new FAFSA deadline. Well, it's not really a deadline is it? It's just that you can file earlier. I thought so too. You can file early if you want to, but not needed.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 16, 2016 20:20:22 GMT -5
Well, it's not really a deadline is it? It's just that you can file earlier. I thought so too. You can file early if you want to, but not needed. Unless your kiddo is clearly eligible and the school awards available school scholarships and other discretionary funds on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 17, 2016 13:37:12 GMT -5
I'll have my son do it, just so it's done, but not expecting any aide again.
Oregon promise just came out with a range, from $1k to $3.4k. This won't completely cover his tuition, but would cover about 2 1/2 semesters if he takes 12 credits. Hopefully he gets the high end of the range, would make me feel like my taxes were coming back to me for a little bit.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Sept 18, 2016 8:34:12 GMT -5
I would have loved this when DD was in her senior year. With the new Oct date we would have known how much fin aid the schools were going to give MUCH sooner. We started out the year stressing over what colleges to check out and visit. Then we moved on to stressing out over applications and whether she got accepted or not. Then after she was accepted we stressed over financial aid which didn't come out until March for most and one which annoyingly didn't get here until the middle of April. Not a big deal really. It's not like decision day is May 1st or anything. My DD's school, which funny enough is the one that sent the fin aid letter in the middle of April, didn't change their fafsa date deadline this year. It is still March 1st. But who knows what next year will bring.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 19, 2016 11:09:07 GMT -5
ODS, who is genuinely independent and touches base just a couple of times/week, just texted me: Hi Mom. I think I have pink eye. I texted back: Hello, darling older son. Please take your eye to the campus health center. I am 400 miles away and, even if I squint, I cannot see your eye. In all fairness, I talked to him today and he is bummed, so was just looking for some sympathy. If it is pink eye, he can't practice for at least 2 days and they have a big game coming up and he wants to be ready to play. Still, Moral of the story: We can shop, help them pack, take them to college, and drive away and they will still need us from time to time.
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