College Program Parents Thread...

[teacher100]

My son is a Junior in High School and is thinking about majoring in something in the computer area. He would like to do the CP his second semester in College. He will probably go to the college that is in our town and I think it would be a great opportunity for him to "move away" for awhile. Would it be reasonable for him to go to the College Presentation at the local campus just to ask questions even though it is two years out?

I know this question has happened before, but has anyone ever been turned down who applied early. My son has a little trouble with conversation skills at times and seems nervous because he has Tourette's Syndrome. It makes him very self concious. I worry about the interview part. He is an Eagle Scout, so I'm hoping that will help him.

 

[glendalais]

I know this question has happened before, but has anyone ever been turned down who applied early. My son has a little trouble with conversation skills at times and seems nervous because he has Tourette's Syndrome. It makes him very self concious. I worry about the interview part. He is an Eagle Scout, so I'm hoping that will help him.

As someone who works for Disney with some of the same issues as your son, I'm sure he'll have no problem getting hired. The interview is very laid back, and if has a passion for what he wants to do, the interviewer should be able to see that.

However, I don't think they'll hire him if he applies for the CP this early; I don't even think they'll take applications. I'm sure there wouldn't be an issue if he goes to the presentation, though.

 

[Berlioz70]

I would definitely encourage him to attend the presentation early - I went three times before I applied. However, he cannot apply early - do not try until one semester before he wants to go down.

 

[teacher100]

Thanks for the response! I figured he wouldn't be able to apply early, but just going and seeing what to expect might help him when he does get to go. He is definitely passionate about Disney! He may be like many of these and keep wanting to go back, but he does understand that he needs to graduate in a reasonable amount of time! He actually thought about doing Career Start, but figured that he would have more of chance in getting in for CP since their are more roles for that program.

 

[kaguilbeau]

What is the difference between
Career Start and College Program as for as the different roles available?

Are the positions available more favorable for one of these programs than the other?

Thanks -

 

[OilSlinger822]

What is the difference between
Career Start and College Program as for as the different roles available?

Are the positions available more favorable for one of these programs than the other?

Thanks -

The Careerstart program is geared towards recent high school graduates and the College Program is for students taking college classes. There are more choices of roles for the College Program. Here is a website on both for more info...

Careerstart
http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/careerstart/index.html

College Program
http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/disneycollegeprogram/

 

[csaribay]

What is the difference between
Career Start and College Program as for as the different roles available?

Are the positions available more favorable for one of these programs than the other?

Thanks -

In terms of features, there's simply more variety in the amount of roles available. The College Program offers 15 types of roles, while the CareerStart Program offers seven. There is no set "cap" between the two programs - the College and CareerStart Programs share the same "pool" of available roles, so it's not so much which program you apply to (assuming they both offer the same roles), but rather the quality of the candidate's application which determines who gets what role.

The only other major difference between the two programs is the arrival/departure dates. The College Program offers a variety of check-in and departure dates for it six seasons (three "seasons" in the Spring, three "seasons" in the Fall), while the CareerStart Program only offers one set of arrival/departure for its two seasons (Spring, a seven month program, and Fall, a five month program). The College Program allows for a little more flexibility in traveling to/from Disney, as far as that goes.

Other than that, the two program are functionally equivalent. Same housing, same classes, same front-line roles.

 

[Joanna71985]

Hope everyone's kids on the CP/CS are doing well.

 

[ro80]

My daughter is doing great!! She absolutely is having a ball. She has 3 roommates, one of which isn't quite clicking with the rest but they'll figure it out!! She is working at Fulton's at Port Orleans. Her only issue is not having her car with her but I'm not budging on that one. The only drawback to that is getting home from work at 1:30 am and having to go back at 8:00 am again. I think that was her only complaint....I on the other hand have been crying all week I really miss her being it's her first time away. She's happy and that's all that matters. This is a GREAT experience for her. So far so good!!

 

[Joanna71985]

My daughter is doing great!! She absolutely is having a ball. She has 3 roommates, one of which isn't quite clicking with the rest but they'll figure it out!! She is working at Fulton's at Port Orleans. Her only issue is not having her car with her but I'm not budging on that one. The only drawback to that is getting home from work at 1:30 am and having to go back at 8:00 am again. I think that was her only complaint....I on the other hand have been crying all week I really miss her being it's her first time away. She's happy and that's all that matters. This is a GREAT experience for her. So far so good!!

Glad to hear she is doing well!

 

[Love2Live]

Woohoo!

 

[Love2Live]

Neat!

 

[onehotdisneymama]

My daughter is doing very well. Her in-room roomate is wonderful and she has been lucky to get some very nice girls to share the apartment with. Since she has been there 4 out of 8 of the original girls have had to leave for various reasons. They have had a couple of "questionable girls" come and go also. Alot of key changes. She works at the Magic Kingdom so she works alot of late hours. Kind of a good thing she is not a morning person. Being from Florida she is used to the crazy weather we get. Some of her roomates aren't quite sure what to make of Tropical Storm weather. Thanks for asking about how our kids are doing. Diane Mother to Rebecca(Becky)

 

[deadtoaster2]

Since she has been there 4 out of 8 of the original girls have had to leave for various reasons.

Wow! I bet that is pretty crazy to see half of the apartment leave. Not sure if you will even know the answer, but did they leave on their own choice (homesick, injured themselves, didn't enjoy the experience, etc.) or were they actually termed by Disney?

 

[Joanna71985]

My daughter is doing very well. Her in-room roomate is wonderful and she has been lucky to get some very nice girls to share the apartment with. Since she has been there 4 out of 8 of the original girls have had to leave for various reasons. They have had a couple of "questionable girls" come and go also. Alot of key changes. She works at the Magic Kingdom so she works alot of late hours. Kind of a good thing she is not a morning person. Being from Florida she is used to the crazy weather we get. Some of her roomates aren't quite sure what to make of Tropical Storm weather. Thanks for asking about how our kids are doing. Diane Mother to Rebecca(Becky)

I know the feeling. On my second CP, I ended up having 6 roomies in a 2-BR (2 of the original 4 left).

 

[wdwfam]

DD is also doing really well. She too has 3 roommates, one of which isn't clicking as well either. But the other three girls are having a blast! We talk every day, so I'm dealing better than I thought I would. But that is because she is having so much fun. The great thing about it was that she met SO many kids on Facebook before even going down there. A lot of the kids come up to her and ask, "Are you ......"? I better not write her name, since so many people know her. But she is working at MK.

 

[Joanna71985]

DD is also doing really well. She too has 3 roommates, one of which isn't clicking as well either. But the other three girls are having a blast! We talk every day, so I'm dealing better than I thought I would. But that is because she is having so much fun. The great thing about it was that she met SO many kids on Facebook before even going down there. A lot of the kids come up to her and ask, "Are you ......"? I better not write her name, since so many people know her. But she is working at MK.

The same thing happened to me! I met so many people from Facebook (most from the Fall 2008 CP board)...it was great!

 

[mum's the word!]

How do folks get in touch via Facebook ( as your semester references etc would not easily transpose for us Brits.) I would like to recommend to my Daughter that she has a nosey on f/b to broaden her horizons with regard to meeting folks other than those in her immediate vacinity in the appt. or at work. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Joanna71985]

How do folks get in touch via Facebook ( as your semester references etc would not easily transpose for us Brits.) I would like to recommend to my Daughter that she has a nosey on f/b to broaden her horizons with regard to meeting folks other than those in her immediate vacinity in the appt. or at work. Many thanks in advance.

It's easy to keep in touch via Facebook, because you can send messages and stuff on it. I love Facebook.

 

[crazylena]

Hi everyone, I'm new to all of this. My daughter just started the career start program last week. We drove down together from Minnesota and after getting her settled I flew home (crying all the way).
I was very impressed by everything I saw during the short time I was there. I felt the complex she'll be living in seemed very safe with the 24 hour security guards.
I have been peeking in on these discussions for the last few months and someone suggested family members stay at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and I ended up staying there while my daughter got all checked in. I highly recommend this hotel. It's literally right across the road from the Vista Way complex and the Chatham is basically behind it. The staff was great too. While I was trying to check out of the hotel I was crying the whole time and they seemed so understanding and said I was definatly not the 1st parent they've seen crying when it was time to leave.

I talked to my daughter last night and she said she's been assigned to 3 seperate locations in Epcot with 3 seperate costumes. I was surprised by that. I thought she'd only be in one spot. But she was ok with it. I could tell she was tired and still a little overwhelmed but seems to be adjusting well.
She thought the traditions class was a lot of fun and is especially excited now that she can go to any of the parks for free.
She ended up with 5 other roommates. I met 3 of them and they seemed very sweet.
To all of you parents who have kids in the program I look forward to hearing more about theirs and your experience with the program.

God Bless, crazylena