College Program Parents Thread...

[jobro912]

Our dd did the cp last Jan. her university did not give her credit either. She basically took the semester off. She took one Disney class and she was the only one in that class who did not get credit. She took a class in the summer when she got back. She also ended up taking 21 credits and did an internship this past fall semester trying to play catch up. She will graduate in Dec. of this year instead of May.

The whole credit thing baffles me in some ways. My son's university promotes the DCP like crazy...in fact, there are currently 3 Campus Reps there, and it is a school of only 13K. He can't get a straight answer on credit..I am fairly certain he can't get credit for just doing the program...which some schools offer, but I am hoping it is not an all or nothing prospect. I have read on some sites that the schools required the CP participant to take a leave of absence to do it. Oh well, it would be nice if he would talk to the campus reps about their experience. There are at least 13 at WDW this semester from his school...I can't imagine that they all just dropped school completely for the semester. But who knows?

 

[RogerRadcliffe]

My daughter just got her acceptance to the Fall program at Disneyland - she's in the program in Orlando now, working as a concierge. Fall role is in merchandise. I don't see very many California programmers out there. Anyone??

Congratulations to her acceptance into the Disneyland Resort Fall Program! There's quite a few others around here that have been accepted for Disneyland, but not as many compared to Walt Disney World it may seem.

DS is not eligible to apply yet, but I am trying to wrap my head around a few things.

His only choices would be online classes or co-op credit for Theatre if he was in an Entertainment role. What are other kids doing about this? I just noticed today that the kids can be part time students as opposed to full time, which takes away some of the pressure of carrying 12 hours online. I think that would require an insane amount of discipline.

Are CP Entertainment roles generally only offered in the Fall? I see that there are auditions around the country for the month of March. Are those the only CP Entertainment auditions all year? Would a March audition be valid for a Spring program?

Thanks!

For credits, it honestly depends upon the school's requirements and fulfillment needed to keep in good standing, in addition to their major as well. Most of us just take online courses in the mentime. If he's quite serious about it all, I'd definitely advise only considering entertainment, even though he'll learn a lot from any role, really. I completely get that it's closely related to acting, but he'll still have similar experiences no matter where he's at. It would definitely be a consideration to have when the time comes, and to sit down with the adviser/department head to determine if the role he's selected for can count for something.

The College Program Offers the Entertainment and Performer roles during both Spring/Fall seasons. Auditions for the Fall Season are in March/April, while Spring Auditions are in September/October. So, March auditions would only be valid for the Spring Program as auditions occurs for the following program season.

I measured him last night and he is 5'11...He is going to do some yoga stretching over the next week and half or so to try to measure in at auditions at 6'.

I actually got a good giggle out of this! I'd just advise standing up straight. During my auditions we had to take off our shoes as well, as it's filling out an applicant form, receiving audition numbers, measurements & face profiles.

Have a Magical Day!

 

[jobro912]

LOL, RR...He was flat footed and shoeless when we measured. Whatever it takes ;-) If I could find a rack...well, you know.

 

[BadDad]

My son will be 21 if he gets in the Disney program. He does not drink, but he's worried everyone in the nonwellness apartments will be younger and possibly alcohol in causing trouble for him. He really is not into the party scene.

My S22, did the program in Spring of 2011. He was 20 when he started, turned 21 when he was down there.

I recommend your S going into a NON-wellness apt. 2 reasons:
1) There is a very big difference in maturity of 18/19 to 21 year old males. My S's first roommates just completed 1 semester of college and still had a h.s. mentality. My S had over a year of college under his belt. When he turned 21 he transferred from a wellness to a non-wellness. Yes, there was beer in the frig however, the roommates were thinking about graduation and getting a job not partying. Plus, they all understood that it was their responsibility to clean-up after themselves. In wellness, no one took out the trash, washed dishes and cleaned the bathrooms (waiting for mom to show-up?). In non-wellness, they got white glove awards.
2) If any alcohol is found in a publicly accessible area in a wellness apt: All tenets will be terminated. No exceptions!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Our dd did the cp last Jan. her university did not give her credit either. She basically took the semester off. She took one Disney class and she was the only one in that class who did not get credit. She took a class in the summer when she got back. She also ended up taking 21 credits and did an internship this past fall semester trying to play catch up. She will graduate in Dec. of this year instead of May.

This is where I get confused. I am fine with him NOT getting any college credit while he is there. I thought WDW required the kids to be enrolled in some sort of class they would get credit for, either through WDW if the college allows that or through the school directly. So, if their school will NOT give them credit, can they go and take a WDW class that won't transfer for credit and not be kicked out of the program? One school we spoke to said DS can take one co-op class IF his assigned role is a DIRECT tie-in with his major (Theatre), and they allow one online distance learning class, so he could still do a 3 hour online course no matter what role he was assigned in the CP.

 

[lego606]

My daughter just got her acceptance to the Fall program at Disneyland - she's in the program in Orlando now, working as a concierge. Fall role is in merchandise. I don't see very many California programmers out there. Anyone??

I'm going to be doing the Disneyland program!

This is where I get confused. I am fine with him NOT getting any college credit while he is there. I thought WDW required the kids to be enrolled in some sort of class they would get credit for, either through WDW if the college allows that or through the school directly. So, if their school will NOT give them credit, can they go and take a WDW class that won't transfer for credit and not be kicked out of the program? One school we spoke to said DS can take one co-op class IF his assigned role is a DIRECT tie-in with his major (Theatre), and they allow one online distance learning class, so he could still do a 3 hour online course no matter what role he was assigned in the CP.

You only need to be registered for a class at the time of application and interview, not during the College Program itself.

 

[jobro912]

The College Program Classes are optional, not required. The only class that is directly theatre related and only allows theatre majors is an Entertainment Seminar that isn't ACE certified for credit. As for credit for the certified classes,it is totally up to individual schools.

 

[leeg229]

This is where I get confused. I am fine with him NOT getting any college credit while he is there. I thought WDW required the kids to be enrolled in some sort of class they would get credit for, either through WDW if the college allows that or through the school directly. So, if their school will NOT give them credit, can they go and take a WDW class that won't transfer for credit and not be kicked out of the program? One school we spoke to said DS can take one co-op class IF his assigned role is a DIRECT tie-in with his major (Theatre), and they allow one online distance learning class, so he could still do a 3 hour online course no matter what role he was assigned in the CP.

I'm not sure I completely understand the problem. You are not required to take any classes (Disney offered or otherwise) while in Florida. On Disney's end the only thing they require for Florida is the he be a student at the time of applying. The college he is attending may require that he take a certain number of credit hours though. And that should be taken into consideration when thinking about financial aid or maintaining enrollment with the college.

 

[carol-lamb]

My dd loves it so much, she just informed me that she wants to extend til 8/2.

My daughter just applied this week to extend. She is supposed to be gone on May 31st. She wants to keep her current role - safari driver (Kilimanjaro Safari)! If she gets accepted, we will have some logistics to figure out as her brother is getting married on July 27th and she is a bridesmaid. She would end her college program on August 2nd. I would probably have to send her dress down to Florida to have it fitted. All the worries fall on me, but she is having so much fun down there and loves her job.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I'm not sure I completely understand the problem. You are not required to take any classes (Disney offered or otherwise) while in Florida. On Disney's end the only thing they require for Florida is the he be a student at the time of applying. The college he is attending may require that he take a certain number of credit hours though. And that should be taken into consideration when thinking about financial aid or maintaining enrollment with the college.

OK, the problem is I wasn't understanding the requirements properly. All this time I thought they had to be taking classes DURING the program. I was struggling to sort out how he was going to do that. If WDW doesn't mandate that the kids are actively enrolled in courses during their program then that simplifies things tremendously! Thanks for explaining it!

 

[edk35]

The whole credit thing baffles me in some ways. My son's university promotes the DCP like crazy...in fact, there are currently 3 Campus Reps there, and it is a school of only 13K. He can't get a straight answer on credit..I am fairly certain he can't get credit for just doing the program...which some schools offer, but I am hoping it is not an all or nothing prospect. I have read on some sites that the schools required the CP participant to take a leave of absence to do it. Oh well, it would be nice if he would talk to the campus reps about their experience. There are at least 13 at WDW this semester from his school...I can't imagine that they all just dropped school completely for the semester. But who knows?

My dd's university has campus reps too! Apparently many years ago they did give credit but stopped. She talked to so many people at her school.... Could never get it approved.

 

[jobro912]

Yeah, edk...I am certain he can't get credit for the program, but he needs to make sure he can maintain full time enrollment via online courses...if not, he can't go...too much financial aid at risk...mostly scholarships he can't afford to lose.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

The one college I spoke to told me the WDW courses are reviewed by ACE, but the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges or something) doesn't recognize the ACE recommendations. So a school that is part of the SACS is not likely to give credit for any of the onsite WDW courses.

 

[BadDad]

My S did the program 2 years ago, took no on-line classes and received no credit. Worked QSFB.

IMHO: Don't let the college credit issue drive you away from the CP. It's #1 benefit is that it is a huge resume builder. It has opened doors for my S.

Look, how is WDW going to get a huge clean cut, intelligent college age work force and get away with paying them only minimum wage (and no benefits)?

The CPer's win by getting a Fortune 100 education in quality customer service. A chance to experience WDW and get paid.

Disney get a cheap but quality workforce.

Win-Win for both sides.

 

[jobro912]

And I agree Bad Dad. However, for me finances are an issue. Bottom line here is that if son loses scholarships we have no other resources to pay for school. I can see where for many who do the program this is probably not an issue, but for us it may be the deal breaker :-(

 

[checkwriter]

Just wondering to what extent our DS is going to need to tap the old parental piggybank during his time at WDW? He was accepted on Monday, in Recreation, and there's no question he's going (Fall Advantage), and of course we're very excited/jealous for him. But at minimum wage, with living expenses and a car (paid for by M&D), phone (paid for by M&D), and health insurance (paid for by M&D) . . . wait a minute, he's already tapping us plenty . . .

That said, do any of you anticipate chipping in on a regular basis and, if so, what are we looking at here? $50/week? More??? (Please say less . . .)

 

[leeg229]

Just wondering to what extent our DS is going to need to tap the old parental piggybank during his time at WDW? He was accepted on Monday, in Recreation, and there's no question he's going (Fall Advantage), and of course we're very excited/jealous for him. But at minimum wage, with living expenses and a car (paid for by M&D), phone (paid for by M&D), and health insurance (paid for by M&D) . . . wait a minute, he's already tapping us plenty . . .

That said, do any of you anticipate chipping in on a regular basis and, if so, what are we looking at here? $50/week? More??? (Please say less . . .)

Well let me use my own experience as an example. I had monthly bills consisting of Car $175, Cell $50, Credit Card ~$70 and a tank of gas every other week $60 (gas was $3.97 and I don't exactly drive an efficient car). My average check was $160 (after rent) and I entered the program with $1000 in savings. Every month I was able to pay off all of my responsibilities and still have enough money to buy food, go out, buy souvenirs etc.... and I ended the program with $700 in the bank because towards the end I went nuts buying things for my family. This time around I'll be going down with 0 credit card debt and I will have finished paying off my car sometime in October so I'll have it much easier! So if all he has to do is buy his own gas/food there should be no need for you to send him money.

If you just want to send him extra spending money $50 is more than enough!

 

[AnnaS]

Just wondering to what extent our DS is going to need to tap the old parental piggybank during his time at WDW? He was accepted on Monday, in Recreation, and there's no question he's going (Fall Advantage), and of course we're very excited/jealous for him. But at minimum wage, with living expenses and a car (paid for by M&D), phone (paid for by M&D), and health insurance (paid for by M&D) . . . wait a minute, he's already tapping us plenty . . .

That said, do any of you anticipate chipping in on a regular basis and, if so, what are we looking at here? $50/week? More??? (Please say less . . .)

We drove her down in Jan. I can tell you my/dd experience so far. My dd has no car there (she does at home, old one, we are getting a new one when she comes home) and she is not complaining either. She says the bus to Walmart is crazy packed.

Anyway - we drove her down and took a lot of stuff down. We also made two trips to Walmart buying mostly non-persishables foods (can only buy so much perishable when they are sharing a refrigerator and freezer) and a few items for the apartment. Certain things she is set for months. Spent close to $300 plus what we brought from home. I left her with $150 Disney gift card (I think finished by now - she told me the other day she still had $30), about $300 or so in her debit and about $300 cash.

So far she has not bothered me for money. She just finished her cash also. She has also bought tickets for a concert at House of Blues and is going for a massage today. She has a few dollars left over from her check each week I guess. If they have no other expenses, they should be fine unless they like to eat out a lot (I know my dd does). I also see her monthly statement at home and have checked her balance.

She also applied to extend til August - so we are going down again regardless. I am sure we will give her a few dollars cash again and spend a small amount at Walmart again.

 

[Traveliz]

I never had to give my daughter money but I would send an occasional Walgreens or Walmart gift card to her just to do it. She didn't ask for money though (and she would if she needed to). She didn't have a car and her cell phone was paid for by me.

Liz

 

[BadDad]

From my memory I paid:
His deposit ($200)
Bought him a week's worth of groceries for the first week
Gave him a $200 (when I left)
Paid his Centara Care Bill when he got Strep throat

And he came back with $700.

If he is blowing his entire paycheck, he's drinking it and going to clubs.

BTW: If you go down with your kids, be sure to register at Centara care, medical release form, finanical responsibility,etc. Guests do come down to WDW sick!! They have prepaid airplane tickets, hotel reservations, time-off etc. Guest will make the CPer's sick and it spreads!!!

My S got strep when he was down there. I was faxing, emailing, calling back Centara Care with all of his information.