College Program Parents Thread...

[Joanna71985]

Originally Posted by tlynk

Thanks Joanna71985 for the quick reply!!! I feel a little better now. The next step is to wait to see if she gets into the program. I think she is hoping for the Jan-May session. Again- thank you!

No problem!

[MsFGIT]

Originally Posted by onelostsockie

It isn't that crazy to see that many people leave. You seem curious why people leave the program, so I thought I would share here!
I went through a lot roommates in my 3 bedroom apartment in Vista. Luckily, I was never moved. My immediate roommate and I filled out a "please don't move us" form when we got to 50% occupancy.
My roommates reasons for leaving: #1 got injured in apartment kitchen and was wheelchair bound. Her job would not accommodate her since it wasn't a work-related injury. #2 had breast cancer and needed testing #3 Left with the roomie who had breast cancer. #4 Left because she was trained to be a chef and got stuck cutting fruit on all her shifts. #5 Got fired for blowing up and drunkenly attacking me (I'm was ok). #6 Was raped by coworker/had emotional problems. & #7 I got my certificate of completition and left 2 weeks early.

The 1 out of the original 8 that lasted the whole time pretty much stayed in her room the whole time (her other bed remained empty and good bit of the time too!). The cool thing was, every time there was a new roommate expected, they would clean the entire apartment! Not once did I scrub a shower, toilet, or vacuum my carpet!
I had a good friend who had a similar experience with so many roomies leaving, except his were all termed due to job-related things (missing too many days, cursing, etc.)

Even with all the bad stuff, I don't think there was one person who didn't have fun on the program! There are always going to be "questionable" people (I think I just proved that). It's the real world. Just because people are in WDW, doesn't mean they are sheltered from the bad stuff. Some people seem to think that way, but my mother and I had realistic expectations. She knew there would be lots of "temptations" as she referred to it. She called me EVERYDAY (how annoying for me--the "ignore" button on my phone became my best friend).

There are going to be sucky days on the program. I called my parents on the phone at like 3am on several occasions. I found myself pretty well adjusted, but it is totally normal for CPs to get upset, especially when first starting out. I saw it happen a lot!

One thing I appreciated that my mom always told me it was OK if I wanted to come home. Nobody was forcing me to be there. That put things in perspective and made it totally my choice to stay, no matter how bad things got (I was sooo tempted to come home when I was out for sick 8 days after 1 day of training). Some CPs I talked to seemed more forced to be there...like it was a waste or failure if they didn't finish.

The CP is supposed to be all about experience and learning. I say advise your DD or DS to have FUN first, all that other stuff the program promises will come in time.

were you roommates with sadie and april?

[kroberts]

Hey, I was just looking over some housing stuff and noticed that they've raised the costs since the last time I looked. Some places it still says prices range from $75-$97 a week, but it seems the official prices are now between $80-$105. That's a considerable raise if you consider the fact that they haven't raised CP wages at all. Anybody heard any reasons for the increase?

JFYI: If you worked 30 hours a week at Disney's minimum, you'd have less than $100 a week after rent (assuming you're living in the $105 apartment).

[Joanna71985]

Originally Posted by kroberts

Hey, I was just looking over some housing stuff and noticed that they've raised the costs since the last time I looked. Some places it still says prices range from $75-$97 a week, but it seems the official prices are now between $80-$105. That's a considerable raise if you consider the fact that they haven't raised CP wages at all. Anybody heard any reasons for the increase?

JFYI: If you worked 30 hours a week at Disney's minimum, you'd have less than $100 a week after rent (assuming you're living in the $105 apartment).

None of the complexes are $105. The most expensive is around $91.

[khancock]

Originally Posted by kroberts

That's a considerable raise if you consider the fact that they haven't raised CP wages at all. Anybody heard any reasons for the increase?

Last time this happened, there was a wage increase. Bet one is coming.

[khancock]

Originally Posted by Joanna71985

None of the complexes are $105. The most expensive is around $91.

Actually...
http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap...ing_costs.html

Looks like that activities fee went up to. Wasn't it like $75? Now it is $100. That is a pretty big increase.

[Joanna71985]

Then it must be going up in Jan, since it wasn't that high for the Fall program.

[Berlioz70]

Originally Posted by khancock

Actually...
http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap...ing_costs.html

Looks like that activities fee went up to. Wasn't it like $75? Now it is $100. That is a pretty big increase.

I'm not sure the last time that housing was increased, but wages were just increased January 2008. If the wages go up again, the students will get an e-mail telling them that, and how much the increase for their offered role will be.

[HarleyMom]

Hello all! My DS (19) is currently a CP and is having roommate troubles. There are 4 guys total in the apartment, and one of them (my DS's roommate) seems to be a trouble maker. He has been very hard to live with from day 1, but recently has also been breaking the rules. Lately, my DS has been woken up in the middle of the night (2:00 am or later) when this guy brings girls into the room and proceeds to sleep with them with my son in the room. I know that Disney does not allow guests after 1:00 am, so I know there's rules being broken here (not to mention how rude this is). My DS has also gotten up in the morning to find unknown girls sleeping on their couch, too. My DS doesn't want to say anything to the roommate for fear of retaliation (has happened before), but I don't want him or his other 2 roommates to get in trouble for the actions of this guy. Should I say something to Disney? Or to security? Should I convice my DS to talk to someone? Or should I stay out of it? What would you do?

[graygables]

My DD was a CP and said if roomie gets caught, they will ALL get a warning (3 warnings, you're out) if they did not report it. He needs to GO to security and bring them back so they can see the infraction and report it. That way, HE will be the one warned. The problem is, that will make for an ugly situation.

He does need to start keeping a log of dates/times this is going on to indicate a pattern of disrespect. He also needs to see how the other roommates feel about it and make sure they understand that THEY are on the chopping block, too.

If it were me, I'd tell the roommate that having relations with someone in the room is simply unacceptable and he is to take that kind of activity somewhere else. I also think he should go talk to someone about the situation (in his packet, there should be a number he can call, or he can call the Commons front desk)

[Traveliz]

Originally Posted by HarleyMom

Hello all! My DS (19) is currently a CP and is having roommate troubles. There are 4 guys total in the apartment, and one of them (my DS's roommate) seems to be a trouble maker. He has been very hard to live with from day 1, but recently has also been breaking the rules. Lately, my DS has been woken up in the middle of the night (2:00 am or later) when this guy brings girls into the room and proceeds to sleep with them with my son in the room. I know that Disney does not allow guests after 1:00 am, so I know there's rules being broken here (not to mention how rude this is). My DS has also gotten up in the morning to find unknown girls sleeping on their couch, too. My DS doesn't want to say anything to the roommate for fear of retaliation (has happened before), but I don't want him or his other 2 roommates to get in trouble for the actions of this guy. Should I say something to Disney? Or to security? Should I convice my DS to talk to someone? Or should I stay out of it? What would you do?

He (not you) needs to go and report it - it is definitely in his information where to report such infractions. And seriously he is in much jeopardy as they are regarding being let go from the program. If someone else reports it he is just as likely to be let go. I have not heard the three warnings and you are out before (regarding housing). I believe he could be terminated on the spot for this infraction.

Well .. wait...if the girls are CP students that currently live in the same complex as he does then it is not an infraction...its just from outside the complex that guests are not allowed. Rude but still would not be an infraction (unless I have something confused.)

What he can do though is go down and request a move - it would cost him 50.00 but that might work out to his advantage.

Liz

[graygables]

Originally Posted by Traveliz

He (not you) needs to go and report it

That's a very good point. He's an adult and needs to handle his own problems.

[HarleyMom]

Yes, I agree. I've been trying to talk him into doing something about it for about a week now. He's on the shy side, and like I said before, this other kid has made his first 4-5 weeks of living there hell in other ways.

I just talked to him and he has now talked to other CP's down there to get their opinion and they didn't think there was much he could do (the girls live in the same apartment complex). He will be talking to his other roommates tonight.

Thanks for your help!

[Traveliz]

Originally Posted by HarleyMom

Yes, I agree. I've been trying to talk him into doing something about it for about a week now. He's on the shy side, and like I said before, this other kid has made his first 4-5 weeks of living there hell in other ways.

I just talked to him and he has now talked to other CP's down there to get their opinion and they didn't think there was much he could do (the girls live in the same apartment complex). He will be talking to his other roommates tonight.

Thanks for your help!

So no rules are being broken but yeah it is rude - he just needs to tell his roommate he is awakened by his activity and he might want to take it into another room....although with the hours CPs work there are chances that someone would be walking into the living room pretty much any time of the day or night.

He really should check into moving.

Liz

[Joanna71985]

Since the other girls are from the same complex, he really isn't breaking any rules unfortunately. Since the kid sounds like a complete pain though, I would look into changing apartments.