Disney College Program for Parents Thread...

[ro80]

Updating**Since there is not officially a thread for parents of CP participants, here goes. This unofficial thread will hopefully be a guide for us as parents to have access to as accurate information as possible with areas we're not so familiar with and to ask questions to those who are more knowledgeable having been through this experience before. We could really learn a great deal about how the program runs, what to expect, and maybe even give a little support to each of us as we go through this experience together. I for one am going to miss my daughter terribly and although I know this is the experience of a lifetime for her, it's going to be a huge adjustment for us as a family having her so far away and not seeing her every day as it will for all who's son or daughter is also participating.

Below there are already a few posts with great information. Remember, no question is a "dumb" question. If it's something you need to know, just ask or if you have some info you may think will be helpful to someone else, pass it along. Someone is bound to have an answer to your question. I'm looking forward to learning all I can!!

Rebecca

 

[Traveliz]

Not that I know of - I just read the College Board and post where appropriate.

Would be nice though.

Liz

 

[onehotdisneymama]

Hello to CP parents out there. Are you having times of going from to as each day goes by and your or near their date of check-in?

 

[TinyBit]

If someone starts a thread for parents I'll have my mom join. She is constantly asking me questions about it and reading the messages with me.

 

[ro80]

Okay, I'll take the bull by the horns and start one. Be on the lookout! PM me with subject ideas though so we can make it good

 

[Traveliz]

Would be great if it was a sticky so new parents could easily find it - might build up more parents faster.

I am actually a CP parent on the way out but I can list off the zillion things I thought of in advance - pretty much the same things alot of the kids think about:

Insurance
Car
What to Bring
How much Money
Info about the Area
Banking
Arrival and the Logistics involved
Visiting during the Program
How Extending works
How to work with your college re credits and time off
Etc and Etc

Liz

 

[DisneyJersey]

Would be great if it was a sticky so new parents could easily find it - might build up more parents faster.

I am actually a CP parent on the way out but I can list off the zillion things I thought of in advance - pretty much the same things alot of the kids think about:

Insurance
Car
What to Bring
How much Money
Info about the Area
Banking
Arrival and the Logistics involved
Visiting during the Program
How Extending works
How to work with your college re credits and time off
Etc and Etc

Liz

hello, im a 2005 cp alumni.. logically, your child will have insurance under you since they are technically still in school..don't bring toooo much clothing, since they will be in work clothes a majority of the time.. do bring some warm clothing and some business casual clothes for traditions and any classes that may be taken..bring about 200 dollars, or 300 for the 1st few weeks as you won't get your 1st paycheck until 2nd or 3rd week down..disney does have direct deposit, i highly suggest you sign up for that, makes things easy on depositing your paycheck..when arriving, please arrive at vista, if the child is placed at chatham, you can drive there, it's just a 5 min drive down the street....you most definitely can visit, all CP's can bring up to 3 guests into the park up to 6 times on their program...towards the end of the program, they will advertise and ask if any cp wants to extend.. keep in mind, they can be on the program as long as 1 year if they want to, they can't stay on the program after 1 yr down there..as far as college credits, tell ur child to print out the syllabi on the website wdwcollegeprogram.com and talk with their advisor..

ps.. if any parent wants to talk to an alumni, or even their son/daughter, feel free to IM me on aim.. i am usually on a lot.. Justwin8 is my sn, i'd be happy to answer any questions in real time..

 

[Traveliz]

hello, im a 2005 cp alumni.. logically, your child will have insurance under you since they are technically still in school..don't bring toooo much clothing, since they will be in work clothes a majority of the time.. do bring some warm clothing and some business casual clothes for traditions and any classes that may be taken..bring about 200 dollars, or 300 for the 1st few weeks as you won't get your 1st paycheck until 2nd or 3rd week down..disney does have direct deposit, i highly suggest you sign up for that, makes things easy on depositing your paycheck..when arriving, please arrive at vista, if the child is placed at chatham, you can drive there, it's just a 5 min drive down the street....you most definitely can visit, all CP's can bring up to 3 guests into the park up to 6 times on their program...towards the end of the program, they will advertise and ask if any cp wants to extend.. keep in mind, they can be on the program as long as 1 year if they want to, they can't stay on the program after 1 yr down there..as far as college credits, tell ur child to print out the syllabi on the website wdwcollegeprogram.com and talk with their advisor..

ps.. if any parent wants to talk to an alumni, or even their son/daughter, feel free to IM me on aim.. i am usually on a lot.. Justwin8 is my sn, i'd be happy to answer any questions in real time..

Not true on the insurance and that is why its a subject parents might want to discuss on the boards -- it really depends on the parent's insurance policy.

In our case the child has to be in school full time (and that is determined by what the school says is full time) == which would be 12 hours each semester so my daughter did not qualify for the insurance she had been previously covered under. This varies greatly from one company to the next, from one insurance policy to the next. That meant we had to look for alternative insurance (or not) and I could share with other parents what we ended up doing.

My list was not a list of my concerns but rather a list answering the OP on what parents might want to discuss on the boards.

I think personal experience varies greatly on a number of the issues. Just printing off the syllabi wasn't the easiest thing for my daughter to do re her school - she got shuffled to three different department advisors in their quest to decide if and how she would get credit for her class. Her experiences might help another.

Liz

 

[onehotdisneymama]

Personally, I am very excited to see other parents with the same questions that I have. Hopefully we can come together and share.

 

[breathinforluck]

I think personal experience varies greatly on a number of the issues. Just printing off the syllabi wasn't the easiest thing for my daughter to do re her school - she got shuffled to three different department advisors in their quest to decide if and how she would get credit for her class. Her experiences might help another.

This is what happened to me when I went to find out if I could get college credit. I kept going to an advisor to be sent to another. It was annoying to say the least. A week later I finally have an answer about the credit issue.

 

[ro80]

I called my daughter's contact at her school to ask her specifically how it worked as far as her medical insurance was concerned (with all of this HIPAA nonsense, there's not much info we are entitled to!!) All she said my daughter had to do was to enroll in a 3-credit internship course at the school. The school will then stamp her status as full-time to ensure she is covered. What a relief that was to us!!! I would think other schools would have that policy as well...

 

[Joanna71985]

Too bad my mom is not very computer-savy. She could have used a place like this back when I did my first CP. She was such a nervous wreck (she's used to it by now, though).

 

[ro80]

Hi everyone! I've updated my original post at the top to sort of refresh it into a new one. I think it will be a great benefit to all CP parents. Here's' to hoping it's a hit!!

 

[Traveliz]

I called my daughter's contact at her school to ask her specifically how it worked as far as her medical insurance was concerned (with all of this HIPAA nonsense, there's not much info we are entitled to!!) All she said my daughter had to do was to enroll in a 3-credit internship course at the school. The school will then stamp her status as full-time to ensure she is covered. What a relief that was to us!!! I would think other schools would have that policy as well...

Well you would think but unfortunately that is not always the case - that is awesome for you guys though! Insurance (like so many other things) is certainly one thing that is not uniform across the board.

Liz

 

[ro80]

Yes, you would think because these kids are representing their schools basically. I'm glad hers does it. The medical insurance issue was a huge concern of ours.

 

[Joanna71985]

For insurance at my school, I just have to be a FT student. So I had to get credits for my CPs (I got 11 my first, and 8 my second).

 

[Traveliz]

For insurance at my school, I just have to be a FT student. So I had to get credits for my CPs (I got 11 my first, and 8 my second).

Gosh to be full time for my daughter she would have had to get 12 credits each semester -- that is great it worked out for you though.

On the other hand we were able to take her off the family insurance at work and realized a savings there and then bought a separate policy (not as good though but doable) for about a wash so it worked out.

Liz

 

[ro80]

This is actually for Joanna - how did you get so many credits for your CP's? Did your school give you credit for them, how did that work? Was it the classes you took during your CP??? I'm just trying to understand...

 

[Joanna71985]

This is actually for Joanna - how did you get so many credits for your CP's? Did your school give you credit for them, how did that work? Was it the classes you took during your CP??? I'm just trying to understand...

The CPs were considered Independent Studies for my school. For my first, I also took one of the Disney classes to get the extra credits (I took Hospitality Management, which was really interesting).

 

[ilysespieces]

i still have no idea about insurance and credits and how my school works, i guess i need to find someone who knows about this when i go to class tomorrow.