High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[Monykalyn]

Roommate issues.
DD's in a room with girls who profess to be neat and organized (she's beyond messy), plan to be in bed by 10, and don't like music (DD is a musician). This is going to be an interesting year.

wow-how did that happen? Hopefully those girls are not quite as neat and proper as they profess (umm what teen actually goes to bed by 10??LOL)
Really hope things work out

 

[Monykalyn]

We head back in 2 weeks to move her in for the school year. Where has the summer gone??

I have no idea how summer has gone by so fast. We have til Aug 15 which is move in day. We did get most of her dorm shopping done. She has researched her textbooks but is holding off buying til she actually gets to classes. AND I got the early warning/email to sign up for parents weekend today. Am I really going to have to drive away and leave my firstborn behind???

 

[punkin]

I have no idea how summer has gone by so fast. We have til Aug 15 which is move in day. We did get most of her dorm shopping done. She has researched her textbooks but is holding off buying til she actually gets to classes. AND I got the early warning/email to sign up for parents weekend today. Am I really going to have to drive away and leave my firstborn behind???

Yes. You are and you will cry and it will all be fine. Hugs!

wow-how did that happen? Hopefully those girls are not quite as neat and proper as they profess (umm what teen actually goes to bed by 10??LOL)
Really hope things work out

Obviously, the roommate questionnaire means absolutely nothing. I also think they're not being 100% truthful. I think 2 of them are from very religious families. I told DD those are the girls that go wild. Lol.

 

[Monykalyn]

Softie dad bought the big kids notebook/laptop she wanted-so she still has good bank account for incidentals at school. Have to still get notebooks etc and few odds/ends for all the kids for school.
EEEKK August 15 is coming FAST!

 

[DawnM]

My son starts back on Aug. 15th. That is the same day I start my new job. Since he doesn't drive, DH is going to adjust his work from home days to get him to the bus stop.

Technically he could still consider himself a dual enrollment student and use a HS ID to get a reduced bus fare, but I think we may opt to just get him paper tickets instead so he doesn't have to deal with always needing exact change.

This will be his 2nd semester at the CC and he is looking forward to getting back into it. He will have 4 classes this semester. We actually tried to get him 5, but since it was too late to change his status to "college student" instead of "dual enrollment senior" we are just going with it.

He will be an official college student in January, which will allow him to take whatever he wants AND will mean we need to pay tuition.

 

[punkin]

My son starts back on Aug. 15th. That is the same day I start my new job. Since he doesn't drive, DH is going to adjust his work from home days to get him to the bus stop.

Technically he could still consider himself a dual enrollment student and use a HS ID to get a reduced bus fare, but I think we may opt to just get him paper tickets instead so he doesn't have to deal with always needing exact change.

This will be his 2nd semester at the CC and he is looking forward to getting back into it. He will have 4 classes this semester. We actually tried to get him 5, but since it was too late to change his status to "college student" instead of "dual enrollment senior" we are just going with it.

He will be an official college student in January, which will allow him to take whatever he wants AND will mean we need to pay tuition.

I'm trying to convince DD that 5 classes are too many. I think she should only take 4, at least first semester, so she can see how it goes.

 

[MomofKatie]

I'm trying to convince DD that 5 classes are too many. I think she should only take 4, at least first semester, so she can see how it goes.

DD's university considers 12 hours of more 'full time' but advises for most majors that students need to take 15 hours per semester to be on track to graduate in 4 years. She is taking 17 hours her first semester- 4 'big' classes (Chem 1, Honors Calculus, English 101, and Women Studies) and 3 1 hour seminar type classes (Intro to Chemical Engineering, Honors Essentials, and a weeklong Honors service project the week before classes begin). We think she will be fine, but many parents of freshmen are advised to ease their student in to college classes with 12-14 hours only the first semester.

 

[punkin]

DD's university considers 12 hours of more 'full time' but advises for most majors that students need to take 15 hours per semester to be on track to graduate in 4 years. She is taking 17 hours her first semester- 4 'big' classes (Chem 1, Honors Calculus, English 101, and Women Studies) and 3 1 hour seminar type classes (Intro to Chemical Engineering, Honors Essentials, and a weeklong Honors service project the week before classes begin). We think she will be fine, but many parents of freshmen are advised to ease their student in to college classes with 12-14 hours only the first semester.

For my DD, 4 classes will be 16 credits. She's taking freshman seminar (required writing course), foreign language with weekly lab, calculus 2, and economics. Each of them is 4 credit. The fifth class would be "logic" which is also 4 credits. I cannot recommend such a rigorous schedule 1st semester. I think it's too much.

 

[mom2rtk]

For my DD, 4 classes will be 16 credits. She's taking freshman seminar (required writing course), foreign language with weekly lab, calculus 2, and economics. Each of them is 4 credit. The fifth class would be "logic" which is also 4 credits. I cannot recommend such a rigorous schedule 1st semester. I think it's too much.

I think that's wise. That first semester is a time of big adjustment, and it's best to get off on a good foot. If I'm not mistaken, I think the PP's daughter has been away from home already for high school , but for those moving out on their own the first time, it is an adjustment. 16 hours is a solid course load. No need to push it even more.

Lots of schools might require 15 hours a semester to graduate, but lots of kids bring credits in with them already.

My son actually gets to lighten up his schedule a smidge this year as a senior. He brought in enough credits to graduate early, but his Chemical Engineering major requires a certain progression of classes that could only be accomplished by staying through May of his senior year.

 

[punkin]

I think that's wise. That first semester is a time of big adjustment, and it's best to get off on a good foot. If I'm not mistaken, I think the PP's daughter has been away from home already for high school , but for those moving out on their own the first time, it is an adjustment. 16 hours is a solid course load. No need to push it even more.

Lots of schools might require 15 hours a semester to graduate, but lots of kids bring credits in with them already.

My son actually gets to lighten up his schedule a smidge this year as a senior. He brought in enough credits to graduate early, but his Chemical Engineering major requires a certain progression of classes that could only be accomplished by staying through May of his senior year.

True about bringing classes with them. DD placed out of calculus 1 and 2 years of French, but she's insane, so she's starting a different foreign language. It's good to have a cushion of classes. My older DD had medical issues junior year and was able to withdraw from a class and retake it senior year because she had space in her schedule, even as a double major.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What do college students use for backpacks these days?

 

[punkin]

What do college students use for backpacks these days?

I don't know about others, but mine is tali g the same ll bean knapsack she used in high school. It's in very good shape.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I don't know about others, but mine is tali g the same ll bean knapsack she used in high school. It's in very good shape.

That's what I was wondering. My two have LLBean backpacks that are still in decent shape - but they've had them since middle school, lol. I figured it might be time for a new style. (In the past, though, others haven't held up nearly as well as the LLBeans.)

 

[Kimberlyann11]

DDs Jansport backpack is still in great shape so she's bringing that one.

Her schedule is pretty crazy for the first semester. She has Chemistry for 4 credits. Intensive intro to Spanish which is Spanish I and II combined into one semester - 4 credits. Latin American civilization - 6 credits and marching band is 1 credit but is a lot of work. I think it's good when the kids are busy because there is less time left for things to go sideways. The spanish and chem will probably be review and the Latin American class is heavy on writing which is her forte. She thought she was being slick by scheduling an hour between all her classes but didn't realize that they are all at the opposite end of campus from her dorm so she won't have time to go back to her room for any length of time. So she has a few days when she is essentially out of her dorm all day long. I told her at least she has built-in study time. She can sit in the Starbucks or the library and read her assignments or study.

Second semester is Bio, Spanish III and the second semester of the Latin American sequence. I think that's only 13 credits - but it might be 14. She has credits coming in from AP testing.

 

[punkin]

So the other scheduling issue is orchestra. It looks like orchestra is an actual class, but DD has no room for another class. She needs to contact the director and figure that out. I wouldn't mind orchestra as a 5th class since she has to practice anyway...I hope we can figure that out during orientation.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

My daughter just got a Patagonia backpack. I guess that is popular right now. We are headed to Florida on August 18th for move-in.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

DD is taking Bio with Lab, Anatomy and Physiology with Lab, English, Freshman Seminar and Nursing Seminar. She's pretty happy with her schedule. She's figured out where all her classes are already, and now she's excited to start. She is attending some sort of kick off party next month.

DS hasn't shared his classes with me yet, he's still in summer mode - playing baseball, running, working and relaxing a bit. His college coach attended his game yesterday and they discussed his classes, so I know he has a schedule. Hopefully it fits in with his sports schedule, but his advisor helped him do it at orientation, so I assume so.

 

[punkin]

Sounds like most people are doing move in early to mid August. We're not going until labor day weekend and I'm afraid I'll have to leave my niece at home so she doesn't miss school.

 

[MomofKatie]

What do college students use for backpacks these days?

DD will be using the same one she had for high school. The one thing I have heard from parents is to either waterproof their current packs, buy a waterproof one, or use large Ziploc bags inside their current backpacks to keep things dry. They will be walking to class outside, and when they get caught in the rain, their papers and laptop can get really wet.

 

[MomofKatie]

I think that's wise. That first semester is a time of big adjustment, and it's best to get off on a good foot. If I'm not mistaken, I think the PP's daughter has been away from home already for high school , but for those moving out on their own the first time, it is an adjustment. 16 hours is a solid course load. No need to push it even more.

Lots of schools might require 15 hours a semester to graduate, but lots of kids bring credits in with them already.

My son actually gets to lighten up his schedule a smidge this year as a senior. He brought in enough credits to graduate early, but his Chemical Engineering major requires a certain progression of classes that could only be accomplished by staying through May of his senior year.

True, my DD has already made the adjustment to living away from home and managing her study time. That is one reason we feel comfortable with her taking 17 credit hours this semester. I wouldn't necessarily recommend taking that many hours to other first year kids- each family must decide for themselves. I do know that the semesters DD had the most to do (soccer season, heavy club activity) were her most successful academically, so she tends to perform best when she is required to really use her time wisely.

Her chemistry and calculus classes are 4 hours each (they have labs), and women's studies and English are 3 hours each. She has two 1 hour credit classes that only meet once a week and shouldn't need any study time- they are more seminars than 'real' classes. And her last 1 hour 'class' is a weeklong service project that will be done before classes start.