Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[njmom47]

Glad to see the kids all seem to be doing well. He's been home since the 8th and started working the following week (yay!!). DS had much better grades second semester (thank goodness) but has changed his major so needs to catch up at CC (why would they let freshman take classes for a specific major instead of concentrating on basics? Is that the usual thing?). He and one of his roommates have been asked to live off-campus by some upperclassmen (athletes) and we are unsure about this. I know he and this roomie are best friends, and I am SOOO happy about that!!

 

[elgerber]

My dd has been home since the 11th. I am happy mama . She is trying to get a job, it's not going well. Harder than heck to even get an interview and no one calls back. No one wants someone that can only work until mid August. She is taking an online summer course and is having a heck of time with todays assignment. She has to basically overhear a conversation and write a fictional story from it! How does she do that without looking like a stalker??
She has a single room next year, decided she wanted to stay on campus. This first year went quickly, thank goodness, but I am sure summer will as well.
Hope everyone kids are home and settled (except for those that are off doing exciting things )!

 

[Pembo]

Glad to see the kids all seem to be doing well. He's been home since the 8th and started working the following week (yay!!). DS had much better grades second semester (thank goodness) but has changed his major so needs to catch up at CC (why would they let freshman take classes for a specific major instead of concentrating on basics? Is that the usual thing?). He and one of his roommates have been asked to live off-campus by some upperclassmen (athletes) and we are unsure about this. I know he and this roomie are best friends, and I am SOOO happy about that!!

Think that is the norm, that way kids can find out early that they don't like their chosen major. DS had mostly all specific classes as did his friend at another university.

 

[njmom47]

Think that is the norm, that way kids can find out early that they don't like their chosen major. DS had mostly all specific classes as did his friend at another university.

It was recommended that he take a bunch of courses (12 credits to be exact!) this summer to make up for it. That was shocking to me in a way, although I know it's much cheaper to take them at the local CC than to go an extra semester or two at the end, but I guess I didn't realize how far behind that made him!

 

[scrapquitler]

My daughter has been home since the 9th. It has been nice having her here, but I'm ready for her to go back. It's just a lot more stressful for all of us with an extra person in the house, we had gotten into a routine with her gone and now we have to readjust.

She found a job for the summer that she is enjoying a lot so far. She's working about 30 hours a week.

First semester she failed a class because she got behind, thought she could catch up, then got overwhelmed. She didn't tell us or ask anyone for help, and didn't know that withdrawing was an option. It really brought her GPA down that semester, and caused her a lot of stres because she needed to have a 3.0 gpa by the end of the year or she would lose her scholarship. Luckily she got a 3.7 for the spring semester so she is not worried about that. In all, that was a good learning experience for her because now she realizes that she needs to ask for help. She told me she never had a problem in any class before so she had no idea how to handle it.

We are all looking forward to August 30th!

 

[sk!mom]

He got a full scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco this summer and will be gone for ten weeks.

Excellent! If you don't mind my asking, who is he traveling through? Who did he get the scholarship through?

My DD is starting to research study abroad for next summer.

 

[Bluestars]

Excellent! If you don't mind my asking, who is he traveling through? Who did he get the scholarship through?

My DD is starting to research study abroad for next summer.

He got the scholarship through Project Go. I believe all of the kids who went on this particular trip attend Texas A&M, but I think Project Go is national. Since he is currently in the ROTC program, I think that helped him get the scholarship. However, there were other options for study abroad programs and scholarships at his school. I'll bet every school has them.

He has nine days left, not that I am counting. LOL. It's been a long (almost) 10 weeks and I can't wait until he gets home. He has done a lot out there. He went to the Sahara desert and rode a camel. They also used snow boards to go down a huge sand slope. He's seen palaces, marketplaces, and all kinds of places. He flew to Germany during their break, which was only a couple of days. It's been an amazing experience, but he is ready to come home. He only gets to stay home for three weeks and then he has to get back at school early for a leadership program. I envy all of the parents who had their kids home for the summer.

He is rethinking his major. I guess that happens a lot with freshman.

 

[Bluestars]

My daughter has been home since the 9th. It has been nice having her here, but I'm ready for her to go back. It's just a lot more stressful for all of us with an extra person in the house, we had gotten into a routine with her gone and now we have to readjust.

She found a job for the summer that she is enjoying a lot so far. She's working about 30 hours a week.

First semester she failed a class because she got behind, thought she could catch up, then got overwhelmed. She didn't tell us or ask anyone for help, and didn't know that withdrawing was an option. It really brought her GPA down that semester, and caused her a lot of stres because she needed to have a 3.0 gpa by the end of the year or she would lose her scholarship. Luckily she got a 3.7 for the spring semester so she is not worried about that. In all, that was a good learning experience for her because now she realizes that she needs to ask for help. She told me she never had a problem in any class before so she had no idea how to handle it.

We are all looking forward to August 30th!

Even though the kids are told to ask for help, many of them don't. My son knows a couple of kids who ended up dropping out after the first semester. It's sad because with some extra help, they probably would have made it through the year. I could see my son's midterm grades online, so when his math grade was low, I talked to him about getting extra help. He ended up getting it. If he had not, he could have failed the class. Now that he will be in a leadership position as a sophomore, I told him that he needs to encourage those freshman to get extra help and follow through to make sure they don't fail. Freshman don't always feel comfortable asking for help.

I am glad your daughter was able to raise her GPA!

 

[IDoDis]

I hope everyone's summer has been fun and restful! DD starts classes a month from today. Seems like she's has been off a LONG time! College summer breaks are longer than K-12 breaks, that's for sure. DD loves her summer job where she works 34 hrs/wk and the doctor shadowing where she has been able to observe surgeries every weeK.

Since it's that time of year when lots of mailers arrive, I want to share this link which is in reference to college honor societies. Some of them aren't true honor societies and exist to collect the fees and then use that money for a few scholarships spread out over thousands of members. It's not a horrible thing to offer scholarships, but if your DS/DD wants to join an honor society, make sure it's legit.

After the fall semester and through the summer, one organization has sent numerous mailers -- Collegiate Scholars or something like that name. After researching it, I realized it was bunk which was the impression I got when I opened the first envelope. But the one that arrived this week from the National Society of Leadership and Success fooled me until I researched it. It came in a fancy envelope from her school's honors college. But then I found out this was also not a true honor society. It does exist and has quite a few members at her school with a Facebook page, etc... However, it is NOT part of the association of College Honor Societies that Come with high regard and recognition. The consensus seems to be to stay away from these organizations as they are basically a money grab.

Here is an alerts page with the questionable societies. Don't get me wrong, the ones DD received invites to are not scammers, per se, but they are not legit honor societies, either. Before joining, make sure to do your research first.

http://www.achsnatl.org/informational_alert.asp#sap

 

[sk!mom]

Summer is winding down. DD is making last lists and Amazon orders to prepare to move back. We discussed plans for that weekend during her lunch break.

Are your students going back to the dorm or moving on to something else? (If we've discussed this before, I apologize. I like this thread though and want to keep it active.)

DD is moving into a single lease apartment with three other girls. She will have her own bedroom and bathroom and a shared kitchen and living room. They have washer and dryer in the unit. She chose a building directly across the street from campus. It will actually be closer and more convenient to much of campus. Her dorm was a cell so this move is exciting for her.

 

[Pembo]

DS is moving back to the dorms. He will be in a different dorm with a different roommate. His college doesn't have a lot of off campus housing and if you do choose to live off you definitely need a car.
He is hoping to move in early by a few days to help with freshman move in day with his frat.

 

[lvloopingbag]

DS is moved into a house off campus with 7 other guys. It is a 3 story Victorian (Complete with turret, ha ha!) that is still within the patrol area of the Penn police......He took summer classes so it worked out for him that the lease started June 1st.

 

[scrapquitler]

Summer is winding down. DD is making last lists and Amazon orders to prepare to move back. We discussed plans for that weekend during her lunch break.

Are your students going back to the dorm or moving on to something else? (If we've discussed this before, I apologize. I like this thread though and want to keep it active.)

DD is moving into a single lease apartment with three other girls. She will have her own bedroom and bathroom and a shared kitchen and living room. They have washer and dryer in the unit. She chose a building directly across the street from campus. It will actually be closer and more convenient to much of campus. Her dorm was a cell so this move is exciting for her.

Mine will still be in the same dorm, but in the other wing. Instead of being in a double, she'll be in a 4 person suite. They have a common area (no kitchen, just a fridge and microwave), two bathrooms and four single bedrooms. She will still be on the meal plan, because it's required. Next year she hopes to be in the townhouse apartments on campus. I'm hoping for that, too...its significantly less expensive and the only meal plan requirement is a $350 balance on the food account

 

[IDoDis]

DD is staying on campus again this year. She wanted to move off campus with last year's roommate and one other girl, but DH and I felt it was best for her to stay on campus. Her studies have a pre-med emphasis which means she will have genetics and a year of organic chemistry both with pretty tough labs --17 hours total with a pretty involved schedule and LOTS of studying. She has to keep a high GPA to have a chance at getting into med school and doesn't need the drama that will come with the two girls which by my predictions WOULD happen. She's fine with that and doesn't mind living on campus. Part of me thinks she wanted us to tell her no so that she had an out.

So, she found a roomate who is coming from Scotland. They have been texting a lot, but haven't met in person yet. The girl will also be a sophomore, but has never been here in person. DD and her new roommate will be next to DD's friend who is an RA who gets a room to herself, so they will only have the three of them sharing a bathroom.

We just started looking at textbooks online and have purchased 2 so far. Her biology and chemistry books are pricey, but she will use them both semesters, so it won't be so bad buying books for the spring semester.
A book in another class is a new edition -- ugh. She emailed the professor to see if she could buy the older edition and he replied saying yes, but the old edition won't prepare her for the exams. I guess that means "no" so her book for that class will be $225. Her math class has a custom book with a required online code which also means it is going to have to come from the school bookstore. We can't find a used book yet locally and buying the code alacart costs almost as much as buying the book and code new. Such is life!

 

[Pembo]

DD is staying on campus again this year. She wanted to move off campus with last year's roommate and one other girl, but DH and I felt it was best for her to stay on campus. Her studies have a pre-med emphasis which means she will have genetics and a year of organic chemistry both with pretty tough labs --17 hours total with a pretty involved schedule and LOTS of studying. She has to keep a high GPA to have a chance at getting into med school and doesn't need the drama that will come with the two girls which by my predictions WOULD happen. She's fine with that and doesn't mind living on campus. Part of me thinks she wanted us to tell her no so that she had an out.

So, she found a roomate who is coming from Scotland. They have been texting a lot, but haven't met in person yet. The girl will also be a sophomore, but has never been here in person. DD and her new roommate will be next to DD's friend who is an RA who gets a room to herself, so they will only have the three of them sharing a bathroom.

We just started looking at textbooks online and have purchased 2 so far. Her biology and chemistry books are pricey, but she will use them both semesters, so it won't be so bad buying books for the spring semester.
A book in another class is a new edition -- ugh. She emailed the professor to see if she could buy the older edition and he replied saying yes, but the old edition won't prepare her for the exams. I guess that means "no" so her book for that class will be $225. Her math class has a custom book with a required online code which also means it is going to have to come from the school bookstore. We can't find a used book yet locally and buying the code alacart costs almost as much as buying the book and code new. Such is life!

Have you checked www.slugbooks.com to compare prices? Or my other favorite is www.bookfinder.com? We've gotten really lucky with both of these sites over the years. I've been able to find used books that we could re-sell or my new favorite is renting textbooks! That saves a lot of money.

 

[elgerber]

My dd is staying on campus, in a single room this year. So, she will still have to share the lovely community bathroom, but will have a room to herself. Her roommate is becoming a mentor this year, so she automatically gets a single room as well. She is in the closest building to everything now, which is kinda cool. She likes not having to drive to school or to cook her own food LOL.
We started looking at books yesterday, only 2 of her 5 classes have the books listed in the bookstore website right now, so we have to wait for the other three. None of her books are new editions, in fact one of her screenwriting books is from 1998 LOL, so they are quite cheap!
She did finally end up getting a job at a fabulous local movie theater that had closed several years back, but reopened this summer. So I don't get to see her as much as before, but she needs the money and the experience. And we get to go to free movies and eat free popcorn
I am already dreading her going back in 4 1/2 weeks, I am trying not to think about it, but it's not working! We have less than 3 weeks to get her all ready to go, because she and I are leaving for Disney World in 20 days , and then we only have 3 days after we get back before she goes back.

Here's hoping all our kids have a wonderful 2nd year!!

 

[Gina]

Hi all, I'm so sorry I haven't kept this thread buffed and polished in a while! It sounds like everyone's kids are enjoying their summer and gearing up to go back to school.

I MISS my son... He went to stay with his father for the summer to work as a plumbing apprentice. He has made way more money than he could have going back to work at McDonald's, and he has gained a lot of really good experience. But I miss him tons. :-( We talk and text and whatnot, but you know. He'll be coming back to stay with Ray and I on the 20th of next month, and goes back a few days later. At least he'll be a lot closer to me once he's back on campus!!

I asked him what he's most looking forward to about going back, and he surprised me by saying he's actually looking forward to classes. He'll really be diving into some serious marine engineering stuff this next semester, and he's excited about it. But he's also looking forward to being away from the 3 year old and 5 year old he currently resides in the same house with, LOL. Best birth control out there, I tell ya. ;-)

He'll be back in the same dorm (they have to live on campus), and he'll have an incoming freshman for a roommate.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the summer!!

-gina-

 

[yoopermom]

I missed DS terribly this summer, but he has a job on campus, in his field, and his apartment had to be paid for all summer, so I understand him staying .

DH left today to help him move from his current apartment into a room in his fraternity. NOT a choice that we would have made, but he loves being part of it (is actually an officer), so we're going to suck it up and paste a smile on for the year that he's there. I bought him new towels and pillows and sent them with and he said, "why, mine are only two years old". I told him that he deserved new !

Can't believe that he's entering his junior year already, weren't they all going off to kindergarten just yesterday?

Terri

 

[Bluestars]

I can't believe that some textbooks are so expensive! Ouch.

My son is due to get back from Morocco this Saturday. He left for his study abroad program at the beginning of his summer break. It's been a long 10 weeks. They took a trip to Tangier several days ago. I saw that he hadn't been online all day yesterday, which was the day they were driving back to Meknes. When he got online this morning, I told him that I was worried about him because the drivers in other countries can be a bit wild. He said that I had nothing to worry about. I asked him if the driver was safe. He said that the drivers all drive like maniacs, but he hasn't seen a crash. Great.

Once he gets back, he will have three weeks at home. I will enjoy it while it lasts. The dorm that he had to live in last year is being renovated, so I think he will get to live in a better dorm this year. It's two rooms, linked by a bathroom. Two people per room. However, I think they are going to cram three per room (not his choice). At least this year he gets to pick his roommates.

 

[IDoDis]

Have you checked www.slugbooks.com to compare prices? Or my other favorite is www.bookfinder.com? We've gotten really lucky with both of these sites over the years. I've been able to find used books that we could re-sell or my new favorite is renting textbooks! That saves a lot of money.

Yes, I've checked. Since the required book edition is brand new (professor did not recommend getting an older version), I have no choice but to buy new. Amazon has the best online price. Even though the student bookstore is a little more, they don't charge tax if DD pays with a swipe of her student ID. The savings in tax actually makes the book a few dollars less buying it at the campus bookstore. The other book is a "custom" book that the professor put together from a published book with only specific chapters, etc... If we buy a different version, the pages won't align. Chapter 4 in the custom book might be chapter 6 in the other book and there might be stuff missing. Just too confusing. This is for a statistics class, so I don't want DD doing the wrong problems. There's also a required online access code that is required and comes with the book as a package. Usually that means they take quizzes and do lots of the homework online. This same thing happened last fall, but then we got off easy in the spring with no new or custom books needed. DD used her calculus and chemistry books for both fall and spring semesters since the spring classes required the same book. I guess I just need to get used to fall being expensive and spring being cheaper.

I rented a couple of books last year and that worked out nice. I've found that if you can shop early, you can purchase the books for what a rental will cost if you look later on. The problem is that the books aren't always listed online earlier enough to know what to buy. I had a used book in my amazon shopping cart, but didn't order the other night because DD was waiting to hear back from someone selling the same book on craigslist. The next day I decided to just go ahead and order the used book that was in my shopping cart since the craigslist seller never responded, but then found out that the online book had been sold. The least expensive ones go first and then the prices just get higher the closer it gets to school starting.

My dd is staying on campus, in a single room this year. So, she will still have to share the lovely community bathroom, but will have a room to herself. Her roommate is becoming a mentor this year, so she automatically gets a single room as well. She is in the closest building to everything now, which is kinda cool. She likes not having to drive to school or to cook her own food LOL.
We started looking at books yesterday, only 2 of her 5 classes have the books listed in the bookstore website right now, so we have to wait for the other three. None of her books are new editions, in fact one of her screenwriting books is from 1998 LOL, so they are quite cheap!
She did finally end up getting a job at a fabulous local movie theater that had closed several years back, but reopened this summer. So I don't get to see her as much as before, but she needs the money and the experience. And we get to go to free movies and eat free popcorn
I am already dreading her going back in 4 1/2 weeks, I am trying not to think about it, but it's not working! We have less than 3 weeks to get her all ready to go, because she and I are leaving for Disney World in 20 days , and then we only have 3 days after we get back before she goes back.

Here's hoping all our kids have a wonderful 2nd year!!

Free movies and popcorn is a great bonus!!! I'd be there all summer! LOL Have a great time at Disney World! That's a great way to end the summer!!

Hi all, I'm so sorry I haven't kept this thread buffed and polished in a while! It sounds like everyone's kids are enjoying their summer and gearing up to go back to school.

I MISS my son... He went to stay with his father for the summer to work as a plumbing apprentice. He has made way more money than he could have going back to work at McDonald's, and he has gained a lot of really good experience. But I miss him tons. :-( We talk and text and whatnot, but you know. He'll be coming back to stay with Ray and I on the 20th of next month, and goes back a few days later. At least he'll be a lot closer to me once he's back on campus!!

-gina-

I'll bet you miss him like crazy! That's awesome that he is learning such a great skill! If anything he will save a lot being able to do plumbing work around his own house when he's older vs having to pay someone. Plumbers make great money! I'm having some plumbing work done and the prices are crazy expensive. I told DS that he should think about this field because at this point he doesn't seem interested in going to college in 2 years. Of course we are still encouraging it, but as each year passes we realize more and more that this may not be his path.

I missed DS terribly this summer, but he has a job on campus, in his field, and his apartment had to be paid for all summer, so I understand him staying .

DH left today to help him move from his current apartment into a room in his fraternity. NOT a choice that we would have made, but he loves being part of it (is actually an officer), so we're going to suck it up and paste a smile on for the year that he's there. I bought him new towels and pillows and sent them with and he said, "why, mine are only two years old". I told him that he deserved new !

Can't believe that he's entering his junior year already, weren't they all going off to kindergarten just yesterday?

Terri

Sounds like your DS is really enjoying the frat life. Many kids really do well with the lifestyle (including the parties) and still manage to do well in school. He will figure out what works for him.

Most guys are not like girls when it comes to caring about things like soft towels. When I helped DH move out of his bachelor pad (shared house with a few other people) before we got married many years ago, he only owned one towel. I was helping him pack and asked where the rest of his towels were. He looked at me like I'd ask a very silly question. When we checked the fridge
for anything that belonged to him, the ONLY thing in the entire fridge was a bottle of mustard and a few cans of beer. That was with 4 guys living in the house! I guess no one ever cooked!

My son is due to get back from Morocco this Saturday. He left for his study abroad program at the beginning of his summer break. It's been a long 10 weeks. They took a trip to Tangier several days ago. I saw that he hadn't been online all day yesterday, which was the day they were driving back to Meknes. When he got online this morning, I told him that I was worried about him because the drivers in other countries can be a bit wild. He said that I had nothing to worry about. I asked him if the driver was safe. He said that the drivers all drive like maniacs, but he hasn't seen a crash. Great.

Once he gets back, he will have three weeks at home. I will enjoy it while it lasts. The dorm that he had to live in last year is being renovated, so I think he will get to live in a better dorm this year. It's two rooms, linked by a bathroom. Two people per room. However, I think they are going to cram three per room (not his choice). At least this year he gets to pick his roommates.

Sounds like he's had the experience of a lifetime! I'm sure it will be nice to have him back, even for just a short time. Maybe he'll cook some Moroccan foods for you! Three people in one dorm room sounds very claustrophobic. Like you said though, at least he has some choice in who he is with. That certainly helps when living in tight quarters. You will have to fill us in on some of the exciting stories from his travels!