Parents of the Class of 2019

[Eureka]

Family weekend starts today. We're going up for dinner and a big bingo game. Tomorrow we'll go to the football game and who knows what else. DS came home for the weekend a couple weekends ago, just for "a break from it all" as he said. It was awesome, partly because he told us a little more about his daily life. I am getting used to him not being home but I still don't like it. He's had a few midterms and said one was easy, one he didn't think went so well and never really mentioned the other. Hope that is not a bad thing! He did waive his FERPA so we can see grades and schedule but he doesn't have grades posted yet. I guess that's more for his semester grades?

 

[mjkacmom]

Family weekend starts today. We're going up for dinner and a big bingo game. Tomorrow we'll go to the football game and who knows what else. DS came home for the weekend a couple weekends ago, just for "a break from it all" as he said. It was awesome, partly because he told us a little more about his daily life. I am getting used to him not being home but I still don't like it. He's had a few midterms and said one was easy, one he didn't think went so well and never really mentioned the other. Hope that is not a bad thing! He did waive his FERPA so we can see grades and schedule but he doesn't have grades posted yet. I guess that's more for his semester grades?

I think it’s just the final grade, tests and quizzes would be canvas or whatever the professor uses. I’ve never had access to grades, I just ask.

 

[soccerdad72]

Family weekend starts today. We're going up for dinner and a big bingo game. Tomorrow we'll go to the football game and who knows what else. DS came home for the weekend a couple weekends ago, just for "a break from it all" as he said. It was awesome, partly because he told us a little more about his daily life. I am getting used to him not being home but I still don't like it. He's had a few midterms and said one was easy, one he didn't think went so well and never really mentioned the other. Hope that is not a bad thing! He did waive his FERPA so we can see grades and schedule but he doesn't have grades posted yet. I guess that's more for his semester grades?

My son said it's pretty hard for him to even figure out what his grade is in his classes. He says he's doing well, so we have faith that the grades will be good.

 

[bjscheel]

I can see mid-term and final grades. Apparently she can see all detail. I did check out of curiosity because her mid-term tests did not all go well and she has to maintain a 3.5. Only one dropped to a B though and now she has a better idea how that professor does tests.

She'll be home briefly tonight/tomorrow morning. I'll be showing her how to access her online banking and credit card that just arrived. It's harder to get this stuff arranged when they don't turn 18 until after leaving for college.

Will also be discussing a summer class opportunity. It's a 12 day trip to Colorado to explore different jobs in her field. The credits that will count toward her major and she does need to do some summer classes to complete a double major. It sounds like it costs the same as taking the same credits on campus so if I verify that's true, I'm thinking win-win, basically a free trip to a place she loves while getting a necessary class out of the way. Then the only problem is it will mean missing her cousin's wedding

 

[Eureka]

I think it’s just the final grade, tests and quizzes would be canvas or whatever the professor uses. I’ve never had access to grades, I just ask.

It was more his schedule I wanted to see. He will tell us his semester grades if we ask. He has a renewable scholarship that says he needs to maintain his grades but we don't actually see a gpa requirement on it, which is weird.

 

[soccerdad72]

It was more his schedule I wanted to see. He will tell us his semester grades if we ask. He has a renewable scholarship that says he needs to maintain his grades but we don't actually see a gpa requirement on it, which is weird.

I suppose every school's computer system is different, but with the access that we're given (via our son), the standard things we can see is his schedule and dining balances (meal swipes and extra dining dollars). That, and tuition, of course.

 

[mjkacmom]

It was more his schedule I wanted to see. He will tell us his semester grades if we ask. He has a renewable scholarship that says he needs to maintain his grades but we don't actually see a gpa requirement on it, which is weird.

I keep meaning to find out her scholarship requirement, without it she would be transferring to an in state school.

 

[bjscheel]

I keep meaning to find out her scholarship requirement, without it she would be transferring to an in state school.

Probably good to know! I was just reviewing DD's and one of them is only good for 8 semesters (and like I said requires 3.5) and her in-state rates are only good for 132 credits. I didn't realize that when she was proposing going a 5th year to include another B.S. I think that moment has passed but if she brings it up again I will be able to point out that she would be paying full freight for any extra semesters.

 

[design_mom]

DS's merit scholarship is good for 8 semesters, and he has to maintain a 3.0. However, they review the GPA after spring semester to determine the next year's eligibility so midterm grades, or even first semester grades, are not reviewed. (But DS is doing fine, and not in any danger so far.)

This is family weekend at his school, but we did not go because by the time he decided to go there, family weekend had been announced and all nearby hotels were totally booked. Also, DS wasn't interested in going to the special events planned, so we did not buy tickets before those sold out too. I told him we'd be happy to drive down for the day and take him to lunch, etc... but we just saw him last weekend for fall break so he said that he was fine this weekend without anybody.

He and a few friends apparently went to the hockey game last night though. He got great seats right on the glass, and then he and his buddies were chosen to be the first intermission entertainment (a relay race). His team won, so he won a school winter hat, a t-shirt, and a coupon for a free pizza. Not a bad night at all. Today there's a home football game and one of his friends' parents are coming this weekend and invited him to their tailgate. I'm glad he's having a good weekend. Kind of wish we were there (but my daughter, a HS sophomore, has a band competition today, so we've got that commitment too.)

 

[bjscheel]

@design_mom Sounds like a fun night!

DD was here last night/this morning to surprise BF at football senior night and we got some financial stuff taken care of too. Then she wanted to get back to school for a pumpkin patch trip and movie night. In an envelope she gave me with refund checks she also put in a super sweet letter that I read after she left. She thanked me for putting up with her during the college search (it was rough), not letting her dismiss her current college because it was the perfect choice but she was too stubborn to see it then, staying up late many many times listening to her, helping her with high school & life, and being a great mom

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd16 and her friend made it to Dd safe and sound, went to the track for dd’s timed trials, then to lunch, and then a football game. Fraternity party tonight. Yesterday dd’s ex came to visit, and then her boyfriend’s parents took them to the Drew Carey comedy show put on by the university. I’m glad dd16 could represent us for family weekend, but she has a soccer tryout tomorrow night (in the rain) and is going to be exhausted.

 

[portocall]

My son is doing well. Going away to school was good for him. He says he has all As and Bs. He has to keep his gpa up for his scholarships. We won't get him home until Christmas. Thanksgiving Break is just too short. Luckily, for him, he has plenty of Thanksgiving dinner invitations since he is going to school where he grew up. Luckily for me, he isn't my first child to be away for Thanksgiving so it doesn't sting as much. I am excited to have my oldest back for the first time in several years. We are the ones who moved away on him. I will see him in the next week or so though. My house sold so I am going back to finish cleaning it out and to sign the closing forms. That is a big relief.

I don't hear from him much at all. I did get a chatty phone cal last week. The first since he left. College is growing on him. He is taking 17 hours next semester. He wants to finish in three and a half years. He is starting to narrow down what he wants to specialize in and applied for a paid internship that he feels pretty confident about getting. He will hear next month of he actually does. At the dorm he is in the STEM honors section and it was only open to them. He doesn't know anyone else who applied so he thinks it is a small pool of candidates. My fingers are crossed.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm a bit envious of all of you who have gotten to see your students over fall break or parents weekend. Both have now come and gone for DD, but traveling out to see her wasn't in the cards - or the budget! - because this is such a busy time of year for our middle schooler.

I attempted the pumpkin care package, but couldn't manage to find a pumpkin anywhere! The downside of living in a rural area, I guess; I didn't feel like making the hour's drive to Target or Walmart so she's getting a coffin instead. I think she'll really like it, and it should be there by mid-week so still in plenty of time for Halloween.

California suits her. She and some friends went to a music festival at Golden Gate Park a couple weeks ago that she raved about even though she didn't know many of the acts going in (one of whom was Robert Plant! which made me think I've totally failed in properly schooling her on pop culture ), and they're going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show next weekend. Classes sound like they're going well, though I haven't checked myself so I'm taking her word for it, and she got approval to take 20 hours next term so she can stay on track for her double major. Hopefully this winter will be the only semester she has to take quite that heavy a load, for the sake of both her sanity and our pocketbook since her scholarship only covers 18 hours. And she just got the news that she was selected for the alternative spring break trip she was hoping to do this year - she's going to be spending her break in Appalachia, doing environmental service work in a community impacted by coal mining. Younger DD is disappointed she keeps finding new distractions to keep her from coming home on breaks, but I'm glad she's taking advantage of the opportunities that are available to her. She can be so introverted and focused that I was worried she'd get to college and just obsess over academics to the exclusion of most other things.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

It sounds like everyone is doing great at school! We saw DD on Friday, it ended up being a bit of a fiasco to get there because our flight was a little bit delayed, and then Hertz rental car at Logan didn't have any cars out. We were supposed to just be able to walk to the zone, pick a car and go, but there weren't any there. Cue another 2 HOURS of waiting for them to get the cars washed and given to people before we got one, and then another 20 minutes waiting in a line to get out of the garage! We finally got to the hotel at 4am.

Needless to say, we were a bit late getting to DD's dorm the next morning! We did get there though, and we went apple picking, and then picked up the ingredients for her to make Chicken Cordon Bleu soup for her friends with some apple pie. Then we hit the hockey game that night, and a movie with 3 of her friends. The silver lining to the car idiocy is that we ended up with a minivan rather than a compact so we could drive everyone to the theater without having to make 2 trips!

She's doing really well, she has a great group of friends and her roommate and suitemates are still getting along. It's really nice to see them so well settled in!

 

[PollyannaMom]

You will never believe what we heard today! (in a good way)

Remember back in September, when I posted that DS's wallet was lost/stolen? Well, campus security called today, after getting a call from the bus company, and DS got his wallet back...with everything still in it!

It must have been down in the bus seats somehow. - He says they weren't like couch cushions where it could go between, and they supposedly looked when he called them, but I can't think of anything else.

Anyway, that's today's vote for "people are nice after all" .

 

[Lynne G]

Thanks for the pumpkin idea. Tucked one in DD’s bag, and told her about it when I dropped her off. Packed it with a box of Oreos, and lots of candy to share with her roommate and hall mates. She did very well on her midterms and gets a week for Thanksgiving, so I guess that is when we will see her again.

So enjoy reading about all those Freshmen kids. And a nice thing for us, due to credits already earned when she got there, she will be a Sophomore next semester.

 

[TB'sWidow]

Well I couldn’t do the pumpkin ship as I went overboard on buying stuff so I shipped the pumpkin along with Dd favorites candy, I made pumpkin cookies an chocolate chip cookies and I made enough for her to share with the great group of friends she made. I can’t wait till she gets it

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Hey @Gumbo4x4 , isn't your DD going to Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction? What does she think of it? I'm now going through this whole process again with DS (who is a junior) and it's on his list as a possibility.

 

[bjscheel]

Hey @Gumbo4x4 , isn't your DD going to Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction? What does she think of it? I'm now going through this whole process again with DS (who is a junior) and it's on his list as a possibility.

One of his posts said she was headed to Gunnison- so that's Western Colorado U. Sadly he hasn't been seen on here since 7/20.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

One of his posts said she was headed to Gunnison- so that's Western Colorado U. Sadly he hasn't been seen on here since 7/20.

That's right, thank you for that, Western is on DS's list too, decent size, close to a ski area.