Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[Poohforyou]

More somewhat crappy news for us. DD just heard back from University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Apparently they received 42,000 (!) applications for incoming freshmen to fill only 4,700 spots. Last year they had 46,000 applications for 6,600 spots. She was placed on an extended waitlist just like at Wisconsin. Both say they will get back to us by min-June.

We are leaving soon for lovely Amea, IA to visit Iowa State. Keep your fingers crossed that she loves it!

Oh no, I hope she loves Iowa and you do too.

I have to say I think a lot of state schools are trying to attract students from outside their region and it's creating these huge application pools.

Minnesota sent my dd info and she thought about applying (she loves mall of America). In the end it was just too far, we're in nj. It makes the competition tougher each year.

 

[sksjasams]

More somewhat crappy news for us. DD just heard back from University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Apparently they received 42,000 (!) applications for incoming freshmen to fill only 4,700 spots. Last year they had 46,000 applications for 6,600 spots. She was placed on an extended waitlist just like at Wisconsin. Both say they will get back to us by min-June.

We are leaving soon for lovely Amea, IA to visit Iowa State. Keep your fingers crossed that she loves it!

Sorry about the waitlist, Robin. Those numbers are unbelievable.

The weather still looks great for Ames. My fingers are crossed your DD loves Iowa State This could be "the one"!

 

[aprilgail]

How are you supposed to chose a meal plan? I am so confused!

My daughter was going through them and figured she would start out with the 15 meal a week plan- though I don't think she will use all that anyway- she just grabs a bagel or cookie for breakfast and has a late lunch/dinner combo now so I don't think she will be using all that. Its $3,325.00 a semester. When she went to Brown last summer she ate one meal in the dining hall and almost every night they called for Chinese food delivery at 11pm! She is happy there is an insomnia cookie nearby too- they had that delivered at 1am a couple times too!
15 Meal Plan

15 Meals per Week

10 Guest Passes per Semester

$165 Dining Dollars on Husky Card

 

[punkin]

So, I'm thinking 180 meals per semester (15 weeks so 12 meals per week), no guest passes, $625 dining dollars.

 

[bethbuchall]

I haven't even looked at the meal plans yet. I'm a slacker on this third one. We bought the other two the higher plan for the first semester (basically, three meals a day M-F and two on the weekends + whatever "dining dollars" came with it). Neither used all those meals and both switched down to the lower plan after the first semester, but I liked that they had the option of getting three meals/day at first until they knew what they wanted. This time we're at a different school, so we'll need to sit down and look at the plans soon.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I'm pretty sure my DD has to get full meal plan to start. It is $2,500/semester with $80 dining dollars. The next step down is 12 meals per week with $80 for $2,330 so just a bit over $10/week more. My DD doesn't tend to eat breakfast but they do have late night meals that I think she might use as she tends to be a night owl. 12 meals a week is less than 2/day and she won't be coming home so I think full plan might be the best for her for a while.

The school does have a guarantee that she will pay the same rates for room & board for her 4 years there-she can change meal plans but will always pay the rate they were when she started.

 

[mamacatnv]

The school DD is looking at is all in dining dollars, there are no meal swipes.
The top tier plan is $20 a day - $2455 per semester
The two tiers below are $18 or $19 per day ($2115, 2310 per semester)

When son went to college, we bought him the top tier that was 3 meal swipes a day plus some campus dollars.
When he left dorm life we just bought the card with campus dollars.

My Dad has offered up $100 a month to DD for "pocket" money so we are going to go with the $18 per day option - its $700 less overall for the year and with Dad's extra pocket money she can buy her occasional foo-foo coffee.

If she runs low on funds, we can deposit direct to her card at any time.

 

[punkin]

I've never done this before. Both of my older girls' colleges have one meal plan which is required for anyone in school housing.

 

[Arkansan]

My DD's school allows adjustments within the first 2 weeks of the semester. We started at the 21/week plan, then adjusted down accordingly. Because she spends some shorter breaks in campus and there is no cafeteria during that time, I give her $$ to purchase groceries close to a Break. She has been fine.

 

[Arkansan]

My DD's school allows adjustments within the first 2 weeks of the semester. We started at the 21/week plan, then adjusted down accordingly. Because she spends some shorter breaks in campus and there is no cafeteria during that time, I give her $$ to purchase groceries close to a Break. She has been fine.

 

[laughinplace199]

We took DD to visit Bates today and she loved it! And so did we! She still wants to visit the other schools she got into, but I have a feeling Bates might be "the one!"

 

[cats mom]

My DH was in tampa doing some things for his mom and his AP was burning a hole in his pocket. Lookie what he got DD!

Hey robinb, could you tell me how much the grad ears cost if you don't mind. DD will be in WDW next week, and I want to give her a big enough gift card to cover the graduation ears.

I checked prices at Disneyland today. $17.99 for this one and $24.99 for the fancier mortarboard with fuzzy ears. HTH's

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I checked prices at Disneyland today. $17.99 for this one and $24.99 for the fancier mortarboard with fuzzy ears. HTH's

Thank you so much! I got her a $25 gift card, so she's good to go!

 

[robinb]

We are heading back from Iowa. I really liked Iowa State and so did DD. The Greek Day was awesome! She got to meet and talk to a lot of girls. We even visited 5 houses. I think she likes it more than she cares to admit. She still clings to the UW though. I hope with all my might that it's not because of her boyfriend. That's a totally crappy reason to choose a college. I personally think Iowa State is a better fit academically and socially. I'm trying to get her to research her major a little more at the UW. The whole thing is pretty confusing at the UW while Iowa State is easy to understand and well organized.

 

[sksjasams]

We are heading back from Iowa. I really liked Iowa State and so did DD. The Greek Day was awesome! She got to meet and talk to a lot of girls. We even visited 5 houses. I think she likes it more than she cares to admit. She still clings to the UW though. I hope with all my might that it's not because of her boyfriend. That's a totally crappy reason to choose a college. I personally think Iowa State is a better fit academically and socially. I'm trying to get her to research her major a little more at the UW. The whole thing is pretty confusing at the UW while Iowa State is easy to understand and well organized.

Overall, sounds like a successful visit! Hopefully, as the next few days pass, she will reflect on the trip and maybe even start picturing herself at Iowa State!

 

[J'aime Paris]

We are heading back from Iowa. I really liked Iowa State and so did DD. The Greek Day was awesome! She got to meet and talk to a lot of girls. We even visited 5 houses. I think she likes it more than she cares to admit. She still clings to the UW though. I hope with all my might that it's not because of her boyfriend. That's a totally crappy reason to choose a college. I personally think Iowa State is a better fit academically and socially. I'm trying to get her to research her major a little more at the UW. The whole thing is pretty confusing at the UW while Iowa State is easy to understand and well organized.

I'm glad that your DD liked Iowa State!
Sounds like they have a very active greek life. Fun!

 

[robinb]

Can I brag about my Non High Schooler for a moment
My DS is a Physical Therapist, he has been out of school and working for a little over a year. His "dream" was to enter into a traveling program and set off to see the country in the 3-6 month increments that travelers are placed.

He has been working here in Austin, TX for the past 15 months to gain experience etc.
Over the last 6 months he has been laying the ground work, he purchased a truck and a 5th wheel so he could have his home on wheels and hit the road.
His current contract expired last week and he was seeking to finally set off.

Yesterday he received an offer that will take him back to the area he grew up in, Northern Nevada (near Lake Tahoe). He is soooo excited, its a great offer and he is leaving in two weeks.
I'm so excited for him and so sad at the same time. By late August we will have a completely empty nest with the kids 2000 miles away in opposite directions.

Awesome for him! So, he'll be in Nevada for 3-6 months and then go somewhere else

We took DD to visit Bates today and she loved it! And so did we! She still wants to visit the other schools she got into, but I have a feeling Bates might be "the one!"

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you .

I'm glad that your DD liked Iowa State!
Sounds like they have a very active greek life. Fun!

Well, she did buy a tee-shirt that she's wearing right now. So, that's a good sign.

 

[aprilgail]

We went to accepted students day at Northeastern today- it was great- we went to 2 break out sessions, one for the business college she is going to and the other global studies-VERY informative. After that stopped and bought some northeastern merchandise. From there we went to "Huskyfest" where they had food and booths set up with all the different schools within the university, financial aid, study abroad and a bunch of other information booths. You got to talk to the people one on one with your questions and then we went and toured a couple different dorms. So we are sending in our deposit when we go home- Go Huskies!! So glad we came this weekend-getting all the info and questions answered really sealed the deal.

 

[bjscheel]

DD is making her tri-fold photo displays. She has one laid out and mostly stuck down but ran out of double sided tape. She is planning on doing two. Now for photos of the two girls at the tables, we are thinking of getting some picks from the florist (like they stick the cards in but use them to stick the photos in) and putting them in decorated jars.

Yesterday was music solo/ensemble contest. I played piano for my girls' duet and they got a I rating. It was a fun day watching kids from school. My girls were in a few other groups that got I's and II's as well.

 

[Aliceacc]

I'm sorry, I'm lost. What are the tri fold photo displays for?