Parents of the Class of 2019

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Re: graduation party-- Most of the kids here like to hang out with friends after the ceremony. Since we have between 15-20 family members traveling 2 1/2 hours to attend the graduation, and I want her to spend some time with them, I am hosting a late lunch/early dinner at a local restaurant 3 hours before the ceremony. That way the family can get on the road back home as soon as the graduation is over.

I wanted to give her a combined graduation party/18th Birthday party later in June, but she instead wanted to rent a cabin at a state park one state away for a few days and invite 3 friends--hiking, jet skiiing, etc. I was happy (relieved). Lol

 

[laughinplace199]

Congratulations to everyone whose kids have made their college choice!

DS has narrowed his 6 options down to 4, and we will be attending admitted students days at those 4 this month. Hopefully the choice isn’t too tough for him. We like all of the schools he applied to, so whatever he chooses will be great.

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Hello fellow 2019 parents. I don't post much, but I love reading this thread and cheering for all of your children. There are some truly outstanding kids (and parents) represented on this board. I have also learned so much from you. DD is my only, and this college application process was daunting, confusing, and difficult at times. This last week was a crazy ride of college results!!! My daughter has been so incredibly blessed by the choices she has now that all of the results are in, so I thought I'd check in here and share them. Again, thank you all for your support, ideas, and wisdom. <Hugs>. Here we go, in the order received:

Admitted:
University of Texas Arlington -- This is local to us. The kids lovingly call it their high school 2.0
University of Texas Austin -- Plan II honors, College of Natural Sciences honors. Was finalist for Dedman Distinguished Scholars full ride, but did not get it.
Southern Methodist U.--Was finalist for President's Scholars full ride, but did not get it.
Vanderbilt
Rice
Cornell
Princeton
Stanford

Waitlisted at Dartmouth
Rejected at Yale

I have absolutely no idea which school she will pick, but I will come back and update when the the decision is made!

 

[soccerdad72]

Just got back from spring break trip (visiting MIL in Florida). Son got a text from one of his good friends on Saturday - they were at Admitted Student Open House day at RIT and apparently, they liked it a lot, because my son said they put their deposit down that day. So my son was pretty excited to know he had a roommate for the fall - the two of them were getting together this week to plan out some stuff with housing. Our son, being an ED admit, will get a pretty early time slot for picking rooms, so they should hopefully get a decent choice. His buddy is just happy to have my son have that choice, since otherwise, he'd be one of the later ones to pick.

We're off to Rochester this weekend to go to their second open house day - hoping to get a chance to look at some of the dorms and have my son talk to some of the clubs and groups that he's interested in joining this fall.

 

[mom2rtk]

DD has a housing assignment and a roommate. All of a sudden this seems very real. Sigh.

 

[soccerdad72]

Son starts tennis season today. Told me yesterday that the coach named him #1 singles player. Ironic, because he's really not a tennis player - so he's likely going to get killed a lot this season, but hopefully he'll have fun regardless. Did get him a lesson last week in Florida on our spring break, so hopefully that helps a little.

Also, after months and months of stubbornness about it, there is a slight possibility that he might actually be going to prom. His group of friends has been working on him pretty hard and the kid he's rooming with next year let me know that the one girl he's been friends with since freshman year has said she's say yes if he just asked her to prom. So there's a glimmer of hope on that front!

 

[bjscheel]

DD found out yesterday that her top roommate pick has chosen a different school, so she started messaging another girl. There's very few to pick from in her LLC, so hopefully this one works out. I'd like to have that done. They can choose their specific room on the 23rd.

The tradition around here is an open house for the graduate and DD is all for as big a party as possible. We'll have it in our church fellowship hall and we're going to have a mac & cheese bar with various add-ins to choose from. I found a recipe for 100 servings of mac & cheese (reviews say it feeds more) so I need to decide whether one batch is enough. It's from 2-5 so it's not like it has to be a full blown meal. For her older sister (and best friend) we baked 200 potatoes and had at least 50 left over if not more. DD17's invitation list is probably as big as those two girls' put together though.

She's also debating what to have besides the mac & cheese bar. I suggested carrots & celery. She suggested rolls & butter (she's the carb queen). DD20 says probably don't need anything, just the mac & cheese and a dessert. Not a bad idea because I wanted to serve the mac & cheese in short cup shaped bowls so it's not like they have a plate with room for sides. IDK what for sweets either. Does anyone know if Sam's Club has good cookies in bulk? Or brownies?

We went shopping for decorations Saturday. Her color scheme is going to be dark green/ivory/gold which the class colors are emerald green & gold and her college colors are green & white so it all fits. Also travel themed decorations like her watercolor map tapestry and scattered stars and globes we cut out of an atlas on the tables.

DD20 is also graduating community college so we'll figure out a way to work her in. Maybe a table with her Dean's/President's list awards and whatnot.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Well, DD has one more school visit next week to the local (hour and a half away) school, after that she'll make her final decision, but unless CSU knocks her socks off, she's going to UMASS Lowell next year. She did get invited to attend the honors college there, and once she accepts she can join the honors LLC, which is in the suites dorm, so she could be staying in the suites next year. Still has a roommate (3 or 5 of them), but they'll have a common area and a bathroom that is just theirs.

We're throwing a party for her the day after graduation, along with the families of 2 of her friends. We're looking at walking taco bar, maybe a nacho bar, and cake/cupcakes.

 

[design_mom]

Big couple of days here too.

Caps and gowns were delivered yesterday. Graduation is in about 6 weeks (May 19). DS refused to try his cap/gown on though... still grumbling about how he doesn't see why high school graduations are worth celebrating. So, uh... we still haven't decided to do about a party with an attitude like that! ;-)

We just (as in "minutes ago") paid his deposit to Miami University (Ohio). We have to wait up to 24 hours for his payment to be in their system before we can sign up for orientation and get access to the other stuff he needs.

Also today, DS approached a classmate about possibly being a roommate. He has been thinking about it for a few weeks. It's a kid he knows reasonably well -- they're cross country and track teammates, and DS's best friend is dating this boy's twin sister -- and they're friendly, but not super close. When we were at accepted student's day, DS mentioned that he thought he'd make a decent roommate, but said he knew the other kid was still weighing his options and hadn't decided on his school. Apparently, they were discussing today and the other kid said he's "pretty much" decided on Miami, so Alex brought up the possibility of being roommates. He said the other boy is interested in rooming with him, too. It's not a done deal because the other boy hasn't confirmed or anything, but it sounds hopeful. (I would really like DS to room with someone he knows -- maybe not even a "friend" but just someone he's pretty sure isn't crazy. I had a very bad experience with a school-assigned roommate as a freshman.

Edited to add: And he also got his invitation to senior awards night. I'm not exactly sure what that entails (it says that the valedictorian will be named (DS is not in the running for that) and the cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude cords will be given out.) I'm not sure why they didn't just pass out the cords, but apparently there's a dessert reception, etc. DS would be fine skipping it, but I said "We're going!" and he didn't complain too much. His best friend is in the running for valedictorian though, so I'm sure he'll be there.

 

[bjscheel]

@design_mom Do they also maybe present local scholarships at awards night? Our school does. Some of them the kids know in advance they've won and some are surprises.

Next week is going to be hectic for DD- she has 3 soccer games M/Tu/Th and they are 1.75, 1.25, and 1.5 hours away. I think we'll just attend the 1.25. Then prom on Saturday!

 

[mjkacmom]

@design_mom Do they also maybe present local scholarships at awards night? Our school does. Some of them the kids know in advance they've won and some are surprises.

Next week is going to be hectic for DD- she has 3 soccer games M/Tu/Th and they are 1.75, 1.25, and 1.5 hours away. I think we'll just attend the 1.25. Then prom on Saturday!

We have a scholarship night, Dd applied for 40 of them, you don’t know ahead of time which ones you won. Besides the honor societies and sports awards, there are no other award ceremonies in high school. Cords are just given out with caps and gowns. Besides tournaments, all soccer games are u dear an hour, most under 30 minutes, for town travel, high school and club leagues.

 

[yeahdisney]

Today we go to your admitted Physics day. It is moms weekend down there now. And we are taking DD to pick back up her promise ring while we are there. And supper there.
49 days to grad day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Went to Accepted Students' Day yesterday, and DS was reassured that this is his choice - so deposit is in, orientation signed up for, and housing request made. It's done.

Mom is happy (I liked both of his final two choices - the other one was closer, and more historic, but this one is gorgeous, and has easier travel abroad opportunities. I think he's going to be very happy. )

Go !!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Went to Accepted Students' Day yesterday, and DS was reassured that this is his choice - so deposit is in, orientation signed up for, and housing request made. It's done.

Mom is happy (I liked both of his final two choices - the other one was closer, and more historic, but this one is gorgeous, and has easier travel abroad opportunities. I think he's going to be very happy. )

Go View attachment 393194 !!!!

Congrats! So glad he's happy with his choice!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Announcements are ordered, DS has his cap, gown, honor cords/stole and medallion, and he leaves tomorrow on his senior trip. Where did this year go? I think he has something like 25 more school days, taking out the days he is gone for senior trip and spring break. Seniors finish a week before school is out, and then they have their final exams on Monday and Tuesday of the last week. DS may or may not have to take 1, it just depends on where his final grade ends up in 1 class. He got a little bit too lazy a few weeks ago.

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

DD and I attended a reception yesterday for Stanford admitted students in our area. There were about 8 alums and the Regional Admissions Counselor for our area in attendance. The admissions counselor gave a welcome speech and shared things about the makeup of the admitted group—I was blown away by these kids and their accomplishments!! Listening to some of their conversations and watching them interact was a treat—such funny kids! I loved how they all just jumped right in and talked and laughed with each other and seemed to have such a good time getting to know one another—I don’t think they wanted to leave when time was up. Also, the Admissions Counselor was just a really nice person and answered so many of the kids (and parents) questions. She was the one that read ALL of the applications from the region she covers. It was interesting to get a tiny bit of insight into the admissions process.
Today we are packing for Princeton’s admitted student’s program called Princeton Preview and catching a flight out tomorrow after work. It has been such a busy time since most of her results came out in a big group the last week of March!! I am so ready for her to make a decision, but I am pretty sure that won’t happen until after she attends admitted students weekends, and the last one she plans to attend is April 25-27.

 

[laughinplace199]

Went to Accepted Students' Day yesterday, and DS was reassured that this is his choice - so deposit is in, orientation signed up for, and housing request made. It's done.

Mom is happy (I liked both of his final two choices - the other one was closer, and more historic, but this one is gorgeous, and has easier travel abroad opportunities. I think he's going to be very happy. )

Go View attachment 393194 !!!!

Congratulations! My friend’s DD goes there and absolutely loves it!

 

[laughinplace199]

Today we went to BC’s admitted students day. DS really liked it. Just not sure if it’s too close to home for him as it’s about 15 minutes from our house.

 

[Colleen27]

DD's last softball season is underway, and it is looking like it could be a good one - the team is 3-1 so far, with the only loss coming in a split doubleheader against the team that usually wins our division. It was the first game of the season and the girls had only had two outdoor practices before the game, so it was a surprise that they managed to win one. And on Saturday, both games ended in a mercy-win (15+ run margin). DD is pretty excited; the team has come a LONG way since sophomore year, when they only won two games all season and those were against a school so small that they no longer have a team at all.

We're getting together with MIL on Tuesday to set a date for the grad party, and she's taking over ALL of the planning. Since our family is so lopsided - we're inviting about 50 people to the party, and 40 of them are on DH's side - there are no words for how much I appreciate her offer to handle putting a party together.

They leave on Saturday for the senior trip, whitewater rafting in Tennessee, and when she comes back it'll be Easter Break. And I think we finally have a prom dress, after cancelling the no-show Wish order and moving on to something she likes better anyway. Unfortunately our local Windsor didn't have it in stock, so we have to wait for it to get here to be sure.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have a new question:

Now that DS has officially picked a school, is he supposed to write to the other 4 he was accepted at to officially decline, or do they just drop his name after the May 1st deadline??