Class of 2022- High School Parents

[DisneyJamieCA]

So DD had her senior prom last night, it went great!
3 weeks until graduation.
3 months from today we head south to take her to college.
I know it’s going to go by so quickly.

Senior Awards this Thursday
Prom is this coming Saturday.
4 weeks until graduation
End of August for college

And yes, it’s all going SO fast.

 

[clori]

My daughter finished all her dual enrollment classes so she is basically done (grades are not in yet) - just chorus at high school left. She still has a Memorial Day event at school for Chorus which turns out to be the same day as senior prom. I think regular high school classes end this week but she will go to chorus as long as possible since they sing at graduation then optionally can sing at Flag day including graduated seniors. Graduation is June 5th and I think the week before is a senior assembly, senior bbq, senior awards night etc. Only students getting an award are invited to senior awards night so fingers crossed she gets an invite but you never know. She has college orientation in June then I think starts on Labor Day weekend.

 

[design_mom]

We did it, everyone! My daughter's "completion ceremony" was Saturday for her course at the career center. (She also took -- and passed -- the national Pharmacy Technician certification exam. Then, high school graduation was yesterday afternoon. She. Is. Done.

Next stop: Her virtual advising appointment to select her classes for her first semester of college (June 9), selecting her dorm room (June 15), and in-person college orientation (June 16). Also in there -- moving her brother (class of 2019) to New York City for his summer internship. It's going to be a busy few weeks!

 

[Minnesota!]

My son had prom this weekend. He had enough credits last fall to be done, but he chose to do one more semester, so he finished school in March, has been working almost full time since then. He will graduate, officially, on the 1st.

He received a nice bowling scholarship and will be bowling D1 starting in the fall. He is hoping to play baseball for them, too. He is going to school in Iowa, so about 3.5 hours away.

I swear he was just born.

He has always, always, always hated school, so I was shocked for him to continue his education at a traditional college, his plan had been trades for so long. But, we will see how it goes. He will be rooming with a friend AND his best friend will also be joining him there, so.... Iowa, here he comes!

 

[mefordis]

My daughter has been done for a week. We have a lot of travel planned for this summer, and we take her to school in AZ early August to move her into her apartment. The logistics for getting stuff ordered and sent to her apartment once the lease starts is looking complicated. And I'm trying to squeeze in a Disneyland trip while we're out there. I already booked our flights and our rental car. It was weird booking her a one way ticket and the rest of us round trip. It feels pretty surreal right now.

 

[sam_gordon]

Graduation was tonight. It's still sinking in. 452 (give or take) walked (at least that's how many they said earned diplomas). 80 minutes from start to finish. Reading the names/handing out diplomas took 39 minutes (yes, we timed it). Yes, there were a LOT (maybe 1/3 or 1/4) of yelling from the crowd as names were called. Fortunately the person reading the names would pause. I don't think it added an extreme amount of time, but I was still disappointed. DS's GF's mom yelled for him. Our family didn't.

He was able to find us beforehand so he knew where we were sitting.


I thought this turned out well. Might need to get a print of it.

 

[design_mom]

I love your treatment on the cap-toss photo, Sam. I didn't get one where you can see my daughter (surrounded by tall people!)... but this is one of my favorite pictures from her graduation:

 

[sam_gordon]

I love your treatment on the cap-toss photo, Sam. I didn't get one where you can see my daughter (surrounded by tall people!)... but this is one of my favorite pictures from her graduation:
View attachment 672280

I like that. Does the school bring those in every year? I wanted to do a photo shoot with DS (and GF) around the HS and town but they weren't interested.

 

[design_mom]

I like that. Does the school bring those in every year? I wanted to do a photo shoot with DS (and GF) around the HS and town but they weren't interested.

No. This wasn’t at the school or the graduation venue. My sister-in-law lives in a different suburb than we do. It’s in front of her subirb’s city hall. She told me about it and my daughter said she was up for a photo shoot (I’m sure my son wouldn’t have been interested).

I think is the first time her town has had something like this… but it looks like it could be easily updated so I hope they continue. It was cool.

 

[JaxDad]

Graduation was tonight. It's still sinking in. 452 (give or take) walked (at least that's how many they said earned diplomas). 80 minutes from start to finish. Reading the names/handing out diplomas took 39 minutes (yes, we timed it). Yes, there were a LOT (maybe 1/3 or 1/4) of yelling from the crowd as names were called. Fortunately the person reading the names would pause. I don't think it added an extreme amount of time, but I was still disappointed. DS's GF's mom yelled for him. Our family didn't.

He was able to find us beforehand so he knew where we were sitting.
View attachment 672276

I thought this turned out well. Might need to get a print of it.
View attachment 672277

Those photos are so cool! I think the only decent “close-up” I got was on the Jumbotron!

Luckily his grandfather actually got some very nice ones with a real camera that I will be getting soon. We also have some nice ones from the honors event and from after the ceremony.

My son was class president, so he got to lead the graduates in, then stand at the end of the aisle greeting all 350+ as they filed past. He then served as a sort of master of ceremonies. He did such an outstanding job. I was so proud! The valedictorian and principal made great speeches. It was all very fun!

It’s also been great having parties and dinners with friends and family this week. We had one dinner at a VERY nice local restaurant, and my son was given his own special menu with his name printed on it and signed by the owner, chef, and all the staff. Last night we had a big dinner at another nice place with his girlfriend’s family, including five adult siblings and their partners who came from all over the country. It was so wonderful to meet them all and spend time together.

Congratulations to all your graduates!

 

[sam_gordon]

It’s also been great having parties and dinners with friends and family this week. We had one dinner at a VERY nice local restaurant, and my son was given his own special menu with his name printed on it and signed by the owner, chef, and all the staff. Last night we had a big dinner at another nice place with his girlfriend’s family, including five adult siblings and their partners who came from all over the country. It was so wonderful to meet them all and spend time together.

That's cool. Who organized that event?

We had a family lunch yesterday at a nearby restaurant, and that was about the extent of it. Project Graduation was last night (11a-7a at the local college rec center). DS won two rounds of a golf at a 9 hole course. He's never played a round of golf (other than miniature) in his life. lol. He has a club soccer game at 4p this afternoon, then (maybe) some parties.

 

[caroline5177]

Congrats to all the graduates (and parents!)! Sounds like they all have great plans. DS will attend Elon University (NC). Move in is mid-August; their schedule is a bit more like what I remember when I started long ago. Dorm and roommate info isn't set until summer. He has been working on placement tests and other items on their summer checklist. We went up and explored a bit this past weekend since the whole family had not visited yet. It's a pretty area and not too far from home.
Wishing you all a fabulous summer with them before they head off to college.

 

[Day-al]

DD graduated yesterday! She selects her dorm room next week and leaves for college in 70 days
congrats all and best of luck to all of the kids whatever they choose for their future plans!

 

[sam_gordon]

DS thinks he got scammed.

When we went to Orientation, the school pitched a "Summer Bridge" program.
* August 1-17 (move in for fall semester is August 18)
* Earn 3 credit hours
* Student pays $250 covers classes, room, and meals
* Student gets $300 credit for "professional" clothes.
* If student maintains 2.5 GPA through Fall semester, eligible for $1200 scholarship for spring semester.

No brainer, right? We encouraged and he readily applied for the program.

We found out on Monday he got accepted. Great, right? Well the acceptance email also had a class syllabus for one of the classes. There's a book he needs to read along with articles available online. Every Friday starting in July he has to write a 150 word paper on each chapter/article. There's 3-4 papers due each week.

So he thinks he's been scammed. He didn't think he'd have to do pre-work when they pitched the program.

 

[design_mom]

DD had scheduling, dorm selection, and a one-day in-person orientation a couple of weeks ago.

Scheduling: Was easy-peasy. They group nursing students into "learning communities" so she will have the exact same schedule as 19 other nursing students. All she had to do was schedule her learning community and there were spots reserved for her in all of the classes. So we didn't have any issue with being closed out of classes, etc. And her schedule isn't too bad. She's not excited about an 8am chemistry class 3 days per week... but she's done by 2 most days and is done by 9:30am on Fridays.

Dorm Selection: Did *not* go as smoothly as we'd hoped. The school has several styles of on-campus dorms (traditional, suite-style, apartment style) as well as several off-campus apartment complexes that still count as university housing. She was hoping for a traditional style dorm. It is 1) the least expensive and 2) both our tour guide and student panel recommended traditional dorms for freshmen because it's easiest to meet people that way. She had heard that people were having trouble finding rooms, but she was not part of a roommate group so we thought it'd be easier (at my son's school people cry "there are no rooms" when they can't find a spot in their preferred dorm for their group of 4... but DD was mid-range in the priority, not last, and only looking for one bed, so surely there would be a choice of spaces, right?) Not so. She logged on when her selection window opened and it said there were NO ROOMS AVAILABLE (at all). It said to call housing, which she did... and they told her that was a glitch, just keep trying. We refreshed and refreshed and refreshed for about 6 hours. Finally some things started coming up but they were all the off-campus apartment complexes. I did not want her to live blocks off campus (it's an urban campus in a pretty big city. I am not keen about her living off campus EVER, but certainly not the first year. Plus, all freshmen, regardless of assignment, are required to carry a full meal plan. I don't want her to have to take a bus to campus for every meal.) FINALLY-FINALLY, we saw a spot in a suite-style dorm. It's still not the traditional that she wanted, but I said "I think we should grab it. You can try to change it later, but at least it's *on* campus." So we did.

And then they shut the portal down because apparently ALL on-campus housing is gone. The remaining students (who haven't chosen yet -- and there are a lot of them) will be assigned to a room later after the university secures more housing (likely off campus). One of their largest traditional dorms (housing 800+ students) is closed for renovation, so that's apparently PART of the issue, but... geez. I had no idea housing was going to be like this. I'm feeling very grateful that we found something on campus -- and I think it's going to end up being better than what she THOUGHT she wanted honestly. Now, I just hope her roommate is good. (I had an experience with a crazy random roommate when I was in college so the thought of her going random makes me uncomfortable, but...)

ORIENTATION: She loved it and it solidified her choice. She met two really nice girls in the morning session (mixed majors) and one of them is from another suburb of our city, so they are making plans to get together this summer. In bad news, I think I caught COVID at the orientation. I've been so careful for 2.5 years, but it finally found me.

NEXT UP: Will be picking a move-in time slot. The first thing that is REQUIRED will be on a Friday. However, it sounds like freshmen timeslots are likely to be on Sunday-Monday. She doesn't want to move in almost a week early, but I'm not sure what the options will be.

 

[DawnM]

DS got his dorm assignment where he will be rooming with one of his best friends. They went to orientation a couple of weeks ago. He is excited and I am sad......I am going to miss him so much.

 

[RDM83]

DD got her dorm assignment on Thursday. We started shopping off of the college list for some essentials and shipping them to my mom’s address since we will stop there before heading up to the mountains to drop her off. I am soaking in every single minute with her. I am very excited for her but Sad at the same time. We are 5 weeks out from move in date. Going by way too fast!

 

[design_mom]

Is anybody else's college having major housing drama?

Freshmen are required to live in university housing. I assumed that meant dorms (and 2 college visit tours did nothing to change that impression). However, we later learned that the university also contracts with off-campus apartment complexes and that also counts as university housing. They do not have enough actual on-campus spots for everyone.

I posted before that my daughter got a bed on-campus (after much searching). It's not in the dorm she wanted (a more expensive one) and I think her suite-mates might be juniors, so it's definitely not an ideal situation but at least she's got a room. Most of the choices offered to her were off-campus apartment buildings that still count as "university housing." Shortly after she chose her room -- and her time slot was kind of in the middle of the group to pick -- they suspended the housing selection process entirely while they tried to secure more housing.

It reopened earlier this week, but apparently they STILL don't have enough. They secured several floors of another off-campus apartment building. It's about a 20-25 minute walk from campus, although apparently there's a free shuttle that goes by it. There were kids who had already contracted for those apartments though... and apparently the apartment company sent them letters and said that they'd be reassigned to a different unit. They'd still have housing, but the apartment complex wasn't guaranteeing they'd be with the same floor plan or roommates that they originally signed a lease with (I don't even see how that's legal.) They apparently also secured rooms in a hotel that's near campus.

Additionally, they sent letters to the upperclass students who were in on-campus dorms and asked them to move to the off-campus apartments (they offered a financial incentive) but said that if they do not get enough volunteers by today, they'll start "administratively reassigning" people till they get enough space.

They have managed to make pretty much EVERYONE mad. I don't know who is in charge of housing but... yikes. They've really dropped the ball!

 

[RDM83]

Is anybody else's college having major housing drama?

I posted before that my daughter got a bed on-campus (after much searching). It's not in the dorm she wanted (a more expensive one) and I think her suite-mates might be juniors, so it's definitely not an ideal situation but at least she's got a room. Most of the choices offered to her were off-campus apartment buildings that still count as "university housing." Shortly after she chose her room -- and her time slot was kind of in the middle of the group to pick -- they suspended the housing selection process entirely while they tried to secure more housing.

It reopened earlier this week, but apparently they STILL don't have enough. They secured several floors of another off-campus apartment building. It's about a 20-25 minute walk from campus, although apparently there's a free shuttle that goes by it. There were kids who had already contracted for those apartments though... and apparently the apartment company sent them letters and said that they'd be reassigned to a different unit. They'd still have housing, but the apartment complex wasn't guaranteeing they'd be with the same floor plan or roommates that they originally signed a lease with (I don't even see how that's legal.) They apparently also secured rooms in a hotel that's near campus.

Additionally, they sent letters to the upperclass students who were in on-campus dorms and asked them to move to the off-campus apartments (they offered a financial incentive) but said that if they do not get enough volunteers by today, they'll start "administratively reassigning" people till they get enough space.

They have managed to make pretty much EVERYONE mad. I don't know who is in charge of housing but... yikes. They've really dropped the ball!

I am so sorry they are making this already stressful and difficult time even more difficult. Do you have any updates for us? Were you able to get things sorted out? How is your daughter feeling about all of this? Sending positive vibes and hoping for quick solutions

 

[design_mom]

I am so sorry they are making this already stressful and difficult time even more difficult. Do you have any updates for us? Were you able to get things sorted out? How is your daughter feeling about all of this? Sending positive vibes and hoping for quick solutions

Compared to many others, my daughter's in an OK situation. She has an assignment, and it's on-campus. She had hoped for a traditional dorm (easiest to meet people, least expensive) and ended up in a suite-style one with roommates that I think might be upperclassmen. So it's not ideal, but at least she has a bed!

It will be interesting to see if either of her suite mates gets moved. She hasn't contacted them yet (and they haven't contacted her). She's like "why bother if it might change."

She's more concerned about WHEN she will move in. She will get a time-slot but those are also delayed due to the housing fiasco. At my son's university, freshmen moved in the Thursday before the Monday that classes started (welcome week was more of "welcome weekend"), so that's kind of what she was expecting. But it sounds like they might be having freshmen move in a full week or more before classes begin. She does not want to move in that early. I hate to have her miss out on the prime "everyone's looking for new friends" days of Welcome Week. On the other hand, I understand her reasons for not wanting to go earlier than necessary. So i'm not sure how much to "push it."